George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 8, 1862

BRITISH CONSULATE,                 

New Orleans, May 8, 1862.

Maj. Gen. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, U. S..Army,

Commanding Department of the Gulf:

SIR: Mr. J. J. Burrowes, a British subject, and who lately commanded a company composed entirely of British subjects, organized to comply with the laws of this State, has informed me that, at your request and in compliance with an order from Brigadier-General Juge, he appeared before you yesterday for purposes which I shall have the honor to state in this communication, and he begs my interference in behalf of himself and of the other British subjects concerned. Mr. Burrowes states to me that you informed him that every member of the "British Guard" must report to you with uniforms and arms, and those failing to do so must leave this city within twenty-four hours or be sent to Fort Jackson. It has come to my knowledge within the past two days, and I am given to understand that you are in possession of information to the same effect, that some members, a minority of the whole, of the company of "British Guard," believing that the duty which had been imposed upon them by the law of this State was at an end and their services no longer required, a short time prior to the occupation of this city by the military authorities of the United States, sent their arms and equipments (their own private property, I believe) from the city—to whom or where Mr. Burrowes is unable to inform me. For this reason it will be impossible for them to report to you as soldiers, a character in which the British subjects now in question have never been desirous of showing themselves in the existing strife in this country.

It is not my intention in this communication to shield my countrymen in the step they have taken, for it may be construed as a breach of that neutrality imposed by Her Majesty on all of her subjects; but if it is looked upon in that light I feel convinced that they, when they took such action, were ignorant of the importance that might be attached to it, and did it with no idea of wrong or harm.

It may not, sir, be irrelevant for me to mention that I much regret to hear that the position of British subjects in this city as neutrals should have been questioned or doubted. When the militia law of this State was enforced by the authorities, requiring all men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years who were in the State to perform militia duty, I was compelled to oppose the law, and informed the Executive of this State that the service imposed upon British subjects was contrary to the law of nations, and placed them beyond that neutral position which had been enjoined upon them by their Government. This was partly at the instance of many British subjects, and conjointly done with the consuls of seven other European Governments. In consequence of our action the U.S. authorities, on taking possession of this city, found that the city was to a great extent in the charge of the foreign corps, and they were performing a service allowed by their own Government, and one not deemed incompatible by either belligerent. Consequently, it is scarcely reasonable to suppose that after so strongly opposing the militia law, for fear of losing or violating their rights as British subjects, they would voluntarily and knowingly place themselves in that unpleasant position which they have for many months so carefully avoided. As I have had the honor to state above, and for the cause mentioned, it will not be possible for some of the British subjects, who were members of the "British Guard," to obey the verbal order of questioned legality given to Mr. Burrowes—that they should report to you as soldiers; and it would become my duty to solemnly protest in the name of Her Majesty's Government against the alternative stated by you, the enforcement of which would infringe the rights of British subjects residing in the United States.

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient servant,

GEORGE COPPELL,                       

Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 124-5

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to George Coppell, May 11, 1862

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,                  

New Orleans, May 11, 1862.

GEORGE COPPELL,

Acting as Her Majesty's Consul, New Orleans:

SIR: I have your communication of May 8. With its evasions of facts I have nothing to do. A plain statement of the matter is this:

A number of residents of this city, who were enjoying the protection and advantages of the United States Government in their large trade and property for many years (some of them more than a decade), and now claiming to have been born subjects of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, organized themselves into a military body, known as the "British Guard," and armed, and uniformed, and equipped, patrolled the streets till the fleet of the United States had the city under its guns. This body then, after a discussion in presence of its captain and at least one other officer, at 11 o'clock at night, deliberately voted, in an organized meeting, to send the arms and uniforms of the company to the army of the rebel General Beauregard, which vote was carried into effect by sending to the rebels substantially all the arms, uniforms, and equipments in their armory. This transaction was concealed from me for some days. I then sent for Captain Burrowes and he acknowledged the facts materially as above stated. For this flagrant breach of the laws of nations, of the United States, your Queen's proclamation, and the laws of God, I directed him to order the company to leave the city within twenty-four hours.

To this he objected, saying, among other things, that this would be punishing the innocent with the guilty, as there were some members absent at the time of the vote; that each soldier of the Guard owned his arms and uniform as private property, and it would be hard to compel those to leave the city who still retained their arms and uniforms and did not concur in the vote. I then modified the order, directing those to report to me who still retained their arms and uniforms; all others, having forfeited all rights of neutrality and hospitality, to leave the city within twenty-four hours, or I should have them arrested and sent to Fort Jackson as dangerous and inimical persons. These people thought it of consequence that Beauregard should have sixty more uniforms and rifles. I thought it of the same consequence that he should have sixty more of these faithless men, who may fill them if they choose.

I intended this order to be strictly enforced. I am content for the present to suffer open enemies to remain in the city of their nativity, but law-defying and treacherous alien enemies shall not. I welcome all neutrals and foreigners who have kept aloof from these troubles which have been brought upon the city, and will, to the extent of my power, protect them and their property. They shall have the same hospitable and just treatment they have always received at the hands of the United States Government. They will see, however, for themselves that it is for the interest of all to have the unworthy among them rooted out, because the acts of such bring suspicion upon all. All the facts above set forth can most easily be substantiated, and indeed are so evasively admitted in your note by the very apology made for them. That apology says that these men when they took this action, &c., sent these arms and munitions of war to Beauregard, "did it with no idea of wrong or harm." I do not understand this. Can it be that such men, of age to enroll themselves as a military body, did not know that it is wrong to supply the enemies of the United States with arms? If so, I think they should be absent from the city long enough to learn so much international law; or do you mean to say that, "knowing their social proclivities and the lateness of the hour when the vote was taken," that therefore they were not responsible? There is another difficulty, however, in these people taking any protection under the British flag. The company received a charter or commission, or some form of rebel authorization from the Governor of Louisiana, and one of them whom I have under arrest accompanied him to the rebel camp.

There is still another difficulty, as I am informed and believe, that a majority of them have made declaration of their intentions to become citizens of the United States and of the supposed Confederate States, and have taken the proper and improper oaths of allegiance to effect that purpose.

Thus far you will do me the honor to observe that I have treated your communication as if it emanated from the duly authorized consul of Her Majesty's Government at this port. The respect I feel for that Government leads me to err, if at all, upon the side of recognition of all its claims and those of its officers, but I take leave to call your attention to the fact that you subscribed yourself "Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul," and that I have received no official information of any right which you may have so to act, except your acts alone, and pardon me if I err in saying that your acts in that behalf, which have come to my knowledge, have not been of such a character as to induce the belief on my part that you do rightfully represent that noble Government.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,              

Major-general, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 126-7

George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 13, 1862

BRITISH CONSULATE,                 

New Orleans, May 13, 1862.

Maj. Gen. BENJAMIN F. BUTLER, U.S. Army,

Commanding Department of the Gulf, New Orleans:

SIR: In answering your communication of date of the 11th instant it is my intention to confine myself to a correction of errors in your statement of facts.

The "British Guard" was organized under the general call for service from all residents within the ages which give legal exemption, and as the least obnoxious form in which, as neutrals, they could comply with the requisition. The privileges asked for them, and with some difficulty obtained, limited their service to the lines around the city proper.

From the time it was ascertained that a portion of the U.S. fleet had passed the forts until its arrival before the city, the public mind was disturbed by apprehended violence at home, and the city authorities called upon the foreign brigades, of which the "British Guard" formed part, to suppress any such attempt. Their services were from that moment those of an armed police, which were by yourself and Commodore Farragut gratefully acknowledged.

After several fatiguing days and nights passed in the fulfillment of these duties, between the hours of 2 and 3 a.m. (not 11, as you have it) the Guard left their stations and returned to their armory to deposit their arms, considering that their mission was at an end and that they were no longer wanted. Their existence as an organized body had virtually ceased. One, or it may be two, officers were in the armory, returning with the rest. No meeting was either called or held; there was no voting beyond the few, not exceeding fifteen, with whom the measure originated; no formal announcement of the proposal to dispose of the arms was ever exhibited.

Some of the members left the armory ignorant of any such proposition, though there, when in desultory conversation, among others, it was made and agreed to. It was the resolution of the moment, hardly to be characterized as a deliberate act, and the impulse which prompted it, [it] seems to me, can be reasonably referred to feelings which would actuate men whose friends and former companions [were] with the forces to which the arms are asserted to have been forwarded.

The number of muskets did not exceed thirty-nine, if all were sent, for I am assured that there never was the number you have given (sixty) in the armory.

These facts are verified by all who can speak from personal participation in the whole of parts of them.

The British Guard comprises gentlemen who have large responsibilities intrusted to their charge, and whose absence from the city would result in irreparable injury to the interests confided to their care, and whose word may be received with every confidence as vouchers for the verity of the above statement. The injustice of an order which includes those parties to the act and those who were not requires no explanation on my part. I have before observed that it is not my wish or intention to justify the act; my object is to explain its real import and to diminish the importance which, unexplained, it bears upon its face by stripping it of features which do not properly belong to it.

With reference to that part of your communication which has relation to myself, I would merely add that I furnish in proof of my official capacity letters addressed to me and signed by Earl Russell and Lord Lyons, which, as part of my official register, I must request may be returned to me, and that I am not aware that my accountability for the manner in which I may have fulfilled my duties extend beyond the source from which that authority emanated, and to which your letter will of course be forwarded in all its crudity.

In conclusion, I would say that Mr. Burrowes, to whom I shall exhibit my last communication before sending it, now says that he did tell you that the arms were intended for General Beauregard, but that he could not, from his own knowledge, state whether they were actually forwarded.

Referring to my last communication, I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

GEORGE COPPELL,                       

Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 127-8

George Coppell to Major-General Benjamin F. Butler, May 16, 1862

BRITISH CONSULATE,                 

New Orleans, May 16, 1862.

Maj. Gen. B. F. BUTLER,

Commanding Department of the Gulf:

SIR: Having been well assured that a British subject named Samuel Nelson has been by your orders arrested and sent to Fort Jackson without trial or proof of the charges which are said to have induced his arrest, and that evidence could be produced which would satisfactorily prove his innocence in the premises, in accordance with the notification contained in my communication to you of date the 8th instant, I have, acting as Her Britannic Majesty's consul, and in the name of Her Majesty's Government, most solemnly to protest against the arrest and confinement of the said Samuel Nelson in the manner set forth, and against all further and other acts done or to be done in violation of the rights of Her Britannic Majesty's subjects residing in the city of New Orleans.

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,

GEORGE COPPELL,                       

Her Britannic Majesty's Acting Consul.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 128-9

Major-General Benjamin F. Butler to George Coppell, May 16, 1862

HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,                  

New Orleans, May 16, 1862.

G. COPPELL,

Acting Consul of Her Britannic Majesty, New Orleans:

SIR: Your communication in relation to Samuel Nelson is received. Whenever Samuel Nelson desires a trial he can have it. He is now in Fort Jackson because, amongst other things, he declined an investigation.

Officially, your obedient servant,

BENJ. F. BUTLER,              

Major-General, Commanding.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume 2 (Serial No. 123), p. 129