In Parliament, the British foreign secretary declares the Confederacy at war with the Union

Answering a question in Parliament, the British foreign secretary, Lord John Russell stated that the British government had decedied Southern Confederacy "must be treated as a belligerent" and that the United Kingdom will therefore honor the Union blockade on Southern ports.  A week later, a royal proclamation re-asserted that fact, declared Britain's neutrality, and barred all British subjects from involving themselves in any way in the conflict.  (By John Osborne)