by Joy Lefroy
The three-mile limit was based on the maximum range a sailing ship’s cannon could fire. The limit did not change until well after sailing ships had been replaced.
16.2 STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Technology
Catalpa was a sailing ship powered by wind. Georgette had sails but also had a steam engine to drive the ship in calm conditions or when the wind was in the wrong direction.
Create a PMI chart (Plusses, Minuses, Interesting) to show the relationship between steam and sail. Use your chart to consider what advantages there could be today to have a vessel powered by wind.
Activity 2: Contested history
One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.
Were the Fenians heroes or villains? History can be told from various points of view. This story has been written from the perspective of the Fenians and the Americans who rescued them, Captain Anthony in particular.
How would the story be different if it had been told by someone in the British government?
Rewrite the description about Georgette approaching Catalpa from the perspective of Superintendent Stone.
17.1 INFORMATION: FIRING A CANNON AT SEA
The cannon first appeared in England in the 1300s but was not used in naval battles until much later.
The Mary Rose (www.maryrose.org), a famous English warship, took cannon to sea as early as 1511. Large and heavily armed, she is an early example of a purpose-built sailing warship.
Early naval battles closely resembled land battles. Arrows were fired as the ships approached each other and hand-to-hand combat weapons were used when the ships were boarded. With the introduction of cannon, guns began replacing arrows, and gunports were cut in the hull to allow the cannon to be fired from lower down inside the ship. This position of the cannon stopped the ships being top-heavy and allowed a ‘broadside’ (simultaneous firing of all cannon from one side of the ship) for the first time in history.
Naval tactics throughout the 1500s still focused primarily on boarding the enemy ship and fighting hand-to-hand. Gunpowder was unreliable, particularly at sea. It was difficult to fire cannon from moving platforms, and cannon were inaccurate. Even in the 1800s, battles at sea were usually fought from close range because cannon, though powerful, were still inaccurate.
The traditional cannon was loaded through the muzzle (front) with a gunpowder cartridge, a cannonball and wadding (usually a felt plug). When the command was given, the gun captain would fire the cannon, trying to gauge the moment when the ship was rolling the right way. If they were aiming at the rigging and sails with canister shot (a case containing many small cannonballs), they would fire when the roll of the ship pointed the cannon upwards. If they were aiming at the hull, they would try and pick the moment when the ship was rolling down towards the water. Canister shot was a deadly weapon. When fired, the canister broke up and the shot spread out, causing a wide area of destruction to sails and rigging or, if fired at deck level, to the crew.
The gun captain knew there was a delay of a second or two between igniting the charge and the cannon firing. On a rolling, pitching ship, this made aiming and firing difficult.
When the cannon fired, it recoiled backwards from the gunport. The cannon and carriage were held in place by thick breeching ropes. Without them, or if a rope broke, the cannon could fly across the deck or even through the opposite side of the ship.
As soon as the cannon was fired the ‘sponger’ would put out any burning embers inside the barrel with a damp sponge at the end of a long stick. The cannon would then be reloaded, ready to fire again. A well-trained crew in the late 1700s could fire a cannon every minute and a half, though the rate of fire would drop as the gun crew became tired.
17.2 STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Art
In her illustration, Marion Duke has splattered paint onto a three-dimensional artwork to represent the shock of the cannonball hitting the water. Experiment with different techniques to make an image that shows power and movement.
18.1 INFORMATION: WHAT THE PRESS SAID
Fremantle Herald —22 April 1876
The early return of the steamer gave rise to every kind of conjecture, and as her approach was watched from the shore, wagers were freely made as to the cause of the early return. Many declared that the Catalpa, warned of the steps the governor was taking by the previous visit of the Georgette, had attacked her and beaten her off. Others laid bets that, overawed by the determination of force on board the Georgette, the captain of the Catalpa had quietly surrendered the runaways. As is usual in such cases, the sequel showed that neither was right. When the true condition of affairs became known, there were some manifestations of indignation at the colony having been fooled by a Yankee skipper. The pensioners and police felt that they had been taking part in a very silly farce, and had been laughed at by the Yankees at sea and the public on shore, and sincerely hoped that instructions would be given to go out again and take the prisoners by force...
...in a short time the crowd dispersed, and the town elapsed into its normal condition of quietude, having suffered three days of the most intense excitement ever experienced in its history.
London Telegraph —May 1876
So the English Cruiser had to return to Freemantle [sic] as empty as it left, and the skipper of the Catalpa, who was evidently, like most Yankee mariners, an accomplished sea lawyer, sailed off in triumph, laughing at our scrupulous obedience to international law. This is a humiliating result, and it is not easy to see who most deserves blame,—the sleepy warder who allowed all the men to give him the slip and sounded no alarm in time to overtake them on their long carriage drive, or the authorities in Rockingham, who permitted the Catalpa to get outside the territorial limit before stopping her. Nor is it clear what is the next step to be taken...
...there is the consideration that the enterprising skipper of Catalpa has, without meaning it, done us a good turn; he has rid us of an expensive nuisance. The United States are welcome to any number of disloyal, turbulent, plotting conspirators, to their silly machinations. If these are transferred to British soil, we shall know how to deal with them,—as we have shown already.
The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria)—7 June 1876
The news from Western Australia confirms the suspicion that a grave international outrage was committed in the escape of the Fenian prisoners from Fremantle. They were actually taken away while wearing the convict garb by the master of an American ship, who despatched a boat ashore for the purpose. It is impossible to suppose that the man did not know very well what he was doing, and his proceedings are precisely as if a French boat were to run to the hill of Portland, and take away as many convicts from there as could crowd into her...
...The ship was on the high seas, it is true, and outside of British jurisdiction, but the master and his boat went to the shore, and for a felonious purpose, and that constitutes the breach of the law of nations. The offence is too serious, too glaring, to be overlooked, and we presume that important communications will speedily pass between the Governments of Westminster and Washington.
New York Herald —20 August 1876
The whaling Bark Catalpa of New Bedford arrived off the Battery yesterday morning at half-past two o’clock, having on board the six Fenians held as military prisoners by the British Government in the Fremantle Prison at Swan River, Australia, and rescued hence on Easter Monday April 17 last by friends sent hither from this city for that purpose...
...Long before daylight the news was known in Irish circles throughout the city and early in the morning a party boarded the Catalpa to receive the rescued prisoners. The scene on board when the rescued and rescuers met was an exciting one. Tears stood in the eyes of more than one of the party and many “Thank God” was uttered from overflowing hearts...
18.2 STUDENT ACTIVITIES
Activity 1: Analysing primary historical sources
The following extracts are from newspaper articles written as the ne
ws of the Fenians escape spread. There is also a telegram from Ireland. Read the extracts, underline any words or phrases you don’t understand and find out their meaning.
Decide which of the extracts supported the escape and which were embarrassed or annoyed by it. Explain your answers.
London Telegraph—May 1876
So the English Cruiser had to return to Freemantle [sic] as empty as it left, and the skipper of the Catalpa, who was evidently, like most Yankee mariners, an accomplished sea lawyer, sailed off in triumph, laughing at our scrupulous obedience to international law.
New York Herald—20 August 1876
The whaling Bark Catalpa of New Bedford arrived off the Battery yesterday morning at half-past two o’clock, having on board the six Fenians held as military prisoners by the British Government in the Fremantle Prison at Swan River, Australia, and rescued hence on Easter Monday April 17 last by friends sent hither from this city for that purpose...
...Long before daylight the news was known in Irish circles throughout the city and early in the morning a party boarded the Catalpa to receive the rescued prisoners. The scene on board when the rescued and rescuers met was an exciting one. Tears stood in the eyes of more than one of the party and many “Thank God” was uttered from overflowing hearts...
The Argus (Melbourne, Victoria)—7 June 1876
The news from Western Australia confirms the suspicion that a grave international outrage was committed in the escape of the Fenian prisoners from Fremantle. They were actually taken away while wearing the convict garb by the master of an American ship, who despatched a boat ashore for the purpose. It is impossible to suppose that the man did not know very well what he was doing, and his proceedings are precisely as if a French boat were to run to the hill of Portland, and take away as many convicts from there as could crowd into her...
The Perth Inquirer—26 April 1876
It seems humiliating that a Yankee, with a half a dozen coloured men, should be able to come into our waters and carry off six of the most determined of the Fenian convicts—all the unreleased military prisoners—and then to laugh at us for allowing them to be taken away without any effort to secure them.
Telegram from Ireland
There was a torchlight procession in Dublin on Saturday night, June 10, in celebration of the escape of the political convicts from West Australia, and Disraeli was burned in effigy.
The Pilot (Boston, USA)—17 June 1876
The escape of the prisoners from Western Australia is the best proof that Irishmen can manage the most dangerous and difficult enterprises, and keep their own counsel in a way unknown almost to any other nation.
Activity 2: Finding historical sources
Search Trove—the National Library of Australia’s online database that includes digitised newspapers (trove.nla.gov.au)—for other examples of press reports about the escape. There are many occurrences with the title ‘Catalpa’ so narrow your search with suitable key words such as ‘Fenian Catalpa’.
18.3 INFORMATION: WHAT HAPPENED TO THE KEY PLAYERS IN THE CATALPA STORY?
Captain George Anthony
Anthony was recruited by his father-in-law John T Richardson to captain Catalpa on the secret mission to rescue the Irish prisoners from Fremantle Prison. Richardson, a prominent New Bedford shipping agent, had a great belief in freedom and justice, which was also shared by George Anthony. Together they supported the Irish cause for freedom and agreed to be involved at great personal risk.
Anthony’s involvement with the successful rescue meant he was listed as an enemy of Britain and this brought an end to his career as a whaleman. After he returned home to America, he had a successful life ashore as a mill manager and then as a customs inspector for the Port of New Bedford, but he never went to sea again for fear of being captured and imprisoned.
He died of pneumonia at the age of sixty-nine in May 1913.
Thomas Brennan
A Dublin Fenian, Brennan took part in the 1867 rising. He escaped capture and left for America. He was keen to be part of the crew of Catalpa but John Devoy was wary of having another Irishman on board and feared their plans may be discovered. He was also concerned about Brennan’s hot temper, so Brennan was not included. Against orders Brennan made his way to Fremantle and arrived a week before the escape. He helped Breslin drive one of the wagons with the escapees on board to Rockingham Beach and joined the crew in the whaleboat.
On board Catalpa he stirred up trouble among the escapees against Captain Anthony and John Breslin.
He died in New York in 1915.
John Breslin (alias James Collins)
Breslin was born in Ireland but moved to America in the 1860s. He was one of the two spies sent to Fremantle to organise the escape and liaise with Captain Anthony and Catalpa.
While staying at the Emerald Isle Hotel in Fremantle he had an affair with a chambermaid, Mary Tondut. Their child John Joseph Tondut was born in Sydney in December 1876.
After Breslin’s return to America on Catalpa he worked on the Holland submarine project with John Devoy. In the 1880s he became business manager of Devoy’s Irish Nation newspaper. He died in New York in 1887.
Thomas Desmond (alias Tom Johnson)
Desmond was selected by the Fenians to accompany Breslin to Australia as one of the spies. While waiting for Catalpa to arrive he stayed in Perth under the name of Tom Johnson from Illinois and worked in his trade as a carriage builder.
Following his return on Catalpa he was elected sheriff of San Francisco. He died in 1901.
John Devoy
A key member of the Fenian movement in Ireland, Devoy was arrested in 1866, aged twenty-four, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. After five years he was released and exiled to the United States, where over the next fifty years he was a leader of the Irish-American fight for Irish freedom from British rule.
Having received letters appealing for help from Fenians James Wilson and Martin Hogan in Fremantle Prison, he set about planning, financing and coordinating the successful rescue of the six military Fenians.
In the early 1880s Devoy organised the funding and commission of the first modern submarine—the Fenian Ram—designed by Irishman John Holland for use by the Fenian Brotherhood against the British.
Devoy helped finance the unsuccessful Easter Rebellion in Dublin in 1916. He died in America in 1928 and nine months later a state funeral was held for him in Ireland in honour of his life’s work.
Dennis Duggan
A Dublin-born Fenian, Duggan joined the IRB in 1861. After the failed uprising in 1867, he escaped to America.
He was the only Irishman on the crew of Catalpa. A carriage builder and carpenter by trade, he appears as a German citizen on the crew list because it was thought that any Irishman on the crew might arouse suspicion about the real intent of the voyage.
When Catalpa sailed from America, Dennis Duggan and Captain Anthony were the only crew members who knew the real purpose of the voyage.
After Catalpa’s safe arrival in America he returned to Dublin at great personal risk and continued his anti-British activities. He died of natural causes in 1884 and a huge crowd attended his funeral.
Years later, a memorial was unveiled at his grave by the Republic of Ireland that he had fought for but never lived to see.
John King (alias George Jones)
Born in Dublin, King escaped to New South Wales after the failed uprising in 1867. He worked for the IRB in and around Sydney and was in the process of raising money from Irish sympathisers to finance a plan to rescue the Fenians in Fremantle when he met Breslin on his way to Western Australia. When he heard of Breslin’s plans and the involvement of Devoy and O’Reilly he pledged his funds to the new escape plan. In March 1876 he arrived in Fremantle with the funds to help with the escape.
On the day of the escape his task was to wait in Fremantle for an hour after the wagons with the Fenians had left for Rockingham Beach and see if the escape had been discovered. Then he was to ride fa
st to join the others at the beach.
He left Catalpa after she arrived in New York and officially changed his name to Jones. He died in Boston in 1900.
John Boyle O’Reilly
Born in Ireland in 1844, he joined the British army as a sixteen-year-old and a short time later became a member of the Fenian movement. He was arrested while trying to recruit members of his regiment to join the Fenian movement and was sentenced to death. This was commuted to twenty years in prison and in 1867 he was sent with sixty-one other Fenians to Fremantle aboard the convict ship Hougoumont.
Irish singer-songwriter Sean Tyrrell with the John Boyle O’Reilly plinth on the Fremantle Writers Walk. Sean has released a CD titled Message of Peace: The life of John Boyle O’Reilly in song and story.
In 1869 he managed to escape from a road gang south of Fremantle with the aid of a local Catholic priest and was smuggled aboard the American whaler Gazelle.
In America, O’Reilly settled in Boston, where he became editor of The Pilot and achieved fame as a journalist, poet, orator and champion of the down-and-out. He, with John Devoy and others, were key figures in planning the Catalpa rescue.
O’Reilly married Mary Murphy of Charlestown and had four daughters. He died in August 1890.
‘The Catalpa Six’: The Fenians who escaped in Catalpa
Robert Cranston
After leaving Catalpa in New York, Cranston settled in Philadelphia. In 1895 he attended the ceremony where Captain Anthony was presented with the Catalpa flag in recognition of his part in the rescue. His date and place of death are unknown.
Thomas Darragh
On arrival in America, Darragh settled in Philadelphia. In 1895 he attended the ceremony where Captain Anthony was presented with the Catalpa flag in recognition of his part in the rescue. His date and place of death are unknown.
