CSS Alabama
History
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built
for the Confederacy in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company, Liverpool, England.
Launched as Enrica, it was fitted out as a cruiser and commissioned
24 August 1862 as CSS Alabama. Under Captain Raphael Semmes, Alabama
spent the next two months capturing and burning ships in the North Atlantic
and intercepting American grain ships bound for Europe. Continuing the path
of destruction through the West Indies, Alabama sank USS Hatteras
along the Texas coast and captured her crew. After a visit to Cape Town,
South Africa, Alabama sailed for the East Indies where the ship spent
six months cruising, destroying seven more ships before redoubling the Cape
en route to Europe.
On 11 June 1864, Alabama arrived in Cherbourg, France and Captain
Semmes requested permission to dock and overhaul his ship. Pursuing the
raider, the American sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge arrived three days
later and took up a patrol just outside the harbor. On 19 June, Alabama
sailed out to meet Kearsarge. As Kearsarge turned to meet
its opponent, Alabama opened fire. Kearsarge waited patiently
until the range had closed to less than 1,000 yards. According to survivors,
the two ships steamed on opposite courses moving around in circles as each
commander tried to cross the bow of his opponent to deliver a heavy raking
fire. The battle quickly turned against Alabama because of the poor
quality of its powder and shells, while Kearsarge benefitted from
the additional protection of chain cables along its sides. A little more
than an hour after the first shot was fired, Alabama was reduced
to a sinking wreck, causing Semmes to strike his colors and send a boat
to surrender. According to witnesses, Alabama fired 150 rounds at
its adversary, while Kearsarge fired 100. When a shell fired by Kearsarge
tore open a section at Alabama's waterline, the water quickly rushed
through the cruiser, forcing it to the bottom. While Kearsarge rescued
most of Alabama's survivors, Semmes and 41 others were picked up
by the British yacht Deerhound and escaped to England. During its
two-year career as a commerce raider, Alabama caused disorder and
devastation across the globe for United States merchant shipping. The Confederate
cruiser claimed more than 60 prizes valued at nearly $6,000,000.
The Wreck
One hundred and twenty years after its loss, the French Navy mine
hunter Circe discovered a wreck under nearly 200 feet of water off
Cherbourg, France. French Navy Captain Max Guerout later confirmed the wreck
to be Alabama's remains.
In 1988, a non-profit organization, the Association CSS Alabama,
was founded to conduct scientific exploration of the shipwreck. Although
the wreck resides within French territorial waters, the U.S. government,
as the successor to the former Confederate States of America, is the owner.
On 3 October 1989, the United States and France signed an agreement recognizing
this wreck as an important heritage resource of both nations and establishing
a Joint French-American Scientific Committee for archaeological exploration.
This agreement established a precedent for international cooperation in
archaeological research and in the protection of a unique historic shipwreck.
The Association CSS Alabama and the U.S. Navy/Naval Historical
Center signed on 23 March 1995 an official agreement accrediting Association
CSS Alabama as operator of the archaeological investigation of the
remains of the ship. This agreement will be in effect for five years and
is renewable by mutual consent. The signing of the agreement establishes
a precedent for international cooperation in archaeological cooperation
and the protection of a unique historic shipwreck. Association CSS Alabama,
which is funded solely from private donations, is continuing to make this
an international project through its fund raising in France and in the United
States, thanks to its sister organization, the CSS Alabama Association,
incorporated in the State of Delaware.
Additional Information:
Press Release on recovery of Blakeley Gun
Last update: 1 October 96