JANUARY 25TH, 1865: The CSS Shenandoah, Lt. Waddell, put into Melbourne for repairs and provisions 108 days out of England. Although the cruiser had taken no prizes for four weeks and remained considerably undermanned-- Waddell reported that the berthing spaces would accomodate 150 men confortably but that he had only 51 crew men on board.
The Lieutenant promptly wrote Flag Officer Barron in Paris: "I am getting along boldly and cheerfully."
To Secretary Mallory he reported: ""...when I have done all that you have directed me to do I shall be better able to decide what ought to be done with the Shenandoah. I shall keep her afloat as long as she is, in my opinion, serviceable."
Without the dry docking and machinery repairs accomplished at Melbourne, Wassell would not have been able to carry out his mission against American whalers in the Pacific.
--Old B-R'er
No comments:
Post a Comment