What were blockade runners?
Q: What were blockade runners?
A: Blockade runners were specially designed Confederate ships that tried to slip through the blockade of Southern ports by the Union Navy during the American Civil War.
Q: When was the blockade ordered by President Abraham Lincoln?
A: President Abraham Lincoln ordered the blockade on April 19, 1861, one week after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter.
Q: How did the Confederacy respond to the blockade?
A: The Confederacy responded to the blockade by using small fast ships known as blockade runners.
Q: Did the blockade have immediate success?
A: No, the blockade had very limited success during the first two years of the Civil War, with as many as two out of every three ships entering or leaving Southern ports being successful.
Q: What was the Union Navy's main challenge in maintaining the blockade?
A: The Union Navy had to patrol nearly 3,500 miles of seashore along the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines to maintain the blockade.
Q: Did the blockade become more effective as the war progressed?
A: Yes, as the Union built more ships, the blockade became more effective, with as few as 25% of blockade runners being successful later in the war.
Q: How did the Confederacy's use of blockade runners affect the war?
A: The Confederacy's use of blockade runners allowed them to bring in supplies that they otherwise could not obtain, which helped prolong the war. However, the Union's increasing effectiveness in maintaining the blockade eventually contributed to the Confederacy's defeat.
