February 6, 1865
Letter from Matthew Williams in Quebec to Arthur Kirkland in London
My Dearest Brother,
I know it has been some time since I last wrote to you, and for this I sincerely apologize, and hope you may forgive me. I would like to blame the freezing cold and its effect on my penmanship, but I do not dare. Toronto has been enjoying a mercifully mild winter, and having endured past winters in cities west of Lake Superior, I could not possibly complain, lest General Winter himself appear and punish me for such hyperbole. Unfortunately the primary cause for my distraction has been all this business with Confederates here in Toronto, and though I shall give you what news I have, that is not the essential reason I write to you now.
I know the news shall reach you before my letter, but I wish to tell you of my own great excitement upon hearing that the United States Congress has approved an amendment to their Constitution, which shall outlaw all slavery in all the states. I am not sure when the individual states will ratify this new decree—Congress has allowed the process to be thoroughly tedious in the past—but I am confident the Union states will embrace abolitionism with open arms.
With only one or two exceptions, the British newspapers here in Canada have been utterly pessimistic about the amendment. Those of us who've worked along the underground railway are of course delighted for our American neighbors to fully realize abolition after all this time, but many others believe the law will spark race riots and such unrest as is to rival the war itself. It seems an unbelievable notion to me, but I should appreciate your thoughts on the matter, if you are willing to share them. You can see perhaps better than I how my vision is tinted by my affection for Alfred, which I'm sure you find naive at times, but I genuinely believe that Canada has little to fear from a victorious United States. The Union may prevail, but he will not be at full strength, perhaps for some time.
As for Toronto, I shall preface my news by saying that all is well and the situation is wholly under control, but the last several months have seen some measure of excitement, much of which I trust you have learned of by now through my Governors. You will be amused to hear that the Confederate's primary mistake was, quite simply, being too American for discrete company. Scarcely a Tom, Dick, or Harry in Toronto is unaware of the Confederate outpost that has overrun the Queen's Hotel, for they have occupied the entire hotel and spend all leisurely hours of the day cursing the United States and talking, sometimes quite loudly, of their plans to bring about its demise. It cannot have taken more than a week for someone to wire New York, for since October we've had nearly just as many Union detectives in the railway station (conveniently across the road from The Queen's, I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear) as Confederates in The Queen's.
The only significant inroads towards victory made by these Confederate malcontents were launched and sunk quite quickly in November. I assume Lord Monck must've included the details in his report to Lord Palmerston: a group of Confederates set out for New York City from Toronto and attempted to start upwards of twenty fires in the city at the same time, most of them in hotels, as well as a theatre and P.T. Barnum's museum, or so I hear. At any rate, the firemen of New York made quick work of the fires that caught, but I hear most of the arsonists were unable to coax any flames to catch at all. I've been told they used Greek Fire to accomplish the task, but they must've concocted the stuff entirely wrong. It is all for the best. All but one of the culprits was captured by U.S. authorities in quick order. A lone escapee hid here in Toronto for some time, but soon after crossed the border and was apprehended. I believe his trial is ongoing; he should not hope for reprieve. The Union will hang him, I'm certain.
I know that many of my people, namely businessmen, politicians, and anyone with enough cash in their pockets to care is still enamored with the idea of Confederate victory—just this afternoon, I stopped by a coffee house in time to hear a Union man being heckled by one of the shop's well-to-do patrons. I know they have their own reasons for hoping for such an outcome, but I cannot wonder how they ignored the world around them. It is clearer to me now more than ever that when this war finally ends, as I hope it does soon, it will favor the Union.
You, sir, have been resolute in your letters regarding our neutrality toward the American situation, but I must confess as a private matter that I am much relieved that this war should end in Union Victory. Though many of my politicians have shouted themselves raw trying to convince me that two bickering neighbors is more amenable to my health than a monolithic one, nothing will convince me it is true. Alfred and I had shared peaceful relations for a long time before this war, and I am willing to work hard to recapture peace when it is over—even if later on Alfred decides to change his mind. I can and will be as convincing as I need to be. As I've already written, I foresee no immediate threat to Canada from the Americans after this war, and even if they should turn their eyes northward, I have every confidence in our ability to face them.
I assure you, I do not write this from a place of naivety. Canada is strong, and for at least at time, the United States will be weak. The next few years, I believe, will be a crucial test of our resolve to keep it thus. I know Lord Monck has already spoken to you about this exact matter at length, and I look forward to your next visit here so we may speak about it in person; I do miss the sound of your voice. The politicians here do not laugh at the same jokes you do, and I find their senses of humor increasingly dull. I am blessed by the protection of General Winter, though I begrudge the fact that his presence means I will not see you or anyone new from England until spring. I hope you are keeping well in Somerset—if indeed you are still wintering there—and looking after your hounds. I do not know if I shall still be in Toronto when next you visit, I shall endeavor to send along my most current address before spring.
In earnestness,
Your Brother Matthew Williams
Historical Notes:
1. One of the first and most intense reactions to the 13th amendment from abroad was the fear that it would spark race riots. The British were particularly vocal about this possibility. They did not hold this fear because they were against abolition—Britain abolished slavery some fifty years before the States—but rather of how and why the US went about it. As has been discussed, Lincoln's motivations for emancipation were almost entirely utilitarian, and thus ending slavery was also seen as a utilitarian move made in the middle of a volatile war. Even very good decisions made during wartime can become messy. I don't blame them for being nervous—but this is still one of the most important amendments in the entire constitution.
2. No, seriously! There was a huge contingent of Confederate and Union spies stationed up in Toronto. Canadians in this region were actually quite fond of American southerners (Southerners tended to go to Canada to see the sights, tour, and spend their money, where as Northerners were often viewed as elitist, ne'er-do-well businessmen and opportunists), so when the war broke out and Confederates were looking for different ways to screw with the Union, they went up to Toronto and began to form groups of fellow Confederates with whom to plot attacks or sedition against the Union. This of course caught the attention of the Union, who sent up counter-intelligence agents to Canada. How Canadian officials felt about all of this is not entirely clear, but if it were me, I'd be rolling my eyes.
3. The attempted attack on NYC was committed by the so-styled Confederate Army of Manhattan, which was a group of eight confederate men. On November 24, 1864, they attempted to set 21 first in New York City, using Greek Fire (an infamous flammable substance made up primarily of sulphur, naptha, and quicklime, which is very hard to extinguish once lit). Although the fires were obviously quite alarming for local officials, the fires that started were taken care of and in many cases, the criminals were unable to start fires at all. It appears they were thwarted by a double agent. All eight were eventually arrested and tried for their crimes. The one who briefly escaped back to Canada, Robert Cobb Kennedy, was indeed hanged on March 25, and ended up being the last Confederate executed by the Union.
4. Lord Monck—or rather the Right Honorable Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck, GCMG PC—was, spoiler alert, the last Governor-General of the Province of Canada. He was also the first Governer-General of the Dominion of Canada. For those of you who are taking notes of foreshadowing, get out your notebooks.