The Blockade Runners

by Dave Horner

Kirkus' Review The author, an enthusiastic diver and amateur historian, has rounded up a number of dashing portraits of men and ships involved in blockade running on behalf of the Confederacy during the Civil War--and invites, the reader underwater to view some of the relics, a few perhaps swishing with treasure. ""When blockade-running collapsed, the South collapsed,"" the author insists, and it seemed that, encounters between sea-borne Rebels and Feds had the effect of major battles. Among the ships--The Phantom (now reposing beneath the waves, with an octopus in the boiler); the Condor which carried Rebel Rose to her death; the Greyhound, captured by the Union forces and commanded by a young ensign who married his prisoner, the notorious Belle Boyd; the Night Hawk, and her resourceful Captain Taylor. Scraps of history, but the author's journeys below (near Cape Fear, the Bermuda reefs, and reefs off the Carolina coast) are tantalizing, and yes, there is still gold and treasure aboard--dangerous to get to and deep down. Elementary adventure with blandly anecdotal history.

268 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1968

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

In retrospect, it is amazing that the Confederacy held out against the Union forces for slightly over four years. The Confederate forces were generally outnumbered two-to-one in overall numbers, although there were times when they were able to achieve local superiority. The Confederacy was also way behind the Union in manufacturing capability as well as having a significant rail network. The Confederacy had almost no capability of making weapons of war as well as the manufacturing of the necessary support materials.
One of the primary reasons why the Confederacy was able to survive as long as it did was due to the skill and daring of the blockade runners. These ships took loads of cotton from the Confederate ports to “neutral” ports in the Caribbean or even to England where they would pick up return cargoes of badly needed material. Their exploits against the Union blockade are the primary subject of this book.
While the actions of the blockade-runners and their Union adversaries are educational and interesting, it is unfortunate that those actions are not the only topic covered in this book. The author is an experienced salvage diver and significant portions of the book are renditions of his actions in that capacity. A book solely about the naval actions of the blockade or one that covers only the actions of salvage divers would in either case be interesting to their selected audiences. This one covering both does not do either topic justice.
A serious error in the book appears on page 21. The sentence is, “And June 1862 witnessed the vicious Seven Days’ Battle in which Lee drove off Grant, much to the relief of Richmond.” Of course, the leader of the Union forces in this battle was General George B. McClellan and not U. S. Grant.
A great deal of the reason why the Confederacy was able to survive so long is explained in this book. It is also interesting to note that many of the items that came through the blockade from Europe were not war materials but basic food as well as expensive alcoholic drinks and clothing meant for the wealthy.

[Abigail G · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and easy to understand view into a little known part of the Naval history of the American Civil War. Each of the chapters flowed well between historical facts and nautical lore. As well, the pictures in the book were enjoyable and informative.