C.S.S. Alabama
C.S.S. Alabama |
C.S.S. Alabama |
Built in secrecy for the Confederacy in the Liverpool shipyards of John Laird Sons and Company, the Alabama became the subject of controversy even as her keel was laid. The Union did not take kindly to this expression of British sympathy for the cotton-producing South, and much diplomatic subterfuge was required to complete and launch "290," the Alabama's nom de guerre. Afloat on the high seas by the summer of 1862, the CSS Alabama harried Yankee traders and took nearly 60 prizes, dealing a blow to the American merchant marine from which it never truly recovered. The Alabama cruised the Atlantic, rounded Africa, and visited Southeast Asia. |
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