SEMMES. 199 



he blew up his ship and organized his officers and men as infantry. At the close 

 of the war he returned to Mobile, opened a law office, and practiced law until 

 his death in 1877. He published four books on his experiences. 



Semmes was prevailingly not hyperkinetic, but calm, cheerful, and occasion- 

 ally depressed, as, e.g., when in the Indian Ocean. He gave the impression of a 

 grave and reverend professional man rather than of a dashing captain. (Brad- 

 ford, G., 1904, p. 227.) He was stern in discipline and lashed heavily. In his 

 books he discourses philosophically upon the feudal system and other social con- 

 ditions in Mexico and argues for the extension of the United States to minimize 

 the influence of single powerful states. He sought to clear up the mystery of the 

 northers, to account for the heavy rainfall of Jalapa and for yellow fever. He 

 argues in his early books for the suppression of privateering and makes use of his 

 legal knowledge and methods in his operations against American commerce, which 

 were strictly in accordance with international law. He was fond of reading liter- 

 ature and was an excellent writer and an entertaining talker. He tended to be 

 somewhat inert in the absence of excitement and, no doubt, like Nelson, found 

 relief in the presence of danger. He had an artist's eye for landscapes and 

 describes them in detail in his writings. His diary reads almost like that of a 

 naturalist, "showing close, intelligent and affectionate observation of nature." 

 (Bradford, 1904, p. 236.) He grew more violent in his expression as he grew 

 older; he always showed a streak of "detestable facetiousness." 



Semmes's close relatives were prevailingly lawyers and legislators. On 

 his mother's side he was descended from Arthur Middleton, signer of the Declara- 

 tion of Independence. His son was for a time in command of a Confederate 

 gunboat. 



FAMILY HISTORY OF RAPHAEL SEMMES. 



Ancestor: Arthur Middleton (1742-1787), came of a line 

 of men prominent in the political life of the country. He was a 

 leader in South Carolina and in 1776 signed the Declaration of 

 Independence. He married Mary Izard. Many of the Middle- 

 tons and Izards were connected with the navy. 



I 1 (consort's F F), Oliver Spencer, mayor of Cincinnati, 

 Ohio. 



Fraternity of F: II 1, Raphael Semmes of Georgetown, 

 D. C. II 3, Benedict Semmes, a farmer of Maryland; a State 

 legislator and a member of Congress in 1829. II 4 (F), Richard 

 Thompson Semmes. II 5 (M), Catherine Hooe Middleton, died 

 early. II 6 (consort's F), Oliver Marlborough Spencer. II 7 

 (consort's M), Electra Ogden. 



Ill 1, Thomas Jenkins Semmes (1824-1899), United States attorney in Louisiana, and, 

 during the Civil War, a member of the Confederate States senate. 



Fraternity of Propositus: III 2, Samuel Middleton Semmes, a lawyer of Cumberland, 

 Maryland. Ill 3 (Propositus), RAPHAEL SEMMES. Ill 4 (consort), Anne Elizabeth Spencer. 



Child of Propositus: IV 1, O. J. Semmes was a captain in the Confederate States navy and 

 had command of a gunboat at Grand Lake, Louisiana, March 1863. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY. 



ALLEN. 1867. Memorial of Pickering Dodge Allen. Boston: H. W. Dutton and Son. 174 pp. 

 BRADFORD, G. 1904. Confederate Portraits. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin 



Co. xviii + 291 pp. 

 CHEVES, L. 1900. Middleton of South Carolina. (So. Carolina Historical and Genealogical 



Magazine, vol. II, pp. 228-282.) 

 MERIWEATHER, C. 1913. Raphael Semmes. Philadelphia: G. Jacobs. 



