A U.S. warship seizes a British merchant vessel in neutral waters, which threatens to cause an international crisis.
Tag: William H. Seward
Interference in a Family Dispute
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.
A Pumpkin in Each End of the Bag
President Abraham Lincoln meets with the secret Senate Republican caucus committee and shrewdly arranges for the committee members and his cabinet to explain their differences face to face.
Republican Dissension at Washington
Republican senators gather in an extraordinary caucus to determine how to better manage the war effort after the terrible defeat at Fredericksburg.
The Existing State of Despondency and Desperation
Northerners learn of the true disaster at Fredericksburg, which sparks enough outrage to make this the greatest crisis of the Lincoln presidency to date.
The Current is Against Us and Strong
Confederates try to curry favor with France, and Great Britain suffers a severe economic downturn due to the lack of southern cotton.