The South actually manages to create a small fleet of Ironclads.

Saphroneth

Are you thinking of a post-war situation, or a Trent type conflict as otherwise I can't see the union blockade being lifted and hence those tariffs will dwindle as OTL? Plus in such a position would London allow a private shipyard to sell a seagoing ironclad to a 'nation' its not formally recognised and is a rebel state as far as one of its biggest trading partners is concerned.

Steve
Charles Adams the US Ambassador to the UK did stop the sale of some warships such has the Laird Rams to the Confederacy.
The US was able to temporarily stop the sale of the French warship that came to be known as " the Stonewall Jackson but it was sold to Denmark and resold to a third party that then sold it to the Confederacy. Fortunately for the Union the Stonewall Jackson was in Cuba when the war ended and sold to the Governor General of Cuba who resold it to the US which then sold it to Japan.
Leftyhunter
 
Saphroneth

Are you thinking of a post-war situation, or a Trent type conflict as otherwise I can't see the union blockade being lifted and hence those tariffs will dwindle as OTL? Plus in such a position would London allow a private shipyard to sell a seagoing ironclad to a 'nation' its not formally recognised and is a rebel state as far as one of its biggest trading partners is concerned.

Steve
It's always a good idea to put a"@" in front of someone's name if you want them to reply to a question so they get an immediate alert. For example @Saphroneth .
Leftyhunter
 
Are you thinking of a post-war situation, or a Trent type conflict as otherwise I can't see the union blockade being lifted and hence those tariffs will dwindle as OTL? Plus in such a position would London allow a private shipyard to sell a seagoing ironclad to a 'nation' its not formally recognised and is a rebel state as far as one of its biggest trading partners is concerned.
If you have a seagoing ironclad able to maintain a higher speed than the blockaders you can actually chase them away and keep them away, which ends the blockade of that port. (You can also use one to convoy in shipping.)
As for the question of selling a ship to the CSA, the sticking point is actually British neutrality legislation - not international law.

Yet that's not what happened. The British shipping industry was monitored by officials at the US Embassy. They couldn't stop British warships from being sold to the US but they did stop the sale of the Laird Rams and Warrior Class vessels.
The sticking point is British neutrality legislation. As expressed quite forcefully by Franklin Pierce, there was nothing illegal in international law about private individuals selling even warships to a belligerent in an ongoing war.
 
It's always a good idea to put a"@" in front of someone's name if you want them to reply to a question so they get an immediate alert. For example @Saphroneth .
Quoting someone does the same thing.

Charles Adams the US Ambassador to the UK did stop the sale of some warships such has the Laird Rams to the Confederacy.
Charles Adams had no legal powers in the UK. The UK did their best to catch warships being sold to the Confederacy, but that was UK policy and not international law; it could have been changed.

My reason for using the example of the Warrior and the Laird Rams is partly to highlight that even a foreign purchased ironclad (more expensive than a domestic one, or should be) can pay for itself quite quickly in pure financial terms; meanwhile in 1864 I suspect the CSA would have paid several million dollars for the ability to turn off supplies to Grant's siege army at Petersburg for even a few weeks.
 
Quoting someone does the same thing.


Charles Adams had no legal powers in the UK. The UK did their best to catch warships being sold to the Confederacy, but that was UK policy and not international law; it could have been changed.
My point is not that Charles Adams is a British peace officer but that Charles Adams and his staff keep taps on what British ship builders are up to and then protest to the British government. In effect they are America's watchdogs .
Leftyhunter
 
If you have a seagoing ironclad able to maintain a higher speed than the blockaders you can actually chase them away and keep them away, which ends the blockade of that port. (You can also use one to convoy in shipping.)
As for the question of selling a ship to the CSA, the sticking point is actually British neutrality legislation - not international law.


The sticking point is British neutrality legislation. As expressed quite forcefully by Franklin Pierce, there was nothing illegal in international law about private individuals selling even warships to a belligerent in an ongoing war.
Nonetheless Charles Adams helped stop the sale of the Laird Rams to the Confederacy.
Leftyhunter
 
My point is not that Charles Adams is a British peace officer but that Charles Adams and his staff keep taps on what British ship builders are up to and then protest to the British government. In effect they are America's watchdogs .
Well, yes, but as I've said more than once in the last ten minutes it's a matter of British policy; if the British have a different policy, simply quote Franklin Pierce to the effect that a private citizen can make private transactions as he wants and then ignore him, he can't really do anything to prevent it.

Nonetheless Charles Adams helped stop the sale of the Laird Rams to the Confederacy.

...I'm starting to suspect you're missing the key point of what I've been saying, here...
 
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