During The American Civil War, Which 2 European Countries Were Ready To Get Involved? ( Archived) (17)

My I suggest, a) next time set it up so two selections are allowed. The system recorded me as my vote complete when I had only made one selection (which was correct). b) Next time show a little patience and wait for more responses before giving the answer. Give it at least a week as not all users are on-line during the 24 hour middle of the work week period you selected.

Actually England had early on begun sending aid and allowing shipments of munitions amd warships (such as the Alabama) to the South. Hence the blockade of Southern ports which of course led to the Trent Affair (the seizing of an English ship and the reading of all mail to England found therein) and the aftermath's. The South had gambled on the importance of Cotton to Europe, but England was not stupid or strong enough to try to break the American blockade. William Seward (our Secretary of State back then) was rather blunt in his comments to British Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell. So too was Lincoln when he met with British Minister to the United States, Baron Richard Lyons. Something about American warships coming up the Thames and shelling the Tower of London I believe. In response England accepted the Union blockade and briefly professed neutrality before finally abandoning any support to the South. Also there were events occurring in Poland and Denmark which possessed their own distraction value to Europe. This acceptance of the Union Blockade by Europe also established a blockade as a legitimate weapon of War thereafter. Noting also that Spain and Brazil had also both granted recognition of the Confederacy and granted it a belligerent status. France for her part had mostly been swapping cotton for French wine (or payment promises) soon realized that because the blockade was now in effect both the wine industry and the cotton industry were now suffering because French ships approaching America tended to lose their cargoes. In as much as the South failed to win any major battles or seize any Northern territory Europe soon just walked away. Napoleon III was also being distracted by the events going on in Mexico and his efforts to install Maxamillian. Part of the retaliation against France was the US taking the side of Juarez's forces, which ended European footholds in Mexico.

Your right Jean 30.000 Canadians fought in the American civil war!

I have loved this particular aspect of the US civil war since I first read about John S. Mosby's Rangers and of some of the 'wild geese' foreign soldiers that had served in that unit and of the Confederate Major General John Magruder, aka 'Prince John' and of foreign volunteers in his defence of of both Virginia and Texas in the waning days before the collapse and surrender of the Confederacy. General Jo' Shelby and his unit also attracted several from other armies; foreign cavalry regiments since I was at least 12. I have studied this aspect since.
As far as most historic accounts go, the South; Confederacy, had attracted a lot of attention of European soldiers, unlike the North which had only attracted mainly Irish, in fleeing the English and harsh living in Ireland, large numbers of Jewish criminals on the run from German authorities during the 1848 Marxist/commune insurrections/ revolutions in France and Germany. By the time of the US civil war, many had either risen to , or had been appointed to General; Major General rank. They were the very first Marxist 'Communists' to gain entry into the US army.
The aid and comfort to the Confederacy by both France and England during the actual fighting has never been fully documented until recently, with the 2010 publication of the 959 page book entitled "A World On Fire" by historian Amanda Forman, by Random House. It simply is "A Must read" for any and all who really are interested in the entire involvement of England and France along with other countries on behalf of the Confederacy. It goes well beyond the usual economic reasons of the Southern Cotton issues. There were cultural and social as well as religious considerations that mattered to all. Many will be surprised by the realities of those times that have been left out of previous books dealing with 'foreign intervention'.
France went to far as to have on 'stand-by' a regiment of cavalry ready to be the first to enter the war, made up of lancers, Dragoons, Hussars and heavy armoured Cuirass cavalry.
They even had 'observers' with the Confederate army at the battle of Gettysburg; several had to be restrained from charging into the Yankee Army to support Pickett's charge and Stuart had failed to show up. So far only one 'documentary' action film has included a portion of this. Hopefully more will.

Continued...

I am totally fascinated by this subject of foreign soldiers fighting in the civil war. The only other action, on an 'official' basis was when Northern troops crossed into Mexico after Confederate calry units before and after the war, then still run by the French Emperor of Mexico, Maximilian and French Dragoons and Lancers chased them out. Aka, 'minor skirmishes' as portrayed in the film Major Dundee, with Charleston Heston. A good and reliable bit of ,otherwise, unmentioned history. Not to mention the many Confederate regiments and 'raiders' such as General Joe Shelby and his men left the US for Mexico rather than surrender of disband, as did Mosby's (the famous 'Grey Ghost') raiders.
At war's end, over one million left the defeated South, emigrating to not only England and France, but to Brazil and Argentina; thousands of soldiers sought a haven in the Caliph's army of Egypt; same with soldiers from the Union army who didn't want to return to a life of poverty and hard labour in the industrial ghettos of the northern states. After years of researching this phase, I did finally succeed in finding actual photos of Confederate and Union soldiers serving in Egypt with both their own and British officers. Many stayed for years, later retiring to European countries. Many ironies played out with many individual soldiers that came from other countries to volunteer for the Confederacy and many still came long after the war was over; many from Eastern Europe, such as Poland and Russia, Rumania, Hungary, etc., all countries with absolutely glorious cavalry traditions and history. Some, as the ex Polish Hussar who joined the US 7th Cavalry under Gen. Custer, He became his bugler despite his inability to speak or understand English...That now explains the total confusion of troop dispersals at what became Custer's Last Stand...Despite the tragic consequences, it is both ironic and funny...