Dispatches from Bermuda
CIVIL WAR IN THE NORTH
Series Editor, Lesley J. Gordon, University of Akron
ADVISORY BOARD
William Blair, Pennsylvania State University
Peter S. Carmichael, University of North Carolina Greensboro
Stephen D. Engle, Florida Atlantic University
J. Matthew Gallman, University of Florida
Elizabeth Leonard, Colby College
Elizabeth Varon, Temple University
Joan Waugh, University of California Los Angeles
Dispatches
from Bermuda
The Civil War Letters
of Charles Maxwell Allen,
United States Consul at Bermuda,
18611888
Edited by Glen N. Wiche
Kent State University Press
Kent, Ohio
2008 by The Kent State University Press, Kent, Ohio 44242
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2008014200
ISBN 978-0-87338-938-9
Manufactured in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Allen, Charles Maxwell.
Dispatches from Bermuda : the Civil War letters of Charles Maxwell Allen, United States consul at Bermuda, 18611888 / edited by Glen N. Wiche.
p. cm. (Civil War in the North)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 9780-87338938-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Blockades.
2. BlockadeBermuda IslandsHistory19th century.
3. Allen, Charles MaxwellCorrespondence.
4. ConsulsUnited StatesCorrespondence.
5. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Personal narratives.
6. United StatesHistoryCivil War, 18611865Naval operations.
7. Confederate States of America. NavyHistory.
8. Bermuda IslandsHistory, Naval19th century.
9. Atlantic Ocean RegionHistory, Naval19th century.
10. United StatesForeign relations18611865.
I. Wiche, Glen Norman. II. Title.
E600.A44 2008
973.75dc22
2008014200
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication data are available.
12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1
In loving memory of Susan Z. Wiche, who found Charles
Maxwell Allens last resting place on a warm Bermuda afternoon
and encouraged me to tell his story.
Engraved portrait of Charles Maxwell Allen (Courtesy of Bermuda National Trust Collection, Bermuda Archives, Hamilton, Bermuda)
Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith let us,
to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN
Simple duty hath no place for fear.
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER
My quest for Charles Maxwell Allen began on a warm Bermuda afternoon in 1992. My wife and I had gone to the island for a short holiday and were charmed by its beauty, the hospitality of the people, and its curious history, so strongly connected to that of the United States. That Sunday we worshipped at St. Marks Anglican Church in Smiths Parish. After the service, we strolled across the narrow road and through the picturesque old cemetery. Our attention was drawn to a tall handsome obelisk. Closer inspection revealed it to be the last resting place of Charles Maxwell Allen, who, according to the inscription, had been the U.S. consul to the Island of Bermuda from 1861 until his death in 1888.
We were touched to discover the grave of this American who had served his country for so many years on foreign soil. I had long been interested in the international aspects of the American Civil War, and particularly the maritime history of the period. I was well aware of the important part that Bermuda had played in the conflict as a haven for Confederate blockade-runners in their attempts to bring vital war materiel from Europe through the Union blockade of Southern ports and into the Confederate states. But, in all my reading on the subject, I could not recall any references to Allens own wartime activities in Bermuda.
I decided to review the printed sources on the subject when I returned home. In doing so, I discovered that there had been no books or scholarly monographs devoted to Allens Civil War career. I wondered whether his story, if it could be pieced together, might make a valuable contribution to the literature of the war, and my wife urged me to tell his story.
Not long after, I was delighted to discover that Allens diplomatic dispatches survived and had, in fact, been microfilmed by the National Archives in Washington, D.C. I quickly purchased the microfilm reels and began to make transcripts of the original documents. It soon became apparent what a rich source of information Allens dispatches were. Here was a new, largely unused, eyewitness account that shed important light on the diplomatic and naval aspects of the conflict.
This book gathers together all of Consul Allens Civil War diplomatic dispatches. Many of the dispatches are published here for the first time since Allen penned them in wartime Bermuda. They tell a fascinating story of diplomatic and military intrigue. They also illuminate the character of a proud, patriotic New Englander who represented his country skillfully and ably for more than a quarter of a century. It is a testament to Allen that, although he was greeted with scorn upon his arrival in pro-Confederate Bermuda in 1861, he became a beloved figure in the postwar years and was genuinely mourned by Bermudians when he died on Christmas Eve 1888.
My chief debt of gratitude is to Kathleen Moore of Chicagoindefatigable researcher, candid counselor, prudent critic. When the editor became legally blind, she became the projects chief transcriber and researcher. Without her efforts and encouragement, the story of Charles Maxwell Allen would yet remain unwritten.
The Allen Family Papers at the Vermont Historical Society were made available through the courtesy of Alice Ross de Kok. A descendant of one of Charles Maxwell Allens brothers, Ms. de Kok generously shared Allen family letters, photographs, and memories. A special thank you is due to Bettye Hitchcock Allen, who preserved all of the Allen family history.
Paul Carnahan of the Vermont Historical Society provided valuable research assistance on the Allen family in Vermont. Marlene Wightman of Belmont, New York, provided much material on the history of the Republican Party in Allegany County, New York. My thanks to Charles B. Smith of the Orono, Maine, Historical Society for providing information on Anson Allen and the Allen Match Manufactory. I also wish to acknowledge the assistance of the staff of the Bermuda Archives for making the Allen papers in their possession available to me. My thanks are also due to the Bermuda Library in Hamilton, which provided microfilm copies of the Bermuda Royal Gazette.
I wish to thank John Aubrey, Ayer librarian of the Newberry Library, for his many assistances and the expediting of important interlibrary loans.
To my friends and colleagues, Tom Drewes, Edward Gordon, Robert Guinan, Bruce Kirstein, Professor Deirdre McCloskey, Kathleen Occhipinti, Charles Priestley, Sandra Sadler, Frank C. Schell III, Edgar Self, and Robert Sharp, who read portions of the manuscript, I am grateful to each for their valuable comments, suggestions, and encouragement.
