John Ancrum Winslow Rear Admiral John Ancrum Winslow ( 19 November 1811 – 29 September 1873 ) was an officer in the United States Navy during the Mexican - American War and the American Civil War . He was in command of the steam sloop of war during her historic 1864 action off Cherbourg , France with the Confederate sea raider . Early life and career . Although born in Wilmington , North Carolina , Winslow was a member of the old New England Winslow family , a descendant of Mayflower passenger Mary Chilton and her husband John Winslow who was a brother of Pilgrim father Edward Winslow . One of his first cousins was Francis Winslow ( I ) ( 1818 – 1862 ) who also joined the Navy , becoming a Commander , who also fought in the Civil War and who died of Yellow Fever in 1862 while in command of the . He was educated in the North and became an ardent abolitionist . He entered the navy as a midshipman on 1 February 1827 , became a passed midshipman , 10 June 1833 , and was commissioned a lieutenant on 9 February 1839 . During the Mexican War he took part in the expeditions against Tabasco , Tampico , and Tuxpan , and was present at the fall of Vera Cruz . For his gallantry in action he was allowed to have command of the schooner , which had been captured at Tampico in November 1846 and was taken into service , but she was poorly equipped and was lost on a reef off Vera Cruz on 16 December 1846 . While serving at Tabasco during the Mexican - American War , he was commended for gallantry in action by Commodore Matthew Perry . He shared a shipboard cabin with his later adversary , Raphael Semmes . The two officers served together on , Semmes as the ship ' s flag lieutenant and Winslow as a division officer . The two , however , never mention this fact in their respective autobiographies . He was executive of the sloop in the Gulf of Mexico in 1848 - 1849 , at the Boston Navy Yard in 1849 - 1850 , and in the frigate of the Pacific Squadron , in 1851 - 1855 . He was promoted to commander , 14 September 1855 . Civil War service . The outbreak of the Civil War found Winslow serving ashore as commanding officer of the 2d Lighthouse District . He decided to stay with the Union , probably due to his New England roots , anti - slavery views , and his wife , who was another of his first cousins , also from Boston . After Flag Officer Andrew H . Foote relieved Commander John Rodgers in command of the Western Flotilla , he requested that Winslow be sent west to assist him as executive officer . At Cairo , Illinois , Winslow labored to fit out and man gunboats for service on the Mississippi River and its tributaries . In October 1861 , he assumed command of at St . Louis , Missouri . As that deep - draft gunboat was steaming down river to Cairo , she ran aground on a sandbar . While attempting to refloat the ship , Winslow was badly injured by a flying chain link and forced to return home late in the year to recover . When he was able to return to duty in the summer of 1862 , Winslow was given comparatively minor assignments . He contracted malaria , became discontented , and asked to be reassigned to other duty . Detached from the Mississippi Squadron , Winslow returned to his home in Roxbury , Massachusetts , early in November and was confined to bed there for a month attempting to regain his health . On 5 December , orders arrived directing him to proceed via New York City to the Azores where he was to assume command of the screw sloop . Two days later , he went to New York where he embarked in for passage to Fayal . However , when he reached that island on Christmas Eve , he found that " Kearsarge " had sailed to Spain for repairs ; and he was forced to remain at Fayal until spring . When the screw sloop finally returned early in April 1863 , he assumed command . In " Kearsarge " , he cruised among the Azores seeking Confederate commerce raider until autumn when he shifted to European waters . At Ferrol , Spain , Winslow learned that was at Brest , France , undergoing overhaul ; and he promptly sailed for that port to prevent her from slipping out to sea again . While keeping track of the progress of the repair work on the Southern warship through the U . S . diplomatic and espionage network , he also made runs along the coast of western Europe , checking on rumors of other Confederate raiders in the area . He also rigorously drilled his crew in naval gunnery , which stood them in good stead in the battle to come . In January 1864 , " Kearsarge " returned to Cadiz for naval stores and repairs ; and , while she was away from Brest , " Florida " put to sea on 18 February . When " Kearsarge " returned and learned that the quarry had escaped , she shifted to Calais , France , where was moored . On 12 June , while moored in the Scheldt off Vlissingen ( Flushing ) , Winslow received a telegram informing him that " Alabama " was at Cherbourg , a French naval port . Battle with " Alabama " . Capt . Winslow arrived off Cherbourg 14 June 1864 , where he found the " Alabama " and blockaded her in the harbor . The " Alabama " made preparations for fight , and Capt . Raphael Semmes caused Winslow to be informed of this intention through the U . S . consul . On Sunday , 19 June 1864 , he was lying three miles off the eastern entrance of the harbor when the " Alabama " came out , escorted by a French iron - clad and the English yacht " Deerhound " . Winslow steamed off seven miles from the shore so as to be beyond the neutral ground , and then steamed toward the " Alabama " . The armament of the " Kearsarge " was seven guns , and that of the " Alabama " eight guns , including a 100 - pound Blakely rifle . The " Kearsarge " was slightly faster , and had 163 men , while the " Alabama " had 149 . When Winslow turned to approach , the " Alabama " opened fire from a raking position at a distance of one mile at 10 : 57 a . m . He kept on at full speed , receiving a second broadside and part of a third , when he sheered off and returned the fire from his starboard battery . Both vessels circled around a common centre , and neared each other to within 600 yards . The sides of the " Alabama " were torn out by the shells , and at noon , after the action had continued for one hour , she headed for the shore to get into neutral waters , then five miles distant . This exposed her port side , and she could only bring two guns to bear . The ship was filling , and Winslow approached so rapidly that Semmes hauled down his flag . Winslow stopped the ship , but continued to fire , uncertain whether the " Alabama " had surrendered or the flag had been shot away . A white flag was then shown , and Winslow ceased firing . The " Alabama " again renewed her firing , and Winslow also opened and fired three or four times , though the white flag was still flying . A boat from the " Alabama " then came alongside to announce the surrender , and was allowed to go back to bring off the " Alabama " s officers and crew , but she did not return . The yacht " Deerhound " then came up , and Winslow asked her to assist in rescuing the officers and crew of the " Alabama " , which was then sinking fast . The " Deerhound " picked up thirty - nine persons , including Semmes and fourteen of his officers , after which she went off and sailed to Southampton . Winslow ' s officers begged him to throw a shell at the " Deerhound " , but he refused . The engagement lasted an hour and twenty minutes . After the last shot was fired the " Alabama " sank out of sight . She had about forty killed , and seventy were made prisoners , so that thirty - nine escaped . Only three men were wounded in the " Kearsarge " , one of whom died . The " Alabama " out shot the " Kearsarge " two to one . Only twenty - eight projectiles struck the " Kearsarge " out of the 370 that were fired by the " Alabama " , and none of these did any material damage , due to the anchor chains protecting the " Kearsarge " hull . One 100 - pound shell exploded in the smoke - stack , and one lodged in the stern - post of the " Kearsarge " , but did not explode . The " Kearsarge " fired 173 projectiles , and few failed to do some injury . Winslow ' s victory earned him promotion to commodore , backdated to the day of the battle , and the Thanks of Congress . Later career and legacy . Advanced to rear admiral in 1870 , Winslow commanded the Pacific Squadron from that year to 1872 . He was always known as a solid , courageous , determined officer . Shortly after his retirement , he died in Boston . His coffin was draped in the " Kearsarge " s battle flag , and a slab of stone from Mt . Kearsarge covered his grave . Two ships in the United States Navy have been named for him . A third " Winslow " honored him and his first cousin once removed , Admiral Cameron McRae Winslow ( second son of Francis Winslow ( I ) ) .