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Blockade Running - The First Link to Supplies This is a brief overview of the blockade running industry that could be found in Wilmington throughout the course of the war. This page focuses on the economics of running the blockade. Through the mist of a July morning in 1861, the Daylight emerged off the coast of New Inlet to begin a long four year blockade of the Cape Fear River and Wilmington. This ship was joined by many more tasked with blocking the inlets of the Cape Fear to prevent trade through the port. This was only a small part of the nearly insurmountable campaign to successfully halt the trade from Southern seaports. The Daylight and other vessels spurred the development of the blockade running enterprise that was created around each accessible southern port. The Union Navy was not large enough to stop all of the vessels around each city and this is what these adventurers and southern patriots were counting on. They also knew that there was money to be made in the venture. C.S.S. Alabama Because Wilmington's coast was one of the most hazardous to navigate it was not considered a top priority of the Union campaign. And in the city as battles began in earnest, Wilmington was just beginning to realize what the possibilities of the port actually were. In 1861, there were 60-70 licensed bar and river pilots and apprentices available in the area. These men had no idea what riches would befall them, nor what vital roles they would play in the prosperity and pain of the city. The port and its connecting railroad system made Wilmington strategically important for General Lee and his defensive plan to protect the Confederacy. Those same features made a difference in the lives of the residents of Wilmington as well. The river and ocean access provided needed commodities from the outside world and produced an avenue for trade of abundant naval stores and cotton to the West Indies and Europe. Exportation via the cargo capacity of these swift running vessels brought cash and products into the Confederate lines and made many people very wealthy. The blockade runners also brought despair to the minds of the residents of the city. The Steamer Kate, which ran the blockade and entered Wilmington on August 6, 1862 was purported to have brought yellow fever to the city, and although that was not exactly the case, the Kate was cursed by the citizens of the town as the instigator of the epidemic and many actually cheered when it was published in the Daily Journal that the Kate had been sunk in 1864 by Union blockaders. For the ship Don, records remain of payment and privileges that the crew enjoyed. Each man was given some personal space on the ship for which to store cargo that could be used for personal speculating. The payment is for one round trip sail, from Nassau to Wilmington. The scale shows each pay grade and the sailors were paid in British gold or U.S. currency, not CSA script- this was a common pay scale for the time:

Position Salary Captain $5000 Pilot $3750 Chief Engineer $2500 Chief Officer $1250 Crew and Firemen $250 In the year preceding the capture of Fort Fisher the ventures of capitalists and speculators in Wilmington amounted to Sixty-six million dollars in gold and Sixty-five million dollars worth of cotton had been exported to British agents in return. There were 397 successful runs that year, a good amount of cargo to keep the Confederacy alive. The profitability of a venture with a ship, a good cargo and some luck in the blockade could make a man rich. But there was also a price, for capture meant the loss of whatever investment was made in the ship and the cargo, plus whatever prison sentence the Union deemed proper. It was said that 1504 blockade running vessels were captured, stranded or destroyed in the course of the war. But many were successful, including the Steamer Syren which made 64 successful runs. The Confederate States Steamer R.E. Lee ran the blockade at Wilmington 21 times and carried over 7000 bales of cotton overseas. That amounted to $2,000,000 in gold for the Confederacy, although it was received in supplies, both civilian and military. Complements of the Civil War Clip Art Gallery  The capture of Fort Fisher and the resulting loss of all of the Cape Fear River defenses and Wilmington effectually ended blockade running and compelled the subsequent surrender of the Confederate Army in the field. At that crucial time in the war plans, Wilmington was the only port available from which to receive supplies of food and ammunition. Once the breadline was cut, Lee's troops could only starve and freeze in the Winter of 1865. This starvation of the army is what gave the victory to the Union and made it a historical event. Admiral Porter, who directed Naval Operations against Fort Fisher later reported that a telegraph dispatch from General Lee to Colonel Lamb, the Commanding Officer at Fort Fisher, was captured that read "If Fort Fisher falls, I shall have to evacuate Richmond." It is not known whether this telegram was really from Lee or even if it actually existed, but there is no reason that Porter would have fabricated it. Union leadership knew the traffic coming in and out of Wilmington and knew the significance of the town. They did try to launch one attack on Fort Fisher before the 1865 victory, but why the assault was not better planned and Wilmington not closed down earlier, there is no answer. The significance of the Cape Fear River and it's activity is shown in Admiral Porter's Naval History of the Civil War, when he notes that the sum realized by the United States Federal Government from the sale of war prizes, ie. captured vessels and cargo was in excess of $21.7 million dollars. There was also an additional $20 million dollars worth that could be considered unreported or lost. Porter surmises that this amounts to only one half of the total capital invested in blockade running. $100 million dollars worth of vessels and cargo was much to risk. There must have been driving forces besides money and adventure that caused so much to be risked.(22) Books on Blockade Runners Blockade Runners and Ironclads - Wallace R. Black Civil War Gold and Other Lost Treasures - W. Craig Gaines Rose O'Neal Greenhow and the Blockade Runners - George Johnson Grey Phantoms of the Cape Fear - Dawson Carr Lifeline of the Confederacy - Stephen R. Wise Unless otherwise noted, this site is property of Tammy L. Colson. return to top