On Sunday, June 19, 1864 the U.S.S. Kearsarge and the C.S.S. Alabama engaged in combat. For months the U.S. Navy had pursued the Alabama, which had ravaged Union commerce. The Kearsarge had a slight advantage in firepower over the Alabama but had little or no combat experience. The Alabama had combat experience, but the quality of the ship’s power and shot was suspect. Fighting in international waters in the English Channel, the Alabama struck her colors after ninety minutes of battle and quickly sank. A British yacht, the Deerhound, took several survivors, including the Alabama’s Captain Raphael Semmes, to England. Superior gunnery doomed the Alabama, but early in the conflict an unexploded shell lodged in the sternpost of the Kearsarge. Had that shell exploded, the Alabama would have prevailed.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.