The Kearsage vs. The Alabama June 19, 1864

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U.S.S. Kearsage vs. C.S.S. Alabama Historian Page     Above left is John A. Winslow the captain of the Kearsarge. Above right is Raphael Semmes the captain of the Alabama.   The battle of the Kearsarge vs. the Alabama is said by some to be one of the greatest naval Civil War battles beside the battles of the ironclads. This battle is significant because it took place in Cherbourg, France. That's right France, on June 19,1864. The Kearsarge was Captained by John A. Winslow and the Alabama was captained by Raphael Semmes. This battle is what you might call unfair because the Kearsarge had concealed armor that consisted of gigantic chains strung across all the walls of the boiler room. The battle would have had a different outcome if the Kearsarge did not have that armor, and the Alabama would probably not battled with the Kearsarge if they would have known about the armor. In this picture men are escaping from the doomed Alabama in a life boat.   The battle began around 10 a.m. and ended around 11 a.m. It started when the Alabama spotted the Kearsarge and chased it until they were approximately six to seven miles off shore. Then the ships started circling around one center point each staying at the same pace and same distance from each other and started broad siding each other. This went on until the eighth pass when the Alabama received the fatal blow. She surrendered and then sank. Most of the men got away, but a few were killed or injured. Ten other men drowned with the ship. In the foreground the Alabama is sinking and the Kearsarge the victor is smoking, in the background the privately owned English yacht the Deerhound watches the battle from afar. This boat rescued many of the Alabama's crew from the sea.   The four important events that took place near the time of my battle are: 1. Asia 1861- Russian troops fire upon demonstrators in the Warsaw Massacre. 2. Australia 1862 - This is the first time an English Cricket team tours Australia. 3. Africa 1863- Mohammed Said died and Ismail becomes Khedive of Egypt. 4. Europe 1865- William Booth starts the Salvation Army in London.

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