Raphael Semmes (27 September 1809-30 August 1877) was a Rear Admiral of the Confederate States' Navy during the American Civil War. In 1826 he became a sailor in the United States navy and fought in the Mexican-American War, reaching the rank of Commander by 1861. That year, he joined the nascent Confederate navy and from August 1862 to June 1864 attacked Union merchant vessels around the globe. In June 1864 CSS Alabama, his flagship, was destroyed and he escaped to England, and in 1865 returned home. He was paroled and died in 1877 from eating contaminated shrimp.