Vanguard Confederate Blockade Runner 1861-65 Osprey Books

The lifeblood of the Confederacy, the blockade runners of the Civil War, usually began life as regular fast steam-powered merchant ships. They were adapted for the high-speed dashes through the Union blockade, which closed off all the major Southern ports, and for much of the war these amazing ships brought much-needed food, clothing and weaponry to the Confederacy. The book traces their operational history, the development of purpose-built blockade running ships, and examines their engines, crews and tactics. It also touches on the Union warships designed to counter these blockade runners, and describes what happened during a typical blockade-running operation. The book traces the pre-war development of these ships, then describes their wartime exploits, using this to demonstrate their operational and mechanical performance. It examines what life was like on these vessels, and presents accounts of what conditions were like on board them when they sailed into action.