CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy. She was built in Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England, by John Laird Sons and Company. 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 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.
Naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama and USS Hatteras
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy. She was built in Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England, by John Laird Sons and Company.
Historical Significance
CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy.
Events Before
First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation
First Legal Tender Act of 1862 is passed by US Congress, authorizing the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that is legal tender in America
First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
First pasteurization test is completed by Frenchmen Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard
Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Peter
Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev (28) weds Feozva Nikitichna Leshcheva at Nikolaev Engineering Institute's church in Saint Petersburg, Russia
First baseball enclosure opens at Union Grounds in Brooklyn
Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15.
Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine
Belgian-French engineer Étienne Lenoir builds the first automobile with an internal-combustion engine
Events After
Alfred Stieglitz is born
Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.
Qi Baishi is born
Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…
White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Ni
White chapel murder victim and possible Jack the Ripper victim Mary Ann Nichols (18) weds printer's machinist William Nichols
Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon
Brigadier General George Armstrong Custer marries Elizabeth Clift Bacon
Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of
Battle of Gate Pā (Pukehinahina): 1,700 British troops suffer their worst defeat of the New Zealand Wars at the hands of 230 entrenched Māori warriors in Tauranga [1]
More from the 1860s
Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation to free enslaved people in Confederate states
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until his assassination in 1865.
Slavery is abolished in the Dutch East Indies for areas under direct rule
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies, was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.
Alfred Stieglitz is born
Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, known for american photographer, was born on 1864-01-01.
Qi Baishi is born
Qi Baishi, Chinese painter, known for chinese painter, was born on 1864-01-01. Qi Baishi (1 January 1864 – 16 September 1957) was a Chinese painter, noted for the whimsical, often playful style of…
Frequently Asked Questions
- What happened on January 11, 1863?
- CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy. She was built in Birkenhead on the River Mersey opposite Liverpool, England, by John Laird Sons and Company. Launched as Enrica, she was fitted out as a cruiser and commissioned as CSS Alabama on August 24, 1862.
- Why is Naval engagement near Galveston between CSS Alabama and USS Hatteras significant?
- CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built in 1862 for the Confederate States Navy.