At the beginning of the war, the South did not have a Navy. In February 1861, the Confederacy had only 14 ships that were seaworthy while the North already had an organized Navy with 90 functional ships.
The overwhelming industrial capacity of the North made it clear that the South could not produce as many ships, so Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory relied on technological innovation and ship-building assistance from foreign countries to make the Confederacy competitive.
His strategy centered on commerce raiding with innovative ships like the CSS Alabama, which used both sail and steam; the use of powerful rifled naval guns, which were devastating against wooden ships; development of ironclad ships of war, like the CSS Virginia; and the use of innovative mines, torpedoes, submarines, like the H.L. Hunley.
Vogl said that against incredible odds, the commerce raiders damaged the Union economy and forced the North to reassign blockading ships to hunt down the elusive raiders.
However, their successes were short-lived because of the North's ability to out-produce similar ships. Vogl said the small, but innovative Confederate Navy was a valuable resource for the South. It helped protect Confederate harbors and keep them open as well as interrupting seagoing Northern commerce. Those ports they helped keep open provided much-needed supplies coming in from abroad.
--Old B-Runner
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