165 YEARS AGO TODAY: Confederate envoys board a steamship in the hopes of eluding the Federal blockade and reaching Europe to gain Confederate recognition.
Tag: William H. Seward
I Presume War is Declared
165 YEARS AGO: The growing tension between George B. McClellan and Winfield Scott results in a harsh exchange after a conference on military strategy.
Forced to be Enemies of Great Britain
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Confederate envoys seek to garner foreign support but faced opposition due to foreign hostility toward slavery. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward declares U.S. commitment to preserving the Union and warns the foreign powers not to recognize Confederate independence.
President Lincoln’s Blockade Proclamation
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln issues an order imposing a naval blockade on ports in the Confederate states. This is intended to prevent supplies from reaching the Confederacy, despite lacking legal basis since he did not recognize the Confederacy as a foreign nation.
The War Policy Prevails
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The South Carolinians receive word that President Abraham Lincoln will attempt to resupply Fort Sumter, which prompts President Jefferson Davis to make a fateful decision.
Faith as to Sumter Fully Kept
Confederates grow increasingly suspicious of William H. Seward’s vague pledge that the Federals would abandon Fort Sumter.