Bunch liked to joke that he was almost literally a man without a country. He had been Her Majesty's representative to the United States at Charleston, but Charleston was no longer part of the United States. Until the Confederacy was officially recognized and Lord Lyons declared an ambassador instead of a representative, Bunch was a man without official posting or duties. He did, however, continue to be paid, which was a great relief since he, too, was not a wealthy man.
As if money mattered for the moment. Neither Bunch's nor Knollys's cash was any good in Richmond, where the English were as popular as any mere mortals could be. Once again Knollys had taken to not wearing his uniform. This time it was not out of fear of being harmed, but out of fear of the overwhelming affections of the Southern people, who foisted food and drink on him whether he wanted it or not.
As a result, the two men had taken to eating their meals in their hotel rooms. It gave them the privacy they needed to discuss sensitive matters.
Bunch raised a glass of port. “Again to your good fortune in escaping from the North.”
The toast was only half in jest. Of all the British officers assigned to observe the American army prior to the war, only Knollys had been permitted to leave, and that was because he had been assigned to the embassy and not to a U.S. military command. Those other unlucky officers were considered prisoners and would either be exchanged or paroled at some time in the future. Knollys was long overdue for promotion to major and to be incarcerated at the beginning of this new war would have been a final and deadly blow to his career.
Knollys counted his lucky stars that someone had forgotten his stint as an observer of McDowell's army at Bull Run and of General Stone's at Ball's Bluff. He considered himself thoroughly knowledgeable regarding the Union army. Now he was pleased that he could use that accumulated knowledge to help the cause of Great Britain.
“Are you enjoying Richmond?” Bunch asked.
“Oh, it's very interesting,” Knollys answered, and they both laughed. Like Washington, Richmond, Virginia, was a small town that had grown uncontrollably large virtually overnight. Richmond was a town without the external elegances of a capitol building and the monuments that one normally associated with a nation's capital. He had also noticed that there appeared to be more prostitutes in Richmond than in Washington, although not by a large number.
“I know it's a depressingly rude city,” said Bunch, “but Richmond'll get better when the war is won and the Confederate states become dominions of Great Britain again.”
Knollys smiled and chewed his food. As British consul, Bunch had given a number of pro-South speeches in the Charleston area that had been wildly applauded. As a result, he had convinced himself that the Carolinas and Virginia would welcome a return to the Imperial fold. Knollys thought Bunch was fooling himself and had thoroughly misinterpreted the cheers of the Charleston crowds then and the Richmond throngs now.
“If only the South would get rid of slavery,” Bunch sighed, “then all problems would disappear.”
“But slavery isn't going to disappear, and Ambassador- excuse me, Representative-Lyons has told Mr. Benjamin that there cannot be a formal alliance without it.”
As a matter of protocol, Lord Lyons had met formally with the Confederacy's secretary of state, Judah P. Benjamin. He would meet Jefferson Davis and others in less formal situations. This punctilio was required by Lord Lyons lest the South assume too much from the contacts. They were brothers in arms but not allies, and British diplomatic behavior would reflect this until ordered otherwise.
“However,” said Knollys, “I have it on good authority that Mr. Benjamin has informed Lord Lyons that it is Jefferson Davis's intent that slavery be abolished within one year of a treaty of independence between the Union and the Confederacy. Davis, through Benjamin, has informed us that he personally abhors slavery, but that his nation must make a decision regarding slavery freely. When that protocol is signed, then you will see more help given to the South. If it is not,” he shrugged, “then we will commence actions against the North directly, and not break the Union blockade of the South. It would be a curious way to fight a war, but we will do it.”
“And Davis will agree to put in writing that he will abolish slavery within a year of the end of hostilities? Incredible if true,” said Bunch.
“Absolutely,” said Knollys. Normally, he would not have been as close to Lord Lyons as he was, but the fact that the staff was so truncated necessitated it. Although a loyal servant of the crown, Lyons found slavery repugnant and supported any efforts to do away with it. “Apparently, the protocol will be kept secret for the war's duration since the freedom to keep slavery is something the South is fighting for. Davis will also have to politic hard to get his countrymen to support freeing the slaves.”
“And what do you think of the Southern army?” Bunch asked, changing the subject.
Knollys laughed. “Hard-fighting, well-led, and disreputable. They are also poorly armed. Their uniforms are a hodgepodge of gray and light brown, butternut they call it. Many don't bother and just wear civilian clothes. A number don't have shoes, and they are all filthy. But, lord, can they fight.”
“Then the South will win, won't it?” asked Bunch hopefully.
“For the moment, the Southis winning, but only because the North is so incompetent. The North has a much larger population from which to draw, and the industrial might to supply them. They say the South also has a more martial tradition; however, that is something that could be overcome as the allegedly less martial Northerners gain military experience.”
Bunch was perplexed by the less-than-overwhelming support for the South's army. “But the Confederacy has the better generals, doesn't it?”
“For the moment, yes. But what nation finishes a war with the generals with which it began? Napoleon rose from the chaos of the French Revolution, and Wellington was a nonentity at the beginning of that war with Revolutionary France. No, what I am saying, James, is that the South cannot grant the North time to discover who its leaders ought to be. That would be disastrous for us and the South. The Confederacy, along with us, of course, must win this war in this year of 1862. The longer it drags on the greater the advantage will shift to the North. After all, there are battles and campaigns being fought out towards the west of this continent that will have an impact on the final accounting, and out west the Confederacy is not doing as well as it is in the east.”
Bunch mentioned the likelihood of McClellan's attacking southward. In a land where newspapers printed anything they wished, and where the Washington and Richmond papers arrived at the other city the next day, there were few secrets between the two enemies. Many felt that there were thousands of spies in each place, but others thought it was simply the incredibly lax security, along with the propensity to gossip, that gave away so many secrets.
“It's so interesting,” said Knollys. “McClellan is losing the confidence of Lincoln and General Joe Johnston does not have the confidence of Jefferson Davis. It wouldn't surprise me at all if either or both are replaced. After all, everyone says that Robert E. Lee is the best military mind around, but he doesn't have a field command. If Johnston hesitates in the slightest, Davis will replace him with Lee.”
Bunch wiped his chin with a napkin. “And where does that leave McClellan? Who might replace him? Certainly none of his subordinates has distinguished himself so far.”
Knollys agreed. But there were other armies and other generals out in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois. Large armies were poised at each others throats in lands far away from Washington and Richmond. The war was not totally going the South's way. The border states were either pacified by the Union or were being fought over. Even Virginia had lost the western portion of herself as a result of McClellan's early actions.