Charles K. Prioleau

Charles Kuhn Prioleau (1827 – August 3, 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.

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.

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.

Prioleau arrived in Britain in 1854, and by 1863 had become a naturalized citizen, allowing him to remain in Britain to keep abreast of Confederacy business and its developments, while also monitoring important shipping arrivals and departures. a Confederate naval officer, acting as Confederate foreign agents in England. As the resident partner of Fraser, Trenholm and Company, aware of Bulloch's situation and the need for prompt action, Prioleau graciously received him and extended his trust. Though his firm had not yet received any funds on Bulloch's behalf, he nonetheless directed Bulloch to place any orders that were pressing and offered the services of his company to make financial arrangements. Prioleau also assumed the financial responsibility of a large order of arms Major Caleb Huse had made, who was also limited on existing funds. Trenholm had developed a fraternal relationship with the Confederacy, and to affirm the relationship, the Company built the gunboat, the Alexandra, using its own funds, and offered it as a gift to the Confederacy. George Trenholm, senior director of Trenholm, Fraser & Company, would also become Confederate Secretary of the Treasury in July, 1864, replacing Christopher Memminger.

From 1862 to 1865, he corresponded with many leading Confederates, often involving the prospect of blockade running. (Prioleau made copies of these letters which are now housed in one of the National Museumsin Liverpool.)

Later life Not eligible for amnesty in the United States, Prioleau moved with his family to Belgium, and then France, where he worked as a banker. Later he returned to London and by 1871 was living at 47 Queens Gate Gardens, the census for that year describing him as "general merchant". He is listed at this address 1871-1876, but does not appear in any London directory after that, although the notice of death in The Times of 4 August, 1887, still describes him as “of 47 Queen's-gate-gardens". He died at the age of sixty at Bailey's Hotel, where he may have been resident, and was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. His grave was discovered in 1984 by members of the American Civil War Round Table (United Kingdom).