All tours must be booked at least 2 days in advance. Please contact Dr Tom Sebrell directly at t.e.sebrell@qmul.ac.uk

American Civil War

The American Civil War saw the United States split between two belligerencies, with the North & South pitted against each other in a war which would see more Americans killed than in all other wars in which Americans fought combined (including both World Wars).  The seceding Southern states, the ‘Confederacy’, looked back to the American War of Independence, which ended just three-quarters of a century earlier, and recalled the role played by the French in aiding the American victory, forcing the British to the negotiation table, resulting in the creation of the United States.  The Confederates were then in a similar position of attempting to gain independence from the Federal government in Washington.  Lacking both manpower and munitions necessary to win against the much more heavily-populated and industrial North, the Confederacy looked to Europe for intervention and realised Britain was most likely to fill this role owing to the Mother Country’s need for Southern cotton.

At the start of the war in 1861, therefore, the Confederate Cabinet sent numerous agents to Britain to secure war munitions and, most importantly, recognition as an independent nation.  Although President Abraham Lincoln did not require any form of foreign intervention in order to defeat the Confederates, his strategy for ultimate victory included sending his own agents to prevent the South’s forming an alliance with Britain or securing materiel of war.

Walking tours

These 3 separate walking tours bring back to life the long forgotten stories not only of the Union & Confederate agents and diplomats stationed in London throughout the war, but the British response to the American Civil War arriving at their doorstep.

More details on walking tours...

Prices:

Adults: £8
65+ / full-time student card-holders: £6
Child (under 15 accompanied by an adult): Free

Schedule:

Marylebone

Tuesday to Sunday, 3pm & 7pm
Marble Arch Underground Station
(meet outside the ‘Exit 1, Oxford St North’ exit)

Piccadilly and Mayfair

Tuesday to Sunday, 3pm & 7pm
Green Park Underground Station
(meet outside the ‘Piccadilly South Side’ exit)

City

Tuesday to Sunday, 3pm & 7pm
St Paul’s Cathedral
(meet at statue of Queen Anne in front of the main steps of the cathedral)

PODCAST: Interview with Dr Thomas E. Sebrell II