Browse Items (16 total)

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,…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…