In January, 1865, the unannounced arrival of a ship in Hobsons Bay shook Melbourne like no other vessel previously or probably decades later. The CSS Shenandoah brought the American Civil War to Australia.
The Confederate cruiser, commanded by Lieutenant James Iredell Waddell, was on its way from England to the northern Pacific Ocean and the Bering Straits between Alaska and Russia to capture or scuttle Yankee supply ships and its whaling fleet. Whales provided the oil to grease cannons, and the Confederates were hoping to cripple the Federal (Yankee) Army’s heavy weaponry.
Rough seas while sailing between Africa and Australia had damaged the raider and it needed repairs. The Shenandoah was eventually placed on the Government slipway in Williamstown for those repairs, with the Governor under constant pressure from the US consul to seize the vessel and arrest its crew for piracy.
Lt Waddell and his short-staffed crew needed recruits to carry out its mission. When it eventually sailed out through Port Phillip Heads, 42 new crew bobbed up on deck, secretly recruited against British Government directions for all its dominions not to play any part in helping the warring sides in the US.
That recruitment in Melbourne resulted in a massive payment by the British to the US Government six years after the war ended in 1865.
In January 2026 the Seaworks Museum is reshowing the Shenandoah Story for the first time since 2015 when it was rolled out to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the cruiser’s arrival in Hobsons Bay.
This is one of the most fascinating stories of early Melbourne. Don’t miss it!
