Confederate Raider Raphael Semmes: Catch Me If You Can!

(HistoryNet) Flames exploded from the deck of the merchantman Golden Rocket, devouring in minutes its tar-coated rigging and masts. On that night-dark sea off Cuba on July 3, 1861, the blaze engaged all the senses: the whoom-whoom-whoom of air sucked into the crackling holds, the heat (even across 500 yards of water) reddening the skin, the stench of tar and timber turning to ash.
Flames reflected in the eyes of those watching from the deck of the Confederate raider CSS Sumter. Golden Rocket’s crew, prisoners all, probably cursed beneath their breath. And although some of Sumter’s sailors may have cheered, others probably mourned the potential prize money lost to the fire. As the charred mainmast followed the flaming mizzen into the sea, Commander Raphael Semmes, the raider’s captain, alternated between melancholy at the cost of the war and elation at his first victory over the Yankees. In time, as Semmes ravaged the Union’s maritime commerce, his melancholy would melt away, leaving embers of martial fervor that often blazed as brightly as Golden Rocket. Continued

Illustrations: Library of Congress