Mr. Seward to Mr. Adams.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of August 22, No. 208.
Mr. Stuart read to me, in due time, the note which Earl Russell had addressed to him on the 28th day of July, commenting upon the despatch No. 260, which I wrote to you so long ago as the 28th day of May last, and which you so properly and promptly put into his hands on the 20th of June last. But Mr. Stuart seemed not to have been instructed to leave a copy with me, and for obvious reasons I did not solicit one.
His lordship’s proceedings in leaving the paper submitted to him unnoticed until all expectation of special attention to it was given up, and in then taking it up, under a supposed change of affairs in this country, and making it the basis of instruction to Mr. Stuart here, in vindication of the British government, instead of giving an answer through you to the appeal contained in the paper, was indeed extraordinary. It did not, however, seem necessary for any national interest of ours to take special notice of these proceedings. They were at the time attributed by this government to some new political domestic pressure upon the ministry of Great Britain, and I am happy to learn that, according to the best information which we have been able to obtain, such was the case. I shall add only, that however necessary Earl Russell’s course in the matter may have been in regard to British interests at home, and however beneficial it may have been to them, it has not made a favorable impression in this country, or produced a conviction here of the friendly feelings and dispositions towards us on the part of Great Britain, which his lordship has so generously, and doubtless with entire sincerity, avowed.
You will have learned, before this despatch shall reach you, that our late campaign in Virginia has failed; that the insurgent forces, escaping our armies, have returned to the occupation of Northern Virginia; and have even crossed the upper Potomac and taken up a position at Frederick, in Maryland, where they seem to be threatening alike Washington, Baltimore, and Harrisburgh. In a correspondence like this, which, however confidential in its character, still wears an aspect of being addressed to foreign governments, it would be indiscreet and injudicious to attempt to explain the causes of this very serious reverse. I must be content, therefore, with saying that it seems to have resulted from the fact that our two reunited armies in Virginia were only partially combined and not at all consolidated. There has been, at least, military error somewhere, and an inquiry has been instituted to ascertain where it lies, and with whom the responsibility for the reverse belongs.
Our information from the west is that the insurgents are equally bold and adventurous in that quarter, and that although no great disaster has occurred there, new energies of the government are necessary to save the States [Page 189] of Tennessee and Kentucky for the Union, if not to prevent inroads into Ohio.
It is not deemed necessary or even practicable, in an emergency where every hour may bring reasons for changes of measures before adopted, to attempt to give you a programme of intended military operations. I confine myself, therefore, to the statement, in general terms, that our armies in Virginia are at last fully consolidated, and that they are already in the positions deemed most advantageous for the restoration of the fortunes of the war. The same is true of our forces elsewhere. The three hundred thousand volunteers called for by the President have already been mustered in the service, and near half of them are in the field. Recruiting still goes on with the utmost spirit, and a considerable portion of the three hundred thousand men expected to be raised by draft are already coming forward as volunteers. The draft will fill up the complement without great delay. Nowhere, neither on the part of the army, nor of the people, does there appear the least sign of indecision or of despondency, although, of course, the country is, for the moment, filled with deep anxiety.
We hear, officially and unofficially, of great naval preparations which are on foot in British and other foreign ports, under cover of neutrality, to give to the insurgents a naval force. Among these reports is one that a naval armament is fitting out in England to lay New York under contribution. I think that the vigor of our naval department in building a navy upon a sudden emergency can hardly be surpassed; nevertheless, its progress seems slow to us, under the circumstances. In addition to the Monitor and other iron vessels, already known to you, we have the Ironsides now ready for duty, and a new Monitor is expected to be put into service within the next ten days. Others will soon follow, and we are doing what we can to be prepared for every possible adverse contingency that can affect the situation of the country either at home or abroad. We cannot but regret that the course of administration in Great Britain in such as to render our relations with that country a source of constant and serious apprehension. But it is not perceived here what more can be done than we are doing to preserve an international peace, which, perhaps, cannot be sufficiently valued until, without fault on our part, it shall have been broken.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
Charles Francis Adams, Esq., &c., &c., &c.