11. In the summer of 1861 a naval expedition proceeded to the North Carolina coast, and on the 29th of August captured the forts at Hatteras Inlet. On the 7th of November an armament, under Commodore Samuel F. Du Pont and General Thomas W. Sherman, reached Port Royal, and captured Forts Walker and Beauregard. The blockade became so rigorous that communication between the Confederate States and foreign nations was cut off. In this juncture of affairs, a serious difficulty arose with Great Britain.
George B. McClellan.
Mason and Slidell.
12. The Confederate government appointed James M. Mason and John Slidell as ambassadors to France and England. The envoys, escaping from Charleston, reached Havana in safety. At that port they took passage on the British steamer Trent for Europe. On the 8th of November the vessel was overtaken by the United States frigate San Jacinto, commanded by Captain Wilkes. The Trent was hailed and boarded; the two ambassadors were seized, transferred to the San Jacinto, and carried to Boston. When the Trent reached England, the whole kingdom burst out in a blaze of wrath.
13. At first the government of the United States was disposed to defend Captain Wilkes's action. Had such a course been taken, war with Great Britain would have been inevitable. The country was saved from the peril by the diplomacy of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State. When Great Britain demanded reparation for the insult, and the liberation of the prisoners, he replied in a mild, cautious, and very able paper. It was conceded that the seizure of Mason and Slidell was not justifiable according to the law of nations. An apology was made for the wrong done; the Confederate ambassadors were liberated, put on board a vessel, and sent to their destination. So ended the first year of the civil war.