DESCRIPTION : Confederate warship C.S.S. Alabama plastic kit from German specialists Revell. After the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861, the Confederate ports were blockaded by the Union warships. As the intention was that this blockade would prevent any supplies from reaching the south, the Confederacy ordered a large and powerful steam ship, disguised as a merchant ship, designed to attack the Union merchantmen and also for defence purposes. In June 1861 Lairds Shipyard in Birkenhead, England began to build a sleek vessel. When this ship was launched in July 1862 it attracted the attention of the American ambassador in England. Enquiries of the British authorities were fruitless and so the vessel under the designation Enrica set off on her trial run, never to return. |
