Customer Reviews

Guns for Cotton: England Arms the Confederacy

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Thomas Boaz's "Guns for Cotton" is a short but highly recommended resource on how the Confederacy was able to arm its forces. Indeed, rather than being a ragtag army of myth, Boaz indicates that British supplies ensured the Confederacy was well-armed and well-stocked until nearly the end of the conflict. As late as October 1864 one Richmond bureaucrat believed his army was "the best clad in the world."

The book should raise questions in the minds of those who have romantized the Confederacy. They were not ill clad or armed; indeed they were sometimes better provisioned than their Northern opponents. And the entire strategy (if there was one) of Lee seems completely disconnected with the need to protect vital ports such as Wilmington, NC, where British materiel was offloaded.

The book contains valuable photographs, illustrations, and maps. It also contains endnotes, recommended readings, and a bibliography. The index could have been more comprehensive, but it is adequate.

The book is recommended to Civil War buffs (including re-enactors), individuals interested in international policy and foreign affairs history, and military logisticians.

A great book to introduce the subject. The south belives that the immediate self imposed embargo of cotton will convince european powers to join thier effort. This and other strategies to create empathy to the southern cause, provide trade for needed war material and the effects of the blockade are covered to provide an adequate understanding. Nice presentation of data without approaching the eyes glaze over phase. One that I would encourage my 12 year old to read.