Title Ruined by this miserable war : the dispatches of Charles Prosper Fauconnet, a French diplomat in New Orleans, 1863-1868 / edited by Carl A. Brasseaux and Katherine Carmines Mooney ; translated by Carl A. Brasseaux

Edition First edition Published Knoxville : University of Tennessee Press, [2012] ©2012

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Description 1 online resource (xxv, 243 pages) : illustrations, portraits Series Voices of the Civil War Voices of the Civil War series Contents Preface -- Introduction --1863 -- 1864 --1865 -- 1868 Summary In March 1863, after Northern general Benjamin F. Butler demanded the recall of the French consul-general, an unabashed Confederate sympathizer, from Union-occupied New Orleans, Charles Prosper Fauconnet assumed the duties of acting consul. A seasoned diplomat who had risen slowly through the ranks in Latin America and the United States, Fauconnet quickly and effectively repaired the rift between local French and American authorities while striving valiantly to safeguard the interests of his government and the French nationals who found themselves literally and figuratively caught in the crossfire. From 1863 through 1868, Fauconnet maintained a copybook of his official correspondence with the French Ministry of State. These confidential dispatches, collected for the first time in this valuable volume, provide not only a panoramic view of the Civil War and Reconstruction on the Gulf Coast but also new and important information on the transnational aspects of America's Civil War. Eager to explain complicated issues to a French government concerned over the fate of one of its former territories, Fauconnet painstakingly laid out what was happening in New Orleans by drawing on war news, newspaper columns, and summaries of speeches and promises of Union commanding officers. His commentary peeled away the layers of contradiction and moral dilemmas that confronted citizens of Southern, Northern, and French heritages during the war years and early postwar period. Among the topics he considered were whether emancipated slaves deserved the same rights as naturalized citizens, the state of the cotton market, and the harassment of French-speaking immigrants by both Union and Confederate authorities. Informative and detailed, Fauconnet's communications became increasingly acerbic and uneasy as he documented and explained the Civil War to officials in his faraway homeland. Breathtaking in its geographic scope and topical breadth, thanks in part to the acute observational and reporting skills of its author, Fauconnet's correspondence offers a unique and thoroughly fascinating francophone perspective on New Orleans during some of the most tumultuous years in U.S. history. -- Provided by publisher Notes "Carl Brasseaux is the author of over thirty books related to the French presence in the Gulf Coast, including Refuge for All Ages: Immigration in Louisiana History; French Cajun, Creole, Houma: A Primer on Francophone Louisiana; and Stir the Pot: The History of Cajun Cuisine. Until his recent retirement, he was director of the Center for Louisiana Studies and professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Katherine Carmines Mooney, a Ph. D. candidate at Yale University, is a specialist in nineteenth-century history. Her research includes the history of thoroughbred horse-racing culture from 1820 to 1910"--Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes English Print version record Subject Fauconnet, Charles Prosper, active 19th century -- Correspondence SUBJECT Fauconnet, Charles Prosper, 19th cent. -- Correspondence Fauconnet, Charles Prosper, active 19th century fast Subject France. Consulat (New Orleans, La.) -- History -- 19th century -- Sources SUBJECT France. Consulat (New Orleans, La.) fast Subject French -- Louisiana -- History -- 19th century -- Sources Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Louisiana -- Sources Diplomatic and consular service, French -- Louisiana -- New Orleans -- History -- 19th century -- Sources HISTORY -- United States -- Civil War Period (1850-1877) HISTORY -- General. Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) Diplomatic and consular service, French French SUBJECT Louisiana -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Sources. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140277 Subject Louisiana Louisiana -- New Orleans United States Genre/Form dissertations. History Personal correspondence Sources Academic theses. Thèses et écrits académiques. Form Electronic book Author Brasseaux, Carl A. Mooney, Katherine Carmines. LC no. 2012005292 ISBN 1572339217 9781572339217 1283925079 9781283925075

Other Titles Dispatches of Charles Prosper Fauconnet, a French diplomat in New Orleans, 1863-1868

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