Lord Russell, British Foreign Secretary, authorized Lord Lyons, the British ambassador to Washington, to demand the release of the Confederate commissioners taken by force from the British mailship Trent off Cuba three weeks before.  Lyons was also to press for an apology.  For a month following the seizure Britain and the United States seemed to be approaching war but cooler heads prevailed and the Confederate diplomats were released from Fort Warren in Boston Harbor to a British warship on January 1, 1861.  (By John Osborne) 

John Slidell, appointed as Confederate commissioner to France, and James Murray Mason, appointed as commissioner to Great Britain, had sailed from Charleston on October 16, 1861.  Slipping through the Union blockade, the party had reached Havana in Cuba and taken ship the day before aboard the British mail packet Trent.  The U.S.S. San Jacinto, under Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the Trent and forcibly took off the commissioners and their secretaries, sparking a dangerous international incident.  (By John Osborne) 

John Slidell, appointed as Confederate commissioner to France, and James Murray Mason, appointed as commissioner to Great Britain, accompanied by their private secretaries and their families, had sailed from Charleston on October 16, 1861.  Slipping through the Union blockade around the harbor aboard the small steamer Theodore, the party reached Havana in Cuba.  There they boarded the British mail packet Trent on the next step in their journey. They would not reach their destination for some time, however.  (By John Osborne) 

John Slidell, appointed as Confederate commissioner to France, and James Murray Mason, appointed as commissioner to Great Britain, accompanied by their private secretaries, and their families, sailed from Charleston.  Slipping through the Union blockade around the harbor aboard the small steamer Theodore, the party landed at Nassua in the Bahamas and went on to Havana in Cuba.  There they boarded the British mail packet Trent on the next step in their journey. They would not reach their destination for some time, however.  (By John Osborne) 

The first session of the First Confederate Congress elected in the national ballot of November 6, 1861 met in Richmond between February 18, 1862 and April 21, 1862.  The second session met between August 18, 1862 and October 13, 1862.  The third session sat between January 12, 1863 and May 1, 1863.  The fourth and final session was held between November 18, 1863 and February 21, 1864.  Elections for the Second Congress were held between June and November 1863.  (By John Osborne)  

The first session of the First Confederate Congress elected in the national ballot of November 6, 1861 met in Richmond between February 18, 1862 and April 21, 1862.  The second session met between August 18, 1862 and October 13, 1862.  The third session sat between January 12, 1863 and May 1, 1863.  The fourth and final session was held between November 18, 1863 and February 21, 1864.  Elections for the Second Congress were held between June and November 1863.  (By John Osborne)  

The first session of the First Confederate Congress elected in the national ballot of November 6, 1861 met in Richmond between February 18, 1862 and April 21, 1862.  The second session met between August 18, 1862 and October 13, 1862.  The third session sat between January 12, 1863 and May 1, 1863.  The fourth and final session was held between November 18, 1863 and February 21, 1864.  Elections for the Second Congress were held between June and November 1863.  (By John Osborne)  

The first session of the First Confederate Congress elected in the national ballot of November 6, 1861 met in Richmond between February 18, 1862 and April 21, 1862.  The second session met between August 18, 1862 and October 13, 1862.  The third session sat between January 12, 1863 and May 1, 1863.  The fourth and final session was held between November 18, 1863 and February 21, 1864.  Elections for the Second Congress were held between June and November 1863.  (By John Osborne)  

Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant sailed the day before with two brigades in six transports, escorted by U.S. Naval gunboats, from Cairo, Illinois to attack Confederate concentrations around Columbus, Kentucky.  He found that Confederate troops under Gideon Pillow had crossed into Missouri at Belmont and attacked their camp.  In the first combat of a distinguished Civil War career, Grant overran Pillow before he could be reinforced, burned his equipment, returned to the transports, and moved on to the Union base at Paducah, Kentucky. (By John Osborne) 

Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant sailed with two brigades in six transports, escorted by U.S. Naval gunboats, from Cairo, Illinois to attack Confederate concentrations around Columbus, Kentucky.  The next day, finding Confederate troops under Gideon Pillow had crossed into Missouri at Belmont, he attacked their camp.  In the first combat of a distinguished Civil War career, Grant overran Pillow before he could be reinforced from across the river, burned his camp, returned to the transports, and moved on to the Union base at Paducah, Kentucky. (By John Osborne)