Lincoln in the World (58 page)

56
. Welles,
Lincoln and Seward
, p. 185 (“doubts” etc.);
New York Tribune
, Dec. 31, 1861; R. M. Mason to Amos Lawrence, Jan. 14, 1861 [1862], quoted in Randall,
Lincoln the President
, v. 2, p. 41 (“two wars”). On Lincoln’s reaction, see also Crook,
The North, the South, and the Powers
, pp. 115–16; Warren, pp. 30, 37–38; and
ALAL
, v. 2, pp. 222–23.

57
. Welles, “Capture and Release of Mason and Slidell,” p. 647; Stoeckl dispatch no. 68, Nov. 18, 1861, Russian Foreign Ministry Archives, photostatic copies in LOC. See also
ALAL
, v. 2, pp. 222–23; Ferris, Trent
Affair
, p. 120; and Donald, “
We Are Lincoln Men,”
p. 161.

58
. Warren, pp. 35 (soldiers at Willard’s), 37 (Welles’s approval), 28–29 (Everett);
New York Times
, Nov. 19, 1861.

59
. “From the outset,” notes historian Gordon Warren, “it was clear to Lincoln that if he publicly repudiated the capture, he might damage the war. Conversely, if he bestowed his blessing on it he would destroy any possibility of maneuver if the British government were to demand the prisoners’ release. The United States could not afford to alienate the world’s greatest maritime power, thereby offering the Confederacy an ally. Somehow Lincoln had to extract the country from its predicament without demoralizing public opinion and jeopardizing national honor; yet, he had to avoid insulting Britain. Popular feeling was running so high that the slightest miscalculation could have precipitated an international showdown. Lincoln decided on a policy of delay, leaving the next move up to the British” (Warren, p. 38). See also p. 137 for British preparations to “fight the American Revolution and the War of 1812 again.”

60
. Opdyke to Lincoln, Dec. 25, 1861, ALP, LOC.

61
. Gasparin to Lincoln, Dec. 2, 1861. This French-language letter resides in the ALP, LOC. Yet unlike most other Gasparin missives, there is no official English transcription online. I have been assisted in my translation from the French by an English transcription of the letter on Library of Congress stationery in the Barbee Papers at Georgetown University.

62
. Galt memo, Dec. 5, 1861, quoted in Skelton,
Life and Times of Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt
, pp. 315–16; Warren, pp. 170–71.

63
. Crook,
The North, the South, and the Powers
, pp. 154 (no military buildup), 158 (“pacific”); Cartland,
Southern Heroes
, pp. 8–9; Warren, p. 171.

64
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, v. 1,
pp. 513–14 (entry for Dec. 10, 1861); Lincoln quoted in Paludan, p. 92; Hay,
Missouri Republican
, Dec. 18, 1861, in Burlingame, ed.,
Lincoln’s Journalist
, pp. 164–65.

65
. Lincoln, “Annual Message to Congress,”
CWL
, v. 5, pp. 40–41; Warren, p. 170 (“show the world”); Paludan, p. 92 (tamp down);
Baltimore
Sun, Dec. 23, 1861, copied in the
New York Times
, Dec. 26, 1861; Randall,
Lincoln the President
, v. 2, pp. 44–45.

66
. Dean Mahin, too, notes that Lincoln and Seward tended to keep Congress in the dark regarding foreign policy, with the exception of Sumner. (Mahin, pp. 10–11.) See also Pierce, ed.,
Memoir and Letters of Charles Sumner
, v. 4, p. 121 (“too many secretaries”); Donald,
Lincoln
, pp. 321–22; Rice, ed.,
Reminiscences
, p. 223; Edward Everett diary, Aug. 23, 1861, Everett Papers (“watch him”); Donald,
Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man
, p. 21; Oates,
With Malice Toward None
, loc. 4763;
ALAL
, v. 2, p. 162; Holzer,
Lincoln President-Elect
, p. 417.

67
.
Missouri Republican
, Dec. 18, 1861, in Burlingame, ed.,
Lincoln’s Journalist
, p. 166.

68
. Seward to his family, Oct. 31, 1861, in Seward,
Seward at Washington
,
1846–1861
, p. 627; Welles,
Lincoln and Seward
, p. 185.

69
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, v. 1, p. 515 (entry for Dec. 15, 1861); Warren, pp. 142–43 (Mrs. Slidell); Lincoln quoted in Monaghan, p. 187; Goodwin, p. 398 (“bulldog”).

70
. Russell,
My Diary North and South
, p. 587, entry for Dec. 16, 1861; Jones,
Union in Peril
, p. 88 (“haggard and worn”); Howe,
Life and Letters of George Bancroft
, v. 2, pp. 147–48; Everett to Clay, Jan. 5, 1862, Clay Papers, Lincoln Memorial University. See also Warren, pp. 174–75. Norman Ferris reminds his readers that Bancroft “was an old political opponent of Seward’s” (Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, p. 244n25).

71
. John W. Forney reminiscence, in
Progress, A Mirror for Men and Women
, September 4, 1880. Michael Burlingame, in
ALAL
, v. 2, pp. 224–25, cites a slightly different version of this recollection from a transcribed copy in the Barbee Papers, Georgetown University.

72
. Burlingame points out that Lincoln “sought to influence public opinion through journalism written by his personal secretaries” (Burlingame, “Lincoln Spins the Press,” p. 65); Hay,
Missouri Republican
, Dec. 21, 1861, in Burlingame, ed.,
Lincoln’s Journalist
, pp. 171–74; Hay,
Missouri Republican
, Dec. 20, 1861, in ibid., p. 167. See also ibid., p. xi.

73
. Weed to Seward, Dec. 7, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (“war footing”); Jenkins, v. 1, p. 222 (other letters); Weed to Seward, Dec. 10, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (“inevitable”).

74
. Weed to Seward, Dec. 10, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (“wholly misunderstood”); Weed to Seward, Dec. 25, 1861, in
Seward at Washington
,
1861–1872
, p. 37 (“ransacking”); Weed to Seward, Dec. 7, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester (dismissal). See also Donald, “
We Are Lincoln Men,”
p. 161 (Newcastle).

75
. Bright quoted in Ridley,
Palmerston
, p. 437 (“what a hoax!”); Cobden
quoted in Jenkins, v. 1, p. 236 (“old dodger”); Bright quoted in Ausubel,
John Bright
, p. 125 (“hoary imposter”); Crook,
The North, the South, and the Powers
, p. 8 (bound Britain tightly); Palmerston to Cobden, Jan. 8, 1862, Palmerston Papers, British Library (“human nature”). See also Ridley,
Palmerston
, pp. 286, 495, 590.

76
. Cobden to Bright, Dec. 6, 1861, quoted in Jenkins, v. 1, p. 220 (“veto” and “courteous and conceding”); Bright to Sumner, quoted in Randall,
Lincoln the Liberal Statesman
, p. 143 (“At all hazards”); Donald,
Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man
, pp. 36–37 (met almost daily); Fillmore to Lincoln, Dec. 16, 1861, ALP, LOC; Sumner to Bright, Dec. 23, 1861, in
RW
, p. 433 (“no war”).

77
. Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, pp. 144–45 (“without instructions”), 148 (“We shall not have war”), 149 (“As to any Despatch”).

78
. Jones,
Blue and Gray Diplomacy
, pp. 34, 103 (physical description and CFA quote); Jenkins, v. 1, p. 82 (shocked some visitors); Fitzmaurice,
Life of Granville
, v. 1, p. 407 (“
croupier”
); Warren, p. 216 (rumors of death); Martin,
Life of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort
, v. 5, pp. 440–41 (Albert’s death), and 437 (“too awful”); Palmerston to [R?]osas, Jan. 5, 1862, Palmerston Papers, British Library (“deepest affliction”). See also Bell, v. 2, p. 281.

79
. Bell, v. 1, p. 325 (“exercise a religion”); Ridley,
Palmerston
, p. 529 (“ate like a vulture”); Clarendon to the Duchess of Manchester, Dec. 17, 1861, quoted in Maxwell,
Life and Letters of George William Frederick
, v. 2, pp. 253–54 (“very far”); Granville to Canning, Dec. 16, 1861, quoted in Fitzmaurice,
Life of Granville
, v. 1, pp. 404–5 (“a little anxious”). See also Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, pp. 150–51.

80
. Wallace and Gillespie, eds.,
Journal of Benjamin Moran
, v. 2, pp. 926–29, entries for Dec. 16, 19, 23, and 24, 1861 (London atmospherics); Adams,
Education of Henry Adams
, p. 119 (“glutton of gloom”).

81
. Wallace and Gillespie, eds.,
Journal of Benjamin Moran
, v. 2, p. 930, entry for Dec. 26, 1861 (“unfit for his place”); Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., Nov. 30, 1861 (“greatest criminal”), and Henry Adams to Charles Francis Adams Jr., Dec. 13, 1861, both in Ford, ed.,
Cycle of Adams Letters
, v. 1, pp. 76 (“criminal”), 83 (“boots”).

82
. Marx to Engels, Dec. 19, 1861, in
MAC
, pp. 254–55.

83
. Palmerston to Granville, Dec. 26, 1861, Granville Papers, BNA (“Fool’s Paradise”);
Morning Post
(London), Dec. 30, 1861, quoted in Adams,
Great Britain and the American Civil
War, v. 1, p. 229; Russell to Palmerston, Jan. 7, 1862, quoted in Adams,
Great Britain and the American Civil War
, v. 1, p. 230 (“59 minutes”); Palmerston to Westbury, Dec. 31, 1861, Palmerston Papers, British Library. See also Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, pp. 150, 159–60.

84
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, entry for Dec. 21, 1861, v. 1, pp. 516–17; Lincoln, “Draft of a Dispatch in Reply to Lord John Russell,” [Dec. 10? 1861,] in CWL, v. 5, pp. 62–64. See also
ALAL
, v. 2, p. 225; Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, pp. 175–77 (Bright’s influence, perils of arbitration), 242n19; and Crook,
The
North, the South, and the Powers
, p. 158 (dangers of “procrastination”).

85
. Norman Ferris makes a compelling case for “the changed tone of certain newspapers,” and cites several of the examples I have noted in this paragraph. It seems unlikely, however, that Ferris would attribute this “changed tone” to Lincoln’s media savvy. See Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, p. 136.

86
. Ibid., p. 131 (“mere emotion”); Hay,
Missouri Republican
, Dec. 28, 1861, in Burlingame, ed.,
Lincoln’s Journalist
, p. 178 (“bewildering flight”); Russell,
My Diary North and South
, p. 589, entry for Dec. 23, 1861 (“tremendous storm”).

87
.
New York Tribune
, Dec. 24, 1861; Crook,
The North
,
the South
,
and the Powers
, pp. 158–59.

88
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, v. 1, p. 518 (weather and French minister’s letter); Beale, ed.,
Diary of Edward Bates
,
1859–1866
, pp. 213–16, entries for Dec. 25, 1861, and Jan. 1, 1862; Bright quoted in Adams,
Great Britain and the American Civil War
, v. 1, p. 232 (“make every concession”); Jenkins, v. 1, p. 227 (Chase’s view); Carroll, “Abraham Lincoln and the Minister of France,” pp. 148–49 (French letter). See also Goodwin, p. 399.

89
. Jones,
Union in Peril
, pp. 91–92; Goodwin, passim (a clever manager); Seward,
Reminiscences
, p. 189 (“compare the points”). David Donald suggests that in his handling of the
Trent
crisis, Lincoln “had maneuvered the Secretary of State into adopting the position that he had favored all along” (Donald, “
We Are Lincoln Men
,” p. 162).

90
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, v. 1, p. 518 (“no war”); Porter,
Campaigning with Grant
, p. 408 (“loaded to the muzzle”); Seward,
Reminiscences
, p. 190 (“my own mind”);
New York Times
, Dec. 26, 1861; Ferris,
The
Trent
Affair
, p. 186.

91
. Pease and Randall, eds.,
Diary of Orville Hickman Browning
, entry for Dec. 27, 1861, v. 1, p. 519; Fanny Seward Diary, entry for Dec. 27, 1861, Seward Papers, University of Rochester; Donald,
Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man
, pp. 38–39; Jones,
Union in Peril
, p. 92; Bancroft, v. 2, pp. 241–42 (“cheerfully liberated”).

92
.
CG
, 37th Cong., 2nd Sess., p. 177; Bancroft, v. 2, pp. 236 (“surrender”), 243–44 (New
York Tribune
, Dec. 30, 1861), 252 (“contraband”); Warren, p. 184 (“monument”). See also Jones,
Abraham Lincoln
, p. 62, and Jones,
Union in Peril
, p. 93.

93
. Porter,
Campaigning with Grant
, p. 408;
ALAL
, v. 2, p. 227. Gabor Boritt, analyzing Lincoln’s views on territorial expansion, notes that “[e]conomic development demanded peace. It also required England’s friendship, which was sorely threatened by America’s expansionist penchant.” (Boritt,
Lincoln and the Economics of the American Dream
, p. 141.)

94
. Porter,
Campaigning with Grant
, pp. 408–9;
ALAL
, v. 2, p. 227.

95
. Francis B. Carpenter, “A Day with Governor Seward at Auburn,” July 1870, p. 55, Seward Papers, University of Rochester; Randall,
Lincoln the President
, v. 2, p. 50; Seward,
Reminiscences
, p. 190; Goodwin, pp. 400–401.