who did the british support during the civil war
United Kingdom and the American Civil War
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Empire remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) . It legally recognised the status of Confederate States of America but never recognised it as a nation and neither signed a treaty with it nor exchanged ambassadors . However , top British officials debated intervention in the first 18 months . The elite tended to support the Confederacy , but ordinary people tended to support the United States of America . Large - scale trade continued in both directions , with the Union shipping grain to Britain , and Britain sent manufactured items and munitions . Immigration continued into the US , with Britons volunteering for its army . British trade with the Confederacy fell over 90 % from the prewar period , with a small amount of cotton going to Britain and some munitions slipped in by numerous small blockade runners . They were operated and funded by British private interests , were legal under international law , caused no dispute between the US and the UK . 
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Empire remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) . It legally recognised the status of Confederate States of America but never recognised it as a nation and neither signed a treaty with it nor exchanged ambassadors . However , top British officials debated intervention in the first 18 months . The elite tended to support the Confederacy , but ordinary people tended to support the United States of America . Large - scale trade continued in both directions , with the Union shipping grain to Britain , and Britain sent manufactured items and munitions . Immigration continued into the US , with Britons volunteering for its army . British trade with the Confederacy fell over 90 % from the prewar period , with a small amount of cotton going to Britain and some munitions slipped in by numerous small blockade runners . They were operated and funded by British private interests , were legal under international law , caused no dispute between the US and the UK .
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Empire remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War (1861 -- 1865). British trade with the Confederacy fell over 90 % from the prewar period, with a small amount of cotton going to Britain and some munitions slipped in by numerous small blockade runners. They were operated and funded by British private interests, were legal under international law, caused no dispute between the US and the UK.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the British Empire remained officially neutral throughout the American Civil War ( 1861 -- 1865 ) . British trade with the Confederacy fell over 90 % from the prewar period , with a small amount of cotton going to Britain and some munitions slipped in by numerous small blockade runners . They were operated and funded by British private interests , were legal under international law , caused no dispute between the US and the UK .