New Yorkers marveled at the mighty mast of the Alexander Nevsky, “lying almost on a line westward from Trinity Church,” as it shot off its cannons and a band on-board attempted to play ‘ Yankee Doodle Dandy.’ Harper’s Weekly remarked, ” very citizen felt bound to do what in him lay to testify to the Russians our sense of gratitude for the friendly manner in which Russia has stood by us in our present struggle, while the Western Powers have done not a little to work our ruin.” Still, most New Yorkers embittered by war welcomed the impressive show by friendly foreign powers, kicking off “ a slight craze in the public mind.” Many Americans believed the appearance by the Russians underscored a healthy support for the Union over the Confederacy, but most scholars today believe the Russians were acting with far more self-interest. “A lady with the most immaculate skirts and kid gloves can move any where, on deck or below, without danger of soiling either, so perfectly clean every thing about the ship is kept.”Īmerica was in the midst of the Civil War, and New York itself was still recovering from the Draft Riots that July. The fleet was led by the massive frigate Alexander Nevski (pictured below), an American-designed ship commissioned and built by the Russian government.Ī reporter for Harper’s Weekly, joining a reception onboard the vessel, praised its beauty. (A description of the various Russian vessels can be found in this 1863 New York Times report.) They arrived in the harbor on September 24, 1863, initially anchoring in Flushing Bay, and stayed in the city for a couple months. Russia’s Atlantic Squadron, as the fleet was known, was patrolling the Atlantic Ocean as a show of strength against England’s Royal Navy.
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