I do have a tid bit of information about how the Czar's navy getting involved sparked Great Britian's interest and even got their military thinking war. The Brits/French and Russian's didn't get along, they had fought that big war in the 1850s. Looks like the our Civil War, much like the French and Indian War before it did, almost caused a world wide conflict. Great Britian did not like Russia being involved so close to her Canadian borders and possibly making allies with the Americans.

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David Upton