page_title: Blockade runners of the American Civil War
section_title: Central figures
hierarchical_section_title: Blockade runners of the American Civil War / Supplying the Confederacy / Central figures
caption_attribution_description: English: Brigadier General Josiah Gorgas, Confederate States Army, Library of Congress photo from Smithsonian Dansk: Brigadegeneral Josiah Gorgas, CSA
context_page_description: The blockade runners of the American Civil War were seagoing steam ships that were used to get through the Union blockade that extended some 3,500 miles along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines and the lower Mississippi River. The Confederate states were largely without industrial capability and could not provide the quantity of arms and other supplies needed to fight against the industrial north. Blockade runners built in Scotland and England met this need and imported the guns, ordnance and other supplies that the Confederacy desperately needed, in exchange for cotton that the British textile industry likewise was in desperate need of. To get through the blockade, these ships, built in British ship yards and specially designed for speed, had to cruise undetected, usually at night, through the Union blockade. The typical blockade runners were privately owned vessels often operating with a letter of marque issued by the Confederate States of America. If spotted, the blockade runners would attempt to outmaneuver or simply outrun any Union ships on blockade patrol, very often successfully.
context_section_description: Coordinating the business affairs of the C.S.A. with shipbuilders, purchasing agents, suppliers, and shippers in Liverpool, Nassau, Wilmington and other ports involved the concerted efforts of a number of notable men and shipping firms. Foremost in this effort were Major Josiah C. Gorgas and George Trenholm of Fraser, Trenholm and Company – who worked closely with Gorgas, the Confederate Naval Secretary, and other agents.
caption: Major Josiah C. Gorgas
exif: {}