France and the American Civil War: A Diplomatic History(Civil War America)

France's involvement in the American Civil War was critical to its unfolding, but the details of the European power's role remain little understood. Here, Steve Sainlaude offers the first comprehensive history of French diplomatic engagement with the Union and the Confederate States of America during the conflict. Drawing on archival sources that have been largely neglected by scholars up to this point, Sainlaude overturns many commonly held assumptions about French relations with the Union and the Confederacy. As Sainlaude demonstrates, no major European power came closer than France to intervening in the American conflict by siding with the Confederacy, and none had a deeper stake in the outcome.

Reaching beyond the standard narratives of this history, Sainlaude delves deeply into questions of geopolitical strategy and diplomacy during this critical period in world affairs. The resulting study will help shift the way Americans look at the Civil War and extend our understanding of the conflict in global context.

About the Author :
Steve Sainlaude is associate professor of history at the University of Paris IV Sorbonne.

Jessica Edwards is an independent translator.

Don H. Doyle is McCausland Professor of History at the University of South Carolina.

Review :
"France and the American Civil War provides an outstanding example of . . . good diplomatic history." -- Journal of Modern History "A concise, readable, and informative monograph. . . . [Sainlaude's] work provides a useful look at the diplomacy that secured the Union victory and began the shaping of a newly modern world."--"The Journal of Americas Military Past" "A marvelous book that contains fascinating analysis about French diplomacy during the U.S. Civil War. . . . This is a volume that will appeal to anyone interested in diplomacy and foreign relations during this period."--Civil War Monitor "American scholars will find a different perspective on the Civil War's international effects as told from the viewpoint of one of the outside powers whose approach was more complex than they may have previously believed."--America's Civil War "Explores in considerable detail the intentions and actions of multiple diplomatic officials, especially foreign ministers."--CHOICE "Provides a much-needed counterpoint to the prevailing view that French diplomacy during the American Civil War had an influence clearly secondary to Britain's and looked to its neighbor across the channel to lead the way on U.S.-Confederate policy matters. . . . Highly original, nuanced, and deeply persuasive."--Civil War Books and Authors "Sainlaude's impressive scholarship will challenge diplomatic historians to rethink the scholarly consensus concerning France's role in our nation's bloodiest conflict."--The Journal of the Civil War Era "Stève Sainlaude's France and the American Civil War will be of incredible value to American historians of this era. Using primarily French diplomatic records, such as official political, consular, and commercial correspondence housed at the Centre des archives diplomatiques de la Courneuve, the author weaves a balanced narrative, brings fresh perspectives, and challenges old assumptions of the Civil War's place in hemispheric and world affairs."--Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association "This well researched, well written, and thought provoking work is indispensable to anyone studying the Civil War. Other writers have dealt with France's involvement in the North-South conflict, but no one before Sainlaude had mined the rich collection of French consular files in combination with the standard primary and secondary sources to produce such a remarkably clear and convincing story of the fanciful dreams of one of the most conniving opportunists of the nineteenth century--Napoléon III."-- H-Diplo Roundtable "With this deeply researched book, Stí]ve Sainlaude sets out to rewrite the history of Franco-American relations from within the internal machinations of French policy makers. . . . The result is a clear approach to the manifold dimensions of French diplomacy. . . [that] deserves serious attention for bringing the Second French Empire back into the narrative of Civil War relations and for doing so in such a clear-sighted fashion."--Journal of Southern History