The Confederate raiding vessel CSS Shenandoah had the dubious distinction of accidentally firing the

The Confederate raiding vessel CSS Shenandoah had the dubious distinction of accidentally firing the final shots of the Civil War. Purchased from the British, the ship was commissioned in October 1864 and dispatched to “seek out and utterly destroy” Union commerce on the high seas. Under the command of Captain James Waddell, Shenandoah journeyed halfway around the world from Madeira to Australia before entering the Pacific Ocean. Sailing north to the Bering Sea, the ship spent the summer of 1865 wreaking havoc on the American whaling fleet. In total, Shenandoah seized six vessels, burned 32 others and captured over 1,000 prisoners. Unbeknownst to Shenandoah’s crew, almost all of this raiding took place after the collapse of the Confederacy. It was August 2, 1865, before Captain Waddell learned the war had ended, and he quickly realized that his men would be tried as pirates if apprehended by the U.S. Navy. In order to avoid arrest, he elected to voyage around the tip of southern South America and sail for England. In the process, Shenandoah became the only Confederate vessel to complete a circumnavigation of the globe. Waddell and his raiders would finally turn themselves in to British authorities on November 6, 1865—almost a full seven months after Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox. -- source link

More pics about