Iron lion or paper tiger? The myth of British naval intervention in the American Civil War
Journal: Wolverhampton Intellectual Repository and E-Theses (University of Wolverhampton)
Year: 2015

When it comes to the thought-provoking subject of foreign intervention in the Civil War, especially by Great Britain, much of the history has been more propaganda than proper research; fiction over fact. In 1961, Kenneth Bourne offered up a fascinating article on “British Preparations for War with the North, 1861–1862” for the English Historical Review. While focusing largely on the military defense of Canada during the Trent Affair, Bourne also stressed that Britain’s “position at sea was by no