On August 2, 1865, the Confederate crew of the C.S.S. Shenandoah was still on patrol in the waters of the Pacific, ready to take out any Yankee whaling ships. In 1865, there was no way to spread the news quickly or efficiently (no radio, no TV, no newspaper delivery to many locations), so the Shenandoah had no idea the war was over. On August 2, 1865, a British vessel sailed close enough to them to tell them the war was over.
