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Statement of the facts
On November 8, 1861, self-appointed captain Charles Wilkes, commander of the USS Jacinto, forcibly halted the unarmed British mail ship, The Trent, by shooting over its bow. Captain Wilkes then boarded the vessel and attempted to conduct a search. To Wilke’s surprise and relief, James Mason and John Slidell, two Confederate diplomats, presented themselves on deck. Mason and Slidell were two of the most hated Confederates in the North. Mason was a leading proponent of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, which allowed the capture of runaway slaves in Northern territory. Slidell was a bad character, a politician known for gambling and unsavory dealings.(1) On his own accord and without official authority, Captain Wilkes seized the two men as contraband because they were “the embodiment of dispatches.”(2) He took them and their two private secretaries aboard the USS Jacinto. Wilkes did not search the ship. The Trent was then sent on its way, and Mason and Slidell were eventually imprisoned in Fort Warren, a Confederate prison in Boston.
When Northerners heard the news about the seizure of Mason and Slidell, they were elated. Congress even passed a resolution honoring Wilkes for his bravery.(3) It boosted their morale which had been lacking due to recent Confederate victories.(4) Mason and Slidell were well known for their anti-union sentiments. They had been on a mission to ask Britain to intercede on behalf of the South. Their capture gave great relief and pleasure to the North. Some extremists in the North openly discussed the possibility of war with Britain.
Two weeks later, when news of the Trent affair reached the shores of Britain, there was a sense of outrage. Charles Francis Adams, in his memorial speech about Seward, in fact, stated that “war was inevitable.”(5) Seward also received a letter from an American in London who wrote: “The people are frantic with rage, and were the country polled, I fear 999 men out of a thousand would declare for immediate war.”(6) Prime Minister Palmerston drafted a dispatch that
demanded the U.S. to release Mason and Slidell and apologize for the dishonorable act. Queen Victoria’s ailing husband, Prince Albert, read Prime Minister Palmerston’s draft response and greatly toned down its bellicosity.(7) There were calls to sever relations with the United States, an action normally taken shortly before war is declared. After Prince Albert had revised the dispatch, it was sent to the U.S.
While the U.S. waited for Britain’s official reply, Seward met with Lincoln on December 15 to determine what actions should be taken after the incident. Seward had been informed by contacts in Britain of Palmerston’s demands before receiving them. Fry states that it was “the greatest foreign policy challenge of their young, and still impermanent, nation’s existence.”(8) Seward realized how deep of a situation the United States was in. If there were war with Britain, the U.S. could forever lose the Confederacy because the U.S. could not fight two wars at the same time.(9) A second war could destroy the U.S.’s chances to preserve the Union. Seward believed the U.S. should take a conciliatory route and free the captives. Lincoln, however, was against relinquishing the two rebel Southerners. He wanted the U.S. to be heard on the matter and have the dispute go to “friendly arbitration.”(10)
When Northerners heard the news about the seizure of Mason and Slidell, they were elated. Congress even passed a resolution honoring Wilkes for his bravery.(3) It boosted their morale which had been lacking due to recent Confederate victories.(4) Mason and Slidell were well known for their anti-union sentiments. They had been on a mission to ask Britain to intercede on behalf of the South. Their capture gave great relief and pleasure to the North. Some extremists in the North openly discussed the possibility of war with Britain.
Two weeks later, when news of the Trent affair reached the shores of Britain, there was a sense of outrage. Charles Francis Adams, in his memorial speech about Seward, in fact, stated that “war was inevitable.”(5) Seward also received a letter from an American in London who wrote: “The people are frantic with rage, and were the country polled, I fear 999 men out of a thousand would declare for immediate war.”(6) Prime Minister Palmerston drafted a dispatch that
demanded the U.S. to release Mason and Slidell and apologize for the dishonorable act. Queen Victoria’s ailing husband, Prince Albert, read Prime Minister Palmerston’s draft response and greatly toned down its bellicosity.(7) There were calls to sever relations with the United States, an action normally taken shortly before war is declared. After Prince Albert had revised the dispatch, it was sent to the U.S.
While the U.S. waited for Britain’s official reply, Seward met with Lincoln on December 15 to determine what actions should be taken after the incident. Seward had been informed by contacts in Britain of Palmerston’s demands before receiving them. Fry states that it was “the greatest foreign policy challenge of their young, and still impermanent, nation’s existence.”(8) Seward realized how deep of a situation the United States was in. If there were war with Britain, the U.S. could forever lose the Confederacy because the U.S. could not fight two wars at the same time.(9) A second war could destroy the U.S.’s chances to preserve the Union. Seward believed the U.S. should take a conciliatory route and free the captives. Lincoln, however, was against relinquishing the two rebel Southerners. He wanted the U.S. to be heard on the matter and have the dispute go to “friendly arbitration.”(10)
1- Howard Jones, “Civil War Diplomacy,” In Robert J. McMahon and Thomas W. Zeiler, eds. Guide to U.S. Foreign Policy: A Diplomatic History, (Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications, 2012), 40. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.Retrieved September 13, 2020.
2- Ibid
3- Glyndon G. Van Deusen, William Henry Seward (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), 309. babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004247287. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
4- Herring, From Colony, 233.
5- Adams, An Address, 40.
6- Howard Jones, Union in Peril: The Crisis Over British Intervention in the Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992), 83. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=25676006?
7- Herring, From Colony, 232.
8- Joseph A. Fry, Lincoln, Seward, and U.S. Foreign Relations in the Civil War (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019), 187. ProQuest EbookCentral, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/dickinson/detail.action?docID=3239961.
9- Jones, Union, 85.
10- Lincoln, “Memorandum,” December, 1861. In Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1.
General Correspondence.1833-1916: Lincoln, A. (n.d.). Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Library of Congress.
2- Ibid
3- Glyndon G. Van Deusen, William Henry Seward (New York: Oxford University Press, 1967), 309. babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004247287. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
4- Herring, From Colony, 233.
5- Adams, An Address, 40.
6- Howard Jones, Union in Peril: The Crisis Over British Intervention in the Civil War (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1992), 83. https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Search/Home?lookfor=25676006?
7- Herring, From Colony, 232.
8- Joseph A. Fry, Lincoln, Seward, and U.S. Foreign Relations in the Civil War (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2019), 187. ProQuest EbookCentral, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/dickinson/detail.action?docID=3239961.
9- Jones, Union, 85.
10- Lincoln, “Memorandum,” December, 1861. In Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1.
General Correspondence.1833-1916: Lincoln, A. (n.d.). Abraham Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress American Memory Project. Library of Congress.