between the end of the War of 1812 and the start of the American Civil War, there was little opportunity to gain prize money. After the outbreak of the Civil War, the Confederate States granted some 30 commissions or letters of marque to privateers, which captured between 50 and 60 United States merchant ships. However, a declaration by Abraham Lincoln that Confederate privateers would be treated as pirates and the closure of the ports of European colonies in the Caribbean as venues for the disposal of prize vessels and cargoes encouraged their owners to turn to blockade running. From 1861, US Navy ships engaged Confederate privateers and blockade runners: as the 1800 legislation only applied to enemies of the United States, which did not recognise the Confederate States, it was unclear if prize money would apply. However, a revised statute of 1864 stated that "the provisions of this title shall apply to all captures made as prize by authority of the United States", allowing prize money claims to be made. Over 11 million dollars of prize money was paid to US Navy personnel for captures in the Civil War period. It has been calculated that about one-third of prize money due was payable to officers under the prevailing rules, but that approximately half of the money actually paid went to officers, most probably because of the difficulty in tracing enlisted men when payments were delayed. In 1856, the Declaration of Paris was signed: this outlawed privateering by the ships of the 55 nations that signed it. However, the United States did not sign the declaration, in part because it considered that, if privateering were to be abolished, the capture of merchant ships by naval vessels should also cease. Despite this, the United States agreed to respect the declaration during the American Civil War, although Lincoln's cabinet did discuss the use of privateers against British merchant shipping in the event Britain recognised the Confederacy. A number of changes were made to the allocation of prize money to US Navy personnel in the 19th century in the last being in 1864. This preserved the awards 5% of the prize fund to commanders of the squadron, which now also applied to fleet commanders of fleet and of 10% to captains under the immediate command of a flag officer or 15% for those operating independently. It added new awards of 2% for a commander