His firm made their headquarters at 10 Rumford Place in Liverpool, England. 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. The firm had offices in New York, Charleston and Liverpool, with a solid business reputation allowing him to obtain unlimited credit in Europe. The company was well known in Europe, and George Alfred Trenholm was among the wealthiest and most influential men in the South. The company was chosen by the committee as its agents. 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. 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. 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. The Confederacy also lacked a navy in which to counter the Union blockade. 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. In early 1862, Charles hired an architect and built a large town house at 19 Abercromby Square, Liverpool, incorporating many of South Carolina's classic architectural styles.

They rented a baronial mansion called Allerton Hall, located near Liverpool.

When in Liverpool, he married Mary Elizabeth Wright, widely known as the 'Belle of Liverpool'. Army during the Mexican War, and again in 1854 at age 27.

Prioleau was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the fourth of five children of Samuel Prioleau, a prominent judge in Charleston, South Carolina.

Charles 4.5.6 license