⚔️📍 Cherbourg, France1864
CSS Alabama Sunk — End of Confederate Commerce Raiders
The Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama was sunk by USS Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France, after a 65-minute surface gun battle watched by French spectators on shore. Alabama had captured or destroyed 65 Union merchant vessels in 22 months.
Alabama's sinking effectively ended the Confederate naval strategy of commerce raiding, which had driven U.S. shipping insurance rates to crippling levels.
Outcome
Alabama sunk; Confederate commerce raiding ends