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By tk This morning I was interviewed on Melbourne Community FM radio station 3RRR, if we can give it a heading the link is: http://www.radiomarinara.com/2002/runningsheet10nov02.htm The subject was HMAS Canberra. On the left of the report the Mackenzie Gregory, links to our Ahoy. Mac's Web Log, and the HMAS Canberra links to the US Navy History Site and theirreport on Canberra's loss with several US Navy photos of the ship. ******** From: "SANDY SHANKS" <fs.shanks@verizon.net> Hi, Mac. Just messing around. Thought I'd visit your marvelous site. Sandy ******** Civil War P 80. Waddell issued an order to Whittle that private appropriation of prize property is prohibited. But the Captain's tenuous hold on discipline was slipping, and this order was ignored, and for four days many of the crew were again drunk, from bottles of liquor they had liberated from Abigail, and retained. As the ice was closing in, and no whalers were to be found, the ship turned southwards on the 6th. of June, and made for the Bering Sea. On passing Jonas Island, snug and safe behind a field of ice, were 10 whalers. In the Bering Sea, thick fog was the order of the day, until on the 21st. of June, as the sky cleared, what appeared to be a sail was sighted, and the Siberian coast was but 5 miles away, the sail became a rock. With the introduction of kerosene, in competition to whale oil, by the summer of 1865, the former large North Pacific whaling operation had been cut back to only 85 ships. We have noted the 10 hiding in the ice, another 11 were on their way to the whaling grounds, thus leaving 58 in the Bering Sea or in the Arctic, all hunting whales,and now, Shenandoah was to be hunting them. On the 22nd. of June, early that morning, two ships were reported by the lookouts, two prize crews were readied, Waddell intent in capturing them both simultaneously, one was hampered by having a whale lashed to her side, it was the 495 ton William Thompson, one crew was despatched in passing, whilst they went off after the second ship. This was the 364 ton Euphrates, not bothered by the approaching steamer with the Russian flag in evidence, she was soon another victim to the Confederate Raider. On returning to the William Thompson, her master Francis Smith, insisted the war was all over, but Waddell took this news as the Captain merely trying to save his ship, and torched the ship anyway, but unsure as to the real status of his Southern States. Shenandoah was now really amongst the whaling fleet, she had eight ships in sight, all at once, and took the New Bedford 410 ton Milo, her Captain came aboard the Raider, and told Waddell the war was over, now this was the second time he had heard that story, and was beginning to perhaps believe it was all over. He asked for proof, but none was forthcoming, and he decided to bond the vessel for $46,000, plus he could rid himself of all prisoners. Two other whalers with a freshening breeze rising, decided it was a good chance to move off, and they went in opposite directions, the first sought shelter in the ice, a Civil War P 81. two shots from the 32 pounder brought her scurrying out of the ice pack, it was the 426 ton Sophia Thornton, it was then Jireh Swift's turn, this 428 ton ship almost reached the safety of the Siberian coast, but the wind changed and she was taken, within 30 minutes she was ablaze. Four ships to go, the first two were foreign, the other two chose the safety of the ice floes, and for now were free. Prisoners from Milo were sent off to Sophia Thornton, with orders to remove what was needed for a voyage to California, then to return to Milo, Sophia was now burned. Waddell was still unable to obtain concrete evidence that the South had lost the Civil War, and was obviously loath to believe it had. As the Sophia burned, with US colours flying, the ever busy Raider now pursued the 159 ton Susan Abigail, her Captain came on board Shenandoah to make a social call on a fellow US Captain, he was shocked to learn it was a Confederate ship, his story told that he believed the war over, he had heard the victory guns fire in San Francisco, he had read of Lincoln's assassination whilst in that city. Still Waddell wanted actual proof of a Union victory, not just stories told by Union Captains, all of whom had an axe to grind in this regard. He was well aware that if the war was over, that he ran the risk of a subsequent charge of piracy, but still ordered the latest capture to be destroyed. On the 25th. of June, the 419 ton General Williams was fired, the next day, William C. Nye had the same fate, next came Catherine, of 384 tons. Now the 340 ton Nimrod was boarded, and Smith Lee was the boarding officer, the Captain of this ship, James Clark had been through this agony before, as master of Ocean Rover, the Alabama had captured him, and both the Union Captain, and the Southern Boarding officer knew each other. Clark was horrified to see Lee boarding his ship, realising his impending fate, and he did not have long to wait, the match was soon applied. The Raider was stuffed with prisoners, some 200 of them, they were placed into 12 whale boats to be towed behind the Confederate ship, although it somewhat impeded her progress, off they went after the next victim. It made navigating the ice floes dangerous, slowed the ship considerably, and gave all the towed prisoners a perilous ride. The General Price was captured, and bonded for $30,000, then a further two ships were taken, the 315 ton Isabella, and the 360 ton Gipsy. Both were burned, and now the ordeal of the towed prisoners ended, all were placed aboard General Price. By the 28th. of June, A new Bedford whaler Waverly, becalmed, was an easy capture
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