During the Civil War, the USS Kearsarge sank which Confederate commerce raider?

• A. CSS Florida
• B. CSS Alabama
• C. CSS Merrimack
• D. CSS Virginia

Answer: (B)

In Civil War naval warfare, Confederate commerce raiders tried to disrupt Union shipping, while Union ships hunted them to protect trade routes. The USS Kearsarge embodies this pursuit: a Union cruiser that closed with a notorious raider off Cherbourg, France, in 1864 and defeated her, sinking the raider and ending a feared threat to Atlantic commerce. This particular engagement is famous because it clearly shows how disciplined gunnery and steady seamanship could neutralize a highly successful raider.

The raider sunk by Kearsarge is the one that had terrorized merchant ships for years, demonstrating that the Union could strike back decisively at the Confederacy’s raiding force. The other ships listed—an ironclad that fought Monitor in a different theater and a separate raider that operated elsewhere—were not the target of this particular duel, so they don’t fit the scenario described by the question.