1862 (35 page)

“We know better than that,” Napier said.

Great Britain had used colonials of all colors in her armies for generations. Although none of the nonwhite colonials had yet fought and defeated a major European force, there was no reason to doubt their ability to do so. As a result, it was also a given that England did not particularly wish non-whites to fight white troops. A victory by colored soldiers over white troops could lead to pretensions on the part of natives that would be hard to disprove. Fortunately, the recently finished Sepoy Rebellion in India had ended with an overwhelming British victory, and those incidents in which the Sepoys had prevailed were always against vastly outnumbered British regulars.

“Of course,” Napier continued, “the Confederacy won’t even consider arming her own Negroes, will they?”

“Pigs will sprout wings and fly before that happens, sir. In my opinion, General Cleburne was driven out of the South on that issue, and not on the allegations that he was dealing with Union sympathizers. I might add that Cleburne’s defection has the Confederate army looking with suspicion at anyone with an Irish name, whether Catholic or not.”

“Damned Irish,” Napier said with a smile. Many of the British army’s top generals were Irish, although Protestant.

Knollys shrugged. “The result, however, is that the Confederacy has a small, efficient, and sometimes well-led army that will function very well on the defensive, but does not have the manpower or the inclination to go on the offensive for a war of conquest. Raids, yes, but not a conquest of lands, which she would not be able to hold. We want her to go on the offensive, but that is something both Jefferson Davis and General Lee are reluctant to do. Davis is deeply sympathetic with our problem in Canada, perhaps even dismayed, but that is about it at this time. I might add that the dismay we feel over our loss is mirrored here in Richmond. No one thought we would fail so dismally in Canada.”

“Despite that, what we want and must have,” said Napier, “is a Confederate attack on the North. We are rapidly losing all that counts of Canada to the Union.”

Not only had Toronto fallen, but Union attacks on the Pacific coast had taken Vancouver Island, and a thrust up from Duluth had taken Fort William and Thunder Bay. As a result, Great Britain no longer had any real access to the vast interior of what remained of her North American possessions. She could enter through Hudson Bay, but that was ice-clogged for much of the year.

“General, the Confederates feel that such an invasion would play into the Union’s hands. The Union seems to be divesting themselves of their more incompetent generals, while the South seems intent on retaining her incompetents, such as Bragg. These better Union generals seem to have a clearer comprehension of their advantages, instead of being frightened by perceived disadvantages.”

Knollys laughed harshly. “My dear General Napier, we have been talking about the Union’s advantage in numbers and have largely ignored her advantage in manufacturing. It is even more staggering. No matter what we provide the South in the way of equipment and supplies, the North keeps on making even greater quantities.”

Napier poured himself some more brandy and handed the bottle to Knollys. “Major, you make it sound hopeless, and I cannot accept that. You are, however, saying that any advantages currently held by the Confederates will wither away over time. Thus, the need for action is now. Palmerston wants the war ended this year and I agree, although for a different reason. From what you’ve told me and from what I’ve heard from Lord Lyons and others, the Confederacy’s only chance for victory is this year, so our two country’s plans are convergent.”

“Yes, sir.”

Napier tapped his fingers on the table. “I understand you are well connected in Richmond social circles and have been seeing a local woman.”

Although far from handsome, Knollys’s English charm and his lost-dog appearance had again brought him success in the boudoir. This time he was involved with one Rosemarie DeLisle, a widow whose late husband had been a Virginia plantation owner. She was fascinated by his accent and what she thought was his outstanding lineage and wealth, and Knollys, of course, did nothing to disabuse her. Rosemarie was untypical in that most Southern women were very proper and distant. Rosemarie maintained that facade, but, behind it, was a woman of intense passion who had seduced Knollys before he could seduce her. In some ways, she reminded him of Valerie D’Estaing, only younger and far less depraved.

“I believe I have made some friends here.”

“Indeed,” Napier said with a knowing smile. “And have you detected any loss of fervor for the Southern cause?”

“No, I have not, sir. Not even among those who have lost loved ones in the fighting. They are still ready to bear any burden to keep their nation independent and to retain slavery. Some of their determination may be economic as well as principled. The wealthy could lose all if the North prevails and the slaves are freed, while the poor could find themselves displaced at the bottom of the economic ladder by Negroes should that occur.” He shuddered in mock drama. “The poor whites here are even more miserable creatures than the shanty Irish.”

“Then they would be astonished to know that Jefferson Davis has promised to end slavery.”

Knollys paused before plunging in with the next comment. “Sir, I question whether Mr. Davis has that power. The Confederacy was founded on the premise of states’ rights, and I cannot see him having support for that throughout his nation. Without it, sir, no slave will ever be freed.”

“I know,” said Napier. “Lord Lyons has reported that theory to Palmerston, who was most unhappy with him for even having brought it up. The prime minister believes he has an agreement with Mr. Davis regarding the slaves. I heard it from Palmerston himself, and it was one of the reasons I accepted this command.”

Napier sipped his brandy and took a deep puff on his cigar. “For Palmerston’s government, it is essential that the Confederates dispose of their slaves at the first practicable moment. If they renege, it is possible that Palmerston’s government will fall. But if, as you say, Davis hasn’t the power, then why did he make such an agreement with us?”

“One can only speculate, General. Mr. Davis is reputed to be an honest and honorable man. Perhaps he felt and still feels that he can deliver on his promise? Perhaps he was desperate for our assistance and was willing to promise anything in hopes that the need to do so would go away once the war was won?” He paused in thought. “Perhaps the prime minister misunderstands.”

Napier leaned back thoughtfully. The British people’s support of an increasingly unpopular war was significantly dependent on the open secret that the South would do the decent thing and free her slaves in gratitude for British help. If Davis could not deliver on this promise, than the relationship between Great Britain and the Confederacy could be shaken to its core. Perhaps even shattered.

“Knollys, are you aware that Mr. Disraeli is en route to discuss matters with Davis and his secretary of state, Mr. Benjamin?”

“No, sir, I was not,” he said.

Knollys felt it amusing that, in a world where Jews were not politically significant, both Disraeli and Benjamin were considered Jewish. The fact that both had acknowledged Christianity made no difference. They were still Jews. Knollys had never in his life dealt with a Hebrew as an equal, and now there were two who were his superiors in government service. He was not sure he liked that. He was just as sure that he didn’t have a choice.

A sergeant knocked on the door. “Sorry for the interruption, sir, but there’s news from Richmond.”

Napier smiled genially. “Have we won the war?”

The sergeant was momentarily confused, then recovered and smiled tentatively. “No: sir. Nothin’ that sweet.”

“Then what is it, Sergeant?”

“Mr. Lincoln has gone and freed all the slaves, sir.”

“The freeing of the slaves is so thrilling it is almost beyond measure.” Rebecca said. She was ecstatic. She turned and swirled around the room. Nathan had never seen her this excited and animated, and decided he liked it.

“I was rather hoping my safe return would be thrilling beyond measure,” Nathan teased.

“Of course it is,” she laughed and slapped him gently on the knee as she sat on the couch beside him.

Her face was flushed with excitement, and the scar on her chin and neck stood out. Funny, he thought, but she wasn’t at all concerned about it anymore. There was no attempt to hide it with a scarf or a high-necked gown. He wondered if it was like his limp. He no longer even thought about using a cane for assistance, although he still carried it as a weapon.

They were seated in Nathan and Scott’s library. The general was upstairs taking a nap, Sergeant Fromm had disappeared into town on an errand, and Bridget Conlin was rattling around in the kitchen. It was as alone as the two of them had ever been, and the light touch of her hand on his leg had sent an almost electric jolt through him.

“I am more than delighted to have you return, Nathan, but the Emancipation Proclamation represents a sort of culmination of what so many of us have worked years for.”

“I know,” he said. She had leaned against him in a gesture that was tender and familiar. Nathan made no attempt to shift; the feel of her next to him was just too delicious. He had promised her he would never compare her to Amy, but the affectionate, intimate, comfortable gesture was virtually the same as with his late wife. He slipped his arm around her shoulder and she leaned her head back against it.

Nathan had returned to his Washington home that morning. With the situation in Canada stabilized, he felt he could be more useful back in the capital. Grant had concurred and released him from their informal arrangement. “No more armies for you to get to surrender,” the general had said with a grin.

Nathan had not relinquished either his uniform, his rank, or the authorization that identified him as one of Grant’s staff officers. He had found that he liked being back in uniform and, despite the carnage he’d seen, he believed that he had done something useful in saving a number of lives both at London and at Hamilton. This had been confirmed with a toast by the British general Hugh Gough at an uncomfortable dinner hosted by General Grant after the surrender of the British forces at Hamilton.

Toronto had fallen without a shot, and the Americans were now well east of the city at Oshawa, and, to the north, had taken Guelph. Grant was consolidating and taking Ontario as he wished. The remaining British forces were frantically entrenching at Ottawa and Montreal, while Grant, unknown to them, had no intention of pursuing them that far. At least not in the foreseeable future.

“Now that the slaves are free, all we have to do is free the slaves,” Nathan said cryptically.

The Emancipation Proclamation had freed only those slaves in the rebelling Confederate states. Those slaves in the so-called border states remained in bondage. Lincoln was able to free the slaves in the rebelling states by acting in his capacity as commander in chief of the armed forces. As such, he was striking at an enemy’s capability to wage war. However, he had no such authority over those states not in rebellion; thus, their freedom awaited an act of Congress. This was being debated, with the only problem to be resolved being the amount of compensation to be paid to the slave owners.

In the meantime. Lincoln had promised a grant of one hundred dollars for each adult slave who made it north from the Confederacy. This would be given either in cash, land for resettlement, or passage back to Africa. In conversations with free black men, the Union government and the abolitionists had been astonished at how few wanted to go to Africa, even to Liberia, the nation founded by the United States on behalf of freed slaves. The vast majority of the black freemen had been in the United States all their lives, as had generations before them. The importation of slaves had been legally halted more than a half century before; thus, many Negroes were descended from slaves who’d arrived in America well before many white people. They had no cultural ties to Africa, only the faintest possibility of distant relatives in the Dark Continent, as few blacks had any real idea where in that enormous continent their ancestors had come from, and no desire to go to a land they all perceived as savage and barbaric.

The United States had terrible problems regarding Negroes, but to most black people it was still better than living in Africa. Or the Confederacy.

The freeing of the slaves was considered a major political stroke against Great Britain, as it put England squarely on the side of slaveholders. Previously, she could claim that the North held slaves, too, so what was the difference? The British government had quickly tried to claim that the retention of slavery in the border states was blatant cynicism on the part of Lincoln; thus the urgency to pass the legislation that would free slaves everywhere. It amused Lincoln and Seward to be outmaneuvering the old fox, Lord Palmerston.

General Scott had commented that the outflow of slaves from the South would be crippling economically to the Confederacy, and would be damaging militarily. Many troops would have to be assigned to protect slave owners’ property and to return those slaves who attempted to migrate north.

Militarily, the North had won a great victory in Canada. Politically and morally, the North had won a great victory with the Emancipation Proclamation.

“I have missed you,” Rebecca said, “and your fame as a negotiator goes before you.”

“When you’re in a position of such enormous strength as General Grant was, you are dictating, not negotiating,” he said. Although only a colonel in an army filled with colonels, he had noted a degree of respect conferred on him in brief meetings with other officers encountered en route to Washington. It was heady stuff, and later he was to meet with Lincoln and Stanton to discuss both Grant and the Canadian situation.

She shifted so that she was kneeling on the couch and facing him. She was not wearing hoops, which would have made the move ludicrous, if not impossible, and she moved with a dancer’s grace. “Enough of politics and emancipations,” she said with a catlike smile.