Video: 'What was: The Trent Affair?'

(Thursday, December 26, 1861; during the Trent Affair, part of the American Civil War) — Confederate diplomatic envoys James Mason and John Slidell were freed by President Abraham Lincoln today, heading off a possible war between the United States and Great Britain.

The two men were arrested after the USS San Jacinto, commanded by Union Captain Charles Wilkes, intercepted the British mail packet RMS Trent near the Bahamas on November 8, 1861, as they were headed to London to lobby for recognition of the Confederacy.

Video: 'Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.1of9.The.Cause' (Trent Affair at 1:30:15)

The British authorities demanded their release as diplomatic envoys, threatening war over the illegal act and provoking an international crisis for Lincoln.

After several tense weeks, the crisis was resolved when the Lincoln administration released the envoys and disavowed Captain Wilkes’s actions, although without a formal apology. Mason and Slidell resumed their voyage to Europe.