Following the attack on Fort Sumter and the secession by the Confederacy the Union devised a strategy to limit the length of the war. Lincoln had no desire for further bloodshed and thus wanted a plan that would limit the amount of life lost during the Civil War. The strategy known as “The Anaconda Plan”, was a military strategy proposed early in the American Civil War.Â
There were three focal points in the Anaconda Plan:
- Create a naval blockade along the coast
- Take control of the Mississippi River
- Capture the Confederacy’s capital, Richmond, Virginia
Union Leadership knew that the only way to win the war was to break the support of the Southern population to continue its war effort. The Union assumed that public support for the war was the Confederate central focus. The Confederates, to some extent, figured out this formula before the Union did. In fact, the main reason for the second invasion of the North by the Confederacy in 1863 was to seek a victory on Northern soil in hopes of inducing the Northern public to believe that the war was unwinnable.
The naval blockade was the lynchpin of the Anaconda Plan. When it came to supplies, the North held most of America’s finances and industrial production. Therefore the South had to depend on trade with other nations in order to support the war effort. If the North could cut trade networks off, the Confederacy would be left without supplies and funding. While there was no desire to harm the actual population of the South, the loss of support financially or via foreign assets was important to limit the length of the war.Â
Taking control of the Mississippi River would in effect cut the Confederacy in half by preventing the flow of supplies and manpower throughout the South. Capturing Richmond was purely a demoralization campaign. If the Union were to take control of the Confederacy’s capital, both the Confederate Army and the states would be more likely to surrender. A morale victory was the quickest way to allow the population to force the Confederacy’s leadership to surrender.
At the beginning of the war, the goal of the Union was to unify the nation. Essentially, the Northern commanders knew they were fighting a war of attrition and needed to outlast the South so that they would give up and return to the Union. Winfield Scott, an American military leader, suggested the Anaconda Plan to “strangle the South into submission”. Gradually two other strategies were used in what was called “hard war” and what later would be called “total warfare”:
(1) destroying the enemy economy, and therefore their ability to make war, and
(2) breaking the will of the people to continue the war.
These strategies were most used during Sherman’s “March to the Sea” in 1864.
At the beginning of the war, the goal was to preserve the Union, so President Abraham Lincoln did not have any interest in bringing an end to slavery. He believed that such a move would alienate border states that still had slaves. The Anaconda Plan was a gradual strategy, so it would take some time for the South to even feel the effects. For this reason, many in the North believed it was a ridiculously bad idea. The common opinion was that the war could be won with a single, decisive battle and there was no reason to wait around.
However, the timeline was not the only contentious point. The first major goal of the Anaconda Plan was to block trade between the Confederacy and Europe, but such a move could lead to unfavorable European intervention. Plus, it would only work if the Union Navy was successful in maintaining the blockade.Â
After the First Battle of Bull Run in April 1862, the Union learned that war would be much longer and bloodier than they had originally thought. Suddenly, the Anaconda Plan sounded much more attractive. With the naval blockade already in effect, the Union Army looked towards gaining complete control of the Mississippi River. By early 1864, the first two goals had been accomplished. The blockade had successfully prevented any meaningful foreign aid and General Grant’s success at Vicksburg delivered the Mississippi River to the Union.Â
The actual effects of the Anaconda Plan on the South worked as planned. The Confederacy was hit with massive inflation and a shortage of common goods. The South had been previously trading their cotton and tobacco for key supplies like weapons and foodstuffs from Europe. Without the ability to trade, they lost funding and access to supplies. The South had hoped European powers would intervene due to their dependence on cotton, but Europe found other suppliers instead.Â
With control of the Mississippi River, the North was also successful in cutting the Southern territory in half. Because of this, the Confederacy was unable to transfer supplies or soldiers. The Confederacy quickly lost its will to fight. On April 9th, 1865, the Confederacy agreed to a cease-fire.
Besides the Anaconda Plan, the Union had economic and logistical advantages over the Confederacy. The United States has enjoyed such advantages in every subsequent conflict and has generally sought to take advantage of them. When American leaders have been successful in war, it has been because they implemented a strategy that incorporated all aspects of American power to achieve results; brute force and abundant resources alone are most often insufficient to achieve the desired outcome. Limiting options and cutting down morale leads to victory no matter the war.Â
What was the Anaconda Plan?
The strategy known as “The Anaconda Plan”, was a military strategy proposed early in the American Civil War.Â
There were three focal points in the Anaconda Plan:
– Create a naval blockade along the coast
– Take control of the Mississippi River
– Capture the Confederacy’s capital, Richmond, Virginia
REFERENCES
- Strategy. (n.d.). https://ahec.armywarcollege.edu/exhibits/CivilWarImagery/cheney_strategy.cfm#:~:text=The%20most%20famous%20plan%20developed,River%20to%20split%20the%20Confederacy.Â
- ushistory.org. (n.d.). Northern plans to end the war [Ushistory.org]. https://www.ushistory.org/us/33h.asp
- National Defense University Press. (n.d.). Union success in the civil War and lessons for strategic leaders. https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Media/News/Article/581883/union-success-in-the-civil-war-and-lessons-for-strategic-leaders/Â
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2009, February 12). Anaconda plan | American Civil War. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/Anaconda-pla