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of the war the total was little short of 700, carrying nearly 5,000 guns and more than 50,000 sailors. The vigilant union sailors captured during the war 1,500 prizes with an aggregate value of $30,000,000. It is estimated that at the close of the war the south had $300,000,000 worth of cotton stored in warehouses waiting for shipment.

506. Foreign Relations.-England and France depended upon the south for the raw cotton to supply their numerous factories. The southerners reasoned that these countries would come to their assistance as a matter of self-protection, and that foreign intervention would prove a strong factor in forcing the north to concede the independence of the southern confederacy. England had, however, long since placed herself squarely against the further spread of slavery, and her people, of all nations, would have been the last in the world to encourage the upbuilding of a government whose "cornerstone" was slavery.

Nevertheless, much sympathy for the south was manifested among certain classes in England. The English government itself was not altogether friendly to the United States, though the moral sentiment of the vast majority of the English people was against interference. While the English, the French, the Austrian, and other European governments recognized the south as a belligerent power, they could not be induced to recognize the independence of the confederacy. The English authorities, however, permitted confederate privateers, among them the famous cruiser, Alabama-to be built and fitted out in English dock-yards to prey upon the commerce of the United States.

507. The Trent Affair.-James M. Mason of Virginia had been appointed commissioner from the southern confederacy to the court of England, and John Slidell of Louisiana to the court of France. On November 8, Captain Charles Wilkes of the San Jacinto intercepted the Trent, the British mail steamer on which they were going to England, and forcibly took from her as prisoners Mason and Slidell and

their secretaries. England at once demanded the release of the envoys, and an apology for such a breach of international law. The international rights for which England contended were such as the United States herself had previously insisted upon, therefore the president promptly disavowed the act, and the prisoners were given over to the British minister.

508. Situation at the Close of the Year.-At the close of the year 1861, both the confederate and union armies were well organized. The north had 640,000 men in the field, while the confederates had 210,000, and had issued a call for 400,000 volunteers. Through Lincoln's policy, the slave states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri had been held in the union, and West Virginia had been severed from the Old Dominion. The United States government had established a blockade of the southern ports.

Although defeated in West Virginia, the arms of the south had been successful in the first great battle of the war-Bull Run. The confederate government securely held eastern Virginia, with its capital at Richmond, and had erected formidable defences on the Mississippi River from Columbus, Kentucky, to Forts Jackson and St. Philip, below New Orleans. It had also established a line of defence from Columbus, Kentucky, eastward to the Cumberland Mountains. Along this line had been erected strong fortifications at Columbus, Fort Henry, Donelson, Bowling Green, Mill Springs, and Cumberland Gap.

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THE YEAR 1862

509. Plan of Operations for 1862.-At the beginning of the year 1862, the government at Washington resolved for a vigorous prosecution of the war. It was planned (1) to make the blockade of the southern ports more effective; (2) to capture the confederate fortresses along the Mississippi River, open that river to navigation, and cut the confederacy in twain; (3) to break the confederate line of defences from Cumberland Gap to the Mississippi, and to push a union army southward through Kentucky and Tennessee to some point on the coast; (4) to capture Richmond and overthrow the confederate government.

IN THE WEST

MISSOURI HELD AND ARKANSAS RECLAIMED

510. Battle of Pea Ridge-March 7-8.-Early in 1862, General Earl Van Dorn was sent to take command of a confederate force operating in the corners of the three states, Missouri, Kansas, and Arkansas. General Samuel Curtis, with a union force, crossed into Arkansas, and fortified a strong position on Pea Ridge in the Ozark Mountains, where he was attacked by General Van Dorn, whose forces were beaten and put to rout. This, however, did not end the struggle in these two states-a fierce warfare was kept up for some time, which ended in Missouri being fairly established in loyalty to the union, and in Arkansas being so far reclaimed that President Lincoln asked (1863) that its representatives and senators be readmitted to congress.

DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WITH GRANT

511. The Union Victories at Fort Henry-Feb. 6, and Fort Donelson-Feb. 16.-The task of beginning operations in the west fell upon General Ulysses S. Grant, in command of a division of the western army in the district of Cairo. He was to coöperate with a gun-boat fleet under Commodore Andrew H. Foote, which was to ascend the

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