The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | American History Tellers | Podcast

What this episode is about

The Irish Famine Relief Mission explores the desperate conditions faced by Irish families during the Great Famine of 1846, highlighting their struggle for survival as they encounter military transport carrying relief supplies. The narrative details the tension between the impoverished populace and British soldiers tasked with safeguarding the aid, emphasizing the dire humanitarian crisis and the emotional toll on mothers fighting to feed their children.

Key takeaways

• In 1846, British bureaucracy overshadowed human suffering, revealing the cold calculus of empire over empathy.
• The potato blight didn't just rot crops; it unearthed the incompetence of officials who failed to provide aid.
• When neighbors share scarce resources, even a sack of oats becomes a lifeline—reminding us of our shared humanity.
• 1 million died in the Great Famine, yet America stepped up, showing that community can transcend oceans and borders.
• Relief efforts in 1847 sparked debate on government aid, foreshadowing America's evolving humanitarian role on the global stage.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Lindsey Graham (Host) · 24 min speaking
• Father Theobold Matthew (Guest) · 6 min speaking
• Charles Trevelyan (Guest) · 4 min speaking
• Robert Bennett Forbes (Guest) · 4 min speaking
• Aseneth Nicholson (Guest) · 2 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 5:00 – 10:00: Father Theobold Matthew
2. 10:00 – 15:00: Charles Trevelyan
3. 15:00 – 20:00: Aseneth Nicholson
4. 20:00 – 25:00: Robert Bennett Forbes, Edward Everett, James Polk
5. 25:00 – 30:00: Robert Bennett Forbes, Father Theobold Matthew, USS Jamestown
6. 30:00 – 35:00: Robert Bennett Forbes, Father Theobold Matthew, Cork
7. 35:00 – 39:12: Aseneth Nicholson, Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine, Voyage of Mercy

Notable quotes from "The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | American History Tellers | Podcast"

• 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 travelan the assistant Secretary of…

  about Charles Trevelyan · at 12:58

• Growing catastrophe was starting to spread Beyond Ireland and Britain aseneth Nicholson was an American writer teacher and Advocate from Vermont who had traveled to Ireland two…

  about Aseneth Nicholson · at 16:41

• 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…

  about Edward Everett · at 21:10

• 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…

  about USS Jamestown · at 26:44

• 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…

  about Robert Bennett Forbes · at 31:30

• Hope soon after his arrival in Cork Captain Forbes met with Father theobold Matthew at the American Consulate Matthew praised Forbes for the friendship and good will that the Americans were displaying the jamest.

  about Father Theobold Matthew · at 34:37

• If you'd like to learn more about America's response to the Irish famine we recommend Voyage of Mercy by Steven pulio and black potatoes the story of the great Irish famine by…

  about Voyage of Mercy · at 38:28

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Robert Bennett Forbes — Person · Referenced organizer/captain of relief mission · 4 mentions · first at 21:29
  Central American actor in the narrative—proposes using a U.S. Navy ship, captains USS Jamestown, and delivers aid to Cork.
• Father Theobold Matthew — Person · Referenced humanitarian/religious leader; on-the-ground witness · 3 mentions · first at 6:23
  Serves as the episode’s Irish focal point—warning of the blight, documenting suffering, and coordinating/receiving American relief in Cork.
• Charles Trevelyan — Person · Referenced government official; antagonist in policy debate · 1 mention · first at 13:02
  Depicted as the British Treasury official directing famine relief policy—opposing direct aid and shaping coercive work/relief systems.
• Aseneth Nicholson — Person · Referenced eyewitness writer/advocate · 2 mentions · first at 16:45
  Provides firsthand American eyewitness reporting from Ireland, influencing U.S. awareness; later authors a major famine account.
• Edward Everett — Person · Referenced public speaker mobilizing relief · 1 mention · first at 21:06
  Key Boston figure who galvanizes the relief movement at Faneuil Hall, directly motivating Robert Bennett Forbes to act.
• James Polk — Person · Referenced U.S. President authorizing action · 1 mention · first at 20:34
  Signs off on Congress’s measure enabling the naval relief mission (USS Jamestown), linking humanitarian aid to federal authority during wartime.
  March 3rd 1847 Congress approved the measure along with a similar proposal for an aid ship from New York two days later President James pulk signed off on the deal Captain…

Books & papers

• Voyage of Mercy — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 38:31
  Book recommended for further reading about America's response to the Irish famine.
• Black Potatoes: The Story of the Great Irish Famine — Book · Referenced work · 1 mention · first at 38:34
  Book recommended for further reading about the Irish famine.
  America's response to the Irish famine we recommend Voyage of Mercy by Steven pulio and black potatoes the story of the great Irish famine by Susan Campell belletti American…

Products & tech

• USS Jamestown — Product · Business focus · 1 mention · first at 27:08
  US Navy vessel used to transport food and supplies to Ireland during the famine, a key element in the relief effort.

Places & events

• Cork — Place · Setting · 1 mention · first at 31:57
  City in Ireland heavily affected by the famine, where much of the episode's events take place.
  First fair weather broke over the ocean and Forbes was able to increase speed a week later on April 12th the Jamestown arrived on Ireland's South Coast and the next day tug…

Full transcript with timestamps

0:12 wondering 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 your crops failed in a blind 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 2-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 some of your neighbors just as Des pretty 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

1:12 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 I'm sorry ma'am but I cannot help you I have orders to make sure these wagons get to the port and 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 a side 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

2:10 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 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' but you may try the next Convoy by then we will all be dead I pray that won't be the case 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

3:13 one of the wagons a neighbor picks it up and kindly scoop 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

3:38 from Wonder I'm Lindsey Graham and this is American history tellers our history your story 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 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

4:52 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 after hearing news of the blight sympathetic Americans took up the call and organized relief Miss 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

5:47 generously to help a people and 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 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 theobold 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

6:45 tiporary just north of cork to a family of 12 children Matthew was ordained when he was 24 and had spent most of his life serving the residence of cork over the years he developed a reputation for his commitment to his parishioners learning Gaelic and 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 Calera 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 so when he saw on his way to Dublin that the potato

7:38 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 ringing 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 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 attack Ed rebellion in the following decades the Irish had gained

8:32 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 across the entirety of Ireland from the Giants Causeway to Cape clear from limmerick 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

9:28 population but the crop was also vulnerable to disease especially a black fungus known as the blight which spread quickly in Ireland's damp weather so as the winter of 1846 arrived and conditions in the countryside only grew worse 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 imagine it's December 20th 1846 in London you're an inspector in England's Treasury Department but 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

10:26 failed to Spur any action now that you return 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 minced pies and bottles of wine cover a table in the corner a clerk recognizes you and invites you to join their holiday party would you wave him away and head for the door of the office of the assistant treasury secretary the man you came to see Mr travelan good afternoon sir travelan looked up from his desk surprised and annoyed ah uh I hadn't realized you'd returned um 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

11:19 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 um impose price controls make food more affordable for the Irish who so desperately need it 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 travelan 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

12:11 see that your visit will do no more good well very well God forgive us for what's to come 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 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 travelan the

13:07 assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the British government and the person in charge of relief for Ireland travelan 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 there travelan practiced moralism a popular ideology in Victorian England which insisted on IND 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

13:57 nowhere and benefited no one still travelan 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 he believed it was Britain's responsibility to Foster the transition to modernity and reason even at the cost of great suffering and travelan 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 du 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 for export traveled through the countryside

14:51 protected by armed guards this food was then taken to English Markets and in some cases even returned to Ireland to be sold at higher prices in the midst of this crisis one limmerick 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 dong Garvin 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 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 land owners

15:47 through taxes most of the landowners were wealthy Protestants or anglo-irish and onethird 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 land owners would have to pay this incentivized Mass evictions with one landlord in Ross common taking advantage of the misery and evicting 1,500 Irish families from his land pushing them further into helplessness many of those evicted from their Farms fled into the city seeking relief in Cork father theobold Matthews struggled to help the refugees who ared daily to his Parish but his repeated letters to British officials yielded no relief and one one sent directly to secretary trellion in December 1846 Matthew concluded no understanding can conceive no tongue Express the misery that prevails but by then the news of the growing catastrophe was starting to

16:42 spread Beyond Ireland and Britain aseneth 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 and 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 Sea Coast 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 and soon newspapers picked up on some of the accounts and then on January 20th 1847 an Irish ship the hiberia arrived in Boston Harbor carrying refugees their stories stunned

17:38 the public and confirmed the harrowing descriptions that have been made out so far it was now undeniable the Irish people were facing an unprecedented famine 2 weeks later on February 7th 1847 the new bishop for Boston's Catholic Arch dicese 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 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

18:41 act 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 heart-rendering 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 wig 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 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

19:32 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 an additional relief meetings took place in Philadelphia New York and Boston there in New England the abolitionists Harriet beer stow and William Lloyd Garrison and writers Henry David tho and Emily Dickinson all joined the effort even in Scully Oklahoma members of the Chaka Nation who had suffered their own tragedy of starvation just 16 years prior during the Trail of Tears took up the call and gathered $170 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 fam's back home how dire the situation had become and by February 184

20:28 7 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 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 Fel Hall the same place where Samuel Adams and other Patriots met on the eve of the Revolutionary War 53-year-old Edward Everett a Unitarian pastor and the 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

21:20 which he spoke burn with fervor for the cause crowd thundered their support as he concluded I beseech you what you do do quickly in attendance that day was Robert Bennett Forbes 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 Beech and became determined to act imagine it's February 20th 1847 in Boston Massachusetts you were 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 2 days since you attended a meeting at Boston's Fel 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

22:16 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 down across from him your brow furrowed your brother John looks off from his work confused and concerned Robert you look troubled what's on your mind now remember when we took that cargo to China in record time even though many said it could not be done or 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'm captured now by the thoughts of the Irish my body and soul have not been at rest since the meeting at Fel 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

23:07 must be done quickly fine but who will you get to donate 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 and our books fit for that kind of voyage well 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 oh but wait

23:55 a moment in case you forgot there's a war going on the military needs vessels oh 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 start getting the paperwork together because mark my words if we have to move Heaven and Earth we will see this

24:49 through 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 critton to devote half a million dollar or 1% of the federal budget to help the Irish with the famine this measure cleared the Senate on February 26th but opposition to the bill in the house was shaping up to be formidable though most lawmakers recognized the suffering that the Irish were enduring the extent of the expenditure and the unusual proposal

25:41 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 sublim than that 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

26:30 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 pulk signed off on the deal Captain Robert Forbes immediately went into action calling for donations Gathering a private crew and preparing for voyage he had chosen the US Navy vessel at the USS Jamestown for the journey this Battleship was more than 150 ft 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

27:24 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 Reed 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 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 the crisis on their own but despite ambivalence the British agreed to accept the aid now Forbes knew that the jamest town would have to be outfitted caed and loaded in record time aware that even minor delays might cost lives Forbes Reed for the voyage across the ocean in a race against

28:25 hunger by March 1847 father theobold Matthew's efforts to fight the rising tide of death and hunger in Cork Ireland and 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 returned to my besieged dwelling in sadness and hopelessness his despondency was understandable 3 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 viand but so far not a single bowl of soup had been served instead Charles travelan the assistant Secretary of Treasury directed British officials in Ireland to spend weeks building an office developing tracking

29:20 cards and finding ways to deter what he expected would be cheating from the starving Irish recipients of food Aid travelan also insisted on only serving food that was cooked so that the Irish couldn't steal it and sell it later but as travan 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 arrive from the countryside and Matthew 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

30:14 through the weakened and malnourished population the saw mills 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 American writer asith Nicholson who had gathered private donations from New York and was providing what limited age she could witnessed the Grim scenes from her apartment in Dublin writing after the fact my bedroom overlooked the burying ground I often arose 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 and an English volunteer was shocked to watch people dying like cattle around him and witnessed others clawing the bark from tree trunks to eat

31:05 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 across the Atlantic Ocean on March 28th 1847 Captain Robert Bennett Forbes finally departed from Boston Harbor on the American naval ship USS James town 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 8th 1847 10 days into the journey the first fair weather broke over the ocean and Forbes was able to increase speed a week later on April 12th the Jamestown arrived on Ireland's South Coast and the next day 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 to see

32:04 thousands of people lining the wars weeping and cheering a band played Yankee Doodle and church bells rang out from the hills it was like nothing Forbes had seen before 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 should old or stooped 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 side of the ship now you're eager to express your gratitude ah Captain it's an honor to welcome you to Cork please follow me inside you must be exhausted from your journey here take a seat everyone is excited to see you thank you Father yeah I must admit their enthusiasm is is a

33:03 bit overwhelming we've seen so much misery your arrival it's like a dream it's 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 and we couldn't be more grateful Captain but 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 well now that I've arrived father I 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

33:54 soon become a pressing issue for all of us outside of 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 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 of genuine friendship and 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 soon after his arrival in Cork Captain Forbes met with Father theobold Matthew at the American Consulate Matthew praised Forbes for the friendship and good will that the

34:50 Americans were displaying the jamest toown brought 800 tons of life-saving 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 area 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 once the provisions had been unloaded and were Bound for needy communities Forbes knew it was time to turn home on April 22nd 1847 the Jamestown departed from Ireland arriving safely back in Boston 3 weeks later on May 16th and Forbes return was met with Jubilation his journey had proved that Americans once motivated For A Cause could come together and their

35:44 government could act quickly to Marshall its resources and respond to a crisis so forbes's mission was only the beginning of America's response to the Irish famine for the rest of 1847 114 more ships left after Ireland Distributing crucial aidid to cities and towns throughout the island and dozens more continued the following year as the famine persisted meanwhile though British officials continued to stumble in the summer of 1847 assistant Secretary of the Treasury Charles trevellion 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 asth Nicholson remained in Ireland until 1848

36:38 helping victims of the famine and writing about her experiences when the time came for her toart she declared never again will the emaciated fingers of a starving child be linked in supplication for a bit of bread as I pass 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 immigrated 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 forbs continued to work as a successful Merchant he considered his role in bringing Aid to Ireland one of the most important important acts of his life calling it a great privilege

37:30 and a beautiful Mission which is to be remembered 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 wre 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 expansion will have to fight Fierce battles against the elements American Indian Warriors and the Prejudice of their own Army if you'd like to learn more about America's response to the Irish famine

38:31 we recommend Voyage of Mercy by Steven pulio and black potatoes the story of the great Irish famine by Susan Campell belletti American history tellers is hosted edited and produced by Me Lindsey Graham for Airship audio editing by Christian paraga sound design by Molly B music by Lindsay Graham this episode is written by Dorian Marina edited and produced by Alita rosanski managing producer Desi block senior managing producer Callum PL senior producer Andy Herman executive producers are Jenny lower Beckman Marshall Louie and Arin no flarity for Wonder

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | American History Tellers | Podcast"?

Lindsey Graham (Host), Father Theobold Matthew (Guest), Charles Trevelyan (Guest), Robert Bennett Forbes (Guest), Aseneth Nicholson (Guest).

What is "The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | American History Tellers | Podcast" about?

The Irish Famine Relief Mission explores the desperate conditions faced by Irish families during the Great Famine of 1846, highlighting their struggle for survival as they encounter military transport carrying relief supplies. The narrative details the tension between the impoverished populace and British soldiers tasked with safeguarding the aid, emphasizing the dire humanitarian crisis and the…

What is mentioned in this American History Tellers episode?

10 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Robert Bennett Forbes, Father Theobold Matthew, Charles Trevelyan, USS Jamestown, Aseneth Nicholson, Cork. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "The Irish Famine Relief Mission | Ship of Hope | American History Tellers | Podcast"?

The episode runs 39 min; the transcript is about 6,823 words in 43 timestamped sections.

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