John McCaskill waves a Confederate battle flag he has owned for three decades, on the steps of the State House in Columbia, South Carolina, July 9, 2015. After hours of emotional debate, legislators voted early that day to stop flying the flag on the grounds of the State Capitol. Credit:New York Times A Sydney-based journalist and playwright, Smyth was originally inspired by the notion of Australians who have fought in wars overseas. A friend mentioned the Shenandoah story and he asked himself: "Why don't I know about this? Is it well-known Australian history?" Smyth found the simple answer was no. "There were about 120 Australians that we know fought in the American Civil War, very likely more," he explains. "Most of them fought on the side of the Union." However, it's the 42 locals who stowed away on board the Shenandoah as Confederate marines that captured his imagination. "The visit is one of those historic events that has slipped under the radar although it was a big deal at the time. It created a lot of interest with both the Australian and British press." Melbourne historian Paul Williams is well-versed in the Shenandoah story. In 1992, the former animation producer – who worked on a number of local productions including The Silver Brumby, The Steamboat Adventures of Riverboat Bill and The New Adventures of Ocean Girl – wrote a novel called The Shenandoah Affair. But it was uncovering spicy new information that made him revisit the story and chart the emotional journey of the ship.

Confederate Captain James Waddell was the quintessential Southern gentleman. From the book "Australian Confederates" (Penguin). Credit:US Naval Historical Centre Already a wild tale, Williams says he has uncovered an adulterous love affair between the skipper and a prisoner, a strong-willed 26-year-old named Lilli Nichols, whose husband's merchant ship, Delphine, was captured and sunk by Waddell just before the Shenandoah's arrival in Melbourne. "It's almost like a Hollywood cliche," Williams admits. "The antagonists come together and they hate each other. She abuses him, she's cranky and then she mellows and they become lovers. There's a whole series of events and documents and I thought, there's something else going on here between them. You can see it in the documentation, there's a whole body of evidence." Lilli Nichols was the wife of the captain of a merchant ship that American Confederate Captain James Waddell captured and then sank, taking the Nichols and the crew prisoner until the USS Shenandoah docked in Melbourne. Credit: Charles Nichols Blanchard Williams surmises that Nichols continued to meet Waddell secretly after their arrival in Melbourne, and the affair was discovered then by the Shenandoah's master's mate, Cornelius Hunt, who recorded it in his journal as a "scandalous romance once on the shore".

Hunt later used the tryst to blackmail Waddell as the Shenandoah returned to Liverpool – an epic voyage that saw the gunboat become the only Confederate vessel to circumnavigate the globe. "I realised it was a historically significant love affair," Williams says. "And that's how The Last Confederate Ship came about. There will be people who say, 'This is a load of nonsense' but it's new history, the true story, and it takes a while to seep in." The Confederate battle flag flies on the grounds of the State House in Columbia, South Carolina, for the final time on July 10, 2015. Credit:New York Times These guys were celebrities. Melbourne really feted them. The ladies just loved them. Terry Smyth, author of <i>Australian Confederates</i> Terry Smyth is unmoved by the salacious revelations. "I would call it a very, very long bow from my investigations," he says. "Captain Waddell may have been attracted to Mrs Nichols but she was the one who dobbed them in to the American consul. She did him no favours at all by spilling the beans about the vessel. Also, because of their celebrity value, people knew where these guys were all the time. For the captain of the Shenandoah to have an illicit affair with a married woman with several children, a maid and a husband whose ship had been sunk ruining his business, I find that more than doubtful." One key aspect the two writers can agree on is the surprise visit inspired scenes akin to Beatlemania. In 1865, Melburnians followed the war in the newspapers, albeit a couple of months out of date, without ever thinking it would arrive on their doorstep.

The CSS Shenandoah hauled out for repairs at the Williamstown Dockyard, Melbourne in February 1865. Note the Confederate flag [possibly retouched] flying from her mizzen gaff, and fresh caulking between her planks. Credit:US Navy archives "The public reacted with wild enthusiasm," Williams explains. "They flocked to the ship in their thousands. The Confederates were made honorary members of the Melbourne Club, given free railway passes and they were thrown a gala ball in Ballarat. Overall, the response was very positive." "These guys were celebrities," Smyth adds. "Melbourne really feted them. The ladies just loved them. They were swapping buttons off their uniforms for affection. Any Victorian southern belle worth her salt would be wearing a button around her neck. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bit of Confederate DNA floating around Victoria." There was also outrage at the sympathetic treatment of the visitors. The US consul, William Blanchard, was incensed at the rebels being treated as superstars – he wanted them seized as pirates. Conversely, Captain Waddell was fearful that Blanchard was planning to blow the boat up. The stopover also split the media of the day. The Argus was pro-Confederate, The Age was anti. The Melbourne authorities, unconvinced the South was going to lose the war, were mindful of Confederate sensibilities. As a British colony, Victoria was officially neutral. It was also covered by the foreign enlistment act. Under those rules, any belligerent power that called into a neutral port had to leave quickly unless it had some legitimate repairs. It also couldn't enlist sailors or any other seamen to join.

"The Confederates were treated very well until it was discovered they were recruiting marines," Williams says. "At that point, the ship was surrounded by police and troops. Some recruits were captured and it became obvious they were breaking the neutrality of the port." "Which is why it was all done on the sly, secretly and highly illegally," Smyth says. "When authorities tried to stop the boat from leaving, Captain Waddell said: 'I will consider that an act of war.' The Shenandoah could've put some big holes in Melbourne's lovely facade. Melbourne was so busy celebrating the cult of celebrity with these guys, it's only after they left that people went, 'Look how easy that was. If they had been belligerent, they could've knocked Melbourne down.'" The Shenandoah exited Melbourne on February 18, 1865, with Lilli Nichols still in port. Now manned with its illegal Australian crew, the Confederates continued their destruction of the Union whaling fleet in the North Pacific – all up, capturing 38 ships and forcing the price of whale oil, an imperative commodity for the manufacture of arms, to double. On June 22, off the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea, an Australian recruit unwittingly fired the last shot of the Civil War, a couple of months after the official surrender. "George Canning was the gun captain and he pulled the trigger when they brought to heel a Yankee whaler from New Bedford," Smyth says. "He was also the last guy to die in the service of the Confederacy – he succumbed to tuberculosis as they were fleeing to Britain." Finally accepting the war was over, Waddell sought out a neutral port to surrender so as to not be hanged as a pirate. He steered toward Liverpool, eschewing his orders and closer ports such as Sydney or Cape Town. Williams suggests the motivation for this marathon cruise was blackmail. Ultimately, the gamble paid off as the sailors escaped prosecution.

One lesson from 2015 is that the American Civil War is as divisive now as when it ended 150 years ago. At social gatherings, Smyth admits being nervous mentioning Australian Confederates. He knows if he does, it's never a short conversation. "Some people say, 'Is this a glorification of the Confederacy?' Well, it isn't. It's an interesting part of Australian history. Whenever you look at the American Civil War, there are times when you're walking on eggshells. When researching things about the Confederacy, you need to keep it at arm's length from white supremacists and other people who are not really interested in the history. It's the same when you talk to people who don't really see slavery as an issue in the Civil War. Of course, it was. It wasn't the only issue but it certainly was the issue that drove it and made it happen." The Shenandoah flew a white ensign with the infamous Confederate battle flag in one corner. It's a flag still making front page news 150 years after the war's end. In June this year, a white gunman allegedly murdered nine African-Americans in a Bible class – including a state senator – in the hope of provoking a race war. The tragedy led to the lowering of the flag from the South Carolina state house. It still flies, however, in Mississippi. "It's such a strange anachronism to see the flag flying in Mississippi and, until recently, South Carolina," Smyth says. "It's very divisive – particularly in South Carolina where the excuse given by apologists was it was an historic flag, part of the state's history. In fact, they'd only flown it since the '60s in defiance of the Civil Rights movement. It wasn't there for historical reasons. It was there protesting civil rights for blacks. It was good to see that come down." Paul Williams agrees: "The flag is fine for re-enactments but it shouldn't have been flying over the South Carolina state house. South Carolina was where the war started and it was very insensitive for them to have it flying in this day and age. I was amazed it was still there."