Several California place names originated during the war. Miners in the vicinity of Lone Pine celebrated the success of the CSS Alabama by naming their claims' location "The Alabama Hills."
Not to be outdone, after the sinking of the Alabama by the USS Kearsarge, miners near Independence named their claims the "Kearsarge Mine" and the mining district became the "Kearsarge Mining District".
Soon the pass to the mines became "Kearsarge Pass", the 12,000'+ mountain became "Kearsarge Peak", and the mining camp became "Kearsarge City".