On a bright sunny day, September 11, 1863, Russian frigate Oslyaba docked in New York harbor – unexpectedly for both the European powers and the United States. The Aleksandr Nevskiy and the Peresvet frigates, together with the Varyag and the Vityaz corvets, as well as the Almaz clipper closely followed. The Russian ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean under the command of Counter-admiral S. S. Lesovskiy. On October 12 of the same year, another armada of Russian ships led by admiral A. A. Popov arrived in San Francisco.

In 1863, the world confronted the threat of a major Europe-wide war. As most great European powers had oversea possessions, the war could easily have turned out global in scope. The disruption in the balance of powers arose in large measure because of what was going in America.

Every school student in the U.S. knows the story. Uneven economic development within the United States prompted eight southern States – Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas – to secede from the union with the leadership of Jefferson Davis. Determined to secure complete independence from the North, the Confederate States of America declared war and attacked Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. A bloody civil war that would last over four years began.

European powers naturally had much at stake in that war. England’s economic interests lay in the American South, which had already been exporting cotton to the United Kingdom for a long time. France’s industry was similarly tied to the southern states. Under the influence of business groups, the governments of the two most powerful countries in Europe openly proclaimed their sympathy towards the Confederacy. Continued slavery guaranteed lower production costs and lesser tariffs.

England and France promised financial and military aid to the secessionists. President Lincoln viewed such support as unacceptable interference with his country’s internal affairs. Under these circumstances the Russian government repeatedly expressed its support for the North. The Americans were beginning to see a potential ally in Russia. Although England showed much dissatisfaction with Russia’s position, it could not do anything.

In January 1863, a large insurrection took place in Poland, which, at the time, was a part of the Russian Empire. The rebels pleaded for help to England and France. When the European powers angrily condemned Russia’s policy, the threat of an imminent conflict became a reality. Even Sweden promised to attack Russia, landing a one-hundred-thousand-strong army in Kurlandia.

At the same time, everyone’s eyes were on the United States. Foreign envoys tried to convince Abraham Lincoln to join in condemning Russia. The American President, however, refused to go along and declared that the matter was Russia’s own business.

Sensation

All major newspapers and telegraph agencies in the world viewed the docking of Russian ships in the U.S. as a true sensation with global consequences. On the newspapers’ front pages, the journalists reported the details of the Russian fleet’s arrival and pondered over how it could have happened.

The voyages across the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans were prepared with maximum secrecy. Even professional spies in St. Petersburg and Kronshtadt did not suspect anything. When the ships were leaving the Russian port, their true task of crossing the ocean was disguised as a military exercise.

The failure of spies, however, pales in comparison with the failure of English and French politicians. They could not predict the Russian-American rapprochement. The two isolated countries naturally gravitated towards each other.

When Emperor Aleksandr II was preparing to send his fleet to America, U.S. Secretary of State Seward, wrote secret letters to the American envoy in St. Petersburg: “We guarantee friendship with Russia in all areas. It is more preferable to us than friendship with any other European power because Russia wishes us success and allows us to solve our problems as we see fit.”

The unexpected arrival of Russian ships prompted many rumors. One story had it that the Russians ships would be used by the U.S. government. In another scenario, Russia and America would go together to liberate Mexico from the French. In the third version of events, Russia and the United States made a secret military treaty for mutual defense.

U.S. Secretary of the Navy Wells noted in his personal diary: “The arrival of the Russians to our country is very important. We shall learn of the effects this arrival will have on France in due course. It may be a deterrence or it may disrupt the balance of power. God bless the Russians!”

In a leading article of Harper’s Weekly dated October 17, 1863, the columnist talked about the numerous similarities between the Russians and the Americans. The editorial concluded that “the least the union of Russia and the United States can give is world-wide peace.”