the toast of Boston and celebrated
throughout the country as a hero of the
republic. The New York Timesstoked the
patriotic fervor. “We do not believe the
American heart ever thrilled with more
genuine delight than it did yesterday, at
the intelligence of the capture of Messrs.
Slidell and Mason,” the newspaper
reported. To a Northern public condi-
tioned to believe that Great Britain was
decidedly pro-Confederate, the Trent
affair seemed like a perfect way to put the
haughty Britons in their place.
However, others in the North worried
that Wilkes’ actions were identical to those
that had led the United States to go to war
with Britain in 1812. Now the roles were
reversed. At midday on November 27,
news of the seizures reached London,
where it was greeted with personal and
official fury. Pro-Northern politician John
Bright described the public mood as “every
sword leaping from its scabbard, and every
man looking about for his pistols and
blunderbusses.” Benjamin Moran, assis-
tant to Adams at the American legation,
wrote in his diary, “The people are begin-
ning to see that their flag has been insulted,
and if that devil TheTimesfeeds their ire
tomorrow, as it assuredly will, nothing but
a miracle can prevent their sympathies run-
ning to the South and Palmerston gettingup a war. TheTimesis filled with such slat-
ternly abuse of us and ours that it is fair to
conclude that all the fishwives of Billings-
gate have been transferred to Printing
House Square.”
Adams was not at the legation when the
news arrived. He was in Yorkshire in the
north of England enjoying the hospitality
at Fryston Hall as the guest of socialite-
politician Richard Monckton Milnes.
Moran sent a panicky message to Adams,
but the veteran diplomat did not feel the
need to hurry back. Finally returning to
London, Adams found a note from For-
eign Secretary Lord Russell on his desk,
but it was late in the day and Adams
responded that he would see him the next
day. He found his British counterpart
with “a shade more of gravity visible in
his manner, but no ill will.” The meeting
lasted a mere 10 minutes, Adams recalled,
but “I scarcely remember a day of greater
strain in my life.” What had been feared
might happen with James Adgerhad
come to pass with San Jacinto.Adams
doubted that two Confederate envoys
were all that important.In Richmond, Jefferson Davis sent a
message to Congress condemning the Fed-
eral actions as a violation of international
rights “for the most part held sacred even
amongst barbarians.” But the Davis
administration failed to exploit the inci-
dent as a good propaganda opportunity.
Mary Chesnut wrote about the seizure of
Slidell and Mason, perhaps reflecting the
general view in the South. “Something
good is obliged to come from such a stu-
pid blunder. The Yankees must bow the
knee to the British, or fight them. As I read
the Northern newspapers, the blood
rushes to my head. Anyhow, down they
must go to Old England, knuckle on their
marrow bones, to keep her on their side—
or barely neutral.”
The British cabinet met in emergency
session. Palmerston angrily threw his hat
onto the Cabinet Room table and told his
colleagues, “I don’t know whether you are
going to stand this, but I’ll be damned if I
do.” He wrote to Queen Victoria a few
days later, saying he wanted to teach the
United States a lesson. He left the door
open for diplomacy: “If, however, the
Americans were to climb down and apol-
ogise the result would be honourable for
England and humiliating for the United
States.”
Recent dispatches from Lord Lyons,Trent’s British captain, James Moir, defiantly
refused to cooperate with Fairfax and his board-
ers, but Confederate emissaries James M.
Mason and John Slidell came forward voluntarily
to avoid bloodshed.Anne S.K. BrownCWQ-EW16 Trent Affair_Layout 1 10/22/15 1:19 PM Page 33