Until late in the civil war, the Confederate blockade-runners were highly effective in sustaining the Confederacy. As had been orchestrated by the confederate, the blockade-runners served the interests of the Confederacy as they serviced the southern economy.
One of the key reasons the Confederate blockade-runners were able to serve the interests of the Confederacy for the better part of the civil war undetected was that they were used in the guise of individual ships as opposed to confederate ships. Officially, the ships belonged to private individuals, although every party in the civil war knew that the ships were headed for the Confederacy (Carroll, 2010).
The ability to exploit the loopholes within the British law at the time allowed the blockade runners to function effectively. After the ships had been built, according to the law, if they did not have any weapons in them, they could not be termed as having violated the law, even if they had been built in the semblance of naval ships. This allowed them to be loaded with guns outside British jurisdiction, alongside being assigned to hired British sailors, something that could not be termed as having broken the law (Carroll, 2010).
The use of the blockade runners was an attractive venture for the most part throughout the length of the civil war, as the shipment of merchandise to the island and the subsequent transfer into the blockade runners created a booming business. The island was, as a consequence, dominated by southerners and warehouses together with docks dominated by this business (Carroll, 2010).
As the war progressed, the efforts of the informers were not considered by the authorities. Allen’s correspondence shows clear efforts to expose the ships that were being used to serve the interests of the Confederacy. Additionally, there were clear efforts to convince the Navy to intervene to stop the blockade running. This helped keep the business running, which in turn supported the blockade-runners and consequently the interests of the Confederacy until near the end of the war.
References
Carroll, F. M. (2010). Diplomats and the Civil War at Sea. Canadian Review Of American Studies, 40(1), 117-130.
