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Thomas H. Dudley |
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Thomas Haines Dudley born in 1819, a Quaker lawyer in New Jersey. Dudley took the job as US Consul in Liverpool rather than a better job in Japan for health reasons. Dudley and his family set sail from New York aboard the steamer Africa on November 6, 1861. He arrived in Liverpool on the 19th November 1861 to spend more than 10 years in the job as US Consul. Dudley spent his first night in Liverpool as Mrs. Blodget's Guest House at 153/155 Duke Street. The US Consulate had its offices at 22 Water Street, just around the corner from offices of Fraser Trenholm in Rumford Place. Thomas Dudley took over from Henry Wilding as US Consol but kept Wilding on as vice-consol. Dudley's main role during the war was collecting evidence that he could use to force the British government to seize Confederate ships in the UK. Dudley effectively stopped James Bulloch from building his Confederate Navy. At the end of the war Dudley was compelled to stay on in Liverpool to over sea the Alabama Claims, the claim for compensation against the UK Government. |
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| 153/5 Duke Street formerly Mrs. Blodget's boarding house this is where Dudley stayed when he first arrived in Liverpool |
3 Belvidere Road | 6 Belvidere Road | |
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Matthew Maguire |
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Matthew Maguire was a private detective hired by the US Consol Henry Wilding. He was retained by Thomas Dudley and given three assistants to spy on the Confederates. Their aim was to gather evidence that ships were being built for the Confederacy, this evidence was used to stop ships leaving Britain and later to sue for compensation. Maguire spent a lot of time in Liverpool's dock side taverns talking to sailors and dockworkers and recruiting informants. Sometimes he didn't need to work hard to get information. One day he befriended a young Southern sailor named Robinson who had recently landed in Liverpool on the blockade runner Julia Usher. Robinson told Maguire about a gunboat being built by Lairds for the Confederacy. A gunboat which would not run the blockade but operate as a privateer at sea, with 11 guns. He had also heard that Fraser Trenholm were funding the gunboat's construction. Not knowing who Maguire was Robinson took lodgings with Maguire and asked him to speak to James Bullock on his behalf in order to get a place on the new ship. |