The Trent affair : including a review of English and American relations at the…
QR code
The Trent affair by Thomas L. Harris is a historical account written in the late 19th century. It examines the 1861 Trent Affair within the wider matrix of Anglo-American relations and international law at the outset of the U.S. Civil War, focusing on British neutrality, Confederate diplomacy, and the legal questions of blockade, belligerency, and the right of search. The work argues that British policy—especially early belligerent recognition—tilted toward the Confederacy and
shaped the diplomatic crisis surrounding the seizure of Confederate envoys Mason and Slidell. The opening of this work frames the Trent Affair as a pivotal test of international law linked to earlier Anglo-American clashes over search and impressment, then surveys a century of U.S.–British frictions that briefly gave way to warmth in 1860 after the Prince of Wales’s visit. It contrasts that goodwill with swift British skepticism during secession, highlighting elite and press sympathy for the South and early parliamentary agitation for recognition. The narrative traces U.S. efforts (via Black and Seward) to forestall foreign recognition, Britain’s issuance of the neutrality proclamation recognizing Confederate belligerency before the new U.S. minister arrived, and the author’s critique of its haste and implications for blockade law and neutrality. It recounts British dealings with Confederate authorities through Consul Bunch to secure parts of the Declaration of Paris, the U.S. revocation of his exequatur, and Seward’s October 1861 circular urging coastal and lake defenses amid British troop movements to Canada. The text then reviews the Confederacy’s initial, unsuccessful mission in Europe (Yancey, Mann, Rost, King) and closes this opening section by introducing the more formal mission of James M. Mason and John Slidell, sketching their backgrounds and aims to win recognition in London and Paris. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Download for free
For your e-reader or reading app — Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, Calibre etc.
Kindle → Use Send-to-Kindle
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Upload it on the Amazon site your Kindle is registered with: amazon.com/sendtokindle for the US, amazon.co.uk/sendtokindle for the UK etc.
- It appears on your Kindle and in the Kindle app
Kobo, Nook etc. → Transfer via USB
- Download the EPUB3 file on your computer
- Connect your e-reader by USB and tap "Connect" on its screen
- Drag the file onto the e-reader drive
Phone, Tablet or Computer → Online or Reading App
Easiest: read online in your browser. Nothing to install.
Or use a reading app:
- Find and install one you like, for example Apple Books, ReadEra or Thorium Reader
- Download the EPUB3 file above
- Open it in the app
More help: iPhone / iPad · Android · Computer
Other formats & older devices
There may be more files related to this item.
About this eBook
| Author | Harris, Thomas L. (Thomas LeGrand), 1863-1941 |
|---|---|
| LoC No. | 02014840 |
| Title | The Trent affair : including a review of English and American relations at the beginning of the Civil War |
| Original Publication | Indianapolis: The Bowen-Merrill Company, 1896. |
| Credits | deaurider, PrimeNumber and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865) |
| Subject | United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 |
| Subject | United States -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain |
| Subject | Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- United States |
| Subject | Trent Affair, 1861 |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 77681 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-77681-1 |
| Release Date | Jan 12, 2026 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 390 downloads in the last 30 days. |
Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free!