Naval Strategy During the American Civil War

On 19 April 1861, in response to Confederate President Davis's revival of the use ofprivateers, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a naval blockade of seceded ports andproclaimed that any vessel interfering with U.S. merchants would be treated under piracylaws. The blockade was not as successful as originally hoped for as the South proved tobe more resourceful than originally assumed, and it did not completely deprive theConfederacy of food, arms, and ammunition. Although blockade-runners primarilybrought in commercial or "luxury" items, the Confederacy would have been withoutmuch needed arms, bullets, and ammunition without the blockade-runners. At least400,000 rifles (over 6% of their modern arms), 3,000,000 pounds of lead, and two-thirdsof the salt peter required for gunpowder were smuggled through the blockade