January 14, 1864 – CSS Alabama Burns The Emma Jane Off Coast of India

This day 150 years ago in Rebel Raiders’ History

-Dedicated to Civil War episodes, battles, people and ships that also appear in my game, GMT’s Rebel Raiders on the High Seas.

January 14, 1864 –  CSS Alabama Burns The Emma Jane Off Coast of India

Historical Event:  On January 14 1864 the Confederate cruiser CSS Alabama intercepted and burned the Union merchantman Emma Jane while raiding off the coast of British India.  Three days later Captain Raphael Semmes put in to the Indian port of Anjenga to take on supplies and to disembark the passengers and crew of the Emma Jane whom he had taken aboard prior to destroying their vessel.  The CSS Alabama continued  westward on her Indian Ocean raid, reaching the Comoros Islands on February 9, a Muslim settlement of which he and his men soon grew tired, noting in his log that  “There was no such thing as a glass of grog to be found in the whole town.”   

Game Connection:    CSS Alabama not only graces the cover of Rebel Raiders of the High Seas, but also is represented by a named counter and card (CSN Card 63).  Recreating Semmes’ storied acts of piracy (as Union newspapers, diplomats, shipowners and naval officers called them) in the Indian Ocean and other sea zones shown on the map board is part of the fun and the strategy of the game – as is the hunt for the elusive raider, whose actions across the world’s oceans can otherwise reap great rewards for the Confederate cause in Rebel Raiders of the High Seas.