SecretMission

The Secret Mission of Duncan Kenner

In late December of 1864, President Davis summoned Duncan Kenner, a wealthy New Orleans businessman and confederate congressman, to his office in Richmond. There, Kenner was informed that the President had a secret mission for him. Kenner was to visit France and England and negotiate recognition of the Confederacy in exchange for emancipation of the slaves. In fact, Kenner had brought this idea to President Davis' attention two years earlier. At that time, the Confederate President was not willing to take such a risk, still believing the South could win the war without emancipating the slaves. By the end of 1864, the South was clearly faltering, Davis sought to bolster Confederacy morale as best he could. Using the codename A. B. Kinglake or Philadelphia, Kenner embarked on his secret mission. Traveling through enemy territory, he took care to avoid recognition and capture by Union troops. In England, he failed in negotiations with the European diplomats. When word came that the war was over and the South had lost, Kenner remained temporarily in Europe.