473. Feeling engendered by the Trent Affair.—The incident left an angry feeling in the North toward Great Britain, for it was universally felt that the British government had shown an unmistakable partiality for the South. This feeling was further aggravated by the habitual attitude of that important newspaper, the London Times. Its offensive editorial utterances, which were generally thought to be inspired by Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, were the source of a vast amount of ill feeling for more than a generation.

474. Results of the First Year.—The outcome of the first year in the field was favorable to the Confederates. The Union side had lost Fort Sumter, Big Bethel, Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff, Carthage, Wilson’s Creek, and Belmont. With the exception of some small successes in West Virginia, there had been disasters in every quarter. To a superficial observer, therefore, success seemed to favor the South, and the attitude of England was easily accounted for. But there were other considerations to be taken into account. The tactful diplomacy of Lincoln and the irresistible energy of the Union sentiment had saved the states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and a part of Virginia from secession, and these results ought, perhaps, to be regarded as more than equivalent to the Confederate successes in the field. Not less important were the Union successes in closing the Confederate ports. The blockade was growing to be so complete as to prevent the exportation of cotton and tobacco, and thus to cut off the most important source of Confederate income. Meanwhile, there was great commercial activity between the Union states and Europe, and the government was easily and amply supplied with men and money.

For References, see end of Chapter XXV.

[200] Senator Clingman relates an interview with Secretary Thompson, in which the Secretary described his mission (while still the Secretary of the Interior) to North Carolina to induce that state to join the other states in seceding. Thompson described, according to this authority, an interview with Buchanan, held just before he set out on this mission, and used the following language: “I told Mr. Buchanan all you said, and he told me he wished me to go, and hoped I might succeed.” The whole passage is given in Clingman’s Writings and Speeches, pp. 526, 527, and in Nicolay and Hay’s Life of Lincoln, Vol. II., p. 325.
[201] See Letters from the Confederate Archives, given in Nicolay and Hay’s Life of Lincoln, Vol. II., pp. 316-327.
[202] Born in Louisiana, 1818; died, 1893. Graduated at West Point, 1838; United States Engineer till 1861; resigned and entered the army of the Confederate States; opened fire on Ft. Sumter, April 12, 1861; was in command at Bull Run, July 21, 1861; succeeded Gen. A. S. Johnston at Shiloh; defended Charleston from September, 1862, to April, 1864; was transferred to Lee at Petersburg, May, 1864; tried, in September, 1864, to arrest the march of Sherman; surrendered with Johnston, April, 1865; was later connected with the Louisiana State Lottery.
[203] The official returns show that the Union officers and men on the field numbered 17,676; the Confederate, 18,053. The Union loss was 2,896; the Confederate loss, 1,982. See Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I., pp. 195-196.
[204] Born in Connecticut, 1818; died, 1861. Served with distinction in the Mexican War; supported Free Soil party in Kansas, 1857; was placed in command of the United States arsenal at St. Louis, 1861; succeeded General Harney in command of the Department; defeated Confederates at Boonville and at Dug Spring; was defeated by greatly superior force at Wilson’s Creek, and killed in the battle, August 10, 1861.