Australia and the American Civil War
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fe/CSSShenandoah.jpg/220px-CSSShenandoah.jpg)
Despite being across the world from the conflict, the
The Australian public was shocked by the revelation by a Russian navy deserter, who claimed that attacks on British naval targets was secretly planned by Russia in the case of an outbreak of war with Britain. The Russian navy had just paid Australia a visit in preparation for launching attacks. Fear of a possible military confrontation led to a massive buildup of coastal defences and to the acquisition of an ironclad warship.
Australia became directly involved when the Confederate navy visited in order to repair one of their warships. This led to protests from the Union representative at Melbourne, while the citizenry of nearby Williamstown entertained the Confederates and some Australians joined the crew. Accounts disagree as to whether Australians generally favored the Union or the Confederacy.
Economics
Together, 140 Australians and
The war also caused the Lancashire Cotton Famine. As a result, Queensland saw a rise in its cotton industry, while the National Colonial Emigration Society in Britain was founded, 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.[4] Once the war ended, little cotton from southern Australia was imported to England.[5] Another impact was the competition with Canada that Australia and New Zealand had with Irish immigration. The increasing Irish immigration was seen as an economic boon by these countries. One of the reasons for the increase was due to many Irish deciding against emigrating to the warring nations of North America.[6]
During the American Civil War, Anglo-Russian relations were worsened by Russian perceptions that the British were covertly supporting the
The information was attributed to Lieutenant Władysław Zbyszewski, a Russian navy officer from Poland stationed onboard Bogatyr, who had deserted from service in Shanghai soon after she left Australia, and found his way to Paris to join the January Uprising. This information about Popov's supposed plans was forwarded by a fellow Pole, S. Rakowsky.[9] Similar attack orders are known to have been given to the Atlantic squadron under Rear Admiral Lessovsky, that was sent to New York at the same time.[10]
CSS Shenandoah
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/JamesIredellWaddellCSA.jpg/220px-JamesIredellWaddellCSA.jpg)
Having crossed the Indian Ocean, the CSS Shenandoah arrived in Australian waters on 17 January 1865. Off the coast of South Australia at 39°32′14″S 122°16′52″E / 39.53722°S 122.28111°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.[11]
On 25 January 1865, the Shenandoah made harbor at Williamstown, Victoria, near Melbourne, in order to repair damage received while capturing Union whaling-ships. At seven o'clock in the evening, Waddell sent Lieutenant Grimball to gain approval from local authorities to repair their ship; Grimball returned three hours later saying they were granted permission.[12] The United States consul, William Blanchard, insisted that the Victorian government arrest the Confederates as pirates, but Victoria's governor, Sir Charles Henry Darling, ignored his pleas, satisfied with the Shenandoah’s pleading of neutrality when requesting to be allowed to undertake repairs.[13][14] Aside from a few fist fights between Americans, there was no direct conflict between the two warring sides in Melbourne.[15] However, there were eighteen desertions while ashore, and there were constant threats of Northern sympathisers joining the crew in order to capture the ship when it was at sea.[16]
The local citizenry expressed great interest in the Confederate ship in
After leaving Australia, the Shenandoah sailed north into the Pacific Ocean and captured 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 illegally recruited.[2][18] Waddell had refused Australian authorities permission to see if Australians were aboard the ship prior to sailing from Williamstown on 18 February 1865. Four Australians had been arrested by police to prevent them from joining the Confederate ship, and Governor Darling allowed the Shenandoah to sail away, instead of firing upon it.[14] Waddell's official report said that on 18 February they "found on board" the 42 men, and made 36 sailors and enlisted six as marines.[12] One of the original Confederate crewmen, 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 stowaways was the captain of an English steamer that was at Melbourne at the time; the Englishman became the captain's clerk.[19]
Aftermath
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Cerberus_%28AWM_300036%29.jpg/220px-Cerberus_%28AWM_300036%29.jpg)
The residents of Melbourne, realizing they were vulnerable to attack by others, especially the Russians due to the events during the war, hurried to build coastal defense forts. This included the government of Victoria requesting an
In 1872 the British government paid the United States US$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
Self-government
When the six colonies of the Australian continent federated to form a self-governing nation in 1901, Australia favored the British model of government as they had misgivings about America's powerful postwar "monarchical" presidency.[22] Australians also opposed the importation of "coloured labour" and established the White Australia policy, in part due to fears of a similar civil war breaking out in Australia.[23][24] 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.[25]
See also
References
Footnotes
- ^ Crompton, Barry (September 2008). "Civil War Participants Born In Australia And New Zealand". Archer Memorial Civil War Library & ACWRTA, inc. Archived from the original on 17 February 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ a b c d Crompton, Barry (May 2000). "Civil War Links With Australia". American Civil War Round Table of Australia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 15 February 2009.
- ^ Levi p.60
- ^ Jupp p.301
- ^ Dowling p.31
- ^ Jupp p.451
- ^ Heidler, p. 1689
- ^ Fairplay (27 December 1864). "The Russians are Coming!". The Argus. Melbourne: 7.
- ^ a b The Russian Corvette "Bogatyr" In Melbourne and Sydney In 1863 retrieved 10 March 2009
- ^ A. V. Efimov (А. В. Ефимов) (1958). "Гражданская война в США и Россия". Очерки истории США. 1492–1870 гг. (in Russian). Moscow: Учпедгиз. Archived from the original on 25 June 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
- ^ Thomsen pp.282,283
- ^ a b Thomsen p.283
- ^ a b c Sinclair, Briar (February 1, 2005). "How we helped south in Civil War". Star News Group. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ a b c Mawbey, Vaughan (February 1, 2005). "When Civil War came to Willi". The Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ a b Levi p.61
- ^ Stern p.251
- ^ a b Stewart, Paul (January 9, 2005). "Last act of war". Sunday Herald Sun. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ a b Mawbey, Vaughan (February 15, 2005). "Who said war's over?". The Times. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2009.
- ^ Mason p.326
- ^ Gould, p. 271
- ^ Jupp p.168
- ^ Jupp p.844
- ^ Irving p.434
- ^ Dowling p.73
- ^ Irving p.329
Bibliography
- Baldwin, John (2007). Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship. Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-5-557-76085-0.
- Dowling, Edward (2008). Australia and America in 1892: A Contrast. BiblioBazaar, LLC. ISBN 978-0-559-17307-3.
- Gould, Richard (2000). Archaeology and the social history of ships. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56789-0.
- Heidler, David (2002). Encyclopedia Of The American Civil War. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04758-X.
- Irving, Helen (1999). The Centenary Companion to Australian Federation. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-57314-9.
- Jupp, James (2001). The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80789-1.
- Levi, Werner (1999). American-Australian Relations. U of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-0044-9.
- Mason, John Thomson (August 1898). The Last of the Confederate Cruisers. Century Magazine.
- Seward, William (1866). The assassination of Abraham Lincoln late president of the United States of America. Washington: Government Printing Office.
- Stern, Philip Van Doren (1992). The Confederate Navy: A Pictorial History. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80488-3.
- Thomsen, Brian (2004). Blue & Gray at Sea: Naval Memoirs of the Civil War. Macmillan. ISBN 0-7653-0896-7.