On June 19, 1864, the English Channel became a theater of the American Civil War when the Union sloop-of-war USS Kearsarge confronted the notorious Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France. The Alabama had spent two years terrorizing Union merchant shipping across the globe but was in desperate need of repairs. Refusing to hide in the neutral French port, the Confederate Captain Raphael Semmes sailed out to face his challenger, resulting in a fiery battle that ended with the sinking of the Alabama.
What many onlookers did not realize was that the battle was treated as a major public sporting event. Thousands of spectators lined the cliffs of France, and wealthy onlookers even chartered private yachts to watch the cannon fire from a safe distance. Furthermore, the USS Kearsarge held a secret tactical advantage: its hull was cleverly draped in heavy iron anchor chains disguised by wooden boards, functioning as a primitive form of armor plating that deflected the Alabama’s heavy artillery.
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