ed.[70] This means that over 60 percent of the South's modern arms were imported through the blockade. The South also imported 3 million pounds of lead (one-third of the army's needs), 2,500,000 lbs. of saltpeter (two-thirds of the army's needs), three-fourths of the total powder ingredients, and the great majority of cloth and leather for uniforms through the blockade.[71] The shortages of the Confederate armies were due to the South's lack of industry, not the strangling effects of the blockade. On the whole, the blockade was under-enforced. After an exceptionally slow start, the blockade was never able to seal off Southern shipping. Thousands of superior blockade-runners passed through the ramshackle blockade and made incredible profits with relatively low risks. There are many misconceptions that the blockade was responsible for the horrible economic situation and lack of supplies, but this was due more to the Confederate inability to take advantage of the weakness of the blockade. Through their cotton embargo and lack of government-controlled blockade-running, they did not work to give themselves a large portion of the profits and bring in the supplies the Confederacy needed. As it turned out, private enterprises kept the rich Southerners supplied with all the silks and wines they needed, while the Confederate troops were without shoes and the Confederate government without money. ...
