Cannons, Corsets, and Curry Combs: Glasgow's Role in Blockade Running, Supplying the Confederacy, and War Profiteering

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2025 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

During the American Civil War, Glasgow-built blockade runners emerged as crucial facilitators of supply to the Confederacy, prolonging the conflict, and sustaining chattel slavery by clandestinely running cargo into Confederate ports. This research explores the historical archaeology of these cargos, investigating the material culture carried, and highlighting items beyond munitions that helped maintain a sense of normality amid conflict. Analyzing primary sources and material culture, this research reveals how Britain met non-combat market demands. Comparing artifacts from Camp Lawton (JS1), a Confederate prison that held Union POWs near Millen, Georgia, this study establishes a direct link between blockade-run cargos and terrestrial Southern sites. Supplies flowed from Wilmington, North Carolina's port, to Millien in the interior of the Confederacy via rail, feeding illicit markets used by guards and POWs. This research underscores the global connections between the Confederacy and Glasgow's 1860s economic boom fueled by enslaved labor, despite Britain's anti-slavery position.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2025

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow