CSS Alabama, the most famous ship of the American Civil War, was a steam and sail sloop of war built for the Confederacy in 1862 by John Laird Sons & Co. in Liverpool, England. Under Captain Raphael Seames, CSS Alabama engaged Union ships in the North Atlantic and the West Indies doing immense damage to the Union’s maritime trade. After leaving Cherbourg, France, where she had docked for repairs, CSS Alabama was assaulted by Kearsage. Although CSS Alabama fired more rounds than her heavily armored opponent, she lost the battle and was sunk off the coast of Cherbourg.