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Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret…
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Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South (original 2015; edition 2016)

by Christopher Dickey (Author)

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26059101,727 (4.19)41
"Between the Confederacy and recognition by Great Britain stood one unlikely Englishman who hated the slave trade. His actions helped determine the fate of a nation. When Robert Bunch arrived in Charleston to take up the post of British consul in 1853, he was young and full of ambition, but even he couldn't have imagined the incredible role he would play in the history-making events to unfold. In an age when diplomats often were spies, Bunch's job included sending intelligence back to the British government in London. Yet as the United States threatened to erupt into Civil War, Bunch found himself plunged into a double life, settling into an amiable routine with his slavery-loving neighbors on the one hand, while working furiously to thwart their plans to achieve a new Confederacy. As secession and war approached, the Southern states found themselves in an impossible position. They knew that recognition from Great Britain would be essential to the survival of the Confederacy, and also that such recognition was likely to be withheld if the South reopened the Atlantic slave trade. But as Bunch meticulously noted from his perch in Charleston, secession's red-hot epicenter, that trade was growing. And as Southern leaders continued to dissemble publicly about their intentions, Bunch sent dispatch after secret dispatch back to the Foreign Office warning of the truth--that economic survival would force the South to import slaves from Africa in massive numbers. When the gears of war finally began to turn, and Bunch was pressed into service on an actual spy mission to make contact with the Confederate government, he found himself in the middle of a fight between the Union and Britain that threatened, in the boast of Secretary of State William Seward, to 'wrap the world in flames.' In this masterfully told story, Christopher Dickey introduces Consul Bunch as a key figure in the pitched battle between those who wished to reopen the floodgates of bondage and misery, and those who wished to dam the tide forever. Featuring a remarkable cast of diplomats, journalists, senators, and spies, Our Man in Charleston captures the intricate, intense relationship between great powers on the brink of war"-- "The little-known story of a British diplomat who serves as a spy in South Carolina at the dawn of the Civil War, posing as a friend to slave-owning aristocrats when he was actually telling Britain not to support the Confederacy"--… (more)
Member:johnfgaines
Title:Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South
Authors:Christopher Dickey (Author)
Info:Broadway Books (2016), Edition: Reprint, 400 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:***
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Our Man in Charleston: Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South by Christopher Dickey (2015)

  1. 00
    The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln by Sean Wilentz (bks1953)
  2. 00
    The Divorce of Henry VIII: The Untold Story from Inside the Vatican by Catherine Fletcher (lilithcat)
    lilithcat: Despite the fact that they cover vastly different historical eras and events, both are fascinating accounts of how diplomacy is conducted.
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» See also 41 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 58 (next | show all)
Well researched and a different side of the civil war that we usually read about. ( )
  Melline | Oct 24, 2023 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I received this book as part of LibraryThing Early Reviewers and it has taken me this long to finally finish reading the book.

This book is not novelized in the slightest bit. It quotes or summarizes what the various characters wrote in letters, diaries, official documents, and any other scraps of paper that the author could find in chronological order with as many supporting details as could possibly be found.

The reason why it took so long for me to read is that it is a slog going through many details that I found tedious. It reads like an omniscient diary for the main character and all of his interactions with other people in regard to slavery and The War of Southern Rebellion. The overall subject matter is interesting but the details were more than I needed.

The middle of the book was the least attention-grabbing, but once I got over that hurdle of the middle, either my ADD got better or the book was more interesting than other things.

This is very good scholarship and excellently researched, but not destined to be a pop history bestseller.

Here's a direct quote from William Howard Russell as found in the book:
"Assaulted by reason, by logic, argument, philanthropy, progress directed against his peculiar institutions, the Southerner at last is driven to a fanaticism--a sacred faith which is above all reason or logical attack in the propriety, righteousness, and divinity of slavery." The more things change, the more they stay the same, and my former father-in-law is still promoting slavery as a very good institution that was beneficial for the enslaved and there is no Bible verse nor historical evidence that can possibly change his fanatical mind, and he is a pastor. ( )
  ChristinasBookshelf | Aug 10, 2022 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
In 1853, Robert Bunch became Britain's consul in Charleston, South Carolina. Bunch himself was fervently anti-slavery, and Britain opposed the resumption of the African slave trade. The consul, though, had to walk a fine line. He needed to work for Britain's interests in protecting their black seamen, and, as secession and war loomed, keep his country abreast of the situation. To do that, he presented an image that led Charlestonians to believe that he was sympathetic to their cause.

Nothing could have been further from the truth.

The confederate states very much wanted Britain on their side, and believed that Britain's interest in importing southern cotton for their textile mills would achieve that. But that was not Britain's only concern. Bunch made sure that his government knew that the Confederacy, despite a clause in its constitution, was most likely to resume the importation of slaves from Africa. As a result, Britain would not become an ally.

This is a very interesting account of the run-up to the American Civil War, but also a good look at what diplomacy was like at this particular time. Dickey's extensive research included access to Bunch's official and private correspondence. Very much recommended.
  lilithcat | Nov 14, 2020 |
This excellent book presents a look at the challenges faced by Great Britain as she attempted to police the slave trade in the immediate period before and during the American Civil War. The story is presented through the diary of the central figure, Robert Bunch, Her Britannic Majesty's consul in Charleston, South Carolina. ( )
  Richard7920 | Sep 24, 2020 |
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.
I really enjoyed this book. It provided a good look at the politics at the beginning of the Civil War. ( )
  cweller | Sep 14, 2017 |
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"Between the Confederacy and recognition by Great Britain stood one unlikely Englishman who hated the slave trade. His actions helped determine the fate of a nation. When Robert Bunch arrived in Charleston to take up the post of British consul in 1853, he was young and full of ambition, but even he couldn't have imagined the incredible role he would play in the history-making events to unfold. In an age when diplomats often were spies, Bunch's job included sending intelligence back to the British government in London. Yet as the United States threatened to erupt into Civil War, Bunch found himself plunged into a double life, settling into an amiable routine with his slavery-loving neighbors on the one hand, while working furiously to thwart their plans to achieve a new Confederacy. As secession and war approached, the Southern states found themselves in an impossible position. They knew that recognition from Great Britain would be essential to the survival of the Confederacy, and also that such recognition was likely to be withheld if the South reopened the Atlantic slave trade. But as Bunch meticulously noted from his perch in Charleston, secession's red-hot epicenter, that trade was growing. And as Southern leaders continued to dissemble publicly about their intentions, Bunch sent dispatch after secret dispatch back to the Foreign Office warning of the truth--that economic survival would force the South to import slaves from Africa in massive numbers. When the gears of war finally began to turn, and Bunch was pressed into service on an actual spy mission to make contact with the Confederate government, he found himself in the middle of a fight between the Union and Britain that threatened, in the boast of Secretary of State William Seward, to 'wrap the world in flames.' In this masterfully told story, Christopher Dickey introduces Consul Bunch as a key figure in the pitched battle between those who wished to reopen the floodgates of bondage and misery, and those who wished to dam the tide forever. Featuring a remarkable cast of diplomats, journalists, senators, and spies, Our Man in Charleston captures the intricate, intense relationship between great powers on the brink of war"-- "The little-known story of a British diplomat who serves as a spy in South Carolina at the dawn of the Civil War, posing as a friend to slave-owning aristocrats when he was actually telling Britain not to support the Confederacy"--

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