Download Civil War Strategy in the North

Civil War Strategy in the North
The Anaconda Plan








Blockade Southern ports on the Atlantic
Isolate the Confederacy from European
aid and trade
Cut off flow of supplies, equipment,
money, food, and cotton
Exhaust Southern resources, forcing
surrender
Control the Mississippi with Union
gunboats
Divide the eastern part of the Confederacy
from the western part
Capture New Orleans, Vicksburg, &
Memphis
Cut off shipping to and from interior
“The plan will take time, but it will defeat the South with the least amount of bloodshed.”
- General Winfield Scott
Questions to Consider:
1. From the list above, list the three most critical characteristics/aspects of the North’s Anaconda Plan.
Explain your reasoning.
2. Considering the method snakes use to kill their prey, why did the North call their strategy the Anaconda
Plan?
3. Looking at your Civil War Battles Timeline (#38), during which battles do you see the Anaconda Plan at
work? Was the North’s plan successful in those specific battles? Were they successful overall?
Civil War Strategy in the South
In theory…
 Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy modeled their
strategy after George Washington and other
American colonists fighting in the Revolutionary
War

Generals picked their battles carefully in order to
avoid devastating losses (lives, resources, morale,
etc.)

Defensive Warfare: wanted to force the Union to
spend its resources until it became tired of the war
and agreed to negotiate
In Reality…
 Southerners believed they were much
better fighters than Jefferson gave
them credit for

Troops often went on the offensive,
attacking enemy lines and suffering
enormous losses

In 1862 and 1863, Southern offensive
battles resulted in 20,000 more deaths
than the Union – these were losses the
South could not afford
“The idea of waiting for blows, instead of inflicting them, is altogether unsuited to the genius
of our people.”
-The Richmond Examiner, 1861
Questions to Consider:
1. List two of the most important aspects (in your opinion) of the Southern strategy during the Civil War.
Explain your reasoning.
2. How was the Confederacy’s strategy different from reality? Why do you think the Confederate military
could not stick to their original plans?
3. Looking at your Civil War Battles Timeline (#39), during which battles do you see this strategy at
work?