Secrets of the Dead (2000–…): Season 6, Episode 5 - Irish Escape - full transcript

Narrator: COMING UP ON
"SECRETS OF THE DEAD,"

IN 1866, IRISH FREEDOM-FIGHTERS
WERE ROUNDED UP BY BRITAIN.

WE WERE SEEN AS
DOWNRIGHT DIRTY TRAITORS.

Narrator: MANY WERE
SENT TO ROT IN AUSTRALIA

UNTIL THE IRISH UNDERGROUND
HATCHED A PLAN TO FREE THEM.

Man: THIS IS ONE THE GREAT
MYTHIC ESCAPES OF ALL-TIME!

Narrator: A CARRIAGE CHASE,
A NEW BEDFORD WHALING SHIP,

AND A CONFRONTATION AT SEA
BROUGHT THE MEN TO AMERICA

AND REIGNITED THE IRISH FIGHT
FOR INDEPENDENCE.

IRISH ESCAPE
ON "SECRETS OF THE DEAD."

"SECRETS OF THE DEAD" WAS
MADE POSSIBLE BY CONTRIBUTIONS



TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM...

Narrator: IRELAND, 1866.

6 BRITISH SOLDIERS ARE ARRESTED

FOR CONSPIRING
AGAINST THE CROWN.

THEY ARE CONVICTED OF TREASON

AND SENT TO ROT
IN THE MOST REMOTE JAIL

IN THE BRITISH EMPIRE:

FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

THESE BRITISH SOLDIERS
ARE ACTUALLY IRISH,

AND THEY PUT THEIR LIVES AT RISK

IN THE FIGHT
FOR IRELAND'S INDEPENDENCE.

THEIR DEDICATION
WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN.

A DECADE LATER, ONE MAN'S GUILT,

ONE MAN'S COURAGE,
AND ONE MAN'S PATRIOTISM



INSPIRE A DAREDEVIL RESCUE
ATTEMPT LAUNCHED FROM AMERICA.

IT'S A MISSION
NO ONE BELIEVES POSSIBLE.

Man: IT WAS THE MOST
EXTRAORDINARY RESCUE ATTEMPTS

IN WORLD HISTORY,
WHICH IS WHAT IT WAS.

Narrator: THE OBJECTIVE IS
TO SPRING THE MEN FROM A PRISON

THAT IS SAID TO BE IMPENETRABLE.

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREAT
MYTHIC ESCAPES OF ALL-TIME!

Narrator: 3 REBELS,
6 DESPERATE PRISONERS,

AND AN OLD WHALING SHIP SET OUT

TO DEFY THE MIGHTY
BRITISH EMPIRE.

IN JUNE, 1874, AN UNEXPECTED
ENVELOPE FOUND ITS WAY

TO THE OFFICES OF
THE "NEW YORK HERALD."

IT WAS ADDRESSED TO NEWSPAPER
JOURNALIST JOHN DEVOY.

INSIDE WAS A MESSAGE
FROM DEEP IN HIS PAST.

Man: DEAR FRIEND, REMEMBER
THIS IS A VOICE FROM THE TOMB.

FOR IS THIS NOT A LIVING TOMB?

IN THE TOMB, IT IS ONLY A MAN'S
BODY THAT IS GOOD FOR WORMS,

BUT IN THIS LIVING TOMB

THE CANKER WORM OF CARE
ENTERS THE VERY SOUL.

THIS IS AS TRUE AS HOLY WRIT.

MOST OF US ARE BEGINNING
TO SHOW SYMPTOMS OF DISEASE.

IN FACT, WE CANNOT EXPECT
TO HOLD OUT MUCH LONGER.

Narrator: THE LETTER
FROM PRISONER JAMES WILSON

WAS A DESPERATE PLEA FOR RESCUE.

Wilson: I MUST TELL YOU

THAT WE ARE MUCH ALTERED
IN APPEARANCE,

THAT FROM YOUNG MEN
WE HAVE BECOME OLD ONES.

AND WHAT A DEATH
IS STARING US IN THE FACE,

THE DEATH OF A FELON
IN A BRITISH DUNGEON,

AND A GRAVE AMONGST
BRITISH RUFFIANS.

Narrator: JOHN DEVOY
WAS A NEW YORK JOURNALIST,

BUT HE HAD A SECRET PAST
AS A FORMIDABLE IRISH PATRIOT.

10 YEARS EARLIER,
HE HAD BEEN A SENIOR LEADER

OF THE IRISH REPUBLICAN
BROTHERHOOD...

A CLANDESTINE
REVOLUTIONARY GROUP

COMMITTED TO IRISH INDEPENDENCE.

THE ORGANIZATION
WAS KNOWN AS THE FENIANS.

DEVOY'S PLAN WAS TO ATTACK
THE BRITISH FORCES FROM WITHIN.

HE RECRUITED IRISH-BORN BRITISH
SOLDIERS TO THE FENIAN CAUSE.

Man: IT'S A BRILLIANT STROKE
IF YOU CAN PULL IT OFF.

YOU BOTH GET THE MEN
AND THE GUNS SIMULTANEOUSLY

AND YOU CAN MOUNT A SUCCESSFUL
REBELLION IN IRELAND

IF IN FACT YOU CAN TURN
A SIGNIFICANT PROPORTION

OF THE BRITISH ARMY AGAINST
THE BRITISH ARMY IN IRELAND.

DO YOU SWEAR ALLEGIANCE
TO THE IRISH REPUBLIC,

NOW VIRTUALLY,
BY HEAVEN AND EARTH...

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY,
MOTHER OF GOD...

Narrator: DURING CENTURIES
OF IRISH REBELLION,

NO ONE HAD THOUGHT TO TURN
THE BRITISH ARMY AGAINST ITSELF.

OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDS
OF MY SUPERIOR OFFICER...

OFFICERS, AND FINALLY,
I TAKE THIS OATH...

IN THE SPIRIT OF A TRUE
SOLDIER IN LIBERTY...

SO HELP ME GOD.

Man: JOHN DEVOY BECOMES
THE CHIEF RECRUITER OF THE IRB,

SO THROUGHOUT
MEETING PLACES IN DUBLIN

HE IS TAKING SOLDIERS ASIDE
AND IN ESSENCE SAYING,

"LOOK, THERE IS
A REVOLUTION COMING,

AND WHEN THAT TIME COMES,
WE WANT YOU ON OUR SIDE."

Narrator: THE FENIANS'
PLAN WAS UNIQUE,

BUT THEIR DEMISE
WAS ALL TOO FAMILIAR.

BRITISH INTELLIGENCE
LEARNED OF THE PLOT

AND LAUNCHED ITS OWN
PREEMPTIVE ATTACK.

ALONG WITH OTHER
SENIOR FENIAN LEADERS,

DEVOY WAS ARRESTED
AND THROWN IN JAIL.

BETRAYED FROM WITHIN
BY BRITISH SPIES

WHO HAD INFILTRATED
THE REBEL RANKS,

THE INSURGENCY NEVER EVEN
GOT OFF THE GROUND.

A TERRIBLE FATE LAY IN STORE FOR
THE CAPTURED MILITARY FENIANS.

IN COURTS ACROSS
IRELAND AND ENGLAND,

SOLDIERS LIKE JAMES WILSON,
MARTIN HOGAN, AND THOMAS DARRAGH

WERE ACCUSED OF CONSPIRACY
TO WAGE WAR ON GREAT BRITAIN.

THEY HAD TAKEN MEMBERSHIP
IN A SECRET SOCIETY

SWORN TO OVERTHROW
THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT,

AND THEY WERE VIOLATING
THEIR PRIMARY OATH

IN THE EYES OF THE BRITISH.

Narrator: TREASON WAS
THE WORST POSSIBLE CRIME

FOR A SOLDIER OF THE EMPIRE.

THEY HAVE LONGER SENTENCES,

THEY ARE NOT GRANTED
THE AMNESTY,

THEY ARE NOT RELEASED.

THEY ARE OFTEN BRANDED WHEN
THEY ACTUALLY ARE DISCOVERED

TO BE FENIANS WITH D'S
FOR DESERTER ON THEIR CHEST.

Narrator: AS TRAITORS TO
THE CROWN, MILITARY RECRUITS

LIKE ROBERT CRANSTON, THOMAS
HASSETT, AND MICHAEL HARRINGTON

WERE HANDED
THE HARSHEST SENTENCES:

TRANSPORTATION TO ONE OF THE
MOST ISOLATED PRISON FACILITIES

FREMANTLE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

IT WAS A TICKET TO HELL.

Devoy: MOST OF THE EVIDENCE
ON WHICH THE MEN WERE CONVICTED

RELATED TO MEETINGS WITH ME.

I FELT THAT I MORE THAN
ANY OTHER MAN THEN LIVING

OUGHT TO DO MY UTMOST
FOR THESE FENIAN SOLDIERS,

BUT AT THAT TIME,
NOTHING COULD BE DONE.

Narrator: UNLIKE HIS RECRUITS,
JOHN DEVOY GOT OFF LIGHTLY.

AS A CIVILIAN FENIAN,

HIS SENTENCE
WAS AMNESTY AND EXILE.

HE ARRIVED IN AMERICA IN 1871.

BUT THE BRITISH POLICY
OF EXILING CIVILIAN FENIANS

WAS DESTINED TO BACKFIRE.

WHEREVER THE EXILES WENT,

NEW HOTBEDS OF FENIAN
REBELLION SPRANG UP.

ACROSS THE WORLD, BANDS
OF DEDICATED EX-PATRIOTS

KEPT THE FLAMES
OF IRISH INDEPENDENCE ALIVE.

THEY DIDN'T FORGET THE PLIGHT OF
THEIR FORMER BROTHERS-IN-ARMS.

ON JANUARY 9th, 1868,
A HUMAN CARGO OF 280 CONVICTS

WAS DELIVERED
TO FREMANTLE, AUSTRALIA.

AMONGST THEM WERE MILITARY
FENIANS JAMES WILSON,

ROBERT CRANSTON,
THOMAS HASSETT, MARTIN HOGAN,

THOMAS DARRAGH,
AND MICHAEL HARRINGTON.

THEY LATER BECAME KNOWN
AS THE FREMANTLE 6.

Lee: PENAL COLONY,
WESTERN AUSTRALIA,

FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
BEYOND CIVILIZATION,

SURE IT'S THE SAME AS
SENDING THEM INTO OUTER SPACE.

Narrator: THEIR
FORBIDDING NEW HOME

WAS NICKNAMED THE ESTABLISHMENT.

Man: THEIR DUST
WAS TO BECOME DUST,

PART OF THE DUST OF
WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

THE MILITARY FENIANS WERE REALLY
IN WEST AUSTRALIA FOREVER.

THEY WERE IN
THAT TERRIBLE SYSTEM

WHICH WAS CENTERED UPON
FREMANTLE JAIL,

ONE OF THE WORST JAILS
IN AUSTRALIA.

Narrator: SINCE IT
OPENED IN 1850,

OVER 10,000 MEN HAD BEEN
SENT TO THE ESTABLISHMENT.

NONE HAD ESCAPED AND SURVIVED.

WHEN THE FENIANS ARRIVED,
THEY WERE INSPECTED,

PLACED IN WORK GANGS,

AND DISPERSED INTO
THE REMOTE AUSTRALIAN BUSH.

A LIFE SENTENCE
AT THE ESTABLISHMENT

WAS PUNISHING SLAVE LABOR...

BUILDING ROADS
FOR THE BRITISH EMPIRE

IN ONE OF THE MOST
INHOSPITABLE PLACES ON EARTH.

Man: SUPERVISION WAS LAX
BECAUSE THE GENERAL FEELING

WAS THAT THERE WAS
NO WHERE FOR THEM TO GO

IF THEY RUN AWAY,
AND WE CAN EASILY CATCH THEM.

Narrator: TO THE EAST LAY
A VAST UNCHARTED DESERT.

AND TO THE WEST, A HUGE EXPANSE
OF SHARK-INFESTED OCEAN.

Man: THEY HAD NATIVE TRACKERS

WHO COULD ALMOST TRACK YOU
OVER BARE STONE

AND SO THE CHANCES
OF ACTUALLY GETTING AWAY

WERE VERY REMOTE.

AND IF YOU WERE CAUGHT,
YOU WERE GOING TO GET FLOGGED

AND THEN THROWN
IN THE PUNISHMENT CELL.

Narrator: THE AUTHORITIES
CONSIDERED NATURE

THE ESTABLISHMENTS'
MOST UNFORGIVING

AND EFFECTIVE JAILOR.

Wilson: HERE IS TO THE FOUND MAN
IN HIS MOST DEGRADED FORM.

MEN THAT WOULD SELL YOUR BODY
AND SOUL FOR A SHILLING.

EVERY MAN HAS HIS PRICE
IN THIS LAND OF CANE.

WE LOOK UPON YOU AS
OUR LEADER AND CHIEF,

AND AS SUCH WE EXPECT
THAT YOU WILL NOT FORGET

YOUR HUMBLE FOLLOWERS.

Narrator: JAMES WILSON HAD BEEN
HELD CAPTIVE FOR ALMOST 9 YEARS

WHEN HE WROTE TO JOHN DEVOY.

Golway: THERE IS NO QUESTION
THAT DEVOY FELT GUILTY.

OF COURSE HE DID.

HE TOLD WILSON, "COMMIT TREASON,

"BE WITH US,
AND WHEN THE TIME COMES,

WE WILL WIN IRISH FREEDOM."

Narrator: BUT NOW,
IT WAS UP TO DEVOY

TO TRY AND FREE HIS MEN.

HIS FIRST STEP WAS TO
ADDRESS THE CLAN NA GAEL,

A HIGHLY-SECRETIVE GROUP
OF IRISH NATIONALISTS

IN THE UNITED STATES.

BAIT US WITH
YOUR TONGUE AND PEN...

THE CLAN NA GAEL
HAD THE INFLUENCE

TO MOUNT A RESCUE ATTEMPT,
BUT WOULD THEY SUPPORT HIM?

DEVOY LET WILSON'S EVOCATIVE
"VOICE FROM THE TOMB" LETTER

SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

Devoy: WE THINK
IF YOU FORSAKE US,

THEN WE ARE FRIENDLESS INDEED.

WE NEVER FORGET THAT WE ARE
STILL SOLDIERS OF LIBERTY.

YOURS, JAMES WILSON.

THESE MEN ARE OUR BROTHERS!

Ni Bhroimeil:
THE VOICE FROM THE TOMB.

EVEN THE WORDS ITSELF EVOKES
A SENSE OF INCARCERATION

OF FORGOTTEN-NESS OF A PERSON
WHOSE COMING LIKE A PHOENIX

OUT OF THE ASHES, WHICH IS
A CLASSIC MOTIF, OF COURSE,

FOR THE FENIANS THEMSELVES.

BUT YOU HAVE THIS SENSE THAT
HE JUST READS IT VERY BARELY

AND THAT PEOPLE
ARE MOVED BY THIS LETTER.

Narrator: DEVOY PROPOSED
AN OUTRAGEOUS RESCUE PLAN.

12 TO 15 FULLY-ARMED MEN WOULD
CHARTER A SHIP TO AUSTRALIA

AND BREAK THE PRISONERS
OUT OF JAIL.

IT'S A LONG SHOT.

LET'S BE CLEAR THIS
IS NOT A SOFT OPTION

THAT HE'S GOING FOR.

HE IS TAKING ON WHAT MANY REGARD

AS AN UTTERLY IMPRACTICAL
AND IMPOSSIBILITY, CRAZY IDEA.

NOW OUR INTENTION
IS TO FORM...

Narrator: DEVOY WANTED
THE PRISONERS FREED,

BUT HE ALSO HAD LOFTIER GOALS.

HE BELIEVED A MISSION LIKE THIS

COULD REINVIGORATE THE IRISH
INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT.

IT WOULD ALSO RAISE HIS OWN
PROFILE WITHIN THE CLAN NA GAEL.

BUT BY TELLING SO MANY
DELEGATES ABOUT THE PLAN,

DEVOY WAS TAKING A MAJOR RISK.

Kenneally: NOW THE DANGER WAS
THAT THE BRITISH WOULD FIND OUT

ALL ABOUT IT, AS THEY DID
WITH MOST THINGS IRISH,

LONG BEFORE IT HAPPENED,

AND THERE WOULD BE
ANOTHER ABORTED MOVEMENT.

GENTLEMEN, CAN WE...

Narrator: DEVOY'S PLAN
NEEDED A SHIP,

A STRONG WIND,
AND LOTS OF MONEY.

DO I HAVE YOUR VOTE
OF CONFIDENCE?

KNOWING WILSON'S DESPERATE PLEA
WAS THE BEST FUNDRAISER,

DEVOY CIRCULATED THE LETTER TO
THOUSANDS OF IRISH EX-PATRIOTS

ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.

THEY TOOK YOUR CAUSE
IN THE HOLIEST POSSIBLE WAY,

AND THERE'S NO DENYING
THAT TO OTHER FENIANS

THE SITUATION WAS
A CHRIST LIKE SITUATION.

THESE MEN CRIED TO THEM

AS CHRIST MIGHT HAVE
CRIED FROM THE GRAVE.

AND SO THE MONEY WAS RAISED.

Narrator: INCREDIBLY,
CLOSE TO $7,000 POURED IN,

AND NOT A WORD OF THE RESCUE
WAS LEAKED TO THE BRITISH.

WITH THE STARTUP MONEY IN HAND,
DEVOY REVISED THE RESCUE PLAN.

INSTEAD OF CHARTERING A VESSEL

AND TAKING
THE PRISONERS BY FORCE,

HE DECIDED TO USE STEALTH.

NO ONE WOULD QUESTION
A WHALING VESSEL

IN WESTERN AUSTRALIAN WATERS,

SO HE ARRANGED A WHALING
EXPEDITION AS A DECOY.

IN THE PORT TOWN OF
NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS,

DEVOY BOUGHT AN OLD SHIP.

BUT PURCHASING
A VESSEL WAS SIMPLE;

FINDING THE RIGHT CAPTAIN
TO SEND ON THE MISSION

WAS A MORE DIFFICULT TASK.

Fennell: IT WAS SUGGESTED
THAT AS THE CAPTAIN OF THE SHIP,

THERE WAS A FELLOW NAMED
GEORGE ANTHONY WHO LIVED IN TOWN

AND HAD BEEN ON SEVERAL
WHALING VOYAGES EARLIER.

Narrator: BUT GEORGE ANTHONY
SEEMED LIKE AN UNLIKELY CHOICE.

HE'D NEVER CAPTAINED HIS OWN
SHIP, WAS RECENTLY-RETIRED,

AND WASN'T EVEN IRISH.

A REAL BLUE BLOOD YANKEE,
A PROTESTANT,

A NON-CONFORMIST TEMPERANCE MAN,

YOU KNOW THE VERY
ANTITHESIS OF THE IRISH.

Narrator: EVEN SO, DEVOY
DECIDED TO FEEL HIM OUT

TO SEE IF HE WAS
INTERESTED AND CAPABLE.

Ni Bhroimeil:
DEVOY SPEAKS, I THINK,

TO ANTHONY IN GLOBAL TERMS.

HE TALKS ABOUT FREEDOM.

HE TALKS ABOUT
THE SENSE OF LIBERTY,

AND THE SENSE OF THAT FREEDOM
BEING DENIED TO OTHER PEOPLE

WHEN THEY WERE FIGHTING
IDEALISTICALLY FOR THIS FREEDOM

IS ONE OF THE THINGS
THAT TOUCHES A CORD

WITH CAPT ANTHONY.

Narrator: IDEALISM ASIDE,
DEVOY ALSO OFFERED ANTHONY

A HEFTY CUT OF THE PROFITS

FROM THE SHIP'S WHALING CATCH.

WHY DID I SAY YES IN THE END?
IT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

Narrator: YEARS LATER,
ANTHONY RECOUNTED HIS PART

IN THE RESCUE ATTEMPT
TO A NEW BEDFORD JOURNALIST.

HE HURRIED OVER THE STORY
OF THE REVOLUTION,

MAKING PROMINENT
THE FACT THAT HIS FRIENDS

WHO HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED
TO AUSTRALIA WERE NOT CRIMINALS.

THEN HE SKETCHED OUT
A QUICK PLAN OF RESCUE.

I WAS TO SAIL
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: ON APRIL 29th, 1875,

CAPTAIN ANTHONY PULLED AWAY
FROM THE NEW BEDFORD DOCK

ABOARD THE RE-FITTED
WHALER, CATALPA.

SHE ENDED UP COSTING MORE THAN
$19,000 TO PURCHASE AND REFIT...

FAR MORE THAN ANTICIPATED.

THE EXTRA EXPENSE WAS
OFFSET BY A CLAN MEMBER

WHO MORTGAGED HIS OWN HOUSE.

TO RECOUP THE EXPEDITION'S
EXPENSES,

ANTHONY WAS EXPECTED TO DELIVER
NOT ONLY THE FENIAN PRISONERS,

BUT A FULL CARGO
OF WHALE OIL AS WELL.

Anthony: WITH MR. DEVOY
AND THE OTHERS,

I COULD BREATHE IN
THEIR ENTHUSIASM

AND THE SPIRIT OF THE AFFAIR,
BUT ONCE THEY HAD GONE,

I SHOULDERED
THE RESPONSIBILITY ALONE.

WITH MY HULK OF A WHALING SHIP,

I WAS ABOUT TO TAKE ON THE
MIGHTIEST NAVAL POWER ON EARTH.

Narrator: ANTHONY WAS TOLD
TO CREATE THE ILLUSION

OF A NORMAL WHALING EXPEDITION,

KEEPING THE REAL REASON FOR
THE VOYAGE HIDDEN FROM THE CREW.

HIS INSTRUCTIONS
WERE TO HAVE THE SHIP

WAITING OFF THE WEST AUSTRALIAN
COAST BY JANUARY, 1876.

HE HAD 9 MONTHS TO GET THERE.

WITH ANTHONY ON HIS WAY,

DEVOY'S NEXT TASK WAS
TO FIND AN INTELLIGENT,

COOL-HEADED AGENT TO RUN THE
FREMANTLE SIDE OF THE OPERATION.

HE KNEW JUST THE MAN.

A RECENTLY-ARRIVED
IRISH FREEDOM-FIGHTER

NAMED JOHN J. BRESLIN.

Kenneally: HE WAS A VERY
FORMIDABLE CHARACTER,

A VERY TOUGH CHARACTER

NOT IN THE SENSE
THAT HE WAS A MUSCLE MAN,

BUT IN THE SENSE THAT HE HAD
GREAT PSYCHOLOGICAL ENDURANCE,

TEMPERAMENTAL ENDURANCE.

Narrator: BRESLIN ALSO
HAD EXPERIENCE

WITH SUCCESSFUL PRISON BREAKS.

10 YEARS EARLIER IN IRELAND,
HE HAD CONSPIRED WITH DEVOY

TO RESCUE FENIAN LEADER
JAMES STEPHENS

FROM THE HEART OF
THE BRITISH PRISON SYSTEM.

Kenneally: THE FENIANS
IN AMERICA

SORT OF ASSEMBLES
THE SAME "OCEAN'S 11" TEAM

WHO GOT STEPHENS OUT OF JAIL TO
GET THESE MEN OUT OF THE GRAVE.

Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER
13th, 1875,

BRESLIN WAS DISPATCHED
TO AUSTRALIA.

BY THEN, THE IMPRISONED FENIANS

WERE NO LONGER TOILING
IN THE OUTBACK.

THEIR WORK DETAILS
WERE NOW IN FREMANTLE.

DAY AFTER DAY,
THEY SWEATED IN THE QUARRIES,

ROADS, AND STORES, NOT KNOWING
WHETHER THEIR APPEAL

FOR RESCUE HAD BEEN HEARD.

Lee: BY THIS STAGE
THEY WERE BROKEN MEN.

THEY WERE REALLY BEGINNING
TO FEEL THAT THEY HAD LOST IT.

Narrator: IN DESPERATION,

THE PRISONERS SENT
ANOTHER PLEA FOR HELP...

THIS TIME TO A FENIAN
CONTACT IN IRELAND.

THEY HAD NO WAY
OF KNOWING THIS NEW LETTER

WOULD PUT DEVOY'S PLAN
INTO JEOPARDY.

NO WAY OF KNOWING
THAT THE HELP THEY CRAVED

WAS ABOUT TO ARRIVE AT THE
EMERALD ISLE HOTEL IN FREMANTLE.

JOHN BRESLIN CHECKED IN

WITH A CAREFULLY-CHOSEN
SECRET IDENTITY:

AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE
JAMES COLLINS.

Breslin: BEFORE LEAVING AMERICA,

ONE OF "OUR" JUDGES HAD PREPARED
FOR ME A LEGAL DOCUMENT,

IN READING WHICH THE NATURAL
INFERENCE WOULD BE THAT I,

JAMES COLLINS, POSSESSED LARGE
INTERESTS IN LAND AND MINES

IN NEVADA AND OTHER
STATES OF THE UNION.

I BELIEVE THAT MY REPUTATION

WHILE IN WEST AUSTRALIA
AS A MILLIONAIRE

IS DUE CHIEFLY TO THE FACT
THAT THIS DOCUMENT WAS LEFT

"WITH INTENT TO DECEIVE"

LYING IN MY HOTEL ROOM
FOR ANYONE TO READ.

Waters: BRESLIN FOUND
THAT EVERYBODY

WAS MOST ANXIOUS
TO GET TO KNOW HIM.

HE ALSO HAD TO TRAVEL AROUND
A BIT TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION

THAT HE WAS
REALLY LOOKING TO SEE

WHETHER HE SHOULD INVEST
IN TIMBER OR GOLD.

HE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH CAPITAL
AT ALL, EXTREMELY LITTLE,

SO HE WAS A GOOD CON MAN.

Narrator: BRESLIN QUICKLY
FOUND AND BEFRIENDED

A LOCAL EX-CONVICT

WHO HAD EASY ACCESS
TO THE PRISON.

Breslin: TO JAMES WILSON
AND ALL THE REST, GREETINGS.

THOSE WHO HAVE
NOT FORGOTTEN ARE CLOSE BY.

DESTROY THIS FOR
THE SAKE OF OLD ERIN.

THE DOOR OF THE TOMB IS AJAR.

IT PRODUCES, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE,
A FEVERISH EXALTATION

IN THE PRISONERS
BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE

THAT RESURRECTION IS AT HAND.

Narrator: THE MEN PREPARED
FOR AN IMMINENT RESCUE.

BUT ANTHONY AND HIS SHIP
WERE BEING PLAGUED BY PROBLEMS

AND WERE STILL FAR
FROM FREMANTLE.

WHEN THE CATALPA STOPPED
FOR SUPPLIES IN THE AZORES,

6 CREW MEMBERS DESERTED.

WORSE, ANTHONY'S NAVIGATION
EQUIPMENT WAS DEFECTIVE,

AND HIS WHALING SEASON
WAS DISASTROUS.

HE HADN'T COME CLOSE TO
RECOUPING THE COST OF THE SHIP.

Kenneally: THE IRONY
IS THAT THE SHIP IS DELAYED

BY ALL MANNER OF PROBLEMS,
INCLUDING A SHORTAGE OF WHALES.

AND CAPTAIN ANTHONY WONDERS
WHETHER HE SHOULD STAY OUT

AND COLLECT OIL TO DEFRAY
THE COST OF THE ADVENTURE

OR WHETHER HE SHOULD MAKE
QUICK TIME TO FREMANTLE.

AND HE STAYS OUT,
AND THROUGHOUT 1875,

HE'S FAR FROM WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

Narrator: WHILE ANTHONY
SLOWLY SAILED THE CATALPA EAST,

BRESLIN WAS HAVING MUCH
BETTER LUCK IN FREMANTLE.

HIS ALTER EGO
WAS CREATING A SENSATION,

AND THE PRISON OFFICIALS
WERE EAGER TO IMPRESS

THE WEALTHY AMERICAN INVESTOR
WITH THEIR CHEAP LABOR FORCE

AND FIRST-RATE SECURITY.

BRESLIN WAS ACTUALLY GIVEN
A VIP TOUR OF THE PRISON.

Breslin: ABOUT THE MIDDLE OF
DECEMBER, I VISITED THE PRISON,

OR AS THEY CALL IT IN
THE COLONY, THE ESTABLISHMENT,

AND IN COMPANY
WITH 2 OTHER GENTLEMEN

WAS VERY KINDLY
SHOWN THROUGH THE INTERIOR.

I FOUND IT TO BE VERY
SECURE AND WELL GUARDED.

Narrator: BRESLIN REALIZED
IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE

TO BREACH THE ACTUAL
PRISON'S SECURITY.

FOR THE RESCUE TO SUCCEED,

THE PRISONERS WOULD HAVE
TO BE WORKING OUTSIDE THE WALLS

ON THE DAY OF THE ESCAPE.

AND ESCAPE FROM THE PRISON
WAS ONLY STEP ONE.

ONCE FREE, THEY WOULD
NEED TO GET TO ROCKINGHAM,

A DESERTED BEACH 20 MILES
SOUTH OF FREMANTLE.

THAT'S WHERE ANTHONY WOULD BE
STATIONED IN A SMALL WHALEBOAT,

READY TO ROW THEM OUT
TO THE WAITING CATALPA.

BRESLIN'S PLAN WAS SIMPLE,
AND HE HOPED, EFFECTIVE.

BUT IT REQUIRED
THE WHALING SHIP,

WHICH WAS NOW
MORE THAN 2 MONTHS LATE.

ANTHONY HAD MISSED
THE JANUARY RENDEZVOUS,

AND AS HE MADE HIS WAY
THROUGH THE FINAL STRETCH

TO THE FREMANTLE,
BRESLIN WAS GETTING ANXIOUS.

Breslin: JANUARY, FEBRUARY,
AND MARCH PASSED BY

AND NO SIGN OF THE VESSEL
I WAITED FOR.

THE PRISONERS I WANTED HAD BEEN
SHIFTED AROUND IN THE PRISON,

COMMUNICATION WITH THEM
HAD BECOME DIFFICULT,

AND THEY WERE NOT SO EASY
TO BE FOUND WHEN WANTED.

Narrator: BY APRIL, BRESLIN
HAD HOPED TO BE HALFWAY HOME.

INSTEAD, HE WAS RUNNING
OUT OF FUNDS IN FREMANTLE.

IN THAT TIME, COLLINS/BRESLIN,

THE SUPPOSED AMERICAN
BUSINESSMAN,

HAS TO GO ON PRETENDING
THAT HE'S ABOUT TO INVEST.

HE'S MAKING HIS DECISIONS.

HE TRAVELS ALL OVER THE COLONY

LOOKING AT INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITIES.

SO HE'S IS IN A REAL BIND,
HE'S UNDER PRESSURE.

HE BEGINS TO WONDER
HAS THE WHALER SUNK.

Narrator: WITH THE PLAN
IN JEOPARDY,

BRESLIN RECEIVED SOME UNEXPECTED
HELP AND MORE PROBLEMS.

IN FEBRUARY, SYDNEY-BASED FENIAN
JOHN KING ARRIVED IN FREMANTLE

WITH MUCH-NEEDED
ADDITIONAL FUNDS.

BRESLIN KNEW KING
FROM A PREVIOUS MEETING,

DURING WHICH HE'D DISCOVERED
THAT THE AUSTRALIAN FENIANS,

LED BY KING, HAD DEVISED
THEIR OWN PLAN

TO RESCUE THE FREMANTLE 6.

BRESLIN HAD CONVINCED KING

TO JOIN THE AMERICAN
ATTEMPT INSTEAD,

AND HE ARRIVED
JUST IN THE NICK OF TIME.

BUT KING WASN'T
THE ONLY NEW ARRIVAL.

2 IRISHMEN BRESLIN DIDN'T KNOW

DISEMBARKED IN FREMANTLE
AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME

AND BEGAN ASKING
SUSPICIOUS QUESTIONS

ABOUT THE IRISH PRISONERS.

BRESLIN SUSPECTED
THEY WERE BRITISH SPIES

WHO HAD UNCOVERED
THE CONSPIRACY.

KING WAS SENT TO FIND OUT.

Kenneally: HE WAS
PREPARED TO KILL THEM

IF THEY TURNED OUT TO BE SPIES.

BUT ARDUOUSLY THEY FOUND OUT
BY GRADUAL TRUSTING GESTURES

THAT THEY WERE PART
OF RESCUE PLANS.

Narrator: FORTUNATELY,
THE 2 NEW ARRIVALS

TURNED OUT TO BE FENIANS
FROM IRELAND,

SENT IN RESPONSE TO THE
PRISONERS' SECOND PLEA FOR HELP.

ONCE HE KNEW WHO THEY WERE,

BRESLIN INCORPORATED THEM
INTO HIS PLAN.

HE GAVE THEM THE CRUCIAL TASK
OF CUTTING THE TELEGRAPH WIRE

BETWEEN FREMANTLE AND PERTH
ON THE DAY OF THE ESCAPE.

THE DETAILS
WERE FALLING INTO PLACE,

BUT ALL THE NEW FACES
IN FREMANTLE

WERE MAKING BRESLIN NERVOUS.

HE WORRIED THAT THE AUTHORITIES

WOULD CATCH WIND
OF HIS RESCUE PLAN

AND KEEP THE PRISONERS
LOCKED UP AND OUT OF REACH.

HIS FEARS PROVED
CHILLINGLY ON-TARGET.

BEFORE THE 2 NEW IRISHMEN
ARRIVED,

DETECTIVE SERGEANT THOMAS ROWE
RECEIVED A COMMUNIQUÉ

FROM BRITISH INTELLIGENCE.

BACK IN DUBLIN, THE IRISH PLOT

TO RESCUE THE FREMANTLE 6
HAD BEEN DISCOVERED.

Waters: THE DISPATCH FROM
LONDON TOLD THE GOVERNOR,

"KEEP THIS UNDER YOUR HAT.

"ONLY TELL ONE OR 2 CONFIDANTS,

AND DON'T LET IT
BE SPREAD ABOUT."

Narrator: LUCKILY, THE WARNING
FROM BRITISH INTELLIGENCE

WAS DISMISSED BY
THE FREMANTLE AUTHORITIES,

WHO REMAINED CONVINCED
THAT NO ONE COULD ESCAPE

FROM THE ESTABLISHMENT.

THEY LOOKED AT IT,
AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT,

BUT ACTUALLY IGNORED IT.

AND SO THEREFORE, THAT STORY WAS
NEVER CHECKED INTO THOROUGHLY,

AND IT MEANT THAT IT WENT
UNINVESTIGATED AT THE TIME,

EVEN THOUGH IT WAS TRUE.

Narrator: DETECTIVE ROWE
DID KEEP A HALF-HEARTED EYE

ON THE NEW IRISH ARRIVALS,
BUT HE FOUND NOTHING SUSPICIOUS.

AND IT NEVER EVEN CROSSED
HIS MIND TO CHECK OUT BRESLIN,

THE PURPORTED
AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE.

ON MARCH 28th, 1876,

CAPTAIN ANTHONY FINALLY SAILED
THE CATALPA INTO BUNBURY,

A SMALL PORT SOUTH OF FREMANTLE.

HE WAS 3 MONTHS LATE.

Anthony: AFTER A YEAR AT SEA,
A YEAR OF WORRY AND HARD WORK,

WE MADE THE RENDEZVOUS.

IT BROUGHT LITTLE CHEER.

I HAD NO IDEA WHO I WAS TO MEET,

WHETHER THE CONSPIRACY
HAD ALREADY FAILED,

WHETHER THE AUTHORITIES
WERE WAITING ON SHORE

TO TAKE US INTO CUSTODY.

ALL I KNEW WAS
THE CRISIS AT HAND

WOULD BE THE TRUE TEST
OF MY COURAGE.

Narrator: A YEAR
OF SECRECY AND PLANNING

HAD BROUGHT THE MEN
TO THIS POINT.

AT LAST, THE RESCUE ATTEMPT
WAS READY TO BE EXECUTED.

IN BUNBURY, BRESLIN AND ANTHONY

FINE-TUNED
THE LAST-MINUTE DETAILS.

THEY SET THE DATE
FOR EASTER WEEKEND.

ON SATURDAY, APRIL 15th,

ANTHONY SAILED THE CATALPA
TOWARD ROCKINGHAM BEACH.

BRESLIN ALERTED THE PRISONERS,

WHO WERE WORKING
AT THE FREMANTLE JETTY.

Breslin: WHEN I WAS SURE WILSON
SAW ME, I GAVE HIM THE SIGNAL.

I SAW HE WAS SOMEWHAT PUZZLED:

SO KEEPING HIM IN SIGHT,
I WALKED LEISURELY ACROSS

WHERE THE PRISONERS WERE
WORKING SUFFICIENTLY NEAR

TO SAY, "MONDAY MORNING"
WITHOUT BEING OBSERVED

BY THE WARDER OR ANY
OF THE OTHER PRISONERS.

Kenneally: FOR GOD'S SAKE,
THEY'VE BEEN WARNED

DON'T COMMIT ANY OFFENCE,
DON'T GIVE ANY CHEEK,

DON'T GET SENT TO SOLITARY
CONFINEMENT FOR GOD'S SAKE

BECAUSE WHOEVER DOES WON'T
BE HERE WHEN THE ESCAPE OCCURS.

Narrator: ON SUNDAY NIGHT,
BRESLIN SENT A FINAL MESSAGE

OF ENCOURAGEMENT AND WARNING.

Breslin: WE HAVE MONEY,
ARMS, AND CLOTHES;

LET NO MAN'S HEART FAIL HIM,

FOR THIS CHANCE
MAY NEVER OCCUR AGAIN.

Ni Bhroimeil: WILL THEY
BE GOING OUT THAT MORNING?

WILL THEY ACTUALLY
BE DOING THE TASKS

THAT WERE ASSIGNED TO THEM?

WHO IS GOING TO MEET THEM?
HOW IS IT GOING TO WORK OUT?

ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE
VERY MUCH LEFT IN THE AIR

UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE,
AND THERE IS A SENSE

THAT ANYTHING COULD
GO WRONG AT ANY TIME.

Narrator: THE NIGHT BEFORE
THE ESCAPE WAS A LONG ONE

FOR BOTH BRESLIN
AND THE PRISONERS.

THEY COULD DO NOTHING BUT WAIT.

IT WAS NOW UP TO GOD
AND CAPTAIN ANTHONY.

ANTHONY HAD BEEN ORDERED
TO KEEP THE CATALPA

WELL OUTSIDE THE 3-MILE LIMIT
OF AUSTRALIAN WATERS,

CLEAR OF BRITISH JURISDICTION.

JOHN DEVOY HAD SAID,
"DO NOT GO YOURSELF.

"STAY ON
THE INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY

"SO YOU CANNOT BE ARRESTED,

AND BASICALLY
KEEP YOUR HANDS CLEAN."

Narrator: BUT ANTHONY REFUSED
TO PUT HIS CREW IN DANGER

WHILE HE REMAINED
OUT OF HARM'S WAY.

HE LEFT HIS FIRST MATE, SAM
SMITH, IN CHARGE OF THE CATALPA.

Anthony: WE HAULED UP
ON THE BEACH,

AND I TOLD THE MEN TO
LIE DOWN AND GO TO SLEEP.

I WALKED THE BEACH THE WHOLE
NIGHT LONGING FOR THE DAY.

Narrator: AT FIRST LIGHT,
THE IRISH COLLABORATORS

SEVERED THE TELEGRAPH WIRE.

AT 5.30 A.M.,
BRESLIN READIED THE HORSES

AND HEADED
TO THE RENDEZVOUS POINT.

Lee: THE GREAT ELEMENT
ON THEIR SIDE WAS SURPRISE.

THEY HAD KEPT
THE SECRET SO WELL

THAT IT NEVER CROSSED
THE BRITISH MIND,

EITHER AT HOME
OR IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA,

THAT THERE COULD
BE A RESCUE ATTEMPT.

THERE WAS THE NORMAL
LAXITY THAT OCCURS

BETWEEN GUARDS AND GUARDED,

WHEN THEY GOT TO
KNOW EACH OTHER A BIT.

Narrator: AT 8 A.M.,

THOMAS HASSETT
AND ROBERT CRANSTON

BLUFFED THEIR WAY
OUT OF THE PRISON.

WHO IN THEIR SENSES
OR EVEN OUT OF THEIR SENSE

WOULD EVER THINK
OF ESCAPE FROM THIS PLACE?

Narrator: THOMAS DARRAGH
WAS UNSUPERVISED,

DIGGING POTATOES
OUTSIDE THE PRISON WALLS.

JAMES WILSON AND MICHAEL
HARRINGTON TOLD THE GUARDS

THEY WERE NEEDED TO MOVE
FURNITURE IN THE WARDEN'S HOUSE.

MARTIN HOGAN WAS PAINTING.

Kenneally: ONE OF THEM
WAS PAINTING

A SUPERINTENDENTS HOUSE,

AND HE ELOQUENTLY PAINTED
ONE OF THE WINDOW PANES,

AND IT WAS SYMBOLIC THAT

HE WOULD NOW SEE
AND THEY WOULDN'T...

IT'S ALWAYS BEEN AN ELOQUENT
GESTURE TO ME OF RESURRECTION:

NOW I AM IN THE LIGHT

AND YOU ARE BEHIND
A PAINTED WINDOW PANE.

Breslin: A FEW MOMENTS AFTER
I SAW THE MEN IN PRISON DRESS

WHEEL ROUND AND MARCH
DOWN THE ROCKINGHAM ROAD.

I HAD ALL THE MEN I WANTED.

COME ON, LADS! COME ON!

ARM YOURSELVES.
ARM YOURSELVES.

Narrator: THEY'D MADE IT
OUT OF THE PRISON,

BUT THEY WERE STILL
FAR FROM SAFETY.

THE 20-MILE DASH TO THE BOAT

WOULD TAKE THEM AT LEAST
AN HOUR AND A HALF.

AT THE BEACH,
THE WHALEBOAT WAS WAITING,

BUT A SUSPICIOUS LOCAL NOTICED
IT AND STARTED ASKING QUESTIONS.

HE SAW THIS LITTLE BOAT
ON THE BEACH,

AND HE WAS A BIT SUSPICIOUS,

AND HE WONDERS,
"WHAT ARE YOU GUYS DOING?

YOU'RE NOT DESERTERS, ARE YOU?"

"OH, NO," AND THEY SPUN HIM
A COCK AND BULL STORY.

BUT HE WAS VERY SUSPICIOUS.

Narrator: BARELY AN HOUR
INTO THE ESCAPE,

THE ALARM WAS RAISED
AT THE PRISON.

BUT THE GUARDS HAD NO IDEA
WHERE THE PRISONERS HAD GONE.

THE PLAN WAS GOING PERFECTLY,
EXCEPT FOR THE SUSPICIOUS LOCAL,

WHO HAD HUNG AROUND AND SEEN
THE MEN ARRIVE AT THE BEACH.

ONE OF THE RESCUERS DECIDED
TO KILL HIM TO KEEP HIM QUIET.

BUT ANTHONY INTERVENED
AND LET HIM GO.

Waters: SO HE JUMPED ON A HORSE

AND GALLOPED ALL THE WAY
TO FREMANTLE,

ARRIVED IN A LATHER OF SWEAT
SAYING, "THEY WENT THAT-A-WAY."

Narrator: BY THE TIME THE
FENIANS LAUNCHED THE WHALEBOAT,

THE POLICE WERE IN PURSUIT.

BRESLIN ESTIMATED IT WOULD TAKE
4-TO-5 HOURS OF HARD ROWING

TO REACH THE SHIP, WHICH WAS
STILL SITTING FAR OUT TO SEA.

Breslin: WHEN WE WERE
ABOUT 2 MILES OFF SHORE,

WE SAW THE MOUNTED POLICE
RIDE UP TO THE SPOT

WHERE WE HAD EMBARKED.

Narrator: THE SAILORS
ROWED HARD,

BUT NOW THE AUTHORITIES
KNEW EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE

AND LAUNCHED 2 BOATS
TO INTERCEPT THEM.

ONE WAS A SMALL
COASTGUARD CUTTER

WITH A HANDFUL
OF ARMED POLICEMEN.

THE OTHER WAS
A PASSENGER STEAMER,

COMMANDEERED BY THE BRITISH NAVY
SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS MISSION.

THE GEORGETTE WAS THE FASTEST
SHIP IN FREMANTLE

AND DIDN'T NEED OARS
OR WIND TO MANEUVER.

BRESLIN FORTIFIED HIS MEN
FOR THE BATTLE AHEAD.

Breslin: I TOOK OUT A LETTER
ADDRESSED TO THE GOVERNOR,

WHICH I POSTED TO HIM
BY OCEAN MAIL.

"TO HIS EXCELLENCY
THE BRITISH GOVERNOR,

"THIS IS TO CERTIFY THAT
I HAVE THIS DAY RELEASED

"FROM THE CLEMENCY OF
HER MOST GRACIOUS MAJESTY

"VICTORIA OF GREAT BRITAIN
6 IRISHMEN

"CONDEMNED TO
IMPRISONMENT FOR LIFE

"FOR HAVING BEEN GUILTY
OF THE ATROCIOUS

"AND UNPARDONABLE CRIMES,
LOVE OF COUNTRY

AND HATRED OF TYRANNY!"

Ni Bhroimeil: AND IT'S
AN INCREDIBLY SYMBOLIC MOMENT.

THAT THEY HAVE THROWN OFF
THESE SHACKLES,

THAT THEY HAVE
THROWN OFF THESE CHAINS,

THAT THEY ARE FREE MEN.

IT WAS A VERY POWERFUL
POLITICAL MOMENT,

THAT THEY WERE INDEED
POLITICAL PRISONERS,

AND THAT THEY WERE WAVING
GOOD-BYE TO THAT INCARCERATION

THAT THEY HAD BEEN IN
FOR SO LONG.

Narrator: AFTER 7 HOURS
OF ROWING,

THE MEN FINALLY SAW
THE CATALPA ON THE HORIZON.

BUT THEIR CELEBRATION
WAS PREMATURE.

AS NIGHT BEGAN TO FALL,
THE WEATHER TURNED.

IN THE TRADITIONS OF GOOD ESCAPE
YARNS, THEY GET DREADFUL SEAS.

Narrator: THE WHALEBOAT
WAS GROSSLY OVERLOADED,

FACING A SUDDENLY DANGEROUS
AND UNPREDICTABLE SEA.

CAPTAIN ANTHONY DOUBTED THEY
WOULD MAKE IT THROUGH THE NIGHT.

SOMEHOW THEY DID,
AND WHEN THE SUN FINALLY ROSE,

THEY WERE SPOTTED FROM
THE DECK OF THE CATALPA.

BUT THEY WERE NO LONGER ALONE.

BEARING DOWN ON THEM
AT HIGH SPEED WAS THE GEORGETTE.

Breslin: WE NOW PLIED OAR
AND SAIL TO REACH THE SHIP.

BUT SOON IT BECAME APPARENT

THAT THE GEORGETTE
WAS GAINING TOO FAST ON US.

SO WE DETERMINED TO
LAY DOWN THE SAIL AND LIE TO.

Anthony: THE STEAMER PASSED
WITHIN A HALF MILE OF OUR BOAT,

AND SHE MUST HAVE MISTAKEN US
FOR PIECE OF FLOATING TIMBER,

FOR SHE STEAMED RIGHT BY US
AND OUT TO THE CATALPA.

Narrator: THE CAPTAIN
OF THE GEORGETTE

DEMANDED TO SEARCH THE WHALER,

BUT SAM SMITH
REFUSED TO ALLOW IT.

Ni Bhroimeil:
TO SEE THE CATALPA,

TO ACTUALLY SEE THE BOAT THAT'S
GOING TO BRING THEM TO FREEDOM

AND THEY ARE IN THIS IN-BETWEEN
SPACE, THEY ARE IN THIS LIMBO,

THEY ARE NEITHER FREE
NOR ARE THEY INCARCERATED.

WILSON SAYS THAT HE THOUGHT
OF SUICIDE AT THE TIME.

"IF WE CAN'T BE RESCUED,
IF WE CAN'T SEE THIS THROUGH,

WE CANNOT BE TAKEN AGAIN."

Narrator: THE SITUATION
LOOKED GRIM,

BUT JUST THEN THE GEORGETTE
RAN LOW ON FUEL

AND WAS FORCED
TO RETURN TO FREMANTLE.

AGAIN THE WHALEBOAT
MADE HASTE FOR THE CATALPA,

UNTIL ANTHONY SPIED
THE COASTGUARD CUTTER

SAILING DIRECTLY TOWARDS THEM.

THEY HAD BEEN SPOTTED.

Kenneally: THERE IS A CHASE
TO GET TO THE CATALPA

BECAUSE THE GOVERNMENT CUTTER
IS TRYING TO CUT IT OFF.

Narrator: THE CUTTER
WAS CLOSING IN.

IF THE WHALEBOAT WAS INTERCEPTED
BEFORE IT REACHED THE CATALPA,

THE GAME WAS OVER.

BY THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS,

THE FENIANS
REACHED THE CATALPA FIRST.

Kenneally: THEY CLAMBER ABOARD,

AND THEY'RE
WITHIN SHOUTING DISTANCE

OF THE GOVERNMENT CUTTER,

SO AGAIN THEY'VE
BEEN BROUGHT ALIVE.

Narrator: THE RESCUED MEN
CELEBRATED

THEIR FIRST MOMENTS OF FREEDOM
IN MORE THAN 10 YEARS.

ANTHONY TURNED THE CATALPA
AWAY FROM THE COAST.

BUT ONCE AGAIN,
THEIR JUBILATION CAME TOO SOON.

DURING THE NIGHT, THE WIND DIED
AND THE CATALPA WAS BECALMED.

MORNING BROKE WITH
THE CATALPA STILL WALLOWING.

WITH THE LIGHT,
THE GEORGETTE RETURNED,

THIS TIME ARMED FOR COMBAT
WITH A 12-POUND CANNON

AND A FULL COMPLEMENT
OF ARMED GUARDS.

Kenneally: THE MAJOR OF THE
MILITIA WAS ON THE BRITISH BOAT

AND HE WAS WILLING
TO USE ANY MEANS,

INCLUDING OPENING FIRE,
TO BRING THESE MEN BACK.

Breslin: WE WERE ALL
ASSEMBLED IN THE CABIN,

AND I EXPLAINED TO THE MEN
THE POSITION IN WHICH WE STOOD.

IF THE OFFICIALS
ON BOARD THE GEORGETTE

WERE DETERMINED TO FIGHT
FOR THEIR RECAPTURE,

THEY WOULD
MOST PROBABLY SUCCEED.

IT WAS SIMPLY A MATTER OF DYING
NOW OR WAITING TO DIE IN PRISON,

AND I GAVE THEM THE OPTION
OF FIGHTING OR SURRENDERING.

THEIR ANSWER WAS
"WE'LL DO WHATEVER YOU SAY."

I THEN SAID,
"I'LL HOLD OUT TO THE LAST."

Narrator: THE SAILORS ALSO CHOSE
TO STAND WITH THEIR CAPTAIN.

THEY WERE ISSUED
THE ONLY WEAPONS ON BOARD:

WHALING HARPOONS.

Kenneally: THEY HAD THIS
YANKEE STROPPINESS.

THEY FELT
THAT THE BRITISH NAVY

WAS THE INTERNATIONAL
BULLY OF THE SEAS,

NOT THE INTERNATIONAL GLORY
AS THE BRITISH THEMSELVES DID.

Captain: BARK AHOY!

YOU'RE AMENABLE TO BRITISH
LAW IN THIS COLONY!

HEAVE TO!

Fennell: THE CATALPA
WAS DEFENSELESS.

THEY HAD NO CANNONS,
THEY HAD NO MAJOR GUNS

OR ARTILLERY OF ANY TYPE,
SO YOU WOULD THINK SURRENDER.

Narrator: THE FIRST SHOT
WAS A WARNING,

FIRED DIRECTLY ACROSS
THE CATALPA'S BOW.

Captain: IF YOU DON'T HEAVE TO,

I WILL BLOW THE MASTS
OUT OF YOU!

Narrator: ANTHONY WAS GIVEN
15 MINUTES TO COMPLY.

BUT THE CAPTAIN HAD
ONE FINAL ACE UP HIS SLEEVE.

THIS SHIP IS SAILING
UNDER THE AMERICAN FLAG,

AND SHE IS ON THE HIGH SEAS.

IF YOU FIRE ON ME,

YOU WILL BE FIRING
ON THE AMERICAN FLAG.

Narrator: ANTHONY GAMBLED THAT
THE BRITISH WOULD THINK TWICE

ABOUT FIRING ON AN AMERICAN SHIP
IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS.

HE WAS RIGHT, BUT HE DIDN'T KNOW
THE GEORGETTE WAS BLUFFING.

EVEN AS THE BRITISH COMMANDER
FEIGNED ATTACK,

HE WAS SLYLY TRYING
TO NUDGE THE CATALPA

BACK INTO AUSTRALIAN WATERS.

THERE, HE COULD BOARD THE SHIP
AND RECAPTURE THE PRISONERS.

WITH LITTLE AVAILABLE WIND, THE
CATALPA COULDN'T NAVIGATE AWAY.

THE GEORGETTE'S PLAN
WAS WORKING.

BUT JUST THEN, THE WIND ROSE.

Anthony: I PUT THE WHEEL UP,

AND THE CATALPA
SWUNG OFF QUICKLY

AND HEADED STRAIGHT
FOR THE GEORGETTE,

GOING BEFORE THE WIND.

Narrator: SECONDS BEFORE IMPACT,
ANTHONY VEERED AWAY.

Anthony: WHEN THE CATALPA
SWUNG BY HIM,

HER JIB-BOOM JUST CLEARED
THE STEAMER'S RIGGING.

I WAS DAMNED SURE WE WOULDN'T
SEE THE GEORGETTE AGAIN.

Kenneally: THE GEORGETTE
PEELED AWAY,

AND IT WAS THEN THAT THEY KNEW

THAT THEY HAD GENUINELY
BEEN RESURRECTED.

Narrator: THE CATALPA TOOK
4 MONTHS TO RETURN TO AMERICA.

WHEN SHE FINALLY
ARRIVED IN NEW YORK,

THE MEN WERE RECEIVED
WITH A HERO'S WELCOME.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF PEOPLE GREETED THEM

IN A FENIAN PROCESSION
DOWN BROADWAY.

Narrator: THE CATALPA RESCUE

BECAME AN INTERNATIONAL
SENSATION.

THE DAREDEVIL PRISON BREAK

WAS FRONT PAGE NEWS
AROUND THE GLOBE.

IN IRELAND, IT SPAWNED

A SPONTANEOUS
TORCHLIGHT PROCESSION.

NOT SURPRISINGLY, IN ENGLAND,
IT WAS CONDEMNED.

Golway: THE BRITISH PRESS
WAS IN AN UPROAR

AND IN ESSENCE ACCUSING
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT

OF FERMENTING TERRORISM.

Narrator: CAPTAIN ANTHONY

RETURNED TO NEW BEDFORD
A CELEBRITY,

BUT QUICKLY SETTLED INTO
A LIFE OF DOMESTICITY.

HIS MORTGAGE WAS PAID FOR
BY THE CLAN NA GAEL,

AND HE NEVER AGAIN
RETURNED TO THE SEA.

HE WAS HERALDED IN NEW BEDFORD.

HE WAS A GREAT HERO.

HE HAD NOT ONLY BEEN
A CAPTAIN OF A WHALING SHIP

THAT CAME BACK, WHICH WAS
IN ITSELF A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT,

HE HAD BROUGHT ALONG
THESE 6 IRISH PRISONERS.

Narrator: JOHN BRESLIN
WAS ALSO EXALTED.

HE BECAME A DRIVING FORCE
IN THE CLAN NA GAEL.

A DIE-HARD REVOLUTIONARY,

HE CONTINUED TO AGITATE
FOR IRISH FREEDOM

THROUGHOUT HIS LIFE.

BUT SADLY, THE FREMANTLE 6
DID NOT FARE QUITE AS WELL.

JOHN DEVOY WAS SHOCKED BY THE
CHANGES IN HIS FORMER RECRUITS.

Devoy: I HAD KNOWN THEM
AS SOLDIERS,

FULL OF ENTHUSIASM AND SPIRIT,

AND I WAS NOT PREPARED
FOR THE CHANGE

WHICH 10 YEARS
OF THE IRON DISCIPLINE

OF ENGLAND'S PRISON SYSTEM
HAD WROUGHT IN SOME OF THEM.

Ni Bhroimeil: THEY BEAR IN
THEMSELVES AND ON THEIR BODIES

THE MARKS, NOT JUST OF
PHYSICAL INCARCERATION,

BUT THE MARKS OF BITTERNESS,
THE MARKS OF DESPAIR,

THE MARKS OF DESOLATION,
THE MARKS OF HOPELESSNESS.

AND THE SENSE
TO SOME EXTENT OF A LIFE

THAT HAS BEEN TAKEN.

Narrator: THE FREMANTLE 6
NEVER FULLY RECOVERED

FROM THEIR YEARS IN CAPTIVITY,

AND QUIETLY LIVED OUT
THEIR DAMAGED LIVES

IN THE UNITED STATES.

BUT THE IMPORTANCE
OF THEIR ESCAPE

STRETCHED FAR BEYOND THE BROKEN
SPIRITS OF THE RESCUED MEN.

IT REINVIGORATED
THE IRISH FIGHT FOR FREEDOM

AND SET THE RESISTANCE ON
A COURSE FOR INDEPENDENCE.

IN 1922, LESS THAN 50 YEARS
AFTER THE RESCUE,

THE BRITISH WERE FINALLY OUSTED,

AND THE IRISH FREE STATE
WAS FORMED.

NOT SURPRISINGLY,

JOHN DEVOY PLAYED
A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE VICTORY.

AFTER MASTERMINDING THE CATALPA
PLOT, HIS STOCK ROSE,

AND HE TOOK OVER LEADERSHIP
OF THE CLAN NA GAEL.

Golway: JOHN DEVOY USED THE
SUCCESS OF THE CATALPA MISSION

TO INCREASE HIS OWN
CONTROL OVER CLAN NA GAEL.

IN THE IRISH WORLD NEWSPAPER,

WHICH IS THE NEWSPAPER
IN NEW YORK,

HE IS ENCOURAGING PEOPLE
TO CONTRIBUTE

TO WHAT HE CALLS
A SKIRMISHING FUND.

AND HE IS PROMISING TO BRING

WHAT WE WOULD CALL TERRORISM
TO GREAT BRITAIN.

Narrator: THOUGH HE CONTINUED
TO LIVE IN EXILE IN AMERICA,

DEVOY'S INFLUENCE REACHED
ALL THE WAY BACK TO IRELAND

WHERE HE WAS RECOGNIZED AS
THE INTERNATIONAL FIGUREHEAD

OF THE IRISH FIGHT
FOR INDEPENDENCE.

EVENTUALLY, HE FOLLOWED
HIS REPUTATION IN PERSON.

HALF A CENTURY AFTER HE WAS
BANISHED FROM HIS HOMELAND,

DEVOY RETURNED
TO A LIBERATED IRELAND.

BY THEN, THE STORY
OF THE CATALPA RESCUE

HAD LARGELY BEEN FORGOTTEN,

OVERSHADOWED BY THE STRUGGLES
AND VICTORIES THAT FOLLOWED.

BUT FOR THE BRAVE MEN WHO
PARTICIPATED IN THE RESCUE,

IT REMAINED A SYMBOL OF THEIR
IDEALS, THEIR PERSEVERANCE,

AND THEIR REMARKABLE INGENUITY.

CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

HISTORY IS REVEALING
ITS FORGOTTEN SECRETS AT...