Armstrong, Richard F.
Richard Fielder Armstrong was born in Eatonton, Georgia. Apppointed to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1857, he resigned in January 1861 when Georgia withdrew from the Union and briefly served as a Midshipman in that state's navy. He became a Midshipman in the Confederate States Navy in April 1861 and served under Commander Raphael Semmes in CSS Sumter during her cruise against Federal shipping in 1861-62.
In mid-1862, Armstrong was assigned as Second Lieutenant of the cruiser CSS Alabama, also under Semmes' command. He served in that ship during her entire career as the Civil War's most successful commerce raider and was slightly wounded in the 19 June 1864 action with USS Kearsarge that ended with Alabama's sinking. Rescued by a French pilot boat and taken to Cherbourg, First Lieutenant Armstrong returned to the Confederacy later in the year. He was present during the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864, and served in several positions during the Civil War's final months. After the conflict, he lived in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he was involved in railroad work. Richard F. Armstrong died in Halifax on 6 May 1904.
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