Page 294
“In Belgium…”
SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, pp. 315-16.
“…his second death…”
The first death in Europe is documented later in this chapter.
“…Hilliard had served as chargé d’affaires…”
Reminiscences of public men in Alabama. (1900). Spartanburg, S.C: The Reprint Company, Publishers, p. 96.
“Fair resigned…”
From E.Y. Fair to Secretary of State Jeremiah Sullivan Black, February 18, 1861. (William Seward did not assume the post until March 4, so the letter would have originally been addressed to his predecessor—Fair marked it only “Secretary of State.”) This transcription is held in the State Department archives at the Archives II facility in Washington D.C.
“…remained in Belgium to assume a similar post…”
From E.Y. Fair to L.M. Keith, April 4, 1861, from Brussels. This transcription is held in the State Department archives at the Archives II facility in Washington D.C.
“…Fair had returned to Alabama…”
Documents do not make it entirely clear why Fair returned to Alabama. As the war started, it had been some time since Fair had had a chance to visit his properties. When an appointment as resident minister for the Confederate States was not forthcoming (see “…remained in Belgium to assume a similar post…,” above), Fair must have seized the opportunity to sail home to secure his holdings (see “…E.Y. Fair bought a number of slaves…,” above).
Letter from Mrs. Fair to William Seward, September 18, 1861, held in the Seward Family Archives at the University of Rochester, River Campus Library, and is available through the Seward Family Digital Archive.
“…his wife remained abroad.”
Letter from Mrs. Fair to William Seward, September 18, 1861, held in the Seward Family Archives at the University of Rochester, River Campus Library, and is available through the Seward Family Digital Archive.
“…Sims boarded at the Fairs’ home.”
See “…hostile to the government,” above.
The letter is about an incident involving Mrs. Fair that is detailed a little later in the printed book. Sanford does not explicitly state what Mrs. Fair’s goals were.
Letter from Henry Shelton Sanford to William Seward, September 19, 1861 (unofficial correspondence), held in The Sanford Family Collection at the Henry Shelton Sanford Memorial Library and Museum in Sanford, Florida.
“Sims’s contact in Paris…”
As is documented below, I believe that Sims’s time in Europe, and his activities there, have largely been obscured. Sims says that Sir Joseph Olliffe introduced him to the Duchess of Hamilton, but he does not say how or when. Notably, Sims’s biographer, Seale Harris, who was aware of many of the documents revealing Sims’s purpose in traveling abroad (as it was understood by Secretary of State William Seward), makes very little mention of Sims’s time in Belgium, apart from noting that Seward later tried to deny Sims an award. Harris’s avoidance of an episode that Sims emphasized in his autobiography makes it a likely candidate for how Sims was recruited into the circle of the Duchess of Hamilton, a cousin of Napoleon III—and, as will be seen, both Napoleon and his wife, Eugenie, were sympathizers with the Southern cause.
SIMS, J. Marion, (1885). The Story of my Life, ed. by H. Marion-Sims. D. Appleton & Co: New York, pp. 315, 329.
