Browse Items (16 total)

James M. Mason played an important role for Confederate activity in the United Kingdom, organizing funds and the purchase of supplies and ships. Following his arrest and release as part of the Trent Affair of 1861, Mason began his work in London,…

Accompanying the formal British response to the Trent Affair, which was edited and toned down by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, Foreign Minister Earl Russell included additional instructions for Lord Lyons. Desiring an explanation from…

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…

Thurlow Weed, a Republican politician, was operating in London throughout the Civil War, acting as an unofficial agent for the Lincoln administration's efforts to placate British opinion on the war. This letter to Sec. Seward, dated December 4, 1861,…

This letter to President Lincoln, possibly from then former Ohio Senator Thomas Ewing, reflects some of the concerns within the Northern public as the Trent Affair dragged on. Written only a few weeks before the captured Confederate diplomats were…

This print combines caricature with photography to express the artist's view of the events surrounding the Trent Affair. Here, the figures of Confederate diplomats James Murray Mason and John Slidell stand aboard a ship travelling to England. There,…