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The Trent, a British packet ship transporting to England two Confederate diplomats, James Mason and John Slidell, had left Havana, Cuba on November 7th, 1861. Captain Charles Wilkes of the USS San Jacinto became aware of the diplomats' movements and…

Serving as Prime Minister, Lord Palmerston guided Britain through, or better put, around the affairs of the American Civil War. The leader of the nation most likely to intervene in the conflict, and at times Palmerston faced the temptation to do so.…

The impact of the Trent Affair shook public attitudes in Northern society, with some clamoring for war with Britain and others cautioning against the risks of such a confrontation. The Prince de Joinville, a son of French nobility residing in the…

Relating to the matter of British shipbuilding for the Confederate Navy, this letter from Governor Andrew to the president reflects American concerns of the persistence of this practice. Occuring even as news of the career of the raider Alabama's…

Union concerns over the building of ironclads in Britain for use in the Confederate navy led to increased pressure upon the British government to intervene and halt their construction. In this letter, acting Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox doubts…

Pursued by Union warships after its final cruises in the Far East, the Alabama is cornered in the French port of Cherbourg by the USS Kearsarge. Captain Raphael Semmes moves to damaged ship into a final engagement, where it soon sinks. The Deerhound,…

The news of the Trent's stopping and the arrest of its Southern diplomatic passengers, James Mason and John Slidell, by the Union provoked confusion and anger among the British. The popular views of the incident considered the actions of Union…

This letter from the Wisconsin Senator was written at the height of the controversy over the Trent. Though the exact parameters of the diplomatic dialogue was still unknown to the majority of the American public, its tense nature was not lost. At the…

While declaring itself neutral, and remaining that way for the duration of the war, some in the North believed that sympathies for the South permeated Britain's top levels of government. This image from Harper's Weekly uses the figure of John Bull in…

King Cotton - interpreted here as a caricature of European-style monarchs, displaying elements of the British government - recieves a dangerous gift from Union General George McClellan. The illustration mocks British reliance on southern cotton while…