"One man - Capt. Raphael Semmes - dominates the history of Confederate naval operations in the American Civil War. Although the Confederates were hopelessly outnumbered at sea throughout the Civil War, Semmes roamed the oceans freely, first in the CSS Sumter and then the CSS Alabama, capturing nearly one hundred Federal merchant ships and precipitating a flight from the American flag that decimated the Federal merchant marine.

The Yankee-hating Semmes was reviled as a pirate in the North but revered as a hero in the South. His exploits made him a household name and struck fear into the hearts of ships' crews and passengers. Incredibly, Semmes and the Alabama traveled 75,000 miles and as far east as Singapore without ever taking refuge in a Confederate port.

In 1864, off the coast of Cherbourg, France, the USS Kearsarge finally caught up with the Confederate raider and fought the last-ever ship-to-ship gun duel between wooden warships."--Jacket.