The Raphael Semmes House, also known as the Horta–Semmes House, is a historic residence in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. It is best known for having been the home of Admiral

Raphael Semmes Raphael Semmes ( ; September 27, 1809 – August 30, 1877) was an officer in the Confederate Navy during the American Civil War. Until then, he had been a serving officer in the US Navy from 1826 to 1860. During the American Civil War, Semmes wa ...

, captain of the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

sloop-of-war In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enc ...

CSS ''Alabama''. The house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on February 26, 1970.

History

The Raphael Semmes House was built by its first owner, Peter Horta, in 1858. The structure was purchased in 1871 by the citizens of Mobile and presented to Raphael Semmes. Semmes lived here until his death in 1877. In the mid-twentieth century Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Linyer Bedsole purchased and restored the house, donating it on April 22, 1946, to the First Baptist Church of Mobile situated next door. It was given in memory of their son, Lt. Joseph Linyer Bedsole, Jr., who was killed in action over

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Architecture

The overall exterior design of the two-story brick townhouse is in a simple

Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

, with a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

entrance doorway and surround. The front (south) facade is adorned with a full-width

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

porch across the ground floor, added in the 1870s. The ironwork features a floral design motif. Due to the narrow city lot upon which it was built, the house is much longer than it is wide. The main body of the house measures approximately wide by deep. A two-story rear

ell An ell (from Proto-Germanic *''alinō'', cognate with Latin ''ulna'') is a northwestern European unit of measurement, originally understood as a cubit (the combined length of the forearm and extended hand). The word literally means "arm", and ...

is attached to the northwest corner of the main house and measures approximately wide by deep, extending the entire depth of the house to . The ell served as the service wing and was fronted on the courtyard side by wooden galleries on both floors that adjoined the matching rear galleries of the main house. The interior layout features a stair hall on the west side of the house, on both floors. The stairway is mahogany with turned spindles. The stair hall opens onto a parlor and dining room on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor. The parlor and dining room both retain their original black marble mantles. The service ell contains a kitchen and storage room on the first floor and two servant rooms on the second.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Mobile, Alabama Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alabama Houses in Mobile, Alabama Federal architecture in Alabama Greek Revival houses in Alabama Houses completed in 1858