What the nations of Europe did—or did not do—were matters of constant and vital concern to both North and South during the Civil War. President Davis and other Confederate officials hoped earnestly that England, and possibly France as well, would recognize the independence of the Southern nation and grant it much-needed aid. President Lincoln and the Federal authorities were just as desirous that European powers should not intervene in the American struggle. Thus, starting in 1861, both sides began a determined tug-of-war to woo the statesmen of Europe to their respective cause.
James Mason and John Slidell were both former U. S. senators. Mason chewed tobacco arduously and could be crude in manner.
Slidell spoke French fluently and had married into Louisiana Creole aristocracy.
The first major international incident occurred in the autumn of 1861 and is known as the “Trent Affair”. Two Confederate commissioners, James M. Mason and John Slidell, were sent to plead the South’s cause at London and Paris, respectively. The agents were en route on the British mail steamer, Trent, when, on November 8, a Federal warship, the San Jacinto, stopped the British vessel on the high seas. Mason and Slidell were removed from the Trent and imprisoned at Fort Warren in Boston.
Northern officials were unprepared for the storm of indignation that came from England. The San Jacinto, it was pointed out, had violated English neutrality by intercepting the Trent. Equally outrageous to the British was the fact that the San Jacinto had fired two warning shots across the Trent’s bow. This was equivalent to firing at the British flag; as such, it constituted an act of war against England.
Fortunately for the North, Lincoln and his Secretary of State, William H. Seward, were able to resolve the incident with a minimum of ill feelings. Apologies were dispatched to London. Mason and Slidell were released from prison and allowed to continue their overseas journey without further Federal interference.
Only five feet, four inches tall, William H. Seward nevertheless became the most powerful and respected member of Lincoln’s cabinet.