Edward Redmore Heald, son of Charles Heald a Pilot born in 1802 and Sophia Redmore born in 1798, was born in 1823 at Hull, England and was christened on September 10, 1833 at Hull, Yorkshire, England. He was one of four children, his siblings being Mary S. born in 1825, Thomas George born in 1827 and Charles Broadley Heald born in 1829. After migrating to the United States Edward served as a shipwright, which was a carpenter employed in the construction and launching of, or in the repair of, wooden ships and who was often also the designer of the ship. In the case of Edward Heald, he was a shipwright carpenter aboard the CSS “Rappahannoc”.

Maury had sent Lieutenant William F. Carter off to seek out suitable ships to purchase and convert and he quickly came up with a former British vessel, HMS “Victor”, retired as a gunboat by the British, and then used as a dispatch ship. The HMS “Victor”, destined to become the CSS “Rappahannock” was a 1042-ton wooden screw cruiser built as a steam sloop-of-war, in the Thames River in England in 1857. This ship carried six, 24 pounder cannon, all mounted forward of her twin funnels, she had 350 horse power engine, was fast under steam, and her three square rigged masts only carried single top sails; essentially it was a steamship, not designed as a sailing vessel.

The British Company, Gordon Coleman and Company, acting as an agent for Thomas Bold offered to buy the “Victor” from the Admiralty, supposedly for the China trade, and no objections were raised. The ship was cleared to sail on the 23rd. of November, but British authorities suspected all along she was purchased to be a Confederate commerce raider and ordered her detention. Nevertheless, she succeeded in escaping from Sheerness, England, on November 24th with workmen still on board and only a token crew, her Confederate Naval officers joined her in the English Channel and Lieutenant William P.A. Campbell went aboard and commissioned her as the CSS “Rappahannock”.

When the Confederate agent bought her from the Admiralty on November 14th, Commander M. F. Maury had intended the “Rappahannock” to replace the unwanted, iron “Georgia” and was about to transfer “Georgia’s” battery into her. She was ideal for a cruiser; wooden hull, bark-rigged, two engines and a lifting screw propeller, but she was doomed to serve the Confederacy as no more than a floating depot. She was commissioned a Confederate man-of-war underway, but while passing out of the Thames Estuary her bearings burned out and she had to be taken across to Calais for repairs. There Lt. C. M. Fauntleroy, of the Confederate States Navy, was placed in command.

The French were not convinced that the ship had entered Calais in distress, and the Americans were going to lay the blame on the French for any American ships that the “Rappahannock” destroyed after taking over “Georgia’s” armament.

So she was kept there by the French Government throughout the rest of the Civil War. Detained on various pretexts by the French Government, the “Rappahannock” never got to sea. She remained there until July 1865, when she was sold to the U.S. and went off to Liverpool. The whole transaction had become a shambles, and neither the “Georgia” nor the “Rappahannock” ever performed any real service for the Confederacy.

Heald was married to his first wife, a spinster Emma Postill, in the Parish Church in Hull, England in 1842 in the Parrish of Holy Trinity; and he married a second wife, Mary Ann Blanc, at Calais, France in 1864. He had one baby girl with Emma, who died as an infant and two boys with Mary Ann; George Frank and Thomas George.

In 1881 Edward, at age 57, was living at 76 Pool Street in Wigan, Lancashire, England, and was married to Mary Ann who was then 44 years of age, with two sons and two daughters; George age 11 who was born at Bobbin, Kent, England; Thomas age seven born at Wigan, Lancashire, England; Elizabeth age 24 born at Sittingbourne, Kent, England and Eliza age 4 also born at Wigan, Lancashire, England. The 1881 British Census Records also show an Elizabeth Hart, 28 years of age, living with them at the time from Wigan, Lancashire, England; who was a seamstress.

Edward at the time was working as a shipwright, Elizabeth was a domestic servant and George and Thomas were both still in school.

Edward arrived in Australia at 58 years of age aboard the ship “Oruba” in August 1891 and resided in the vicinity of Echuca, Victoria. Echuca began as simple 5 acre block land holdings for local workers around 1895, to provide enough land for small homes, a garden and stock for workers and new businessmen; so their home would be close to their work and the river trade; many on much larger surrounding farms. The Heald homestead was located next to the Jansen block of land. that Jansen bought after Edward died and the family still owned it; calling it “Heald’s Paddock”. Edwards son, Tom was a brick-mason and was said to have built the house on their block at Echuca Village.

Edward Redmore Heald had lived in Victoria for some 30 years when he died at 87 years of age on January 16, 1911 at Echuca, Victoria. He died of “senile decay” of which he had been suffering for about a month and was treated by Dr. G.K. Eakins who last treated him on January 11th.  He was buried on January 17, 1911 in an unmarked grave in the Echuca Cemetery on Homan Street; certification number 1189, by undertaker A.E. Cocks.  The Rev. H.B. Hewett of the Church of New England presided over his services and Edward had lived in Victoria for nineteen years. His grave is number 23, row 21 in Section A, which is the old “C” of “E” Section. His wife, Mary Ann Heald also died, at 81 years of age, on March 1, 1916 and was buried in the same grave with her husband.

An offer for the acquisition of a military headstone or a bronze memorial plaque for his gravesite was made in 2006, but it was found a prior promise to his descendants was made in 2005 by a well meaning individual; unfortunately, it has never been accomplished.

British Census Records, 1881, RG11, 3767/122

Digger Federation Index, Victoria

Echuca Cemetery Records

Heald Family Tree

Marauders of the Sea, Confederate Merchant Raiders During the American Civil War

National Archives, Washington, D.C.

“Odyssey in Gray: Diary of Confederate Service 1863 -1865”, Douglas Forrest, Virginia State Library, 1979

Roma Gane, Forrestfield, W.A.

Royal Australian Historical  Society

Victoria Birth, Marriage and Death Records