The Empire was outraged by the seizure. “You may stand for this,” Prime Minister Palmerston told his cabinet. “But damned if I will!” He ordered troops to Canada, a menace on the American border, and demanded an apology from Lincoln. A red-faced England, bullying and saber-rattling, making demands of the United States on behalf of the South: Meagher could scarcely have asked for better material.
