When Confederate commissioners Slidell and Mason arrived in Havana, the USS San Jacinto, commanded by Captain Charles Wilkes, put into the Cuban town of Cienfuegos while searching for the Confederate cruiser Sumter.
When he learned of the Theodora's arrival, he hurried around Cuba to capture the ship, but arrived a day after the ship left. But, Slidell and Mason were still there and awaiting transportation to England on the Trent.
His wait paid off and he stopped the Trent and seized the two on November 8th, setting off quite an international incident.
Not Nice of Wilkes. --Old B-R'er
No comments:
Post a Comment