![]() However, as the war progressed and the Union navy increased in size, the blockade became increasingly effective. ![]() Estimates suggest that only one in ten ships attempting to trade with the South was captured in the first year of the war. ![]() ![]() The blockade of 1861 was indeed very leaky. If it had been as leaky as the Confederates were claiming, then why make so much fuss? Great Britain was perfectly happy to declare the Union blockade legal – the inconvenience to British trade was more than balanced by the invaluable precedent thus created. Ironically, the determined Confederate attempts to get Britain to declare against the blockade played a part in convincing her that the blockade was indeed effective. In 1861 they were so convinced of the power of ‘King Cotton’ that the south imposed a cotton embargo, voluntarily cutting off its own best supply of money! Their hope was that British industries dependence on Southern cotton would force the hands of the British government. Of those ships in American waters, ten were destroyed (or partially destroyed) to prevent them falling into Confederate hands when Virginian seceded, taking the Norfolk naval base with it.Ĭonfederate diplomats spent much of their time attempting to convince European powers, especially Great Britain, to declare the blockade illegal. This was fortunate for the Union, as when war broke out the United States navy was just as small as the army, and its ships were scattered around the world. To be a legal blockade (under the terms of an international treaty that the United States had not signed!), this blockade simply had to present a risk to shipping trying to enter those ports. President Lincoln very quickly declared a blockade against the main Confederate ports. Now it was the United States that wanted to impose a blockade. The issue had even played a part in the outbreak of the War of 1812. In previous conflicts, the United States had stood firmly against the right of belligerent parties to impose a blockade on neutral shipping. ![]() One of the great ironies of the American Civil War was the Union blockade of Southern ports. Back: Sherman's March through the Confederacy The Blockage ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |