Aftermath
Due to cut telegraph cables, news of the escape did not reach London until June. The cables were cut by volunteers John Durham and Denis F. McCarthy, a native of Kenmare, Co. Kerry.
At the same time, the Catalpa did its best to avoid Royal Navy ships on its way back to the USA. O'Reilly received the news of the escape on 6 June (Stevens 2003, p. 352) and released the news to the press.
The news sparked celebrations in the United States and Ireland and anger in Britain and Australia (although there was also sympathy for the cause within the Australian population).
A purge of prison officials in Fremantle followed. The Catalpa returned to New York harbor on 19 August 1876.
George Smith Anthony could no longer sail in international waters because the Royal Navy could have arrested him on sight. With the help of a journalist, Z. W. Pease, he published an account of his journey, The Catalpa Expedition, in 1897.
The Catalpa was presented as a gift to Captain Anthony, John Richardson and Henry Hathaway, it was eventually sold and turned into a coal barge.
Not of great value in this capacity, Catalpa was finally condemned at the port of Belize, British Honduras.
Read more about this topic: Catalpa Rescue
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“The aftermath of joy is not usually more joy.”
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