Civil War

This Week in the Civil War

00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.

This Week in the Civil War - 720

Texas Public Radio | By Texas Public Radio

Published December 11, 2013 at 9:20 AM CST

On Monday, December.7, 1863 sixteen Confederates, led by Lieutenant John Braine, seized the USS Chesapeake which was running from New York to Portland, Maine. After overwhelming the ship’s crew, the Chesapeake sailed first to Saint John’s, New Brunswick and subsequently to Halifax Harbor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

On December 16, Union gunboats would recapture the Chesapeake. One of the seized Confederates was a British subject, and local authorities threatened to use shore batteries against the American ships unless the Englishman was released.

When Union Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles ordered the prisoner freed and had the Chesapeake turned over to Canadian authorities, an international incident was averted. However, Secretary of State William Seward demanded that Canada in the future enforce her neutrality concerning the American Civil War with greater vigor.