Pod Insights American History Tellers The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | 1 About this episode In the winter of 1846, Irish immigrants in America began to hear troubling news from their home country: a potato famine was ravaging the countryside and driving desperate farmers and families into the cities. Soon more than 1 million people would perish.
Learning of the horror and despair, Americans became determined to respond to the crisis. In March 1847, a crucial relief mission departed from Boston, carrying hundreds of barrels of food and aid across the Atlantic Ocean directly to the shores of Ireland.
It would eventually become the first global humanitarian mission of its kind, setting a precedent for America’s growing role in the world, and strengthening the unique bond between Ireland and the U. S.
Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter
Listen to American History Tellers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. Experience all episodes ad-free and be the first to binge the newest season. Unlock exclusive early access by joining Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial today by visiting wondery.com/links/american-history-tellers/ now.
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Transcript Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.
0:00 Lindsay Graham? Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
0:24 Lindsay Graham? Imagine it's December 1846 in Cork County, Ireland. You stagger through bare, desolate hills, shivering against bitter cold. You're the mother of five young children and a farmer, or at least you used to be, until all of your crops failed in a blight that swept the countryside. All around you, fields are choked by stinking, rotten potato vines destroyed by disease. Hunger is gnawing at your stomach, but your primary concern is your children, who haven't had a decent meal in weeks. You clutch your two-year-old daughter to your thin chest while your older children try to keep up, shuffling along the road. Their blank eyes terrify you. You hear wagon wheels draw nearer, and you raise your eyes in hope.
1:09 Lindsay Graham? Some of your neighbors, just as desperate as you, begin to gather, blocking the narrow road as three wagons roll toward you, covered in thick canvas sheets and guarded by six British soldiers with rifles. They roll to a stop, and a commander steps forward. You're blocking an official transport carrying the goods of Her Majesty. Clear the road. But no one moves, and you step forward tentatively. Sir, may we know what is in the wagons? Commander fixes a harsh gaze in your direction. Ma'am, this is an official convoy, and that is all you need to know. As I said, clear the road. Oh, sir, have mercy on us. Our field is just over that hill, and it's now also where my husband is buried. We've had no harvest this year or last.
1:54 Lindsay Graham? I'm sorry, ma'am, but I cannot help you. I have orders to make sure these wagons get to the port in Cork. Now, please, stand aside. You stare back at the commander. You can feel the tension behind you as a crowd draws closer. One man grips aside in his hand. Then suddenly, the man lunges toward the wagon and tears at the canvas. But a soldier swiftly hits him in the head with his rifle, knocking him to the ground. As he falls, the canvas slips from the wagon, revealing a bed full of grain, vegetables, and oats. Oh, sir, please, these wagons, they could feed us all, keep our children alive. You stop there. Anyone else moves and we will use force. This cargo is going to the port. But we're starving here, in front of you. You only have yourselves to blame.
2:40 Lindsay Graham? Blame us all you want, but you have the power to save us. From the port, all this food will cross the ocean, won't it? To Liverpool, yes, and then to the markets in England, as it should. You step closer, holding your frail daughter up for the officer to see. Just a basket, sir. Just for the children, I beg you. When the man sees the child in your arms, his eyes soften. But then his jaw clenches with resolve. No, ma'am, but you may try the next convoy. By then, we will all be dead. I pray that won't be the case.
3:14 Lindsay Graham? He glances at you one last time, then pushes you aside as the wagons begin to move forward again. But as the soldiers hurry away, a sack falls off the back of one of the wagons. A neighbor picks it up and kindly scoops some oats into your hands. You thank him, knowing that two of his children died last week from hunger and fever. With this kind gesture, you may be spared another day. But without more food, you're all doomed.
3:45 Speaker 01 With the Spark Cash Plus Card from Capital One, you earn unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase. And you get big purchasing power, so your business can spend more and earn more. Stephen, Brandon, and Bruno, the business owners of Sand Cloud, reinvested their 2% cash back to help build the company's retail presence. Capital One. What's in your wallet? Find out more at CapitalOne.com/SparkCashPlus. Terms apply.
4:13 Speaker 02 In New Orleans, truckers kept getting sideswiped the exact same way. When a man is found murdered under questionable circumstances related to these accidents, the rubber hits the road. Listen to "Over My Dead Body: Operation Sideswipe" wherever you get your podcasts.
4:38 Lindsay Graham? From Wondery, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American History Tellers: Our History, Your Story.
5:00 Lindsay Graham? On our show, we'll take you to the events, the times, and the people that shaped America and Americans: our values, our struggles, and our dreams. We'll put you in the shoes of everyday people as history was being made, and we'll show you how the events of the times affected them, their families, and affects you now. By the early 1800s, small waves of Irish immigrants had arrived in America, fanning out across the eastern states, establishing communities in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Over the next 40 years, they put down roots, becoming merchants, laborers, and church leaders. But by 1846, Irish families in America began to hear disturbing reports from their homeland.
5:42 Lindsay Graham? Winter that year had been cold and harsh, and the all-important potato crop, which most Irish peasants depended upon for survival, was failing for a second year in a row. A blight was ravaging the potato, devastating the countryside and driving desperate families into the cities in search of food. Without an alternative to the potato, famine spread all across Ireland, and in just a few years, more than 1 million Irish would perish from starvation and disease, while many more would flee their homeland forever. In the midst of this horror and despair, British officials who governed Ireland failed to provide relief. Instead, vital assistance would come from much further away.
6:23 Lindsay Graham? After hearing news of the blight, sympathetic Americans took up the call and organized relief missions to bring food and supplies across the Atlantic directly to the shores of Ireland. In March 1847, the first of these voyages departed from Boston, carrying hundreds of barrels of food and aid. Many of the goods were donated by ordinary citizens, farmers, shopkeepers, and immigrants, who all gave generously to help a people an ocean away. But this massive undertaking required unprecedented coordination between the public and the US government, and sparked a fierce debate in the nation's capital over the role of government in humanitarian aid for foreign nations. The relief missions that eventually departed would not only serve to strengthen the unique
7:07 Lindsay Graham? bond between Ireland and the US, but set a precedent for America's growing role in the world for many decades to come. This is a special episode of American History Tellers on the Irish famine relief mission, Ship of Hope. In July 1846, Father Theobald Matthew rode by horse from the city of Cork on the southern coast of Ireland to Dublin. Along the way, he felt his spirits lift when he saw fields full of thriving potato plants. The 56-year-old Catholic priest was a tireless advocate for Ireland's poor farmers and a well-known figure in the countryside. Born in Tipperary, just north of Cork, to a family of 12 children, Matthew was ordained
7:49 Lindsay Graham? when he was 24 and had spent most of his life serving the residents of Cork. Over the years, he developed a reputation for his commitment to his parishioners, learning Gaelic in order to deliver sermons and keeping his chapel open late at night in order to allow farmers to make confession after their long days in the fields. A decade earlier, when a cholera epidemic swept through Cork, he had administered to the sick and dying even as the illness spread around him. And when conditions improved, he watched his parishioners return to their fields, struggling to recover their livelihoods on small plots of land. Matthew knew they depended on their crops, especially the potato, to survive. And in recent years, some parts of the country had been hit hard by a blight that wiped out crops and cut into the harvest.
8:35 Lindsay Graham? So when he saw on his way to Dublin that the potato crops appeared healthy and abundant, he was relieved. As he rode through the countryside, he started to compose his next sermon, giving thanks for the blessing. But less than a week later, on August 3rd, during his return trip to Cork, Matthew was shocked to see the same fields blackened by blight. He began to fear the worst, later writing that he beheld with sorrow one wide waste of putrifying vegetation, and saw along the road the wretched people seated on the fences of their decaying gardens, wringing their hands and wailing bitterly against the destruction that had left them foodless. So when he arrived back in Cork, he wasted no time in warning British officials
9:17 Lindsay Graham? of the emergency, declaring the food of a whole nation has perished. Since 1801, Ireland had been governed directly from London, after England abolished the Irish Parliament and put down an attempted rebellion. In the following decades, the Irish had gained some limited rights, such as voting in municipal elections. But in 1846, the English still held firm control over the economic, military, and political affairs, including humanitarian relief. From Father Matthew's view, now that the blight had taken hold, only the resources of the Crown could alleviate the suffering. And after some initial skepticism, newspapers in England began to echo his worry with dire reports. The Times of London observed that crop failure had spread
10:00 Lindsay Graham? across the entirety of Ireland. From the Giant's Causeway to Cape Clear, from Limerick to Dublin, not a green field is to be seen. And by September 2nd, 1846, The Times concluded that the Irish potato crop had suffered total annihilation. For generations, the potato served Irish farmers as their primary form of sustenance. It was easy to grow and store, and provided good nutrition for poor families who had few other options, helping to grow Ireland's population. But the crop was also vulnerable to disease, especially a black fungus known as the blight, which spread quickly in Ireland's damp So as the winter of 1846 arrived and conditions in the countryside only grew worse,
10:43 Lindsay Graham? more hungry and desperate farmers fled to Irish cities along the coast, including Father Matthew's parish in Cork. Daily, he was called to minister to the sick and dying and to help find housing and food for the starving. He was frustrated that since his initial warning, British officials had taken no action, and he began to fear that catastrophe lay ahead.
11:07 Lindsay Graham? Imagine it's December 20th, 1846, in London. You're an inspector in England's Treasury Department, or for the last month, you've been in Ireland, where you were sent to review conditions on the ground there. You worked diligently, recording the widespread suffering from the hunger and illness you witnessed, and then reported back. But your reports have failed to spur any action. Now that you've returned to England, you're hoping to change that. As you entered the main offices of the Treasury, you can tell you've caught the staff by surprise. A lavish spread of roasted goose, mince pies, and bottles of wine cover a table in the corner. A clerk recognizes you and invites you to join their holiday party, but you wave him away and head for the door of the office of the Assistant Treasury Secretary, the man you came to see. Mr. Trevelyan?
11:52 Lindsay Graham? Good afternoon, sir. Trevelyan looks up from his desk, surprised and annoyed. Ah, I hadn't realized you'd returned. Please, take a seat. That won't be necessary, because I will be brief. I understand you've rejected the calls for relief in Ireland? That's correct. But surely you've received my latest reports? Thousands have already died, many more are in danger. The bishop has warned that the worst is yet to come. Yes, I am aware, but I believe your sentimentality is getting in the way of your perspective. My sentimentality, sir? Yes, I don't intend to use the precious funds of Her Majesty's Treasury to aid a foreign people. Well, sir, if we can't aid them directly, might we impose price controls? Make food more affordable for the Irish who so desperately need it?
12:37 Lindsay Graham? Disrupt the food market? And threaten the financial ruin of our own grain traders? No, I have heard directly from London businessmen who have warned me not to act so rashly. Then simple charity, at the very least. Send our excess of flour, our cornmeal. Sir, we are talking about starving families with mothers and children. Travellion shifts in his chair. I've heard enough. God has sent this calamity to teach the Irish a lesson, and it must not be mitigated. They must work to rise above their station, earn wages to purchase their own food on the open market. You stand still, stunned by the secretary's position, and you can see that your visit will do no more good. Well, very well. And God forgive us for what's to come.
13:19 Lindsay Graham? You turn and stalk out of the office. You've devoted your career to your service in the British government and are proud of your work, but you feel ashamed that you've been unable to respond to this latest crisis. And now if there's anything to be done to help the people of Ireland, you understand it must come from somewhere else other than the British government.
13:40 Lindsay Graham? As conditions in Ireland grew worse, England sent inspectors to monitor the deteriorating conditions. Many of them were shocked at the horrors they found. One inspector sent to County Sligo in the northwest of Ireland wrote back to London pleading for action, saying, "I assure you that unless something is immediately done, the people will die. Pray do something for them. Let me beg you attend to this." The man who received these reports was Charles Travellion, the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the British government and the person in charge of relief for Ireland. Travellion had made his name as an efficient and loyal official in the East India Trading Company, posted in Delhi, and upon his return to England, he was promoted to the Treasury Department.
14:22 Lindsay Graham? There, Travellion practiced moralism, a popular ideology in Victorian England which insisted on individualism and self-reliance. This belief helped guide his policy of denying direct aid and instead requiring those in need to sign up for a work program to earn wages. But the pay was low, and many of the projects Irish workers were assigned to turned out to be redundant or wasteful, especially in regions where transportation and trade had ground to a halt because of the crisis. One Irish writer observed, "Women with infant children could be seen breaking stone for bridges where there was no water, or for roads that led nowhere and benefited no one." Still, Travellion refused to budge, going so far as to blame the blight on the Irish's Catholic faith and what he called "a lack of initiative."
15:07 Lindsay Graham? He believed it was Britain's responsibility to foster the transition to modernity and reason, even at the cost of great suffering. And Trevellian was not alone in this philosophy. Newly-elected Prime Minister John Russell supported the position that England should not lend direct assistance to the Irish. In the fall of 1846, Russell feared an economic crisis in Britain due to grain shortages in Europe and a looming trade deficit. He responded to the mounting crisis in Ireland by restricting relief, warning that "if the government were to apply the resources of the treasury for the purchase of food in foreign countries, all trade would be disturbed." As a result, the starving Irish were forced to look on as wagons loaded with produce
15:48 Lindsay Graham? for export traveled through the countryside protected by armed guards. This food was then taken to English markets and in some cases, even returned to Ireland to be resold at higher prices. In the midst of this crisis, one limerick merchant recorded more than 387,000 barrels of oats and 46,000 barrels of wheat leaving port destined for England. Desperate residents responded in anger. At a port near Cork, violence erupted as people tried to seize a boat filled with oats. And at Dungarvan, on the southeast coast of Ireland, British soldiers beat back residents who were clamoring for food and shot into a crowd, killing two people and wounding even more.
16:29 Lindsay Graham? Afterwards, the British sent navy escorts to safely transport the food out of Ireland. Meanwhile, hungry Irish families were being evicted from their small farms and losing their last hope of survival. Because rather than fund relief efforts directly, British officials tried to shift the burden to Irish landowners through taxes. Most of the landowners were wealthy Protestants or Anglo-Irish, and one-third lived outside of Ireland overseeing their vast properties from abroad, and specifics of the tax law meant that the fewer tenants were on the land, the less the landowners would have to pay. This incentivized mass evictions, with one landlord in Roscommon taking advantage of the misery and evicting 1,500 Irish families from his land, pushing them further into
17:14 Lindsay Graham? helplessness. Many of those evicted from their farms fled into the city seeking relief. In Cork, Father Theobald Matthew struggled to help the refugees who arrived daily to his parish, but his repeated letters to British officials yielded no relief. In one, sent directly to Secretary Trevellian in December 1846, Matthew concluded, "No understanding can conceive, no tongue express, the misery that prevails."
17:39 Lindsay Graham? But by then, the news of the growing catastrophe was starting to spread beyond Ireland and Britain. Assineth Nicholson was an American writer, teacher, and advocate from Vermont, who had traveled to Ireland two years before the beginning of the blight. And as the winter of 1846 grew more dire, she witnessed the suffering of the Irish people firsthand and sounded the alarm in dispatches back to American readers. She painted stark, vivid images of suffering from hunger and disease as she traveled the Irish countryside, writing that: "Everywhere, in the mountainous regions, upon the seacoast and in the glens, from Dublin to the extreme south, did I daily meet these facts of hunger and suffering. Death now commenced." The Irish themselves also described the crisis in letters to their family members in the US,
18:25 Lindsay Graham? and soon, newspapers picked up on some of the accounts. And then on January 20th, 1847, an Irish ship, the Hibernia, arrived in Boston Harbor, carrying refugees. Their stories stunned the public and confirmed the harrowing descriptions that had been made out so far. It was now undeniable, the Irish people were facing an unprecedented famine. Two weeks later, on February 7th, 1847, the new bishop for Boston's Catholic Archdiocese took up the cause in his first pastoral letter, declaring: "A voice comes to us from across the ocean; a loud cry of her anguish has gone through the world." He urged the public to respond, saying: "Apathy and indifference, on an occasion like this, are inseparable from crime."
19:10 Lindsay Graham? And as the news spread from Boston and New York to the nation's capital, political leaders began to take up the debate over if and how to respond. The United States was in the midst of a controversial war and bitterly divided over slavery and expansion in the West. But this new crisis demanded attention and would test America's willingness to act.
19:34 Speaker 03 Hi, I'm Kenya Barris.
19:36 Speaker 04 And I'm Malcolm Gladwell. We're back for season two of our Audible original podcast, The Unusual Suspects.
19:41 Speaker 03 We're bringing you fresh, new conversations from guests like Anderson Paak, David Zedars, Ryan Howard, Rich Roll, Amy Sheldon, and many more.
19:48 Speaker 04 Sign up for a free trial to Audible to listen to season two in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
19:55 Speaker 05 There are books that change how you see the world, and there are books that change how you see yourself. In a new podcast series, A Great Book with Barack Obama, President Obama sits down with a series of surprising and sharp guests to explore six books that have shaped his life and perspective on the world. From Song of Solomon and the Fire Next Time, to All the Pretty Horses and Gilead, the president is joined by guests like Tom Hanks and Ta-Nehisi Coates to reflect on how these timeless stories shaped his thinking on everything from fatherhood to leadership, and discover together what they tell us about the world we live in and the world we want to create.
20:39 Speaker 05 Audible subscribers can listen to all episodes of A Great Book with Barack Obama ad-free right now, plus access each audiobook discussed in the series. Download the Audible app today.
21:02 Lindsay Graham? On February 4th, 1847, former Senator Henry Clay stepped before a crowd in New Orleans and issued an urgent call to help the people of Ireland. The 70-year-old Clay described the situation as appalling and heartrending, and urged Americans to join a generous and magnanimous effort to contribute to the relief of suffering. Clay was a former Secretary of State and presidential nominee, and co-founded the National Republican Party and the Whig Party, and even at 70 years old, maintained a prominent influence in national politics. And as far as he was concerned, support for Ireland was not only the moral thing to do, but would help strengthen America's standing and influence abroad. Clay also reminded his fellow Americans that the Irish had stood shoulder to shoulder
21:45 Lindsay Graham? with them during the Revolutionary War, and that the Irish people, who are now being ravaged by hunger, were bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. Clay's speech was reprinted in newspapers across the country, achieving his goal of bringing widespread attention to the famine in Ireland. And soon, calls for action picked up momentum, and additional relief meetings took place in Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. There in New England, the abolitionists Harriet Beecher Stowe and William Lloyd Garrison, and writers Henry David Thoreau and Emily Dickinson, all joined the effort. Even in Scullyville, Oklahoma, members of the Choctaw Nation, who had suffered their own tragedy of starvation just sixteen years prior during the Trail of Tears, took up
22:27 Lindsay Graham? the call and gathered one hundred seventy dollars in aid to send to Ireland. In Richmond, Virginia, black congregants of a Baptist church, some of whom were enslaved, also collected funds for the suffering Irish. But some of the fiercest advocates were Irish immigrants, who knew firsthand from their families back home how dire the situation had become. And by February 1847, the news was worse than ever, and these Irish immigrants called for greater action from their adopted country of the United States. But the US was one year into a war with Mexico, and bitterly divided over the expansion of American territory in the West and the future of slavery. Political parties, state governments, and federal agencies all clashed over whether
23:08 Lindsay Graham? to take action on the Irish problem when there were so many domestic issues tearing the nation apart. Then, on February 18th, 1847, some of Boston's most prominent residents gathered at Faneuil Hall, the same place where Samuel Adams and other patriots met on the eve of the Revolutionary War. Fifty-three-year-old Edward Everett, a Unitarian pastor and their recent ambassador to Great Britain, was the key speaker. Everett was a well-respected and influential order, and he passionately took up Ireland's plight, calling on those in attendance to make the hall in which he spoke burn with fervor for the cause. The crowd thundered their support as he concluded, "I beseech you, what you do, do quickly." In attendance that day was Robert Bennett Forbes,
23:52 Lindsay Graham? a private ship captain who had retired from the sea after making a fortune in the opium trade in China. He was nearly moved to tears by Everett's speech and became determined to act.
24:05 Lindsay Graham? Imagine it's February 20th, 1847, in Boston, Massachusetts. You are a ship captain and a merchant from a wealthy Boston family. You trudge through the sleet and ice, bracing your shoulders against the frigid cold. It's been just two days since you attended a meeting at Boston's Faneuil Hall, and since then, you haven't been able to forget the terrible descriptions of suffering in Ireland. Losing two of your own children as newborns nearly destroyed you and your wife with grief, so you can't imagine watching your entire family die from hunger. But you know that's exactly what's happening in Ireland, and maybe you think there's a way you can stop it. You reach the office of your brother, who's a partner in your shipping business. You let yourself in, and without taking your coat off, you sit down across from him,
24:49 Lindsay Graham? your brow furrowed. Your brother John looks off from his work, confused and concerned. Robert, you look troubled. What's on your mind? I remember when we took that cargo to China in record time, even though many said it could not be done or even should not be done. Yes, I recall. I also recall we were nearly swept out to sea, attacked by pirates. I believe you were even put under arrest. Yes, I was, but John, I am captured now by the thoughts of the Irish. My body and soul have not been at rest since the meeting at Faneuil Hall. People in Ireland are suffering. They're dying. Well, it is troubling indeed, but what are we to do about it? I believe we should organize a relief effort, and it must be done quickly. Fine, but who will you get to donate?
25:31 Lindsay Graham? People in Boston are generous, to be sure, but meeting the needs of an entire nation, that would require raising money on a scale that's not yet been attempted. Yes, but it's not money I'm thinking of. That's what most aid efforts have given, but the price of food in England is rising, and the dollar won't go as far. Instead, I believe we should ask people to give food. Many would part with a few bushels of grain rather than open their pocketbook. Oh, but Robert, the food would need to be collected and stored and loaded and then transported. Yes, it will. Your brother looks at you with confusion. You can't be suggesting we do it. You know very well, we have no ship in our books fit for that kind of voyage. Perhaps not, but there are navy ships presently at the docks, nearly ready for use. One could be loaded with food and taken to the suffering people in Ireland.
26:14 Lindsay Graham? Oh, but wait a moment, in case you forgot, there's a war going on. The military needs those vessels. Surely the navy can spare one ship for a situation this dire. Your brother sits back in his seat and eyes you, his look serious. Okay, well, let's say you can get a vessel and fill it with goods. Who will you get to captain the ship, or should I guess? You can guess, but I'll tell you, it'll be me. Didn't you promise your wife not to take on any more voyages? Your last nearly drove her to a nervous breakdown. She will understand, because, John, this is something I must do. You can see a look of concern on your brother's face, and then it softens. Well, if you're that determined, I can't stop you, can I? You jump to your feet. No, you cannot. I'm going to draft a letter to the mayor's office before the end of the day, so please,
26:59 Lindsay Graham? start getting the paperwork together. Because mark my words, if we have to move heaven and earth, we will see this through.
27:10 Lindsay Graham? Just days after the meeting in Boston, Robert Forbes drafted a letter to the mayor with an unusual proposal. He wanted to use an American naval ship to bring food and supplies directly to the people of Ireland. And to ensure the success of the mission, Forbes offered to captain the ship himself. Boston's mayor, familiar with Forbes' reputation, forwarded the plan to the governor, and within days, it was brought before Congress and found a receptive audience. Forbes was not alone in his zeal, and soon his proposal was joined by a plan from Kentucky Senator John Cretton to devote half a million dollars, or 1% of the federal budget, to help the Irish with the famine. This measure cleared the Senate on February 26, but opposition to the bill in the House was shaping up to be formidable.
27:54 Lindsay Graham? Though most lawmakers recognized the suffering that the Irish were enduring, the extent of the expenditure and the unusual proposal sparked broad criticism. Some argued that Congress could not use public funds to aid a foreign nation. One senator from Virginia vowed to vote against the measure, calling it "a perversion of the trust reposed in me under the Constitution of the United States." Others warned that the move, though well-intended, could risk setting a precedent for future conflicts in more unpopular nations. Still others called it hypocrisy, noting that people were also suffering in other countries like Prussia and France, and no aid was headed their way. Senator Crittenden tried to rescue the bill, assuring his fellow senators that the gesture would be a powerful symbol, saying "Can you imagine any spectacle more sublime than that
28:39 Lindsay Graham? of one nation holding out the hand which is full of plenty to the suffering people of another nation?" He insisted that the move would create a common brotherhood that would bind nations together, but his efforts were not enough. The House defeated the funding bill. But supporters believed they had one more chance. Congress was nearing the end of its session, and if they could strip the request for funding and instead focus on Forbes's proposal to use a navy ship to bring direct aid, they might still have a chance. They made a final push, and on March 3rd, 1847, Congress approved the measure, along with a similar proposal for an aid ship from New York. Two days later, President James Polk signed off on the deal. Captain Robert Forbes immediately went into action, calling for donations, gathering
29:24 Lindsay Graham? a private crew, and preparing for voyage. He had chosen the US Navy vessel the USS Jamestown for the journey. This battleship was more than 150 feet long and rose three decks high. And on the first day of preparations, its cannons were removed, and more than 1,000 barrels of food and 20 barrels of clothing were placed on board. Many of the workers who loaded the goods were Irish immigrants themselves, and worked around the clock without wages, determined to help their families back home. As these crews readied the Jamestown for departure, Forbes wrote a flurry of letters to officials in London and Ireland, hoping to ease the distribution of aid and speed up the bureaucratic maze of customs once he arrived. British officials met the news of an aid shipment with a mix of relief and anxiety.
30:09 Lindsay Graham? They knew that the offer of provisions would lessen the burden of the famine, but it would also shine a light on their inability to successfully deal with a crisis on their own. But despite ambivalence, the British agreed to accept the aid. Now Forbes knew that the Jamestown would have to be outfitted, caulked and loaded in record time. Aware that even minor delays might cost lives, Forbes readied for the voyage across the ocean in a race against hunger.
30:40 Speaker 03 Hi, I'm Kenya Paris.
30:41 Speaker 04 And I'm Malcolm Gladwell. We're back for season two of our Audible original podcast, The Unusual Suspects.
30:47 Speaker 03 We'll sit down with extraordinary guests from the worlds of art, film, literature, comedy, and wellness to hear from their unexpected stories of success.
30:54 Speaker 04 And who do we have this season? Well, we'll talk with Grammy winning artist Anderson Paak, athlete Rich Roll, portrait artist Amy Sherald, Oscar winning director Ron Howard, legendary writer David Sedaris, and many more. These conversations are more intimate than last season, wouldn't you say?
31:11 Speaker 03 I would. Listen to season one of The Unusual Suspects wherever you get your podcasts and sign up for a free trial Audible to listen to season two in the Audible app or by subscribing to Apple Podcasts.
31:27 Lindsay Graham? By 1779, Benedict Arnold had sacrificed more for the revolution than almost any other man in America. One of George Washington's most effective commanders, he had nearly lost a leg in the Second Battle of Saratoga. But in return, Arnold believed he had been humiliated by Congress and cheated of his glory by lesser men. So he decided to make them pay. Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of the podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in U.S. history: presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our latest series, Benedict Arnold Turns His back on his comrades in the Continental Army and secretly defects to the British. With the help of his wife, he plots to hand over the most important colonial fortress
32:11 Lindsay Graham? to the enemy and doom the revolution he once served. Follow American Scandal wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge all episodes of American Scandal early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts.
32:34 Lindsay Graham? By March 1847, Father Theobald Matthew's efforts to fight the rising tide of death and hunger in Cork, Ireland, had left him battling despair and exhaustion. He estimated that there were now more than 10,000 people crowding the city's streets looking for food and shelter, a number that was double that of just one month before. Adding to the misery was a brutally cold winter. Matthew wrote, "I am in horror whilst I walk the streets and I return to my besieged dwelling in sadness and hopelessness." His despondency was understandable. Three months earlier, in January of 1847, British lawmakers in London had passed the Temporary Relief Act, finally promising to open soup kitchens in the hardest-hit areas
33:17 Lindsay Graham? of Ireland, but so far not a single bowl of soup had been served. Instead, Charles Trevelyan, the Assistant Secretary of Treasury, directed British officials in Ireland to spend weeks building an office, developing tracking cards, and finding ways to deter what he expected would be cheating from the starving Irish recipients of food aid. Trevelyan also insisted on only serving food that was cooked so that the Irish couldn't steal it and sell it later. But as Trevelyan and other British officials stalled, Father Matthew stepped up his own efforts at his parish soup kitchen, relying on donations as well as money from his own savings to feed five to 6,000 people every week. But still, it wasn't enough. Every day, more starving and sick people arrived from the countryside, and Matthew
34:01 Lindsay Graham? was called to preside over dozens of funerals. During March and April of 1847, he buried as many as 36 bodies a day. This death toll meant that new refugees to Cork awoke to the constant buzz of the lumber mill, where planks for coffins were being cut day and night. These mills also cut lumber for sheds meant to shelter those suffering from a fever that was sweeping through the weakened and malnourished population. The sawmills also provided wood for the building of more ships for those lucky few who could scrape together funds and were healthy enough to set sail for England, Canada, and the US to flee the misery. All across Ireland, the suffering accelerated, with March 1847 becoming the deadliest month of the entire famine.
34:44 Lindsay Graham? American writer Asineth Nicholson, who had gathered private donations from New York and was providing what limited aid she could, witnessed the grim scenes from her apartment in Dublin, writing after the fact: "My bedroom overlooked the burying ground. I often rose to look at it, that some haggard father was bringing a dead child, lashed to his back, and leaving him to the mercy of whoever might find it a grave." An English volunteer was shocked to watch people dying like cattle around him, and witnessed others clawing the bark from tree trunks to eat, or walking along the shoreline like ghosts looking for seaweed to cook. He wrote back to England declaring: "The whole country is one vast tomb."
35:27 Lindsay Graham? Across the Atlantic Ocean on March 28, 1847, Captain Robert Bennett Forbes finally departed from Boston Harbor on the American naval ship USS Jamestown. The relief goods on board made the ship so heavy it dropped several feet below the waterline and soon began to leak. But Forbes directed his crew to keep the vessel sailing as fast as possible even as ice began to cover the decks and freezing wind lashed the sails. On April 8, 1847, ten days into the journey, the first fair weather broke over the ocean and Forbes was able to increase speed. A week later, on April 12, the Jamestown arrived on Ireland's south coast and the next day, a tug pulled the ship into Cork's inner harbor. When Forbes and the crew of the Jamestown reached port in the evening, they were stunned
36:12 Lindsay Graham? to see thousands of people lining the wharves, weeping and cheering. A band played Yankee Doodle and church bells rang out from the hills. It was like nothing Forbes had seen before.
36:27 Lindsay Graham? Imagine it's April 14th, 1847, in Cork, County Ireland, and you're standing outside the American Consul's office in the city. Your eyes are red and your shoulders stoop with exhaustion, but you've taken a rare break from your duties serving your congregants at the parish soup kitchen to play host to an honored guest, an American captain who has recently arrived into the harbor, bringing a ship laden with aid. You were nearly brought to tears by the miraculous sight of the ship, but now you're eager to express your gratitude. Ah, Captain, it's an honor to welcome you to Cork. Please, follow me inside.
37:03 Lindsay Graham? You must be exhausted from your journey. Here, take a seat. Everyone is excited to see you. Thank you, Father. I must admit, their enthusiasm is a bit overwhelming. We've seen so much misery. Your arrival, it's like a dream. It's still hard to believe. But certainly, you're the answer to our prayers. Well, I wish I could have been here sooner. But I assure you, Father, I've traveled on behalf of the people of America who are determined to help. We couldn't be more grateful, Captain. I regret to inform you that the situation still grows worse every day. While you were at sea, our bishop here in Cork died. And right at this moment, the mayor is in bed fighting for his life. Both of them were hoping to greet you in person, but struck by the fever like thousands of others.
37:46 Lindsay Graham? Well, now that I've arrived, Father, I understand. I've read reports of the situation, but what I've seen the past few days is far worse than anything I could have imagined. Indeed, it must come as a shock. And there's one more thing I hesitate to bring up, but I feel I must. Well, go on. Distribution will soon become a pressing issue for all of us. Outside of Cork, some have started to request a share of the aid that you've brought, and even demand it. You must understand that the need is great here in the city, enough to consume everything on your ship, but the rest of the country suffers as well. Yes, I see. Well then, let this be but the first of many arrivals to your shore. Let it be a symbol of our friendship and our commitment.
38:29 Lindsay Graham? You clasp the captain's hands in yours. It's clear that he's still shocked by the reality of the situation here in Cork, but you sense a genuine friendship in his demeanor. Even more than the goods at the port, you realize that the arrival of his ship means that for the first time in months, there is reason to hope.
38:49 Lindsay Graham? Soon after his arrival in Cork, Captain Forbes met with Father Theobald Matthew at the American consulate. Matthew praised Forbes for the friendship and goodwill that the Americans were displaying. The Jamestown brought 800 tons of lifesaving food and supplies, including corn, wheat, rice, and meat. But while Matthew and other local officials could see that the aid Forbes had brought was generous, they also knew it would not be enough to meet the needs of all the hungry residents in the areas surrounding the city. Soon disputes erupted about how best to divide the aid among the numerous towns and villages in need, and eventually it was agreed that the food would be taken in boats to coastal villages and divided throughout County Cork.
39:30 Lindsay Graham? Once the provisions had been unloaded and were bound for needy communities, Forbes knew it was time to return home. On April 22, 1847, the Jamestown departed from Ireland, arriving safely back in Boston three weeks later on May 16. And Forbes' return was met with jubilation. His journey had proved that Americans, once motivated for a cause, could come together and their government could act quickly to marshal its resources and respond to a crisis. So Forbes' mission was only the beginning of America's response to the Irish famine. For the rest of 1847, 114 more ships left for Ireland, distributing crucial aid to cities and towns throughout the island. And dozens more continued the following year as the famine persisted.
40:15 Lindsay Graham? Meanwhile, though, British officials continued to stumble. In the summer of 1847, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Charles Trevallion moved to close all government-funded soup kitchens, despite 3 million Irish still depending upon them for survival. Once again, he blamed the Irish for their own suffering, saying, "It is my opinion that too much has been done for the people. Under such treatment, they have grown worse instead of better, and we must now try to see what individual exertion can do." American writer Asineth Nicholson remained in Ireland until 1848, helping victims of the famine and writing about her experiences. When the time came for her to depart, she declared, "Never again will the emaciated fingers of a starving child be linked in supplication for a bit of bread as I pass
41:00 Lindsay Graham? in the busy street, though the painful visions will forever haunt me." Her book, Annals of the Famine in Ireland, published in New York in 1851, would become the most in-depth documentation of the famine by an American. The Irish famine would continue through the mid 1850s. In the end, more than one-third of the nation perished or emigrated, seeking new lives abroad, with more than half a million arriving in American cities, greatly reshaping the places they settled, including Boston, where Captain Robert Bennett Forbes continued to work as a successful merchant. He considered his role in bringing aid to Ireland one of the most important acts of his life, calling it "a great privilege and a beautiful mission, which is to be remembered
41:41 Lindsay Graham? by us and our children, with feelings of satisfaction until time is no more." In 1995, to mark the 150th anniversary of the famine, Ireland's President Mary Robinson visited America and acknowledged the vital aid that the US provided in her country's time of need, calling it "a reminder of the hope of solidarity and a shared humanity." From Wondry, this has been a special episode of American History Tellers on the Irish Famine Relief Mission. On the next episode, in 1866, Congress creates six new all-black army regiments, and for the first time, black men have a permanent place in the US military. These men, known as Buffalo Soldiers, are sent west to make way for America's rapid
42:24 Lindsay Graham? expansion, and will have to fight fierce battles against the elements, American Indian warriors, and the prejudice of their own army. American History Tellers is only possible because of listeners like you, so thank you. And don't miss an episode. Be sure to follow American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. Audible subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Audible in the Audible app or by subscribing on Apple Podcasts. And to find out more about me, including my other podcasts, my live show, the history tours I'm arranging, and all sorts of other things, go to historyishuman.com. That's historyishuman.com.
43:10 Lindsay Graham? If you'd like to learn more about America's response to the Irish famine, we recommend Voyage of Mercy by Stephen Puleo and Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine by Susan Campbell Bartletti. American History Tellers is hosted, edited and produced by me, Lindsay Graham for Airship. Audio editing by Christian Paraga, sound design by Molly Vah, music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written by Dorian Marina, edited and produced by Alida Rosansky. Managing producer, Desi Blaylock. Senior managing producer, Callum Pluse. Senior producer, Andy Herman. Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman, Marcia Louis and Erin O'Flaherty for Wondery.
43:54 Speaker 06 Alice, have you ever wondered why the Mini is so small?
43:57 Speaker 07 The Skir or the Magnum?
44:00 Speaker 06 Well, I meant the iconic British car because in 1956, Britain's oil supply was suddenly cut off. Petrol rationing was brought in and the car industry was scrambling around for a vehicle that hardly used any fuel. Enter the Mini.
44:14 Speaker 07 Interesting, but actually not technically British Scandal series material.
44:19 Speaker 06 Well, the reason they had to save petrol is because the Prime Minister started a war and lied about why.
44:24 Speaker 07 Okay, scandal siren going off.
44:27 Speaker 06 I'm Matt Ford.
44:28 Speaker 07 And I'm Alice Levine.
44:29 Speaker 06 And our latest British Scandal series involves a secret meeting in a French villa, a Prime Minister running on amphetamines.
44:35 Speaker 07 An Egyptian president that everyone fancied, the end of the British Empire, and at the heart of it, a canal.
44:42 Speaker 06 This is the story of the Suez Plot.
44:45 Speaker 07 Follow British Scandal wherever you get your podcasts or listen early and ad-free on Audible.
Previous History Daily: The End of the Siege of Leningrad Next Buffalo Soldiers | The Brass Letters | 1 Page updated November 5, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated