The idea of aid to the North
was "born on American soil," and Russian officers naturally did nothing
to contradict its spread. In one case, however, a Russian commander was
ready to help the North. Rear-Admiral Papov with six vessels in the
harbour of San Francisco was appealed to by excited citizens on rumours
of the approach of the _Alabama_ and gave orders to protect the city. He
acted without instructions and was later reproved for the order by his
superiors at home.]
[Footnote 992: _The Liberator_, March 6, 1863.]
[Footnote 993: American opinion knew little of this change. An
interesting, if somewhat irrational and irregular plan to thwart
Southern ship-building operations, had been taken up by the United
States Navy Department. This was to buy the Rams outright by the offer
of such a price as, it was thought, would be so tempting to the Lairds
as to make refusal unlikely. Two men, Forbes and Aspinwall, were sent to
England with funds and much embarrassed Adams to whom they discreetly
refrained from stating details, but yet permitted him to guess their
object. The plan of buying ran wholly counter to Adams' diplomatic
protests on England's duty in international law and the agents
themselves soon saw the folly of it. Fox, Assistant Secretary of the
Navy, wrote to Dupont, March 26, 1863: "The Confederate ironclads in
England, I think, will be taken care of.
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