The Prize Cases were several cases brought before the Supreme Court relating to Lincoln’s unilateral decision to blockade Southern ports at the beginning of the Civil War. The cases were brought to court by Northern merchants whose ships had been taken as “prizes” by the U.S. Navy pursuant to the blockade. The merchants insisted that the seizure of their ships was tantamount to piracy on the grounds that the blockade itself was not legal. It was illegal, they contended, because the blockade had been announced and implemented in April 1861, months before Congress recognized a state of war on July 13, 1861. In a five to four decision, the court held that Lincoln’s blockade had been legal. The court’s ruling held that the powers of the President as Commander-in-Chief granted him authority to put down ongoing insurrections and defend the territory of the United States if war or rebellion existed, even if neither side had officially declared or acknowledged the ongoing conflict.