by Terry Smyth
In 2015, Barry Crompton travelled to the United States to visit Captain Waddell’s grave in Annapolis, Maryland, and to view the Shenandoah collection at the Museum of the Confederacy, in Richmond, Virginia. The collection includes the Shenandoah’s flag. Originally taken for safekeeping by Lieutenant Dabney Scales after the surrender, the Stainless Banner is the only Confederate flag to have circumnavigated the Earth, and was the last rebel flag hauled down.
Returning to Australia, Crompton, who guides walking tours of 1860s Melbourne, located the site in Port Melbourne that had once been the home of Confederate marine William Kenyon. The house was identifiable when last he visited the area, in the 1990s, but unfortunately has since been redeveloped as an apartment complex, totally altering the landscape. So there will never be a plaque on Kenyon’s wall.
Crompton walked and travelled by light rail the four-kilometre route taken in 1865 by sightseers on the Sandridge Railway, from the centre of Melbourne to Williamstown pier. From there, they would take lighters (small boats) out to see the Shenandoah.
Anniversary events organised by the Civil War Round Table, in collaboration with other enthusiasts, maritime history groups and local historians, included a 150th anniversary dinner at the Melbourne Club, a Buccaneers’ Ball at Craig’s Hotel in Ballarat, exhibits of Civil War memorabilia, including photographs of the Shenandoah’s officers, taken in Melbourne, lectures by historians, and daily parades and drills by the Shenandoah Crew, a group of re-enactors who raised the Stainless Banner and fired a replica cannon.
Williamstown local historian Leigh Goodall told the author, ‘Even here in Williamstown, where it all happened, very few people know the story.’
Goodall was actively involved in moves to conserve the historic Williamstown docks, where the raider was repaired, where thousands of Victorians flocked to swarm over her decks, and from where the 42 Australian Confederates rowed out to secretly join the rebel cause. His home, the former Telegraph Hotel, a short distance from the docks, was a favourite haunt of the Southerners during their time in Williamstown, and he has decorated its outside walls with giant murals of the Shenandoah.
Goodall has done this for a singular purpose – to keep history alive. ‘People see the murals and ask what it’s all about,’ he says. ‘When I tell them the story of the Shenandoah, the usual reaction is “That really happened here? How come I’ve never heard about it?”.’
It’s often the case that untold or little-known stories remain so because they have been dismissed as merely ‘local history’. The presumption is that the record of past events in a particular geographical area is somehow unconcerned with and unrelated to the big picture, and is the province not of ‘serious’ historians but of amateurs, archivists and dabblers in family lore and parochial trivia.
Much interest and scholarship is focused on the timeline of events that have ‘altered the course of history’ – the making and unmaking of kings and countries; deeds of the high and mighty – and rightly so.
However, the way Leigh Goodall sees it, all history is local – and he’s absolutely right.
The big picture, after all, is a tapestry made of countless smaller threads. The local affects the national and thence the international. And, as we have seen, there can be few better examples than the story of the Shenandoah.
Notes
Introduction
1 Debate with Stephen A. Douglas, 15 October 1858, quoted in Davis, At the Precipice: America North and South during the Secession Crisis, University of North Carolina Press, 2010, p217
2 Robert E. Lee, Letter to Mary Custis Lee, 27 December 1856
Chapter 1: Lands of cotton
1 Fitzpatrick, The Diaries of George Washington, 1748–1799, vol 4, p176
2 Speech in the House of Commons, 12 May 1789
3 Ephesians, 6:5, New International Version
4 Wesley, J., Thoughts Upon Slavery, Joseph Cruikshank, Philadelphia, 1774
5 Whitfield, Works, vol 2, letter to Mr B., 22 March 1751
6 Ibid.
7 US Census, 1860
8 The Gettysburg Compiler, 27 April 1918, p2
9 Hammond, Plantation Manual, 1857–58, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 1985
10 Hammond, Selections from the Letter and Speeches of the Hon. James H. Hammond, J.F. Trow&Co., New York, 1866, p124
11 The Rockhampton Bulletin, 23 January 1868
12 Australian Town and Country (Sydney), 8 March 1873, p21
Chapter 2: Daughter of the stars
1 McNulty, F., ‘The True Story of the Shenandoah, Told by an Officer of the Last Confederate Privateer’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol 21, 1893, reprinted in the Launceston Examiner, 24 March 1894, p10
2 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, p95
3 Chew, F., Papers, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, quoted in Crompton, The Visit of the CSS Shenandoah to Australia, Archer Memorial Civil War Diary, Melbourne, 2010, p5
4 Creswick & Clunes Advertiser, 30 January 1865, p3
5 Horan (ed.), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p124
6 Ibid., p123
7 Lepa, The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, McFarland & Co, Jefferson, 2003, p17
8 Whittle, W., ‘The Cruise of the Shenandoah’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol XXXV, December 1907, p231
9 Cincinnati Daily Gazette, 28 February 1865, Vol 76, No 183
10 Moore, Women of the War: Their heroism and self-sacrifice, Scranton & Co, Hartford, 1866
Chapter 3: Welcome strangers
1 The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 1865, p4
2 The Argus, 26 January 1865
3 Frost, A Face in the Glass: The journal and life of Annie Baxter Dawbin, Heinemann, Melbourne, 1992, p289
4 Grey Papers, 1863, quoted in Hibbert, C., Queen Victoria: A Personal History, HarperCollins, London, 2000, p307
5 Ibid., pp68–69
6 Hilton, A Mad, Bad and Dangerous People? England 1783–1846, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 2000, p500
7 The Argus, 3 January 1865
8 Creswick & Clunes Advertiser, 1 February 1865, p3
Chapter 4: Other men’s battles
1 The Argus, 17 February 1865, p1
2 Crompton, Civil War Participants Born in Australia and New Zealand, Archer Memorial Civil War Library, Melbourne, 2010
3 Oath taken by miners on the Eureka goldfield, 30 November 1854
4 Twain, Following the Equator, American Publications, Hartford, 1897
5 The Argus, 8 September 1854, p5
6 Marshall, The Journey of Crazy Horse: A Lakota History, Penguin, New York, 2004, xiv
7 Panzeri, Little Big Horn 1876, Osprey, Botley, 1995, p57
8 New York Herald Tribune, July 1876
Chapter 5: The very model of a Southern gentleman
1 Horan (ed.), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p53
2 Ibid., p54
3 Ibid., p63
4 Ibid., p65
5 Freeman, Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command, Scribner, New York, 1946, vol 1, p82
6 Horan, p66
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid., p67
9 Ibid., p68
10 Ibid., p69
11 Ibid., p70
12 Ibid., p73
Chapter 6: Into the breach
1 Thomas Dartmouth, ‘Jump Jim Crow’, circa 1830
2 The Sydney Morning Herald, 17 February 1863, p4
3 The Argus, 16 February 1863, p4
4 The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide), 16 February 1863, p2
5 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p76
6 Philip John Pinel, Journal, 1855–1867, part 1
7 Confederate States of America, Proclamation, 17 April 1861
8 Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of Rebellion, series 2, p64
9 Dowdy, C., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1970, p394
10 The Argus, 16 February 1863, p4
11 The Patriot & Union (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), 16 February 1863
12 The Index, 4 February 1864, p1
13 Ibid.
14 Hunt, The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, p14
15 Whittle, ‘The Cruise of the Shenandoah’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol XXXV, December 1907, p237
16 Bulloch, J.D., The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe, vol 2, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1884, pp133–134
17 Ibid., p137
18 Whittle, p238
19 Hunt, p13
Chapter 7: First prize
1 Whittle, ‘The Cruise of the Shenandoah’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol XXXV, December 1907, p238
2 Horan (ed.), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p94
3 Whittle, p238
4 Bulloch, J.D., The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe, vol 2, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1884, p146
5 McNulty, F., ‘The True Story of the Shenandoah, Told by an Officer of the Last Confederate Privateer, St Louis Republic’, relayed by Launceston Examiner, 24 March 1894, p10
6 Whittle, Journal, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia
7 Ibid., pp94–95
8 The Index, 19 October 1864
9 Riley, Interview with Fred McNulty, The Atlanta Constitution, November 1893, reprinted in Southern Historical Papers, Vol 21, p165
10 Whittle, Papers, 1855–1910, edited as The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable Cruise, University of Alabama Press, 2005, p56
11 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, pp30–31
12 Hunt, pp31–32
13 Whittle, Papers, pp56–57
14 Hunt, p32
15 Riley, p165
16 Horan, p107
17 Riley, p166
18 Horan, p117
19 Mason, Journal, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, December 1864
20 Whittle, Papers, p96
21 Horan, p118
22 Ibid.
23 Hunt, p72
24 Ibid., p118
25 McNulty, p10
26 Ibid.
27 Ibid., p119
28 Hunt, p74
29 McNulty, p10
30 Ibid., pp119–120
31 Glenn, J., The Washingtons: A Family History, vol 2, Savas Publishing, El Dorado Hills, 2014, no pagination
32 Hunt, p75
33 Hunt, pp79–81
Chapter 8: The grey and the good
1 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, pp76–77
2 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p125
3 McNulty, F., ‘The True Story of the Shenandoah, Told by an Officer of the Last Confederate Privateer, St Louis Republic’, relayed by Launceston Examiner, 24 March 1894, p10
4 Mill, Considerations on Representative Government, Parker, Son & Bourn, London, 1861, chapter 16
5 Hunt, p97
6 Ibid., p98
7 Ibid., p97
8 Ibid., pp100–101
9 The Age, 27 January 1865, p3
10 The Bendigo Advertiser, 31 January 1865, p2
11 Horan, pp129–130
12 Frost, A Face in the Glass: The journal and life of Annie Baxter Dawbin, Heinemann, Melbourne, 1992, p290
13 Hunt, p111
14 Ibid.
15 Riley, interview with Fred McNulty, ‘The CSS Shenandoah Cruise by one of its officers, Dr McNulty’, The Atlanta Constitution, November 1893, reprinted in Southern Historical Papers, vol 21, p171
16 The National Intelligencer, January 1865, quoted in Kimmel, The Mad Booths of Maryland, Dover, 1969, p177
17 Ibid., p126
18 Ibid., p104
19 Horan, p127
Chapter 9: Buttons and beaux
1 Mason, Journal, quoted in Crompton, B., Civil War Participants Born in Australia and New Zealand, Archer Memorial Civil War Library, Melbourne, 2010, p20
2 The Ballarat Star, 1 February 1865, p2
3 The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 May 1855
4 The Argus, 11 April 1855
5 Victorian Parliamentary Papers, Commission of Inquiry into Conditions on the Gold Fields, A 76/1854–55, Vol II
6 The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 July 1861
7 Lining, Journal, quoted in Crompton, The Visit of the CSS Shenandoah to Australia, Archer Memorial Civil War Diary, Melbourne, 2010, p15
8 Hillgrove, T., Hillgrove’s Ballroom Guide, New York, 1868
9 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, pp107–109
10 The Ballarat Star, 11 February 1865, p2
Chapter 10: The trouble with Charley
1 Whittle, W., ‘The Cruise of the Shenandoah’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol XXXV, December 1907, p250
2 Whittle, Journal, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia, 8 December 1864
3 Williams, Affidavit, 16 February 1865
4 Horan (ed.), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p131
5 Whittle, December 1907, p251
6 Ibid., p132
7 The Age, 16 February 1865, p5
8 The Argus, 15 February 1865, p5
9 Ibid., p133
10 The Age, 17 February 1865, p2
11 Punch, quoted in Pearl, C., Rebel Down Under, Heinemann, Melbourne, 1970, p135
12 Ibid., p136
13 Horan, pp 133–134
14 Ibid., p135
15 Ibid.
16 Gurner, J., Life’s Panorama: Being Recollections and Reminiscences, Lothian, Melbourne, 1930, p65
Chapter 11: A sailor’s farewell
1 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p139
2 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, pp109–110
3 Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Bells’, 1848
4 William Blanchard to William Seward, Roll 3, Despatches from United States Consul in Melbourne, National Archives and Records, Maryland, 23 February 1865
5 The Mercury, 2 March 1865, p2
6 The Australasian, 25 February 1865, p11
7 The Argus, 27 February 1865, p4
Chapter 12: All Confederates now
1 Shenandoah log, 18 February, quoted in Crompton, The Visit of the CSS Shenandoah to Australia, Archer Memorial Civil War Library, Melbourne, 2010, p23
2 Lee, R.E., Letter to General P. Beauregard, 3 October 1865
3 Hunt, C., The Shenandoah; or the Last Confederate Cruiser, Carlton, New York, 1866, pp102–103
4 Ibid., pp114–115
5 Ibid.
6 Lining, C., Journal, quoted in Crompton, The Visit of the CSS Shenandoah to Australia, Archer Memorial Civil War Diary, Melbourne, 2010, p28
7 Whittle, ‘The Cruise of the Shenandoah’, Southern Historical Society Papers, vol XXXV, December 1907, p251
8 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p140
9 Seddon, Regulations for the Army of the Confederate States, Confederate States of America War Department, 1863, p412
10 Hunt, p116
11 Horan, pp141–142
12 Ibid., p143
13 Mahin, One War at a Time: The International Dimensions of the Civil War, Brassey’s, Washington DC, 1999, pp68–69
14 Hibbert, C., Queen Victoria: A Personal History, HarperCollins, London, 2000, pp 276–277
<
br /> Chapter 13: The last of Charley
1 The Argus, 18 March 1865, p5
2 Ibid.
3 Creswick & Clunes Advertiser, 22 March 1865, p2
Chapter 14: The captain and the king
1 The Alta California, 30 March 1865, p2
2 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, pp143–144
3 Ibid., pp145–146
4 Ibid., p146
5 Ibid., pp146–147
6 Ibid., p150
7 Dowdy, C., Robert E. Lee: A Biography, Victor Gollancz Ltd, London, 1970, p578
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Montague, A., Letter to undisclosed recipient, 30 April 1865, montaguemillennium.com
11 The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 April 1865, p8
12 Horan, p145
13 Ibid., p153
14 Ibid., p154
15 Riley, interview with Fred McNulty, The Atlanta Constitution, November, 1893, reprinted in Southern Historical Papers, Vol 21, p168
16 Dowdy, p585
17 Ibid., p590
Chapter 15: The curious case of Eugenio Gonzales
1 The Argus, 7 February 1865, p5
2 The Argus, 21 April 1865, p5
3 Neild, J., ‘On a Case of Feigned Haemoptysis and Collapse’, Australian Medical Journal, August 1865, pp258–266
Chapter 16: The way north
1 Earl Russell, Despatch to Governor Sir C.H. Darling, 26 April 1865
2 Tucker and Cooper, ‘Jeff in Petticoats’, 1865
3 Southern Historical Society Papers, August 1877
4 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, p157
5 Riley, interview with Fred McNulty, The Atlanta Constitution, November, 1893, reprinted in Southern Historical Papers, Vol 21, p168
6 Ibid., p158
7 Chew, Journal, 28 May 1865, p27
8 Whittle, The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable Cruise, University of Alabama Press, 2005, p154
Chapter 17: The last shot
1 Horan (ed), CSS Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1996, pp160–161
2 The Argus, 1 June 1865, p4
