Blockade runner

A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usually transport cargo, for example bringing food or arms to a blockaded city. They have also carried mail in an attempt to communicate with the outside world.

Blockade runners are often the fastest ships available, and come lightly armed and armored. Their operations are quite risky since blockading fleets would not hesitate to fire on them. However, the potential profits (economically or militarily) from a successful blockade run are tremendous, so blockade-runners typically had excellent crews. Although having modus operandi similar to that of smugglers, blockade-runners are often operated by states' navies as part of the regular fleet; states having operated them include the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, and Germany during the World Wars.

There were numerous blockades and attempts at blockade running during the Peloponnesian War. With his fleet blockaded, Leon of Salamis dispatched blockade runners to seek reinforcements from Athens.

During the Punic Wars, the Carthaginian Empire attempted to evade Roman navy blockades of its ports and strongholds. At one point, blockade runners brought in the only food reaching the city of Carthage.

During the 14th century, while Queen Margaret I of Denmark's forces were besieging Stockholm, the blockade runners who came to be known as the Victual Brotherhood engaged in war at sea and shipped provisions to keep the city supplied.

Blockade runners in the American Revolution eluded the British naval blockades in order to supply resources to the army. French naval aid was vital.

During the American Civil War, blockade running became a major enterprise for the Confederacy due to the Union blockade as part of the Anaconda Plan to cut off the Confederacy's overseas trade. Twelve major ports and approximately 3,500 miles of coastline along the Confederacy were patrolled by roughly 500 Union Navy ships.^{[citation needed]}

The United Kingdom played a major role in Confederate blockade running. British merchants had conducted significant amounts of trade with the South prior to the war, and were suffering from the Lancashire Cotton Famine. The British Empire also controlled many of the neutral ports in the Caribbean, most notably the Bahamas and Bermuda. In concert with Confederate interests, British investors ordered the construction of steamships that were longer, narrower and considerably faster than most of the conventional steamers guarding the American coastline, thus enabling them to outmaneuver and outrun blockaders. Among the more notable was the CSS Advance that completed more than 20 successful runs through the Union blockade before being captured.