Raider of the Lost Cause: CSS Shenandoah

By May, 1864, the American merchant fleet had been devastated by the successes of the Confederate commerce raiders. The Confederate naval agent in Liverpool reported to the Secretary of the Navy that the "... United State flag has disappeared from the open sea, except perhaps in the whaling ground in the far North Pacific." As a result of this report, the whaling fleet of the United States became the primary target for the next raider: CSS Shenandoah. From October 19, 1864, until June 28, 1865; from the South Atlantic to the South Pacific, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Behring Sea, and the Arctic Ocean, she was responsible for the destruction of 25 of the 50 New England whale ships destroyed by the Confederates over the course of the Civil War. Public Relations Manager Sam Craghead gave this talk exploring the ship’s voyage.