Produced and Presented By: The History Underground Aug 2023
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On 19 Jun 1864, the CSS Alabama and the USS Kearsarge met in a fierce battle off the coast of France. In the end, the inferior shells of the CSS Alabama would ultimately prove to be her doom as many hit their target but failed to detonate. The Alabama took several fatal hits and was ultimately sunk. Most of her crew would be rescued by the crew of the USS Kearsarge, but a British yacht, the Deerhound, sailing nearby, would rescue about 30 of the crew and take them to England where they would avoid capture, including the CSS Alabama’s commander, Capt. Raphael Semmes. The CSS Alabama lost 19 crew, nine KIA and ten to drowning while the USS Kearsarge lost but one man (died the following day).
The Confederate sailors buried at Cherbourg were two of the 19 fallen from the CSS Alabama in that battle.
