Running the Blockade

by Thomas E. Taylor

Running the Blockade is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1896. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

Genres: American Civil War, Maritime

220 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1896

Reviews

[Mick Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book when doing research for a forthcoming book of mine about Liverpool (England), but found it such a fascinating and thought-provoking book that I had to review it. Written in 1896, it describes the adventures of the author, Thomas E. Taylor, from 1861 - 1865, when he was running the blockade of Southern U.S. Ports in the American civil war.
To declare my hand (ideologically) I am on the left and an erstwhile Hippie, so I am firmly of the side of the North in this conflict. The act of slaveholding is so utterly barbaric that anyone who finds any sympathy with it is no friend of mine. Having put those cards on the table, I can turn to the book.
Taylor was a junior employee in a Liverpool merchants when the civil war started. Liverpool (which had been a major slaving port in the previous century) was suffering somewhat from the blockade, as Southern cotton had been a major commodity that was flowed through the port and on to Manchester for spinning.
He took the post of ‘supercargo’ (owner’s representative on a merchant ship) on the ‘Despatch’ - an old and badly maintained ship that did not manage to run the blockade, but the experience allowed him to take the same position on the ‘Banshee’ which was the first purpose-built blockade runner - a steel-built steam / sail ship that was low on the water, able to run into shallow harbours and designed for speed. The book details the voyages he made on this and later ships, the management of the ships, the fights, the financial returns, and some musings on the politics and personalities involved. In general it’s a good read, although the condescending attitude to African peoples (both slaves and freemen) will make most people wince.
But what I found fascinating was the attitude to both race and politics, both of which are more nuanced that I would have expected.
For example - Once, when he ran into Wilmington an escaped slave stowed away on the ship for the return journey. He was discovered on the outward voyage to Nassau (in the Bahamas - a neutral port). Rather than turn the man in, he sets him free in Nassau - paying $400 for the privilege of freeing a slave - and the man got a round of applause from the ships crew. How does that sit with the politics of the day? I don’t know. I can only speculate that a sympathy for the underdog motivated them. Or maybe they had befriended the man on the voyage. The book does not say.
What you can say is that the author had some sympathy with the North, greater sympathy with the South, but his primary concern alway seemed to be money in the bank. No different from the business men of today, I guess, who look to the bottom line before bothering with the ethics of the situation. There was good money to be made supplying the South with supplies and with shipping their cotton and that was the primary concern.

I read the ebook created by the Gutenberg project, which is a free download from…

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50134

[Tyler Brannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short personal history of a junior Liverpool merchant's experience in his partnership's exploitation of the blockade of Southern ports during the American Civil War. This book is intended to inform a learned British audience of the military lessons gleaned from this conflict as it might to a future naval war.

The author is detached capitalist who views the blockade as an opportunity to gain riches and fame. He succeeds in this quest by adapting to the changing severity of the blockade by employing specialist blockade running craft, professional blockading crew, and cozy relationships with Confederate officials.

The author has strident opinions on the infallibility of international law as it applies to blockades. He is frequently outraged by Northern attempts to restrict the blockade by methods he finds abhorrent to his gentlemanly view of blockade running.

The final chapter explores the author's prediction on novel 1890s technology such as searchlights, rapid firing naval rifles, and powerful coal-fired engines.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting to get an insight into the mind of a blockade runner.

[Rose]

Proofread for Distributed Proofreaders.