The National tribune., 1907-07-25
yEe Treat Affair.

Virginia, -foiiaterly Minister to France,
and John Sli5ilL of Louisiana, who had
| been accredited as special Confederate
ENJOYS. slipped out of Charleston harbor
! in the night on the steamer Theodore,
reachingsHaA4na in time to take the
! British mail steamer Trent. They were
accompanied by their secretaries, and
| 3ir. Slidell by his family. Capt. Charles
/ Wilkes, tTe antarctic explorer, who was
cruising Sn the San Jacinto after the
Sumter. heara'iat Havana of the presence
! of the Efvoys, and leaving the harbor
lay in wait fey the Trent in the Bahama
IChannel, I249s smiles from Havana. He
sighted the Trent Nov. 8, at 11:40 a. m,
and ordered her to heave to, and when
she declined fired a she'll across her
| bow which stopped the ship. y boats
crew was sent on board the Trent un-
der Lieut.. ID. Men. Fairfax, a nephew
| of Mason. who found the ENJOYS. These
| latter declined TO leave the ship except
| by force. when. calling up his marines,
and with the assistance of another
young Lieutenant. the ENJOYS and their
Secretaries We're placed in a boat and
sent TO the San Jacinto.
There was a great deal of loud talk
| in the operation. but Lieut.. Fairfax be-
/ haved himself with the greatest dignity
and courtesy. altho Miss Slidell is rep
resented as having struck him three
/ times in the face with her fist. No
search was made for papers or other
effects. and after a detention of about
| two hours the Trent was allowed to
proceed on her way. Upon reaching
the United States the Envoys were sent
| to Fort Warren, and Capt. Wilkes's act
| received the most unstinted praise from
| all sorts and conditions of people. Great
Britain had been acting very ugly from
the first and there was not a little sat
fsfacton at the bold and summary
| methods adopted by Capt. Wilkes. He
was absolutely justified in what he did
| by the doctrines and practices of Great
Britain in searching American vessels.
which had led to the War of 1872. We,
| of course, at that time took the oppo-
| site view, but it was now held that the
| English, having gone to war in support
of just such acts as Capt Wilkes's, were
| in this instance now eStopped from
complaining of them. Secretary Welles,
! in his annual report approved Capt
| Wilkes's action, saying:
THE prompt and decisive action of
| Capt Wilkes on this occasion merted
and received the emphatic approval of
the Department.; and if a too generous
| forbearancc was exhibited by him in not
capturing the vessel which had these
rebel enemies on board, it may in view
of the special circumstances, and of its
patriotic motives, be excused: but 1t
must by no means be permitted to con-
stitute a precedent hereafter for the
treatment of any case of similar infrac-
ton of neutral obligations by foreign
vessels engaged in commerce or the
carrying trade"
President Lincoln had kept his head
amid the enthusiastic plaudits of Capt
Wilkes. He said at once to his intimate
friends:
Il fear the traitors will prove to be
white elephants. We must stick to
American principles concerning the
rights of neutrals. We fought Great
Britain for insisting by theory and prac-
tice on the right to do precisely what
Capt. Wilkes has done. If Great Brit
ain shall nOw0 protest against the act.
and demand their release. we must give
them up. apologize for the act as a vio-
lation of eur doctrines, and thus for
ever bind her oyer to keep the peace in
relation t6bneVtralS. and so acknowi-
edge thatIfshe has been wrong for GO
years. p. Isl
The Trent BY carrying the Envoys in
their well-known character had clearly
disObeyed the Queens proclamation of
neutralityadssued with such haste May
13, 1861, iandi which was intended to
benefit the Confederates. Excitement
over The anairsran high in Great Britain
when all the papers and speakers inim-
ical to the unity of the United States
demanded the, humiliating backdown by
the Cn.tedn States or war. a peremp-
tory demand was made on the United
States for the Immediate surrender of
the Envoysa In after years it was
claimed that Queen Victoria had great
Ily softened the language of this demand.
For a few exceedingly anxious days it
looked almost certain that we should
have war. but our Government acceded
to the British demand. Secretary Sew
ard, in a very able dispatch. based our
compliance more Immediately upon the
failure of Capt. Wilkes to bring the
Trent into port for adjudication on the
legality of his act, whereby her voyage
had been temporarily arrested and sew
eral of her passengers forcibly removed
from her decks.
The Victory at DranesviIie.
One little star of brightness and hope
Suddenly twinkled thru the gloomy
clouds resting over the Union in the
closing weeks of 1861 After Balls
Bluff the ConfcGerates harried the rich
Loudoun country for recruits and sup
plies. They knew that they would in
time be compelled to abandon it TO the
Unionists, and they wanted to leave
nothing of value there for their enc
mics.
After his reconnaissance thru Dranes-
vile before the Balls Bluff affair Gen.
Mccall had retired to the Suspension
Bridge. Gen. j. l.. b. Stuart went up
into the LoudoUn country on q great
foraginS expedition with four regiments
of infantry, $50 cavalry. and Il fourgun
battery. His troops were the 11th Va,
9th $. c., 10th Ala. and 1st KY, with
South Carolina battery and two COM
panies Of Virginia and North Carolina
cavalry. He says that his aggregate
was 1900 men. He conveyed all the
wagons of the army that could be
spared for the duty, and took up Il
strong position at Dranesville to cover
the movement OF his wagons. Gen. Nc
Call, learning OF his presence, decided
to do something to disturb his opera
tons, and sent forward Gen. r.. o. c.
| Ord, who commanded brigade of
Pennsylvania Reserves. to beat up the
| enemy and stop the fOragiGg. Gen.
Ord's command consisted of the 9Th,
9TH. 10th, and 18th Pa Reserves, with
a detachment of the 1st Pa. Reserves
under Lieut.-Col. Thomas l.. Kane. APP
parcntly the size of the two commands,
which We're soon to come into collision,
were about equal, with the preponder-
| ance. if any. on the side of the Union
| forces. The advancing Federal skir
mishers drove off the few Confederates
they found in front Of them about .
| O'Clock. Dec. 20, and thea the advanc-
| ing Union forces were SHARPLY attacked
| by regiment which Stuart hurled
against them and driven back in some
| disorder. Gen. Ord brot IIaston's Penn
sylvania Battery up to within 500 yards
of the Confederate battery, which ii
soon destroyed The various regiments
| of the brigade came into action one af-