THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 51 reinforce it from a putative U.S. invasion force many times larger. Though Britannia ruled the waves, the U.S. Navy was itself a rapidly growing rival. Furthermore, though there were hotbeds of pro-Southern sentiment in England, many Britons were appalled at the idea of a de facto alliance with a Confederacy fighting to maintain slavery. The Diplomats Get to Work As events unfolded, Britain and the United States were both exceptionally well served by their respective diplomats. In Washington, D.C., Lord Richard Lyons had established a solid working relationship with the government. Charles Francis Adams Sr., the scion of the Massachusetts Adams family (he was the son of President John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams), had likewise cultivated a web of prominent contacts and built mechanisms to gather information and influence British policy. Adams effectively communicated the depth of British outrage over the seizure, leaving Washington in no doubt over the gravity of the crisis. The first break in what seemed an inevitable path to a lose-lose war came when Queen Victoria’s consort, Prince Albert, urged a slight softening of what was still a harsh letter from the British foreign minister to Washington, D.C., demanding an apology and the envoys’ release. Albert’s modified text allowed the possibility that Washington was unaware of Wilkes’ plan and that it did not reflect U.S. policy. After presenting this communication to Lincoln’s shrewd and effective Secretary of State, William Seward, Lyons adroitly Charles Francis Adams, son of John Quincy Adams and grandson of John Adams, served as ambassador to Great Britain during the Civil War. WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
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