During the American Civil War, Confederate States of America raiders (the most famous being the CSS Alabama) were built in Britain and did significant damage to Union naval forces. The United States claimed direct and collateral damage against Britain, the so-called Alabama Claims, and was awarded $15,500,000 by an international tribunal in 1871 as part of the Treaty of Washington. Jump to: navigation, search The American Civil War (1861–1865) was fought in North America within the United States of America, between twenty-three mostly northern states of the Union and the Confederate States of America, a coalition of eleven southern states that declared their independence and claimed the right... Jump to: navigation, search Motto: Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God our Vindicator) Anthem: God Save the South (unofficial) Dixie (popular) Capital Montgomery, Alabama February 4, 1861–May 29, 1861 Richmond, Virginia May 29, 1861–April 9, 1865 Danville, Virginia April 3–April 10, 1865 Largest city New Orleans February 4... CSS Alabama was a screw sloop-of-war built for the Confederate States Navy at Birkenhead in 1862 by John Laird Sons and Company of Liverpool. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1871 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Treaty of Washington was a treaty negotiated between Great Britain and the United States in 1871. ...

The tribunal was comprised of representatives from the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Switzerland (Jakob Stämpfli), and Brazil. This established the principle of international arbitration, and launched a movement to codify international law with hopes for finding peaceful solutions to international disputes. The Alabama Claims was thus a precursor to the Hague Convention, the League of Nations, the World Court, and the United Nations. Jakob Stämpfli Jakob Stämpfli (February 23, 1820 - May 15, 1879) was a Swiss politician. ... Jump to: navigation, search International law, is the body of law that regulates the activities of entities possessing international personality. Traditionally, that meant the conduct and relationships of states. ... The longtime status of Netherlands as a largely neutral nation in international conflicts and the corresponding ascendance of The Hague as a primary location for diplomatic and international conferences has led to several negotiated conventions over the years being termed the Hague Convention: The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907... Jump to: navigation, search The League of Nations was an international organization founded after the First World War at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. ... The World Court refers collectively to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and its successor the International Court of Justice (ICJ). ... Jump to: navigation, search The United Nations, or UN, is an international organization established in 1945. ...

In the particular case of the Alabama the United States claimed that the United Kingdom had violated neutrality by allowing the Alabama to be constructed, knowing that it would enter into service with the Confederacy. The British Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston, and Foreign Secretary Earl Russell had allowed the Alabama to put to sea from the shipyards of John Laird Sons and Company in Liverpool despite the explicit objections of the American Legation in London, and charges from the American Minister to England Charles Francis Adams that the ship was bound for the Confederacy. Though both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were thought to slightly favor the Confederacy at the time of Alabama's construction this position was against British public opinion. The subsequent release of the Alabama proved to be publicly embarrassing when both were later forced to admit that the ship should not have been allowed to depart, despite the opinion of the British Chief Justice that her release did not violate neutrality. In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister is the head of government, exercising many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (October 20, 1784 - October 18, 1865) was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Right Honourable John Russell, 1st Earl Russell (August 18, 1792 – May 28, 1878), known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. ... Cammell Laird, one of the most famous names in British ship-building during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. ... Jump to: navigation, search Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Northwest England, on the north side of the Mersey estuary. ... Charles Francis Adams (August 18, 1807, Boston - November 21, 1886, Boston), the son of John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams, was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. ...

Even so, the next year two ironclad warships under construction in Birkenhead and bound for the Confederacy were detained after their completion but before their launch. As a direct consequence of the flap over the Alabama rather than turn the ships over to Monsieur Bravay of Paris, who had ordered their construction as intermediary for Confederate actors, Palmerston instructed the British Admiralty to tender an offer for the purchase of the ships. Ironclad warships, frequently shortened to just ironclads, were ships sheathed with thick iron plates for protection. ... Map sources for Birkenhead at grid reference SJ3088 Birkenhead is a town on The Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, on the left bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. ... For the international law of the sea, see Admiralty law. ...