Please notice that no tours will take place from 19 December, through to 1 February as we are closed for the winter.

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

From the start of the American Civil War the seceding Southern states were attempting to gain independence from the Federal government. Lacking manpower and munitions necessary to win against the heavily-populated and industrial North, the Confederacy looked to Europe for intervention and realised Britain was most likely to offer help owing to its need for Southern cotton. Therefore, the Confederate Cabinet sent numerous agents to Britain to secure war munitions and recognition as an independent nation. Lincoln did not require foreign intervention in order to defeat the Confederates, though it was vital to send his own agents to London to thwart the South’s agenda. Owing to the arrival of this war into the capital, numerous Londoners became involved in the conflict, many of them secretly.

“These walking tours are an eye-opening look at how, despite Southern slavery, many very prominent Londoners – politicians, scientists, literary figures and the like – engaged in pro-Confederate activities during the American Civil War, raising funds, spreading pro-Southern propaganda and the like. I learned a great deal from it.”
-Professor Eric Foner, Pulitzer Prize winner for History, DeWitt Clinton Professor of History, Columbia University

“These tours are a must for anyone who has read my book. Academic guides escorting you give historically informative presentations at numerous crucial sites highlighted in A World on Fire. They will surprise anyone who believes the American Civil War was restricted to the United States.”
-Dr Amanda Foreman, FRSA, author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire(1998) and A World on Fire(2010)

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