Earl Cowley to Earl Russell - (Received November 16) Paris, November 14, 1861 My Lord, The French Ambassador at Madrid has informed M. Thouvenel that intelligence has been received by the Spanish Government that the Spanish expedition against Mexico was to have put to sea on the 24th ultimo. Marshal Serrano, the Governor of Cuba, had taken this determination in ignorance of the negotiations pursuing between the British, French, and Spanish Governments, to undertake this expedition in common; but, according to calculations made by the latter, it seemed probable that the despatches to Marshal Serrano, informing him of this circumstance, would have reached his Excellency before the 24th ultimo, and would have prevented the departure of the Spanish squadron. (signed) COWLEY Earl Cowley to Earl Russell - (Received November 20) Paris, November 19, 1861. My Lord, I fear that some longer time may elapse than is expected by Her Majesty's Government before the French squadron destined for Mexico can reach the Havana, as Admiral Jurien de la Graviére has insisted on all the vessels composing it rendezvousing in the first instance at Teneriffe. (signed) COWLEY Back to Table of Contents: Booklet No. 8, Mexico 1861-67 Back to El Dorado List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by The South and Central Military Historians Society This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com