June 11, 1864: CSS Alabama Arrives at Cherbourg-- Part 2

The Confederate Commissioner in France, John Slidell, assured Semmes that he anticipated no difficulty in obtaining French permission for the Alabama to use the docking facilities.

William L. Drayton, U.S. Minister to France, immediately protested the use of a French port by a vessel with  a character "so obnoxious and so notorious."

Intelligence of the material condition and strength of the Alabama was relayed by the American Vice-Consul at Cherbourg to Captain Winslow of the USS Kearsarge at Flushing.

The CSS Alabama was in bad shape after all that cruising and badly in need of a major overhaul.

--Old B-Runner