The Trent Affair

*Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the Trent Affair written by British and Northern politicians, as well as participants *Includes a bibliography for further reading *Includes a table of contents "Mr. Seward ... is exerting himself to provoke a quarrel with all Europe, in that spirit of senseless egotism which induces the Americans, with their dwarf fleet and shapeless mass of incoherent squads which they call an army, to fancy themselves the equal of France by land and Great Britain by sea." - The London Chronicle In November 1861, the American Civil War was still a relatively young conflict, and both sides were still jockeying for the upper hand. The Confederates had won the First Battle of Bull Run in July, and there had not been any major battles in the West, but the Union had also pushed the Confederates out of West Virginia and George McClellan was about to organize the Army of the Potomac for an offensive against Richmond. Months before then, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had sent out diplomatic agents to Europe in attempts to win recognition among major European powers, and to place even further pressure on the status quo, Southern merchants actually refused to export cotton, hoping the sheer weight of economics would compel them to help. As historian Charles Hubbard pointed out, "Davis left foreign policy to others in government and, rather than developing an aggressive diplomatic effort, tended to expect events to accomplish diplomatic objectives. The new president was committed to the notion that cotton would secure recognition and legitimacy from the powers of Europe. One of the Confederacy's strongest hopes at the time was the belief that the British, fearing a devastating impact on their textile mills, would recognize the Confederate States and break the Union blockade. The men Davis selected as secretary of state and emissaries to Europe were chosen for political and personal reasons - not for their diplomatic potential. This was due, in part, to the belief that cotton could accomplish the Confederate objectives with little help from Confederate diplomats." As it turned out, the Confederates were almost delivered a master stroke of good fortune when the USS San Jacinto seized the RMS Trent to pull two Southern diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell, off the British boat as contraband of war, sparking an international crisis that infuriated the British and put the North in hot water. Although the British furor provoked the Northern public and inflamed tensions, Union leaders sought to defuse the crisis as Britain demanded the release of the diplomats and a formal apology. For several tense weeks, both sides were on high alert, and the British bolstered their armed forces in the region (including in Canada), but the crisis was eventually resolved with the release of the two Confederates and a public disavowal of the USS San Jacinto's actions. Britain did not receive a formal apology, and the Confederate diplomats eventually made their way across the Atlantic to push for recognition, but they would ultimately fail in the goal, dealing a considerable blow to the South's chances. The Trent Affair chronicles the Civil War's most famous diplomatic crisis and analyzes its effects. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about the Trent Affair like never before, in no time at all.