The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable Cruise
272
The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah: A Memorable Cruise
272eBook
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Overview
The only Confederate ship to circumnavigate the globe
The Confederate cruiser Shenandoah was the last of a group of commerce raiders deployed to prey on Union merchant ships. Ordered to the Pacific Ocean to “greatly damage and disperse” the Yankee whaling fleet in those waters, the Shenandoah’s successful pursuit of her quarry compared favorably with the exploits of the more celebrated Alabama and Florida but has never been as well known because it coincided with the war’s end and the Confederacy’s downfall. It was, however, one of the best documented naval expeditions—from England to the Indian Ocean, Australia and the South Pacific, the Bering Sea, San Francisco, and finally to port in Liverpool—during the Civil War.
The ship’s log and Captain James Waddell’s notes are well preserved, and a number of the Shenandoah’s officers kept detailed journals of the entire voyage. One of the most significant journals, by Lieutenant William Whittle, is presented here, with annotations from other journals, the official records and logs, and newspaper accounts of the Shenandoah’s activities, together bringing to life the history of this remarkable voyage.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780817387877 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | University of Alabama Press |
| Publication date: | 07/01/2014 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 272 |
| File size: | 3 MB |
About the Author
D. Alan Harris is an associate professor emeritus of history at Old Dominion University.
Anne B. Harris is an adjunct assistant professor of history at Old Dominion University.
Read an Excerpt
The Voyage of the CSS Shenandoah
A Memorable Cruise
By William C. Whittle Jr.
The University of Alabama Press
Copyright © 2005 The University of Alabama PressAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8173-8787-7
CHAPTER 1
Never did a ship go to sea so miserably prepared ...
October 21–November 14, 1864
At Sea, Friday Oct. 21st, 1864
Lat: 29°52'N Course South 85 miles
Long: 17°55'W Winds Westward.
At Sea, Saturday Oct. 22d, 1864
Lat: 29°22'N. Course WSW 60 miles
Long: 19°00'W. Winds Westward.
At Sea, Sunday Oct. 23d 1864
Lat: 27°54'30"N. Course SW by S1/2S 100 miles.
Long: 19°52'W. Winds Westward
At Sea, Monday October 24th 1864
Lat: 26°49'30"N. Course SW1/2 W 110 m.
Long: 21°27'W Winds Nd & Wd.
At Sea, Tuesday October 25th 1864
Lat: 24°17'N. Course SW by S 185 m.
Long: 23°16'30"W Winds. Nd & Wd and Nd.
C. S. Steamer Shenandoah
At Sea. Wednesday Oct: 26th 1864
Latitude 22°33'00"N. Longitude 24°34'W.
Dist 125 m. Course SW3/4 S. Wind NE.
What a very busy day these twenty four hours have been. Thank God we have a fine set of men and officers, and although we have an immense deal to contend with, all are industrious and alive to the emergency. When we look back and remember what the ship was when our gallant little band [commissioned her] and contrast her then disordered condition to what she now is—we have every reason to be proud of what we have done. The men were employed today in shifting coal from hold to the bunkers. This will clear to some extent our Berth deck. In the latter part I cleared up the deck so that all could sling their hammocks, after which I gave all the men clean mattresses and they will now sleep in the berth deck—which [is] one of the finest decks I ever saw. The officers were employed in clearing out the after Peak to receive our powder. All these shiftings are tremendous jobs as everything is upside down without any care or order. Never I suppose, did a ship go to sea so miserably prepared. The Gunner is fitting breechings for his rifle guns. Mr. O'Shea our carpenter hurt his foot very much today, but I trust he will not lay up for it, as the heaviest of our work now comes in his department. We are getting along wonderfully. Never did I see a set of officers and men work harder or more cheerfully than our noble band. When we set out who could have imagined that in so short a time, with 22 men and 24 officers and every disadvantage under the Sun to contend with, we should have accomplished so much. The holy devotion to the cause has been handed by the officers to the men, and the work is not only done but cheerfully done. This afternoon made our first chase. She was a full rigged ship to leeward but we had not the daylight to catch her. All very well, and with one exception all very cheerful. I trust we may soon get a prize from which we may get some men. Imagine my anxiety to have more when I say that one more man would do an immense amount of good. Think of a ship of this size having only four men in a watch. Never mind we are enough to take care of the ship, and we must trust in God's aid. It is so much better than it would have been to go to some port and run the risk of being in the same position that the Rappahannock has for months been—besides what advantage would it have been to us to go into port? We could not have gotten men, we could not fit our ship, and we would have had a Yankee fleet awaiting us at the entrance of the harbor, and our position would have been most humiliating.
No indeed I never shall regret the advice I gave, which advice, I flatter myself kept us at sea.
At Sea. Thursday Oct: 27th 1864
Latitude 21°05'N. Longitude 25° 43' W.
Course SW by S Wind NE. Distance 113
We have been hard at work all day. I got up at daylight feeling better but still have a severe pain in my side. I cannot account for it but thank God I am much better. Men employed all day in shifting coal from the Main Hold to the Bunkers. Officers busy in rigging and sending up Royal Yards. Carpenters busy fixing ports for our rifle guns. Gunner & gang arranging ammunition and Sailmaker fitting Hatch hoods. Altogether there is not an idle man in the Ship. Oh that we only had more men. We have a fine ship and the nucleus of a fine crew, but we want men of all things. The truth is, we will have to capture our crew, and win their affections by firmness & kindness. We have been distilling water all day. Saw a ship from aloft at sunrise, made sail and gained on her. Got up steam, and came up with her, and fired a blank 12 pd. cartridge and hove him to. A clear case of a Yankee built vessel, but a legal transfer. Lowered a boat and boarded her, Act. Master Bullock & Asst. Paymaster Smith the Boarding Officers & Masters Mate Hunt in charge of the boat. She proved to be the ship Mogul from London to Point de Galle, Ceylon. Her papers all right. Hoisted the propeller & made sail to Royals. This time we were sold by the Mogul, but better luck next time.
Friday, Oct: 28th 1864
Latitude 18°58'30"N. Long. 26°10'90"N [W]
Distance 130 miles [Course] S 3/4 W. Wind NE to East.
Got up as usual at daylight. Saw from the deck the ship Mogul which we boarded on yesterday. We soon left her out of sight although she had all studding sails set on one side. Our ship must be fast as we were under topgallant sails and beat her easily. In the afternoon we made a Barque ahead under all sail. We commenced chase and at dusk were only about seven miles off and rapidly gaining on him. I am certain that he is a Yankee or a transfer. After dark we clewed up Royals to prevent running away from him during the night. Fortunately he suspects nothing or he would give us the slip—as it is very dark. As it is I am sure we will catch him bright and early. We have been hard at work all day, arranging parts, shifting coal and water and storing our temporary magazine. We have done an immense deal, but are so short handed and have so very much to do that our little makes but a small show. All hands are well and seem to be happy. In our young officers the Confederacy has a parcel of men of which any country would feel proud. We have done wonders. Notwithstanding my being so busy, I have time to feel blue, as I can't get my usual letters from my own dear ones. Oh! how much would I give to know how they are. I leave they [sic] and all to God. We have so much to be thankful for. We have fine weather and are preparing for bad.
At Sea, Saturday Oct. 29th 1864
Latitude 16°47'N. Longitude 26°43'W.
Dist. 135 miles. Course S by W. Wind E & ESE
This morning to our surprise we found that the Barque which was right ahead last night had worked way to windwards of us. She still had every appearance of being a Yankee and we hauled up for her. We sailed much faster than the chase and rapidly gained on him. At 11:30 we lowered the propeller, got up steam and stood for him. Took in Royals & Top Gallant sails as we approached. We hoisted the English flag, and he, to our great joy, hoisted the hateful Yankee flag. We then ran up our flag and hove him to with a blank cartridge. We lowered and armed a boat and crew, and sent Act.: Master Bulloch, Pd Mid J. T. Mason, & M. Mate Hunt to board her. Very soon we had the extreme satisfaction of seeing the flag which is now the emblem of tyranny hauled down. Captain Everett Staples and Mate Peterson were sent onboard with papers. They were each sworn and examined separately before the Captain, myself Paymaster & Surgeon, and the Barque Alina of Searsport, Maine, 573 tons, laden with rail road iron from New Port, Wales to Buenos Ayres, was condemned a prize to the Confederate States. We stripped her of everything we wanted, which well may be imagined was an immense deal particularly as she was our first prize. As she had a fine sinking cargo we had [her] scuttled. The Barque and cargo were estimated at $90,000 in gold. At 4.45 P.M. she went down stern first under all plain sail and the sight was grand and awful. You might go to sea for many a day and would not see a vessel sink. She had been gradually sinking for some time and had gotten to the water's edge. She was in this position a man going down for the first time and struggling to prevent it. Finally at 4.45 a sea swept over her, she settled aft, her stern sank very rapidly, and her bow went straight into the air, and she turned a regular summersault. As she went down, the yards being square and the sails sheeted home, they had to yield and we could distinctly hear the cracking and tearing of the spars & sails. And as her bow went under a beautiful jet of water was thrown up high in the air. This is our first prize, and a good day's work we have had. The Alina was a bran[d] new barque having made but one trip from Searsport to New Port. She was a beautiful vessel and I am told by all on board that she was as clean as a new pin. God grant that we may have many just such prizes. There were on this vessel twelve souls. The Captain, two mates, a steward and eight hands. One of the men shipped at once as Coal Heaver, and all of the rest except the officers were confined. I ordered the mate to lend a hand at something and he refused. I confined him for a short time and he came to his senses. All the crew except the steward and one man are German, and can speak very little English. I wish every one of them would ship except the Yankee. I would not have him. The Steward is from East India Madras. I trust we may get them all. One thing they will learn, that they will be in irons the whole time. We have done an immense quantity of work, and I ordered the "Main brace" to be spliced. As long as my men behave as they did today I shall be content. All went on well, notwithstanding the demoralizing tendency of the work. Many, many things which we wanted we succeeded in getting from her. You might see one officer come to me with a basin, another with a soap dish, and every imaginable thing and ask if they might have it for their issue. Of course it would have to be thrown overboard or given to those who needed it, and of course I pursued the latter course. This vessel might at first seem not to be a good prize, as she was an enemy's vessel it is true, but she was from a neutral port, bound to a neutral port and having what might be a neutral cargo. There was one flaw which spoiled all, that was that the owner of the cargo did not let it appear on his bill of lading that he had sworn before a notary that it was his property and that he was an Englishman—to this paper, to be in form, must have the signature & seal of the Notary. This Captain had a paper signed by the owner as to its being his cargo, but it was wanting in not having the Notary's signature. The Captain, Staples is a real down East Yankee, and "calculates" & "guesses." Oh how I do hate the whole race—and still, I can't help from treating them kindly. After we got threw with this fellow we made chase for another vessel, but found him to be a foreigner.
At Sea. Sunday Oct. 30th 1864
Latitude 15°25'N Long: 26°44'W
Course S 1/4 W Distance 90 miles. Wind East to E by S.
This is a day of rest. We have done nothing all day, and unless it is absolutely necessary we will always observe the Sabbath. Capt. Staples and his two mates Peterson & Staples signed their paroles for the war or until regularly exchanged. The other eight I confined in the forecastle. Today to my great joy six out of the eight, ie. two [F]renchmen and four [D]utchmen shipped as seamen.
These make seven out of twelve which, I think is doing very well. It will be a very great accession to us. We now have fifty three souls attached to the ship, of whom twenty four are officers. I trust that at this rate we may soon increase our crew from our prizes to sixty exclusive of the officers. This would make us eighty four all told. Even now we have enough to take care of her. This prize has given us a tremendous lift as we got from her, men, rope, blocks and every imaginable thing. Our men and officers are all well and cheerful, and no set of men ever had more or greater blessings to thank their God for than the crew of the Shenandoah. We have a fine ship and all will be well. We can run as fast as any can pursue. A vessel was in sight tonight and I trust that tomorrow may give us a prize. My prisoners thank me for my kindnesses to them. What a contrast with the treatment of our noble veterans by their side. Really when today I was sitting looking at Capt. Staples who is as free as anyone onboard, I could but think what a difference this treatment presented with that meted to us, and I felt at the same time, when I thought of the insults heaped by the Yankees upon our women, an amount of hatred which strongly tempted me to say here, Master-at-arms, take this old scamp and trice him up, gag & buck him. Oh, no, this must not be.
At Sea. Monday Oct: 31st 1864
Latitude 13°34'20"N Longitude 27° 18'30"
Course S by W 1/2 W Distance 112 miles Wind E N E to E by S.
Today I have had a hard day's work and still I do not see that I have done much. The fact is that where there is so much to be done and so few to do it, the little which is by great toil gotten through with seems small. We all have the satisfaction of knowing that we have in the aggregate done an immense amount and under unprecedented difficulties—and we can all say that no man onboard has been idle, or who has not shown the greatest zeal in doing every thing possible. I can now say that my gun gear is all fitted and I only want the ports cut in order to fight the guns. I have the chains unbent and the anchor is secured on the forecastle; the decks are all clear, and we have every reason to be thankful. An Executive Officer under such trying circumstances has an immense deal to do. I thank God that I have the health, strength and will to accomplish all. Today the prisoner Captain & his Mates came to me and said that they were very kindly treated and that they would never forget me for it. I simply replied that I treated them well for humanity's sake, and begged them not to think that my feeling was for them any other than that of hatred and this hatred of the most intense kind. And I told the Captain that I hated them as I did the "old boy" himself. Notwithstanding I will treat them kindly as long as they will allow me to do so, and when they do not conduct themselves properly they will find me as severe as I am now kind. At about 3.00P.M. we made a large ship ahead standing to the Nd & Wd. We made sail in pursuit, lowered our propeller and got up steam. We were at dusk about two miles off when by the darkness she was almost hidden from view. We got within a mile and she hoisted the English flag, when a squall separated us a little and the night was so dark that we did not like to risk our boat, as beside the darkness there was some sea. The Captain concluded to leave her. I am strongly of the opinion that she was a Yankee, from her actions and appearance, and I am pretty sure that we left a fine prize when we gave her up. She was a very fast, full rigged, six topsail yard ship. She was so fast that we were going 11 1/2 knots under half steam and top gallant sails, and we had as much as we could do to catch her. All day we have had passing rain squalls, and tonight the weather looks a little threatening. The change of latitude begins to tell as it is now very warm. Capt: Staples is a thorough specimen of a low Yankee—a regular down Easter.
At Sea, Tuesday Nov: 1st 1864
Latitude 12°22'N Longitude 27°51'W
Course SSW Distance 85 miles
Wind NE to East–genrally East
Hard at work all day, in fitting gun breechings and tackles. Shifting coal, unbending chains, securing anchors and commenced overhauling running rigging aloft. Towards evening it commenced a series of rain squalls with some wind. We are under topsails, Fore Sail & Fore topmast Staysail. It has rained in torrents and sometimes the wind has been very fresh. It looks as though we might have an ugly night. The movements of the ship are much easier than I thought a ship of her size could be. All seem contented with her. "Spliced the Main Brace."
(Continues...)
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Table of Contents
ContentsPreface
Introduction
Prologue: The Cruise of the Shenandoah
1. Never did a ship go to sea so miserably prepared
2. I wish we could catch another Yankee
3. This is indeed a Merry Christmas
4. The Victorian Government treated us very badly
5. Oh, the terrible, terrible monotony
6. What an April fool for the poor Yanks
7. The news is bad, very bad
8. The darkest day of my life
9. In the name of honor … let us support the Captain
Epilogue
Appendix. List of Prizes Taken by the CSS Shenandoah
Notes
Bibliographical Essay
Index