20 November 1861

"England is patting both sides on the back. She loves to see a Kilkenny cat fight. After all, she is not denying for the want of our cotton. She is prospering and pampering her Indian cotton and will magnanimously accept any apology for the Mason and Slidell affair that smart Yankee [Secretary of State William Henry] Seward will tender her."

19 November 1861, The Trent Affair

"Oh, for a growl from the British Lion. Look out for hoarse thunder. I have heard a British goddamn swear on St Catherine docks. I know how thoroughly they can do it.
Slidell and Mason seized under the Meteor Flag of England—and brought back to Fortress Monroe prisoners!*

John Slidell (left) and James Murray Mason, Confederate diplomats,
taken captive by the U.S. Navy while en route to Britain and France

Something good obliged to come out of such a stupid blunder. Yankees must bow their knee to the British—or fight them."

*Taken from the British ship Trent by the U.S.S. San Jacinto near Cuba on 8 November 1861, James Mason and John Slidell arrived at Fort Monroe, Virginia, on 15 November. Many, North and South, believed the incident would bring British recognition of the Confederacy and perhaps war between England and the Union.