Wood relic from the sternpost of the USS Kearsarge with a period note inscribed: “Oak from the stern-post of the Kearsarge which sank the Confederate cruiser Alabama. (The latter planted a shell in the Stern-Post of the Kearsarge, but it did not explode or the result might have been different – C.C.B.)” The verso includes a catalog number and the address “C.C. Buel, 130 East 67th St. New York City.”

A wonderful relic oak from the stern-post of the USS Kearsarge which sank the infamous Confederate raider CSS Alabama in June 1864. After the Confederate raider was docked at Cherbourg, the newly-ironclad USS Kearsarge awaited the Alabama outside the neutral French port. Unaware of the Kearsarge's recent upgrades, the Alabama engaged the Kearsarge but was bested.

Clarence Clough Buell was an editor and author on the staff of Century Magazine. After writing many articles on the Civil War, the magazine was expanded and compiled into the famous “Battles & Leaders of the Civil War.”

An excellent relic from one of the most important Civil War open sea naval battles.

[Civil War, Union, Confederate, Navy, Naval History, Blockade, Manuscripts, Letters, Documents, Ephemera, Raphael Semmes]