Britain joins the Confederacy

[politicus]

Could the Confederacy have won the American Civil War if they had managed to get Britain to interfere on their side in 1862?
What would likely have happened on the US/Canadian border? Would the US have tried any offensive moves against the British or merely trying to defend?

[True Federalist]

Depends on the level of British interference.  Simple diplomatic recognition would not have been sufficient despite the hopes of Confederate leaders.  Actual military aid from Britain would have been highly unlikely unless an incident like the Trent Affair caused the British to abandon a neutral stance.  France would have been far likelier to interfere once diplomatic recognition had been offered the Confederacy than Britain would have.

[Vasall des Midas]

Could the Confederacy have won the American Civil War if they had managed to get Britain to interfere on their side in 1862?

Yes, which is why they tried.

Could they have managed to get Britain to interfere on their side in 1862? No. The Union Cause had mass popular support in Britain and any government trying to interfere on the Confederate side would have fallen within the week.
I guess some kind of Zimmermann Telegram by Lincoln might have done it...

[politicus]

Sure it was highly unlikely. But what interests me is how the actual war scenario might have played out.

[Senator Snowstalker]

I once concluded that a surviving Confederacy would become a close ally of France (and Britain to a lesser extent)

[politicus]

I once concluded that a surviving Confederacy would become a close ally of France (and Britain to a lesser extent)

Does the thread still exist?

[Senator Snowstalker]

I once concluded that a surviving Confederacy would become a close ally of France (and Britain to a lesser extent)

Does the thread still exist?

This is what I thought up of on my own. Thanks to France's invasion of Mexico at the time, the CSA would develop a close relationship with France.

[politicus]

This thread was made to discuss the scenario where Britain joins the CSA. Please stay on topic.
(and yes, I know I asked a question about France, but still..)

[WillK]

Could the Confederacy have won the American Civil War if they had managed to get Britain to interfere on their side in 1862?
What would likely have happened on the US/Canadian border? Would the US have tried any offensive moves against the British or merely trying to defend?

I think it likely that the US/Canadian border would have been defensively held by both with any  action happening at sea or along the coast of the southern US. 

[politicus]

Okay. I would suppose that the Brits would try an offensive in the great lakes area to force a split in the US Army. But you could argue, that their forces were too weak.

The British had in 1860 an army of 220,000 regulars, 120,000 militiamen plus they raised 250,000 volunteers in Canada in the early 1860's.

The regular army used in GB/Ireland was about 100,000
India about 60-70,000 plus 150,000 Indian regulars and about 70-80,000 irregulars
Mediteranian 20,000
Canada 20,000
South Africa 10.000
New Zealand 10.000
The Canadian Militia ca 67,000