The Russian Fleet Comes to America

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Title

The Russian Fleet Comes to America

Description

            On September 24, 1863, Russian ships suddenly appeared off the coast of New York City. Although the appearance of a foreign navy during the Civil War might seem to have been menacing, both the American government and private society welcomed the presence of the Russian fleet.

            Both the diplomatic reception to an unexpected naval visit and the lavish private receptions in New York City demonstrate the extent to which Russia had been established as a friendly power. One reception for the Russian officers served “twelve thousand oysters, twelve hundred game birds, and three thousand five hundred bottles of wine.”[1] The official receptions were no less dramatic, and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles gave the Russians open access to visit the Brooklyn navy yard.[2]  In December, Secretary Seward received the Russians in Washington, D.C., and Mary Todd Lincoln herself gave “a toast to the health of the Czar.”[3] The warm reception reiterated the level of friendship between the two countries, such that a Russian fleet could suddenly arrive on the East Coast and be feted.

            Russia’s dispatch of ships to New York, and later San Francisco, came not necessarily as a show of support for the Union, but rather out of fear of British and French intervention in Poland. Since the United States had declined interest in intervention on behalf of the Polish rebels, the Russian fleet seemed much safer near American waters than directly facing British and French navies.[4]  For the Russians, fostering a sense of good will was important, but secondary to their goal of keeping their navy intact in case of a war with Britain and France.



[1] Albert A. Woldman. Lincoln and the Russians. (Cleveland: World Publishing Company, 1952), 146.

[2] Ibid, 141.

[3] Ibid, 147.

[4] Benjamin F. Gilbert, “Welcome to the Czar’s Fleet.” California Historical Society Quarterly 26, no. 1 (Mar. 1947): 13.

Creator

Samuel Coffin

Source

Benjamin F. Gilbert, “Welcome to the Czar’s Fleet.” California Historical Society Quarterly 26, no. 1 (Mar. 1947): 13-19

Albert A. Woldman. Lincoln and the Russians. Cleveland: World Publishing Company, 1952.

Date

September 1863-April 1864

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