Browse Items (50 total)

Captured by the Union alongside his fellow Confederate diplomat, James Mason, in the 1861 Trent Affair, John Slidell's intended post was making appeals on the South's behalf to the French government under Napoleon III. After being released, Slidell…

The captain of the San Jacinto was hailed as a hero across the Northern public, receiving praise from Congress and the Lincoln administration for his role in the capture of James Mason and John Slidell. However, with the onset of the Trent Affair in…

In a circular sent to the ardent abolitionist, the Union and Emancipation Society's words reflect the general themes and platforms of such groups in the United Kingdom. Delivered late in the war, it conveys the growing hope of British reformers that…

This song sheet celebrates the actions of the Confederate Army in its early victories against the Northern military. The idea of 'King Cotton' dominates the themes of the song, based upon the strong association between the South and the perceived…

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…

In response to the economic instability brought about by the American Civil War, affecting production and the consumption of goods and materials, John Bull (England) looks to other markets free of less shaken by an 'inconvenient' conflict. Economic…

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…

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…

Despite some hopes that the announcement of the Lincoln Administrations plans on the matter of emancipation, international doubts over the Union position on slavery remained. This cartoon, a satirical take by Punch, highlights the view in Great…

Compiled together as a tribute to Lincoln's memory, this item combines both a print of a wood engraving, likely by Punch artist John Tenniel, and a poem also published by Punch, together on a single page. Though republished in 1910, this document…