Confederate commissioners.
Sumner was not at the cabinet meeting
later that day; he was in the Senate where
a late resolution was being debated not to
release the Rebel envoys. Meanwhile,
Seward outlined his case, then waited for
Lincoln to make his for arbitration. But
the president said nothing, and the cabinet
approved Seward’s proposal. When the
others had left, Seward asked Lincoln why
he had not made a counterargument. Lin-
coln replied, “I could not make an argu-
ment that would satisfy my own mind.”
Seward’s official reply complied with the
basic demands of the Russell letter, stating
that Wilkes acted without orders and that
the captives would be released. But there
would be no formal apology. The envoys
were contraband and could rightfully be
seized. Wilkes’ error was in not seizing
Trentas well and taking it to a neutral port
for judgment. In a final gibe at the British,
Seward suggested that Wilkes, by impress-
ing passengers from a merchant ship, had
merely followed British practice, not
American, an echo to the War of 1812.
However, said Seward, the United States
wanted no advantage gained by an unlaw-
ful action and that as far as the nation was
concerned the captives were relatively
unimportant. He concluded, “The four
persons in question are now held in mili-
tary custody at Fort Warren, in the State of
Massachusetts. They will be cheerfully lib-
erated. Your lordship will please indicate a
time and place for receiving them.”
In England, the American response was
awaited eagerly and with some trepidation.
On January 8 news reached London and
spread rapidly across the city. In West End
theaters, Benjamin Moran wrote, “Audi-
ences arose like one and cheered tremen-
dously.” The press conveyed the general
sense of relief. On January 8, the Times
commented: “We draw a long breath, and
are thankful we have come out of this trial
with our honour saved and no blood spilt.”
As for Mason and Slidell, the Timesjudged
them “about the most worthless booty it
would be possible to extract from the jaws
of the American lion.”
Palmerston wrote to the queen, gleefullyreporting the “humiliation” of the United
States. The queen took a more measured
view. Her speech at the opening of Parlia-
ment on February 6, 1862, officially closed
the Trentaffair. “The Question has been sat-
isfactorily resolved,” she announced. “The
friendly relations between Her Majesty and
the President of the United States have there-
fore remained unimpaired.”
Mason and Slidell were duly removed
from Fort Warren and put aboard the
HMS Rinaldoat Provincetown, Massa-
chusetts, and transported to St. Thomas in
the Caribbean. On January 14, the diplo-
mats boarded the British mail steamer La
Platafor the final leg of their long and tor-
turous journey. When the Confederate
envoys arrived in Southampton early in
February, it was barely reported in the
British press. The nation, like the queen,
was still wrapped in mourning for the late
Prince Albert. Victoria refused even to
receive the visitors. Lord Russell told Lord
Lyons, “What a fuss we have had about
these two men.” The soldiers Britain hadsent to Canada at great expense remained
there for some time. They got bored with
little to do; some even deserted to America
and joined the Union Army.
The South gained little from the Trent
affair. Late in February the British govern-
ment issued a report that acknowledged
the effectiveness of the Union blockade.
After it was debated in the House of Lords
on March 10, Mason sent one of his first
dispatches to Richmond. It was gloomy.
The blockade was effective, and “no step
will be taken by this government to inter-
fere with it.” With her honor defended
(and a cheap alternative to Southern cot-
ton located in India), Great Britain could
afford to remain on the sidelines while the
Americans killed each other with increas-
ing avidity. In the end, the inherent good
sense of three men—Prince Albert, Lord
Lyons, and William H. Seward—had
avoided the looming threat of war between
the United States and Great Britain and
allowed Abraham Lincoln, as he fervently
hoped, to fight “one war at a time.”When Confederate ambassadors Mason and Slidell finally arrived at Southampton, England, in Febru-
ary 1862, Queen Victoria refused even to receive them. Cheap Indian cotton obviated the need for
continued ties to the South.Getty ImagesCWQ-EW16 Trent Affair_Layout 1 10/22/15 1:20 PM Page 37