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The [[CSS Shenandoah|CSS ''Shenandoah'']] arrived in Australian waters on January 17, 1865. Off the coast of [[Port Adelaide]] at 39°32'14"S and 122°16'52" E, |
The [[CSS Shenandoah|CSS ''Shenandoah'']] arrived in Australian waters on January 17, 1865. Off the coast of [[Port Adelaide]] at 39°32'14"S and 122°16'52" E, her crew spotted an American-made sailing ship named the ''Nimrod'' and boarded it. Having ascertained it was an English ship, the ''Shenandoah'' left it alone.<ref>Thomsen pp.282,283</ref> |
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On January 25, 1865 the [[CSS Shenandoah|CSS ''Shenandoah'']] made harbor at [[Williamstown, Victoria]], near [[Melbourne]], in order to repair damage received while capturing Union whaling ships. Waddell sent a Lieutenant Grimball at 7pm to gain approve from local authorities to repair their ship, with Grimball returning three hours later saying they were granted permission.<ref name="THOM">Thomsen p.283</ref> The United States consul [[William Blanchard]] insisted that the Victorian government arrest the Confederates as pirates, but his pleas were ignored by Victoria's governor, Sir [[Charles Henry Darling]], who was satisfied with the ''Shenandoah''’s pleading of neutrality when requesting to be allowed to do repairs.<ref name="SINC">{{cite news|url=http://acwrta.tripod.com/id4.html|title=How we helped south in Civil War|last=Sinclair|first=Briar|date=February 1, 2005|publisher=Star News Group |accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref><ref name="VAUG">{{cite news|url=http://acwrta.tripod.com/id4.html|title=When Civil War came to Willi|last=Mawbey|first=Vaughan|date=February 1, 2005|publisher=The Times|accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref> Aside from a few fist fights, there was no direct conflict between the two warring sides.<ref name="LEVI61">Levi p.61</ref> However, there were eighteen desertions while ashore, and there was constant threats of Northern sympathizers joining the crew in order to capture the ship when it was at sea.<ref>Stern p.251</ref> |
On January 25, 1865 the [[CSS Shenandoah|CSS ''Shenandoah'']] made harbor at [[Williamstown, Victoria]], near [[Melbourne]], in order to repair damage received while capturing Union whaling ships. Waddell sent a Lieutenant Grimball at 7pm to gain approve from local authorities to repair their ship, with Grimball returning three hours later saying they were granted permission.<ref name="THOM">Thomsen p.283</ref> The United States consul [[William Blanchard]] insisted that the Victorian government arrest the Confederates as pirates, but his pleas were ignored by Victoria's governor, Sir [[Charles Henry Darling]], who was satisfied with the ''Shenandoah''’s pleading of neutrality when requesting to be allowed to do repairs.<ref name="SINC">{{cite news|url=http://acwrta.tripod.com/id4.html|title=How we helped south in Civil War|last=Sinclair|first=Briar|date=February 1, 2005|publisher=Star News Group |accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref><ref name="VAUG">{{cite news|url=http://acwrta.tripod.com/id4.html|title=When Civil War came to Willi|last=Mawbey|first=Vaughan|date=February 1, 2005|publisher=The Times|accessdate=2009-02-15}}</ref> Aside from a few fist fights, there was no direct conflict between the two warring sides.<ref name="LEVI61">Levi p.61</ref> However, there were eighteen desertions while ashore, and there was constant threats of Northern sympathizers joining the crew in order to capture the ship when it was at sea.<ref>Stern p.251</ref> |
Revision as of 00:01, 24 February 2009
Despite being across the world from the conflict, Australia was affected by the American Civil War. It saw a difference in its economics and immigration. It also saw the war almost erupting on its own shores, just outside of Melbourne.
Accounts disagree if Australians favored the Union or the Confederacy. Sorrowful demonstrations were held in Sydney when news arrived that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.[1][2]
Economics
Together, Australia and New Zealand had 140 citizens who were veterans of the American Civil War, with almost 100 being born in the two countries.[3] Some of these were originally Americans who came to Australia during Australia's gold rush. Officers during the war included one who gave Tasmania its first telegraph service, and another officer who mined for gold in Ballarat.[4]
Confederate blockade runners occasionally supplied themselves in Australia.[4] The Australians had long feared possible naval attack by Americans, a fear rooted in the actions of American privateers during the War of 1812.[5]
The war caused the Lancashire Cotton Famine. As a result, Queensland saw a rise in its cotton industry. Another consequence of the cotton famine was the creation of a National Colonial Emigration Society in Britain, although it had little ongoing relevance. This came about as a result of so many individuals from northern England being affected by the inability of the Southern United States to ship cotton during the war.[6] Once the war ended, little cotton from Southern Australia was imported to England.[7] However, in the aftermath of the war some Australians were interested in acquiring the Fiji Islands and their cotton fields.[8]
Another immigration quirk that was caused by the war was Australia fighting with Canada and New Zealand over increased Irish immigration, as many of the Irish decided against emigrating to the warring nations of North America.[9]
CSS Shenandoah
The CSS Shenandoah arrived in Australian waters on January 17, 1865. Off the coast of Port Adelaide at 39°32'14"S and 122°16'52" E, her crew spotted an American-made sailing ship named the Nimrod and boarded it. Having ascertained it was an English ship, the Shenandoah left it alone.[10]
On January 25, 1865 the CSS Shenandoah made harbor at Williamstown, Victoria, near Melbourne, in order to repair damage received while capturing Union whaling ships. Waddell sent a Lieutenant Grimball at 7pm to gain approve from local authorities to repair their ship, with Grimball returning three hours later saying they were granted permission.[11] The United States consul William Blanchard insisted that the Victorian government arrest the Confederates as pirates, but his pleas were ignored by Victoria's governor, Sir Charles Henry Darling, who was satisfied with the Shenandoah’s pleading of neutrality when requesting to be allowed to do repairs.[12][13] Aside from a few fist fights, there was no direct conflict between the two warring sides.[14] However, there were eighteen desertions while ashore, and there was constant threats of Northern sympathizers joining the crew in order to capture the ship when it was at sea.[15]
The local citizenry was very interested in the Confederate ship being in Port Phillip Bay. While at Williamstown, James Iredell Waddell, the captain of the Shenandoah and his men participated in several "official functions" the local citizens arranged in their honour, including a gala ball with the "cream of society" at Craig's Royal Hotel in Ballarat and at the Melbourne Club. Thousands of tourists came to see the ship every day, requiring special trains to accommodate them.[12][16][13] After being treated as "little lions", the officers of the Shenandoah later reflected that the best time of their lives was given to them by the women of Melbourne.[14]
After leaving Australia, the Shenandoah would capture twenty-five additional Union whaling ships before finally surrendering at Liverpool, England in November, 1865. Those surrendering included 42 Australians who had joined the crew at Williamstown; sources differ as to whether the Australians were stowaways or were "illegally" recruited.[17][4] However, Waddell did refuse to allow Australian authorities to see if Australians were aboard the ship prior to sailing from Williamstown on February 18. Four Australians were arrested to prevent them from joining the Confederate ships, and Governor Darling allowed the Shenandoah to sail away, instead of firing upon it.[13] Waddell's official report said that on February 18 they "found on board" the 42 men, and made 36 sailors and enlisted six as marines.[11] One of the original Confederate crewman, midshipman John Thomson Mason, stated that they just happened to find the stowaways, of various nationalities, and enlisted them outside of Australian waters. He further said one of the stowaway was the captain of an English steamer that was at Melbourne at the time; the Englishman became the captain's clerk.[18]
Aftermath
In 1872 the British government would pay the United States $3,875,000 as a result of the assistance provided to CSS Shenandoah and other Confederate ships in Victoria and other ports controlled by Great Britain, after an international jury ruled on the case in Geneva, Switzerland.[12][19] Another consequence of the Shenandoah episode was that the residents of Melbourne, realizing they were vulnerable to attack, hurried to build coastal defense forts, in particular to ward off possible attack by Russia.[16] The government of Victoria requested an ironclad ship to be sent to protect the colony, after the value of ironclads was demonstrated during the American Civil War Battle of Hampton Roads.[17] The monitor HMVS Cerberus was constructed during the late 1860s, and duly arrived in Victoria in 1871.
When later coming to form their own self-government, Australia favored the British model as they had misgivings about America's powerful postwar "monarchical" presidency.[20] Australians also opposed the importation of "coloured labour", in part due to fears of a similar civil war breaking out in Australia.[21][22] A further precautionary measure was evident in the addition of the word "indissoluble" to the Federal Constitution of 1897-1898 in Adelaide, to prevent the "political heresy" of secession as engaged in by the Confederacy.[23]
In 1972 the American Civil War Round Table of Australia was founded.[12] Its secretary, Barry Crompton, has the largest library dedicated to the American Civil War outside the United States, at over 4,000 pieces as of 2005.[24]
See also
References
- ^ Dowling p.24
- ^ Baldwin p.85
- ^ Crompton, Barry (September 2008). "CIVIL WAR PARTICIPANTS BORN IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND". Archer Memorial Civil War Library & ACWRTA, inc. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ a b c Crompton, Barry (May 2000). "CIVIL WAR LINKS WITH AUSTRALIA". American Civil War Round Table of Australia. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Levi p.60
- ^ Jupp p.301
- ^ Dowling p.31
- ^ Levi p.58
- ^ Jupp p.451
- ^ Thomsen pp.282,283
- ^ a b Thomsen p.283
- ^ a b c d Sinclair, Briar (February 1, 2005). "How we helped south in Civil War". Star News Group. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ a b c Mawbey, Vaughan (February 1, 2005). "When Civil War came to Willi". The Times. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ a b Levi p.61
- ^ Stern p.251
- ^ a b Stewart, Paul (January 9, 2005). "Last act of war". Sunday Herald Sun. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ a b Mawbey, Vaughan (February 15, 2005). "Who said war's over?". The Times. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- ^ Mason p.326
- ^ Jupp p.168
- ^ Jupp p.844
- ^ Irving p.434
- ^ Dowling p.73
- ^ Irving p.329
- ^ "Group gets Round Table to discuss romance, war". The Times. February 1, 2005. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
- Baldwin, John (2007). Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship. Crown Publishers. ISBN 5557760857.
- Dowling, Edward (2008). Australia and America in 1892: A Contrast. BiblioBazaar, LLC. ISBN 0559173075.
- Irving, Helen (1999). The Centenary Companion to Australian Federation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521573149.
- Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521807891.
- Levi, Werner (1999). American-Australian Relations. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0816600449.
- Mason, John Thomson (August 1898). The Last of the Confederate Cruisers. Century Magazine.
- Stern, Philip Van Doren (1992). The Confederate Navy: A Pictorial History. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0306804883.
- Thomsen, Brian (2004). Blue & Gray at Sea: Naval Memoirs of the Civil War. Macmillan. ISBN 0765308967.