When I summarize, I will ignore strictly moralistic posts. If the CSA government was wrong in supporting slavery that is a wonderful observation, but how did it affect the ability of the CSA government to wage war or stay functioning.
The CSA greatly underestimated the devastating effects of the naval blockade. Because of the blockade, the South couldn't export cotton to the mills in Liverpool. Since this was a primary source of funds for the Confederate states, the military blockade and confiscation of these ships spelled financial ruin for the Confederacy. The blockade also kept goods from getting into the South; not just cloth and everyday good, but weapons and armaments of all kinds. One of the main reasons that Southern soldiers were so poorly equipped as time went on was because there was no way to get weapons, with the ports being completely closed to all commercial trading.
