Foreign involvement in the American Civil War

I dare you to open all spoilers in this thread european-war-4.boards.net/thread/1765/conquest-challenges-campaign-guides-general

Long post though

Oh my god! Post soo...o long

The first nation to be talked about here will be France.



Top: Napoleon III
Bottom Left: Robert E. Lee, commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Bottom Right: Battle of Gettysburg

France was one of the pre-eminent powers on the world stage at the time of the Civil War. Led by Emperor Napoleon III, nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, France had been establishing itself on the world stage since Napoleon's abolition of the Second French Republic in 1852 and him declaring himself emperor. In 1853, France had gone to war with the Russian Empire of Nicholas I with her allies of Britain, the Ottoman Empire and Sardinia-Piedmont to halt Russian expansionism. In 1856, the war was won, resulting in Ottoman concessions to France and Britain (Not territorial, rather extraterritoriality and foreign legations) as with Russian concessions such as the cession of land to the newly created Romania and the demilitarization of the Black Sea. France also helped Sardinia-Piedmont take Lombardy from Austria in the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859. This war then resulted in Sardinia ceding Savoy and Nice to France in exchange for the help. France also expanded into Indochina and Africa, taking Cochinchina from the Nguyen Dynasty of Vietnam and taking control of Northern Algeria and Senegal.

Napoleon III knew that the United States was growing in importance and power, and hoped to potentially limit American power. Thus, when the American Civil War broke out, Napoleon was sympathetic to the Confederates. While Napoleon was sympathetic to the Southern Cause, however, many in the French government and especially the French populous were supportive of the Union. The reason for Union support was due to the moral aspect of the war. Many saw the war as a war against slavery more so than a war to re-integrate the Southern states. The vast majority of the French population was against slavery, with France having abolished it in 1848. Supporters of the Second French Republic of 1848-1852 mainly supported the Union.

Oddly enough, the Roman Catholic Church by and large supported the Confederacy despite the largely Baptist population of the South compared to the population split of Roman Catholics and other Protestant denominations in the North. The main reason for Catholic support of the Confederacy, however, was largely due to the fact that Napoleon supported the Confederates and the Church supported the actions of the Emperor.

French industrialists were some of the most ardent supporters of the CSA. France gained nearly all of its cotton from the South prior to the outbreak of war. When the Civil War began in 1861, the Union Blockade and the Confederate boycott of all cotton to the European powers resulted in the Cotton Famine in France. The price of cotton doubled from 1861 to 1862 in France, and as a result industry in France was heavily stalled as textile mills had to lay off workers and production was slowed. The Civil War could be blamed for part of the reason why France never industrialized as much as Germany, America or even Belgium. Much of the French industry were textile mills and other products requiring cotton. Thus, when the Civil War hit, industry slowed and stalled as cotton was much harder to obtain. And unlike Britain, cotton wasn't grown in abundance in it's colonies. As a result of the Cotton Famine, French industrialists wished for a swift Confederate victory.

It may be somewhat confusing as to why the Confederates boycotted the sale of cotton to the Europeans during the American Civil War as the sale of cotton was the economic lifeline keeping the South afloat. The reason for this policy was that by boycotting the sale of cotton to Europe, industry would stall and the Europeans would be more likely to recognize the CSA and help the country militarily. It was explained best by South Carolina Senator James Henry Hammond:

"Without firing a gun, without drawing a sword, should they make war on us, we could bring the whole world to our feet... What would happen if no cotton was furnished for three years?... England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her save the South. No, you dare not to make war on cotton. No power on the earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king."

Napoleon III also wanted the Confederates to win as they could aid the French in their invasion of Mexico which started in 1862. More on that with the Mexico segment.

Arguably the most important battle of the American Civil War occurred as a result of the failure of Cotton Diplomacy and the need for French and British military intervention on the South's behalf. Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia decided they needed to show the world that the Confederates could successfully go on the offensive and take major Northern cities. Lee settled on Harrisburg, the capital of the Union state of Pennsylvania. While marching North in June of 1863, Union troops noticed Lee's 75,000 troops marching North and alerted Union forces. They faced the Confederate army at the small town of Gettysburg on July 1st, 1863. Initially outnumbered and outwitted, General Meade would successfully lead the Union to victory at Little Round Top Hill, denying the Confederates the strategic point on the battlefield, and on July 3rd, Confederate general George Pickett led one of the most disastrous moves in military history with Pickett's Charge. Confederate troops were slaughtered by Union forces advancing across an open grassy field with no cover. Following this disaster, and with Northern reinforcements resulting in 105,000 men coming to Gettysburg to fight, Lee realized he had lost both the strategic advantage and was outnumbered. With this, he gave the orders to withdraw back to Virginia. This battle ended just about any and all hope of a French or a British intervention.

I also mention the British intervention as Napoleon refused to intervene unless the British made the first move against the North, which never happened. Napoleon knew that war with America would result in a long drawn out war with many French casualties if France were to move in without British intervention. It would become a war of attrition, one where America's industrial base would result in it winning eventually.

Now, Britain, a very key player of the Civil War.



Top: Confederates emissaries to France and Britain John Slidell and James M. Mason, respectively.
Bottom Left: U.S Secretary of State William H. Seward
Bottom Right: The Trent Affair

Great Britain was a key player in the Civil War diplomatically. America's former colonizer, some believed that supporting the Confederacy would be perfect payback for the Revolution of 1776-1783. Most of the British public and government were opposed to aiding the South, however, for a couple of reasons:
1. Most of Britain was opposed to the practice of slavery, which was the entire reason as to why the Confederates left the Union in the first place. This was especially true following the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1st, 1863, which technically freed all the slaves in Southern controlled territory. The Proclamation essentially solidified the view of many Brits and convinced most others that the Civil War was a war against slavery more so than a war to preserve the union. This moral aspect alienated British support for the South during the war.
2. While the South initially concocted its Cotton Diplomacy plan to bring Great Britain into the war on their behalf, the British actually had more important trade with the Northern United States. The British did rely heavily on Southern cotton at the start of the war, and trade with the South did decrease by 90% from 1861-1862 due to the Union blockade and the Confederate boycott, but by 1863 Britain was able to find two new sources of cotton in Egypt and India. Production of cotton increased in India while Britain eyed Egypt for its valuable cotton which could be used for her textile mills. The Union, on the other hand, supplied 40% of Britain's wheat imports during the war. Britain needed to import 25-30% of all of its grain, and France suffered bad harvests in 1861 and 1862, meaning Britain had to rely heavily on American grain to feed Britain's population.
3. Many British companies had invested in the North such as by financing railways or factories. Going to war against the Union would inevitably bare severe economic losses for the British as America would take control of British private interests in the country.

At the start of the war in April of 1861, Britain officially declared neutrality. They recognized the Confederacy as a belligerent power, but never as a country itself. Britain nearly went to war with the Union the first year following the Trent Affair of November 8th, 1861. It all started when Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, dispatched two emissaries (Not diplomats as no country officially recognized the Confederacy at this time) to Britain and France to try and gain support for the Confederacy and for possible intervention in the war. James M. Mason was to be the emissary to Britain and John Slidell was to be the emissary to France. They left from Charleston on a blockade runner shortly after the beginning of the war. They first docked at Nassau, the capital of the British Bahamas, where they then left for Havana in Spanish Cuba. There, they left on the British steamer Trent to be sent to Europe.

U.S Captain Charles Wilkes, commander of the USS San Jacinto, heard of the Confederate emissaries leaving aboard the Trent while docked in Havana. It was legal to search a neutral ship if the enemy's dispatches, or diplomats, were aboard, so Wilkes commanded the San Jacinto to follow the Trent. On November 8th, Wilkes fired two cannon shots across the bow of the British steamer, sent a small crew aboard, and left with both Slidell and Mason is cuffs. Wilkes came back to Boston a national hero.

The British were furious about the incident, however, and the country geared for war. 11,000 British troops were sent to Canada, the Royal Navy was told to prepare for war, and plans were drawn up to capture New York City. The British government demanded that Slidell and Mason be returned to the British as with an official apology or else British would declare war. Abraham Lincoln, the U.S president, knew that America couldn't fight a war on two fronts let alone Britain by itself, so he issued an apology to the British and released Slidell and Mason. The emissaries would remain in Europe for the rest of the war, but their efforts would bear no real fruit. The Trent Affair almost resulted in Britain intervening on the side of the South, and also led to the Lyons-Seward Treaty of 1862. U.S Secretary of State William Seward put forth this treaty to crack down on the slave trade, but it was also in order to increase cooperation between the United States and the British in order to keep relations amiable.

Dispute arose again in 1862 as a result of the Alabama Claims. British shipbuilders built numerous commerce raiders for the Confederacy, notably the CSS Alabama in 1862. The U.S government claimed this was a violation of neutrality and demanded $15.5 million for the damages caused by these ships. The British government, under Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston, vehemently refused. The U.S pushed the claims even after the war, with the U.S receiving the $15.5 million dollars it claimed as part of the Treaty of Washington of 1871 between America and Britain.

All subjects of debate between Britain and America had been essentially solved prior to the Civil War. Britain no longer impressed American sailors nor supported Native American groups against the American government while the United States dropped its claims to Canada. Territorial disputes were also solved with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, which established the modern borders between American Maine and Canadian Quebec and New Brunswick, and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, which established the U.S-Canadian border at the 49th Parallel (Which is the modern border). America had also become much stronger since 1812, and while Britain would undoubtedly win a war against the North, it could have been a long and bloody war with few points of real gain for Britain as, while Britain initially needed its cotton from the Confederacy, new sources in India and Egypt better appealed to Britain. While there was a Cotton Famine in Northwestern England at the start of the war similar to the one in France, these new sources in India and Egypt relieved the cotton famine. Thus, after 1863, when cotton began to be grown in large quantities in British India, the Confederates switched their main diplomatic focus away from Britain to France. Yet France did not intervene either, as they were embroiled in the Franco-Mexican War, which was a drain on French resources and manpower, and they had to worry about Prussian expansionism. As a result of these events in France, they were very reluctant to intervene unless Britain made the first move, which it never did. If Britain had intervened, chances are France and then Spain would have followed suit, meaning the Civil War would have turned out much much different if they had intervened.

This part of the presentation will be on Mexico, America's southern neighbor.



Top: Benito Juarez
Bottom Left: Maximilian I of Mexico
Bottom Right: Tejano in Confederate service

Mexico had been in chaos since 1835, when Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, a former war hero of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain, declared himself dictator after being elected president in 1833. As a result, numerous rebellions sprung up throughout the nation, notably in Yucatan, Coahuila (Which would secede as the Republic of Rio Grande), and Tejas. Out of all these rebellions, only the Texan Revolution led by American immigrants with backing of the American government would succeed with their goal of secession. Following the Battle of San Jacinto in April of 1836, Santa Anna was captured and forced to sign the Treaties of Velasco which gave Texas independence. As a result, Santa Anna was thrown out of power and exiled to Cuba. In 1846, the American government would peacefully annex Texas and fight a two year long war against Mexico for control of the Mexican territory of Alta California (Which nowadays comprises the states of Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, along with parts of what is now Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico), as with territory the Republic of Texas claimed as theirs (which was everything North of the Rio Grande river). The Mexican-American War came to an end in February of 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadelupe-Hidalgo, which ceded Alta California and the disputed territory to America. Further territory in Southern Arizona and New Mexico was ceded to America in the Gadsen Purchase of 1853. All of these territorial concessions led to disunion and instability in the Republic of Mexico.

From 1857-1860, a civil war occurred in Mexico. Called the Reform War, it was between liberal forces led by Benito Juarez and conservative forces aiming to establish a dictatorship. Juarez ultimately won by 1860 by consolidating control over the central, heavily populated cities of Veracruz and Mexico City. The war was won by the liberals, but Juarez quickly came into a dilemma. The liberals alienated many in the international community due to their socialist nature, and the war had not truly finished as conservative forces still launched sporadic attacks on government forces from the mountains and countryside. Most of all, however, the war had bankrupted Mexico. Juarez decided to default on Mexico's debts in 1860, seeing it was the only viable way for Mexico to recoup from its economic deterioration. As a result, France, Britain and Spain sent troops and naval vessels to occupy Veracruz in December of 1861. Napoleon III of France wanted to establish a friendly government in Mexico in order to establish better trade with Latin America and to act as a bulwark against America. Napoleon sent reinforcement to Veracruz in 1862, and seeing the writing on the wall, the British and the French withdrew their troops.

Napoleon chose his timing for the invasion well. He knew that America wouldn't intervene on behalf of the Mexicans during their civil war. As such, Mexico was essentially defenseless. Despite winning an important battle at Puebla on May 5th, 1862, the French inevitably took control of Mexico City itself in 1863. Napoleon III placed a puppet emperor on the throne of the Second Mexican Empire, his new puppet state in Mexico. He chose Maximilian of the Habsurgs to become puppet emperor due to Napoleon desiring a better relationship with the Austrians following the Second Italian War of Independence in 1859. Maximilian I became the Emperor of Mexico, and his wife Carlotta became Queen. The former conservatives of the Reform War re-appeared to support the French and Maximilian. Despite clear French military victory, however, Juarez continued resistance, now turning the war into a guerrilla conflict. He convinced many Mexicans that this war was not a war against conservatism, rather a war against imperialism. Many Mexicans answered his call to resist the French, and the war turned into a long, protracted stalemate. While the French gained territory, they were constantly harassed by Mexican militia.

The Franco-Mexican War quickly became somewhat involved in the American Civil War. The French were supportive of the Confederacy as, not only did they produce most of France's cotton, the French also wanted the Confederates to help against the Mexicans. Juarez, on the other hand, supported the Union due to their more liberal tendencies and the hope that they could help them against the French. Due to the intensity of the war along the Mississippi and in the Eastern United States, however, very little aid was given to either side initially by the CSA or the USA.

Many Mexican-Americans in the Union Camp saw the Franco-Mexican War and the American Civil War as intertwined, believing that as Mexicans, they had to help their homeland, but also believing that as Americans, they had to prove themselves by showing that they would fight and die for America. Mexican-Americans mostly fought in engagements in New Mexico and Arizona such as at the Battle of Valverde, which saw the Confederates occupy Southern Arizona and New Mexico, and the Battle of Glorieta Pass, which saw the Confederates being forced to retreat from the area entirely. Most of the Mexican-Americans who fought for the Union came from California and New Mexico. A small number also crossed the border to fight for Juarez.

Many Mexicans also fought for the Confederacy. Nearly all of the Mexicans who fought for the CSA were Tejanos, Mexican-Texans. These troops were mainly sent to fight in Virginia, where they fought at battles such as Cold Harbor and Petersburg, all though many did fight in the New Mexico campaign initially. It is difficult to estimate how many Mexican-Americans actually fought in the Civil War as they are included in the amount of Hispanic-Americans.

As the Civil War came to a close in late 1864, the U.S government began supplying more and more aid to the Mexicans under Juarez, with U.S general Philip Sheridan supplying 30,000 rifles to the Juarez government. William Seward repeatedly advised Napoleon to withdraw or face war in 1866. Napoleon III, wanting to avoid war with America and having more important matters to deal with in Europe such as the German Unification, began withdrawing troops in 1866, and all French troops had been withdrawn by 1867. Many Confederates also moved to Mexico following the end of the Civil War, founding a New Virginia Colony in the country with some 2,000 Confederate colonists. They had support by Maximilian, and many of them fought for Maximilian against Juarez. 3,000 American veterans of the Civil War also crossed the border to aid Juarez. Maximilian refused to return to Europe despite French inclinations for him to do so. Juarez and his Republican forces took control of Mexico City in 1867 and executed Maximilian. The Franco-Mexican War had finally ended, and Mexico was liberated from French rule.

The Civil War brought Mexico and America closer together diplomatically, solidifying amiable relations which had been suspended since the Mexican War. These amiable relations would last until 1914, when American troops would occupy Veracruz during the Mexican Revolution. Juarez's government was a close ally of Lincoln's government during the Civil War, even if they couldn't give anything more than moral support to the Union.

Finally, this section will talk about nations around the world who were involved in some way or another with the Civil War.



Top: Confederado men at a Southern Festival in Brazil
Bottom Left: Mongkut of Siam
Bottom Right: Henry Ho'olulu Pitman

Other nations of the world had also been involved in the Civil War, and not just in Latin America.

America had been involved in Siam since the signing of the Siamese-American Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1837 which established free trade between America and Siam. American missionaries were let into Siam freely, and American merchants were welcome in the country. In 1860, Mongkut, the King of Siam, offered a herd of Siamese elephants to James Buchanan to be used as beasts of burden in case of war. By the time the offer came to Washington, Lincoln was President and the war had began. Lincoln wrote back to Mongkut:

"Great and Good Friend: I have received Your Majesty's two letters of the date of February 14th., 1861. I appreciate most highly Your Majesty's tender of a stock from which a supply of elephants might be raised on our own soil. This Government would not hesitate to avail itself of so generous an offer if the object were one which could be made practically useful in the present condition of the United States. Our political jurisdiction, however, does not reach a latitude so low as to favour the multiplication of the elephant, and steam has been our best and most efficient agent of transportation in internal commerce."

Essentially, Lincoln thanked Mongkut for the offer, but stated that the elephants wouldn't fare well in the American climate. Siam provided moral support for the Union during the rest of the war. The Civil War also led to a much slower abolition of slavery in Siam as a result of first Mongkut's and then his successor, Chulalongkorn's, fear of a Civil War in Siam similar to the one in America if slavery was suddenly abolished.

The Empire of Brazil, led by Dom Pedro II, was one of the last countries in the New World to still allow slavery, and would keep it legal until 1888, making it the last country in the Americas to outlaw the practice. Dom Pedro II was personally against slavery, but the majority of the Brazilian population supported slavery, so Pedro decided on not aiding the Confederacy. They also had more important matters to deal with at home. In 1864, Brazil invaded Uruguay to overthrow the Paraguayan backed Blanco government. As a direct consequence, Paraguay invaded Brazil, triggering the Paraguayan War. This war brought Uruguay and then Argentina into the war when Paraguay also invaded that country in 1865. The Paraguayans initially enjoyed great success until being defeated decisively at the Siege of Uruguaiana where they were pushed back into Paraguay. The war continued until 1870, when the Paraguayan leader, Francisco Solano Lopez, was shot after trying to attack a Brazilian officer with his sword at the Battle of Cerro Corá. A truly devastating war, it resulted in Paraguay's pre-war population of 525,000 being reduced to 221,000, of which only 28,000 were adult males. The Paraguayan War really distracted Brazil from the American Civil War. After the war, some 20,000 Confederates fled the South to the state of São Paulo. Wishing to profit off the export of cotton, Pedro gave land grants and subsidies to the Confederate immigrants, or Confederados as they are known today. Many would return back to the South after the end of Reconstruction, but many stayed. Those who stayed typically intermarried with Brazilians, and nowadays most Confederados are of mixed white, black, and Native American descent.

The Bahamas were a part of the British Empire during the Civil War, but the war had large effects on the islands. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, became a haven for Confederate blockade runners (Small ships which would run through the Union blockade to get to a port to sell cotton for vital goods). As a result of the war, Nassau grew in importance while Grand Bahama Island, the previous center for government and economy in the Bahamas Colony, decreased in importance. The cotton trade with the blockade runners made the Bahamas rich, with imports being valued at $5 million and exports at $4 million in 1864. 397 Confederates ships made their way to Nassau throughout the war and 588 Bahaman ships made their way to Charleston, the major Confederate port on the Atlantic. Similar to Brazil, some Southerners left the South for the Bahamas following the end of hostilities. After the war, the Bahamas entered a state of decline due to the end in the revenue it got from the cotton trade with the South.

Hawaii was an independent kingdom during the Civil War, but was under heavy American influence by this time. American missionaries and businessmen were found throughout the kingdom. When war broke out, King Kamehameha IV declared neutrality. The effects of neutrality were felt the most by Captain Thomas Spencer, who personally enlisted and trained an infantry regiment of Native Hawaiians from Hawaii island. Dubbed Spencer's Invincibles, he offered their services to President Lincoln in 1861. To prevent involvement, however, Kamehameha refused their request and denied them allowance to fight. Spencer burst up in tears upon hearing that he couldn't send his regiment to fight. Most Hawaiians were pro-Union, however, due to business connections with New England and due to opposition to slavery, which had been outlawed in 1852. Around 119 people born in Hawaii (Native Hawaiians and white immigrants) served in the Civil War, almost entirely for the Union. A notable volunteer was Henry Ho'olulu Pitman, a half Hawaiian and half American of Royal heritage through his mother's side. He and his father moved to Massachusetts in 1855 following the deaths of first Pitman's biological mother and then his step mother. Pitman served in 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry where he fought at the Battle of Antietam. There, he was captured and sent to Libby Prison, where he would die of Lung Fever, a condition brought on by the horrific conditions of the prison, on February 27, 1863. He is the only known Hawaiian to die as a POW in the Civil War.

Morocco was an independent nation during the Civil War, and historically had very amiable relations with the United States. Morocco was technically the first country in the world to recognize the United States as a country, doing so in 1777. A Treaty of Friendship was also signed in 1787, and Moroccan ships aided American ones against Barbary pirates in America's infancy days. During the Civil War, Morocco displayed its full support for the Union by arresting and detaining two Confederate emissaries in Tangier after they made disparaging remarks about the American flag. Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes tried to talk to the Moroccan government about the terms of their release, but in response the Moroccan government simply stated they could not as the Confederacy was not a nation. The prisoners were eventually released after a war scare with France, who, along with Britain, wanted the prisoners released, but the incident re-affirmed America's alliance with Morocco. Morocco's stance was solidified with Sultan Muhammed IV of Morocco ordering his navy in 1863 that if:

"... the Confederate States of America are fighting the government with whom we are in friendship and good relations... if any vessel of the so-called Confederate states enters your port, it shall not be received, but you must order it away on pain of seizure; and you will act on this subject in cooperation with the United States...."

Moroccan support for the Union, especially during the prisoner crisis in Tangier, was a definite diplomatic blow to the Confederacy, as it showed that the first country to recognize the United States would also be the last to recognize the country trying to leave it.