Christopher Dickey (1951–2020)

I received this book as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and it has taken me this long to finally finish reading the book.

This book is not novelized in the slightest bit. It quotes or summarizes what the various characters wrote in letters, diaries, official documents, and any other scraps of paper that the author could find in chronological order with as many supporting details as could possibly be found.

The reason why it took so long for me to read is that it is a slog going through many details that I found tedious. It reads like an omniscient diary for the main character and all of his interactions with other people in regard to slavery and The War of Southern Rebellion. The overall subject matter is interesting but the details were more than I needed.

The middle of the book was the least attention-grabbing, but once I got over that hurdle of the middle, either my ADD got better or the book was more interesting than other things.

This is very good scholarship and excellently researched, but not destined to be a pop history bestseller.

Here's a direct quote from William Howard Russell as found in the book:
"Assaulted by reason, by logic, argument, philanthropy, progress directed against his peculiar institutions, the Southerner at last is driven to a fanaticism--a sacred faith which is above all reason or logical attack in the propriety, righteousness, and divinity of slavery." The more things change, the more they stay the same, and my former father-in-law is still promoting slavery as a very good institution that was beneficial for the enslaved and there is no Bible verse nor historical evidence that can possibly change his fanatical mind, and he is a pastor.… (meer)

In 1853, Robert Bunch became Britain's consul in Charleston, South Carolina. Bunch himself was fervently anti-slavery, and Britain opposed the resumption of the African slave trade. The consul, though, had to walk a fine line. He needed to work for Britain's interests in protecting their black seamen, and, as secession and war loomed, keep his country abreast of the situation. To do that, he presented an image that led Charlestonians to believe that he was sympathetic to their cause.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The confederate states very much wanted Britain on their side, and believed that Britain's interest in importing southern cotton for their textile mills would achieve that. But that was not Britain's only concern. Bunch made sure that his government knew that the Confederacy, despite a clause in its constitution, was most likely to resume the importation of slaves from Africa. As a result, Britain would not become an ally.

This is a very interesting account of the run-up to the American Civil War, but also a good look at what diplomacy was like at this particular time. Dickey's extensive research included access to Bunch's official and private correspondence. Very much recommended.… (meer)