The Emperor Gets Involved in the War

In defiance of neutrality, because he saw the American Civil War as an opportunity to strengthen France’s position in Mexico and Latin America,Napoleon III pursued a policy openly favourable to the Confederate government: he tried to gain the Confederates a respite from the war via mediation; he twice sought a way to recognize their government; and he wanted to build them ships and buy them maritime weapons. In both 1862 and 1863, Napoleon anticipated victory for the Confederates and wanted to support them with a diplomatic decision.However, Napoleon had to reckon with the resolute opposition of Foreign Minister Eduouard Thouvenel and his successor Edouard Drouyn de Lhuys, who regularly thwarted Napoleon’s plans. The Rappahanock affair was perhaps the peak of these convoluted negotiations. The Confederate envoys understood that there was no consensus in the French government on the position to adopt toward the South. As they attentively followed the exercise of French diplomacy, they saw that it was possible to draw actors into the opposition, to hamper the foreign minister’s efforts by encouraging his colleagues to contradict him, or even to appeal to the emperor and his entourage to achieve their ends.