165 YEARS AGO: The C.S.S. Sumter completes her first raid on U.S. shipping, Federals strengthen their blockade, and a Federal crew takes on Confederate privateers.
Tag: Blockade
President Lincoln’s Blockade Proclamation
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln issues an order imposing a naval blockade on ports in the Confederate states. This is intended to prevent supplies from reaching the Confederacy, despite lacking legal basis since he did not recognize the Confederacy as a foreign nation.
The C.S.S. Tallahassee Raid
A Confederate commerce raider evades the Federal blockade and sets out to attack Federal shipping on the North Atlantic coast. Panic over this commerce raid soon spreads among coastal residents.
The Federal Blockade Tightens
Federal naval forces make gains in December by capturing various blockade runners and seizing forts along the coast.
The Fall of Ship Island
Federal forces seize an important base to be used as a staging area for future operations in the Gulf of Mexico.