A Fast Small Ship

The Confederate blockade runner the Theodora slipped out of Charleston, South Carolina October 12^th 1861 with John Slidell and James M Mason on board.

The Theodora started life as the Carolina when she was built in 1852 in Greenpoint, New York, and was sent to Charleston, South Carolina for use as a coastal packet.  When the Civil War started she was refitted, renamed the Gordon and commissioned as a privateer under the command of Captain T J Lockwood on July 15^th 1861.  She had a light draft and so had no trouble slipping over the bar in the harbor, was able to stay just out of reach of the guns on the Union ships, and was fast.

John Slidell with two female members of his family went out on the ship on October 5^th 1861, and they approached the Union fleet during daylight and were ignored.  This gave Confederate Secretary of State Robert M T Hunter the idea to use her to run the blockade, carrying Confederate diplomats James M Mason and John Slidell to the West Indies.  She received her name Theodora, and with the diplomats on board slipped over the bar in Charleston Harbor on October 12^th 1861 at about one in the morning.  She hugged the coast escaping the Union blockade and on October 14^th 1861 the Theodora made the mouth of the harbor at Nassau, Bahamas being chased by the USS H W Johnson.  Two days later the Theodora with Mason and Slidell on board, with the Confederate flag flying reached Cuba.  The start of the “Trent Affair”.

The Theodora was captured May 28^th 1862 with a crew of 24 and a load of Enfield rifles, clothing and ammunition.  She was sent to the New York prize court.

There Could Have Benn A British Invasion

The Trent Affair occurred when a British mail packet was intercepted by the USS San Jacinto and two Confederate diplomats were removed from the ship on November 8^th 1861 and held as contraband of war.

Union Captain Charles Wilkes the commander of the USS San Jacinto intercepted a British mail packet, the RMS Trent on November 8^th 1861.  The British ship was boarder and two Confederate diplomats; James Murray Mason and John Slidell, were found on board and removed under Union custody.  The two men were on their way to England and France to try to get diplomatic recognition for the Confederacy and were traveling under the protection of the British flag.

The initial public reaction within the Union was to come together against Britain, but President Abraham Lincoln knew better then to risk a war on that front.  The Confederate states thought this might be the thing that would hurt Federal and British relations and bring them recognition.  In Britain there was outrage that their neutrality had been violated and they demanded an apology as well as the release of Mason and Slidell.  There was even a movement of English troops to Canada for a possible invasion of Maine.

There were several weeks of tension which was resolved when Union Secretary of State William Seward made a disavowal of Captain Wilkes’ action saying he had erred in not bringing the RMS Trent in for adjudication violating the policy of freedom of the seas.  There was no formal apology, but Mason and Slidell were released and allowed to continue on their diplomatic mission to Britain.

The Offical Seal

The date February 22^nd 1862 is found on the Great Seal of the Confederate States of America.

The Great Seal of the Confederate States of America was the official stamp of the Confederate government.  It had eleven stars to represent the eleven states that voted to secede from the Union.  In the center is the figure of George Washington as he is found on the statue of him in Richmond, Virginia.  There is a wreath made up of corn, cotton, rice, sugar cane, tobacco, and wheat.  The seal included the words “The Confederate States of America”, the motto “Deo Vindice” [ “With God as Champion”] and the date 22 February 1862.  The date on the seal stands for Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ inauguration as well as George Washington’s birth date.

The design was finished on April 30^th 1863 and the dies were ordered from British engraver Joseph S Wyon.  The dies were crafted out of silver. They were given to James Mason a Confederate agent in England.  Mason gave them to Confederate Naval Lieutenant R T Chapman, and after running the naval blockade eventually they made it to Richmond, Virginia.  When the Confederate government fell in Richmond, Virginia in April 1865 the wife of William J Bromwell smuggled the seal out of the city.

A good place to look for more information is The Great Seal of the Confederacy