The St. Albans Raid of 1864 was essentially a breach in the neutrality agreement between the United States and England. The controversial aspect of this event was that it involved Confederate soldiers raiding a northern Union town through the Canadian border, which, at that time, was still a colony of England. Despite the many attempts of American individuals to violate the Neutrality Proclamation of 1861, the government of British North America was able to control the situation by limiting their involvement in the dispute and therefore, upholding the British neutrality agreement with the United States of America.
             The Neutrality Proclamation of 1861 was issued by England to recognize the belligerence of the Confederate States of America . This simply meant that all the rules of war would apply, and therefore England was to take no part in the American Civil War. This neutrality applied not only to the colonies of Great Britain, but to France as well, for at that time the two nations were working cooperatively. St. Albans, a quiet town in Northern Vermont, was the target of the raid that occurred on October 19, 1864. A band of 20 Confederate soldiers crossed the border from British North America into the United States, robbed the banks and attempted to set fire to the town, and when finished, escaped back across the border . While the damage was minimal and few people were injured, this event caused tension between the Union, England and British North America.
             At the time, many Americans felt that the Union should have pursued the raiders into Canada and captured them . In fact, the American commander of that area, General Dix, ordered his troops to follow the raiders and cross the Canadian border if necessary . If this had been allowed by President Lincoln, it would have largely violated the neutrality rules, and could have possibly initiated a war between England and America. As a result, the trial for the St. Albans raiders too...