The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-26
RUssIA,s PART IN OUR CIVIL WAR


The question as 20 the part Russia
played in our Civil War seems 70 be
in a fair way to be satisfactorily
settled. 1t came to the front when
Russia began complaining that in her
war with Japan the sympathy of the
American people seemed 10 be with
the japanese, when 1t ought to be
with her, since she lent the United
States a helping hand in the Civil War.
1t will be recalled that Mr.. Henry
Clews, the well-known New York
banker. was quoted as saying that the
claim that Russia sent a feet of
warships TO New York, at the time
il was rumored that England and
France had decided to recog-
nize the Confederacy, and had
thus prevented such action on
their part. was without foun-
dalton. He claimed to have received
a statement from Mr.. Seward, who was
Secretary Of State in President Lin
coins cabinet. that there was no foun-
dation for the story. and also from the
Grand Duke Alexis, who visited this
country with a fleet in 1870.
About the same time Mr.. Frederick
Seward, a son of Secretary Seward,
published in an interview a statement
in which he said that the story that
Russia had sent a fleet to New York
during our Civil War for the purpose
of heading of the scheme of England
and France TO recognize the Confed-
eracy was true.
When two such authorities disagreed
there was naturally considerable doubt
in the public mind about the matter
Happily, however, a more direct au-
thority than either of the foregoing
gentlemen has an article in the cur
rent number of The Independent, in
which he deals with the incident in
question in a way that can leave no
doubt as TO what the part was which
Russia played in our Civil War. The
authority in question is Mr. Wharton
Barker of Philadelphia, who was the
presidential candidate of the anti-fu-
sion Populists in 1900.
Mr.. Barker was the banker of the
Russian empire in this country for a
tween 1875 and 1885. and he had occa-
sion to make visits to st. Petersburg.
In his article he says that on Sunday
morning, Aug. II, 1879, he breakfast
ed with the Grand Duke Constantine
ait his Pavloyslzi Palace, and that
af he 1rf1 81 ha
about to take his departure he was
asked to remain awhile longer as the
Car desired to have a talk with him.
Mr.. Barker then describes the very
democratic fashion in which the Car
came to the palace and relates the sub
stance of the talk between them. In
the course of their conversation, which
touched upon many subjects, the Gear,
Alexander II, said:
I'm the autumn OF 1862 the
governments OF France and Great
Britain proposed to Russia, in
a formal. but not in an official way,
the joint recognition by European Pow
ers of the independence of the Con-
federate States of America. My i'm
mediate answer was: I will not CO.
operate in such action; and / will not
acquiesce. On the contrary, / shall
accept the recognition of the independ-
ence of the Confederate States by
France and Great Britain as a casus
belli for Russia. And, in order that
the governments of France and Great
Britain may understand that this is
no idle threat, / will send a Pacific
feet to San Francisco and an Atlantic
fleet to New York Sealed orders to
both admirals were given. My fleets
arrived at the American ports; there
was no recognition of the independence
of the Confederate States by Great
Britain and France.
"All this 1 did because of love for
my own dear Russia, rather than for
love of the American republic. I act
ed thus because l understood that Rus
STA would have more serious task
to perform if the American republic,
with advanced industrial development,
were broken up and Great Britain
should be left in control of most
branches of modern industrial deyel-
opment."
There can no longer be any doubt
that Russia sent a fleet to this country
for the purpose of notifying the world
that her sympathies were on the side
of the Union, and ii is not improb-
able that that act was not without its
influence in preventing England and
France from lending a helping hand to
the Confederacy. 1t is an interesting
bit of inside history which Mr.. Bar
ker has given TO the public. Without
1t there might have been some doubt,
owing to the statement made by Bank
err Clews, as TO whether the Gear sent
a fleet to aid the Union cause in the
Civil War.