Confederate commissioner John Slidell and representatives of Emile Erlanger, head of France’s most influential bank, negotiate a loan to the Confederacy for $15 million to help finance the war.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Confederate commissioner John Slidell and representatives of Emile Erlanger, head of France’s most influential bank, negotiate a loan to the Confederacy for $15 million to help finance the war.
A U.S. warship seizes a British merchant vessel in neutral waters, which threatens to cause an international crisis.
U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward unilaterally declines an offer by French Emperor Napoleon III to mediate the conflict between the U.S. and the Confederacy.
The leaders of Great Britain express new reluctance to recognize Confederate independence, and Emperor Napoleon III of France proposes foreign mediation between the two warring factions.
As news of the Federal setbacks travels overseas, the European powers begin to seriously consider mediating an end to the war and recognizing Confederate independence.
Federal forces effectively suppress the Sioux uprising of 1862 by driving much of the tribe out of Minnesota.