 |
 A 1961 painting of CSS Alabama
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Confederate States of America | |
| Name | Alabama |
| Builder | John Laird Sons & Company |
| Laid down | 1862 |
| Launched | July 29, 1862 |
| Commissioned | August 24, 1862 |
| Motto | "Aide Toi, Et Dieu T'Aidera," (God helps those who help themselves)[1] |
| Fate | Sunk June 19, 1864 |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 1050 tons |
| Length | 220 ft (67 m)[2] |
| Beam | 31 ft 8 in (9.65 m) |
| Draft | 17 ft 8 in (5.38 m) |
| Installed power | 2 × 150 HP horizontal steam engines (300 HP collectively), auxiliary sails |
| Propulsion | Single screw propeller[3] |
| Speed | 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph)[2] |
| Complement | 145 officers and men |
| Armament | 6 × 32 lb (15 kg) cannons, 1 × 110 lb (50 kg) cannon, 1 × 68 lb (31 kg) cannon |
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy. The vessel was built in Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England, by John Laird Sons and Company.[4] Launched as Enrica, she was fitted out as a cruiser and commissioned as CSS Alabama on August 24, 1862. Under Captain Raphael Semmes, Alabama served as a successful commerce raider, attacking, capturing, and burning Union merchant and naval ships in the North Atlantic, as well as intercepting American grain ships bound for Europe. The Alabama continued its wrath through the West Indies and further into the East Indies, destroying over seven ships before returning to Europe. On June 11, 1864, the Alabama arrived at Cherbourg, France, where she was overhauled. Shortly after, a Union sloop-of-war, USS Kearsarge, arrived; and on June 19, the Battle of Cherbourg commenced outside the port of Cherbourg, France, whereby the Kearsarge sank the Alabama in approximately one hour after the Alabama's opening shot.
- ^ "C.S.S. Alabama Artifacts Exhibit at U.S. Naval Museum opens with All-Star Franco-American Reception" (PDF). The Confederate Naval Historical Society Newsletter Issue Number Nine. The Confederate Naval Historical Society. February 1992. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
- ^ a b Fletcher, R.A. (1910). Steam-ships : the story of their development to the present day. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. pp. 175–176. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
- ^ Kinnaman, Stephen C. (2 June 2023). "Technical Report—Inside the Alabama". U.S. Naval Institute. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
- ^ "The Alabama". Archived from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2007.