Blockades and Blockade-runners In the war at sea Union warships tried to cut off the Confederacy’s overseas trade by sealing off 3,000 miles 4,830 km of Southern coastline Challenging the Union blockade were fast specially designed vessels called blockade-runners On April 19 1861 President Lincoln proclaimed a naval blockade of the Deep South states of Texas Louisiana Florida Georgia and South Carolina On April 27 he extended it to include North Carolina and Virginia At first the blockade existed only on paper The Union navy did not have enough vessels to patrol the 187 ports and navigable inlets between Chesapeake Bay and the Rio Grande But Gideon Welles Union navy secretary rapidly built up a force by arming almost any floating vessel until the blockade numbered some 600 Most vessels stayed close to harbors watching for any activity For most of the time blockade duty was dull Southern bases To support the blockade the Union navy captured bases on the Southern coast to serve as repair stations It also captured the forts that guarded Confederate ports The first major port to fall was the South’s largest city New Orleans Louisiana which fell to a Union fleet on April 25 1862 By the end of December 1864 the only major port still open was Wilmington North Carolina When it was sealed off on January 15 1865 the Confederacy lost its last link to the outside world Blockade-runners Unable to construct a fleet large enough to break the blockade the Confederacy built a few ironclad vessels the CSS Virginia and Albemarle They were neither strong enough nor seaworthy enough to do the job well A more practical tactic was to elude the blockade Curriculum Context Some curricula ask students to understand the influence on the conflict of geographical factors such as the extended coastline of the South Curriculum Context What was the advantage to the North of closing the ports of the South 10 Home Front and the Economy
During the war about 300 vessels privately owned initially tried to run the blockade At first they were fast sailing vessels but gradually special ships were built many in Britain These blockade-runners had shallow drafts to navigate small inlets and low silhouettes and gray paint to make them hard to spot The engines burned smokeless fuels and they had pipes to expel steam underwater to make them less visible Above all they were fast Shielded by a cloudy or moonless night a blockade-runner could sneak past patrolling warships If that failed it simply outran them The blockade’s significance Until 1863 it was Confederate policy not to sell cotton abroad in an attempt to starve European textile mills of their vital raw material They hoped to force support from key European powers especially Britain The embargo failed and the Confederacy missed the chance to export cotton when its ports were open and the Union blockade was weakest Curriculum Context The blockade-runners are a good example of technological innovation that came about as a direct consequence of the Civil War A photograph of the wreck of a blockade runner on Sullivan’s Island South Carolina Blockades and Blockade-runners 11
Embargo The prevention of imports and exports from a port or country Curriculum Context Students may be asked to judge the relative influence on the result of the war of military economic social and technological factors Path to Riches Even after it curtailed the embargo the Confederate government was slow to make blockade-runners give cargo space to military supplies Most blockade runners operated entirely for profit transporting luxury goods As the war went on the Confederacy put its own blockade-runners into service and forced private captains to set aside half their cargo space for military supplies Right to the end of the war blockade-runners satisfied the desire of Southerners for luxury goods Did the blockade work The effectiveness of the blockade remains a matter of dispute In 1861 blockade-runners made the trip successfully nine times out of ten though this fell to five in ten in 1865 The blockade appears more effective when the volume of wartime shipping is compared to prewar levels Viewed from this perspective the blockade reduced Confederate seaborne supply by more than two-thirds Historians also disagree about the importance of the blockade and blockade-running in the overall Union victory and Confederate defeat Some see the blockade as the single greatest factor in the Union’s triumph Others believe that the blockade-runners were an invaluable lifeline up to the moment of Confederate defeat A third group of historians probably a majority consider the blockade a significant but not decisive element in deciding the outcome of the war Blockade-running was a lucrative business A bale of cotton in Europe could fetch 10 times its price in the Confederacy On the return journey captains crammed their holds with as many supplies as possible Blockade-running captains preferred cargoes of luxury items such as fine wines liquor spices silk coffee and cigars because these low bulk high-value items maximized their profits The captain of a blockade-runner often earned 5,000 in gold for a successful voyage 12 Home Front and the Economy
Costume and Dress The Civil War had a great effect on the way civilians dressed particularly in the Confederacy Southern women had to use all their ingenuity to make up for fabric shortages They made dresses from drapes spun cotton and made dyes In the mid-19th century the clothes people wore showed their social class and wealth Working men’s and women’s clothes were designed for practicality and durability Wealthy people’s wardrobes were designed around the social conventions of the day Women’s clothes All women wore layers of clothing undergarments a corset a dress with fitted bodice and a cape Few left the house without a bonnet to cover their hair Wealthy women had different outfits to suit the time of day and social occasion The fashionable costume of the day was a crinoline a full skirt over a hooped wire frame Hand sewn Women of all classes in the North and South were taught to sew knit and embroider Wealthy women usually spent part of their day working on some needle art Magazines such as Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s Magazine published the latest styles from Paris and London for readers to either make or have made Clothes were hand sewn until the early 1850s when Isaac Singer’s new sewing machine became widely available Children’s clothes Both boys and girls wore petticoats until the age of five After five boys wore either short or long trousers or knickerbockers baggy trousers gathered below the knee Girls dresses were made from cotton calico muslin and in wealthier families silk and linen Clothes Curriculum Context Students might be expected to describe how technological innovation altered daily life in the United States Costume and Dress 13
