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The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History Of The Confederacy's Secret Navy (American Civil War)

During its clandestine construction in Liverpool, it was known as “Number 290.” When it was finally unleashed as the CSS Alabama, the Confederate gunship triggered the last great military campaign of the Civil War; a maritime adventure unparalleled in our history; an infamous example of British political treachery; and the largest retribution settlement ever negotiated by an international tribunal: $15,500,000 in gold paid by Britain to the United States. This riveting true story of the Anglo-Confederate alliance that led to the creation of a Southern navy illuminates the dramatic and crucial global impact of the American Civil War.Like most things in the War between the States, it started over cotton: Lincoln’s naval blockade prevented the South from exporting their prize commodity to England. In response, the Confederacy came up with a unique plan to divert the North’s vessels and open the waterways–a plan that would mean covertly building a navy in Britain, a daring strategy that involved an unforgettable cast of colorful characters.James Bulloch–Northerner by circumstance, Southerner by birth, he risked his life to enter England and build a fleet under the very noses of Northern spies; Lord John Russell–the British foreign secretary who was suspected of subverting his own legal system to allow the secret ships; Charles Francis Adams–son and grandson of presidents, who exhausted every avenue to stop the Confederate-British collusion; Raphael Semmes–the fanatically loyal Southern captain who disabled or destroyed sixty Northern ships before meeting his match near Cherbourg, France; and The Alabama–a wooden gunship that took to the sea named for a Southern state to wreak havoc on the Northern cause.With The Rebel Raiders, naval historian James Tertius deKay brings to dazzling life an amazing, little known piece of history that is at once an important work of Civil War scholarship and a suspenseful tale of military strategy, international espionage, and a legal crisis whose outcome still affects the world.From the Hardcover edition.

Series: American Civil War

Paperback: 272 pages

Publisher: Presidio Press; Reprint edition (July 29, 2003)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0345431839

ISBN-13: 978-0345431837

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.2 inches

Shipping Weight: 8 ounces

Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #604,105 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #31 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Naval Operations #126 in Books > History > Military > Canada #308 in Books > History > Americas > United States > Civil War > Confederacy

" 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 BullochChap 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.

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