A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War Read online

  ALSO BY AMANDA FOREMAN

  Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire

  Copyright © 2010 by Amanda Foreman

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Originally published in hardcover in the United Kingdom by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (U.K.) in 2010.

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Foreman, Amanda

  A world on fire: Britain’s crucial role in the American Civil War/Amanda Foreman.

  p. cm.

  Originally published: London: Allen Lane, 2010. Subtitle varies.

  eISBN: 978-0-679-60397-9

  1. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Participation, British.

  2. United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Foreign public opinion,

  British. 3. United States—Foreign relations—Great Britain. 4. Great Britain—

  Foreign relations—United States. 5. United States—Foreign relations—

  1861–1865. 6. Great Britain—Foreign relations—1837–1901.

  7. Public opinion—Great Britain—History—19th century. I. Title.

  E469.F67 2011

  973.7’2—dc22 2011003726

  www.atrandom.com

  Book design by Casey Hampton

  Jacket images: “Jeff Davis” Escort flag (Confederate Memorial Hall, New Orleans © Civil War Archive/Bridgemen Art Library); regimental colors of “The 59th of Foot” (Queen‗s Lancashire Regiment Museum, Preston, Lancashire/Bridgemen Art Library); Union flag (© Civil War Archive/Bridgemen Art Library).)

  v3.1

  For the children

  Contents

  Cover

  Other Books by This Author

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  List of Illustrations

  List of Plates

  List of Maps

  Preface

  Dramatis Personae

  Prologue

  PART I: COTTON IS KING

  1. The Uneasy Cousins

  2. On the Best of Terms

  3. “The Cards Are in Our Hands!”

  4. Expectations Are Dashed

  5. The Rebel Yell

  6. War by Other Means

  7. “It Takes Two to Make a Quarrel”

  8. The Lion Roars Back

  9. The War Moves to England

  10. The First Blow Against Slavery

  11. Five Miles from Richmond

  12. The South Is Rising

  13. Is Blood Thicker Than Water?

  14. A Fateful Decision

  PART II: FIRE ALL AROUND THEM

  15. Bloodbath at Fredericksburg

  16. The Missing Key to Victory

  17. “The Tinsel Has Worn Off”

  18. Faltering Steps of a Counterrevolution

  19. Prophecies of Blood and Suffering

  20. The Key Is in the Lock

  21. The Eve of Battle

  22. Crossroads at Gettysburg

  23. Pressure Rising

  24. Devouring the Young

  25. River of Death

  26. Can the Nation Endure?

  PART III: IF ONLY WE ARE SPARED

  27. Buckling Under Pressure

  28. A Great Slaughter

  29. “Defiance to Her Enemies”

  30. “Can We Hold Out?”

  31. The Crisis Comes

  32. The Tyranny of Hope

  33. “Come Retribution”

  34. “War Is Cruelty”

  35. “The British Mark on Every Battle-field”

  36. “Richmond Tomorrow”

  37. Fire, Fire

  38. “A True-Born King of Men”

  Epilogue

  Photo Inserts

  Additional Images

  Acknowledgments

  Notes

  Glossary

  About the Author

  List of Illustrations

  Click on the illustration numbers below to navigate to each illustration. You can then click the illustration number beneath the image to navigate back to this section.

  The dates given in this list are the dates of first publication of the illustrations, not the dates on which the events they record took place.

  ill.1 The Napier Ball at Willard’s Hotel, Washington, D.C., Harpers Weekly (E. Hooper), March 3, 1859

  ill.2 Willard’s Hotel in 1861, Harpers Weekly

  ill.3 “Life in an American Hotel?,” Punch (John Leech), June 25, 1856

  ill.4 Grand torchlight parade of the New York firemen, Harpers Weekly, October 13, 1860

  ill.5 “Monkey Uncommon Up, Massa!,” Punch, December 1, 1860

  ill.6 “A Family Quarrel,” Punch, September 28, 1861

  ill.7 Attack on the pickets of the Garibaldi Guard on the banks of the Potomac, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), July 20, 1861

  ill.8 The stampede from Bull Run, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), August 17, 1861

  ill.9 Reconnaissance made by General Stoneman to Cedar Run, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), April 19, 1862

  ill.10 “King Cotton Bound,” Punch, November 2, 1861

  ill.11 “Look Out for Squalls,” Punch, December 7, 1861

  ill.12 “Waiting for an Answer,” Punch, December 14, 1861

  ill.13 “Up a Tree: Colonel Bull and the Yankee ’Coon,” Punch, January 11, 1862

  ill.14 “Naughty Jonathan,” Punch, January 18, 1862

  ill.15 USS Picket leading the ships of the Burnside expedition over the Hatteras Bar, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), February 22, 1862

  ill.16 The 9th New York Volunteers (Hawkins’s Zouaves) and the 21st Massachusetts taking the Confederate fieldworks on Roanoke Island, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), March 22, 1862

  ill.17 “Over the Way,” Punch, November 16, 1861

  ill.18 “Divorce à Vinculo,” Punch, January 19, 1861

  ill.19 CSS Nashville running the blockade at Beaufort, North Carolina, Harpers Weekly, April 5, 1862, copyright © Corbis

  ill.20 Jefferson Thompson’s guerrillas shooting at Federal boats in the Mississippi, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), June 14, 1862

  ill.21 Engagement off Fort Pillow, Mississippi River, between Federal and Confederate gunboats, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), June 14, 1862

  ill.22 The last stand made by the Federals at Manassas, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), November 15, 1862, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  ill.23 View of Richmond, Virginia, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), November 15, 1862, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  ill.24 General Stuart with his cavalry scouting in the neighborhood of Culpeper Court House, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), October 4, 1862

  ill.25 Night amusements in the Confederate camp, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), January 10, 1863

  ill.26 “Not Up to Time; or, Interference Would Be Very Welcome,” Punch, September 13, 1862

  ill.27 “Abe Lincoln’s Last Card; or, Rouge-et-Noir,” Punch, October 18, 1862

  ill.28 “One Head Better Than Two,” Punch, November 22, 1862

  ill.29 The bombardment of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 11, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), January 31, 1863

  ill.30 New Year’s receptio
n at the White House, Washington, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), February 1, 1862

  ill.31 “Scene on the Levee at New Orleans on the Departure of the Paroled Rebel Prisoners,” Harper’s Weekly, February 20, 1863, copyright © Corbis

  ill.32 The Chain Bridge across the Potomac above Georgetown, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), October 12, 1861

  ill.33 Confederates deploying torpedoes by moonlight in the harbor channel, Charleston, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), May 16, 1863

  ill.34 Great Union and Emancipation meeting held at Exeter Hall, London, Harper’s Weekly, March 14, 1863, copyright © Corbis

  ill.35 “Beware!,” Punch, May 2, 1863

  ill.36 Unloading cotton from blockade runners at Nassau, New Providence, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), April 30, 1864

  ill.37 Train with reinforcements for General Johnston running off the track in the forests of Mississippi, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), August 8, 1863

  ill.38 Confederate scouts with percussion caps for the garrison of Vicksburg running the Federal pickets, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), August 29, 1863

  ill.39 A certificate for the 7 Per Cent Cotton Loan, C. Narbeth, R. Hendy & C. Stocker, Collecting Paper Money and Bonds

  ill.40 Southern refugees camping in the woods near Vicksburg, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), August 29, 1863

  ill.41 General Longstreet’s corps crossing the Blue Ridge from the Shenandoah to the Rappahannock, Virginia, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), January 10, 1863

  ill.42 The surrender of Vicksburg—the rebels marching out and stacking arms, Harper’s Weekly (Theodore R. Davis), August 1, 1863, copyright © Corbis

  ill.43 The surrender of Vicksburg—view of the city from the riverbank, Harper’s Weekly (Theodore R. Davis), August 1, 1863, copyright © Corbis

  ill.44 “ ‘Rowdy’ Notions of Emancipation,” Punch, August 8, 1863

  ill.45 The Federals shelling the city of Charleston—shells bursting in the streets, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), December 5, 1863

  ill.46 HMS Majestic keeping watch over the steam rams in the Mersey, Illustrated London News (based on a drawing by William Woods), November 28, 1863

  ill.47 View of Chattanooga and the Federal lines from the lower ridge of Lookout Mountain, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), December 26, 1863

  ill.48 Winter quarters of Jeb Stuart’s cavalry, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), April 2, 1864

  ill.49 “Neutrality,” Punch, November 14, 1863

  ill.50 The Confederate cruiser Georgia, Illustrated London News (based on a drawing by Frank Wilson), May 28, 1864

  ill.51 A corps of the Confederate army marching by night through burning woods, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), August 6, 1864

  ill.52 View of Petersburg from General Lee’s headquarters—watching the Federals through binoculars, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), September 3, 1864, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  ill.53 “Very Probable,” Punch, August 27, 1864

  ill.54 “Something for Paddy,” Punch, August 29, 1864

  ill.55 Rendezvous of Mosby’s men, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), January 21, 1865

  ill.56 “The American Juggernaut,” Punch, September 3, 1864, copyright © The Print Collector / Alamy

  ill.57 “The Federal Phoenix,” Punch, December 3, 1864

  ill.58 Fall of Fort Fisher, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), March 18, 1865

  ill.59 “The Threatening Notice,” Punch, February 18, 1865

  ill.60 Panorama of Richmond, Virginia, after capture by the Federals, Illustrated London News (based on a drawing by Thomas Kennard), October 21, 1865, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  ill.61 “Britannia Sympathises with Columbia,” Punch, May 6, 1865

  ill.62 President Jefferson Davis signing acts of government by the roadside, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), July 22, 1865, copyright © Corbis

  ill.63 Flight of President Jefferson Davis and his cabinet over the Georgia Ridge, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), July 1, 1865, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  ill.64 President Jefferson Davis bidding farewell to his escort, Illustrated London News (Frank Vizetelly), July 22, 1865, copyright © Illustrated London News Ltd. / Mary Evans

  List of Plates

  Click on the plate numbers below to navigate to each plate. You can then click the plate number beneath the image to navigate back to this section.

  Section One

  1. Lord Lyons, British Ambassador in Washington (U.S. National Archives)

  2. The British legation (Washington, D.C., Public Library)

  3. The partially completed Capitol, Washington (U.S. National Archives)

  4. President Lincoln’s inauguration (Library of Congress)

  5. The U.S. Senate (U.S. Senate Collection)

  6. President Abraham Lincoln (Library of Congress)

  7. William Seward (U.S. National Archives)

  8. The Royal Exchange, London (Science and Society Picture Library)

  9. Cambridge House, home of Lord Palmerston (English Heritage)

  10. The chamber of the House of Commons, 1870 (Hulton Getty)

  11. Lord John Russell (National Portrait Gallery, London)

  12. Lord Palmerston (The Broadlands Archive, Hartley Library, University of Southampton)

  13. Charles Sumner (Library of Congress)

  14. Frederick Douglass (Collection of the New-York Historical Society)

  15. Gideon Welles (U.S. National Archives)

  16. Salmon P. Chase (Library of Congress)

  17. General George McClellan (U.S. National Archives)

  18. The 69th New York Irish Regiment (Library of Congress)

  19. General William Sherman (U.S. National Archives)

  20. William Howard Russell (Hulton Getty)

  21. Edward Dicey (picturehistory.com)

  22. Francis Lawley (British Library)

  23. Frank Vizetelly (Library of Congress)

  24. President Jefferson Davis (U.S. National Archives)

  25. President Davis’s inauguration (Boston Athenaeum)

  26. The Confederate White House, Richmond (Library of Congress)

  27. Richmond in 1862 (U.S. National Archives)

  28. General Robert E. Lee (Library of Congress)

  29. General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson (U.S. National Archives)

  30. Lee’s home at Arlington, Virginia (U.S. National Archives)

  31. General Josiah Gorgas (Smithsonian Institute)

  32. Judah P. Benjamin (U.S. National Archives)

  33. Stephen Mallory (U.S. National Archives)

  34. James and Irvine Bulloch (Mr. Henry Skinner)

  35. Henry Hotze (courtesy of the Museum of Mobile)

  36. James M. Mason (U.S. National Archives)

  37. John Slidell (Library of Congress)

  38. The shipyard of the Laird brothers, Liverpool (Moorfields Photographic, Liverpool)

  39. Federal troops marching through New Orleans (Leonard V. Huber, New Orleans: A Pictorial History, Penguin, 1991)

  40. Charles Francis Adams, Jr. (Library of Congress)

  41. Henry Adams (Massachusetts Historical Society)

  42. Charles Francis Adams (Boston Athenaeum)

  43. Henry Fielden (Collection of the South Carolina Historical Society)

  44. Francis Dawson (Francis Warrington Dawson papers, Duke University Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library)

  Section Two

  45. A colored regiment (Library of Congress)

  46. “Contraband of war” (Library of Congress)

  47. A slave auction house in Atlanta, Georgia (Library of Congress)

  48. The Rohrbach Bridge, Antietam (U.S. National Archives)

  49. The dead after Antietam (Library of Congress)

&nbs
p; 50. Lincoln and McClellan after Antietam (Library of Congress)

  51. General Ambrose Burnside (Library of Congress)

  52. Fredericksburg (Library of Congress)

  53. Marye’s Heights, Fredericksburg (U.S. National Archives)

  54. Admiral Raphael Semmes aboard CSS Alabama (U.S. Naval Historical Center)

  55. Commander Matthew Maury (Library of Congress)

  56. Lieutenant James Morgan (James Morris Morgan, Recollections of a Rebel Reefer, Houghton Mifflin, 1917)

  57. Colonel John F. De Courcy (descendants of Maj. Milton Mills, 16th Ohio Volunteer Infantry)

  58. Colonel Sir Percy Wyndham (Library of Congress)

  59. Dr. Charles Culverwell (from the private collection of Sir George Newnes)

  60. Battle of Gettysburg (Library of Congress)

  61. Little Round Top, Gettysburg (Library of Congress)

  62. Diplomatic expedition to Trenton Falls (U.S. National Archives)

  63. Rose Greenhow and her daughter (Library of Congress)

  64. Belle Boyd (Library of Congress)

  65. General Braxton Bragg (Library of Congress)

  66. Civilians hunting for souvenirs after Chattanooga (Dubose Collection)

  67. Jacob Thompson (Library of Congress)

  68. Clement C. Clay (Library of Congress)

  69. Confederate plotters at Niagara Falls (William A. Tidwell, Come Retribution, Barnes & Noble / University Press of Mississippi, 1988)

  70. Mounted cannon (U.S. National Archives)

  71. Field artillery (Library of Congress)

  72. A Federal observation balloon (Library of Congress)

  73. General Ulysses S. Grant and his staff (Library of Congress)

  74. The aftermath of Cold Harbor (Library of Congress)

  75. CSS Alabama (U.S. National Archives)

  76. CSS Stonewall (Library of Congress)

  77. USS Kearsarge (U.S. National Archives)

  78. Fort Sedgwick (Library of Congress)

  79. The trenches at Petersburg (U.S. National Archives)

  80. Charleston at the end of the war (U.S. National Archives)

  81. Richmond after its fall (U.S. National Archives)

  82. The victory parade of the Union Army, May 24, 1865 (Library of Congress)

  83. The Capitol on May 24, 1865 (Library of Congress)

  84. The Lincoln Memorial, Edinburgh (copyright © The Scotsman Publications Ltd. Licensor: www.scram.ac.uk)