Blockade Running
Cotton, Cotton, everywhere! This was the seen of ports in Nassau, Bermuda and Havana, Cuba. On April 19, Lincoln issued his proclamation blockading Southern ports. It provided that "a competent force will be posted so as to prevent entrance and exit of vessels" from the ports of the states in rebellion. Then, to make the proclamation official, he signed a document, authorizing "the Secretary of State to affix the Seal of the United States to a Proclamation setting on foot a Blockade of the ports of the States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas." (The Raab Collection/ This is an actual copy of the document) The seal was affixed to the blockade proclamation, which was announced that day. It was a de facto declaration of war by the Union against the Confederacy.
The US Navy was nearly non existent. There were 90 vessels, 24 of them active steamers. They had some sailing sloops but they were useless unless the blockade......
Join Now or Login to view the rest of this paper.
Approximate Word Count: 1703
Approximate Pages: 7 (260 words per double-spaced page) |