View source for Battle of Cherbourg (1864)

{{Short description|1864 American Civil War naval battle}}

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict     = Battle of Cherbourg
| partof       = the [[American Civil War]]
| image        = USS Kearsarge CSS Alabama.jpg
| caption      = ''Sinking of the CSS Alabama'' (1922), by [[Xanthus Russell Smith|Xanthus Smith]],<br />[[Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library]], Hyde Park, New York
| date         = {{Start date|1864|6|19}}
| place        = off [[Cherbourg]], [[Second French Empire|France]]
| coordinates  = 
| result       = [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] victory
| combatant2   = {{flagicon|CSA|1863}} [[Confederate States of America|Confederate States]]
| combatant1   = {{flagicon|USA|1863}} [[United States]]
| commander2   = {{flagicon|CSA|1863}} [[Raphael Semmes]]
| commander1   = {{flagicon|USA|1863}} [[John Ancrum Winslow|John Winslow]]
| strength1    = 1 screw sloop-of-war<br/>163 sailors<ref name=kell/>
| strength2    = 1 screw sloop-of-war<br/>149 sailors<ref name=kell/>
| units2       = {{ship|CSS|Alabama}}
| units1       = {{USS|Kearsarge|1861|6}}
| casualties2  = ''Alabama'' sunk<br/>19 died (9 KIA, 10 drowned)<ref name=kell>[https://archive.org/details/battlesleadersof04john/page/614 On authority of CSS Alabama Executive master John McIntosh Kell "Cruise and Combats of the Alabama" Johnson & Buel 1888, Vol. IV, p. 614]</ref><br/>21 wounded<ref name=kell/><br/>~70 captured<br/>~''38 to 41 Confederate sailors were rescued by a British yacht and escaped capture.''
| casualties1  = 1 died of wounds<br/>2 wounded<ref>Seaman William Gowin died of wounds; two others wounded. Ref: [https://archive.org/details/battlesleadersof04john/page/623 Johnson & Buel 1888, Vol. IV, pp. 622–623]</ref>|
}}
{{Campaignbox|title=Naval battles of the American Civil War fought in foreign waters
|raw_name=Naval battles of the American Civil War fought in foreign waters
|battles=Battle of Cherbourg&nbsp;- [[Bahia Incident]]
}}

The '''Battle of Cherbourg''', or sometimes the '''Battle off Cherbourg''' or the '''Sinking of CSS ''Alabama''''', was a [[single-ship action]] fought during the [[American Civil War]] between the [[United States]] [[U.S. Navy|Navy]] warship, {{USS|Kearsarge|1861|6}}, and the [[Confederate States Navy]] warship, {{ship|CSS|Alabama}}, on June 19, 1864, off [[Cherbourg]], France.

==Background==
After five successful [[commerce raiding]] missions in the [[Atlantic Ocean]], {{ship|CSS|Alabama}} put into [[Cherbourg Harbor]] on June 11, 1864. The Confederate States [[sloop-of-war]] was commanded by [[Captain (Naval)|Captain]] [[Raphael Semmes]], formerly of {{ship|CSS|Sumter}}. It was Captain Semmes' intention to drydock his ship and receive repairs at the French port. After 22 months of sailing, the ''Alabama'' boilers were burned out; machinery needed repairs; loose at every joint and her copper bottom was in rolls.<ref name=kell/>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2023}} The Confederate Navy vessel was crewed by about 149 men and armed with six {{convert|32|pdr|kg|adj=on}} [[cannon]], mounted [[Broadside (naval)|broadside]], three guns per side; two heavy [[pivot gun]]s mounted on the centerline and able to fire to either side; one {{convert|8|in|mm|adj=on|0}}, {{convert|110|lb|adj=on}} [[smoothbore]] gun; and one {{convert|7|in|mm|adj=on|0}}, {{convert|68|lb|kg|adj=on}} [[Muzzle-loading rifle|rifled]] gun. ''Alabama'' had been pursued for two years by the [[screw sloop]]-of-war {{USS|Kearsarge|1861|6}}, under Captain [[John Ancrum Winslow|John Winslow]]. ''Kearsarge'' was armed with two {{convert|11|in|mm|adj=on|0}} smoothbore [[Dahlgren gun]]s which fired about 166 pounds of solid shot, four 32-pound guns, and one 30-pounder [[Parrott rifle]]. She was crewed by around 163 sailors and officers.

''Kearsarge'' had a form of makeshift armor-cladding, medium-weight chain cable [[wikt:trice|triced]] in tiers along her port and starboard midsections, basically acting as the equivalent of [[Mail (armour)|chain mail]] for vulnerable sections of her hull, where shot could potentially penetrate and hit her [[boiler]]s or [[steam 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 from ''Alabama''{{'}}s lighter 32-pound balls; either of her heavier guns could easily penetrate such lightweight protection. In the event, it was a moot point, as ''Alabama'' 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 with ''Alabama'' as she was receiving repairs. ''Kearsarge'' did not attack, as ''Alabama'' was in a neutral port; instead, she waited, initiating a [[blockade]] of CSS ''Alabama'' in Cherbourg. Union Captain Winslow telegraphed {{USS|St. Louis|1828|6}} 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 the [[Flags of the Confederate States of America|Stars and Bars]] and exited the harbor to attack ''Kearsarge''. She was escorted by the [[French Navy]] ironclad {{ship|French ironclad|Couronne||2}},<ref>[http://www.wikimanche.fr/Combat_naval_%C3%A0_Cherbourg_%281864%29 Combat naval à Cherbourg (1864)], Wikimanche</ref> whose mission was to ensure that the ensuing battle occurred outside the French harbor.

==Battle==
[[File:Drawing of CSS Alabama.jpg|thumb|CSS Alabama This sketch was made from a photograph (of a drawing) which Captain Semmes gave to a friend, with the remark that it was a correct picture of his ship. (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol 4 p.601)]]

[[File:USN Kearsarge.jpg|thumb|THE UNITED STATES SCREW-SLOOP "KEARSARGE" AT THE TIME OF THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE "ALABAMA. "When the Kearsarge was at the Azores, a few months before the fight with the Alabama, Midshipman Edward E. Preble made a mathematically correct drawing of the ship, and from a photograph of that drawing the above picture was made. After the fight alterations were made in the Kearsarge which considerably changed her appearance." (Battles and Leaders of the Civil War Vol IV p.614)]]
[[File:Chart of Battle Between the CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge 1864.jpg|thumb|Chart of Battle Between the CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge 1864]]
[[File:Kearsarge and Alabama.jpg|250px|right|thumb|''Battle of the USS Kearsarge and the CSS Alabama'' (1887 lithograph)]]
[[File:Sinking of the CSS Alabama 1864.jpg|thumb|Sinking of the CSS Alabama off Cherbourg France 1864]]
[[File:KEARSARGsternpostBW.png|right|thumb|The sternpost of USS ''Kearsarge'', with a 100-pound round embedded within it]]

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 the [[Jack of the United States|United 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.<ref name=kell/> They are not known to have hit. Eventually the range closed to within {{convert|1,000|yd|m}} and ''Kearsarge'' fired her first shot. The two [[warship]]s maneuvered on opposite courses throughout the battle. ''Kearsarge'' and ''Alabama'' made seven spiraling circles around each other, moving southwest in a {{convert|3|kn|adj=on|lk=in}} current. Both Captain Semmes and Captain Winslow attempted to cross each other's bow, hoping to inflict heavy [[raking fire]]. Three of the ''Kearsarge'' 11-inch shells entered the ''Alabama''<nowiki/>'s 8-inch gun port.<ref name=kell/> The ''Alabama'' gunpowder was damaged and defective; her guns gave out a dull report with thick and heavy vapor while the ''Kearsarge'' battery was clear and sharp with powder burning like thin vapor.<ref name=kell/>{{Primary source inline|date=December 2023}}

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|date=May 2014}} The first shell, a 32-pounder, struck the starboard gangway, cutting part of the chain armor and denting the wooden planking underneath.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Stephen |year=2007 |title=Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama |place=New York |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |isbn=978-1400044290 |page=211}}</ref> 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 of ''Kearsarge'' was reportedly more accurate than that of the Confederates. She fired slowly with well-aimed shots, while ''Alabama'' fired rapidly. ''Alabama'' fired a total of over 370 rounds during the fighting; it is not known how many ''Kearsarge'' 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 from ''Kearsarge''{{'}}s Dahlgren guns and began to sink. Captain Semmes struck the Confederate colors, but still ''Kearsarge'' 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 remaining [[dinghy]] to Captain Winslow, to ask for aid.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}}

During the battle, 40 Confederate sailors were casualties (19 killed in action or drowned and 21 wounded). Another seventy or so were picked up by ''Kearsarge''. Thirty or so were rescued by British civilian [[yacht]] ''Deerhound'', which Winslow asked to help evacuate ''Alabama''{{'}}s crew, and three French [[pilot boat]]s. Semmes and fourteen of his officers were among the sailors rescued by ''Deerhound''. Instead of delivering the captured Confederates to ''Kearsarge'', ''Deerhound'' set a course for [[Southampton]], thus enabling Semmes' escape. This angered the ''Kearsarge''{{'}}s crew, who begged their captain to allow them to open fire on ''Deerhound''. Winslow would not allow this, and the rescued Confederates escaped being captured. Three men were wounded aboard ''Kearsarge'', one of whom died the following day.<ref>{{harvnb|Johnson|Buel|1888|pp=622–623}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
===In art===
For many years after the battle, Confederate Captain Semmes stated that he would never have chosen to test ''Kearsarge'' 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 of ''Alabama''{{'}}s sinking reached the northeastern United States, many Northerners were joyful. [[Édouard Manet]] produced two paintings of the fight, [[The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama|The Battle of the ''Kearsarge'' and the ''Alabama'']], now at the [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]], and [[The Kearsarge at Boulogne|''Kearsarge'' at Boulogne]], now at the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]. American marine artist [[Xanthus Smith]] painted six versions of the naval battle. The most famous of these, a massive work exhibited at the [[1876 Centennial Exposition]], is in the collection of the [[Union League of Philadelphia]].

The 37th album of ''[[Les Tuniques Bleues]]'', titled ''Duel dans la Manche'' ("Duel in the Channel"), takes place during the Battle of Cherbourg, on USS ''Kearsarge''.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.lestuniquesbleues.com/albums/37/ |title=37. Duel dans la Manche |work=Les Tuniques Bleues }}</ref>

The battle was commemorated in the [[sea shanty]] "[[Roll, Alabama, Roll]]".

===Wreck of ''Alabama''===
In November 1984, the {{ship|French minesweeper|Circé|M715|6}} located the wreck of ''Alabama'' at a depth of {{convert|60|m|ft|sp=us}}, a little under {{convert|10|km|nmi mi|sp=us}} north of the western approaches of Cherbourg roads ({{coord|49|45|9|N|01|41|42|W|type:landmark_region:FR|display=inline}}).<ref name="alabama">[http://perso.wanadoo.fr/cap.info/alabama.htm ''Épave de l'Alabama, Cherbourg 1864'', Centre européen de recherches et d'études sous-marines]</ref> Captain Max Guerout later confirmed that the wreck was that of ''Alabama''.

In 1988, a nonprofit organisation named the CSS Alabama Association<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.css-alabama.com/ |title=CSS Alabama Association |access-date=2015-09-03 |archive-date=2004-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040924095549/http://www.css-alabama.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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 where ''Alabama'' had struck to ''Kearsarge'' 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 the [[Naval History & Heritage Command]] signed an agreement to accredit the association for the archeological survey of ''Alabama''. 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 in [[Mobile, Alabama]].

==See also==
* [[Bahia Incident]]
* [[Battle of Havana (1870)]]
* [[SS Cantabria (1919)|SS Cantabria]]
* [[William B. Poole]], [[Medal of Honor]] recipient for service on board the U.S.S. Kearsarge in the battle

==Gallery==
<gallery>

File:Captain Raphael Semmes and First Lieutenant John Kell aboard CSS Alabama 1863.jpg|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 to [[Cape Town]] in August 1863. His executive officer, First Lieutenant John M. Kell, is in the background, standing by the ship's wheel.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-57000/NH-57256-KN.html |title=NH 57256-KN CSS Alabama (1862-1864) |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command}}</ref>
File:1LT John McIntosh Kell onboard CSS Alabama on way to Capetown, South Africa (36068155895).jpg|Deck scene cruiser ''Alabama'' showing First Lieutenant John M. Kell, by the ships stern during her visit to [[Cape Town]] in August 1863.
File:Captain Raphael Semmes, CSN, onboard CSS Alabama near 110-pounder gun, 1863 (35228105784).jpg|Deck scene cruiser ''Alabama'' in August 1863 - Lts Armstrong and Sinclair at Sinclair's 32-pounder station<ref>{{cite book |last=Sinclair |first=Arthur, Lt. CSN |title=Two Years on the Alabama |url=https://archive.org/details/twoyearsonalaba01sincgoog |publisher=Lee and Shepard Publishers |location=Boston |year=1896 }}</ref>
File:USS Kearsarge (1861).jpg|USS ''Kearsarge,'' in an 1861 photograph
File:USS Kearsarge (1861) deck.jpg|The deck of ''Kearsarge'' after her engagement with {{ship|CSS|Alabama}}
File:Crew of the USS Kearsarge at battle stations, circa 1864.jpg|Crew of the USS Kearsarge in 1864 after the battle; showing both 11 Inch guns pointed to starboard as they were during the battle.
File:Battles and leaders of the Civil War - being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers (1887) (14759843311).jpg|Firing the forward 11 inch gun on the Kearsarge
File:The photographic history of the Civil War - thousands of scenes photographed 1861-65, with text by many special authorities (1911) (14576197040).jpg|The aft 11 inch gun on the Kearsarge used against the CSS Alabama<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/our-collections/photography/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-52000/NH-52029.html |title=NH 52029 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=1 January 2019}}</ref>
File:AlabamaSinkingHarpers23July1864.jpg|''Sinking of the CSS Alabama'', engraving, Harper's Weekly Magazine, 23 July 1864
File:CSS Alabama battle with USS Kearsarge.jpg|''The Fight between the Alabama and the Kearsarge'', 1864 engraving
File:Édouard Manet-Kearsarge-Alabama2.jpg|[[The Battle of the Kearsarge and the Alabama|''The Battle of the ''Kearsarge'' and the ''Alabama]] (1864), by [[Édouard Manet]], [[Philadelphia Museum of Art]]
File:Edouard Manet - Le „Kearsarge“ à Boulogne.jpg|''[[The Kearsarge at Boulogne]]'' (1864), by Édouard Manet, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
File:CSS 'Alabama'.JPG|''The Sinking of the CSS Alabama'', unidentified artist
File:Lebreton engraving-01.jpg|Engraving by [[Louis Le Breton]] (by 1866)
File:GAR 1893 - Kearsage.jpg|Replica of USS ''Kearsarge'' on display at the 1893 Grand Army of the Republic national convention in Indianapolis, Indiana
File:USS Kearsarge in Battle.jpg|''USS Kearsarge in Battle'' (1936), by [[Jo Davidson]], [[Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library]]
File:CSSAlabama.jpg|''CSS Alabama'' (1961), by J.W. Schmidt, [[Naval History and Heritage Command]]
File:Joachim Pease poster.jpg|U.S. Navy recruiting poster highlighting [[Joachim Pease]], 1970s
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Reflist|40em}}

==References==
{{refbegin|50em}}
* {{cite book| last =Bowcock| first =Andrew| title =CSS Alabama, Anatomy of a Confederate Raider| publisher =Chatham Publishing| year =2002| location =London, UK| pages =191| url =https://sierra-app.usmma.edu/search/?searchtype=o&searcharg=ocm50513195| isbn =9781861761897| oclc =48931829}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{Citation| last =Delaney| first =Norman C.| title ="Old Beeswax": Raphael Semmes of the Alabama| journal =Civil War Times Illustrated| volume =XII| issue =8| pages =12| year =1973| url =https://www.librarything.com/work/4924711| oclc =671281286}}
* {{cite book| last =Gindlesperger| first =James| title =Fire on the Water: The USS Kearsarge and the CSS Alabama| publisher =Burd Street Press| year =2003| location =Shippensburg, PA| pages =333| url =http://catalog.nypl.org/search/o52071690| isbn =9781572493063| oclc =52071690}}
* {{cite book| last =Hearn| first =Chester G.| title =Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce| publisher =International Marine Pub| year =1992| location =Camden, ME| pages =351| hdl =2027/mdp.39015024988779| url =https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39015024988779| isbn =9780807121146| oclc =36205979}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Johnson |editor1-first=R.U. |editor2-last=Buel |editor2-first=C.C. |year=1888 |title=Battles and Leaders of the Civil War |volume=IV |place=New York |publisher=[[The Century Company]]}}
* {{cite book| last =Luraghi| first =Raimondo| title =A History of the Confederate Navy| publisher =U. S. Naval Institute Press| year =1996| location =Annapolis, MD| pages =514| url =https://archive.org/details/historyofconfede0000lura| isbn =1557505276| oclc =682950313}}
* {{Citation| last =Madaus| first =H. Michael| publisher =Flag Research Center| location =Winchester, MA| title =Rebel Flags Afloat: A Survey of the Surviving Flags of the Confederate States Navy, Revenue Service, and Merchant Marine| journal =The Flag Bulletin| issue =115| year =1986| url =https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/185432467| oclc =185432467| issn =0015-3370}}
* {{cite book| last =Marvel| first =William| title =The Alabama & the Kearsarge: The Sailor's Civil War| publisher =University of North Carolina Press| series =Civil War America| year =1996| location =Chapel Hill, NC| pages =337| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=ezt3AAAAMAAJ| isbn =9780807866900| oclc =47010328}}
* {{Citation| last =Roberts| first =Arthur C., M.D.| title =Reconstructing USS Kearsarge, 1864| journal =Nautical Research Journal| volume =44| issue =4| location =Silver Springs, MD| year =1999| oclc =194781081| issn =0738-7245| url =https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/194781081}}
* {{cite book |last=Semmes |first=Raphael, Admiral, CSN |year=1869 |title=Memoirs of Service Afloat, During the War Between the States |place=Baltimore, MD |publisher=Kelly, Piet & Co |url=https://archive.org/details/MemoirsOfServiceAfloat/page/n11/mode/2up |oclc=1455940 }}
* {{cite book| last1 =Still| first1 =William N. Jr.| last2 =Taylor| first2 =John M.| last3 =Delaney| first3 =Norman C.| title =Raiders & Blockaders: The American Civil War Afloat| publisher =Brassy's, Inc.| year =1998| location =Dulles, VA| pages =263| url =https://archive.org/details/raidersblockader00stil| isbn =9781574882384| oclc =46768948}}
* {{cite book| last =Winslow| first =John A., CAPT USN| author-link =John A. Winslow| editor =Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy| title =Sinking of the Alabama—Capture of the Georgia and Florida: Destruction of the Alabama by the Kearsarge| publisher =U.S. Government Printing Office| series =Annual Reports of the Navy Department: Report of the Secretary of the Navy, 1864| year =1864| location =Washington, DC| pages =863| url =https://archive.org/details/annualreportsna13deptgoog/page/n782/mode/2up/search/Kearsage| oclc =2480810}}
{{refend}}

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{{Expeditionary Raids of the CSS Alabama}}

{{authority control}}

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