Confederate envoys board a steamship in the hopes of eluding the Federal blockade and reaching Europe to gain Confederate recognition.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Confederate envoys board a steamship in the hopes of eluding the Federal blockade and reaching Europe to gain Confederate recognition.
September 5, 1863 – Confederate Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith urged foreign envoy John Slidell to get France to intervene on the Confederacy’s behalf so
March 18, 1863 – Confederate commissioner John Slidell and representatives of Emile Erlanger, head of France’s most influential bank, negotiated a loan to the Confederacy