17. Luxury goods began to replace military supplies in autumn, 1863
Blockade runners carried some luxury goods in the earliest days of their operation. In 1863 it became apparent to some of the merchant companies that shipping luxury goods were more profitable than munitions and food for the Confederate Armies. Ships owned by the Confederacy continued to trade at Nassau and the island ports for war materiel, but privately owned blockade runners began to focus their trade on other items, which arrived at Nassau on ships of neutral nations. Wine, brandy, and whiskey replaced medicinal spirits. Linen, silk, and finished goods such as hats and boots replaced material for uniforms. Canned meats replaced barrels of salt pork and beef.
By early 1864, the flow of military supplies into the Confederacy from the blockade runners was reduced to a trickle, but the ships continued to ply back and forth from the British colonies, and Spanish Cuba. In the coastal cities, blockade runners were seen with contempt for profiteering by many. The fictional Rhett Butler was an example of a blockade runner flaunting his wealth as the South began to collapse. The Confederate government in Richmond established a regulation that 50% of all overseas trade by private firms had to be of products of a military nature. All of the cargoes carried by state-owned ships had to be military supplies or medicines.