CSS Alabama vs USS Kearsarge: Cherbourg 1864 (Duel Book 40)

By the time of American Civil War things had changed from the Age of Fighting Sail - steam power and explosive shells were transforming naval warfare. Iron was beginning to supplant wood. Britain had just finished HMS Warrior, an iron-hulled warship and coastal ironclads dominated the waters off the United States. The changes meant that ships sank, during battles instead of afterwards. The fights were no less bloody, but in addition to flying splinters, a host of other dangers were added - burst steam boilers, fire due to exploding shells, and the burst from the shells themselves. But, just as in the age of sail, warship captains that won one-on-one battles with another warship became as famous as modern sports stars. During the course of the American Civil War, three single ship actions were fought between Union cruisers and Confederate raiders: CSS Florida vs. USS Wachusett, CSS Alabama vs. USS Hatteras, and CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge. This book will present those, with an emphasis on the most famous battle: Alabama's fight with Kearsarge. Next to the battle between USS Monitor and CSS Virginia, no other naval duel of the American Civil War drew as much interest. That story is told from the eyes of the participants filtered through the lens of historical analysis available since the battles were fought. This includes archeological studies of wrecks of some of these ships, making this book an indispensible guide for anyone interested in Civil War and naval history. From the Trade Paperback edition The most successful commerce raider of the Civil War, the CSS Alabama almost single-handedly drove United States merchant shipping from the seas. Her illustrious career saw the capture of 60 merchant ships and two duels with ships of the US Navy. This book gives the complete story of the development of the Confederacy's commerce raiding force and the ships the Union set against them. Compiled from numerous first-hand accounts as well as archeological evidence, it covers the three famous battles of the commerce raiders, CSS Florida vs. USS Wachusett, CSS Alabama vs. USS Hatteras, and CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge, analyzing the strengths and weakness of each of the combatants. While the American Civil War is usually considered a land war, there was plenty of blood in the water. Hæftet beskriver den amerikanske flådes kamp mod Sydstaternes kaperskibe. Ved udbruddet af borgerkrigen lykkedes det Sydstaterne at få udrustet 3 kaperskibe, som den amerikanske flåde brugte stor energi på at nedkæmpe. Sydstaternes mest succesfulde kaperskib var CSS ALABAMA, som opbragte mere end 60 amerikanske skibe i perioden august 1862 til den 19. juni 1864, hvor skibet mødte sin skæbne ud for Cherbourg i Frankrig i et 90 minutters søslag med USS Kearsarge. Hæftet har en oversigt over kaperkrigen mellem Nord- og Sydstaterne, de involverede skibe og deres bevæbning. Hæftet er ligeledes rigt illustreret