James Dunwoody Bulloch’s central place in history has always rested on his Civil War era achievements as a secret agent of the Confederate States Navy in Europe. He gained fame for having brought into being the Confederate States cruisers Florida, Alabama and Shenandoah. Less well known are his illustrious Georgia ancestors, who were so firmly entwined with the earliest American colonial experience, and his prominent family connections-he was the uncle of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt. It has even been suggested that Bulloch is the forgotten hero of the South, who died in obscurity far from his native land. Captain Bulloch presents the full story of the life and times of this most remarkable man.

Bulloch’s antebellum career was that of a very accomplished marine professional, first as an officer in the U.S. Navy and then as a captain of mail steamers. Examination of his American sea service reveals how Bulloch honed the tools of his trade, tools which he used so effectively during the Civil War. Bulloch’s early life at sea also paralleled the golden age of the American merchant marine; his exploits provide a valuable snapshot of its period of greatness. This coincidence is supremely ironic as his unique talents in the service of the Confederacy were largely responsible for its untimely demise. As for the man that was James Bulloch, his life was one of many caught up in a gripping family saga that started with his father’s scandalous second marriage and progressed to his step-sister’s alliance with the Roosevelts of New York. Bulloch’s extended family was soon separated by the worst crisis America has endured-the Civil War-but it survived its unwanted trial stronger than ever. At the war’s end, Bulloch was an exile, unable to return to his homeland. His subsequent years in Liverpool illustrate a tale of redemption and survival as he struggled to rebuild his life in a society far removed from his Georgian roots, Victorian England. Throughout Bulloch is revealed as a warm human being, loving and sensitive, who experienced personal tragedy but who always remained positive and productive. With a clearer picture of his life from beginning to end, we can now recognize Bulloch not only as an unsung hero of the Civil War but also as a shining example of the American experience.