On 19 June, Alabama stood out of Cherbourg Harbor for her last action.
Mindful of French neutrality, Kearsarge's new commanding officer, Capt.
John A. Winslow, took the sloop-of-war clear of  territorial waters, then turned to meet the Confederate cruiser.

 
Alabama was the first to open fire, while Kearsarge held her reply until she had closed to less than 1,000 yd (0.91 km).
Steaming on opposite courses, the ships moved in seven spiraling circles on a southwesterly course, as each commander tried to cross his opponent's bow to deliver deadly raking fire.
The battle quickly turned against Alabama, due to her poor gunnery and to the quality of her long-stored (and deteriorated) powder, fuses, and shells.
Unknown at the time to Captain Semmes aboard the Confederate raider, Kearsarge had been given added protection for her vital machinery, by chain cable, mounted in three separate vertical tiers, along the port and starboard of her midsection.

This hull armor had been installed more than a year before (in just three days), while Kearsarge was in port at the Azores.
It was made using 720 ft (220 m) of 1.7 in (43 mm) single-link iron chain, and covered hull spaces 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m) long by 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) deep.
This was stopped up and down in three layers to eye-bolts with marlines, and secured by iron dogs, then concealed behind 1 in (25 mm) deal-boards, painted black to match the upper hull's color.
This chain cladding was placed along Kearsarge's port and starboard midsection down to her waterline, for protection of her engines and boilers, when the upper portions of the cruiser's coal bunkers were empty.
This armor belt was hit twice during the fight: first, in the starboard gangway by one of Alabama's 32-pounder shells, which cut the chain armor, denting the hull planking underneath, and  by a second shell of the same warhead-rating exploded, breaking a link of the chain, and tearing away a portion of the deal-board covering.
Even if the shells had been delivered by Alabama's more powerful 100-pounder Blakely pivot rifle, the impacts were more than 5 ft (1.5 m) above the waterline and would therefore have missed her vital machinery.

One hour after she fired her first salvo, Alabama had been reduced to a sinking wreck by Kearsarge's more accurate gunnery, and by its powerful 11 in (280 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore pivot guns.
Alabama went down by the stern shortly after Semmes struck his colors, threw his sword into the sea to avoid its capture, and sent one of his two remaining longboats to Kearsarge with a message of surrender, and a rescue appeal for his surviving crew.
Kearsarge finally sent ship's boats for the majority of Alabama's survivors, but Semmes and 41 others were instead rescued by the nearby British yacht Deerhound, and escaped to the United Kingdom.

The battle between Kearsarge and Alabama is commerated by the United States Navy with a battle star on the Civil War campaign streamer.
In addition, 17 of Kearsarge's crew received the Medal of Honor for valor during this action:
Michael Aheam
John F. Bickford
William S. Bond
James Haley
Mark G. Ham
George H. Harrison
John Hayes
James H. Lee
Charles Moore
Joachim Pease
Thomas Perry
William B. Poole
Charles A. Read
George E. Read
James Saunders
William Smith
Robert Strahan
The medals were awarded on 31 December 1864.
On 19 June, Alabama stood out of Cherbourg Harbor for her last action. Mindful of French neutrality, Kearsarge's new commanding officer, Capt. John A. Winslow, took the sloop-of-war clear of  territorial waters, then turned to meet the Confederate cruiser.
 
Alabama was the first to open fire, while Kearsarge held her reply until she had closed to less than 1,000 yd (0.91 km). Steaming on opposite courses, the ships moved in seven spiraling circles on a southwesterly course, as each commander tried to cross his opponent's bow to deliver deadly raking fire. The battle quickly turned against Alabama, due to her poor gunnery and to the quality of her long-stored (and deteriorated) powder, fuses, and shells. Unknown at the time to Captain Semmes aboard the Confederate raider, Kearsarge had been given added protection for her vital machinery, by chain cable, mounted in three separate vertical tiers, along the port and starboard of her midsection.
This hull armor had been installed more than a year before (in just three days), while Kearsarge was in port at the Azores. It was made using 720 ft (220 m) of 1.7 in (43 mm) single-link iron chain, and covered hull spaces 49 ft 6 in (15.09 m) long by 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) deep. This was stopped up and down in three layers to eye-bolts with marlines, and secured by iron dogs, then concealed behind 1 in (25 mm) deal-boards, painted black to match the upper hull's color. This chain cladding was placed along Kearsarge's port and starboard midsection down to her waterline, for protection of her engines and boilers, when the upper portions of the cruiser's coal bunkers were empty. This armor belt was hit twice during the fight: first, in the starboard gangway by one of Alabama's 32-pounder shells, which cut the chain armor, denting the hull planking underneath, and  by a second shell of the same warhead-rating exploded, breaking a link of the chain, and tearing away a portion of the deal-board covering. Even if the shells had been delivered by Alabama's more powerful 100-pounder Blakely pivot rifle, the impacts were more than 5 ft (1.5 m) above the waterline and would therefore have missed her vital machinery.
One hour after she fired her first salvo, Alabama had been reduced to a sinking wreck by Kearsarge's more accurate gunnery, and by its powerful 11 in (280 mm) Dahlgren smoothbore pivot guns. Alabama went down by the stern shortly after Semmes struck his colors, threw his sword into the sea to avoid its capture, and sent one of his two remaining longboats to Kearsarge with a message of surrender, and a rescue appeal for his surviving crew. Kearsarge finally sent ship's boats for the majority of Alabama's survivors, but Semmes and 41 others were instead rescued by the nearby British yacht Deerhound, and escaped to the United Kingdom.
The battle between Kearsarge and Alabama is commerated by the United States Navy with a battle star on the Civil War campaign streamer. In addition, 17 of Kearsarge's crew received the Medal of Honor for valor during this action:
Michael Aheam
John F. Bickford
William S. Bond
James Haley
Mark G. Ham
George H. Harrison
John Hayes
James H. Lee
Charles Moore
Joachim Pease
Thomas Perry
William B. Poole
Charles A. Read
George E. Read
James Saunders
William Smith
Robert Strahan
The medals were awarded on 31 December 1864.
USS Kearsarge (1861)