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Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 2 1,039 11 Browse Search
Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 29. (ed. Reverend J. William Jones) 833 7 Browse Search
Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis: Ex-President of the Confederate States of America, A Memoir by his Wife, Volume 1 656 14 Browse Search
The Annals of the Civil War Written by Leading Participants North and South (ed. Alexander Kelly McClure) 580 0 Browse Search
Alfred Roman, The military operations of General Beauregard in the war between the states, 1861 to 1865 459 3 Browse Search
Hon. J. L. M. Curry , LL.D., William Robertson Garrett , A. M. , Ph.D., Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 1.1, Legal Justification of the South in secession, The South as a factor in the territorial expansion of the United States (ed. Clement Anselm Evans) 435 13 Browse Search
Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Civil War. Volume 3. 355 1 Browse Search
Edward Alfred Pollard, The lost cause; a new Southern history of the War of the Confederates ... Drawn from official sources and approved by the most distinguished Confederate leaders. 352 2 Browse Search
Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History (ed. Benson Lossing) 333 7 Browse Search
Benson J. Lossing, Pictorial Field Book of the Civil War. Volume 1. 330 2 Browse Search
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Browsing named entities in Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States. You can also browse the collection for Jefferson Davis or search for Jefferson Davis in all documents.

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Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 1: (search)
inst the adoption of the Federal Constitution. Events will equally vindicate the wisdom of Jefferson Davis, and other Confederate patriots, who endeavored to preserve that Constitution, and hand it le. At first sight, it may appear that there is some discordance between Patrick Henry and Jefferson Davis, as the one struggled against the adoption of the Constitution, and the other to preserve istatesmen of his era, refused to trust that majority. This was substantially the case with Jefferson Davis and those of us who followed his lead. We had verified the distrust of Henry. What had berticles of copartnership, as for want of faith in our copartners. This was the wisdom of Jefferson Davis and his compatriots, which, I say, will be vindicated by events. A final separation of thehe Madison Papers, to the Federalist, and to the late very able work of Dr. Bledsoe, entitled Is Davis a Traitor? It will be sufficient for the purpose which I have in view—that of giving the reader
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 6: (search)
. Crittenden, of Kentucky, introduced into the Senate, a series of resolutions, which he hoped would have the effect of restoring harmony; the chief feature of which was, the restoration of the Missouri Compromise, giving the Southern States access to the Territories south of a geographical line. Although this compromise was a partial abandonment of the rights of the South, many of the ablest, and most influential statesmen of that section, gave in their adhesion to it; among others, Mr. Jefferson Davis. The measure failed. Various other resolutions, looking to pacification, were introduced into both houses of Congress; but they failed, in like manner. The border Slave States aroused to a sense of their danger—for by this time, several of the Gulf States had seceded—called a Convention in the city of Washington, to endeavor to allay the storm. A full representation attended, composed of men, venerable for their years, and renowned for their patriotic services, but their labors
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 7: (search)
larger, and more powerful sisters, the example, on the 20th December, 1860—and that they have met at Montgomery, in Alabama, by their delegates in Congress, to form a new Confederacy; that a Provisional Government has been formed and that Mr. Jefferson Davis has been elected President, and Mr. Alexander H. Stephens Vice-President. The time had now come for the officers of the old Army, and Navy to make their election, as to which of the two Governments they would give their adhesion. Theread been accepted. Senators, and members of the House of Representatives of the Federal Congress had withdrawn from their seats, under circumstances unusually solemn, and impressive, which had attracted the attention of the whole country. Mr. Jefferson Davis, in particular, had taken leave of a full Senate, with crowded galleries, in a speech of great dignity and power, in the course of which he said: We will invoke the God of our Fathers, who delivered them from the power of the Lion, to prot
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 8: (search)
ince it was charged with the establishment of a Provisional Government. Every one realized the greatness of the crisis that was upon us, and hence the very best men in the community had been selected to meet the emergency. The harmony of the body was equal to its ability, for, in the course of a few weeks, it had put the complicated machinery of a government in motion, and was already taking active measures for defence, in case the Federal power should decide upon making war upon us. Mr. Davis, the Provisional President, had preceded me to the capital, only a few days, and my next step was to call upon him. I had known him in the city of Washington. He received me kindly, and almost the first question which he asked me, was whether I had disembarrassed myself of my Federal commission. I replied to him that I had done so, as a matter of course, before leaving Washington, and that my allegiance henceforth belonged to the new government, and to the Southern people. He seemed gra
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 10: (search)
ablished his work-shop. He contrived most ingeniously, and constructed out of railroad iron, one of the best carriages (or rather, slide and circle) for a pivotgun, which I have ever seen. The large foundry of Leeds & Co. took the contract for casting my shot, and shells, and executed it to my satisfaction. Whilst all these various operations are going on, we may conveniently look around us upon passing events, or at least upon such of them as have a bearing upon naval operations. President Davis, a few days after the secession of Virginia, and when war had become imminent, issued a proclamation for the purpose of raising that irregular naval force, of which I have spoken in a previous page. Parties were invited to apply for letters-of-marque and reprisal, with a view to the fitting out of privateers, to prey upon the enemy's commerce. Under this proclamation several privateers—generally light-draught river-steamers, with one or two small guns each—were hastily prepared, in N
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 12: (search)
ard the centre of the table, on my right hand, he will see two gentlemen, both with black hair and eyes, and both somewhat under middle size, conversing together. These are Dr. Francis L. Galt, the Surgeon, and Mr. Henry Myers, the Paymaster, both from the old service; the former a native of Virginia, and the latter a native of South Carolina; and opposite these, are the Chief Engineer, and Marine Officer,—Mr. Miles J. Freeman, and Lieutenant B. Howell, the latter a brother-in-law of Mr. Jefferson Davis, our honored President. I have thus gone the circuit of the wardroom. All these officers, courteous reader, will make the cruise with us, and if you will inspect the adjoining engraving, and are a judge of character, after the rules of Lavater and Spurzheim, you will perceive in advance, how much reason I shall have to be proud of them. We may now take up our narrative, from the point at which it was interrupted, for the purpose of these introductions. Day passed into night, and
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 16: (search)
rn, as I did soon afterward, that my Government had taken a proper stand on this question. President Davis, as soon as he heard of the treatment to which the Savannah prisoners had been subjected, wso worthy of the Christian statesman, and so opposite to the coarse fulminations of the enemy, Mr. Davis used the following expressions: It is the desire of this Government so to conduct the war, now General Winder, in charge of Federal prisoners, in Richmond, will show how much in earnest President Davis was, when he wrote the above letter to President Lincoln:— Sir:—You are hereby instructarse, and rather dingy Confederate paper, at the bottom of which was inscribed the name of Jefferson Davis. He read the commission carefully, and when he had done, remarked, as he handed it back to me, Mr. Davis's is a smooth, bold signature. I replied You are an observer of signatures, and you have hit it exactly, in the present instance. I could not describe his character to you more corre
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 18: (search)
rnational law, and the rules of Lindley Murray. That he should misrepresent me was both natural, and Federal. At the appointed hour, the next day, I called to see his Excellency, the President, and being ushered, by an orderly in waiting, into a suite of spacious, and elegantly furnished apartments, I found Captain Pinto, and his Excellency, both prepared to receive me. We proceeded, at once, to business. I exhibited to his Excellency the same little piece of brownish paper, with Mr. Jefferson Davis's signature at the bottom of it, that I had shown to Captain Hillyer of the Cadmus— unasked, however, as no doubts had been raised as to the verity of the character of my ship. I then read to his Excellency an extract or two from the letter of instructions, which had been sent me by the Secretary of the Navy, directing me to pay all proper respect to the territory, and property of neutrals. I next read the proclamations of England and France, acknowledging us to be in the possession
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 27: (search)
rs in bloom, all in the latitude of 52° N.—thanks, as formerly remarked, to our American Gulf Stream. I called at once upon Mr. Mason, whom I had often seen in his seat in the Senate of the United States, as a Senator from the grand old State of Virginia, but whom I had never known personally. I found him a genial Virginia gentleman, with much bon hommie, and a great favorite with everybody. In his company I saw much of the society of the English capital, and soon became satisfied that Mr. Davis could not have intrusted the affairs of the Confederacy, to better hands. English hearts had warmed toward him, and his name was the sesame to open all English doors. I soon learned from him the status of Confederate States' naval affairs, on the European side of the Atlantic. The gun-boat Oreto, afterward the Florida, had sailed for Nassau, in the Bahamas, and the new ship being built by the Messrs. Laird at Birkenhead, was well on her way to completion. Other contracts were in hand,
Raphael Semmes, Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, Chapter 31: (search)
accompanied us. The ceremony was short but impressive. The officers were all in full uniform, and the crew neatly dressed, and I caused all hands to be summoned aft on the quarter-deck, and mounting a guncarriage, I read the commission of Mr. Jefferson Davis, appointing me a captain in the Confederate States Navy, and the order of Mr. Stephen R. Mallory, the Secretary of the Navy, directing me to assume command of the Alabama. Following my example, the officers and crew had all uncovered theiris peaceful scene of beauty, with all nature smiling upon the ceremony, was the Alabama christened; the name 290 disappearing with the English flag. This had all been done upon the high seas, more than a marine league from the land, where Mr. Jefferson Davis had as much jurisdiction as Mr. Abraham Lincoln. Who could look into the horoscope of this ship—who anticipate her career? Many of these brave fellows followed me unto the close. From the cradle to the grave there is but a step; and t
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