British Blockade Runners in the American Civil War

Perhaps more than all the campaigns of the Union armies, the Union naval blockade—covering all major Southern ports along 3,500 miles of coastline for the duration of the war—brought down the Confederacy. The daring exploits of Confederate blockade runners are well known—but many of them were British citizens operating out of neutral ports such as Nassau, Havana and Bermuda.
Focusing on British involvement in the war, this history names the overseas bankers and manufacturers who, in critical need of cotton and other Confederate exports, financed and equipped the fast little ships that ran the blockade. The author attempts to disentangle the names and aliases of the captains—many of whom were Royal Navy officers on temporary leave—and tells their stories in their own words.

Joseph McKenna is a retired local studies librarian, with over 30 years experience working in the Central Library in Birmingham, England. He formerly sat on the City Council`s Conservation Advisory Areas Committee.

Joseph McKenna
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 217
Bibliographic Info: 58 photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2019
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7679-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3643-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. The Confederacy in Britain Tests the Blockade 11
2. The British Are Coming 33
3. Transshipment into the Confederacy 50
4. A Blockade to Run Through 68
5. The Ship Builders 80
6. The Ships That Ran the Blockade 96
7. Girdles and Guns: Tales from the ­Blockade-Runners 150
8. Cotton Bonds and the New Plan 175
9. The End of the Adventure 185
Chapter Notes 193
Bibliography 201
Index 203

• “A unique and exceptionally informative contribution to the growing library of American Civil War histories…an informational and nicely illustrated study that is unreservedly recommended”—Midwest Book Review.
• “An in-depth look at the British maritime industrial firms, businesses, investors, and individuals who participated in and profited from the immensely lucrative illicit trade with the Confederacy.”—Civil War Books and Authors