The following Union vessels were captured by the Alabama during her two-year voyage. In addition to the information shown in the table, Appendix A of Fire on the Water also lists where each ship had sailed from and where she was going, what the ship was carrying, the value of the ship and her cargo as determined by the boarding officer of the Alabama, and what Capt. Semmes decided to do with each ship. (Hint: most were burned to the water line, but some were released, others were ransomed!) Fire on the Water discusses the circumstances surrounding each capture, including what led to the decison on each ship's fate and how the captured prisoners were treated. The Alabama Claims are also discussed, including the controversial decision by the courts.
|
No. |
Date |
Vessel Name, Type |
Captain |
|
1 |
September 5, 1862 |
Ocmulgee, Whaling Ship |
Abraham Osburn |
|
2 |
September 7, 1862 |
Starlight, Merchant
Schooner |
Samuel H. Doane |
|
3 |
September 8, 1862 |
Ocean Rover, Whaling Bark |
James M. Clark |
|
4 |
September 9, 1862 |
Alert, Whaling Bark |
Charles
E. Church |
|
5 |
September 9, 1862 |
Weather Gauge, Whaling Schooner |
Samuel C. Small |
|
6 |
September 13, 1862 |
Altamaha, Whaling Brig |
Rufus
Gray |
|
7 |
September 14, 1862 |
Benjamin Tucker, Whaling Brig |
William Childs |
|
8 |
September 16, 1862 |
Courser, Whaling Schooner |
Silas
S. Young |
|
9 |
September 17, 1862 |
Virginia, Whaling Bark |
Shadrach R. Tilton |
|
10 |
September 18, 1862 |
Elisha Dunbar, Whaling Bark |
David
R. Gifford |
|
11 |
October 3, 1862 |
Brilliant, Ship |
George Hagar |
|
12 |
October 3, 1862 |
Emily Farnham, Ship |
N. P. Simes |
|
13 |
October 7, 1862 |
Wave
Crest, Bark |
John E. Harmon |
|
14 |
October 7, 1862 |
Dunkirk, Brigantine |
Samuel B. Johnson |
|
15 |
October 9, 1862 |
Tonawanda, Ship |
Theodore Julius |
|
16 |
October
11, 1862 |
Manchester, Ship |
John Landerskin |
|
17 |
October 15, 1862 |
Lamplighter, Bark |
O. V. Harding |
|
18 |
October 23, 1862 |
Lafayette, Ship |
Alfred T. Small |
|
19 |
October 26, 1862 |
Crenshaw, Schooner |
William Nelson |
|
20 |
October 28, 1862 |
Lauretta, Bark |
Marshall M. Wells |
|
21 |
October 29, 1862 |
Baron de Castine, Brigantine |
John Saunders |
|
22 |
November 2, 1862 |
Levi Starbuck, Whaling Ship |
Thomas Mellen |
|
23 |
November
8, 1862 |
Thomas B. Wales, Ship |
Edgar Lincoln |
|
24 |
November 21, 1862 |
Clara L. Sparks, Whaling Schooner |
Unknown |
|
25 |
November 30, 1862 |
Parker
Cook, Bark |
Thomas M. Fulton |
|
26 |
December 5, 1862 |
Union, Schooner |
Joseph H. Young |
|
27 |
December 7, 1862 |
Ariel, Mail Steamer |
Albert J. Jones |
|
28 |
January 11, 1863 |
USS
Hatteras, Steam Gunboat |
Homer C. Blake |
|
29 |
January 26, 1863 |
Golden Rule, Bark |
Peter H. Whiteberry |
|
30 |
January 27, 1863 |
Chastelaine,Brig |
James Warren |
|
31 |
February 3, 1863 |
Palmetto, Schooner |
Oren H. Leland |
|
32 |
February 21, 1863 |
Golden Eagle, Ship |
Edward A. Swift |
|
33 |
February
21, 1863 |
Olive Jane, Bark |
Robert Kallock |
|
34 |
February 27, 1863 |
Washington, Ship |
Joseph G. White |
|
35 |
March 1, 1863 |
Bethiah Thayer,Ship |
Thomas Mitchell Cartney |
|
36 |
March 2, 1863 |
John A. Parks, Ship |
John S. Cooper |
|
37 |
March 15, 1863 |
Punjaub, Ship |
Lewis F. Miller |
|
38 |
March 23, 1863 |
Morning Star, Ship |
Unknown |
|
39 |
March 23, 1863 |
Kingfisher, Whaling Schooner |
Thomas F. Lambert |
|
40 |
March 25, 1863 |
Nora, Ship |
Charles E. Adams |
|
41 |
March 25, 1863 |
Charles
Hill, Ship |
Franklin Percival |
|
42 |
April 4, 1863 |
Louisa Hatch, Ship |
William Grant |
|
43 |
April 15, 1863 |
Lafayette, Whaling Bark |
William
Lewis |
|
44 |
April 15, 1863 |
Kate Cory, Whaling Brig |
Stephen Flanders |
|
45 |
April 24, 1863 |
Nye, Whaling Bark |
Joseph B. Baker |
|
46 |
April
26, 1863 |
Dorcas Prince, Ship |
Frank B. Melcher |
|
47 |
May 3, 1863 |
Union Jack, Bark |
Charles P. Weaver |
|
48 |
May 3, 1863 |
Sea Lark, Ship |
W.
F. Peck |
|
49 |
May 25, 1863 |
S. Gildersleeve, Ship |
John McCallum |
|
50 |
May 25, 1863 |
Justina, Bark |
Charles Miller |
|
51 |
May 29, 1863 |
Jabez Snow, Ship |
George W. Guin |
|
52 |
June 2, 1863 |
Amazonian, Bark |
Winslow Loveland |
|
53 |
June 5, 18 |