Farragut Sees the Tennessee and the Alabama Badly Needs repairs

MARCH 2ND, 1864: Admiral Farragut sees the Confederate ironclad CSS Tennessee in Mobile Bay for the first time and describes her as very long and very slow.

MARCH 4TH, 1864: Captain Semmes of the CSS Alabama, wrote in his journal: "My ship is weary, too, as well as her commander, and will need a general overhauling by the time I can get her into dock. If my poor service shall be deemed of any importance in harrassing and weakening the enemy, and thus contributing to the independence of my beloved South, I shall be amply rewarded."

It was this pressing need for repairs that caused the Alabama to engage the USS Kearsarge off Cherbourg, France some three and a half months later.

--Old B-Runner