This brief article from The Famous Events of the World was written at a time when the Civil War was still fresh in the American memory; and although their lines were thinning, the veterans of that war were still walking the streets. One of the important events of the American Civil War during the year 1864 was the sinking of the Confederate pirate ship, C.S.S. Alabama, commanded by Raphael Semmes(1809 - 1877):
"After a long course of capturing and destroying Northern merchant ships, the Alabama was caught in a French harbor by the United States frigate Kearsarge. The Kearsarge defied the Alabama to battle; and the Confederate ship, accepting the challenge, steamed confidently forth amid salvos of applause from the French and English spectators. The Kearsarge completely outfought her, and sank her."
The remains of Alabama would not be located until 1984.
Click here to read an article about the captain of the Alabama, Raphael Semmes.
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