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The Trent Affair occurred between November 1861 and January 1862 during the American Civil War. The Confederacy had sent envoys to Europe to try to garner their recognition of the Confederacy as a separate nation, but these envoys were intercepted by the Union. The envoys were later released but didn't succeed in gaining European recognition for the Confederacy.

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10y ago
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In 1861, the Confederacy's hopes for victory were running high. The Confederates had won a stunning victory at Bull Run and routed the Union army. The Confederacy quickly realized that ministers had to be sent to Europe, especially England and France, in order to get diplomatic recognition and military assistance. Jefferson Davis dispatched James Mason of Virginia to England and John Slidell of Louisiana to France. In mid October of 1861 Mason and Slidell left Charleston, past the Union blockade to Havana. In Havana they boarded a British steamship, the Trent, were they were to go to St. Thomas and board another ship to Europe. However, on November 8, the U.S.S San Jacinto, acting without orders from Washington, fired two warning shots across the Trent'sbow, boarded the ship and arrested the two Confederate diplomats as contraband. The San Jacinto retuned to a port in Virginia and sent the two diplomats to captivity in Boston among massive fanfare. Northerner's believed that this action had help avenge the loss at Bull Run and righted a long succession of British actions at sea. Wilkes, the captain of the San Jacinto, was a hero, despite violating international law. However, never had men been declared contraband and the vessel was not heading for an enemy port. Also, if Wilkes would have searched the ship, he would have discovered a mail bag hidden by the Trent'scaptain, which would have erased the ship's neutral status and allowed it to be captured. When word reached England, public outrage was severe. The British believed that it was a direct violation of national honor. The Stock Market in England plunged as they prepared for possible war. The stage was now set for a diplomatic crisis that would change the American Civil War and the world (Jones, 197-198).

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The Trent Affair was important to the Civil War because it established the support of Britain for the Confederacy. It nearly led to a war between the Union and Britain.

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Related questions

What was the theme for the trent affair?

Government


Confederates believed the key to diplomatic recognition was?

The Trent Affair, also known as the Mason and Slidell Affair.


The Trent affair brought the?

union close the war with britian


What did the trent affair do?

The Trent Affair occurred in November of 1861 when an American ship boarded an English and took off two Confederate diplomats. It very nearly led to war with Great Britain.


Did the Trent affair bring confederacy close to war with France?

no the std


What causes Britain to threaten war against the US?

Trent Affair


The Trent Affair?

Confederate gov. sent two diplomats out on a british ship, then American ship stopped the Trent and arrested the two men


The was a naval incident in the Civil War that almost brought Britain into the conflict on the side of the South?

The Trent Affair. The Confederate warship CSS Nashville transferred two Confederate dimplomats and their staff to the Trent, a British mail packet en route to England. Later the Trent was stopped and boarded by the Union warship USS San Jacinto, and the Confederates were arrested. They were later released, but as they were taken from a British vessel at sea, the British government was outraged. (TRENT AFFIAIR)


What battle led newspapers to demand that Lincoln should fire Ulysses S. Grant?

The Trent Affair


How was the Trent affair settled?

Trent Affair was an international diplomatic incident in which a union ship USS San Jacinto intercepted a British mail liner RMS Trent and arrested two confederate diplomats. This incident threatened to disrupt Anglo-American relations and chances of war between the two also increased. However, Lincoln administration resolved this matter by releasing the two diplomats and disavowed captain's actions. However no formal apology was issued.


What was the Trent affair and how was it settled?

The Trent Affair The Trent Affair would have been a minor conflict between United States and Great Britain, but because of the circumstances during this time period, it lead to an international outrage. In the end, the Trent Affair had an abrupt effect of building confidence between the governments of Britain and the U.S. "Trent Affair was an incident during the American Civil War involving the doctrine of freedom of the seas, which nearly precipitated war between Great Britain and the United States. On Nov. 8, 1861, Captain Charles Wilkes, commanding the Union frigate San Jacinto, seized from the neutral British ship Trent, two Confederate commissioners, James Murray Mason and John Slidell, who were seeking the support of England and France for the cause of the Confederacy (Britannica)." Because this happened during the American Civil War, the seizure of the two men, in November 1861, without bringing the ship to port, was seen as a violation of the laws of the sea. In addition, the Trent Affair challenged the traditional concepts of freedom of the seas and the rights of neutrals and almost caused a war between the United States and Great Britain. "The issue was resolved when the Lincoln administration released the envoys and disavowed Captain Wilkes' actions. No formal apology was issued. Mason and Slidell resumed their voyage to England but failed in their goal of achieving diplomatic recognition. The Union had successfully navigated its way through its most crucial diplomatic challenge of the war (Wikipedia)."


Why is the XYZ affair important?

The XYZ affair caused a harsh relationship between France and the US.