Chapter 11 The Battle of the Rams (1863) Summary

Charles Francis Adams never worries much and is friendly with Russell. He never knows of the betrayal, and even if he would have known, it would not have affected his diplomatic relations - he has to assume that all his foreign contacts had certain motivations and intentions and trust/distrust them just enough to do his job, and, at any rate, there is a second conflict to test the English intent.

An English shipbuilding firm, Lairds, is constructing ironclad rams, which would be used by the Confederates to break the Union blockade. As the rams are obviously intended for the Confederates, and since no British firm can build ships for the Confederate war effort without government collusion, at least to the extent of ignoring the construction, the English are coming close to violating...