Franklin Pierce and the American leadership were nevertheless stunned by what the British Army had done.
"They set New York ablaze. They really had the nerve to do it."
Jefferson Hamilton Davis could not help drawing in a sharp breath. If anything, he now felt a degree of admiration for the British.
While the politicians of the American South were shocked, they also felt a measure of malicious satisfaction. Those New York financiers had fleeced them often enough before—after they had worked themselves to the bone farming to earn a little money, those people would skim it all away through price differentials. How could they not harbor resentment?
Had Wildcat Bank and Franz not been backing them from behind the scenes, the South's major transportation, communications, finance, warehousing, and other industries would by now have fallen into the hands of northern tycoons as well.
In history, Vanderbilt alone had made the entire American South suffer unbearably, but now he was the one in dire straits.
Not only had the British burned down his Manhattan mansion in a single blaze, but the American government had branded him the number one traitor to America. Nearly all of the Vanderbilt Family's businesses had been confiscated, and the British had extorted away almost all his remaining assets.
Now, he truly wanted to weep but had no tears.
Seeing the posture of both Britain and America, Vanderbilt knew there was little hope of relying on Britain to occupy America.
Thus, the most rational choice now was to leave North America, lest the American government settle accounts with him later.
After serving as America's richest man for so many years, Vanderbilt still possessed vision and insight. He knew that Britain, and Europe as well, had long since been carved up by the great powers.
If the