(ScSlp: dp. 1,550 t.; l. 201'4"; b. 33'10"; dr. 14'3"; s. 11 k.; cpl. 163; a. 2 11", 4 32-pdr., 1 30-pdr.)

The first Kearsarge was launched 11 September 1861 by the Portsmouth Navy Yard, Portsmouth, N.H.; sponsored by Mrs. McFarland, wife of the editor of the Concord Statement; and commissioned 24 January 1862, Captain Charles W. Pickering in command.

Kearsarge departed Portsmouth 5 February 1862 for the coast of Spain; thence sailed to Gibraltar to join the blockade of Confederate raider Sumter, forcing her abandonment in December. But her commanding captain, Raphael Semmes, soon commissioned Confederate raider Alabama on the high seas off the Azores.

Kearsarge prepared for her fight with Alabama at Cadiz (November 1862-March 1863), then searched for the raider from along the coast of Northern Europe to the Canaries, Madeira, and the Western Islands Arriving at Cherbourg, France. 14 June 1864, she found Alabama in port and took up patrol at the harbor's entrance to await Semmes' next move.

On 19 June, Alabama stood out of Cherbourg Harbor for her last action. Careful of French neutrality, Kearsarge's new commanding officer, Captain John A. Winslow, took the sloop-of-war well clear of territorial waters, then turned to meet the Confederate cruiser.

Alabama opened fire first while Kearsarge held her reply until she had closed to less than 1,000 yards. Steaming on opposite courses, the ships moved around a circle as each commander tried to cross his opponent's bow to deliver deadly raking fire. The battle quickly turned against Alabama, for the quality of her long-stored powder and shells had deteriorated. Kearsarge, on the other hand, had been given added protection by chain cable triced in tiers along her sides abreast vital spaces. One hour after she fired her first salvo, Alabama had been reduced to a sinking wreck. Semmes struck his colors and sent a boat to Kearsarge with a message of surrender and an appeal for help. Kearsarge rescued the majority of Alabama's survivors; but Semmes and 41 others were picked up by British yacht Deerhound and escaped in her to England.

Kearsarge steamed along the French coast in an unsuccessful search for OS'S Florida, thence proceeded to the Caribbean before turning northward for Boston where she decommissioned 26 November 1864 for repairs. She recommissioned 1 April 1865 and sailed on the 14th for the coast of Spain in an attempt to intercept Stonewall; but the Confederate ram eluded Federal ships and surrendered to Spanish authorities at Havana, Cuba, 19 May. After cruising the Mediterranean and the English Channel south to Monrovia, Liberia, Kearsarge decommissioned 14 August 1866 in the Boston Navy Yard.

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Green Mountain Boys known to have served on Sumter:

Briesh, Thomas, enl, date?, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 5/13/66, vessels: Kearsarge

Chapman, William C., enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 2/13/65, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Saratoga

Dewey, George Washington, Midshipman, 9/54, USN, (more)

Everson, Robert, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 1/9/65, vessels: Kearsarge

Fitzgerald, Michael, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 6/30/65, vessels: Kearsarge

Flaherty, John, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 9/15/66, vessels: Kearsarge

Fleming, John, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, sentenced to House of Corrections for five years from 10/13/66, vessels: Kearsarge

Irving, Thomas, enl 2/65, Landsman, age 22, USN, m/o 1/11/67, vessels: Kearsarge

Karlson, John, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 3/2/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Osceola, Sabine

Kendall, Isaac A., enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, d/svc at sea, 3/20/1866, vessels: Kearsarge

Landguist, John A., enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 3/10/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Susquehanna

Leslie, William, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Susquehanna

Lonigan, Matthias, substitute - enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Susquehanna

Lyons, Charles, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 9/15/6, vessels: Kearsarge

Madden, Michael, enl 2/4/65, Landsman, age 31, USN, m/o 2/1/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Wampanoag; b. Ireland

McKennie, John, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Susquehanna

Murphy, John, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 9/15/6, vessels: Kearsarge

O'Brien, Declarn, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 10/6/66, vessels: Kearsarge

O'Brien, Jeremiah, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 10/6/66, vessels: Kearsarge

O'Reilly, Miles, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/27/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Wampanoag

Parlin, Isaac, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/67, vessels: Kearsarge

Parlin, Robert, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/67, vessels: Kearsarge

Peterson, John, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/11/68, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Susquehanna

Rand, Homer Edgar, Apptd Acting Assistant Paymaster 4/22/64, USN, resigned 9/24/65, vessels: Merrimac, Tioga, Glasgow, Kearsarge

Rand, Stephen Jr., enl 8/15/61, m/i 9/9/61, PVT, Co. E, 1st USSS, dis/dsb 4/13/63, Alexandria, Va., USN, (more)

Regan, Michael, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 2261868, vessels: Kearsarge, Tahoma, Wampanoag

Salters, William, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 6/30/65, vessels: Kearsarge

Smith, Neil J., substitute - enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, dsrtd 4/3/65, vessels: Kearsarge

Stanley, William, enl 1/22/62, 2nd Class Fireman, USN, Portsmouth, for 3 yrs, served on USS Kearsarge, poss. served in action against CSA Alabama, 6/19/64, disch 11/30/64, from Kearsarge, term expired

Stewart, John, enl 2/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 1/9/66, vessels: Kearsarge

Stimson, Robert, enl 3/65, Landsman, USN, m/o 2/5/68, vessels: Kearsarge

Woodward, Edwin Tully, Appointed Midshipman, 11/59, USN, (more)