Roll Alabama

Hull number 290 was launched from Birkenhead England in July 1862. Masquerading as a merchant ship the vessel had a magazine and reinforced decks to support cannon, but still was legal under Britain’s neutrality laws. The steam sloop was purchased through a couple of shell companies by James Bullock, an agent for the Confederacy.

The ship was sailed to the Azores and there it was fitted with six 32 pound smoothbores, one seven inch rifled muzzle loading gun, and one eight inch smoothbore. The latter two weapons were mounted amidship and could pivot to either side.

The ship was christened the CSS Alabama. The 220 foot long sloop was steam powered and had three square rigged masts. She was commanded by Captain Raphael Semmes.

The Alabama was one of the most successful “commerce raiders” or privateers of the Confederacy. She burned sank an estimated 65 Union ships, mostly merchantmen. She never visited a Confederate port, but raided through most of the Atlantic and Caribbean.

In June of 1864 The Alabama cruised into Cherbourg harbor for a much needed retrofit. There she was located by the USS Kearsarge. Faced with this blockade, Semmes decided he would rather fight his way out rather than see his ship rot in dry dock.

The two ships battled on June 19, 1864 barely in international waters off Cherbourg, France. Several civilian ships sailed out to watch the battle, including the British yacht Deerhound. Early in the encounter the Alabama’s stern and rudder were damaged and after just an hour, the Confederate cruiser was hulled near the waterline. The Union vessel rescued most of the crew. Captain Semmes, threw his sword overboard rather than surrendering it to the kearsage’s Captain John Winslow. Semmes and other officers were taken aboard the British yacht Deerhound and taken to England to keep them from US captivity, sparking a minor international incident.

The Alabama sank 65 ships and did an estimated $6 million of damage to US shipping. After the war, Britain was sued by the US government in international court for her role in building Confederate commerce raiders. The US was awarded over $15 MUSD in damages.

The wreck of the Alabama was located just inside French territorial waters off Cherbourg in 1984. She lies under nearly 200 feet of water.

This song popped up on my iPhone while was walking through the neighborhood last evening.