Posted on 07/06/2024 6:43:13 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
By the City of Baltimore, the general details of whose news we give elsewhere, we have the highly important and gratifying intelligence that on Sunday, June 19, the rebel pirate Alabama was engaged off Cherbourg by the United States steamer Kearsarge, which sunk her after an engagement lasting an hour and a half.
The following is a brief statement of the battle as given by the English papers:
The report that the rebel cruiser Alabama gone out from Cherbourg to fight the United States steamer Kearsarge, which was hovering off that port, turned out to be true, and resulted in the sinking of the Alabama. The encounter was witnessed by the English steam yacht Deerhound, and that vessel picked up Capt. SEMMES and the crew of the Alabama, took them to Cowes, and furnished the following details of the affair:
On the morning of Sunday, the 19th, at 10:30, the Alabama was observed steaming out of Cherbourg harbor, toward the steamer Kearsarge. At 11:10 the Alabama commenced the action by firing with her starboard battery, at a distance of about a mile. The Kearsarge also opened fire immediately with her starboard guns, and a sharp engagement, with rapid firing from both ships, was kept up, both shot and shell being discharged. In the manoeuvring both vessels made seven complete circles, at a distance of from a quarter to half a mile.
At 12 o'clock the firing from the Alabama was observed to slacken, and she appeared to be making head sail and shaping her course for land, which was distant about nine miles.
At 12.30 the Confederate vessel was in a disabled and sinking state.
The Deerhound immediately made toward her, and in passing the Kearsarge was requested to assist in saving the crew of the Alabama.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
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The Alabama: The Pirate Sunk off Cherbourg by the Kearsarge – 2-8
The Rebel Raid: General Sigel at Maryland Heights – 8-9
The War in Arkansas: The Rebels Defeated by Gen. Carr – 9
Department of the Gulf: From Port Hudson – 9
The Little Brig Vision: She Puts into Provincetown in a Leaky Condition – 9
Proclamation by the President: Martial Law Declared in Kentucky – 9-10
News from Washington – 10-11
Editorial: The Naval Fight off the French Coast – Destruction of the Alabama – 11
No Rest for the Wicked – 11
Loss of the U.S. Store Ship Courier: The Vessel a Total Loss – 11
[snip] The Confederate States Ship (CSS) Alabama was launched in 1862 at the John Laird & Sons shipyard in Birkenhead, near Liverpool. During the American Civil War she sank sixty-four merchant ships and one warship before being sunk herself off Cherbourg by the United States Ship (USS) Kearsarge. Her wreck was discovered in 1985 lying in 58 m of water. Legally a possession of the USA, the CSS Alabama was excavated after 1988 under the supervision of a Franco-American scientific committee. Unfavourable environmental conditions (currents, depth, visibility) hindered the excavations and required the use of advanced techniques, a submersible, remote-controlled robotic device, battery-powered suction dredges, deflectors and so on. After a lengthy assessment of the site which produced a general plan of the remains, the excavations focused on studying the officers’ quarters in the stern and a Blakely swivel gun, which was subsequently raised. In addition to the gun, the excavations produced a large number of objects from the ship’s pantry as well as personal effects, including equipment for sewing and other handiwork, revolver bullets, a sperm-whale tooth, and coins. [/snip]The Alabama, 1864 (Manche) | Underwater Archaeology | archeologie.culture.gouv.fr
Cherburg, France was the first port city taken by the Allies after DDay.
The Captain of the Alabama Raphael Semmes made special arrangements for French bankers to meet with him on Sunday. He set up a special fund to serve as a pension for any of his sailors who might survive the battle if they were defeated. And if I remember correctly many of them did get to use it.
Manet painted the battle using press accounts. The painting is displayed at the art museum in Philadelphia.
Look something like this?
Yes that is it.
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