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Following Confederate President Davis' declaration of a privateer campaign against Northern shipping, the Union had three viable courses of action:
The first two options asserted the right of the United States to control and administer its own ports, and were acts suitable to an internal or civil conflict. The third option - blockade - was normally exercised against a hostile state. When consulted by Secretary of State Seward, the British Minister in Washington warned that the first two options were not clearly defined in international law. Either could lead to an "incident" between U.S. naval vessels and European merchant vessels, with the risk of provoking European diplomatic recognition of the Confederacy. On the other hand, blockade had been clearly defined in international law during the course of the Napoleonic Wars. The British felt that blockade was the safer course. However, declaration of a blockade against the Confederacy would grant the Confederacy rights as a belligerant under international law. President Lincoln's decision was to impose a blockade, overruling objections by the Secretary of the Navy. This was declared on April 19, 1861. SourcesERROR - invalid isdn (0-306-80367-4), pp. 26,27 |
