Battle of Cherbourg
Part of theAmerican Civil War
Sinking of the CSS Alabama (1922), byXanthus Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, Hyde Park, New York
Date June 19, 1864 (1864-06-19) Location offCherbourg,France Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States	Confederate States
Commanders and leaders
John Winslow	Raphael Semmes
Units involved
USS Kearsarge	CSS Alabama
Strength
1 screw sloop-of-war 163 sailors[1]	1 screw sloop-of-war 149 sailors[1]
Casualties and losses
1 died of wounds 2 wounded[2]	Alabama sunk 19 died (9 KIA, 10 drowned)[1] 21 wounded[1] ~70 captured ~38 to 41 Confederate sailors were rescued by a British yacht and escaped capture.

TheBattle of Cherbourg, or sometimes theBattle off Cherbourg or theSinking of CSSAlabama, was asingle-ship action fought during theAmerican Civil War between theUnited StatesNavy warship,USS Kearsarge, and theConfederate States Navy warship,CSS Alabama, on June 19, 1864, offCherbourg, France.

After five successfulcommerce raiding missions in theAtlantic Ocean,CSS Alabama put intoCherbourg Harbor on June 11, 1864. The Confederate Statessloop-of-war was commanded byCaptainRaphael Semmes, formerly ofCSS Sumter. It was Captain Semmes' intention to drydock his ship and receive repairs at the French port. As related by the ship's Executive Master,John McIntosh Kell, "[The Alabama] was now showing signs of the active work she had been doing. Her boilers were burned out, and her machinery was sadly in want of repairs. She was loose at every joint, her seams were open, and the copper on her bottom was in roll."^[3] The Confederate Navy vessel was crewed by about 149 men and armed with six 32-pounder (15 kg)cannon, mountedbroadside, three guns per side; two heavypivot guns {{mounted on the centerline and able to fire to either side; one 8-inch (203 mm), 110-pound (50 kg)smoothbore gun; and one 7-inch (178 mm), 68-pound (31 kg)rifled gun.Alabama had been pursued for two years by thescrew sloop-of-}}warUSS Kearsarge, under CaptainJohn Winslow.Kearsarge was armed with two 11-inch (279 mm) smoothboreDahlgren guns which fired about 166 pounds of solid shot, four 32-pound guns, and one 30-pounderParrott rifle. She was crewed by around 163 sailors and officers.

Kearsarge had a form of makeshift armor-cladding, medium-weight chain cabletriced in tiers along her port and starboard midsections, basically acting as the equivalent ofchain mail for vulnerable sections of her hull, where shot could potentially penetrate and hit herboilers orsteam engine. This armor protection potentially gave the Union warship a definitive advantage over the Confederate raider; however, the armor was only capable of stopping shots fromAlabama's lighter 32-pound balls; either of her heavier guns could easily penetrate such lightweight protection. In the event, it was a moot point, asAlabama only managed to score two hits in this area, both of which were well above the waterline and the vulnerable engineering areas, and would have done little lasting damage even if they had successfully penetrated the hull.

On June 14,Kearsarge finally caught up withAlabama as she was receiving repairs.Kearsarge did not attack, asAlabama was in a neutral port; instead, she waited, initiating ablockade of CSSAlabama in Cherbourg. Union Captain Winslow telegraphedUSS St. Louis to request her assistance, but the fighting began before she could arrive. Confederate Captain Semmes used the time to drill his men for the coming battle. On June 19,Alabama, with nowhere else to go, ran up theStars and Bars and exited the harbor to attackKearsarge. She was escorted by theFrench Navy ironcladCouronne,^[4] whose mission was to ensure that the ensuing battle occurred outside the French harbor.

Captain Winslow spotted the departing Confederate raider, so he turned his ship around to take the impending battle out of French territorial waters. Once out,Kearsarge turned about again, hoisted theUnited States Navy Jack, and lined up for a broadside. Captain Winslow ordered his gunners to hold their fire until the range closed.Alabama fired the first shots from the 100-pound pivot gun.^[1] They are not known to have hit. Eventually the range closed to within 1,000 yards (910 m) andKearsarge fired her first shot. The twowarships maneuvered on opposite courses throughout the battle.Kearsarge andAlabama made seven spiraling circles around each other, moving southwest in a 3-knot (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph) current. Both Captain Semmes and Captain Winslow attempted to cross each other's bow, hoping to inflict heavyraking fire. Three of theKearsarge 11-inch shells entered theAlabama's 8-inch gun port.^[1] TheAlabama gunpowder was damaged and defective; her guns gave out a dull report with thick and heavy vapor while theKearsarge battery was clear and sharp with powder burning like thin vapor.^{[1][non-primary source needed]}

The battle continued in this manner for several minutes; in the meantime, on the French coast, hundreds watched the battle.Kearsarge's armor cladding sustained two hits during the engagement.^{[citation needed]} The first shell, a 32-pounder, struck the starboard gangway, cutting part of the chain armor and denting the wooden planking underneath.^[5] The second shot was again a 32-pounder that exploded and broke a link of the chain. Both hits struck the chain five feet above the waterline and therefore did not threaten the boilers or machinery. The gunnery ofKearsarge was reportedly more accurate than that of the Confederates. She fired slowly with well-aimed shots, whileAlabama fired rapidly.Alabama fired a total of over 370 rounds during the fighting; it is not known how manyKearsarge fired, but it is known that she fired many fewer than the Confederates did. Eventually, after just over an hour of exchanging artillery fire,Alabama had received shot-holes beneath the waterline fromKearsarge's Dahlgren guns and began to sink. Captain Semmes struck the Confederate colors, but stillKearsarge continued firing until a white flag was seen, raised by one of the Confederate sailors with his hand. The battle was over, so Captain Semmes sent his remainingdinghy to Captain Winslow, to ask for aid.^{[citation needed]}

During the battle, 40 Confederate sailors were casualties (19 killed in action or drowned and 21 wounded). Another seventy or so were picked up byKearsarge. Thirty or so were rescued by British civilianyachtDeerhound, which Winslow asked to help evacuateAlabama's crew, and three Frenchpilot boats. Semmes and fourteen of his officers were among the sailors rescued byDeerhound. Instead of delivering the captured Confederates toKearsarge,Deerhound set a course forSouthampton, thus enabling Semmes' escape. This angered theKearsarge's crew, who begged their captain to allow them to open fire onDeerhound. Winslow would not allow this, and the rescued Confederates escaped being captured. Three men were wounded aboardKearsarge, one of whom died the following day.^[6]

For many years after the battle, Confederate Captain Semmes stated that he would never have chosen to testKearsarge had he known of her armor-clad protection.Alabama had destroyed or captured dozens of Union merchant vessels during her Atlantic cruises, and when word ofAlabama's sinking reached the northeastern United States, many Northerners were joyful.Édouard Manet produced two paintings of the fight,The Battle of theKearsarge and theAlabama, now at thePhiladelphia Museum of Art, andKearsarge at Boulogne, now at theMetropolitan Museum of Art. American marine artistXanthus Smith painted six versions of the naval battle. The most famous of these, a massive work exhibited at the1876 Centennial Exposition, is in the collection of theUnion League of Philadelphia.

The 37th album ofLes Tuniques Bleues, titledDuel dans la Manche ("Duel in the Channel"), takes place during the Battle of Cherbourg, on USSKearsarge.^[7]

The battle was commemorated in thesea shanty "Roll, Alabama, Roll".

In November 1984, theFrench minesweeper Circé located the wreck ofAlabama at a depth of 60 meters (200 ft), a little under 10 kilometers (5.4 nmi; 6.2 mi) north of the western approaches of Cherbourg roads (49°45′9″N01°41′42″W / 49.75250°N 1.69500°W /49.75250; -1.69500).^[8] Captain Max Guerout later confirmed that the wreck was that ofAlabama.

In 1988, a nonprofit organisation named the CSS Alabama Association^[9] was created to conduct a scientific survey of the wreck. Although it now lies in French territorial waters, the U.S. government claimed possession on the grounds that the location whereAlabama had struck toKearsarge had not been within French territorial waters at the time of the battle. On 3 October 1989, France and the United States signed an agreement recognising the wreck as a common historic heritage for both nations and established a joint scientific team for its exploration.

On 23 March 1995, the CSS Alabama Association and theNaval History & Heritage Command signed an agreement to accredit the association for the archeological survey ofAlabama. In 2002, over 300 samples were recovered, including the ship's bell, guns, part of the ship's structure, furniture, and tableware. In 2004, a human jaw was found under a gun and was subsequently buried inMobile, Alabama.

• Bahia Incident
• Battle of Havana (1870)
• SS Cantabria
• William B. Poole,Medal of Honor recipient for service on board the U.S.S. Kearsarge in the battle

• 
  Captain Raphael Semmes,Alabama's commanding officer, standing aft of the mainsail by his ship's aft 8-inch smooth bore gun during her visit toCape Town in August 1863. His executive officer, First Lieutenant John M. Kell, is in the background, standing by the ship's wheel.^[10]
• 
  Deck scene cruiserAlabama showing First Lieutenant John M. Kell, by the ships stern during her visit toCape Town in August 1863.
• 
  Deck scene cruiserAlabama in August 1863 - Lts Armstrong and Sinclair at Sinclair's 32-pounder station^[11]
• 
  USSKearsarge, in an 1861 photograph
• 
  The deck ofKearsarge after her engagement withCSS Alabama
• 
  Crew of the USS Kearsarge in 1864 after the battle; showing both 11 Inch guns pointed to starboard as they were during the battle.
• 
  Firing the forward 11 inch gun on the Kearsarge
• 
  The aft 11 inch gun on the Kearsarge used against the CSS Alabama^[12]
• 
  Sinking of the CSS Alabama, engraving, Harper's Weekly Magazine, 23 July 1864
• 
  The Fight between the Alabama and the Kearsarge, 1864 engraving
• 
  The Battle of theKearsarge and theAlabama (1864), byÉdouard Manet,Philadelphia Museum of Art
• 
  The Kearsarge at Boulogne (1864), by Édouard Manet,Metropolitan Museum of Art
• 
  The Sinking of the CSS Alabama, unidentified artist
• 
  Engraving byLouis Le Breton (by 1866)
• 
  Replica of USSKearsarge on display at the 1893 Grand Army of the Republic national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana
• 
  USS Kearsarge in Battle (1936), byJo Davidson,Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library
• 
  CSS Alabama (1961), by J.W. Schmidt,Naval History and Heritage Command
• 
  U.S. Navy recruiting poster highlightingJoachim Pease, 1970s

• Media related toBattle of Cherbourg (1864) at Wikimedia Commons

49°45′9″N1°41′42″W / 49.75250°N 1.69500°W /49.75250; -1.69500

• Naval battles of the American Civil War
• Union victories of the American Civil War
• Maritime incidents in June 1864
• Military history of the English Channel
• CSS Alabama
• 1864 in France
• Military history of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
• 19th-century military history of France
• France–United States relations

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