September 5, 1863---"Detained in port"

SEPTEMBER 5, 1863:        

The United States Foreign Minister to Great Britain, Charles Francis Adams, sends an angry letter to the British government warning that war between the two nations could erupt if it allows a pair of powerful ironclad ships, called Laird Ramships, designed to help the Confederates break the Union naval blockade, to set sail. Lord John Russell assured Adams that the ships had been ordered “detained in port” three days earlier. They were never released to the Confederacy. This marked the first time the British Government interfered in the private arming of the Southern Rebellion, and marked the end of the laissez-faire attitude the Crown had taken toward British arms manufactures going to the Rebels. It was also the final death knell of any chance of international recognition of the Confederate States of America.