Squall across the Atlantic
Stuart L. Bernath

American civil war prize cases and diplomacy.

Shortly after President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the Southern ports, the British government warned its subjects against violating either British of international law in derogation of their duty as neutrals. However a Lord Russel reported, Englishmen would, ‘if money were to be made by it, send supplies even to hell at the risk of burning their sails’. When Union ships set out to seize the blockade-runners, British merchantmen and American warships were sailing on a collision course, leaving a wake of vexatious diplomatic, legal, and political problems for their governments to settle.

In this first comprehensive study of the Civil War prize cases, the author traces the events and their far-reaching implications on both sides of the Atlantic. He explains how the court cases offered a crucial test of the Lincoln administration’s power to wage war and how the decisions affected presidential emergency powers. He points out significant disagreements within the administration and shows the complex relationship between national self-interest and international maritime law as Britain and the United States exchanged their traditional roles of belligerent and neutral.