Enjoy historic grandeur at The Admiral Hotel in Mobile, Alabama. [18] During his time in command, Picking escorted troop transports during the Leyte campaign in October 1944[19] – narrowly missing action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf[20] – and escorted amphibious forces and rendered gunfire support to troops ashore during the Luzon campaign in January 1945.[21]. [26] By the beginning of 1949, his promotion to commander had become permanent, with his date of rank backdated to 1 February 1944. Semmes retired from the Navy in 1972 as a vice admiral upon the conclusion of his Naval War College presidency. His deep concern for their morale and welfare has been manifested in programs he has vigorously sponsored to increase compensation eligibility, educational opportunity, and career attractiveness. Formal portrait of Semmes Although a Marylander, Semmes would become more famous in his adopted home of Mobile, Alabama (the city which removed his statue earlier this summer). Naval Historical Center Photograph. [11] Semmes received a promotion to lieutenant on 1 July 1941[12] while aboard Wasp, and that month Wasp supported the U.S. occupation of Iceland before resuming Neutrality Patrol operations. Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes, Confederate States Navy, (1809-1877) Raphael Semmes was born in Charles County, Maryland, on 27 September 1809. [27], Semmes was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on 1 July 1953. It cuts right to the chase. Vice Admiral Semmes exercised the finest managerial skill by remaining within severe budgetary limitations while extracting the greatest possible value for each dollar spent....[40], On 17 August 1971, Semmes became the 36th President of the Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island. A native of Maryland, Semmes had more than 30 years’ service in the U.S. Navy when the Civil War began. His personal decisions and guidance influenced the configuration and capabilities of all ship types and methods of warfare, not only for the present by for decades to come. Semmes was a member of the Army and Navy Club in Washington, D.C. These two peoples, seem to have had an instinctive repugnance, the one to the other. During the Mexican War, he commanded the brig USS Somers in the Gulf of Mexico. It had few, or none of the characteristics of the original stock. Appointed a midshipman in the U.S. Navy in 1826, Semmes studied law while … Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson has directed that a statue of Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes be permanently moved to the History Museum of Mobile. [6][15], Detaching from Sigsbee, Semmes was advanced to the temporary rank of commander on 1 February 1944. [6] During his tour, he received a promotion to the temporary rank of lieutenant commander on 1 March 1943. He monitored the modernization of surface ships while striving to keep operational commitments within force capabilities. During the war, he captained the CSS Alabama, a highly successful commerce raider. [13] Semmes went over the side[13] and at one point saw an 8-foot (2.4 m) shark circling his group of survivors as they swam toward the destroyer USS Duncan (DD-485) for rescue but decided not to tell the other men he had seen it. [46][47], Semmes was a resident of Wonalancet, New Hampshire, but also lived frequently in the Washington, D.C., area from 1952 until his death.[48]. Promoted to the rank of Commander in 1855, Semmes was assigned to Lighthouse duties until 1861, when Alabama's secession from the Union prompted him to resign from the U.S. Navy and adhere to the Confederacy. [5][6], After graduating, Semmes′s first assignment was duty aboard the battleship USS Mississippi (BB-41) on 30 June 1934,[5][6] and he was aboard her in October 1934 when she transferred from the Scouting Force in the Atlantic Ocean to the Battle Force in the Pacific Ocean. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.00014630132, Service Afloat – The Ships of Raphael Semmes, Shipwrecks of Mobile Bay and Alabama 1861-1865, This Day in the History of the War Between the States, Mobilians during the War Between the States. What do you think about that? When the fall of Richmond, Virginia, forced the destruction of his ships, he was made a Brigadier General and led his sailors as an infantry force. History The professional character of Semmes, Bowen & Semmes is evident in its strong business and litigation practice, its history, which spans more than a century, and its deep Maryland roots. Anyone who has used the tunnel has seen the Admiral surveying the traffic, Briefly imprisoned after the conflict, he worked as a teacher and newspaper editor until returning to Mobile, where he pursued a legal career. [11] She then redeployed to the Pacific, where she supported U.S. forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign in August and September 1942 before the Imperial Japanese Navy submarine I-19 torpedoed her in the Coral Sea southeast of the Solomon Islands on 15 September 1942. Portrait by Maliby Sykes. This is possibly the first of several … PICKING (DD-685), in action against the enemy on 18 May 1945, during the assault and occupation of Okinawa...Gallantly responding to the need for assistance by a friendly destroyer grounded on a reef within one mile of the hostile coast, Commander Semmes skillfully maneuvered his ship through the hazardous, obstructed waters in a determined attempt to re-float the stricken vessel.