Nov. 15, 1861

Nov. 15, 1861: The USS San Jacinto, comm. Capt. Charles Wilkes, arrives in Hampton Roads at Fort Monroe, a Union base at the tip of the James Peninsula in Virginia, with his two prisoners, Confederate envoys James Mason and John Slidell, who were bound for Europe when Wilkes stopped the British ship (the Trent) on which they were passengers. Mason and Slidell are transferred to another ship, to be taken to Boston to be imprisoned at Fort Warren. Pres. Lincoln and Sec. of State Seward immediately begin meetings to assess the diplomatic impact of this capture, and the U.S. relationship with Britain.