Wednesday, April 1, 2015

CSS Shenandoah Puts Into Ascension Island-- Part 2: Mighy Valuable Charts

Waddell wrote:  "With such charts in my possession I not only held the key to the navigation of all the Pacific Islands, the Okhotsk and Bering Seas, and the Arctic Ocean, but the most probable locations for finding the great Arctic whaling fleet of New England, without a tiresome search."

In addition to obtaining the intelligence and the charts essential to future operations, Waddell stocked the Shenandoah's depleted storerooms with provisions and supplies.  The four captured ships were then drawn upon a reef where the natives were permitted to strip them from truck halyards to copper sheathing on their keels.

Of the 130 prisoners, 8 were shipped on board the Shenandoah, the remainder were set ashore to be picked up by a passing whaler.  The four vessels, totaling $116,000 in value, were then burned.

--Old B-R'er

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