A fascinating international incident occurred on the Atlantic Ocean that nearly brought Great Britain into the Civil War. Two Confederate envoys had departed from Charleston, South Carolina toward Cuba, and then on toward England on a mail ship called the "Trent". The envoys used this circuitous route in order to sneak through the Union navy blockade and reach Britain. The envoys had been sent by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to obtain recognition by Britain and France of the independent sovereignty of the Confederacy. Up until this point Great Britain and France had maintained their diplomatic relations with the North (the United States) and viewed the Confederacy as in rebellion, not an independent nation. Davis hoped that early victories by the South against the North (the Union) would cause Britain and France to receive these envoys and recognize the Confederacy. | A fascinating international incident occurred on the Atlantic Ocean that nearly brought Great Britain into the Civil War. Two Confederate envoys had departed from Charleston, South Carolina toward Cuba, and then on toward England on a mail ship called the "Trent". The envoys used this circuitous route in order to sneak through the Union navy blockade and reach Britain. The envoys had been sent by Confederate President Jefferson Davis to obtain recognition by Britain and France of the independent sovereignty of the Confederacy. Up until this point Great Britain and France had maintained their diplomatic relations with the North (the United States) and viewed the Confederacy as in rebellion, not an independent nation. Davis hoped that early victories by the South against the North (the Union) would cause Britain and France to receive these envoys and recognize the Confederacy. |