New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-10-29
The Control of the High Seas
What IMPLIES and Hon Makes Its Pover Fct as illustrated "
Former Wars
Blu Gherardi Daris

WAS constantly made more and more rIe," ~
a.. - uort nm And IL was successful DE-
cause the Confederscy was largely depehuen.
on tho outside world Cor certlln necessa'
supplies, and these Supplies were "o'1
more cut on as the years went py' ~
were many articles which the south nesu."
hut could not import because Of the oiocsa','
except on an occasional fortunate oiocsa'e
runner. At the same time thoufanas oi "-'0
Of cotton accumulated in Southern ports a''
, again only an occasional blockade runner sue
ceeded in getting out with It's immensely
valuable cargo. But for the facilities oHers.
by nearby English colonial ports there woul'
have been still fewer successful frlps INTO
the Southern ports. A. the same time ,ne
disiculties of the blockade were immense. TIC
make a blockade perfect is almost impossible.
Every possible kind of vessel was IN the
blockading feet, and most of these ships wee
slow. but they hung on nigh, and day, sum
NOR and winter, in fair weather and foul;
thew were always on duty. The blockade run
pers were often especially built for very hirh
speed, often higher than that OF the navy's
fastest sloops-of-war, and even in those days
nainting vessels a color which made it dim
cult to pick them up, especially II 1t were az
all hazy, was a well-known trick. When,
therefore, a fast blockade runner found a
favorable day or night she would try TO ran
the pantlet. and il became almost a sport to
indulge in this not wholly cafe game. !!
such a vessel got within gunshCt OF pror-
erly armed warship she was as u rule set o.
fire by shells or driven ashore. Sometime
1 che got through. On one memorable oceS-
sion the Florida, which had run into Mobile
in broad daylight under the disguise OF ar
English warshp got away on = January
night although the Union feet was on esre-
cal watch for her. This was one Of the
many occasions when the Oneida, a sistey
ship of the Kearsarge, showed herself to be
An unlucky ship. She let the Florida get past
her, and the Florida did great deal of dam
age to the Union merchant feet before being
captured at Bahia by another sister of the
Kearsarge, the Wschusett.
Confederate Commerce Strangled
The blockade killed the Confederate corr
merce and the pinch OF supplies got to DE
very severe by 1864. In Rhodes's History will
be found a very graphic description OF TIE
state Of the South under these conditions. As
early AS 1863 there began to be deficiency
of articles which the South wholly lacked or
did not produce in suficien. amount, and
many scheme 10 relieve the situation was
tried, including some which were OF the order
of lifting ones self by ones bo0tstraps, AID
which are not by any means unknown to-day.
Most Of the ure-alls failed, and the law Of
supply and demand refused 20 be repealed,
just as in Germany to-day the rationing plans
fail to work properly. The blockade creat'j
q stringency of unparalleled severity; even
the railroads wore out as thcrs was no way
Of supplying the materials for new rails or
equipment. The South did not produce
enough iron and could not imoo,. any. Even
ammunition was very hard to obtain. FOOD
became scarce, clothing was lacking, medi-
cnes there were not-all because the Union
navy held the high sens with an iron grip.
The blockade thus necess arily hastenet the
collapse of the Confederacy. and was for that
reason an unqualified success. But when il is
gibly stated that Germany to-day is near her
end let it not be forgotten that in the fall OF
1884 there could be no possible question Of
how the Civil War would end, and yet the
Confeaeracy fought on for six more months.
On the other hand, as have pointed out in
an earlier article, the deprodasons OF III,
Confederate raiders had 10 effect whatever on
the war. The North no. dependent on
foreign trade for supplies, AMI in ony event
trade by steamer with Europe and California
was never even menaced. The destruction Of
the Northern merchant marine caused
heavy financial loss, but did not lengthen
the war one day The North could ship troops
by sea with impunity. and did so. McClellan's
army was sent by sea 70 Fortress Monroe
in 1862, and Grant sent the 9Th Corps By sea
from before Richmond to Washington in
July, 1864, to oppose Early. Neither expe-
dition was interfered with in the slightest
degree
ITO be concluded tomorrow