Australia and the US Civil War

Australia  and the US Civil War

I work as a tour guide in Gettysburg for the Farnsworth House. One of the tours I do is a living history tour. We typically have at least one Australian on every tour. I wondered why the interest in the Civil War by Australians.  Now I know why. A lady on the tour last week told me there are three Civil War veterans buried in Adelaide. That got me researching and what I found is absolutely fascinating.

Some of the soldiers from Australia were really Americans who had gone to Australia during the Victoria gold rush of the 1850’s and had gone home to fight.  Others were Australians who had joined the crews of Confederate ships that visited their ports. Still more were Americans who went to Australia after the war.

Australia also had its own fears about the Civil War. The South (the Confederate States of America) was trying to get Britain to join the war on their side. If that happened, the Russians were preparing to invade Australia. For more about this see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia_and_the_American_Civil_War

The William Kenyon Australian Confederated SCV Camp 2160  (SCV = Sons of Confederate Veterans) has a fascinating web site called Australian and New Zealand American Civil War Veterans. They have identified veterans of the Civil War buried in Australia and New Zealand. They are listed alphabetically and the group has written biographies about each of them. Some include photographs of their graves. They also have some fantastic art work. Here is their link  http://www.acwv.info/1-files/introduction-A.htm . They also have a list of descendants and one stands out. A descendant of General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Confederate troops.

I would love to know if any of these soldier fought at Gettysburg.