1 00:00:02,320 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. Recently, we put out a call for 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: episode suggestions on our Facebook page, and we specifically encouraged 3 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,760 Speaker 1: topics from outside of North America and Europe because the 4 00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:17,000 Speaker 1: vast majority of suggestions already on the list fall into 5 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:20,760 Speaker 1: those categories. We got a number of suggestions for episodes 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 1: that we had already done, and so we are returning 7 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: to one of them for today's classic. It's on the 8 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: Katapa Rescue from Australia's Fremantle Prison, So it actually connects 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: all of these There's there's North America, and there's Europe, 10 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: and also there's Australia. And that episode originally came out 11 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: on February second, and in this episode we say that 12 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:46,199 Speaker 1: this was the only successful jailbreak from Fremantle. Although this 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: was repeated in a number of the sources that were 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,960 Speaker 1: used for the episode, that is not correct. Other escapes 15 00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: include Joseph John's a k a. Moon Dine Joe. His 16 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,360 Speaker 1: multiple prison escapes include breaking out of Fremantle in eighteen 17 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: sixty seven and remaining at large for two years. So 18 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:09,080 Speaker 1: enjoy Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a 19 00:01:09,160 --> 00:01:17,200 Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radios, How Stuff Works, Hello, and 20 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm 21 00:01:20,280 --> 00:01:23,640 Speaker 1: Holly Frowning. Today we're going to talk about a jailbreak, 22 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: which sounds like an inherently interesting and exciting and dramatic subject. 23 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:32,480 Speaker 1: This was the rescue of six Irish prisoners who had 24 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: been convicted of crimes like treason and rebellion, and they 25 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:39,320 Speaker 1: were part of an organization called the Irish Republican Brotherhood 26 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:43,399 Speaker 1: also known as the Fenians. They had originally been sentenced 27 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: to death because they were military men. While serving in 28 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: the British Army, they had become part of a plot 29 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 1: to turn the army against itself and instead fight for 30 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: Irish independence. Now they were in prison for life, and 31 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: a Quaker man, finding this imprisoned imprisonment to be incredibly unjust, 32 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: lad a daring rescue party to get them out of jail. 33 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 1: So on this on its own, this already sounds pretty exciting. 34 00:02:11,560 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: But these prisoners had been convicted in Britain, and the 35 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: prison was in Western Australia, and the man who was 36 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: leading this crew of men on a whaling ship to 37 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,000 Speaker 1: come and get them was from the United States. So 38 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:30,120 Speaker 1: it's it's truly an international affair right, it's an intercontinental 39 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: uh experience and involving multiple hemispheres of the planet um. 40 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:39,440 Speaker 1: And you know, to the person who recently said to us, please, 41 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,600 Speaker 1: for the love of God, no more shipwrecks. There are 42 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: ships in the story, but fortunately none of them a wreck. 43 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: So I got nautical history and Irish history and Australian 44 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,799 Speaker 1: history and British history all tied together along with a 45 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: nautical theme and a jailbreak. Hooray because also a listener 46 00:02:56,560 --> 00:02:59,920 Speaker 1: request from Joseph, I should say that part two, otherwise 47 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: never would have known about it. And this story takes 48 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: place in the eighteen sixties. We talked in our two 49 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: part episode on the Irish Potato Famine what life was 50 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: like in Ireland around this time. But here's a brief 51 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,320 Speaker 1: recap for those who have not maybe heard those episodes. 52 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:19,440 Speaker 1: The overwhelming majority of the Irish population was Catholic and 53 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 1: this continues to be true in the Republic of Ireland today. 54 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:25,919 Speaker 1: The whole of Ireland had become part of Britain in 55 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: eighteen hundred under the British Acts of Union, and at 56 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: that point Ireland had gained representation in Parliament, but Catholics, 57 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,240 Speaker 1: specifically were not permitted to be members of Parliament. So consequently, 58 00:03:38,320 --> 00:03:41,640 Speaker 1: while Ireland was part of Britain for the most part, 59 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: the Irish population, especially the Irish Catholic population, was basically disenfranchised. 60 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: And on top of that, Ireland itself was stricken with poverty. 61 00:03:52,000 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: Over generations, Irish families had lost their land to English landslords. 62 00:03:56,400 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: Many Irish farmers were paying exorbitant rent on what had 63 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: once been their own families land, and there was a 64 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 1: middleman between the farmer and the landlord, who also took 65 00:04:05,240 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: a cut of the profits along the way. This whole 66 00:04:08,080 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: landlord middleman tenant system put tenants at a severe disadvantage 67 00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: and many were barely subsisting. And then there was the 68 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: Great Hunger, also known as the Great Famine or the 69 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,800 Speaker 1: Irish Potato Famine. And we've devoted two episodes to this 70 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,400 Speaker 1: in the past, and I'm going to recommend if you're 71 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:26,440 Speaker 1: interested in this, please go listen to those, because we 72 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: are seriously seriously glossing over it here. Potatoes were Ireland's 73 00:04:31,440 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: staple crop, and so as crops failed, more than a 74 00:04:34,360 --> 00:04:38,600 Speaker 1: million people died of disease and hunger. About two million 75 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:42,000 Speaker 1: people left Ireland in an effort to escape the famine, 76 00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:45,760 Speaker 1: and by eighteen fifty one, between twenty and twenty five 77 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: of the population of Ireland had either left or died, 78 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:54,280 Speaker 1: Which brings us to the Irish Republican Brotherhood or the Fenians. 79 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: This was a secret society in Ireland and it was 80 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:01,160 Speaker 1: devoted to achieving Irish independence from British rule by force. 81 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: The Fenians were sure independence would come only through an 82 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:09,480 Speaker 1: armed rebellion. One of the leaders of this movement in 83 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: Ireland was John Devoy, who was actively recruiting Irish soldiers 84 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,839 Speaker 1: who were serving in the British Army stationed in Ireland. 85 00:05:17,279 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: It's estimated that he recruited eighty thousand troops to this cause. 86 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,800 Speaker 1: But an informer tipped off the British government to what 87 00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:29,880 Speaker 1: was going on. Devois was arrested, convicted of treason, and 88 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor. The British government 89 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: arrested as many Fenians as they could find in eighteen 90 00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: sixty five and eighteen sixty six, charging them with conspiracy 91 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:46,120 Speaker 1: and treason. Please arrests really strained and already overcrowded British 92 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,200 Speaker 1: prison system. As we discussed in the Lady Guliana episode. 93 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: The British prisons had become severely overcrowded due to a 94 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: number of social and legal factors, and then after the 95 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:01,520 Speaker 1: American colonies declared their independence, Britain no longer offload its 96 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: prisoners to the Americas as it had been doing so. 97 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:09,000 Speaker 1: Britain had started using Australia for a penal colony instead. 98 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: By this point, though, there was only one place left 99 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,960 Speaker 1: in Australia where Britain was sending new prisoners, and this 100 00:06:16,000 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: was Swan River Colony on Australia's western coast, which housed 101 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: Fremantle Prison. Fremantle was supposed to be impenetrable, but it 102 00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,560 Speaker 1: wasn't really the building itself that earned it that reputation. 103 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: Although the conditions at the prison were very severe and poor, 104 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:34,600 Speaker 1: it was the surrounding area that made it seem impossible 105 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: to escape. It was located on an in an expanse 106 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:41,760 Speaker 1: of desolate, dry landscape, and anyone who tried to escape 107 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,560 Speaker 1: would either have to go deeper into the outback or 108 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:47,479 Speaker 1: to the coast, where the waters were widely reported to 109 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:52,039 Speaker 1: be invested with sharks. As the arrests of Fenians continued, 110 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,560 Speaker 1: Britain started sending them to Freemantle prison and in October 111 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: of eighteen sixty seven, the Huguemont, which was the last 112 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,560 Speaker 1: ship to carry prisoners from Britain to Australia, left Portland 113 00:07:03,680 --> 00:07:07,080 Speaker 1: carrying two and eighty convicts, and of those, sixty two 114 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: of them were Fenians, and they arrived in Fremantle in 115 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: January of eighteen sixty eight. Although some of the Fenian 116 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 1: prisoners above aboard the Huguamot were civilians and would eventually 117 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: be pardoned, twelve of them had been members of the 118 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: military and had been sentenced for life. Seven of those 119 00:07:25,400 --> 00:07:28,760 Speaker 1: twelve had actually originally been sentenced to death, but Queen 120 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:33,800 Speaker 1: Victoria had eventually commuted their sentences to lifetime transportation, along 121 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: with the branding of the letter D for Deserter on 122 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 1: their chests. And one of these prisoners actually became a 123 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 1: key player in planning the jailbreak that we're talking about 124 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,880 Speaker 1: today after he had escaped himself. But we can hop 125 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: into that whole story after we have a brief word 126 00:07:49,040 --> 00:08:00,360 Speaker 1: from a sponsor, if that's cool with Tracy, sure thing. 127 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: So to get back to the events in Australia, one 128 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,040 Speaker 1: of the Fenians who had been sent to Fremantle prison 129 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: was a man named John Boyle O'Reilly, but after arriving 130 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:14,160 Speaker 1: at Fremantle, he was later transferred to another prison in Bunbury, 131 00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:17,720 Speaker 1: which was south of Fremantle. In eighteen sixty nine, he 132 00:08:17,960 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 1: escaped from that second prison with the help of a 133 00:08:20,360 --> 00:08:23,880 Speaker 1: Catholic priest. Then he was able to win the sympathies 134 00:08:23,920 --> 00:08:26,800 Speaker 1: of Irish colonists in the area and board a whaler 135 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: that was bound for America. Once he got to the 136 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,920 Speaker 1: United States, O'Riley, who had been the assistant editor of 137 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: the newspaper that the convicts had made for themselves on 138 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 1: the way to Australia, became an editor of the Boston Pilot. 139 00:08:41,160 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: I love that they made a newsletter for themselves. They did, 140 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,440 Speaker 1: and the whole thing was eventually released as like a 141 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:51,880 Speaker 1: bound book for people to read. I'm I'm not sure 142 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: if you could find it online, but probably you can. 143 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: On the one hand, I'm like, wow, that takes so 144 00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: much like dedication, And on the other, I'm like, did 145 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:00,840 Speaker 1: they have anything else to do the voyage? Maybe it 146 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: was just a time killer, but I do not know. 147 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,040 Speaker 1: But not long after that, Devoi, the one who had 148 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: been sentenced to hard labor for recruiting Irish soldiers was 149 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:14,080 Speaker 1: exiled to America. He eventually went to work for the 150 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: New York Herald and he became involved in a secret 151 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 1: society called the Claude Neguel, which was sort of an 152 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: offshoot of the Fenian Brotherhood. In eighteen seventy four, one 153 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: of the Fenian prisoners named James Wilson wrote a letter 154 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: to John Devoy at the newspaper. This letter included the 155 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 1: much quoted passage, remember this is a voice from the tomb, 156 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:38,560 Speaker 1: or is this not a living tomb? In the tomb, 157 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: it is only a man's body that is good for worms. 158 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: But in this living tomb, the canker worm of care 159 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: enters the very soul. Devoi started to feel increasingly guilty 160 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: about the Fenians still in Fremantle, after all, he'd been 161 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: the one recruiting them all. He hatched a plan, in 162 00:09:57,360 --> 00:10:01,120 Speaker 1: conjunction with O'Reilly and other members of his society, to 163 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: rescue the rest of the military Fenians from Fremantle, and 164 00:10:05,160 --> 00:10:07,920 Speaker 1: they would secure a ship, go to Australia and get 165 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: the men out. At first, o'riley's plan was to lease 166 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,199 Speaker 1: a ship, but eventually they decided to buy one. Instead, 167 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: he sought donations and one man mortgaged his house, and 168 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,160 Speaker 1: eventually they were able to buy the whaling ship Catalpa. 169 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 1: The ship's captain was George S. Anthony, who was kind 170 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,439 Speaker 1: of an unlikely ally, especially considering how long and dangerous 171 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,119 Speaker 1: the mission was going to be. He had no connections 172 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: to the Fenians or to the clon Neguyo he was. 173 00:10:36,400 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: He was not Irish short Catholic. He was actually a Quaker, 174 00:10:39,679 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: and he took the home in his own words, because 175 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,560 Speaker 1: it was the right thing to do. People focus on 176 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: this a lot like Irish people and Catholic people were 177 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,120 Speaker 1: receiving so much discrimination at the time that it was 178 00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: really shocking that this person, who had absolutely no ties 179 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: to them whatsoever, took this on. Anthony had to keep 180 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 1: the real mission secret from the rest of the crew 181 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,320 Speaker 1: for two reasons. One was the risk of the British 182 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:08,400 Speaker 1: finding out what they were up to. The more people 183 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: who knew, the greater it was that somebody was going 184 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: to accidentally or deliberately spill the beans. The other was 185 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: that they were going to have to operate as an 186 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:19,800 Speaker 1: ordinary whaling vessel along the way because the proceeds from 187 00:11:19,800 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: their whaling work were supposed to offset the cost of 188 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: the rescue mission. Captain Anthony and the Catalpa departed from 189 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: New Bedford, Massachusetts, in April of eighteen seventy, and they 190 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: were to reach Fremantle in January. They had a bit 191 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:37,840 Speaker 1: of good luck along the way by total coincidence. Not 192 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,480 Speaker 1: long after the catap A rounded the Cape of Good Hope, 193 00:11:40,760 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 1: it encountered another ship called the Ocean Beauty, which was 194 00:11:44,160 --> 00:11:47,000 Speaker 1: captained by a man named Cosins, who had been the 195 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: master of the Huguemont. Cosin's still had the charts that 196 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: he had used while carrying convicts to Fremantle, and he 197 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:59,120 Speaker 1: gave those starts to Captain Anthony. However, despite that one 198 00:11:59,559 --> 00:12:02,000 Speaker 1: stroke of good fortune, most of their luck was actually 199 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,760 Speaker 1: pretty bad. Uh some of Anthony's navigation equipment turned out 200 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,599 Speaker 1: to be faulty, and then the whaling part of the 201 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: voyage went terribly meaning that they were not able to 202 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:14,640 Speaker 1: recoup the expenses of the mission with the proceeds from 203 00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:17,280 Speaker 1: whaling that they had planned for. And the weather was 204 00:12:17,320 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: often against them, and at one supply stops six of 205 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: the crew actually deserted. They wound up missing the mark 206 00:12:23,720 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 1: for their arrival in Australia by almost four months. As 207 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,720 Speaker 1: all of this was going on, there was a whole 208 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: other part of the plan happening in Australia while Captain 209 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:36,520 Speaker 1: Anthony and his crew were on the way, and we're 210 00:12:36,559 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: going to talk about that part of it after a 211 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: very forward from a sponsor. As Captain Anthony and his 212 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: crew were on their way to Australia to Fenian agents 213 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,400 Speaker 1: were orchestrating a whole other arm of this scheme. Thomas 214 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: Desmond and John Breslin set sailed for Australia at about 215 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:02,079 Speaker 1: the same time as Captain Anthony and the Katapa left Massachusetts. 216 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:05,360 Speaker 1: The two men sailed from California, though, and they were 217 00:13:05,360 --> 00:13:08,600 Speaker 1: supposed to arrive in Australia well ahead of the Catalpa, 218 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 1: and Breslin actually gets most of the glory here. He 219 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: basically orchestrated a long con in which he posed as 220 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: a wealthy American investor so he could gain access to 221 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:24,040 Speaker 1: the prison and make contact with the Fenian prisoners. Working 222 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: under the pseudonym James Collins, Breslin scouted out the prison, 223 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:31,600 Speaker 1: He met with officials under the guise of hiring prisoners 224 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,520 Speaker 1: as cheap labor, He also made friends with an ex 225 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 1: con who had access to the prison and could bury 226 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: messages back and forth. He got a sense of how 227 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:42,840 Speaker 1: things were run, in which tasks the prisoners were assigned to, 228 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: because some of them gave them a legitimate reason to 229 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: be outside of the prison walls. What he found was 230 00:13:49,360 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: that the security in the prison itself was not actually 231 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:57,319 Speaker 1: all that tight. The prison relied on this completely inhospitable 232 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:00,960 Speaker 1: landscape surrounding it to do most of the security work 233 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: for them. Anthony's multi month delay caused a number of 234 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: problems on Breslin's side of things. The longer he ran 235 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: this con, the more likely he was to be discovered, 236 00:14:12,559 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: and the prison kept changing the work assignments of the 237 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 1: prisoners to be rescued, which was up ending his plans 238 00:14:17,720 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: for getting them out, and Phenians in Australia started concocting 239 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:25,120 Speaker 1: their own escape plan, but Breslin found out about it 240 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: and he was able to convince them to just join 241 00:14:27,120 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: his effort instead. And throughout there was this worry that 242 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:32,960 Speaker 1: the Katapa had been sunk along the way and was 243 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 1: just not coming at all. The most alarming development in 244 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,160 Speaker 1: this whole multi month con was the sudden arrival of 245 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 1: two irishmen who started asking strange questions about the prisoners. 246 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,320 Speaker 1: Everyone who was involved in the Australia side of the 247 00:14:48,440 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: plot was terrified that they were British spies, that somehow 248 00:14:51,680 --> 00:14:53,560 Speaker 1: word had gotten out about what they were doing, and 249 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 1: that the British had seen had sent someone to to 250 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:58,920 Speaker 1: figure out what's happening. It turned out, though, that they 251 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:02,360 Speaker 1: had also gotten letters from Penie and prisoners asking for help, 252 00:15:02,400 --> 00:15:05,280 Speaker 1: and they were there to provide that help. These two 253 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,240 Speaker 1: men wound up being tasked with cutting the telegraph wires 254 00:15:08,320 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: leading out of Fremantle on the morning at the jailbreak. Finally, 255 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: in April, Anthony and the Catalpa made it to Australia 256 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: and he and Breslin set the date for the jailbreak 257 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: as Easter Monday, April seventeen. It was traditional for many 258 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,440 Speaker 1: of the prison officials to go to Purse that day 259 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: for a regatta, so everyone hoped that security would be 260 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: even more lax than normal, and they sent a message 261 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,720 Speaker 1: to the prisoners that this would be their one and 262 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:39,920 Speaker 1: only shot. On the morning of Easter Monday, Thomas Dara, 263 00:15:40,240 --> 00:15:45,520 Speaker 1: Thomas Hassett, Robert Cranston, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, and James 264 00:15:45,600 --> 00:15:48,280 Speaker 1: Wilson slipped away from the prison. Two of them had 265 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: actually been assigned work to do that day that was 266 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: outside of the prison walls, and the other four had, 267 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,720 Speaker 1: one way or another bluffed their way past the guards, 268 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: who apparently never considered that they might have escaping because 269 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: that thought was just so foreign too them. The men 270 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: who became known as the Fremantle Six, actually left a 271 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: seventh man named Jeffrey Roach behind because he had earlier 272 00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,640 Speaker 1: tried to get a reduced sentence for himself in exchange 273 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: for cooperating with the British, which the remainder of his 274 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 1: Athenian cohorts did not approve of, and so the six 275 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: men headed for the road, where Breslyn and Desmond met 276 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,080 Speaker 1: them in carriages and raced off for rocking him twenty 277 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:34,280 Speaker 1: miles away, where Anthony was waiting with Catalpa's whale boat. 278 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:38,720 Speaker 1: Basically it was a little rowboat. Unfortunately, while he was 279 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:42,080 Speaker 1: waiting around with this rowboat, Anthony had drawn the attention 280 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:45,360 Speaker 1: of a local who became suspicious that something weird was 281 00:16:45,400 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: going on, and when six prisoners and two other men 282 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,560 Speaker 1: appeared on the shore, this local man went to get help. 283 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:55,080 Speaker 1: At this point, the prison authorities knew that the jailbreak 284 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:57,840 Speaker 1: had happened and a search was in progress, even though 285 00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: the downed tele telegraph wires meant they hadn't been able 286 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,800 Speaker 1: to raise the alarm elsewhere. Once all nine of the 287 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:07,119 Speaker 1: men were in the whale boat and they were rowing 288 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: to meet the Katapa, Breslin read this note, then sealed 289 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:13,800 Speaker 1: it in a waterproof package and threw it towards shore 290 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:20,159 Speaker 1: to His Excellency, the British Governor of Western Australia. This 291 00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:23,080 Speaker 1: is to certify that I have this day released from 292 00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:26,439 Speaker 1: the clemency of her most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of 293 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:31,520 Speaker 1: Great Britain, etcetera, etcetera. Six irishmen condemned to imprisonment for 294 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 1: life by the enlightened and magnanimous Government of Great Britain, 295 00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: for having been guilty of the atrocious and unpardonable crimes 296 00:17:40,240 --> 00:17:43,639 Speaker 1: known to the unenlightened portion of my portion of mankind 297 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:48,080 Speaker 1: as love of country and hatred of tyranny, for the 298 00:17:48,119 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: act of Irish assurance. My birth and my blood being 299 00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:55,080 Speaker 1: my full sufficient warrant, allow me to add that I 300 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,480 Speaker 1: take my leave now. I've only to say a few cells, 301 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: I've emptied a cell in its way. I have the 302 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,160 Speaker 1: honor and pleasure to bid you good day from all 303 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,919 Speaker 1: future acquaintance. Excuse me, I pray in the service of 304 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:11,639 Speaker 1: my country John J. Breslin. And we do not know 305 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:14,600 Speaker 1: if this letter made it to the governor. The text 306 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,880 Speaker 1: that we actually have for reference is from an account 307 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:23,200 Speaker 1: that Breslin wrote about the escape. So, but after that, 308 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:27,000 Speaker 1: the whole thing once again almost fell apart. The men 309 00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:29,239 Speaker 1: in the whale boat could see a steamer which was 310 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,520 Speaker 1: the Georgette, apparently searching for them in the water, and 311 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,480 Speaker 1: as they rode towards the Catalpa, a storm blew in 312 00:18:36,200 --> 00:18:39,439 Speaker 1: This overcrowded whale boat was in danger of sinking, and 313 00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: they had to bail row and try not to capsize. 314 00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: All through the night as the men in the whale 315 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: boat were trying to keep themselves alive, the Georgette found 316 00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,640 Speaker 1: the Catalpa, but the first mate left in charge while 317 00:18:53,640 --> 00:18:56,840 Speaker 1: Anthony was away, would not allow them to board. They 318 00:18:56,840 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: eventually ran low on fuel and they had to return 319 00:18:59,359 --> 00:19:04,120 Speaker 1: to shore not long after sunrise on Tuesday the eighteen 320 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:06,080 Speaker 1: So at this point they've been out of the jail 321 00:19:06,119 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 1: for about twenty four hours. The men in the whale 322 00:19:08,920 --> 00:19:12,200 Speaker 1: boat spotted the Catalpa, but as they made their way 323 00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: towards the ship, the Georgette spotted them too, so they 324 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,960 Speaker 1: in their little rowboat had to race a steamer to 325 00:19:19,119 --> 00:19:21,840 Speaker 1: the Catalpa, trying to get to the Catalpa before the 326 00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:26,880 Speaker 1: Georgette could get to them, and they made it, but 327 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: luck was still kind of playing against them. The wind 328 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:32,440 Speaker 1: stopped and once the men were aboard, they couldn't go 329 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: any further. They were becalmed, and the Georgette returned, and 330 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: it had in the meantime acquired a cannon and it 331 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:45,200 Speaker 1: fired a warning shot. The escaped prisoners armed themselves, mostly 332 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:48,919 Speaker 1: with harpoons, and Captain Anthony, who ran up an American flag, 333 00:19:49,080 --> 00:19:52,760 Speaker 1: called to the Georgette, that's the American flag. I am 334 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,040 Speaker 1: on the high seas. My flag protects me. If you 335 00:19:56,119 --> 00:19:59,320 Speaker 1: fire on this ship, you fire on the American flag. 336 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,120 Speaker 1: The colonial police aboard the Georgette had been ordered not 337 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: to cause an international incident, and so they waited for 338 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,640 Speaker 1: a while, essentially at a stalemate, with the Georgette trying 339 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:13,720 Speaker 1: to nudge the becalmed Catalpa back into Australian waters. It 340 00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:17,040 Speaker 1: did not work, and finally the wind picked up, blowing 341 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,439 Speaker 1: the Catalpa out to sea. The Georgette followed for a 342 00:20:20,440 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: while before finally heading back to Fremantle. There are all 343 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,199 Speaker 1: these accounts of when the wind picked up. It's like 344 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 1: swung the rigging of the Catalpa around, narrowly missing the Georgette. Uh. 345 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:36,520 Speaker 1: I'm not sure if this is a movie, but like 346 00:20:36,680 --> 00:20:40,760 Speaker 1: the Sinking of the Spive, it should be. Captain Anthony 347 00:20:40,800 --> 00:20:43,880 Speaker 1: and the escaped men arrived in New York on August nineteen, 348 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,480 Speaker 1: four months after escaping from the prison. They were met 349 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,880 Speaker 1: with just a raucous celebration among New York's Irish community. 350 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: The reception of this news in Britain was a lot 351 00:20:56,440 --> 00:21:00,240 Speaker 1: less positive though. Britain was livid and accused the unded 352 00:21:00,280 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: States of harboring terrorists, and this story fueled Irish nationalists 353 00:21:05,600 --> 00:21:08,679 Speaker 1: and the movement for Irish independence. And that is a 354 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,520 Speaker 1: whole additional series of other stories culminating in the creation 355 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: of the Irish Free State and later the Republic of Ireland. 356 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:20,400 Speaker 1: We have some detail about what happened to the rescuers 357 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: after this was over. O'Riley was a poet and a writer, 358 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:26,560 Speaker 1: and he died in ninety at the age of forty six. 359 00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,840 Speaker 1: Desmond and Breslin became part of the Irish Republican Brotherhood 360 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: in America, and Desmond eventually also became Sheriff of San Francisco. 361 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,160 Speaker 1: John Devois continued to be active in the Colon Niguel 362 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: and active in the struggle for Irish independence from America. 363 00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: He did eventually get to return to Ireland towards the 364 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:49,719 Speaker 1: end of his life. The Catalpa returned to service as 365 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: a whaling ship and it was eventually used to carry Cole. 366 00:21:53,280 --> 00:21:56,479 Speaker 1: The rescue mission was Captain Anthony's last sea voyage, and 367 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: he unfortunately died of pneumonia. Much less is known about 368 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: the later fates of the Fremantle six, except that by 369 00:22:05,240 --> 00:22:08,359 Speaker 1: all accounts they were broken men after their time in 370 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: Fremantle prison. The few Fenians left in Fremantle after the 371 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:16,679 Speaker 1: jailbreak later wound up being pardoned. This was the only 372 00:22:16,760 --> 00:22:21,680 Speaker 1: successful prison break from Fremantle. Remember, John Boyle O'Reilly's escape 373 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,919 Speaker 1: was from a different prison, and it became a highly 374 00:22:24,920 --> 00:22:29,560 Speaker 1: celebrated event. One ballad became so popular and so controversial 375 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,640 Speaker 1: that it was officially banned in Western Australia, and as 376 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 1: of it still was. The ballad starts out a noble 377 00:22:37,560 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 1: whale ship and commander called the Catalpa, they say, came 378 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,760 Speaker 1: out to Western Australia and took six poor Fenians away. 379 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,440 Speaker 1: So come all, you screw orders and jailers remember Perth 380 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,520 Speaker 1: Regatta Day. Take care of the rest of your Fenians 381 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:54,920 Speaker 1: or Yankees will steal them away. And Fremantle Prison closed 382 00:22:55,040 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 1: on November eight. I'm glad Joseph asked for this story 383 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,359 Speaker 1: me too. Um, Like, there are lots of sources about this. 384 00:23:04,480 --> 00:23:06,639 Speaker 1: There's a whole book about it that there is a 385 00:23:07,119 --> 00:23:10,080 Speaker 1: Secrets of the Dead episode on PBS called The Irish 386 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: Escape all about it, So there are lots of resources 387 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:15,680 Speaker 1: about it. But still I had not really heard about 388 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,200 Speaker 1: it before. And apparently, even though it sparked a whole 389 00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 1: surge of Irish nationalism at the time, by the time 390 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: the Republic of Ireland actually gained its independence from Britain, 391 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:32,240 Speaker 1: this part of the story had been kind of maybe 392 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:34,880 Speaker 1: not forgotten, but it wasn't so much in the limelight anymore. 393 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: It was one of those stories that was rediscovered again 394 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:45,880 Speaker 1: a little more recently Thank you so much for joining 395 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 1: us on this Saturday. If you have heard an email 396 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:51,520 Speaker 1: address or a Facebook you are l or something similar 397 00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:54,119 Speaker 1: over the course of today's episode, since it is from 398 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,639 Speaker 1: the archive that might be out of date now, you 399 00:23:56,800 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: can email us at history podcast at how stuff Works 400 00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 1: dot com, and you can find us all over social 401 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,200 Speaker 1: media at missed in History. And you can subscribe to 402 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,600 Speaker 1: our show on Apple podcasts, Google podcast, the I Heart 403 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:15,879 Speaker 1: Radio app, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff 404 00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:17,800 Speaker 1: you Missed in History Class is a production of I 405 00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:20,960 Speaker 1: Heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more podcasts. 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