CSS Alabama vs USS Kearsarge: Cherbourg 1864

by Mark Lardas, Peter Dennis (Illustrator), Peter Bull (Illustrator)

Overview

The most successful commerce raider of the Civil War, the CSS Alabama almost single-handedly drove United States merchant shipping from the seas. Her illustrious career saw the capture of 60 merchant ships and two duels with ships of the US Navy. This book gives the complete story of the development of the Confederacy's commerce raiding force and the ships the Union set against them. Compiled from numerous first-hand accounts as well as archeological evidence, it covers the three famous battles of the commerce raiders, CSS Florida vs. USS Wachusett, CSS Alabama vs. USS Hatteras, and CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge, analyzing the strengths and weakness of each of the combatants. While the American Civil War is usually considered a land war, there was plenty of blood in the water.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781849088947
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	11/20/2011
Series:	Duel , #40
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	80
File size:	8 MB

About the Author

Mark Lardas holds a degree in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but spent his early career at the Johnson Space Center doing Space Shuttle structural analysis, and space navigation. An amateur historian and a long-time ship modeler, Mark Lardas is currently working in League City, Texas. He has written extensively about modeling as well as naval, maritime, and military history.

Peter Dennis was born in 1950. Inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn he studied illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.
Mark Lardas has always been fascinated by things related to the sea and sky. From building models of ships and aircraft as a teen, he then studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but his interest in aviation led him to take a job on the then-new Space Shuttle program, where he worked for the next 30 years as a navigation engineer. Currently he develops commercial aircraft systems as a quality assurance manager. He has written numerous books on military, naval or maritime history.
Peter Dennis was inspired by contemporary magazines such as Look and Learn, leading him to study Illustration at Liverpool Art College. Peter has since contributed to hundreds of books, predominantly on historical subjects, including many Osprey titles. A keen wargamer and modelmaker, he is based in Nottinghamshire, UK.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Chronology 8

Design and Development 10

The Strategic Situation 25

Technical Specifications 30

The Combatants 40

Combat 51

Statistics and Analysis 69

Aftermath 76

Further Reading 78

Index 80

Editorial Reviews

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.” —Scott Van Aken, Modeling Madness

From the Publisher