Charles Kuhn Prioleau (1827–1887) was an American cotton merchant who became the senior partner of Fraser, Trenholm & Company in Liverpool, England, a firm that functioned as the European banker of the Confederacy and was its major supplier for arms and military ware during the American Civil War. As a firm that frequently acted as the European banker of the Confederacy it often extended it credit, and was sometimes referred to as "the Confederate Embassy in England".
Early life and family
Prioleau was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the fourth of five children of Samuel Prioleau, a prominent judge in Charleston, South Carolina. He served with distinction with the U.S. Army during the Mexican War, and again in 1854 at age 27.
When in Liverpool, he married Mary-Elizabeth Hardman (née Wright), widely known as the "Belle of Liverpool". They rented the Palladian mansion Allerton Hall, previously owned by his wife's slave-trading ancestor, John Hardman. In early 1862, Prioleau hired an architect and built a large town house at 19 Abercromby Square, Liverpool, incorporating many of South Carolina's classic architectural styles.
American Civil War
When the Civil War broke out the south had very little manufacturing potential and subsequently was in desperate need of arms, military ordnance and other supplies which it could not acquire from the industrialized north, now an enemy of the Confederate States. The Confederacy also lacked a navy in which to counter the Union blockade. Subsequently the Confederates looked to foreign sources to meet their enormous military needs, and turned to two firms in England who were already selling arms to a number of different countries.
Supplying the Confederacy
Shortly after the war broke out, Charleston businessmen took advantage of the divided nation and appointed a four-man committee to oversee the creation of a steamship line that went from Charleston to Liverpool. Its members included Charles Gourdin, a prominent banker from Charleston, and Charles Prioleau, a prominent member of Charleston's largest shipping firm, John Fraser and Company. The company was chosen by the committee as its agents. The company was well known in Europe, and George Alfred Trenholm was among the wealthiest and most influential men in the South. The firm had offices in New York, Charleston and Liverpool, with a solid business reputation allowing him to obtain unlimited credit in Europe.