Other controversies with England arose during the progress of the war—­over the fitting out of Confederate cruisers at English ports to prey upon the commerce of the United States, over captured mails, etc.—­in which all of Lincoln’s sagacity and patience were needed to avert an open rupture with the British government.  That the strain was severe and the danger great is made clear by an entry in Mr. Welles’s Diary, in which he says:  “We are in no condition for a foreign war.  Torn by dissensions, an exhausting civil war on our hands, we have a gloomy prospect, but a righteous cause that will ultimately succeed.  God alone knows through what trials, darkness, and suffering we are to pass.”  Again, in dealing with the French invasion of Mexico, Lincoln—­as Mr. John Bigelow (then minister to France) puts it—­“wisely limited himself to a firm repetition of the views and principles held by the United States in relation to foreign invasion,” and thereby gained a diplomatic victory.  How well “the old grudge against England” stood is shown by the substantial damages obtained from her, some years after the war, on the claims against the Alabama and other privateers, the foundations of which had been wisely laid by President Lincoln.

In the autumn of 1861 was originated the plan of a new naval vessel, which became the “Monitor”—­the forerunner of the modern iron-clad, and the formidable little craft that beat back the “Merrimac” ram at Hampton Roads, March 9, 1862, saved the Federal Navy, and revolutionized naval architecture.  The interesting story of the project, and of Lincoln’s relation to it, is thus told:  “The invention belongs to Captain John Ericsson, a man of marvelous ability and most fertile brain; but the creation of the ‘Monitor’ belongs to two distinguished iron-masters of the State of New York, viz.:  the Hon. John F. Winslow and his partner in business, the Hon. John A. Griswold.  These two gentlemen were in Washington in the autumn of 1861, for the adjustment of some claims against the Government for iron plating furnished by them for the war-ship ‘Galena.’  There, through Mr. C.S.  Bushnell, the agent of Captain Ericsson, they learned that the plans and specifications for a naval machine, or a floating iron battery, presented by Captain Ericsson, found no favor with the special board appointed by Congress in 1861 to examine and report upon the subject of iron-clad ships of war.  Ericsson and his agent, Mr. Bushnell, were thoroughly disheartened and demoralized at this failure to interest the Government in their plans.  The papers were placed in the hands of Messrs. Winslow and Griswold, with the earnest request that they would examine them, and, if they thought well of them, use their influence with the Government for their favorable consideration.  Mr. Winslow carefully read the papers and became satisfied that Ericsson’s plan was both feasible and desirable.  After conference with his friend and partner, Mr. Griswold,