John Newland MAFFITT

February 22, 1819 (age 67)

Sea, United States

He attended school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and became a midshipman in the U.S. Navy at the age of thirteen. He was a member of the MethodistEpiscopal church, and he had two children by his November 17,1840, marriage to Mary Florence Murell. She died in 1852, and on August 3,1852, he married Mrs. Caroline Laurens Read, by whom he had two sons. After her death, he had three children by his marriage to Emma Martin on November 23, 1870. Maffitt served on the frigate Constitution in 1835. He held continuous duty until 1842 when he served on the U.S. Coastal Survey. He worked sixteen years on charting the Atlantic Coast, and in 1858, he was made assistant superintendent of the Coast Survey. He was promoted to lieutenant on June 25, 1843, the same year he commanded the brig Dolphin, which stopped slave ships and captured the Echo. The following year, he commanded the Crusader, which performed similar tasks. Maffitt resigned his command on April 28, 1861, and entered the service of the Confederate Navy. In the early days of the war, he was commissioned a lieutenant. He participated in the battle of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and mapped roads and obstructed the Coosaw River for Robert E. Lee in November 1861. In January 1862, he was promoted to captain. His ship, the Cecile, ran the blockade, bringing in arms, ammunition, and military stores, until Maximilian became emperor of Mexico. Maffitt commanded the Florida in early 1863, which he equipped and sent to Mobile. In 1863, he seized many vessels from New York to the Equator. Under his command the Florie and the Lucile destroyed S10 million in property from September 1863 until June 1864. In the fall of 1864, Maffitt commanded the ironclad Albemarle and was stigmatized by the federal navy as a pirate. He never surrendered. When the Confederate cause seemed hopeless, in March 1865 he became a captain in the British navy. He returned to the United States two years later and settled on a farm, where he wrote his reminiscences, The Nautilus (1878). He also wrote a sketch of Raphael Semmes for the South Atlantic Magazine in 1877.

John Newland MAFFITT

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farmer military naval commander

Background

MAFFITT, John Newland was born on February 22, 1819 in sea, United States. Son of the Methodist minister John Newland Maffitt and his wife Ann Camick.

Education

Public school.

Career

He attended school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and became a midshipman in the U.S. Navy at the age of thirteen. He was a member of the MethodistEpiscopal church, and he had two children by his November 17,1840, marriage to Mary Florence Murell. She died in 1852, and on August 3,1852, he married Mrs.

Caroline Laurens Read, by whom he had two sons. After her death, he had three children by his marriage to Emma Martin on November 23, 1870. Maffitt served on the frigate Constitution in 1835.

He held continuous duty until 1842 when he served on the U.S. Coastal Survey. He worked sixteen years on charting the Atlantic Coast, and in 1858, he was made assistant superintendent of the Coast Survey. He was promoted to lieutenant on June 25, 1843, the same year he commanded the brig Dolphin, which stopped slave ships and captured the Echo.

The following year, he commanded the Crusader, which performed similar tasks. Maffitt resigned his command on April 28, 1861, and entered the service of the Confederate Navy. In the early days of the war, he was commissioned a lieutenant.

He participated in the battle of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and mapped roads and obstructed the Coosaw River for Robert E. Lee in November 1861. In January 1862, he was promoted to captain. His ship, the Cecile, ran the blockade, bringing in arms, ammunition, and military stores, until Maximilian became emperor of Mexico.

Maffitt commanded the Florida in early 1863, which he equipped and sent to Mobile. In 1863, he seized many vessels from New York to the Equator. Under his command the Florie and the Lucile destroyed S10 million in property from September 1863 until June 1864.

In the fall of 1864, Maffitt commanded the ironclad Albemarle and was stigmatized by the federal navy as a pirate. He never surrendered. When the Confederate cause seemed hopeless, in March 1865 he became a captain in the British navy.

He returned to the United States two years later and settled on a farm, where he wrote his reminiscences, The Nautilus (1878). He also wrote a sketch of Raphael Semmes for the South Atlantic Magazine in 1877.

Religion

"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.

Politics

Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.

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John Newland MAFFITT

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