Alabama Claims - British Political Involvement

British Political Involvement

The British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston and Foreign Secretary Lord John Russell had allowed the Alabama to put to sea from the shipyards of John Laird Sons and Company in Birkenhead, despite the explicit objections of the American Legation in London and charges from the American Minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams that the ship was bound for the Confederacy. Though both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were thought to favor the Confederacy at the time of Alabama's construction, this position was against British public opinion and MPs such as Richard Cobden campaigned against it. The subsequent release of the Alabama proved to be publicly embarrassing, and Palmerston and Russell were later forced to admit that the ship should not have been allowed to depart, despite the opinion of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales that her release did not violate neutrality.

Even so, the next year two ironclad warships under construction in Birkenhead and destined for the Confederacy were detained after their completion but before their launch. As a direct consequence of the flap over the Alabama, rather than turn the ships over to Monsieur Bravay of Paris (who had ordered their construction as intermediary for Confederate principals), Palmerston instructed the British Admiralty to tender an offer for the purchase of the ships.