Rashaun Bean

S4

Preserve Our Heritage

September 30, 2014

The American Civil War in Bermuda

Rashaun Bean
S4

Preserve Our Heritage

September 30, 2014

What is the American Civil War?

-The American Civil War, in the United States is known as mainly just the
Civil War, and also other names used very seldom. It was fought from
year 1861-1865. The war originated from many problems related to slavery,
and also the spreading of slavery in the western areas.
What Caused This War?
-North and South of the United States developed along different lines. The
South remained an important agricultural economy, but the North kept
becoming more industrialized every day. As time passed by, new cultures
started to develop because of people who had different beliefs, which
eventually led to major issues. Issues such as taxes, tariffs and internal
improvements. Soon, it was the States rights against the Federal rights.
What happened during the War?
- In December, during the 1860s, eleven Southern states left the Union. The
states with slaves present, did not agree with the slavery views of the
Union.
During the war, Union forces used their navy to create a blockade of
Southern ports hoping to break the Souths economy, deprive its troops of
materiel and munitions and force the newly-created Confederate States of
America to surrender. Known as the Anaconda Plan, this blockade stretched
from Maryland down the Eastern seaboard, around Florida, and into the
Gulf of Mexico. I collected this information from Bernews.
What Happened After Civil War?
-After the duration of the war, there were over 600,000 Union and
Confederate casualties. The South's infrastructure and the Confederacy
were destroyed. There was much difficulty during the reconstruction
process trying to restore national unity, and guarantee civil rights to the
former slaves.
How does the American Civil War relate to Bermuda?
-As a consequence of the naval blockade, Bermuda along with the
Bahamas and Cuba became a centre of Confederate commerce. A steady
stream of fast-running ships from the South clandestinely skirted the Union
blockade, passing through St. Georges carrying cotton from Charleston,
South Carolina and Wilmington, North Carolina for English manufacturers;
they made the return journeys freighted with European armaments.

Rashaun Bean
S4

Preserve Our Heritage

September 30, 2014

Bermuda was both a transhipment point where cotton was directly

exchanged for British weapons warehoused here and a refuelling depot for
Confederate blockade runners making transatlantic runs. I collected this
information from Bernews.
-In the summer of 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Charles
Maxwell Allen U.S. consul to Bermuda. During the Civil War, Allen's post
became one of vital importance to the United States as this British colony
became a center for Confederate blockade-running activities. As the sole
representative of Union interests in pro-Confederate Bermuda, Allen found
himself involved in the shadowy world of intelligence gathering as he
attempted to thwart these blockade-runners. Allen's dispatches shed new
light on two important and often-overlooked aspects of the war: the Union
blockade of southern seaports and the effort to bring vital war supplies
through the blockade to the Confederate states. Author Glen Wiche has
compiled all of Allen's Civil War dispatches to the U.S. State Department and
provides well-documented commentary to place Allen's activities in the
wider context of the "Atlantic campaign" of the Civil War. "Dispatches from
Bermuda" paints a detailed picture of these activities and offers a rare
account of this blockade-running traffic from a northern perspective. I
collected this information from Dispatches from Bermuda.

Rashaun Bean
S4

Preserve Our Heritage

September 30, 2014

Bibliography
References/Citations:
Causes Of The Civil War. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.historynet.com/causes-of-the-civilwar

Civil War Trust. (2014). http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html

American Civil War. (2014). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War
History: Bermuda and the Blockade Runners. (2014). http://bernews.com/2010/11/historybermuda-and-the-blockade-runners/

Allen, C., & Wiche, G. (2008). Dispatches from Bermuda: The Civil War letters of Charles
Maxwell Allen, United States consul at Bermuda, (1861-1888). Kent, Ohio: Kent State
University Press.