History isn't just a bunch of names and dates and facts.

It's the collection of all the stories throughout human history that explained how and why we got here.

Welcome to the History Unplugged podcast, where we look at the forgotten, neglected, strange, and even counterfactual stories

that made our world what it is. I'm your host, Scott Rank. You've heard of the major land battles of the Civil War.

Gettysburg, Chancellor'sville, Antietam, first and second battles of Bull Run.

But when it comes to naval battles of the Civil War, a lot of people think there's not much to say.

Basically, the union blockaded the Confederacy.

They blockaded them from receiving supplies with their ports on the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic, and after Antietam blockaded the

Mississippi, and that's all there is to say. Well, it turns out that naval battles between

the Union and the Confederacy did occur, and they actually occurred all over the world,

everywhere from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean,

to the coast of South Africa, the Indian Ocean, and even the South Pacific.

And in the naval history of the Civil War, one of the most important ships was the Confederate

Raider, Alabama. The CSS Alabama was a screw's sloop of war built in 1862, was built for the Confederate Navy,

but actually constructed in Liverpool, England. It was a commercial raider and attacked

Union merchant and naval ships over the course of a two-year career, sinking dozens and

dozens of Union ships, even though it never docked once at a southern port. But it was finally

confronted by the Union on June 19, 1864,

after a 14-month chase that culminated one of the most dramatic naval battles in history.

Today's guest, Tom Clavin, is here to discuss the Alabama in this battle. He's the author of

the new book, To the Uttermost Ends of the Earth, the Epic Hunt for the South's most feared ship

in the greatest sea battle of the Civil War. The Alabama faced the Union warship, Kyrsarge, in an all-or-nothing fight to the death, and the outcome effectively ended the threat of the Confederacy on the high seas. When the Kier-Sarge was tasked with finding the Alabama, its captain, John Winslow was told, traveled to the uttermost ends of the earth

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