US Military Commission to the Crimean War

8/13/2019 US Military Commission to the Crimean War

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THE U.S. MILITARY COMMISSION TO THE C R I M E A N WAR,1855-1856

A t hes i s p r e s e n t e d t o t h e F a c u l ty of t h e U.S. ArmyCommand an d Genera l S t a f f C o ll eg e i n p a r t i a lf u l f i l l m e n t of t h e r e q u i re m e n t s f o r t h ed e g r e eMASTER OF M I L I T A R Y ART AND SCIENCE

byARTHUR T. FRAME, MAJ, USAB . A . , U n i v e r s i t y of U t a h , 1 9 7 4M.A. , U n i v e r s i t y of Kansas, 1 9 8 0

F o r t Leavenworth, Kansas1 9 8 3

Approved f o r p u b l i c r e l ea s e ; d i s t r i b u t i o n u n l im i t e d . O t h e rr e q u e s t s f o r t h i s d oc um en t must be r e f e r r e d t o : HQ TRADOC,ATTN: ATCS-D, F o r t Monroe, V i r g i n i a 2 3 6 5 1 .

8 3 - 4 5 4 3


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MASTER O F M I L I T A R Y ART AND S C I E N C ETHESIS A P P R O V A L PAGE

N a m e o f C a n d i d a t e : Major A r t h u r T . FrameT i t l e of Thes i s : The U.S. M il i t a ry Commiss ion t o the Cr imeanWar, 1855-1856Approved by:

D r . Lawrence A . Y

Thesis Committee Chairman

Member, G r a du a te F a c u l t y

A c c e p t e d t h i s dDirec to r , Graduate Degree Programsday of & 1983 byThe o p i n i o n s a nd c o n c l u s i o n s e x p r e s s e d h e r e i n a r e those o ft h e s t u d e n t a u t h o r and d o n o t n e c e s s a r i l y r e p r e s e n t t h e vi ew sof t h e U.S. Army Command and Ge ne ra l S t a f f C ol le g e o r anyo t h e r g o ve rn m en t al a ge nc y. ( R e f e re n c e s t o t h i s s t u d y s h o u l di n c l u d e t h e f o r g o i n g s t a t e m e n t . )


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ABSTRACT

THE U.S. MILITARY C O M M I S S I O N TO THE C R I M E A N W A R , 185501856,by Major A r t h u r T . Frame, U S A , 98 pages .T h i s s t u d y ex am in es t h e U.S. M i l i t a ry Commission s e n t byS e c r e t a r y of W a r J e f f e r s o n D a v is t o o b s e r v e t h e Crim ea n W a ri n 1855 and 1856, t o de t e rm ine why t he commiss ion was s e n t ,where it w en t, a nd t h e r e s u l t s i t ach ieved .A s ur ve y o f t h e l i t e r a t u r e on t h e U . S . i nv o lv em e nt i n t h eCrimean War i n g e n e r a l , and t h e M i l i t a r y Comm ission s p e c i f i -c a l l y , i n d i c a t e s t h a t l i t t l e h as b ee n w r i t t e n o n e i t h e r . I ti s shown t h a t w h i l e t h e o f f i c i a l p o l i c y of t h e U ni te d S t a t e swas s t r i c t n e u t r a l i t y , many p r i v a t e c i t i z e n s i n v o l v ed them-s e lv e s i n t h e c o n f l i c t . T h e nat ion was a b l e t o use t h e con-f l i c t t o r e a l i z e one of i t s a ge -o ld g o a l s : r e c o g n i t i o n oft h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a l s o n t h e sea s . The U S . M i l i t a r y Com-m i s s i o n was t h e only o f f i c i a l i n vo lv em en t i n t h e c o n f l i c t .I n a t i m e o f r a p i d n a t i o n a l e x p a n s i o n and minimum m i l i t a r ymanpower resources , t h e three-man commission w a s s e n t t os t u d y t h e a r t of war a s i t was b e i n g p r a c t i c e d i n E ur op e.I t w a s t o s t u d y t h e "new" t e c hn o lo gy i n f o r t i f i c a t i o n s anda rmamen ts, and th e o rg an iz a t io n of European armies t o s e ei f t h e r e mi gh t b e s o m e a p p l i c a t i o n t o i mprov e t h e e f f e c t i v e -n e s s and c a p a b i l i t y o f t h e U.S. Army i n d e f en d i n g t h e v a s tnew t e r r i t o r y . A lt ho ug h e x t e n s i v e r e p o r t s were w r i t t e n b ythe commiss ion , l i t t l e w a s i n co r po r a t e d u n t i l w e l l i n t o t h eC i v i l W a r .


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TABLE O F CONTENTS

CHAPTERS PAGEI . I n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

11. America a n d t h e Crimean War, A H i s t o r i o g r a p h i c a la nd B i b l i o g r a p h i c a l S u r v e y . . . . . . . . . . 16111. The U . S . M i l i t a r y Commission . . . . . . . . . 4 5I v. C o n c l u s i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

APPENDIXESA . T h e S e c r e t a r y of War's I n s t r u c t i o n s t o t h eMil i tary Commiss ion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 8B . D e l a f i e l d ' s L e t t e r t o t h e S e c r e t a r y o f W a r . . 8 0C . L i s t of Books, Draw ings , Maps , and Spec imen sB rough t by the Commission . . . . . . . . . . 8 4

B I B L I O G R A P H Y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93


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C H A P T E R 1I n t r o d u c t i o n

A t t h e c o n c l us i o n of h i s s e c o n d t e r m of o f f i c e a sP r e s i d e n t o f t h e U n it e d S t a t e s , George Washington i ssued ac a u t i o n t o t h e Am er ic an p e o p l e a n d t h e i r f u t u r e g o v er n me n ts .I n w h at has become known a s t h e Fa re w e l l A d d r e s s , Washingtonencouraged t h e n a t i o n t o a vo id e nt a n g l i ng a l l i a n c e s t h a twou ld embro i l i t i n t h e c o n f l i c t s o f E ur op e. S e p a r a t e d g eo -g r a p h i c a l l y f r o m t h e c o n t i n e n t a nd d u t i f u l l y o b ed i e nt t o i t s" f a t h e r " , t h e y o u n g r e p u b l i c s e t upon a c o u rs e , i n t e r r u p t e do c c a s i o n a l l y b y armed s t r i f e , t h a t a t t em p te d t o avoid Euro-p ea n a f f a i r s and a l lowed i t t o d ev el op i n t o a g r e a t n a t i o nand t h e w o r l d power i t h a s become.

Though t h e c o u r s e may ha v e b e e n c o r r e c t , t h e c o n c e p ti t e n g e nd e r ed d e v e lo p e d i n t o o ne of t h e myths of American h i s -t o r y . T hr ou gh ou t t h e n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y t h e U n i te d S t a t e sp r a c t i c e d a p o l i c y of r e l a t i o n s wi th o t h e r n a t i on s t h a t h asbeen d e s c r i b e d by s t a t es m e n an d h i s t o r i a n s a l i k e as i s o l a -t i o n i s m . A l th o ug h n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y s t a t e s m e n a nd h i s t o r -i a n s u se d t h e t e r m , i t was n o t u n t i l i m me dia te ly a f t e rWorld W a r I t h a t i t w a s p o p u l a r i z e d b y t h o s e who a d v o c a t e d ar e t u r n t o t h a t p o l i c y as a d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e t r a d i t i o n a ln o n- a li g nm e nt o f t h e p a s t . I s o l a t i o n may h a v e b e e n a c o r r e c td e s c r i p t i o n of t h e i r d e s i r e r e l a t i v e t o p o s t - w a r a l l i a n c e s ,b u t i t w a s a m isno mer i n d e s c r i b i n g t h e A me ri ca n e x p e r i e n c e .


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I t w a s , however , a m isnom er t h a t e v e n i n f l u e n t i a l modern d i p -lomat ic h i s t o r i a n s s u ch as Samuel Flagg B e m i s , Thomas A . B a i l e yand D e x te r P e r k i n s p e r p e t u a t e d i n t h e i r w ork s. 1

What has been c a l l e d i s o l a t i o n i s m was i n f a c t a na g g r e s s i v e p o l i c y of n e u t r a l i t y t h a t o f t e n t o ok a dv an ta ge ofE ur op ea n c o n f l i c t s a nd m a c h i n a t i on s t o f u r t h e r t h e i n t e r e s t sof t h e U n it ed S t a t e s . T hi s e f f o r t w a s n o t p a r t of a precon-ceived p l a n , b u t was more t h e work of v a r i o u s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n st a k i n g a d v a n t ag e of t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s t h a t s ur r o un d e d them .One e p i s o d e t h a t i s s el do m s t u d i e d i n Am eri can h i s t o r y t h a tp r o v i d e s a n exam ple o f t h i s o p p o r t u n i s t i c p r o c e s s i s t h a tw hic h e nc om pa ss es t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e U n it ed S t a t e s d u r i n gt h e p r o s e c u t i o n of t h e C r i m e a n War by t h e g r e a t p owers ofEurope .

The purpose of t h i s work i s t o s t u d y t h a t e p i so de i no f f i c i a l a nd u n o f f i c i a l Am erican f o r e i g n r e l a t i o n s , an d mores p e c i f i c a l l y , t o s t u d y t h e w ork o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s M i l i t a r yCommiss ion sen t t o observe t h e C r i m e a n W a r i n 1855 . T o dot h i s , I w i l le x a m in e c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e and p ri ma ry s o ur c e s i na n e f f o r t t o d e t er m i n e t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p s b etw een t h e U ni te dS t a t e s and t h e Cr imean W a r b e l l i g e r e n t s ; and t h e e v e n t s s u r -r o u nd i n g t h e c om m i s si o n 's e f f o r t s , why i t w a s s e n t , a nd t h er e s u l t s of t h e c o m m i s s i o n ' s e f f o r t s . B y way of i n t r o d u c t i o nand background, a b r i e f d i s c u s s i o n of t h e c a u s e s a n d c on s e-q u e n c e s of t h e C r i m e a n War i s a p p r o p r i a t e .

T h e Crimean W a r w a s one of a l o n g s e r i e s of e v e n t s2.


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t h a t f e l l u nd er t h e g e n e r i c d e s c r i p t i o n of t h e " E a s t e r nQ u e s t i o n " . The E a s t e r n Ques t ion can b e s t be i n t r o d u c e d b y as t a t e m en t a t t r i b u t e d t o one o f t h e m i n i s t e r s of C a t h e r i n e t h eG r e a t , Empress of R u s s i a (1762-1797) : "That which s tops grow-i n g b e i n g s t o r o t . I2Turks a t t h e g a t e s of V ie nn a i n 1 68 3 b r o u g h t the growth oft h e Ot toman Empire t o a halt a n d b eg a n t h e d e c l i n e t h a t w ouldl a s t f o r over two-hundred years . For almost two-and-a-halfc e n t u r i e s t h e T u r k s , p u sh e d w e s t w a r d by t h e Mongol c o n q u e s t sof t h e t h i r t e e n t h - c e n t u r y , h a d b ee n t h e s co u rg e of C h r i s t i a n -

T h e d e f e a t of t h e O sm an al i o r Ottoman

.I

dom a nd h ad s e r i o u s l y t h r e a t e n e d t h e s e c u r i t y of Europe . Nowas t h e y e a r s p a s s e d a n d t h e e m p i r e be g an t o weaken and " r o t " ,t h e q u e s t i on became: Who w i l l i n h e r i t t h e e s t a t e of E u r o p e ' s"S ic k Man"? From ab ou t 1 7 0 2 u n t i l ab o u t 1820 , it a p p e a r e dthat Russia would be the heir. 4

R u s s ia n ex p an s io n i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of t h e Ottomand o m i n i o n s b e g a n c o n c e p t u a l l y w i t h t h e r e i g n of I v an t h eT e r r i b l e (1533-1 584) when h e vowed t o r e t u r n c o n t r o l of t r a d i -t i o n a l R us si an r i v e r s - t o t h e i r mouths - t o the Muscovi tes t a t e O 5C as pi an r o u t e 6 i n t o t he C e n t r a l A s i a n K h an a t es , a c t u a l e xp an -s i o n i n t o Ottom an l a n d s d i d n o t b eg in u n t i l t h e r e i g n ofPeter t h e Great (1682-1725) w ho se c o n q u e s t s g a i n e d f o r R u s s i aa p i e c e of t h e n o r th e r n c o a s t of t h e B l a c k S e a. 'C a t h e r i n e t h e G r ea t , t h e R u s s i a n Em pi re t h r e a t e n e dC o n s t a n t i n o p l e , a n d by t h e c lose of t h e e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y ,

W hi le I v a n b e ga n h i s e x p a n s i o n a l o n g t h e Vo lg a-

Under

3 .


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R u s s i a , a l on g w i t h A u s t r i a , h ad co nq ue re d v a s t t e r r i t o r i e sac ro s s t h e Danube and fur the r a long t h e n o r t h shore of t h eBlack Sea, t o i nc l ud e t h e Cr im ea n P e n i n s u l a .

The A ng lo -R us si an r i v a l r y t h a t e ve n t u a l l y de ve l ope di n t h e M i d d l e E a s t w a s n o t i n i t i a l l y a p pa re n t and t h e t w oc o u n t r i e s had i n f a c t a s s i s t e d one a no t he r on oc c a s i on .B r i t i s h m er ch an ts i n s e a r c h of a n o r t h e a s t p a s s a g e t o t h ee a s t i n t h e 1550s l a nde d i n R us s i a and w e r e e nc o ur ag e d t os t a y a n d t r a d e .t h r ough R us s i a ove r l a nd t r a d e w i t h P e r s i a , and i n 1 7 3 4 at r e a t y of commerce was conc luded t o do j u s t t h a t O g

T h e Muscovy Company8 a t t e m p t e d t o e s t a b l i s h

In 1 7 7 0t h e B r i t i s h a s s i s t e d t h e R us si an f l e e t ' s p as sa ge f rom t h eB a l t i c i n t o t h e M e di t e r r a ne a n , t h e g o a l b e i n g t o p u t p r e s s u r eon t h e Turks and foment a G re ek r e v o l t . 10

By 1815 t h i s c o o p e r at i v e a t t i t u d e of t h e t w o powershad dwindled and d i sa ppe are d . The B r i t i s h had ga ined s o l ecommerical dominance over I n d i a a nd e xpande d t h e i r e m p ir et h e r e by d e f e a t i n g t h e F re nc h d u r i n g t h e Seven Years W a r(F rench and In d ia n W a r of A merican h i s t o r y ) . I n t h e a f t e r m a t hof t h a t w a r , t h e B r i t i s h were more c onc e r ne d w i t h a n a t t e m p t e dFrench comeback i n I n d i a t h a n w i t h Ru s si a n e x p an s io n . T h i spreo ccu pa t ion wi th t h e F rench would soon g ive way t o o t h e rc o n c e r n s , f o r w h i l e Peter t h e Grea t and h i s s u c c e s s o r s w e r eexpanding a t t h e e x p e n s e of t h e S u l t a n , t h ey were a l s o nib-b l i n g away a t t h e domain of t h e P e r s i a n Shah i n t h e d i r e c t i o nof I n d i a .


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Before 1815 , a R u s s i a n d e f e a t of F r a n c e 's T u rk is h a l l ys t re n g th e n ed t h e B r i t i s h p o s i t i o n i n t h e L eva nt . A f t er 1815 ,Russ ian expans ion became a t h r e a t t o t h e B r i t i s h l i n e s ofc om mu ni ca ti on w i t h I n d i a . F o r B r i t a i n , t h e r e was

. . .no to p i c wh ich a t t r a c t e d more a t t e n t i o nt h an t h e s e c u r i t y of I n d i a , n o t r a d e w a smore v a l u a b l e , n o a rea o f f e r e d more scopef o r m i l i t a r y , p o l i t i c a l o r commercialadvancement , There was no t h r e a t t o I n d i awhich w a s t oo f a n c i f u l t o command somea t t e n t i o n a nd no p a i n s were s p a r e d t o s e c u r et h e ro u t es of communica t ion be tween B r i t a i nand I n d i a - l lI n d i a was t h e k e y st o n e o f t h e B r i t i s h E mp ire , and a weakOt toman con t ro l of t h e l i n e s o f communicat ion was in f i n i t e l yb e t t e r t h a n a p o we rf u l R u s s i a n c o n t r o l , The d i s t a n c e f r o mEngland t o I n d i a v i a t h e Suez1* o r t h e Euphra te s -Pe r s ian Gu lfro u t e was on ly a t h i r d t h e d i s t a n ce of the Cape of Good Hoperoute. With t h e gro wi ng momentum of t h e i n d u s t r i a l r ev ol u-t i o n , B r i t a i n ' s i n t e r e s t i n m ai n t ai n i ng t h e s e Middle E as t er nt r a d e r o u t e s grew c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y .

The Napoleonic wars had b rough t a s e r i o us t h r e a t t oB r i t i s h im pe r ia l e f f o r t s when Napoleon invaded and occup iedEgypt (1798-1801) and l a t e r (1806-7) a t tempted t o draw t h eRuss ian T s a r a nd P e r s i a n Shah i n t o a n a l l i a n c e d e s i g ne d t oremove I n d i a f ro m B r i t i s h c l u t c h e s l T h e end of t h o s e warsb r o ug h t a b o ut t h e b a l a n c e of European power th ro ug h t h e con-c e r t s y s te m an d r e c o g n i t i o n b y a l l c o nc e rn e d t h a t t h e s qu ab -b l e s g e n e r a t e d b y t h e E u ro pe an h e i r s a f t e r the "Sick Man 's"demise sho ul d fa vo r no one na ti on . Each power had i t s r e a s o n s


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f o r c o v e t i n g t h e O ttom an d om ain a nd f o r p r e v e n t i n g a n o t h e rf rom g a i n i n g s o l e dominance. The Fr en ch had i t s age-oldr i v a l r y w i t h t h e A u s t r i a n H a ps bu rg s , a l l i e d t o R us s i a , a ndt h e des i re t o ex pan d t h e i r t r a d e i n t h e Le va nt . R u s si a s o u g h taccess t o t h e B l a c k Sea where the t r a d e r o u t e s of the g r e a tRuss ia n r i v e r s , t h e Kuban, t h e Don, t h e Dnieper , t h e Bug andt h e D n i e s t e r c onve r ge d , a nd eg ress i n t o t h e M ed it er ra ne an v i at h e s t r a i t s w a s p ar am ou nt t o R u s s i a n eco nom ic p o t e n t i a l i t i e s .A us t r i a a nd R us s i a a l s o s o u g h t i m p e r i a l ex pa ns io n t o c o l l e c tt h e i r S l a v i c a n d g e r m a n i c b r e t h r e n t o t h e i r bossoms. TheB r i t i s h c o n ce r ns ha ve a l r e a d y be e n d i s c u s s e d , an d t h ey werer e a d y t o s w in g t h e i r p ower t o any s i d e t o p re se rv e t h e s t a t u squo of t h e Ottoman s t a t e .

The n in e t e en t h-c en tu ry Russ i a n advance a t t he e xpe ns eof t h e Ottoman Por t e i s s a i d t o have begun wi th t h e T r e a t y o fKuchuk Ka in ard j i (1774 ) . T h i s t r e a t y , w hich en de d C a t h e r i n et h e G r e a t ' s f i r s t T ur k i s h War (1768-1774) , bro ugh t such con-ce ss ion s f rom th e Ottoman P o r t e t h a t it a l low e d t h e R us s ia nsa n u n d en i ab l e i n f l u e n c e i n e x t e r n a l a n d i n t e r n a l Ottomana f f a i r s and became t h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r a l l f u t u r e t r e a t i e sa nd d i p l o m a t i c a g re e m e n t s be tw e en t h e t w o empi res . 14

The t r e a t y ga ve t h e R u ss ia ns t e r r i t o r i a l c o nc e ss io n st h a t a l l o w e d them grea t e r access t o t h e B l a c k Sea; m a r i t i m eand commercial c o n c e s s i o n s t h a t allowed freedom of n a v i g a t i o nand t r a d e i n t h e B la ck Sea and Tu rk is h S t r a i t s ; t h e r i g h t t oe re c t a R us s i a n a dm i n i s t e r e d O rt hodox c hu r ch i n C ons t a n t i n op l e

6 .


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w i th t h e r i g h t t o i n t e r v e n e i n f a v o r o f t h e new c hu r c h ; and ap r o t e c t o r a t e o v e r t h e C h r i s t i a n p o p u l a t io n o f M ol da vi a andW a l l a c h i a . l5f o r s u b s e q u e n t R u s s i a n c la im s t o t h e r i g h t t o i n t e r v e n e o nb e h a l f of all O r th o do x C h r i s t i a n s i n t h e Ot to ma n Em p ir e.From t h i s t i m e o n , R u s s ia n p r e s s u r e was r e l e n t l e s s i n advanc-i n g i t s a m b i t i o n s s o u t h w a r d .

These l a s t t w o c o n c e s s i o n s p r o v id e d a b a c k d r o p

A s t h e N a p o l e o n i c w a r s drew t o a c l o s e i n E ur op e, t h ec o n c e p t s of n a t i o n a l and po p u la r r i g h t s b o rn i n t h e F re nc hR e v o l u t i o n , a nd s p r e a d u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y b y t h e F re nc h a rm y,s p r e a d t o t h e C h r i s t i a n s u b j e c t s o f t h e O ttom an P o r t e . Oneb y o n e t h e s e p e o p l e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e g ro u pe d i n t h eB a lk a n s, b e ga n t h e s t r u g g l e t o e ma n c i p a t e t h e ms e l v e s f r o mO tto ma n r u l e . R u s s i a ' s r o l e i n t h i s p er i od was one o f p ro -v i d i n g o p p o r t u n i t y a nd e n c ou r ag e m e nt t o t h e C h r i s t i a n p o pu la -t i o n of t h e O tt om an E mp ir e t h r o u g h d i p l o m a t i c p r e s s u r e a n dwars w i t h t h e T u r k is h o v e r l o r d s . T h e s e C h r i s t i a n e f f o r t s t ot h r o w o f f t h e Ot to man y o ke a l s o d rew t h e i n t e r e s t and o f t e nt h e i n t e r v e n t i o n of t h e o t h e r E u ro p e an p o we rs a n d l e d t o a na b i d i n g s e n s e of R u s so p h ob i a i n We s t e r n E u r op e . 16

The f i r s t of many e p i s o de s i n t h i s s t r u g g l e w a s t h eG r e e k w a r of independence (1821-1829). Although t h e Europeanp o we r s a t t e mp t e d t o r e ma i n aloof f rom t h e Greek s i t u a t i o n ,p u b l i c s e n t i m e n t was o n t h e s i d e of t h e G reek C h r i s t i a n sf i g h t i n g a g a i n s t t h e T u r k i s h h e a t h e n s . When a n A ng lo -F re nc h-R u s s i a n a t t e m p t t o media te t h e c o n f l i c t was r e j ec t ed b y t h e

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Ottomans, a combined European f l e e t s e n t t he T u r ko - E gyp t i a nf l e e t t o t h e bottom of Navarino Bay ( 1 8 2 7 ) . I n 1 828 t h eRuss i ans dec la r ed w a r on t h e Ottoman Empire and advanced a sf a r a s A d r i a n o p l e , o n l y 150 m i l e s f r om C ons t a n t i nop l e . T h eT r e a t y o f A d r i a n o p l e ( 18 29 ) c o n fi r me d t h e R u s s ia n p r o t e c t o r a t eo v e r t h e D an ub ia n p r i n c i p a l i t i e s ( Mo ld av ia an d W a l l a c hi a ) ,brought new t e r r i t o r i e s t o t h e R us si an s t a t e , and securedT ur k i s h a g re e m e nt t o t h e p r o p o s e d s o l u t i o n of t h e Greek c r i -s i s .

Th e n e x t major o p p o r t u n i t y f o r R u s s i a n i n t e r v e n t i o ncame n o t t h r o u g h t h e a c t i o n o f t h e P o r t e ' s C h r i s t i a n s u b j e c t s ,b u t t hr ou gh t h e e f f o r t s of h i s v a s s a l , Mohammed A l i , Pasha ofEgypt. Mohammed A l i h a d p r o v i d ed t h e serv ices of h i s ab l es o n Ib r ah im P a s h a t o a s s i s t t h e S u l t a n i n q u e l l i n g t h e Greekr e v o l t i n e xc ha ng e f o r G reek t e r r i t o r i a l c on c es s i on s .t h e loss of Greece p r ev e n te d c o l l e c t i o n of t h e s e d e b t s ,Mohammed A l i demanded t h e pa sh a l i k of S y r i a a nd s e n t I b ra h imt o s e i z e i t . W i t h t h e d e f e a t of t h e Tur kis h army and t h eB r i t i s h d e n i a l of a i d , t h e P o r t e was despera t e enough t os e i z e upon t h e a s s i s t a n c e o f f e r e d by t h e R us s ia n T s a r . Ther e s u l t w a s t h e t e m p o r a r y h a l t i n g o f I b r a h i m and t h e c e d i n g ofS y r i a t o him, a nd t h e s i g n i n g o f t h e T r e a t y o f U n k i a r -S k e l e ss i( 1833 ) . A s e c r e t a r t i c l e of t h a t t r e a t y p ro vi de d f o r t h ec l o s i n g o f t h e s t r a i t s t o f o r e ig n v e s se l s i n t h e e v e n t of w a r ,w h i l e R us s i a n v e s s e l s had f r e e p a s s a g e d u r i n g p e a c e o r w a r .Th e R us s i a ns a l s o g a i n e d t h e r i g h t of p r i o r c on s u l t a t i o n i n

When

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i n O tto ma n a f f a i r s - v i r t u a l l y m ak ing t h e R u s s i a n A m bassadort h e S u l t a n ' s p ri m ar y a d v i s o r .

When t h e news of t h e s e c r e t a r t i c l e l e ak e d, t h e B r i t i s hp r o t e s t e d v e he m e nt l y. S u dd e nl y t h e y r e a l i z e d t h a t n o t o n lywere t h e R u ss i an s t h r e a t e n i n g t o re p l ac e weak Ot toman wi th as t r o n g R us si an c o n t r o l i n t h e L e va nt , b u t t h e long arm o fMohammed A l l , t h ro u gh h i s s o n I b r ah i m, h e l d c o n t r o l o v e r t h et w o v i t a l p as sa ge wa ys t o I n d i a - t h e isthmus of Suez and t h eu p p e r E u p h r a t e s .

A s a consequence of t h i s r e a l i z a t i o n , t h e B r i t i s h to oka c t i o n when I b r a h i m P a s h a b e g an t o t h r e a t e n C o n s ta n t i n o p l ea g a i n i n 1 83 9. A j o i n t A n gl o -A u s tr i an n a v a l b l o c ka d e an d thel a n d i n g of T u r k i s h , A u s t r i a n a nd B r i t i s h t r o o p s b r ou g h tMohammed A l l ' s t h r e a t t o a n e n d. A l th o ug h t h e F r e n ch w i t h h e l ds u p p o r t f o r t h e a l l i e d i n t e r v e n t i o n , t h e y s u p po r t ed t h e f i n a ls o l u t i o n i n 1 840 un de r w hich S y r i a w a s r e t u r n e d t o the Ot tomanS u l t a n i n e xc ha ng e f o r Mohammed A l l ' s h e r e d i t a r y g o v e r n o r s h i pover Egypt. They a l s o s u p p o r t e d t h e S t r a i t s Conven t ion of1 8 41 w hi ch e nd ed t h e R u s s ia n p r o t e c t o r a t e over t h e Ott omanEmpir e. The London agr eem en t of 1840 and t h e S t r a i t s Conven-t i o n of 1 8 41 m arked t h e d e c i s i v e p o i n t a t which Europe , underB r i t i s h l e a d e r s h i p , d ec i de d n o t t o al low t h e e n f ee b l ed O t t o -man Empire t o b e r e p l a c e d b y a s t r o n g e r p o we r - n e i t h e rMohammed A l i n o r R u s s i a - and a E u r o p e a n p r o t e c t o r a t e o v e rTurkey w a s e s t a b l i s h e d .

B e t we e n t h e S t r a i t s Conven t ion of 1 8 4 1 a n d t h e9.


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o u t b r e a k of w a r i n 1 85 3, t h e r e were s e v e r a l p e r i p h e r a l e v e n t st h a t i n c r e a s e d t h e e n t an g le m en t s l e a d i n g t o o p e n c o n f l i c t .A f t e r t h e d e f e a t of Mohammed A l i , whom t h e Fren ch had op en lys u p p o r t e d a nd for whom t h e y had nea r ly gone t o w a r w i t hE ng la nd , t h e c o nc e rn ov e r p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t w i t h F r a n c e c a u s e dan Anglo-Russ ian en te n t e . I n 1 8 4 4 T s a r N i c h o l a s I of R u s s i ae n t e r e d a g e n t le m a n ' s a gr ee me nt w i t h B r i t i s h f o r e i g n m i n i s t e rAberdeen t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t , i f t h e Ottoman Empire c o l l a p s e d ,Russia and England would not a c t w i t h o u t m u tu al c o n s u l t a t i o nand Russia 's army would come t o B r i t i s h a i d i f a t t a c k e d byFrance . T hese good r e l a t i o n s may have caused the T s a r t o a c tmore c on f i de n t ly i n 1852-1853 t ha n he shou l d have .

The A ng lo -R us si an e n t e n t e r em a i ne d i n t a c t d u r i n g t h er e v o l u t i o n s a nd u n r e s t t h a t s w e pt Eu ro pe from 1848 t o 1851 andt h e B r i t i s h f o r e i g n m i n i s t e r , Coun t N e s s el r o d e, e ve n u rg ed t h eT s a r t o a s s i s t i n p u t t i n g down t h e H u n ga r ia n r e v o l t a g a i n s tA us tr ia , But when A us tr ia and Ru ss i a demanded t h e r e t u r n ofH u n g a r i a n r e v o l u t i o n a r i e s t h a t f l e d t o Tu rk ey , t h e B r i t i s h andFrench conduc ted a n a v a l d e m o n s t r at i o n n e a r t h e S t r a i t s i ns u p p o r t o f t h e P o r t e ' s r e f u s a l t o do so . L a t e r , however,B r i t a i n r em a in ed s i l e n t when R u s s i a n f o r c e s o c c u p i e d M ol da vi aand Wallachia t o s u p p r e s s a r e v o l t a g a i n s t t h e S u l t a n , T h ee n t e n t e w a s s t r e n g t h e n e d a g a i n i n 1 852 when B r i t a i n f e a r e d aF r e n c h i n v a s i o n o v e rc l o s e r Anglo-Russ ian

The t r e a t i e s

d i f f e r e n c e s i n w e s t e r n E ur op e an d s o u g htr e l a t i o n s .e n d i n g t h e N a p ol e on i c wars (1815) banned

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t h e Bonapar tes f rom t h e French th rone . B y t h e 1850s t h eFrench were i t c h i n g t o r e f u t e t h e 1815 t r e a t i e s and w e r e w i l l -i n g t o g o t o war t o d o so . I n 1 8 4 8 Louis Napoleon had beene l ec t ed t o t h e p r e s i d e n c y of t h e S ec ond R e pub l i c a nd , i nDecember 1851, s e i z e d ab so lu t e power th rou gh a coup d ' e t a t ,de c l a r i n g h i m s e l f e mper or a nd p r oc l a i m i ng t h e Second Empire i nMay 1852. I n s p i t e of t h e t r e a t i e s ' b an , o n l y R u ss ia s t o odou t i n oppo s i t i o n t o t he S ec ond E mpir e, w h i l e the other powerswere w i l l i ng t o make con cess ions and acc ep t Napoleon ' s p l edgesof good f a i t h . Even th e P ru ss i ans and Aus t r i ans ,w ho hadi n i t i a l l y t a k en t h e s t r on g R us si a n po s i t i on , e v e n t ua l l y weak-e ne d i n t h e i r r e s o l ve . W i t h these c o n d i t i o n s i n b e in g , t h ef i n a l s t e p s were t ak en toward t h e Crimean W a r .

Louis Napoleon f e l t t h a t T s a r Nicholas I nee de d t o behumbled for an affront g i v e n by a d d r e s s i n g t h e new emperor as"my f r i e n d " r a t h e r th an "my br ot he r" , a s b e f i t t i n g one whor u l e d by d i v i n e r i g h t . T h e age o l d d i s p u t e o v er c o n t r o l oft h e Holy Places i n Pa le s t in e , renewed by French demands asp r o t e c t o r s of t h e L a t i n C hur ch , p r ov i de d t h e s pa r k . F r enc hdemands and th r e a t s , and Russ i an cou nte r demands i n sup por t oft h e O rth od ox C hu rc h, r e s u l t e d i n T ur k is h v a c i l l a t i o n i n d e c l a r -i n g o ne o r t h e o th er i n c o n t r o l u n t i l t h e a r r i v a l of t h eFrench ambassador, L a v a l e t t e , o n a l a r g e Fre nc h b a t t l e s h i p ,and a c ha ng e i n t h e T u r k i s h m i n i s t r y t o men a n t i - R u s s i a n i nt h e i r o u t l o o k , c a us e d t h e P o r t e t o dec ide f o r t h e L a t i n s .T h e R u s s ia n s p r o t e s t e d o n b e h a l f of t h e O r t h o d o x C h r i s t i a n s ,

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whom th ey pr ot ec te d under Kuchuk Kar na rd j i , and di sp at ch ed as p e c i a l dip lo ma t i c miss io n under P r i nc e Alexander Mensh ikov .Mensh ikov b lu n t ly demanded c onc ess ion s r eg ard in g t h e HolyPlaces and a t r e a t y g i v i ng R u ss ia a p r o t e c t o r a t e o v e r O rt ho do xchurch es i n th e Ottoman Empi re . The Turks agreed t o somem in or c o n c e s s i on s b u t r e f u s e d t h e t r e a t y , r e c o g n i z i n g a R us s i a np r o t e c t o r a t e as a n e n f r in g e m e n t o n t h e s o v e r e i g n t y of t h eS u l t a n .

By t h e end of May 185 3, Ru ss ia had b r o k e n r e l a t i o n swi th Turkey , and F rance and England , t h ro ugh a change ofB r i t i s h g o v e r n m e n t p e r s o n a l i t i e s , were s u p p o r t i n g t h e Turks .I n J un e t h e B r i t i s h and F re nc h f l e e t s j o i n ed o u t s i d e theS t r a i t s , and i n J u l y t h e R u ss ia ns o cc up ie d t h e p r i n c i p a l i t i e sof Mold avia and Wallachia . T h e Turks dec la red w a r i n O c to b er1 8 53 , a nd i n F e br u ar y 1 8 54 , B r i t a i n a nd F r a n c e c a l l e d f o r t h eR u s s i a n e v a c u a t i o n of t h e P r i n c i p a l i t i e s . On March 2 8 , 1854B r i t a i n a nd F r a n ce de c l a r e d w a r on Russ i a and t h e Crimean Warw a s on.

None of t h e powers were p r e p a r e d f o r w a r and t h er e s u l t s were greater losses t o d i s eas e t h a n t o enemy act ion.Poor l e a d e r s h i p a n d d i s o r g a n i z a t i o n added t o t h e u n ne ce ss ar yloss of l i f e and waste of m a t e r i a l . P r u s s i a a n d A u s t r i aremained a loof f rom t h e c o n f l i c t w h i l e B r i t a i n , F r a n c e , a n dl a t e r P ie dm on t a l i gne d t he m s e l ves w i t h t h e T ur ks a g a i n s tR us s i a . The u l t i m a t e A l l i e d s u c c e s s w a s due more t o Russ iant e c h n i c a l i n f e r i o r i t y and g r e a t e r i nc om p et en c e t h a n t o A l l i e d

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c om p et en cy . C o r r u p t i o n i n t h e R u s s i a n b u r e a u c r a c y , a p o o rs u p p l y s y s t e m, a n d a s h o r t a g e of e q ui p me n t e v e n t u a l l y o v e r -came t h e e f f o r t s of t h e v a l i a n t R u s si an s o l d i e r . A f t e rd e a t h of N i c h o l a s I i n 1 855 , i n view of t h e i r e x ha us t edces a nd p h y s i c a l l o s s e s , t h e R us s ia n s su e d f o r p e a c e .

Peace w a s conc luded a t Paris i n 1856. R u s s i a ' s

t h ef i n a n -

f ron-t i e r s were p us he d b a c k , h e r w a r s h i p s were removed f rom theBlack Sea and he r shore f o r t i f i c a t i o n s w e r e s c r a p p e d . T h el o s s d e m o ns t r at e d s e r i o u s w ea kn es se s i n t e r n a l l y i n t h e R u s s i a ns t a t e w hi ch br o u gh t a b ou t t h e i n t e r n a l reforms i n t r o d u c e d byAl e x a n d e r I1 i n 1 8 61 . Th e e r a of R u s s i a as the Gendarme ofEurope was over .

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NOTES

'See: Samuel Fl ag g B e m i s , A S h o r t H i s t o r y o f A m er ic anF o r e i g n Po l i cy and Diplomacy. ( N e w York: Henry H o l t and C o . ,I n c . , 1 9 5 9 ) p. 3 6 4 ; Thomas A . B a i l e y , A D i p l om a t i c H i s t o r y oft h e American Peop le . ( 1 s t ed . ; N e w York: F .S . C ro f t s and C o . ,1 9 4 0 ) pp. 755, 757; and Dexter P e r k i n s , T he E v o l u t i o n o fAmerican F o r e i g n P o l i c y . ( Ne w York : Oxford Un iv e r s i tyP r e s s , 1 9 4 8 ) , p p . 4 0 , 53, 54 .2Adam U l a m , E x p an s io n a n d C o e x i s t e n c e : The H i s t o r y ofS o v i e t F o r e i g n P o l i c y , 1 91 7- 19 67 . (N e w Y o r k : F r e d e r i c kP r a g e r , 1 9 6 8 ) , p . 5 .3 J . A . R . M a r r i o t t , The E a s t e r n Q u e s t i o n : An H i s t o r i c a lS tudy i n European Diplomacy . (London: Oxford Un iv e r s i tyP r e s s , 1917) p . 5 .* I b i d . , p . 6 .5Thi s accoun t of I v a n ' s c o r o n a t i o n a d d r e s s i s found i na USAF f i l m o n h i s t o r i c a l t h em es i n R us si an h i s t o r y c a l l e dT s a r and Commisar, produced by A i r F o rc e I n t e l l i g e n c e S e r v ic e

S o v i e t Awareness Team.'Robert G . Wesson, The Ru ss ia n Dilemma. ( N e w Brunswick:R u t g e r s U n i v e r s i t y Pres s , 19 74 ) pp. 6-7.7Russ i an assaults on t h e C r i m e a i n 1687 and 1689 i nr e s p o n s e t o concess ions made by t h e Holy League, were a b o r -t i v e . See: L.S. S t a v r i a n o s , The B a lk a ns S i n c e 1 4 5 3 .( N e w York: H o l t , R i n e h a r t a nd Winston, 1958) p . 1 7 3 .8Rose I,. Greaves, B r i t a i n , P e r s i a an d I n d i a , 1722-1922 .(Unpub l i shed monograph p r ep a re d f o r t h e Cambr idge Hi s t o r y o fI r a n s e r i e s . ) p.3.' I b i d . , pp . 3-4 .

"Op. c i t . , S t a v r i a n o s , p. 1 7 3.

1 4 .


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"Paul Hayes , The Ni n e t e e n t h C e n t u r y 1 81 4- 80 , MalcomRobinson , gen . e d . , Modern B r i t i s h F o r e i g n P o l i c y (New York:S t . M a r t i n ' s Pr es s , 1975) p . 238.12The Suez C ana l had no t yet b e e n c o n s t r u c t e d , s o t h er o u t e w a s o v e r l a n d across t h e i s th m us f o r a d i s t a n c e .130p. c i t . , M a r r i o t t , pp. 175-177: J o h n B . K e l l y ,B r i t a i n and t h e P e r s i a n G u lf . (Oxford: Cla rendon Pr es s ,1 9 6 8 ) p. 4 4 .

O p . c i t . , M a r r i o t t , pp. 150-151.415See: George Lenczowski, The Mi dd l e E a s t i n W orldA f f a i r s . ( I th a c a NY: C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 9 5 2 ; 4 t h

e d . 1 9 8 0 ) p. 33; a n d S t a v r i a n o s , p . 1 9 1 , f o r d i s c u s s i o n oft r e a t y d e t a i l s .16An i n - d e p t h d i s c u s s i o n of t h e s e e p i s o d e s i s n o t p o s s i -ble w i t h i n t h e co fi fi ne s of t h i s work, s o only a broad d i s c u s -s i o n of k e y e v e n t s w i l l be a t t e m p t ed . T h i s g e n e r a l r e vi ew i sa summary of e v e n t s t a k e n from t h e w or ks of M a r r i o t t , S t a v r i -a n o s , L en cz ow s ki , J o h n S h e l t o n C u r t i s s , B r i n s o n D . Gooch,A l b e r t Se a t on , a nd P h i l i p Warner.

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CHAPTER 2America and t h e Crimean War:

A H i s t o r i o g r a p h i c a l a nd B i b l i o g r a p h i c a l S ur ve y

A r ev iew of g e n e r a l works i n Am eric an h i s t o r y a nd ,more s p e c i f i c a l l y , works o n American d ip l o m a t i c h i s t o r y , i ns e a r c h of i n f o r m a t i on c onc e r n i ng A me ric an a t t i t u d e s t ow a rd t h eCrimean War u s u a l l y r e v e a l s l i t t l e . Even s uc h p r e s t i g i ou sworks a s Thomas A . B a i l e y ' s A D i p l om a t i c H i s t o r y o f t h e A m e r i -can People ' and Rober t F e r r e l l ' s American Diplomacy: AH i s t o r y L o n l y t ou c h t h e t o p i c t a n g e n t i a l l y as t h e y d i s c u s s t h es e em i n gl y u n r e l a t e d e p i s o d e s of t h e p e r i o d ( 1 8 5 3 - 5 6 ) . T od e t e rm i n e t h e i n t e r e s t s a nd i n vo lv em e nt of America and Ameri-c a n s i n t h e Crimean War, it i s n e c e s s a r y t o search o u t s e p a -r a t e works d e a l i n g w i t h t h e g e n e r a l an d s p e c i f i c a s p e c t s o fAmerican inv olv eme nt. What were t h e i n t e r e s t s o f A me ric an st h a t l e d them t o become i n vo l ve d i n t h e C rimean c o n f l i c t ?

Commerce has always been of major impor t ance t o theUni ted S t a t e s and i t s c i t i z e n s . The pe r i od o f t h e 1850s i s noe x c e p t i o n . The o p p o r t u n i t y t o p ly t h e i r t r a d e wherever andwhenever t hey p l e ase d was of p r ime impor t ance t o Amer icans.The United S t a t e s nee de d r e c o gn i t i on o f t h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a l so n t h e seas f o r i t s m e r c ha n t s h i pp i ng . T h e Uni ted S t a t e s hads o u g h t r e c o g n i t i o n o f t h i s c o n ce p t s i n c e t h e War fo r Independ-ence. L inked t o t h e p e d d l e r s u r g e was t h e des i re t o expand .

16.


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Expans ion y ie lded new marke t s . I t also s a t i s f i e d " ma ni fe std e s t i n y " an d p r o v i de d s e c u r i t y on America's b o r d e r s w i t h t h ec o l o n i e s o f t h e European na t ions . T hese e x p a n s i o n i s t t e n d e n -c i e s b r o u g ht t h e U n i te d S t a t e s i n t o c o n f l i c t w i t h O l d Worldi n t e r e s t s i n Ca na da , O rego n, Texas , Mexico, and th e SandwichI s l a n d s ( H a w a i i ) , and even Russ ian America ( A l a s k a ) . T h e s ec o n f l i c t s c o n ti n ue d d u r i ng t h e Crimean War p e r i o d , both i nCuba and Centra l A m e r i c a . I n n e a r l y e v er y case where N e wWorld i n t e r e s t c o n f l i c t e d wi th O l d , Great B r i t a i n p la ye d t her o l e of p r im a r y a n t a g o n i s t o r c l o s e l y shadow ed t h e e f f o r t s oft h a t n a t i o n w hi ch w a s t h e p r i m a r y c o n c e r n .f l i c t s of i n t e r e s t , as h a s b e e n n o t e d , c a r r i e d i n t o t h eCrimean W a r e r a a nd f l a v o r e d r e l a t i o n s b e tw ee n t h e U n i t edS t a t e s and t h e C rim ean b e l l i g e r e n t s .

Many of the se con -

One f a c t o r s h o u l d be remembered when cons ide r ing thet o p i c o f A merican i n t e r e s t : t h e r e i s a d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e no f f i c i a l p o l i c y and a c t i o n s of t h e U ni te d S t a t e s and thea c t i o n s of i t s p r i v a t e c i t i z e n s . I n a d e m o c r a c y t h e p r i v a t esec tor w i l l a l m os t a lw ay s a f f e c t t h e p u b l i c sec to r th roughe l e c t i o n s , l o bb i es , and s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t w hi le t h e o p p os i te i sn o t a lw ays t r u e . The f r o n t i e r o r f r e e s p i r i t of Americanso f t e n l e d o f f i c i a l America t o a cc ep t a f a i t accompl i . Ar ev ie w of o f f i c i a l and u n o f f i c i a l American a c t i v i t y d u r in gt h e p e r i o d i s n e c e s s a r y , b u t b e f o r e b e g i n n in g it m i g h t b eh e l p f u l t o l o o k a t t h e i n t e r n a l c o n d i t i o n of t h e Un it ed S t a t e s .

I n t h e f i v e y ea rs p r i o r t o 1850 , i n a n e x p a n s i o n i s t i c17 .


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f r e n z y , t h e Uni ted S t a t e s had n e a r l y reached t h e l i m i t s of i t sco nt in en ta l g rowth . On t h e no r t h , t h e Maine boundar y d i s p u t ew i t h B r i t a i n h ad b e en s e t t l e d i n 1 8 42 , and t h e d i v i s i o n oft h e Oregon t e r r i t o r y a l on g t h e 49th p a r a l l e l was d e c i d e d i n1846. A f t e r u n o f f i c i a l l y s u p p o r ti n g Te xa s' w a r f o r independ-e n c e , t h e Uni ted S t a t e s a nnexed T exas i n 1845 a nd f o ugh t i nt h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r a w a r w i t h Mexico ove r t h a t a nne x a t i on a ndTexas boundary d i spu tes . As a n a f t e rm a t h o f t h a t w a r , a l l ofpr e s e n t da y C a l i f o r n i a a nd T exas a nd t h e m a j o r i t y of New Mexicoan d A ri zo n a became U ni t ed S t a t e s t e r r i t o r y . To t h es e v a s ta c q u i s i t i o n s t h e U ni te d S t a t e s added t h e G adsden P u r c ha se i n1853.

All t h a t remained w a s t o s e t t l e the m i d d l e r e g i o n s oft h e n a t i o n a nd t o d e t e r m i n e w h e th e r t h e y would b e s l a v e o rf r e e . T h e s l a v e r y i s s u e c r e a t e d s e v er e d i v i s i o n s i n then a t i o n and i n n a t io n a l p o l i t i c s as w e l l . The Compromise of1850 had br ough t a te mp or ar y l u l l , b u t t h e i s s u e w a s never f a rfrom t h e s u r f ac e i n i n t e r n a l and e x t e r n a l p o l i t i c s .

One o t he r a s p e c t of t h e i n t e r n a l s i t u a t i o n t h a t i n f lu -e n ce d p r i v a t e A meric an a c t i o n s d u r i n g t h e C rim ean p e r i o d w a st h a t t h e n a t i o n w a s s u f f e r i n g o ne of t h e eco no mic d e p r e s s i o n st h a t p l ag u e d t h e U n it ed S t a t e s p e r i o d i c a l l y t hr ou g ho u t t h eN i ne t e e n t h C e n t u r y . Such c on d i t i ons ha ve o f t e n be e n t h ec a t a l y s t f o r American " f r e e s p i r i t s " t o t r y t h e i r l uc k i n somea dve n t u r e a nd as w e s h a l l see , t h i s p e r i o d was no e xc e p t i on .

P r i v a t e o p i n i o n c o n ce r n in g t h e w a r p r i m a r i l y t o o k t h e18


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form of p u b l i c o p i n i o n e x p re s se d i n t h e n a t i o n ' s p r e s s . Mosts o u r c e s seem t o agree t h a t p u b li c o p i ni o n w ai ve re d i n i t i a l l ybetween t h e w a r r i n g s i d e s , b u t f i n a l l y f e l l d e c id e dl y i n f a vo rof Russ ia f o l l ow ing th e axiom t h a t " th e enemy of my enemy i smy f r i e n d " . 3 R u s s i a h ad n o t al w ay s b ee n t h e f o c u s of Americangood w i l l , e v e n t h o u g h r e l a t i o n s o v e r t h e yea r s s i nc e Amer icanindependence could b e g e n e r a l l y desc r ibed a s f r i e n d l y , and a tl e a s t were more f r i e n d l y t h a n t h o s e w i t h G r ea t B r i t a i n .

M o s t works dea l ing w i t h Russo -American r e l a t io ns a tl e a s t mention t h e a t t i t u d e of t h e Amer ican people dur ing t h i spe r i od . Such so ur ce s inc lud e : Eugene An sch e l ' s The AmericanImage of R us si a: 177501917: Thomas A. B a i l e y ' s America FacesRuss i a : Russ ian-American Re la t i on s From E a r l y T i m e s t o OurDay; and a l e n g t h y a r t i c l e by Benjamin P l a t t Thomas, "Russo-American Relations , 1815-1867'' . T h e s e g e n e r a l l y p o i n t o u tt h a t t h e n a t i o n s w e r e l i nk ed pr im ar i l y by common cau se . S i nc ethe American War f o r Independence, when Ca the r in e t he Grea ti n i t i a t e d t h e League of A r m e d N e u t r a l i t y o f 1 7 8 0 , both t h eU.S. an d R u s s i a ha d s o u g h t r e c o g n i t i o n of t h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a ls h ip s t o t r a d e f r e e l y w i t h b e l l i g e r e n t s . E ng la nd h a d , a t t h esame t i m e , been th e p r imary opponen t of t h e concep t of " f r e es h i p s make f r e e goo ds" . By go in g t o war i n d e fe ns e of thoser i g h t s i n 1 8 1 2 , t h e Uni ted S t a t e s had j o i n e d t h e Russ ians aschampions of t h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a l s .

F r i e n d l y , b u t d i s t a n t , r e l a t i o n s e n su ed u n t i l Ru ss ia nd e s i g n s o n S p a n i s h America ( C a l i f o r n i a ) an d e x p an s i on i n t h e

1 9 .


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American nor th we st5 bro ug ht Monroe's famous d i c t u m i n 1 8 2 3 ande v e n t u a l l y a t r e a t y s e t t i n g f o r t h r e s p ec t i ve s p h er e s of i n t e r -e s t i n t h e n o r t hw e s t i n 18 24 . I n 1834 t h e t w o n a t i o n s s i g n e da commercial agreement, uncommon t o t h e T s a r ' s government oft h a t day. L a t e r , i n the t h i r t i e s and f o r t i e s , u n f a v o r a b l eU . S . p r e s s c o n c e rn i n g R u s s ia n a c t i o n s w i t h t h e P o l i s h a ndH un ga ri an r e v o l u t i o n s c a u s e d t h e t w o n a t io n s t o d r i f t a p a r t .A me ric an pub l i c op i n i on du r i n g t h i s p e r i o d w a s o pe nl y h o s t i l etoward T s a r i s t s u p p r e s s i o n o f t h e H u n g a r i a n r e v o l t , p a r t i c u -l a r l y when t h e H u n ga ri an r e v o l u t i o n a r y l e a d e r , Loui s Kossu th ,v i s i t e d t h e Uni ted S t a t e s .

T h e r e were de m on s t r a t i ons s u ppo r t i n g H ungar ia n i nde -pendenc e a nd de nounci ng R us s i a n de s po t i s m and i n t e r v e n t i o n .America's h e a r t we nt o u t t o t h e Hungar i an v i c t im s of oppres -s i o n . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t a r es o l u t i o n t o t h eU . S . Congress u rg ing i t t o acknowledge Hungar ian independencea nd denounc i ng R u s s i a ' s i nvo l ve m e nt i n c r u s h i ng t h e r e v o l tw a s d r a f t e d by a young S p r i n g f i e l d , I l l i n o i s l aw y er by thename of Abraham L in co ln - t h e same Lincoln who as P r e s i d e n tof t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s n e a r l y t w o decades l a t e r welcomed a v i s i tby t h e Russian navy as a s i g n of f r i e n d s h i p a t a t i m e whent h e t h r e a t of E ur op ea n i n t e r v e n t i o n i n t h e Amer ican C iv i l W a rwas p o s s i b l e . L i n c o l n ' s 1 848 r e s o l u t i o n t o C o ng re ss was n o tt o t a l l y a n t i -R u s s ia n , ho weve r, s i n c e it a l s o denounced B r i t i s ho p p r e ss i o n i n I r e la n d . 6

B y t h e decade o f t h e f i f t i e s , Anglo-American r i v a l r y2 0 .


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i n t h e C a r i b b e a n a nd E n g l a n d ' s o p p o s i t i o n t o R us si a i n t h eC r i m e a made t h e champion of r e p u b l i c a n i s m an d t h e e x em p la r ofd e p ot i sm s t r a n g e b e d fe l l ow s . I n t h i s i n s t a n c e p u b l i c o p i n i o nc o i n c i d e d w i t h gove rnmen t sympa th ie s , a l though U.S. po l icy waso f f i c i a l l y n e u t r a l . A s e a r c h o f t h e memoirs a n d p u b l i s h e dp a p e r s of A me ri can m i n i s t e r s t o E ng lan d a nd R u s s i a i n d i c a t et h a t t h e y , James Buchanan, George M . Dal las and Thomas Seymour,

7were i n a g re e me n t w i t h p u b l i c o p i n i o n .A l an Dowty d e v o t e s a l m o s t a f u l l c h a p t e r of h i s book ,

T h e L i m i t s of A m e r i c a n I s o l a t i o n : T h e U n i t e d S t a t e s and t h e~ ~~ ~ ~Crimean War, t o t h e s u b j e c t o f p u b l i c o p in i o n. H e con tendst h a t i t , " l i k e o f f i c i a l p o l i c y , t en ded t o r e f l e c t t h e c o u n t r y ' si n t e r n a t i o n a l p o s i t i on .... I8 Even t h o u gh e m o t i o n a l s e n t i m e n t s ,l i k e b e i n g f o r t h e " un de rd og " an d a g a i n s t t h o s e s u p p o r t i n g" h e at h e n" T urk ey a g a i n s t C h r i s t i a n R u s s ia , were e x p r e s s e d ; ab e l i e f t h a t t h e B r i t i s h -F r e n c h a l l i a n c e a g a i n s t R u s si a n e xp an -s i o n c ou l d be t u r n e d a g a i n s t Un i te d S t a t e s expansionismg wass u f f i c i e n t r e as on t o be a n t i - B r i t i s h i f no t p ro -Russ ian . P r o -Russ ian sympa th ie s of A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n s w e r e a l s o t h e r e s u l tof a n t i - B r i t i s h s e nt i m e nt of I r i s h i m m ig ra n ts a nd the imagin-a r y b r o t h e r h o o d f e l t between Amer ican s l a v e owners and Ru ss ianserf-masters .

Horace Pe r ry Jo ne s ' "Southern Opin ion On th e Cr imeanWar"'' s u p p o r t s alm ost a l l of Dowty's claims , p a r t i c u l a r l yw he re S o u t h e r n o p i n i o n r e f l e c t e d t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l p os i t i o n .Deeper t h a n t h e k i nd re d s p i r i t of dea le r s i n human bondage,

21.


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S o u t h e r n e r s were k ee nl y i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e a c q u i s i t i o n of Cuba.Not on ly were t h ey i n t e r e s t e d i n C u b a a s e s s e n t i a l t o expands l a v e r y , b u t t h e y were c on ce rn ed t h a t , u nd er B r i t i s h i n f l u e n c e ,Spa in wou ld " a f r i ca n i ze " Cuba by f r ee in g th e Negro s la ve st h e r e an d t h e r e b y s e t a d a n g er o u s p r e c e d e n t . B r i t i s h s u pp o rto f t h e a b o l i t i o n i s t movement w a s a l s o d e s p i s e d i n t h e S ou th . 11

One o ther p l a c e where Dowty and Jones agree i s i n t h eb e l i e f t h a t p r i v a t e o p i n io n i n t h e S ou th agreed w it h o f f i c i a lg ov ern men t o p i n i o n t h a t t h e B r i t i s h - F r e n c h a l l i a n c e c o u l d b et u r n e d a g a i n s t t h e U n i te d S t a t e s . I n s u pp o r t of t h i s , b o ths o u r c e s q u o t e Lo rd C l ar en d on , B r i t i s h S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o rF or ei gn A f f a i r s , i n a s p e e c h t o t h e House of L o r d s onJ a n u a r y 3 1 , 1854:

Your lo rdsh ips w i l l be g la d a l s o t o h e ar t h a tt h e u n io n of t h e t w o Governments i s no t con -f i n e d t o t h e E a s te r n q u e s t i o n , b u t t h a t t h eh a b i t of a good unders tanding be tween themh a s become g e n e r a l o n a l l mat te rs o f p o l i c y ,a nd e x t e nd s t o a l l p a r t s of t h e w o r l d ; andt h a t on t h e q u e s t i o n of p o l i c y , t he r e i s nop a r t of t h e w or ld , i n e i t h e r hemisphe re , w i t hr egard t o which w e a re n ot e n t i r e l y i naccord.

A l t ho u gh t h e t wo q u o t e s d i f f e r i n w o rd in g, t h e i r meaning i st h e same. l P er ha ps t h e i r d i f f e r e n c e s c a n be e x p l a i n e d by t h ef a c t t h a t t he y were b ot h t r a n s l a t i n g from E n g l i s h .

Both Dowty and Jones make e x t e n s i v e u s e o f t h e news-p a p e r s o f t h e d ay t o s u p p o r t t h e i r a p p r a i s a l o f p u b l i c o p i n io n ." P r o - A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Democratic, e x p a n s i o n i s t , a nd S o u t h e r nnewspapers and magaz ines . . . . " su ppo r te d t h e R u s s ia n c a u s e ,

t i 1 4w h i l e p r o - A l l i e d p e r i o d i c a l s were " . . .Whig pe r iod ica l s ... .2 2 .


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T h e number of pr o- Al l i ed newspa pers w e r e " . . . d i s p r o p o r t i o n -a t e l y l a r g e i n r e l a t i o n s t o p u b l ic o p in io n . ..", c c or d in g t oDowty

15

One a d d i t i o n a l s i d e l i g h t c o n c e rn i n g t h e news mediad u r i n g t h e p e r i o d i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e. I r o n i c a l l y , du r i ngt h e p e r i o d of t h e Crimean W a r , from 1853 t o 1856, Karl Marxw r o t e a s e r i e s of a r t i c l e s f o r t h e N e w York Tr ibune co nce r n ingh i s t h o u g h t s o n R u s s i a v i s - a - v i s t h e W e s t . H e w a s s t r o n g l ya n t i - R u s s i a n a nd a n t i - T s a r , a s t h e b u lw a rk of c o u n t e r -r e v o l u t i o n . As t h e d i s c o r d gr ew be tw e en R u s s i a a nd t h e A l l i e s ,he f e l t t h a t t h e W e s t e r n p o l i t i c i a n s were back-peddl ing i n t h ef a c e of R u s s i a n a g g r e s s i o n . T h i s w a s n o t n e c e s s a r y , h ecla imed, s i n c e R u s s i a w a s r e a l l y weak and o n l y b l u f f i n g w h i l ea t t e m p t i n g t o expand e a s t . T h e s t o r y o f M ar x' s d i s p a t c h e s i sfound in an a r t i c l e by J o s e p h C . Baylen, Marx's D i s p a t c h e s t o

II1 6Americans About Russ ia and the West, 1853-1856.P r i v a t e in vo lv em e nt w i t h t h e b e l l i g e r e n t p owers d u r i n gt h e w a r t o o k s e v e r a l f o r ms , a s m i g ht b e expected. Commerceh a s a l r e a d y b e en m e nt i on e d as i m p o r t a n t - n o t o n l y p r i v a t et r a d e b u t a l s o A merican v e s s e l s c a r r y i n g b e l l i g e r e n t s ' c a r g oe s .I n a d d i t i o n t o p e d d l e r s a n d s ea me n, m e c h an i cs a n d those whov o l u n t e e r e d f o r s e r v i c e i n t h e armed f o r c e s o f t h e w a r ri n gp a r t i e s were also i n v o l v e d o n a p r i v a t e l e v e l . Even t ho ug hp u b l i c o p i n io n r e s t ed d e c id e d ly i n f a v o r of R u s s i a , n o t a l lp r i v a t e i n v o l v e m e n t w a s o n t h e R u s s i a n s i d e .

T h r e e h u n d re d K en tu ck y r i f l e m e n v o l u n t e e r e d t o g o t o23.


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t h e C r i m e a t o a i d i n t h e R u s si a n d e f e n s e o f S e b a s t o p o l , b u tne ve r s a i l e d . l7 Some Am er ic ans vo l un t e e r e d t o j o i n t heB r i t i s h F or e i g n L e g i on t o f i g h t i n t h e C r i m e a d u ri ng t h e e n l i s t -m e n t c on t r ove r s y , t o b e d i s c u s s e d l a t e r , b u t n o t eno ug h t o makeit worth t h e B r i t i s h e f f o r t . l8 M o t i v a ti o n f o r s u ch a c t i o n smay have been f o r s y m p a t h et i c r e a s o n s , b u t were more pr oba b l yas a r e s u l t o f t h e d e p r e s s io n s po ke n of above. There were,how ever , t h i r t y - od d young A me ric an doc t o r s t h a t j o i ne d t h eT s a r ' s army. "They v o l u n t e e r e d ; t h e y a c t u a l l y s a i l e d ; t h e yworked i n t h e R u s si a n h o s p i t a l s t hr ou g h m o s t of t h a t con-f l i c t . II1 9

A l b e r t P a r r y t e l l s t h e s t o r y of these young d o c t o r s ,t e n of w hom d i e d i n t h e w a r , i n a n a r t i c l e a p p r o p r i a t e l yt i t l e d , "Amer ican Doc tor s i n t h e Crimean W a r . 2 o There weref o u r b a s i c r e a s o n s , a c co r d in g t o P a r r y , t h a t prompted theseyoung d o c t o r s , f r e s h o u t o f medical s c h o o l , t o v o l u n t e e r . Thef i r s t w a s the o p p o r tu n i t y t o g a i n s u r g i c a l e x p e r i e n ce ; t h esecond w a s a ha nke r i ng f o r a dve n t u r e ; money w a s t he t h i r d ; anda n t i - B r i t i s h s e n t i m e n t w a s t h e f o u rt h . The f i r s t t w o r e a s o n swere t he most i m p o r t a n t an d , a c c o r d i n g t o P a r r y , t h e m os tr ew a rd in g i n t h e d o c t o r s ' e y e s . O f those who d i e d , a l l werev i c t i ms of I . . . such d i seases as t y ph u s f e v e r , c h o l e r a , andsmall pox, d i s e a s e s t h a t s w e p t away more human l i v e s than werel o s t on t h e b a t t l e f i e l d . S e v e r a l of t h o s e t h a t s u r v i v e dr e t u r n e d t o u se t h e i r e xp e ri en ce i n t h e westward e xpa ns i on oft h e U ni t e d S t a t e s and f o r b o t h s i d e s i n t h e C i v i l War. 2 2

2 4 .


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I n t h e c a t e g o r y of p e d d l e r s , s e v e r a l s o u r c e s me nt io nt h e a c t i v i t y of Samuel C o l t , the i n v e n t o r of t h e r ev o l ve r t h a tbears h i s name, who w en t t o R u s s i a t o o f f e r h i s i m p r o v e d armst o t h e Russ ians . 2 3E uf ro si na Dvoichenko-Markov, 2 4 d e t a i l s t h e p r e se n c e of s e v e r a l

"Americans i n t he Crimean War" by

men l i k e Colt. Accompanying C o l t , f o r example, was an American" . . . e x p e r t i n m e ch an i ca l mat te r s , . . r 1 2 5 named Dickerson. I nSeptember , 1 8 5 5 , a b o ut f i f t e e n A me ri ca n m e ch an ic s a r r i v e d i nR u s si a t o work i n t h e workshops of t h e Moscow r a i l r o a d , andAmericans w i t h e x pe r i e nc e i n s m e l t i n g i r o n were s o u g h t t owork i n a f a c t o r y s u p p l y i n g r a i l r o a d r a i l s . A merican s te am -s h i p s were orde re d by th e Russ ian gove rnmen t wi th s h i p t imber. 2 7T he s e Amer ican e f f o r t s may have been pure ly f o r economic rea-sons a n d n o t o u t of s u p p o r t f o r t h e R u ss ia n w a r e f f o r t , b u tc o u ld o n l y h av e b ee n i n t e r p r e t e d as such by t h e A l l i e s .

A s ev idence t h a t commerce paid no heed t o p u b l i c o p i n -i o n , o n e " o r i g i n a l " s o u r c e book w r i t t e n by a p a r t i c i p a n t i sAn A me ric an T r a n s p o r t i n t h e C r h e a n War, by Cap t a in JohnCodman. Codman claimed t o have commanded one of t h e f i r s tA merican s t e a m s h i p s p l y i n g t h e M e d i t er r an e a n t r a d e i n 1854 .H e s e t o u t w i t h h i s f a m i l y i n t e n d i n g t o c a r r y p a s s e n ge r s , b u ten de d u p c a r r y i n g t r o o p s and s u p p l i e s f i r s t i n t h e M e d i t e r -r a n e a n an d t h e n i n t h e B l ac k Sea f ro m C o n s t a n t i n o p l e t o t h eA l l i e d f o r c e s b e s i e g i n g S e b a s t o p ol . H i s steamer was t h e f i r s tAmerican b o a t , s o h e cla imed, c h a r t e r e d by t h ement , While Codman c a r r i e d f o r t h e F r e n c h a n d

French govern-e v e n t u a l l y ,

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t h e T u r ks , h e had no l o ve f o r t h e B r i t i s h - p er ha ps r e f l e c t i v eof t h e o p i ni o n s a t home.

B e f or e l e a v i n g t h e rea lm o f u n o f f i c i a l Am eric an a c t i v -i t y , it may be a p p r o p r i a t e t o d i s c u s s A merican r e l a t i o n s w i t ht h e Ottoman Empir e. What o f f i c i a l Ottoman-Amer ican r e l a t i o n st h a t d i d t a k e p l a c e d u r i n g t h e d ec a de s b e f o r e t h e C rim ean W a rwere p r i m a r i l y a r e s u l t of t h e u n o f f i c i a l r e l a t i o n s o f t r a d e r s ,p h i l a n t h r o p i s t s a nd m i s s i o n a r i e s , a nd t h e A meric an go ve rn -m e n t ' s a t t e m p t t o p r o t e c t i t s c i t i z e n s i nv ol ve d i n t ho s ea c t i v i t i e s .

The Anglo-American co lo ni es cond uc ted commerc ia la c t i v i t i e s i n t h e Me d it e rr an e an u nd er t h e p r o t e c t i o n of B r i t i s hmen-of-war u n t i l t h e A me ri ca n r e v o l u t i o n c u t o f f t h a t p ro t ec -t i o n . A f t e r t h e r e v o l u t i o n , t h e M e d i te r ra n e an a pp e ar ed t oh o l d t h e g r e a t e s t p ro m is e b u t it a l s o h e ld o b s t ac l e s i n t h efo rm o f p i r a t e s f ro m t h e B a rb a ry s t a t e s o f t h e N o rt h A f r i c a nl i t t o r a l . American vessels had been s e i z e d and c i t i z e n s h e l df o r ransom. Thomas J e f f e r s o n , a s S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e , a rguedt h a t r a i s i n g a navy t o p r o t e c t o u r s h i p p i n g would b e l e sse xp e ns iv e t h a n t r i b u t e , w h i l e V i c e Pr es id en t John Adams fav or edt r i b u t e . E v e n t u al l y , i t w a s a c o m b in a t io n o f b o t h t h a t b ro u g h t,a n d m a i n t a i n e d , t r e a t i e s w i th A l g i er s i n 17 94 , T r i p o l i i n 1 7 9 6 ,and Tunis i n 1797. 2 9

J e f f e r s o n ' s navy ha d b eg un w i t h a n a p p r o p r i a t i o n f o rs i x f r i g a t e s i n 1 7 9 4 f o r u s e a g a i n s t A l g i e r s . 30a d d i t i o n a l vessels e v e n t u a l l y made up t h e i n i t i a l M e d i te r ra n e an

These and

2 6 .


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S qu ad ro n t h a t k e p t t h e t r e a t i e s i n f o r c e a nd r e n e g o t i a t e d them"from the mouth of a cannon" whenever Barbary t r o u b l e f l a r e d . 3

T h i s s qu a d ro n h a s b e e n i n t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n , w i t h b r i e f e xc ep -t i o n s , s i n c e t h a t t i m e .

T r i b u t e was e x p e n s i v e , p a i d i n gun p ow der, f i e l dp i e c e s , smal l arms, and nava l s t o r e s , b u t t r a d e i n c r e a s e d . 3 2The M e di t e r r an e a n S qu ad ro n p r o t e c t e d c om m er ci al t r a f f i c u n t i li t had t o be w it hd ra wn i n 1 8 0 7 , when t h e European w a r b r o u g h ti n c r e a s e d p r e s s u r e o n t h e U n it ed S t a t e s . As soon a s the squadr o n was gone and t h e me rch ant men were o n t h e i r own, p i r a c yf l a r e d and c o n t i n u e d t h ro u g h the War of 1 8 1 2 . 3 3

L e s s t h a n a week a f t e r t h e S en a te r a t i f i e d t h e T r e at yof Ghent (1815), Pr es id en t James Madison asked Congress fora u t h o r i t y t o move o n t h e Barbary s t a t e s . W i t h i n a f e w daysa f t e r t h e M e di te rr an ea n S q ua dr on 's a r r i v a l i n t h e M edi te r r an -e an , t h e f i g h t i n g w a s over and t r e a t i e s of a " l i b e r a l and

3 4e n l i g h t e n e d " n a t u r e were n e g o t i a t e d .A t t h e f a r end of t h e M e d i t e r r a n e a n l a y t h ee m p i re o f t h e Ottom an S u l t a n , o s t e n s i b l eo v e r l o r d o f t h e r e g e n t s of Barbary , cus od -i a n o f t h e r i c h e s o f t h e L e v an t , and gu a rd -i a n of t h e e n t ra n c e t o t h e B l a c k Sea , andh e r e a g a i n t h e p r o s p e c t w a s promis ing .(Commodore) Bambridge , b r in g i ng t r i b u t efro m A l g i e r s , h ad b ee n f l a t t e r i n g l yr e c e i v e d ; i n Eg y pt , E a t on h ad b e en g i v e nh e l p f u l a s s i s t a n c e by t h e O ttom an a u t h o r i -t i e s . C o ns ul s an d n a v a l o f f i c e r s h adr e p e a t e d l y u rg e d t h e c om m er ci al an d p o l i t i -c a l d e s i r a b i l i t y of a t r e a t y o f a m i t y an dcommerce w i t h t h e Grand S i g n i o r , w h i l e d i p -l o m a t i c r e p o r t s f r o m S t . P e t e r s b u r g , i n f o r -m a t i on fr om m e r c h a n t s i n t h e L e v a n t , a nd t h eo b s e r v a t i o n s of t h e N a v y i n t h e M e d it e rr a ne a n

27.


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u n i f o r m l y i n d i c a t e d a r e c e pt i v e a t t i t u d eon t h e p a r t o f t h e Ottoman government.35The way was opened t o t h e Ottoman Empi re . Every th ing

p oi n t ed t o a w i l l i n g n e s s t o t r a d e a n d n e g o t i a t e a t r e a t y .Th e Turks wanted a commercial and p o l i t i c a l t r e a t y

w i t h t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , and Amer ican ag en t s had b een pe r io d-i c a l l y s e n t t o i n v e s t i g a t e p o s s i b i l i t i e s . However, t h e d i s -r up t i on s o f t h e N a pol e on i c e r a a nd t h e t u r m o i l o f t h e Gr ee kR e vo l u t i on c a us e d t h e U . S . t o f a i l t o n e g o t i a t e s u c c e ss f u l l yu n t i l 1 8 2 9 when newly e l e c t e d Pre s id en t Andrew Jack son soug htt o e xpand t r a d e . P r e s i de n t J ohn Q u inc y A d a m s had e a r l i e r s e n tn e g o t i a t o r s b u t t h e s e e f f o r t s f a i l e d when t h e Ottoman P o r t et i e d a t r e a t y t o o b ta i ni n g U.S. b u i l t s h i ps . A d a m s ' i n s t r u c -t i o n s were t o n e g o t ia t e a c o m m e r c i a l t r e a t y o n l y - t h e r e wast o be no compromise o f American n e u t r a l i t y . Jac ks on ' s i n s t ru c -t i o n s a l s o a ll o we d no compromise of n e u t r a l i t y , b u t t h e S u l t a nw a s a n x i o u s f o r a t r e a t y a nd R us s i a n s up po r t ou tw e ighe dB r i t i s h i n t r i g u e s . 36

T he t r e a t y was s i gne d on 7 May 1830 a nd c on t a i ne d amost f a v o r e d n a t i o n c l a u s e , a p ro v is io n f o r e x t r a t e r r i t o r i a l -i t y f o r American c i t i z e n s , an d a s e c r e t a r t i c l e r e q u i r i n g t h eAmerican m i n i s t e r s t o h e l p t h e Ottoman government make ship-b u i l d i n g a g re e m en t s w i t h t h e U . S . a n d a c q u i r e s h i p t i m b e r .T h e t r e a t y was r a t i f i e d by t h e S e n a te on 1 F e br ua r y 1 8 3 1 w i t h -o u t t h e s e c r e t a r t i c l e be c a us e it w a s s a i d t o v i o l a t e t h e po l -

3 7i c y of non-involvement adv oca ted by t h e American government .B y August of t h e same year, Commodore David P o r t e r a r r i v ed i n

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C o n s t a n t i n o p l e as t h e f i r s t American C harge d ' A f f a i r s . I na d d i t i o n t o t h e r e j e c t i o n of t h e s e c r e t a r t i c l e , t h e S u l t a n ' sgovernment w a s d i s a p p o i n t e d b y the lowly r ank of t h e Amer icanr e p r e s e n t a t i v e . The f a c t t h a t h e w a s a b l e t o g a i n access t ot h e S u l t a n h i m s e l f a t t e s t s t o t h e h ig h r eg a r d i n which Americaw a s h e l d . 3 8

P h i l a n t h r o p i s t s ha d pl a ye d a m ajo r r o l e a l r e a d y i nA me ri can -O tt om an r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e i r a c t i o n s d u r i n g t h e Gree kr e v o l t of 1 8 2 1 -1 8 2 8 . I t was u n o f f i c i a l l y A me ri ca ' s f i r s t s u s-t .a in ed o v e r s e a s p h i l a n t h r o p i c v e n t u r e . P h i l h e l l e n i s m s w e p tAmerica w h i le t h e p u b l i c a n d m e m b e r s of C o n g r e s s a g i t a t e d f o rd i r e c t government inv olv em ent . Though t h e gove rnment e xp r e s s edsympathy f o r t h e Greek c a u s e , it avo ided invo lvemen t ou t off e a r t h a t it w o u l d p r o v i d e t h e Holy A l l i a n c e w i t h a n e xc us e t oa s s i s t S p ai n t o r e g a in h e r l o s t c o l o n i e s i n S ou th America.A m e r i c a n c i t i z e n s r a i s e d f u n d s an d v o l u n t e e r s s e r v e d w i t hGreek f o r c e s , c a u s i n g t h e O tto man s d i f f i c u l t y i n c o mp re he nd in gt h e d i f f e r e n c e be tw ee n a c t s of c i t i z e n s and those of govern-m en t. A meri can r e l i e f s u s t a i n e d t h e G r e e k s u n t i l E u r o p e a ni n t e r v e n t i o n a t N a va ri n o i n 1 8 2 7 in su r ed independence .

3 9

4 0

A lt hou gh p r i m a r i l y s e c u l a r , t h i s p h i l a n t h r o p i c a c t i v -4 1i t y t o ok o n t h e c r u s a d e r ' s z e a l a g a i n s t t h e unholy Turk.

L a t e r p h i l a n th r op i c a c t i v i t y w a s i n t e r m i n g l e d w i t h the miss ion-a r y e f f o r t u n t i l t h e p e r io d of p r o f es s i o n a l p h i l a n t h ro p ie s i nt h e l a t e r decades o f t h e c e n t u r y . T h i s to o k t h e f or m o f medi-c a l c a r e and e d u c at i o n i n b o t h cases . Although t h e pr imary

2 9 .


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o f f i c i a l i n t e r e s t i n t h e M i d d l e E a s t w a s t r a d e , t h e most i n f l u -e n t i a l f a c t o r i n s u s ta i n i n g r e l a t i o n s w a s t h e m i s s i o n a r y e f f o r tand t h e r eq u ir em e nt t o p r o t e c t them.

By 1823 mi ss io na r i es were i n B e i r u t and i n 1 824 m i s -s i o n a r y wives opened a c l a s s f o r a smal l number of Arab c h i l -d r e n . By y e a r ' s en d t h i s h a d e xp an de d s i g n i f i c a n t l y .S in ce t h e i r r e l i g i o n w a s s c r i p t u r a l l y b a se d, a l i t e r a t e a ud i -e nc e w a s n e c e s s a r y . As s uc h , w he r e ve r m i s s i ona r i e s w e n t ,s c h o o l s w e r e s oo n t o f o l lo w .

4 2

B etw ee n t he s i g n i n g of t h e American-Ottoman Tr ea ty andthe Mexican War, t h e r e w a s a r a p i d e x p an s io n of m i s s i o n a r ywork. Permanent s t a t i o n s were e s t a b l i s h e d i n C o n s ta n ti n op l eand U r m i a , and t h e S yr ia n e f f o r t w a s renewed. In 1 8 3 3 t h em i s s i o n p r e s s e s w e r e moved from Malta t o Smyrna and i n 1834t h e A r a b i c s e c t i o n w a s moved t o B e i r u t . A d d i t i o n a l m i s s io n a r yc o u p l e s a r r i v e d t o augment a l l s t a t i o n s . I n 1836 a school waso pe ne d i n U r m i a .

T h e m i s s i o n a r i e s i n C o n s t a n t in o p l e op en ed s c h o o l s f o rGr e e k s and Armenians , and i n 1833 the y were a s k e d t o s e t ups c h o o l s t o t e a c h T u rk i s h o f f i c e r s w r i t i n g , c i p h e r i n g , and to p -og rap hy . By 1834 t h e number of these s c h oo l s ha d grown t os e v e n , 4 3 E v e n t u al l y s c h o o l s and p r i n t i n g p r e s s e s were r e a c h i n ga l l areas o f m i s s io n a r y a c t i v i t y and m i s s i o n a r i e s b eg an t o m e e tw i t h p e r s e c u t i o n f r o m t h e l e a d e r s of t h e C h r i s t i a n s e c t s andf r om t he e m p i r e .

The e r a of t h e Crimean W a r b r o u g h t l i t t l e c ha ng e t o30 ,


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t h e o f f i c i a l r e l a t i o n s b etween t h e Ottoman Empire and t h eU ni t e d S t a t e s . A l t hough pub l i c op i n i on , w e ha ve s e e n , wasd e c i d e d l y w i t h " C h r i s t i a n " R u s s i a a g a i n s t " h e a t h e n " T u r k e y ,p e d d l e r s c o n t i n u e d t o p l y t h e i r t r a d e s , m i s s io n a r i es c o n ti nu e dt o p r ea c h and t e ac h , a nd o f f i c i a l America t r i e d n ot t o g e t t o od ee p ly i n v ol ve d i n t h e c o n f l i c t .

As a b r i d g e fro m t h e u n o f f i c i a l realm o f i n d i v i d u a la c t io n s t o t h e realm of o f f i c i a l Uni ted S t a t e s government r e l a -t i o n s , it may be a p p r o p r i a t e here t o a d d r e ss t h e endeavors oft h ree i n d i v id u a l s s e n t t o o b s er ve t h e m i l i t a r y c o n f l i c t i n t h eCrimea. T h i s t h r e e man commission of m i l i t a r y o f f i c e r s wass e n t u nd er t h e o r d e r s o f t h e S e c r e t a r y o f W a r , J e f f e r s o n D a v i s ,i n a n o f f i c i a l c a p a c i t y , b u t t h e o f f i c e r s were l e f t t o t h e i rown d e v i c e s t o c o m p le te t h e i r m i s s i o n . L i t t l e ha s be e n w r i t -t e n a bou t t he c om m i s s i on s o some b a s i c f a c t s , s uc h a s whot h e y were; where the y went; and what were the r e s u l t s of t h e i rt r i p , s ho ul d be pr ov i de d .

The commiss ion consis ted of t h r ee commiss ioned of f i -c e r s , e a c h se l ec t ed f o r ex c e ll e nc e i n some f i e l d of m i l i t a r yendeavor . T h e ch ie f o f t h e commission w a s a Major RichardD e l a f i e l d , C o r p s of E n g i n e e r s , who was s e r v i n g on t h e Board ofEngin eer s on Armament and F o r t i f i c a t i o n s and w a s l a t e r t obecome t h e C hi ef o f E n g i n e e r s d u r i n g t h e C i v i l War. Next wasMajor A l f r e d Mordecai, Ordnance Corps. Mordecai was pr oba b l yt h e f ore mo st ex p e r t o n a r t i l l e r y i n t h e Uni ted S t a t e s .Capta in George B . McClel lan, l a t e r of t h e Army of the Potomac

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fame, w a s t h e ju n i or man on t h e commission. McClel lan hadr e c e n t l y d i s t i n gu i s h e d h i m s e l f by s u r ve y i ng A me ric an no r thw e s tr a i l r o a d r o u t e s a nd n a v a l bases i n San to Doming0 b efo re t r an s -f e r r i n g f ro m t h e E n g in e e rs t o t h e C a v a lr y , H e was a l s o t h eonly one on t h e c om mi ss ion t o have s e e n a c t i v e c om ba t i n t h eMexican War. 4 4

The commiss ion de pa r t ed Boston on A p r i l 11, 1855 ands a i le d t o London, where they were g r a c i o u s l y r e c e i v e d a nd g i v e npasses t o i n s pe c t B r i t i s h f o rc e s i n t h e C r i m e a . They were n o tas l u ck y i n F r a n c e , w h er e p e r m i s s i o n t o v i s i t F r e nc h f o r c e swould not be g i ve n un l e s s t h e c omm is sion a g r e e d no t t o go ont o t h e enemy camp. T h e commiss ion cou ld no t agree t o t h a ta rr an g em e nt an d d e p a r t e d , i n t e n d i n g t o go by way of Berl in andW a r s a w d i r e c t l y t o t h e C r i m e a . I n W a r s a w they found t h e Rus-s i a n commander una bl e t o g r a n t p e r m i s s i o n t o t r a v e l t o t h eRu ss ia n camp. Only t h e T s a r i n S t . P e t e r s bu r g , w he r e t he yt r a v e l e d n e x t , c o u ld p r ov i d e t h a t p er m i s si o n an d h e p r o c r a s t i -n a t e d u n t i l t h e c o mm is si on s e t o u t t o e n t e r t h e C r i m e a fromC ons t a n t i nop l e . They a r r i ve d t o o l a t e t o w i tn e ss t h e f i n a ls t o r m i ng o f S e ba s t opo l , bu t were al lowed t o i n s p e c t t h e r u i n s . 4 5

I n t h e C r i m e a t h e B r i t i s h , T u rk s , and S a r d i n i a n sallowed t h e t h r e e o f f i c e r s t o i n s p e c t cam ps, d e p o t s , p a r k s ,and workshops. A f t e r l e a v i n g t h e C r i m e a , t h e commissioner st r a v e l e d ba ck t h r ough A us t r i a w her e t he y were allowed t oi n s p e c t v a ri o us m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n s . While t h e i r e f f o r t s t ov i s i t French and Russ ian encampments i n t h e Crirnea were n o t

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s u c c e s s f u l , t h e y ha d b ee n a b l e t o i n s p e c t e x t e n s i v e l y i n F r an ceand t h e a r e a around S t . P e t e r s b u r g as w e l l a s P r u s s i a n a ndP o l i s h s i t e s . I n t h e s p r i n g of 1 8 5 6 , t h e commiss ion r e tu rnedt o t h e U n it e d S t a t e s . 4 6g ov er nm en t i n v o l v em e n t d u r i n g t h e w a r . Every o t h e r a c t i v i t y. in vo lv in g t h e c o n f l i c t seemed, on the s u r f a c e , t o be i n r e a c -t i o n t o f o r e i g n e f f o r t s .

This commission w a s t h e on ly o f f i c i a l

W hile o f f i c i a l p o l i c y o f t h e U n it ed S t a t e s d u r i n g t h eCrimean W a r w a s s t r i c t n e u t r a l i t y , i n a c t u a l f a c t t h e govern-ment seemed t o f a v o r R u s s i a . F r an k A . G ol de r, i n t h e a r t i c l e"Russ ian-Amer ican R el a t io ns Dur ing t h e Crimean War" , 7 s t a t e s ,l i k e Alan Dowty and o the r s t4* t h a t t h i s ". w a r of f r i e n d s h i p . . .b et we en t h e two n a t i o n s I ) . . . w a s based almost a l t o g e t h e r o nantagon ism towards England and on s e l f - i n t e r e s t . I4w o r k , one very c l o s e l y r e l a t e d to h i s Ph.D . d i s s e r t a t i o n ,s e e k s t o show t h a t America w a s n o t the i s o l a t i o n i s t " h a l f -p i n t " t h a t it i s o f t e n p o r t r ay e d a s , b u t a n a g g r e s s i v e , s e l f -i n t e r e s t - s e e k i n g n a t i o n t h a t us ed t h e Crim ean W a r t o t w i s t t h eg r e a t p o w e r s ' t a i l s when they were l e a s t l i k e l y t o r e t u r n t h ef a v o r . H e e m p h a s i z e s t h e Pierce a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ' s e x p a n s i o n -i s t i c t e n d e n c i e s a n d i t s appo in tmen t o f l i k e m i n d e d p o l i t i c -i a n s , s u c h as P i e r r e Soul;, noted for h i s advocacy of thes e i z u r e of C ub a, t o a m b a s s a d or s h ip s i n E u ro pe . He s u g g e s t st h a t t h e Pie r ce a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s o ug h t t o g a i n t h e a d va nt ag e i ni t s q u e s t f o r e xp an si on i n t o Cuba a n d C e n t r a l America by p lay-i n g o n t h e f r i e n d s h i p w i t h R u s s i a .

Dowty's50

3 3 .


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R e l a t i o n s w i t h R u s si a p r i o r t o t h e war ha ve be e np r e v i o u s l y d e s c r i b e d , s o it w i l l n o t be n e c e s sa r y t o r e i t e r a t ethem h e r e , What i s i m p o r t a n t i s t h a t , a cc or di ng t o G o l d e r , t h ef i r s t t h i n g R u s si a n d i p l o m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s d i d w a s a t t e m p tt o draw t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s i n t o t h e c o n f l i c t by s t i r r i n g upc omm e rc ia l r i v a l r i e s w i t h E ngl and . They o f f e r e d r e duc e d t a r -i f f s o n goods t r a d i t i o n a l l y c a r r i e d i n E ng l i s h bo t t om s, knowingt h a t ' I . . .Americans w i l l go a f t e r a n yt hi ng t h a t has enough moneyi n i t . , . I . 1A merican s t a n d on p r i v a t e e r i n g , t h e g r a n t i n g o f l e t t e r s ofm arqu e" t o p r i v a t e v e s s e l s c om m is si on in g them t o s e i z e v e s s e l sof t h e enemy o r ne u t r a l s c a r r y i ng c on t r a ba nd i t e m s . S in c e t h i sa c t i v i t y was i n c o n f l i c t w i t h American n e u t r a l i t y l a ws , CountNesse l rode , t h e R u s s i an F o r e ig n M i n i s t e r , a d v i s e d h i s r e p r e -s e n t a t i v e s t o b ac k- of f a nd d o n o t h i n g t h a t would endangerRusso-American f r iendship.

They a l s o q u i e t l y a t te m p te d t o d i s c ov e r t h e

5 2

D ur i ng t he w a r , R u s s i a a c q u i e s c e d t o t h e A me rica nd e s i r e t o a n ne x t h e Sa nd wich I s l a n d s ; a s s i s t e d t h e U n i t e dS t a t e s i n p ro c u ri n g a commercial t r e a t y w i th Per s i a , i nr i v a l r y w i t h E n gl is h i n t e r e s t s ; an d agreed t o s i g n a t r e a t yc o v e r i n g t h e r i g h t s of n e u t ra l s i n t i m e of w a r . T h e Uni tedS t a t e s h a d p r e s s e d f o r t h i s l a s t c onc e s s i on a l m os t f r om t h ebe g i nn i ng o f R usso -A me ric an d i p l om a t i c r e l a t i o n s , A s a s i g nof g o o d w i l l , t h e Un i te d S t a t e s o f f e r e d t o mediate t h e Crimeanc o n f l i c t , b u t R u s si a r e f u se d , f e a r i n g t h a t i f t h e o f f e r w e r e t ocome from pro-R uss ian America it would be t a k e n by t h e A l l i e s

5 3as a s i g n of R uss i an weakness ,


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A m e r i c a n r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h e A l l i e s were p r i m a r i l y d e a l -i n g w i t h t h e B r i t i s h a n d t h e s e r e f l e c t e d t h e un harm oni ou s p a s t .Co nd i t io ns between th e mo the r - coun t ry and h e r ex-colony w e r eseldom a g r e e a b l e and o c c a s i o n a l l y f l a r e d i n t o armed c o n f l i c t ,as i n 1812. The s u r p r i s i n g t h i n g i s t h a t t h e r i v a l r y d i d n o te r u p t more o f t en . The decade of t h e t h i r t i e s w a s p a r t i c u l a r l yv o l a t i l e when A merica n c i t i z e n s i n v o l v e d th e m s el v e s i n t h eC a n a d i a n r e b e l l i o n o f 1837. T h e r e w e r e a l s o prob lems conce rn -ing American s t a t e s d e f a u l t i n g o n B r i t i s h l o a n s d u r i n g t h ef f i n a n c i a l p a n i c of 1837. The Maine boundary d ispute alsof l a r e d o c ca s io n a l l y u n t i l i t s s e t t l em e n t i n 1 8 4 2 .

B r i t i s h s u p p o r t of t h e a b o l i t i o n i s t movement h a s b ee nm en ti on ed p r e v i o u s l y , b u t t h e p h y s i c a l a t t e m p t t o c u r b t h es l a v e t r a d e by t r y i n g t o e s t a b l i s h t h e r i g h t t o s ea r c h A m e r i -can merchan t s h i p s i n peacetime came n e a r t o w r e c k i n g t h eW e bs te r- As hb ur to n T r e a t y n e g o t i a t i o n s T h i s t r e a t y n o t o n l ys o l v e d some o f t h e mi no r b u t e x p l o s i v e s i t u a t i o n s d e s c r i b e da b ov e , b u t a l s o p av ed t h e way f o r s o l u t i o n s t o f u t u r e c o n tr o -v e r s i e s i n t h e 1840s, such as t h e Ore go n s e t t l e m e n t .

With t h e r e c e i p t of i t s s h a r e of Oregon, a l l o f C a l i f -o r n i a , and t h e d i s c o v er y of g o l d i n C a l i f o r n a , t h e U n it edS t a t e s renewed i t s i n t e r e s t i n a n I s th m i a n c a n a l . The Ameri-cans ga ined a t o eh ol d i n C e n tr a l America a nd t h e I s t h m u s ofPanama by signing a t r e a t y w i t h Ne w Granada ( l a t e r C o l u m b i a ) ,g r a n t i n g t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t r a n s i t r i g h t s i n exchange f o r U . S .g u a ra n t ee s of t h e " n e u t r a l i t y " a nd f r e e t r a n s i t of t h e r o u t e

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ac ro s s t h e I s th m u s. The B r i t i s h , a l r e a d y c o n ce r ne d w i t h t h eoutcome of t h e Mexican W a r , f e a r e d t h a t t h i s U ni t e d S ta t e se x pa n si on i n t o C e n t r a l America would c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e i r owni n t e r e s t s t h e r e . The C la yt on -B ul we r T r e a t y o f 1850 w a s t oh av e s o lv e d t h i s s o u r c e of c on c er n f o r b o t h p a r t i e s by es t ab -l i s h i n g t h a t n e i t h e r would a t t e m p t t o e xp an d i n C e n t r a l A m e r i c a ,S i n c e b o t h s i d e s showed l i t t l e i n c l i n a t i o n to wa rd l i v i n g up t ot h e a gre em en t, t h e t r e a t y i t s e l f became a s o u r c e of b i c k e r i n gd u r i n g t h e decades o f t h e f i f t i e s and s i x t i e s . B r i t i s h d i s -i n c l i n a t i o n t o g iv e up i t s M os qu ito p r o t e c t o r a t e o n t h e c o a s tof N i ca r agua o r t h e Honduran Bay i s l a n ds , a nd un o f f i c i a l A m e r i -c a n s u p p o r t f o r f i l i b u s t e r e r s , n e a rl y c au se d c o n f l i c t .These d i f f i c u l t i e s , and t h e A nglo-A me rican c o n f l i c t o f i n t e r -e s t i n Cuba, ment ioned above , were s i g n i f i c a n t re as on s f o r t h ea n t i - B r i t i s h f e e l i n g s i n America.

5 4

D u r i n g t h e t i m e of the Cr imean War, t h e r e were twoB r i t i s h p o l i c i e s t h a t a f f e c t e d o f f i c i a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h t h eUni ted S t a t e s . T h e f i r s t r e ga r de d t h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a l s , a n dt h e Uni ted S t a t e s ' d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o p r o t e c t i t s r i g h t as an e u t r a l t o c a r r y on l e g i t i m a t e commerce. The second po l i cyconcerned t h e r e c r u i t i n g of A merican c i t i z e n s f o r the B r i t i s hArmy i n v i o l a t i o n of A me ric an n e u t r a l i t y l a w s .

Th e B r i t i s h p o l i c y c on c er ni ng n e u t r a l r i g h t s a gr ee dt h a t t h e n e u t r a l f l a g would p r o t e c t t h e c a r g o , e x c e p t f o rc on t r a ba nd . T h i s p o l i c y s u i t e d A m e ri c a' s n e e d s . 5 5 A t t h e endo f t h e w a r i n 1 85 6, t h e f amous Dec la ra t ion of P a r i s c onc e r n i ng

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t h e r i g h t s of n e u t r a l s o n t h e seas w a s s igned by t h e Europeanpower s and th e Un i ted S ta te s w a s i n v i t e d t o s i gn . T h e documentd e c l a r e d t h a t : 1. P r i v a t e e r i n g i s and remains , a b o l i s h e d ;2 . T h e n e u t r a l f l a g cov e r s enemy ' s goods wi th the excep t ionof contraband of w a r ; 3 . N e u t r a l g o o d s w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n oft h e con t r aband of w a r , a r e n o t l i a b l e t o c a p t u r e u nd er e ne my 'sf l a g ; 4 . B l o ck a d es , i n o r d e r t o be b ind ing , mus t be e f f e c -t i v e . The Uni ted S t a t e s w a s i n f u l l a c c o r d w i t h a r t i c l e stwo, t h r e e , and f o u r , b u t f e l t t h a t g i v i n g u p p r i v a t e e r s wouldp u t i t s co mp ar at iv el y weak navy a t t h e mercy of s t ro ng er m a r i -t i m e n a t i o n s - namely England . Se cre ta ry of S t a t e W i l l i a mMarcy a t t e m p t e d t o h ave a f i f t h a r t i c l e added t h a t would l i m i tmari t ime warfare t o armed sh i p s , le av in g commerce f r e e fromi

US Military Commission to the Crimean War

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