CSS Alabama, was built at Birkenhead, England, for the Confederate Navy. 
It was built to harass Union merchant ships and to break the strangle hold of the Union blockade of the confederate ports.

English financiual aid and support for the confederacy was well documented since England herself had an economic interest in ensuring the cotton trade between the Confederate states and its own cotton industry flourished

The Alabama left England under the guise of a merchant ship but was quickly converted to a surface Raider in August 1862.

As a surface raider she was singularly successful but history tells us the tactics of high seas piracy against the Unions merchant ships whilst outwardly successful was a tactical  error. She spent far too much time at sea and diverted the main thrust from the real priority of breaking the blockade for which she was really built.

Eventually she had to to make for a neutral port to refit and make repairs

and in a precursor to the battle of the river plate some 100 or so years later

when the German surface raider The Von graf Spee was forced to take on repairs and eventually sunk, the Alabama put into a french port where she was trapped by Union gunships in  June 1864.

In the battle that ensued the Alabama was virtually blown to pieces by superior fire power of Union battle ships. She sank with a massive loss of life and it is said her final demise was caused by one lucky shot into  the  magazine.

With her, the confederate dreams of breaking the blockade was over, and the war virtually lost

The ship is the subject of an Enlish sea shanty

and the words printed below

The Alabama's keel was laid
Roll Alabama Roll 
It was laid in the port of Birkenhead
Oh' Roll Alabama Roll

The Alabama Tanka

By M.A.Meddings 

Just A lucky shot
From a blockade defender
Ended their hopes then
Confederate dreams smashed
Demize of Alabama