Existing comment:
Charles Wilkes, 1798-1877:
In November 1861, Captain Charles Wilkes of the US Navy precipitation what would quickly become a diplomatic crisis for the Lincoln administration early in the war. As commander of the USS San Jacinto sailing off the coast of Cuba, Wilkes, acting wholly on his own initiative, commandeered two Confederate envoys -- James Mason of Virginia and John Slidell of Louisiana -- from a British mail steamer, the Trent.
Great Britain was outraged by this violation of neutral rights and demanded the release of the envoys and an apology from Washington. Lincoln had no choice but to acquiesce or face possible armed retaliation from Great Britain.
Wilkes emerged from the Trent affair relatively unscathed by public opinion and was lauded as a hero in the North. He is also remembered for his scientific explorations and survey of the Antarctic coast in the early 1840s.
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