No House Divided... Another Alternate Civil War TL

A communique delivered by Lord Lyons, Ambassador to the United States, to Secretary of State William Seward, January 2, 1862:
It is the position of Her Majesty's government that the sinking of Her Majesty's ship Trent, and the shameful massacre of her passengers and crew, man, woman, and child, as they were wanting in vain of rescue, at the hands of the San Jacintho, is nothing other than a vile and wanton act of Piracy so savage and so repugnant to the rule of law or common decency that it can be abided by no civilized nation.

The Cabinet finds the present blockade of the Confederate States of America to be in violation of the laws of the sea, commerce, and of war, and it ought to and shall either be ended immediately or broken by force.

The Cabinet finds that it is in the interest of HM's government to recognize as a free and independent state the Confederate States of America. Further interference with the diplomatic relations between the parties of the Confederate States, HM's government, and France, shall be considered as an act of War.

London December 13, 1861
 
The Trent crisis brought with it a panic in the State Department and the Lincoln administration. The British ultimatum gave little room and even less time for negotiation to prevent another war that they had not foreseen. Lincoln inquired about the disposition of forces available to invade Canada, and the prospects for maintaining the blockade in the face of a British attempt to break it with their Caribbean fleet, and was told that what forces were available were too disorganized to mount an effective response. Lord Lyons was called into the Oval Office and informed the President that the terms were final and it was unlikely that he could change the minds of the Cabinet in London, although he personally was inclined towards a peaceful resolution.

Seward suggested that Lincoln formally apologize and offer compensation to the victims of the Trent, along with a guarantee of safe passage for Confederate diplomats and an offer that British observers be allowed on US Navy vessels observing the blockade. Lyons promised to relay the offer to London.

Sewards's offer had not yet reached London when Commodore Dunlop's Mexican squadron, having been informed of the intention to break the blockade simultaneously with Washington, attacked the Union ships blockading Galveston. The heavy British steamers made short work of the Union frigates entrusted with blockading the city, which were mostly sunk, fled, or scuttled in the harbor.

Unlike the correspondence related to the Trent affair, which had to be delivered across the Atlantic by steamer (the transatlantic telegraph cable laid in 1858 having failed in 1860), news of the Galveston incident quickly reached Washington and New York by cable and courier. The press was outraged; patriotic invective condemned the British "treachery" in the strongest of terms and demanded war. Even the Democratic press stuck to the anti-British line while offering mild criticisms of Lincoln's handling of the crisis.

Nevertheless, Lincoln realized that his Presidency hung in the balance, and what was already a losing war against the South might swiftly become one against Britain as well. Lincoln called Lyons into his office for a second time, and suggested that the blockade be temporarily suspended and that the UK and France might act as mediators in a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
To stop the Trent on the open seas was a very dumb thing to do on the part of Captain Wilkes. To actually sink the ship is an absolutely criminal piece of stupidity.

In any event, with Britain recognizing the Confederacy and open war now breaking out between Britain and the United States, the independence of the Confederacy is assured.
 
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