Number 40 in Osprey's popular 'duel' series is one where the two combatants are actually rather equally matched. At least they are on paper. During the US Civil War, the Confederacy was sorely lacking in any sort of naval capabilities. They had a decent officer corps as many former US Navy officers followed their state. However, ordinary seamen as well as warships were sadly lacking. Despite controlling the Norfolk naval base, the Southern states had to rely on overseas ship building and conversion of civilian ships to meet their nautical requirements.

In fact, both sides started the war on pretty slim footing. The Union, while having purpose built warships, did not have enough to properly blockade the Confederacy. They, too, resorted to modification of civilian ships to meet their needs. Meanwhile, the Confederacy got its warships from overseas. These were mostly British built ships and while ostensibly neutral, the UK and other countries did offer assistance in terms of building ships and offering ports for overhaul and recoaling. While the UK could not build readily armed ships, they could sell the arms separately from the hull, with the Confederates needing only to install them once at sea.

The Confederacy also lacked in qualified crews, so most of their ship's crews were not American. Mostly Britons signed on to however long they were needed. Confederate ocean going warships were basically used as commerce raiders, capturing and sinking Union ships at sea. They were designed to be fast so they could out-run Union warships. Battle was rarely sought unless the conditions made it unavoidable. Any damage would take the ship out of commission and finding repairs could be troublesome.

The Union also lacked sufficient ships to properly patrol the large expanses of ocean to look for these raiders and often it was pure happenstance that they ran across these ships. Some were trapped in neutral harbors only to slip away from under the noses of the ship that was keeping them at bay.

The Alabama was one of the more successful of the Confederate raiders. But like all ships, after many months at sea, the Alabama needed to be overhauled. It was barnacle encrusted and its boilers were in real need of overhaul. Usually this happened in French ports, but by the time in 1864 that the Alabama pulled in for this work, the French had felt that the Union would end up winning the war and so refused repair. The Kearsarge had been patrolling European waters for several years, getting it repairs and provisions in Belgium, where the country bent the neutrality laws about as much as one could. Upon hearing of the Alabama pulling into Cherbourg, it went outside the harbor to await the Alabama. Alabama's captain knew that his job was to sink or capture Union ships and sitting in Cherbourg was not going to accomplish this. So despite being slightly under gunned and with a ship in relatively poor material condition, he went out to meet the Kearsarge. The results were the sinking of the Alabama.

Though not a one-sided fight, the skill of the Kearsarge gunners was superior and this is what eventually decided the battle, with most of the crew of the Alabama being saved.

Mark Lardas  follows a tried and true format in this Duel book by first providing the design and development of both ships. There is then a section on the technical specifications of each followed by a look at the military in which both were used and how they trained for battle. Next is a look at the situation during the war and just how other Confederate raiders performed in their duties. It is filled with period photos and drawings as well as modern illustrations. Interestingly, there were only three occasions when Confederate and Union warships met in combat on the high seas. Each was a different situation and the results were not the same. They are all contained in this book.

The Alabama/Kearsarge engagement was the last time that wooden ships fought against each other on the open water. It makes for an outstanding read for ship enthusiast and land-lubber alike. A fascinating read that I very much enjoyed and I am positive you will as well.

December 2011

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