Late June 1856.
A transport ship carrying Governor Jerome Patterson of Gabon and 5,000 Croatian Foreign Legion soldiers set sail from Toulon Port, under the escort of the French Mediterranean Fleet, heading toward Central Africa, Gabon.
The commander of the British garrison at Gibraltar, seeing this scene, thought that the French Army was dispatching troops for an overseas expedition.
Thus, the commander swiftly sent a steam frigate to London to deliver the news.
[Note: At this time, Gibraltar was not yet equipped with telegraphs, whereas Malta, influenced by the Crimean War, had them.
It must be said, this was a "great achievement" of Britain!]
By the time the steam frigate reached London, it was already early July.
At this moment, Prime Minister Palmerston, who had gained prestige from the Crimean War, still held the office of the Kingdom of Britain's Prime Minister, yet his position was already precarious.
