August 19, 1876

The ship “Catalpa,” which carried six Irish Fenians who escaped from Australia, docked in the U.S. on this day in 1876. Funded by Clan na Gael and several pardoned Fenians already in the U.S., the “Catalpa” was purchased by the organization and set sail for western Australia where Thomas Darragh, Martin Hogan, Michael Harrington, Thomas Hassett, Robert Cranston and James Wilson were serving a penal colony sentence. The men were rescued from Australia on April 17, 1876 and the ship docked in New York on August 19.