 As the Confederacy 's military fortunes flagged , there was increasing consideration of what would have been unthinkable in 1861 — enlisting male slaves in the army and emancipating them for their service . In August 1863 , B. H. Micou , a relative of a former law partner , wrote to Benjamin proposing the use of black soldiers . Benjamin responded that this was not feasible , principally for legal and financial reasons , and that the slaves were performing valuable services for the Confederacy where they were . According to Meade , " Benjamin did not offer any objections to Micou 's plan except on practical grounds — he was not repelled by the radical nature of the proposal " . A British financial agent for the Confederacy , James Spence , also urged emancipation as a means of gaining British recognition . Benjamin allowed Spence to remain in his position for almost a year despite the differences with Confederate policy , before finally dismissing him in late 1863 . Despite official neutrality , tens of thousands from British @-@ ruled Ireland were enlisting in the Union cause ; Benjamin sent an agent to Ireland hoping to impede those efforts and Dudley Mann to Rome to urge Pope Pius IX to forbid Catholic Irish from enlisting . The Pope did not do so , though he responded sympathetically . 
