On This Date: The CSS Alabama

Harper's illustration of the encounter 150 years ago.

     One of the more embarrassing episodes of the Civil War, at least for the North, occurred 150 years ago today, when The CSS Alabama managed to capture a mail and passenger ship carrying a contingent of a 150 armed U.S. Marines!
     The steamship Ariel was traveling between Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico when Semmes took it. He had heard it was carrying gold, though that was not true. He accepted bond from the captain and "paroled" the Marines.

The event was described this way in The New York based publication Harper's Weekly:

 On the 7th December the pirate Alabama came across the Ariel, bound from New York to Aspinwall, off the coast of Cuba, and brought her to by sending a 68-pound shot through her foremast. Captain Semmes then took off her captain, and held him a prisoner for three days, expressing his determination at the same time to land the passengers either at some point on the island of Cuba or St. Domingo, and then to destroy the vessel. At the earnest remonstrance of Captain Jones, in behalf of the women and children on board, however, he consented to let her proceed. The Alabama started in pursuit of the Champion, then on her return voyage to New York, but failed to find her. Captain Jones carried the Ariel safe into Aspinwall, and arrived at this port on 28th, but brought no gold. With the fear of the Alabama before his eyes, he wisely left the treasure at Aspinwall.

                                                                                          Harper's Weekly, 1-10-1863

     Notice there is no mention of the 150 armed U.S. Marine being on board.
     The media---North and South--- was demonstrably partisan in The Civil War.

[For more information about The CSS Alabama, visit the dormant but sill information rich blog that Bob Corley and I created for a proposed but deep-sixed APT documentary about the ship.]