Lot Essay
HISTORICAL NOTES
THE CONFEDERATE RAIDER FLORIDA
The Florida, consort of the famous 'Alabama', is still vividly remembered as one of that small but elite flotilla of ships whose exploits during the American Civil War captivated the world and ensured that the romance of the Confederacy would live on in maritime history.
When the Civil War began in April 1861, two hundred and thirty-seven officers resigned their commissions in the United States' Navy and travelled south to offer their services aboard the handful of revenue cutters which comprised the entire naval strength of the Confederate States. In the same month, President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the whole southern coastline and thereby set in train a seaborne conflict in which the relative resources of the two protagonists were dramatically different. The Union possessed not only the nation's existing battle fleet but also the yards and facilities to maintain and increase it. By comparison, the Confederacy had neither warships nor the means of building them and thus turned to Great Britain, at that time the world's most prominent shipbuilder, to assist her - albeit covertly - in acquiring the only weapons with which the South could counteract the stranglehold on its ports, namely blockade runners and commerce raiders. The first were simply fast merchant vessels capable of running cotton to Europe and returning with assorted war materials whereas the second needed to be not only speedy but also armed as well as protected; in effect these were warships and, with the advent of steam propulsion, a breed of warship hitherto unseen on the high seas. Thus, once the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, had concieved the strategy which included these so-called commerce raiders, he lost no time in converting his idea into reality. James Dunwoody Bulloch, a U.S. Navy veteran with wide experience in steam, had already come to official notice and, carrying Mallory's secret orders to procure six suitable steamers, arrived in Liverpool, via Canada, on 4th June 1861. After first finding himself a sympathetic local lawyer to advise him on the provisions of the new British legislation relating to the war between the States, Bulloch then began to search the shipping registries in an attempt to locate and purchase some existing tonnage. Finding nothing remotely suitable, he then approached William C. Miller & Son (Shipbuilders) and Fawcett & Preston (Engineers) and rapidly reached an agreement with them to build a steam sloop which would eventually be known as the 'Florida'.
Bulloch, sensing the political repercussions if the venture became public, initially chose the name Oreto for the vessel and let it be known that she was intended for the Italian trade. Laid down early in July, Oreto displaced 700 tons and measured 192 feet in length with a 27½ foot beam and a 13 foot draught. Barque-rigged on three masts, her reciprocating engine powered a single screw to drive her at twelve knots whilst her twin raked funnels added a final dash of elegance to what appeared to be a smart new trading steamer as she approached completion. Despite the subterfuge, the U.S. Consul in Liverpool had become intensely suspicious and reported his misgivings to Charles Adams, the U.S. Ambassador in London. Adams complained to the Foreign Office about the apparent violation of neutrality but his protests were dismissed since Bulloch had, with legal advice, been careful to do nothing which could confirm 'Oreto' as a potential threat to the United States. Fitted out and provisioned early in 1862, she left Liverpool on 22nd. March with a British crew under the command of an English merchant captain. Bound ostensibly for Palermo, she cleared British territorial waters and made for Nassau in the Bahamas where she was to take on her American crew, her wartime commander Captain John Maffit and, most importantly, the guns and ammunition which had followed her from Liverpool in a different ship. Problems with the British authorities in Nassau almost ended her career before it began but eventually, under cover of darkness, 'Oreto' slipped out of the port to a neighbouring island where, on 9th August, her guns and ammunition were loaded aboard in secrecy. A severe shortage of manpower meant that this transfer took a full week and it was not until the 17th that she was formally commissioned C.S.S. 'Florida', the first of the confederate raiders.
In the rush to arm her however, certain vital supplies had been overlooked to the extent that her guns could not actually be fired. Additionally, she had only been able to muster a crew of twenty-seven when she needed one hunded and fifty and as Maffit pondered both problems, the crisis worsened when yellow fever broke out aboard the ship. Maffit made first for Cuba but, after two narrow escapes with Union warships, he headed for Mobile, Texas. Audaciously running the blockade using the age-old ruse of flying false colours, 'Florida' was almost through when the blockading Union ships realised her true identity and opened fire. In the event, 'Florida's' superior speed got her into Mobile harbour on 4th September but not before she had suffered extensive damage from several lucky hits. The lack of repair facilities were further exacerbated by her sheer size, the shortage of skilled machinists and the deteriorating weather. She was not therefore ready for sea again until the New Year and she ran out to sea under the cloak of a thick mist early on the morning of 17th January 1863.
Armed and manned by a full crew, 'Florida' was at last able to assume the role for which she had been built and made her first capture within two days, the New York brig 'Estelle' on the 19th. Two more followed rapidly and, on 12th February, she captured the most valuable prize taken by any Confederate raider during the entire Civil War. This was the large New York clipper 'Jacob Bell' homeward bound from China with cargo valued at $1,500,000. Thereafter came a succession of other prizes, amongst which were various clippers including one carrying $105,000 worth of gold bars, so that by the time Maffit had worked his way across the Atlantic, he had taken twenty-five vessels in all. Making for the French port of Brest and an extensive refit, 'Florida' played cat-and-mouse with the U.S.S. 'Kearsarge' for several months until successfully getting clear on 10th February 1864. By this time, Maffit had been replaced as commander by Charles Morris who took 'Florida' first to Funchal and then on to Tenerife, all the while shadowed by the heavily armed U.S.S 'St Louis' which he eventually threw off as he had no steam power. Cruising back across the Atlantic, 'Florida's' first capture on her second cruise was the 'Aron' of Boston on 29th March and between then and 26th September, she had taken twelve ships before Morris decided to put into the Brazilian port of Bahia to coal and provision. When he arrived at Bahia on 4th October, Morris found the U.S. Sloop-of-War 'Wachusett' already there but saw no reason to change his plans since his safety in a neutral port was guaranteed.
What followed next was an extraordinary episode in international relations which brought Brazil and the United States to the brink of war. Lieutenant Napoleon Collins, commander of the 'Wachusett', was determined not to allow 'Florida' to escape his clutches and, in what amounted to a conspiracy with the resident U.S. Consul, evolved a daring plan to ram and sink the enemy cruiser as she lay at anchor. Before dawn on 7th October, 'Wachusett' got under way, silently crossed the harbour and struck 'Florida' on her starboard quarter. The element of surprise was total; 'Florida's' officer on watch had no alternative except to surrender but there the plot back-fired. As 'Wachusett' had not enough speed on her to do more than superficially damage 'Florida', he towed her out of Bahia in full view of the Brazilian authorities who protested but were powerless to stop him. Slowly working their way north, the two ships reached Hamilton Roads on 12th November where 'Florida' was disarmed and then anchored in deep water. A week later she was involved in a mysterious and highly convenient collision with a U.S. Army troop ferry and, although only suffering minor damage, repairs were neglected and she sank on the morning of 28th November.
'Florida's' career thus ended controversially rather than spectacularly but she had amply justified her role as a commere raider, having taken a total of thirty-seven prizes worth $4,000,000 during her short but colourful life. Whilst this $4,000,000 loss to the Union was hardly enough to ensure an outright Confederate victory, it was nevertheless more than enough to perpetuate 'Florida's' name amongst the enduring legends of the Southern cause.
'Florida' was one of the first of a new breed of cruiser that was designed for speed to outrun an enemy, endurance and a powerful armament. Because of the extended time spent at sea 'Florida' carried a good spread of sail enabling her to economise on the use of the engines so conserving fuel, vital as the Confederates had no overseas coaling stations and relied upon friendly neutrals with their few and far between coaling stations.
'Florida's' wooden hull would be easy to repair with the limited resources at the disposal of the crew unlike iron or steel that would need special facilities such as dry docks.
On balance 'Florida' was a very successful design and a fine example of the shipbuilders art and would be the type of speedy cruiser that would find favour in many navies in the 1860's and 70's.
'Florida' was the first purpose built raider as earlier examples converted from merchant ships were not entirely successful. She was followed by the 1050 ton. Alabama launched in May 1862.
As early as April 1861 the Confederate Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory wanted to unleash a fleet of fast, lightly armed commerce raiders on the high seas to prey upon the large vulnerable Union merchant fleet so disrupting the North's economy and weakening the blockade by compelling the Union to detach ships t hunt down the raiders.
With an initial appropriation of $1million voted by the Confederate Congress Mallory immediately got to work to create a fleet of raiders of which 'Florida' was the first. After 'Alabama' six more were ordered in Eurpoe but none of these were ordered in Europe but none of these were to join the Confederate Navy and ended up in various navies including Germany and Peru where they proved their worth for many years.
As well as purpose built raiders Mallory continued to order the conversion of existing vessels into raiders to fill the gap until the purpose buil vessels were ready. Amongst the very first was 'Habane', renamed 'Sumter', and commanded by Semmes who would go on to Captain the 'Alabama'. Later the large paddle steamer 'Nashville' served briefly capturing two prizes before becoming the first Confederate warship to enter a U.K. port.
Other Confederate raiders were 'Olustee' with six prizes; 'Calhoun' with three; 'Tallahassee' with twenty-nine; 'Georgia' with nine; 'Jeff Davis' with eight; 'Winslow' with five; 'Chickamauga' with four plus a further seven shared by three vessels. Heading the list was 'Alabama' with over sixty prizes plus the destruction of the Union gunboat 'Hatteras'. 'Florida; closely followed aided by the brig into a satellite raider which in turn captured the bark 'Talcony' transferring the crew to that vessel going on to seize a further eighteen vessels and destroying a major fishing fleet. 'Shenandoah' entered service in 1864 and captured nearly forty vessels, mostly whalers, and wiped out the Unions whaling industry. Her captain was not aware of the wars end and only learnt of it several months later after reading newspapers taken from a captured vessel.
The total loss in merchant vessels to the Union at the hands of the raiders was over $25 million with 'Florida', 'Alabama' and 'Shenandoah' being responsible for over 60 of these losses. later the U.K. government were forced to pay the United States over $15 million in compensation for allowing the U.K. built raiders for putting to sea.
'Florida' pointed the way to a future form of warfare that would prove effective in the destruction of valuable cargoes in World War One and World War Two as well as in other naval wars post 1860.
THE CONFEDERATE RAIDER FLORIDA
The Florida, consort of the famous 'Alabama', is still vividly remembered as one of that small but elite flotilla of ships whose exploits during the American Civil War captivated the world and ensured that the romance of the Confederacy would live on in maritime history.
When the Civil War began in April 1861, two hundred and thirty-seven officers resigned their commissions in the United States' Navy and travelled south to offer their services aboard the handful of revenue cutters which comprised the entire naval strength of the Confederate States. In the same month, President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the whole southern coastline and thereby set in train a seaborne conflict in which the relative resources of the two protagonists were dramatically different. The Union possessed not only the nation's existing battle fleet but also the yards and facilities to maintain and increase it. By comparison, the Confederacy had neither warships nor the means of building them and thus turned to Great Britain, at that time the world's most prominent shipbuilder, to assist her - albeit covertly - in acquiring the only weapons with which the South could counteract the stranglehold on its ports, namely blockade runners and commerce raiders. The first were simply fast merchant vessels capable of running cotton to Europe and returning with assorted war materials whereas the second needed to be not only speedy but also armed as well as protected; in effect these were warships and, with the advent of steam propulsion, a breed of warship hitherto unseen on the high seas. Thus, once the Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, had concieved the strategy which included these so-called commerce raiders, he lost no time in converting his idea into reality. James Dunwoody Bulloch, a U.S. Navy veteran with wide experience in steam, had already come to official notice and, carrying Mallory's secret orders to procure six suitable steamers, arrived in Liverpool, via Canada, on 4th June 1861. After first finding himself a sympathetic local lawyer to advise him on the provisions of the new British legislation relating to the war between the States, Bulloch then began to search the shipping registries in an attempt to locate and purchase some existing tonnage. Finding nothing remotely suitable, he then approached William C. Miller & Son (Shipbuilders) and Fawcett & Preston (Engineers) and rapidly reached an agreement with them to build a steam sloop which would eventually be known as the 'Florida'.
Bulloch, sensing the political repercussions if the venture became public, initially chose the name Oreto for the vessel and let it be known that she was intended for the Italian trade. Laid down early in July, Oreto displaced 700 tons and measured 192 feet in length with a 27½ foot beam and a 13 foot draught. Barque-rigged on three masts, her reciprocating engine powered a single screw to drive her at twelve knots whilst her twin raked funnels added a final dash of elegance to what appeared to be a smart new trading steamer as she approached completion. Despite the subterfuge, the U.S. Consul in Liverpool had become intensely suspicious and reported his misgivings to Charles Adams, the U.S. Ambassador in London. Adams complained to the Foreign Office about the apparent violation of neutrality but his protests were dismissed since Bulloch had, with legal advice, been careful to do nothing which could confirm 'Oreto' as a potential threat to the United States. Fitted out and provisioned early in 1862, she left Liverpool on 22nd. March with a British crew under the command of an English merchant captain. Bound ostensibly for Palermo, she cleared British territorial waters and made for Nassau in the Bahamas where she was to take on her American crew, her wartime commander Captain John Maffit and, most importantly, the guns and ammunition which had followed her from Liverpool in a different ship. Problems with the British authorities in Nassau almost ended her career before it began but eventually, under cover of darkness, 'Oreto' slipped out of the port to a neighbouring island where, on 9th August, her guns and ammunition were loaded aboard in secrecy. A severe shortage of manpower meant that this transfer took a full week and it was not until the 17th that she was formally commissioned C.S.S. 'Florida', the first of the confederate raiders.
In the rush to arm her however, certain vital supplies had been overlooked to the extent that her guns could not actually be fired. Additionally, she had only been able to muster a crew of twenty-seven when she needed one hunded and fifty and as Maffit pondered both problems, the crisis worsened when yellow fever broke out aboard the ship. Maffit made first for Cuba but, after two narrow escapes with Union warships, he headed for Mobile, Texas. Audaciously running the blockade using the age-old ruse of flying false colours, 'Florida' was almost through when the blockading Union ships realised her true identity and opened fire. In the event, 'Florida's' superior speed got her into Mobile harbour on 4th September but not before she had suffered extensive damage from several lucky hits. The lack of repair facilities were further exacerbated by her sheer size, the shortage of skilled machinists and the deteriorating weather. She was not therefore ready for sea again until the New Year and she ran out to sea under the cloak of a thick mist early on the morning of 17th January 1863.
Armed and manned by a full crew, 'Florida' was at last able to assume the role for which she had been built and made her first capture within two days, the New York brig 'Estelle' on the 19th. Two more followed rapidly and, on 12th February, she captured the most valuable prize taken by any Confederate raider during the entire Civil War. This was the large New York clipper 'Jacob Bell' homeward bound from China with cargo valued at $1,500,000. Thereafter came a succession of other prizes, amongst which were various clippers including one carrying $105,000 worth of gold bars, so that by the time Maffit had worked his way across the Atlantic, he had taken twenty-five vessels in all. Making for the French port of Brest and an extensive refit, 'Florida' played cat-and-mouse with the U.S.S. 'Kearsarge' for several months until successfully getting clear on 10th February 1864. By this time, Maffit had been replaced as commander by Charles Morris who took 'Florida' first to Funchal and then on to Tenerife, all the while shadowed by the heavily armed U.S.S 'St Louis' which he eventually threw off as he had no steam power. Cruising back across the Atlantic, 'Florida's' first capture on her second cruise was the 'Aron' of Boston on 29th March and between then and 26th September, she had taken twelve ships before Morris decided to put into the Brazilian port of Bahia to coal and provision. When he arrived at Bahia on 4th October, Morris found the U.S. Sloop-of-War 'Wachusett' already there but saw no reason to change his plans since his safety in a neutral port was guaranteed.
What followed next was an extraordinary episode in international relations which brought Brazil and the United States to the brink of war. Lieutenant Napoleon Collins, commander of the 'Wachusett', was determined not to allow 'Florida' to escape his clutches and, in what amounted to a conspiracy with the resident U.S. Consul, evolved a daring plan to ram and sink the enemy cruiser as she lay at anchor. Before dawn on 7th October, 'Wachusett' got under way, silently crossed the harbour and struck 'Florida' on her starboard quarter. The element of surprise was total; 'Florida's' officer on watch had no alternative except to surrender but there the plot back-fired. As 'Wachusett' had not enough speed on her to do more than superficially damage 'Florida', he towed her out of Bahia in full view of the Brazilian authorities who protested but were powerless to stop him. Slowly working their way north, the two ships reached Hamilton Roads on 12th November where 'Florida' was disarmed and then anchored in deep water. A week later she was involved in a mysterious and highly convenient collision with a U.S. Army troop ferry and, although only suffering minor damage, repairs were neglected and she sank on the morning of 28th November.
'Florida's' career thus ended controversially rather than spectacularly but she had amply justified her role as a commere raider, having taken a total of thirty-seven prizes worth $4,000,000 during her short but colourful life. Whilst this $4,000,000 loss to the Union was hardly enough to ensure an outright Confederate victory, it was nevertheless more than enough to perpetuate 'Florida's' name amongst the enduring legends of the Southern cause.
'Florida' was one of the first of a new breed of cruiser that was designed for speed to outrun an enemy, endurance and a powerful armament. Because of the extended time spent at sea 'Florida' carried a good spread of sail enabling her to economise on the use of the engines so conserving fuel, vital as the Confederates had no overseas coaling stations and relied upon friendly neutrals with their few and far between coaling stations.
'Florida's' wooden hull would be easy to repair with the limited resources at the disposal of the crew unlike iron or steel that would need special facilities such as dry docks.
On balance 'Florida' was a very successful design and a fine example of the shipbuilders art and would be the type of speedy cruiser that would find favour in many navies in the 1860's and 70's.
'Florida' was the first purpose built raider as earlier examples converted from merchant ships were not entirely successful. She was followed by the 1050 ton. Alabama launched in May 1862.
As early as April 1861 the Confederate Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory wanted to unleash a fleet of fast, lightly armed commerce raiders on the high seas to prey upon the large vulnerable Union merchant fleet so disrupting the North's economy and weakening the blockade by compelling the Union to detach ships t hunt down the raiders.
With an initial appropriation of $1million voted by the Confederate Congress Mallory immediately got to work to create a fleet of raiders of which 'Florida' was the first. After 'Alabama' six more were ordered in Eurpoe but none of these were ordered in Europe but none of these were to join the Confederate Navy and ended up in various navies including Germany and Peru where they proved their worth for many years.
As well as purpose built raiders Mallory continued to order the conversion of existing vessels into raiders to fill the gap until the purpose buil vessels were ready. Amongst the very first was 'Habane', renamed 'Sumter', and commanded by Semmes who would go on to Captain the 'Alabama'. Later the large paddle steamer 'Nashville' served briefly capturing two prizes before becoming the first Confederate warship to enter a U.K. port.
Other Confederate raiders were 'Olustee' with six prizes; 'Calhoun' with three; 'Tallahassee' with twenty-nine; 'Georgia' with nine; 'Jeff Davis' with eight; 'Winslow' with five; 'Chickamauga' with four plus a further seven shared by three vessels. Heading the list was 'Alabama' with over sixty prizes plus the destruction of the Union gunboat 'Hatteras'. 'Florida; closely followed aided by the brig into a satellite raider which in turn captured the bark 'Talcony' transferring the crew to that vessel going on to seize a further eighteen vessels and destroying a major fishing fleet. 'Shenandoah' entered service in 1864 and captured nearly forty vessels, mostly whalers, and wiped out the Unions whaling industry. Her captain was not aware of the wars end and only learnt of it several months later after reading newspapers taken from a captured vessel.
The total loss in merchant vessels to the Union at the hands of the raiders was over $25 million with 'Florida', 'Alabama' and 'Shenandoah' being responsible for over 60 of these losses. later the U.K. government were forced to pay the United States over $15 million in compensation for allowing the U.K. built raiders for putting to sea.
'Florida' pointed the way to a future form of warfare that would prove effective in the destruction of valuable cargoes in World War One and World War Two as well as in other naval wars post 1860.