This is the story of some little published news on the war @ sea...
 CSS Alabama....
In 1860, the United States Merchant Marine ranked 5th in the world.... Not really bad for a country that was not even a hundred years old yet... { These are the ships of commence} By the end of the War between the States, the Confederate States Navy had all but eliminated the US in world shipping.... A real feat...
Among the tides of time was the end of whale oil as oil in home and industry.... Petroleum oil, from the ground became the main source from then on.... Two things lead to this occurrence, first was the development of the modern oil drilling rig, by Mr. Drake in Pennsylvania, in 1858, then the demise of the US Whaling fleet by the Confederate States Navy....
Of all the ships of the Confederate Navy; the most famous were the Alabama, Florida, and Shenandoah.... The Florida was on of the fastest ships in the world... The Shenandoah, circumnavigated the globe, and was one of the last Confederate forces to surrender... The Alabama, sank over 58 US ships in less than two years... It has become a legend, in naval history....
Refer to the following books:
1) History of the Confederate Navy; by J Thomas Scharf
2) Damn the Torpedoes; by A.A. Hoehling
3) Blue & Gray at Sea; by Brian M.Thomsen
4) Men & Ships of the Civil War; by Scott Rye
5) Memories of Service Afloat; by Admiral Raphael Semmes, CSN w. Notes by John M. Taylor
Please study these books to get a better picture of the war at sea.... There were many other happenings by both sides during the war, which helped shape this great nation... We might look into some of those other stories one fine day....
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