Maury, William Lewis (1813-1878) Maury papers including CSS Georgia list of prizes [Decimalized .01-.47]

The C.S.S. Georgia was supposedly the only Confederate cruiser which itself was captured as a prize. (In fact, it was captured in 1864 from a British merchant and claimed as a prize.) Collection includes 6 Maury documents signed regarding the CSS Georgia, 16 autograph letters signed to his wife, 4 letters from French naval officers to Maury and post-war materials such as a printed bill to "remove political disabilities imposed by the fourteenth amendment" on Maury.
William Lewis Maury, who had commanded the U.S.S. Saratoga during Perry's expedition to Japan, joined the Confederacy at the outset of the Civil War. In December 1862, he was ordered to carry negotiable securities to England to his uncle, Matthew Fontaine Maury, and to take command of one of the ships that the latter hoped to obtain for the Confederate Navy. In March of 1863, the "Japan" was procured in Dumbarton, Scotland, and renamed the C.S.S. Georgia. The Georgia, a newly-built iron screw steamship outfitted with five small guns, was placed under Lieut. Maury's command. During its six months of active duty, the Georgia captured and destroyed nine prize ships valued at over $4 million. The Georgia docked at Cherbourg, France in October of 1863 and was deemed unfit for continued service, and Lieutenant Maury was detached from his command. The ship was later repaired and sold to a British merchant, but the U.S. captured the vessel in 1869 and claimed it as a prize ship. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld this claim, making the Georgia the only Confederate cruiser captured as a prize. After the war, Maury had difficulty finding a position; he eventually secured a job as a customs collector in New York.