The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy

I am neither a Civil War Buff, nor particularly into Naval History, but I found The Rebel Raiders exciting reading, as well as giving insight into lesser known aspects of the war.

This is truly the story of the CSS Alabama (nee 290) that was commissioned to be built in Liverpool in 1862 for the exact purpose of being a raider and to search for and destroy members of the Northern Merchant Marine. Along with it's sister ship CSS Florida (nee Oreto), it was built and mostly crewed by Englishmen. Under the Queen's Foreign Services Act, when Britain was neutral it was illegal to build men-of-war for either side. But there was a weakness in the law such that you could build 'ships' as long as they weren't armed; but you could sell them weapons separately. This is exactly what was done to launch the two raiders, who were then outfitted in the Azores. The rest of the story centers on the efforts of the Alabama and it's crew, and the US Ambassador to the Court of St.James to get the English government to admit they broke their own laws. DeKay does a fine job in describing the Alabama's effect on the US merchant marine and the popularity of the ship and it's crew in the minds of the world public. In the end, the Alabama causes over $5 million in damages (about $100 million in today's money), and makes the buying of insurance to be prohibitive to drive a large part of the fleet to be sold or kept in port. He also gives plausible reasons for why the anti-slavery British would be pro-Confederacy. The splitting of the american nation would insure that England would remain the premiere merchant marine for years to come and insure the continued supply of cheap (slave grown) cotton for it's textile mills in central England. There was talk of eventually weaning the South away from Slavery (which was abolished in the Empire in 1818) but it was just lip service.

The confederacy's navy during the civil war is a very impressive display of piracy on the high sees. While most of the attention always focuses on the iron ships it is often forgotten that there were several others out there raiding the north's commerce. This book puts quantifiable numbers and daring high sees escapades onto the same page. It is a very fast read and one that gives a new perspective on the civil war. The South's daring strikes and the north's eventual efforts to hunt down and put a stop to these raiders are cataloged here and make for interesting reading. There is also a very interesting subset that looks at European policies towards the United States during this time period and a perspective that is not often gathered can be seen here. This is a must have for true civil war buffs.

" The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy." By James Tertius deKay, Ballantine Books, 2002. There are many astonishing revelations in this book. Perhaps you thought that the American civil war was fought in America. Or perhaps you thought it was decided at Gettysburg. The story is not so simple. The English ruling class strongly favored the South. So much so that they flaunted their own laws and found ways for the Confederacy to build and outfit raiders in England. These few raiders destroyed the American whaling fleet and ran insurance rates (that's right, insurance rates; it was just business) so high that the American mercantile fleet was driven from the seas (and suffers to this day). The cotton textile industry in England was in disaster. Workers were naked and hungry. The ruling class was on the verge of recognizing the South and forcing an armistice on the two parties. Then the North launched the most effective barrage of the war. Charity in the form of food and clothing came from the North to the unemployed textile workers in England. The English under class, against their own short-term interest made its voice heard, and England remained neutral. Part I Bulloch Chap 1. Montgomery - Stephen Mallory, the Confederacy's Secretary of the Navy selects James Bulloch to build a raider navy in England. Mallory has never met nor heard of Bulloch, but on the recommendation of a mutual friend (Judah Benjamin, the Attorney General) and a brief interview decides Bulloch is the man. It was an excellent choice. Astonishing. Chap 2. Liverpool - Bulloch arrives in Liverpool and presents himself to a man he has never met, Charles Prioleau, the managing director of Fraser, Trenholm & Company, the Confederacy's unofficial English bank. Unexpected, and with no credentials (could not be taken through Yankee territory), Prioleau agrees to fund the venture. Astonishing. Prioleau introduces Bulloch to an English lawyer who sets about gutting English law to allow the building of warships, on the grounds that warships without guns aren't warships. Astonishing. Do these guys know a secret handshake? Chap 3. Number 290 - Bulloch contracts the building of warship 290, which will become the Alabama. It is obviously a warship, but as no weapons are on board, the English customs inspector ignores it. Chap 4. Nemesis - American Quaker, Thomas Dudley comes to England to oppose Bulloch. Chap 5. The Enrica - 290 is named Enrica. Dudley and Bulloch vie. Chap 6. The Passmore Affidavit - William Passmore, English able seaman attests that he was recruited to join the crew of 290, with the clear understanding that it was to be a warship engaged in combat against the North. This is clearly against English law. Chap 7. Escape - The English drag their feet and Bulloch barely gets Enrica out of England. Part II Semmes Chap 8. Terceira - Enrica receives her guns and supplies in a neutral port. Semmes takes comm

James Tertius (is that Ter-tee-us, or Ter-shus?) de Kay is one of the most fun writers of military history alive. He's only hurt by the fact that he writes things on obscure and unusual topics, or treats them from an unusual angle. One of his books (Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian) is essentially a biography of a ship, and another (Monitor) is that combined with a portrait of the man who designed her. One book mainly recounts a battle (The Battle of Stonington) in which no one was killed. The Rebel Raiders recounts the Confederacy's efforts to build commerce raiders in Britain, and the American authorities' attempts, largely unsuccessful, to stop them.The first portion of the narrative is devoted to the construction of the ships in Britain, and James Bulloch's efforts in this regard. The second portion recounts Raphael Semmes' cruise in command of the Alabama, culminating in the famous battle off Cherbourg. A third part, shorter than the other two, recounts the efforts of the American government after the war to recoup the losses suffered by the American merchant marine because of the Alabama's cruise. Many ships that weren't sunk were sold to the British, who wouldn't, of course, pay full price or sell them back after the war.De Kay is especially good at personalities, and this story abounds with them. Bulloch and Semmes are portrayed as interesting characters, and Charles Francis Adams, the American minister in London (a 19th Century ambassador) is active throughout the story. It's fascinating.I do have a few criticisms. There's no index, and the one map given is inadequate. There was an attempt to recount all of the vessels purchased in Britain during the war, but the Stonewall, which made it out of port, and wound up in Cuba only to find out the war was over, isn't mentioned. Perhaps he's left that out for another book.Given all of that, this is a wonderful book, and I recommend it strongly.