$4.95/month for the first 3 months
Get This Offer
Loading...
Welcome
Sign up
Login
Browse Books
Deals
VIP
Gifts
0
Loading...
Play Sample
Kidnapped at Sea: The Civil War Voyage of David Henry White
Written by:
Andrew Sillen
Narrated by:
Donald Corren
Unabridged Audiobook
Listen Free Now
Listen free with a 30-day free trial
Choose 2 bonus VIP books
Enjoy 10,000 always free books
Add to Cart - $19.99
Remove from Cart
Give as a gift
Ratings
Book
Narrator
Release Date
October 8, 2024
Duration
7 hours 23 minutes
Summary
THE TRUE STORY OF DAVID HENRY WHITE, A FREE BLACK TEENAGE SAILOR ENSLAVED ON THE HIGH SEAS DURING THE CIVIL WAR, WHOSE LIFE STORY WAS FALSELY AND INTENTIONALLY APPROPRIATED TO ADVANCE THE LOST CAUSE TROPE OF A CONTENTED SLAVE, HAPPY AND SAFE IN SERVILITY.
David Henry White, a free Black teenage sailor from Lewes, Delaware, was kidnapped by Captain Raphael Semmes of the Confederate raider Alabama on October 9, 1862, from the Philadelphia-based packet ship Tonawanda. White remained captive on the Alabama for over 600 days, until he drowned during the Battle of Cherbourg on June 19, 1864.
In a best-selling postwar memoir, Semmes falsely described White as a contented slave who remained loyal to the Confederacy. In Kidnapped at Sea, archaeologist Andrew Sillen uses a forensic approach to describe White’s enslavement and demise and illustrates how White’s actual life belies the Lost Cause narrative his captors sought to construct.
Kidnapped at Sea is the first book to focus on White’s actual life, rather than relying on Semmes and other secondary sources. Until now, Semmes’s appropriation of White’s life has escaped scrutiny, thereby demonstrating the challenges faced by disempowered, illiterate people—and how well-crafted, racist fabrications have become part of Civil War memory.
“In this fast-paced narrative, Andrew Sillen uncovers the astounding story of David Henry White, a free Black teenager kidnapped from a US ship and forced to accompany the Confederate raider Alabama. Through a haunting account, Sillen restores White’s humanity and, in doing so, provides a timely examination of the necessity for addressing historical crimes.”—Caroline E. Janney, author of Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee’s Army after Appomattox
Browse By Category
History
>
The Americas
1 book added to cart
Kidnapped at Sea: The Civil War V...
Andrew Sillen
Subtotal
$19.99
View Cart
Continue Browsing
~~title~~
~~carousel-body~~
Back
Next
~~book-title~~
By: ~~author-single-string~~
~~tag-text~~
© Copyright 2011 - 2025 Storytel Audiobooks USA LLC. All Rights Reserved.