The CSS Alabama: The History of the Famous Confederate Raider that Sank Off the Coast of France during the Battle of Cherbourg

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the Alabama's raids and battles written by its sailors and captain *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents “God helps those who help themselves.” – The motto of the Alabama After the first year of the Civil War, the Confederacy was faced with a serious problem. While the South had enjoyed some stunning victories on land, they had been all but cut off from the world at sea. The more industrialized North had realized that in case of an extended war, the best way to defeat the Confederacy was to starve it of supplies. The rebels started the war with no real navy to speak of, and so the federal government quickly set up a blockade of all Southern ports and river mouths. By depriving the South of revenues derived from its main export, cotton, the North seriously injured the Southern economy. Without European intervention and the ability to build a navy that could rival the Union’s, the Confederacy was mostly reduced to token resistance and using fast moving ships that could evade the blockade and import and export goods. Again, that was only partially successful, and today, the blockade runners are better known for their extracurricular activities; most notably, some of the crews also acted as privateers on the high seas, attacking U.S. shipping and taking any loot for themselves. The daring exploits of these commerce raiders caught the imagination of Southern soldiers and civilians and buoyed up morale, even as the war news turned increasingly grim. Among all the Confederate commerce raiders, by far the most famous was the CSS Alabama. The Alabama attacked American ships and eluded the U.S. Navy around the globe for more than two years, all without ever having docked at a Southern port.