What did British officers think of the American civil war as it was happening?

Re:What did British officers think of the American civil war... by Hayvok on Friday May 20, 2022 @05:04PM (#31452477)

That's a good question, and I don't know the answer.

However, whatever that need was (to hedge against the British) should have been completely necessary, and really goes to show you just how valuable a strong diplomatic corps can be to a country.

The British wanted to be pro-Union. They wanted slavery gone. They didn't want to have to station huge numbers of troops in Canada, or large numbers of ships in the Atlantic.

Silly, unforced errors by Seward & Charles Francis Adams (the American ambassador) antagonized Britain throughout the war & made them unsure of their North American holdings. Ridiculous. Union diplomats should have been talking peace & partnership with Britain from day 1 of the conflict.

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Re:What did British officers think of the American civil war... by notahacker on Friday May 20, 2022 @05:28PM (#31452737)

> The British wanted to be pro-Union. They wanted slavery gone.

tbf, we had moral reasons for wanting slavery gone but practical reasons for thinking we were better off with a divided America and an independent Confederacy as a useful source of cheap cotton. Some would say our political positions haven't got more realistic since. :)

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