w minutes the
Alabama went down, her bow rising high in the air. Boats from the
Kearsarge rescued some of the crew. The English yacht picked up others,
Semmes among them, thus running off with Winslow's prisoners. The
Kearsarge had received little damage.

[Illustration]
The Sinking of the Alabama.

The sinking of the Alabama ended the career of the Confederate cruisers.
American commerce had been nearly driven from the ocean, and, moreover,
the days of peace on land and sea alike were near at hand.

CHAPTER X.

FOREIGN RELATIONS--FINANCES--EMANCIPATION

[1861]

A civil war of vast proportions in the world's greatest republic
naturally aroused deep interest among the monarchies of Europe. Russia
evinced warm friendliness to the United States. The rest of the world,
save England and France, showed us no ill-will.

England, with unfriendly haste, admitted the belligerent rights of the
Confederacy before Mr. Adams, our minister, could reach the British
court. The North was surprised and shocked that liberty-loving,
conservative England should so far side with "rebellious slave-holders."
It would seem that, besides sympathy with the aristocratic structure of
southern society, national envy helped to put England into this false
position. Commercial interests had greater weight. Four millions of
people in England depended upon cotton manufactures for support.
Three-fourths of the cotton they had used came from our southern ports,
which the blockade closed. Moreover, the Confederacy declared for free
trade, while the North adopted a high war tariff which drove many
English goods out of American markets. The London Times complained that
nearly $4,000,000 worth of English cutlery alone had been made worthless
by our tariff.

An incident early in the war heightened the ill-will between the two
countries. On a dark night in October, 1861, Messrs. Mason and Slidell,
Confederate commissioners to England and France, ran the blockade at
Charleston, and soon after took passage at Havana on the English mail
steamer Trent. November 8th, 250 miles out from Havana, the United
States sloop of war San Jacinto, Captain Wilkes, compelled the Trent, by
a shot across her bows, to heave to, and took off the commissioners.

All England was hot with resentment. Troops were shipped to Canada, and
other war preparations begun. A special messenger was hurried to
Washington, demanding an apology and the release of the prisoners.
Wi