British Imperialism and its Legacies: Models of Ships Used as Blockade Runners
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Glasgow Museums has 19 models of steamers that were used as blockade runners, or were ordered by the Confederate Navy, during the American Civil War of 1861–1865.
This war originated in disagreements over legal enslavement and use of enslaved labour and whether this should be expanded, contained or abolished within the United States of America as a whole. The rival states sought political and material support abroad, particularly in Europe. The United Kingdom took a neutral position during the conflict, and trade in war-related goods was officially embargoed, despite many industrialists relying on the raw materials (particularly cotton) and markets offered by the USA.
Shipbuilders on the River Clyde had a reputation for building fast, shallow draught paddle steamers, and many were used for cargo and passenger traffic in the waters of the Firth of Clyde. These vessels became a focus for Confederate agents who came to Scotland hoping to purchase ships at the Clyde piers. From 1861 they bought around 50 older working steamers (such as Herald, which had been built in 1851) from local shipping companies. They also approached shipbuilders to purchase newly launched or still to be completed vessels. Around 65 steamers were sold ‘off the stocks’ or were specially designed and built for the Confederate Navy (such as Guyane/Corcorado, still under construction when the war ended in 1865). The success of steamers running the blockade popularised the American term ‘Clyde-built’ as a sign of quality.
Most shipbuilders sold the vessels to these agents knowing they were destined to be fitted for blockade running and sent across the Atlantic. Scarcity and risk increased prices, and shipyards made huge profits from designing and building blockade runners – Clyde shipbuilders J&G Thomson (builders of Giraffe, Iona II and Guyane/Corcorado) struggled to make an overall profit of £8,000 in 1861 but made over £90,000 profit in 1865. Cash on this scale, across around 20 shipbuilding firms, was invested in new shipyards, other industrial ventures across the British Empire, and developments on Clydeside, as well as disbursed as huge personal dividends to owners and shareholders.
There were official attempts to curtail and prevent negotiations and vessel sales, but there tended to be tacit, if not active, support for the Confederate States within the business community in Glasgow.
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