John McIntosh Kell (January 26, 1823 – October 5, 1900) was an officer in the

Confederate navy The Confederate States Navy (CSN) was the Navy, 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 Amer ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, during which time Kell was First Lieutenant and Executive Officer of the commerce raider .

Early life

John McIntosh Kell was born near

Darien, Georgia Darien () is a city in and the county seat of McIntosh County, Georgia, United States. It lies on Georgia's coast at the mouth of the Altamaha River, approximately south of Savannah, and is part of the Brunswick, Georgia metropolitan statist ...

on January 26, 1823, the son of John and Margery Spalding Baillie Kell. He spent his childhood at Laurel Grove Plantation and with his great uncle

Thomas Spalding Thomas Spalding (March 25, 1774 – January 4, 1851) was a United States representative from Georgia. He was born in Frederica, Georgia, St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1795, but did not ...

, whose family owned a large part of

Sapelo Island Sapelo Island is a state-protected barrier island located in McIntosh County, Georgia. The island is accessible only by boat; the primary ferry comes from the Sapelo Island Visitors Center in McIntosh County, Georgia, a seven-mile (11 ...

Career

Kell was appointed midshipman at the age of 17 in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

on September 9, 1841. He would serve in the Mexican War, was a member of the expedition of

Commodore Matthew Perry Matthew Calbraith Perry (April 10, 1794 – March 4, 1858) was a United States Navy officer who commanded ships in several wars, including the War of 1812 and the Mexican–American War. He led the Perry Expedition that Bakumatsu, ended Japan ...

to Japan in 1853 and Master of the flagship on the cruise home. When

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

seceded from the Union in early 1861, Lieutenant Kell resigned from the United States Navy and was the first Naval officer to render his services to the Confederate States. John McIntosh Kell on the CSS Alabama

In April 1861, he commanded the Georgia state gunboat ; but received a Confederate States Navy commission as First Lieutenant the following month and was sent to New Orleans. He then served as executive officer of the under the command of Captain

Raphael Semmes Raphael Semmes ( ; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. He had served as an officer in the United States Navy from 1826 to 1860. During the American Civil War, Semmes was c ...

during ''Sumter''s commerce raiding voyage during 1861–62. First Lieutenant Kell was Semmes' Executive Officer on CSS ''Alabama'' throughout her career and was on board when she was sunk by in June 1864. He was rescued by the British yacht ''Dearhound'' and taken to England. Promoted to the rank of Commander in that month, he commanded the ironclad in the

James River Squadron The James River Squadron was formed shortly after the secession of Virginia during the American Civil War. The squadron was part of the Virginia Navy before being transferred to the Confederate States Navy. The squadron is most notable for its ...

in 1865.

After the war

After the end of the Civil War, Kell returned home to Georgia and became a farmer. Later years, he served as Adjutant General of Georgia. He wrote his memoir, ''Recollections of a Naval Life Including the Cruises of Confederate Steamers "Sumter" and "Alabama"'' near the end of his life, It was released in 1900. John McIntosh Kell died at his home in

Sunnyside, Georgia Sunnyside is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Ware County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,472 in 2020. It is part of the Waycross, Georgia, Waycross Waycross micro ...

on October 5, 1900, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery,

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

Honors

The John McIntosh Kell Camp #107 of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers that commemorates these ancestors, funds and dedicates monuments to them, and promotes the pseudohisto ...

located in Griffin, Georgia, is named in his memory and honor on July 18, 1898.

Papers

The

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

holds the papers of John McIntosh Kell and his wife, Julia Blanche Munroe Kell.
John McIntosh Kell Papers

Julia Blanche Munroe Kell papers

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kell, John McIntosh 1823 births 1900 deaths CSS Alabama People from Darien, Georgia United States Navy personnel of the Mexican–American War People of Georgia (U.S. state) in the American Civil War 19th-century American naval officers Confederate States Navy commanders 19th-century American memoirists Memoirists from Georgia (U.S. state)