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USS Kearsarge, a 1550-ton Mohican class steam sloop of war, was built at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Kittery, Maine, under the 1861 Civil War emergency shipbuilding program. She was commissioned in January 1862 and almost immediately deployed to European waters, where she spent nearly three years searching for Confederate raiders. In June 1864, while under the command of Captain John Winslow, Kearsarge found CSS Alabama at Cherbourg, France, where she had gone for repairs after a devastating cruise at the expense of the United States' merchant marine. On 19 June, the two ships, nearly equals in size and power, fought a battle off Cherbourg that became one of the Civil War's most memorable naval actions. In about an hour, Kearsarge's superior gunnery completely defeated her opponent, which soon sank.
After searching off Europe for the Confederate cruiser Florida, Kearsarge went to the Caribbean, then to Boston, where she received repairs before returning to Europe in April 1865 to try to intercept the ironclad CSS Stonewall. With the end of the Civil War, she remained in the area until mid-1866, when she was placed out of commission.
Kearsarge returned to active service in January 1868 and was sent to the the Pacific coast of South America. During 1869, she cruised across the ocean as far as Australia, then returned to Peru. The next year, Kearsarge sailed north to Hawaii, then moved on to Mare Island, California, where she decommissioned in October 1870. In 1873-78, she was back in commission, cruising in Asiatic waters until September 1877, then transiting the Suez Canal to return to the U.S. East coast, where she decommissioned in early 1878.
Two more tours of duty awaited Kearsarge during the next decade and a half. She operated in the North Atlantic and Caribbean areas in 1879-83, then went back to Europe and Africa until late 1886. From 1888 onwards, she was stationed in the West Indies and Central American areas. While en route from Haiti to Nicaragua on 2 February, she was wrecked on Roncador Reef. An effort to salvage her proved fruitless, and USS Kearsarge was stricken from the Navy List later in the year.
This page features selected views of USS Kearsarge and provides links to comprehensive pictorial coverage of the ship and her activities.
For additional views of Kearsarge and her activities,
see:
| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.
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Photo #: NH 78638 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Off Portsmouth, New Hampshire, shortly after her return from European waters in 1864. Donated by Hamilton Cochran, 1974. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 58KB; 740 x 335 pixels |
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Photo #: KN-571 (Color) USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Watercolor by Clary Ray, circa the 1890s. It depicts Kearsarge as she was during the Civil War. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 475 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-KN-571 |
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Photo #: NH 86058 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Photographed by E.H. Hart, New York, circa the 1880s. Kearsarge is seen as she was in 1879-1886, with ship rig. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 134KB; 740 x575 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 63151 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Photographed in New York Harbor, in about 1890. Her rig had been reduced from a ship to a bark in 1886-88. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 82KB; 740 x 595 pixels |
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Photo #: KN-10867 (Color) USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Oil on canvas, 22" x 36", by an unidentified artist. The painting depicts Kearsarge as she was during the 1890s. Painting in the U.S. Naval Academy Museum Collection. Gift of George R. Thompson, 1924. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 80KB; 740 x 490 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system as Photo # 428-KN-10867 |
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Photo #: NH 65736 USS Kearsarge vs. CSS Alabama, 19 June 1864 Line engraving published in the "Illustrated London News", 2 July 1864, depicting an early stage in the battle. Kearsarge is on the left, with Alabama in the right distance. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 150KB; 740 x 575 pixels |
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Photo #: K-29827 (Color) USS Kearsarge vs. CSS Alabama, 19 June 1864 Painting by Xanthus Smith, 1922, depicting Alabama sinking, at left, after her fight with the Kearsarge (seen at right). Courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York. Official U.S. Navy Photograph. Online Image: 85KB; 740 x 500 pixels Reproductions of this image may also be available through the National Archives photographic reproduction system. |
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Photo #: NH 1261 "Hauling Down the Flag -- Surrender of the Alabama to the Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France, 19 June 1864" Artwork by J.O. Davidson, depicting the sinking of CSS Alabama, as seen from USS Kearsarge. The crew of one of Kearsarge's eleven-inch Dahlgren pivot guns is celebrating their victory. Collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 89KB; 740 x 540 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 61669 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Ship's officers pose on deck, at Cherbourg, France, soon after her 19 June 1864 victory over CSS Alabama. Her Commanding Officer, Captain John A. Winslow, is 3rd from left, wearing a uniform of the 1862 pattern. Other officers are generally dressed in uniforms of 1863-64 types. View looks aft on the port side. At left is Kearsarge's after XI-inch Dahlgren pivot gun, with its training tracks on the deck alongside. Those present are identified in Photo # NH 61669 (complete caption). The original glass negative is held by the Library of Congress. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 140KB; 740 x 590 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 52027 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Ship's crew at their battle stations, shortly after her June 1864 action with CSS Alabama. View looks aft from the forecastle, showing both XI-inch Dahlgren smoothbore cannon trained to starboard, as they were during the fight. Portly officer in the center foreground appears to be Acting Master James R. Wheeler. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 117KB; 740 x 585 pixels |
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Photo #: NH 52030 USS Kearsarge (1862-1894) Watercolor by an unidentified artist, depicting Kearsarge wrecked on Roncador Reef, in the Caribbean Sea, on 2 February 1894. Courtesy of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936. U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph. Online Image: 104KB; 740 x 525 pixels |
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For additional views of Kearsarge and her activities,
see:
| If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions." |
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Historical Center home page.15 July 2000