Sunday, September 27th is the 200th anniversary of the birth of an Alabamian who terrorized New York City---and a lot of the high seas---during the American Civil War.
Starting Sunday on this blog, we're pleased to present a four-part story about Admiral Raphael Semmes, who's not-so-secret desire was to sail and steam his CSS Alabama warship into New York Harbor and attack lower Manhattan, disrupting the nation's banking center, and in the process, maybe, just maybe, assuring victory over the hated Yankees.
If you enjoy learning about the Civil War, have friends who enjoy history, or you know some residents of New York City who may find this story of early terrorism against their city of interest, please send them the link to this blog entry. The story will be posted on four Sundays, starting September 6, and concluding on the actual 200th birth anniversary, September 27th.
[NOTE: During my last year at Alabama Public Television, I researched the Semmes/CSS Alabama story for a documentary that was put on a very distant, very dusty back shelf when co-producer Bob Corley and I had our positions eliminated. Though I don't have the resources to produce that documentary right now, the story is too good not to share. I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Following the 4th part I'll post a bibliography of the books I read in my research.]
So... Semmes was going to assault NYC? And you indicate his strategy was to pepper the banking centers? What sage advice for a tactician!
ReplyDeleteI doubt that Semmes' link to make sausage of the union may assuage New Yorkers or send them packing.
Were his plans to have been inviolate, the city would've been a darker shade of blue.
Perhaps he meant to feed the fears of others? However, it was no sea tea party!
Yet I wonder... seizing the opportunity, could he have sent a petit four recipe via semaphore? Or would that have been perceived as sweet, yet inflammatory?