Refusing to side with either the Union or the Confederacy; Great Britain officially declared neutrality in the U.S. Civil War; thereby putting into effect the Foreign Enlistment Act; which forbade all belligerents to arm ships in her ports. Unofficially; many British citizens sympathized with the Confederacy because the Union’s naval blockade stopped the flow of cotton from Southern fields to English textile mills. For this reason; the Confederate representative James Bulloch found British shipbuilders willing to fill his orders for battle-ready vessels without inquiring too closely into his intentions.The U.S. Consul in Liverpool; Thomas Haines Dudley; suspected Bulloch was commissioning warships for an assault on Union naval or commerce ships. Despite his lack of diplomatic experience—President Lincoln had appointed Dudley as a political favor—the consul committed himself to preventing vessels destined for the Confederacy from leaving the shipyards. Dudley hired private detectives; bribed workers; bought sworn affidavits; and provided room and board for turn-coat Confederate sailors willing to furnish evidence that could be used in court.Confronting innumerable political obstacles and even threats to his life; Dudley served his country faithfully and courageously. He achieved his greatest success years after the war’s conclusion when in 1872 an international tribunal awarded the United States $15 million in reparations for the British government’s failure to enforce its own neutrality laws. This true account of Dudley’s years of service sheds new light on a crucial diplomatic front of the American Civil War.
#2334233 in Books Brandeis 1990-01-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 1.09 x 6.23 x 9.26l; #File Name: 0874514908256 pages
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