Despite being across the world from the conflict, theAustralian colonies were affected by theAmerican Civil War both economically and by immigration. The Australian cotton crop became more important to Britain, which had lost its American sources, and Australia served as a supply base forConfederateblockade runners. Immigrants from Europe seeking a better life also found Australia preferable to war-torn North America.
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. TheRussian 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 anironclad 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 atMelbourne, while the citizenry of nearbyWilliamstown entertained the Confederates and some Australians joined the crew. Accounts disagree as to whether Australians generally favoredthe Union or the Confederacy.
Together, 140 Australians andNew Zealanders were veterans of the American Civil War, 100 of whom were native-born.[1] Some of these were originally Americans who came to Australia during theVictorian gold rush of the 1850s.[2] Officers during the war included one who gaveTasmania its firsttelegraph service, and another officer who mined for gold inBallarat.[2] Confederate blockade runners occasionally obtained supplies there,[2] despite a historic fear of possible naval attack by Americans, a fear rooted in the actions of American privateers during theWar of 1812.[3]
The war also caused theLancashire 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 theSouthern 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 withCanada 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 theJanuary Uprising against Russian rule in Poland. The Russian admiralty feared that theRussian navy could be blockaded by the British and French navies in the case of an outbreak of war, and thus dispatched several squadrons to North America, includingSan Francisco and from 1863New York—with sealed orders to attack British naval targets in case war broke out between Russia and Britain.[7] The flagship of the RussianPacific squadron,Bogatyr under Rear AdmiralAndrei Alexandrovich Popov, officially made a friendly visit toMelbourne in early 1863. According to information passed on to Australian authorities in June 1864, Popov had in the first half of the year 1863 received orders and a plan of attack on the British warships positioned near the Australian shore.[8] The plan also included shelling and destruction of the Melbourne,Sydney andHobart coastal batteries.[9]
The information was attributed toLieutenant Władysław Zbyszewski, a Russian navy officer from Poland stationed onboardBogatyr, who had deserted from service inShanghai soon after she left Australia, and found his way toParis 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 tothe Atlantic squadron under Rear Admiral Lessovsky, that was sent to New York at the same time.[10]
Having crossed the Indian Ocean, theCSSShenandoah arrived in Australian waters on 17 January 1865. Off the coast ofSouth Australia at39°32′14″S122°16′52″E / 39.53722°S 122.28111°E /-39.53722; 122.28111, her crew spotted an American-made sailing ship named theNimrod and boarded it. Having ascertained it was an English ship, theShenandoah left it alone.[11]
On 25 January 1865, theShenandoah made harbor atWilliamstown, 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, SirCharles Henry Darling, ignored his pleas, satisfied with theShenandoah’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 inPort Phillip Bay. While at Williamstown,James Iredell Waddell, the captain of theShenandoah and his men participated in several "official functions" which the local citizens arranged in their honour, including a gala ball with the "cream of society" atCraig's Royal Hotel inBallarat and at theMelbourne Club. Thousands of tourists came to see the ship every day, requiring special trains to accommodate them.[13][14][17] After being treated as "little lions", the officers of theShenandoah later reflected that the best time of their lives was given to them by the women of Melbourne.[15]
After leaving Australia, theShenandoah sailed north into the Pacific Ocean and captured twenty-five additional Union whaling ships before finally surrendering atLiverpool, England in November 1865. Those surrendering included 42 Australians who had joined the crew at Williamstown; sources differ as to whether the Australians werestowaways 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 theShenandoah 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 thecaptain's clerk.[19]
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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 anironclad ship to be sent to protect the colony after the value of ironclads were demonstrated during the American Civil War'sBattle of Hampton Roads.[17][18] The monitorHMVSCerberus was constructed during the late 1860s and arrived in Victoria in 1871.[20]
In 1872 the British government paid the United States US$3,875,000 as a result of the assistance provided to CSSShenandoah and other Confederate ships in Victoria and other ports controlled by Great Britain, after an international jury ruled on the case inGeneva, Switzerland.[13][dead link][21]
When the six colonies of the Australian continentfederated 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 theWhite 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 inAdelaide, to prevent the "political heresy" ofsecession as engaged in by the Confederacy.[25]
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