Naval hero for all the South, Raphael Semmes (1809-1877) sailed two famous Confederate raiders. He outfitted CSS Sumter in 1861 and captured 18 Union merchant ships in six months before the raider was blockaded at Gibraltar. Next he took command of CSS Alabama, an English-built raider, and terrorized U.S. merchant vessels on the high seas from August 1862 until the raider was sunk by USS Kearsarge in a sea battle off Cherbourg in June 1864.

During that two-year period, Semmes captured more enemy merchant ships than had any other cruiser captain in maritime history. He is considered one of the greatest ship's commanders that America has produced.

Most biographers of Semmes have concentrated on his Civil War experiences, but in addition to describing those exciting exploits, Spencer investigates the intellectual development of Semmes and the complexity of his nature. Furthermore, this is the first full-scale biography to rely on Semmes's private papers, unpublished diaries, and correspondence.

Spencer paints a vivid portrait of Semmes - the intellectual, the family man, the romanticist, and the nationalist - providing a greater understanding of the individual behind the heroic deeds.