William Henry Gregory

William Henry Gregory was an Anglo-Irish, Liberal Member of Parliament for Galway and the first leading advocate of Confederate recognition in the House of Commons during the American Civil War.  The reason for his staunch stance on behalf of the South can be traced back to his 1859 excursion to the United States when he befriended several Southern senators, including a future Confederate Emissary to London, James Murray Mason.

In addition to frequently attacking actions of Union commanders and soldiers in Northern-occupied areas of the South, especially that of General Benjamin Butler’s occupation of New Orleans, he was a member of the London branch of the Southern Independence Association, and a subscriber of both The Index and the Confederate Cotton Loan.

Shortly after the war, Gregory served as colonial Governor of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka).