CSS ''Alabama''s South Pacific Expeditionary Raid commenced shortly after the

Confederate States Navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the naval branch of the Confederate States Armed Forces, established by an act of the Confederate States Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American ...

ship left the

Karimata Strait The Karimata Strait (alternatively, Carimata or Caramata; id, Selat Karimata) is a wide strait that connects the South China Sea to the Java Sea, separating the Indonesian islands of Belitung to the west and Borneo (Kalimantan) to the east. ...

between

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java Isl ...

and Sumatra heading east into the south Pacific Ocean on the most easterly extent of her voyages. The raid lasted from the beginning of December 1863 to Christmas (December 25), when the ship's captain, Semmes, made a decision to turn west back toward Europe for a planned

overhaul Overhaul may refer to: *The process of overhauling, see ** Maintenance, repair, and overhaul ** Refueling and overhaul (eg. nuclear-powered ships) **Time between overhaul *Overhaul (firefighting), the process of searching for hidden fire extensio ...

and refit. The primary area of operation during this expeditionary raid, was the southern Pacific Ocean, steaming east and then turning back west toward the

Strait of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, conn ...

Raid overview

CSS ''Alabama'' passed the

and reached

Pulo Condore Pulo may refer to: Places * Pulo, Cabuyao, a village in the Philippines * Pulo do Lobo, a waterfall in Portugal * Pulo Gadung, a subdistrict in Jakarta, Indonesia * Pulo Jehat, an island in Malaysia * Duri Pulo, Gambir, a village in Indonesia * ...

, anchoring in the western harbor north of White Rock on December 2, 1863. After a few weeks of steaming, she headed back toward

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, anchoring at Pulo Aor on December 19. Arriving in the

on December 24, Captain Semmes overtook the English vessel ''Martaban'' before spotting ''Texan Star'', which ''Alabama'' captured and burned. On Christmas Day, December 25, 1863, Captain Semmes put the ''Texan Star'' prisoners on

Malacca Island Malacca Island ( ms, Pulau Melaka) is a man-made island in Malacca, Malaysia. It is part of the “Twin Island City Centre” project undertaken by Pulau Kembar Sdn Bhd., a subsidiary of Talam Corporation Berhad. This waterfront development projec ...

, and proceeded to turn down invitations for Christmas dinner from British colonists. On December 26, 1863, ''Alabama'' is at sea again and comes across two ships; ''Sonora'' of

Newburyport Newburyport is a coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, northeast of Boston. The population was 18,289 at the 2020 census. A historic seaport with vibrant tourism industry, Newburyport includes part of Plum Island. The mo ...

and ''Highlander'' of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. Both ships are burned, and Captain Semmes discontinues his raiding, deciding to use 1864 as a time to refit and repair back in France.

Raid bounty

References

* Hearn, Chester G., ''Gray Raiders of the Sea'', Louisiana State Press, 1996. * Luraghi, Raimondo, ''A History of the Confederate Navy'', U.S. Naval Institute Press, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Alabama, Css, South Pacific Expeditionary Raid South Pacific Expeditionary Raid