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The Anaconda Plan

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

THE ANACONDA PLAN

BY BRENDAN JUDD

THE ANACONDA PLAN

  • The Anaconda plan was a military strategy proposed by Union General,Winfield Scott, early in the American Civil War. The plan called for a naval blockade of the Confederate ports, a thrust down the Mississippi, and the strangulation of the South by Union land and naval forces.

WHY WAS THE PLAN PROPOSED?

  • General Winfield Scott thought of the plan to avoid invasion from the Confederates.
  • Scott knew that if the South invaded, it would be very costly for both sides.
  • By combining a naval blockade of seaports, Scott said this plan would, "envelope the insurgent states and bring them to terms with less bloodshed than by any other plan."
  • Scott also planned to have 80,000 men use the Mississippi River as a highway to thrust through the Confederacy.

GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT

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GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT

  • Winfield Scott was the longest serving active duty general of the United States.
  • Scott first joined the army in 1807 and served as a Lieutenant Colonel during the war of 1812.
  • Scott served through many more wars like the Indian wars and the Mexican-American war, and later ran for president for the Whig party.
  • Scott finally retired during the Civil War after over 50 years of service.

REJECTION

  • The plan was first seen as useless, and costly because no warships imagined to use were in existence.
  • It would also take time to gather and train forces to carry out the Mississippi thrust, and many believed the Civil War wouldn't last long.
  • Since the Union Army was small, and didn't have the necessities for the Anaconda Plan, Scott's plan was subjected to a great deal of ridicule and was immediately rejected.

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THE PLAN REVISITED

  • Later throughout the war, the Union wanted a way to put an end to the war as quickly and decisively as possible.
  • The tactics that were eventually used were reminiscent from Scott's plan, but involved more bloodshed and horrific combat than Scott had intended.
  • Eventually General Ulysses Grant captured the city of Vicksburg, which split the Confederacy in two. This also gave the Union control over the Mississippi River.

LINCOLN WITH HIS GENERALS

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ATLANTIC BLOCKADE

  • Later throughout the war, Union was able to use steamships for a blockade.
  • Since steamships needed coal, The Union needed any harbor South of the Chesapeake Bay to serve as a coaling station, but almost all we occupied by the Confederacy.
  • The Union board recommended using Florida, but soon the Union took control of minor port in North Carolina. This then allowed the Union to advance down and take control of major ports like Charleston and Savannah.

UNION BLOCKADE RUNNER

GULF BLOCKADE

  • The gulf blockade was less important than the Atlantic, but the gulf ports were the last the Confederates had.
  • The Union started by easily capturing ship island, which lies in the gulf between Mobil and New Orleans, two of the Confederate's last major ports.
  • The Union was able to use Ship Island to capture New Orleans in 1862, and then in 1864 capture the forts surrounding Mobil, making the port useless.

BATTLE AT MOBIL

Even though it was seen as a pointless waste of time at first, the Anaconda plan was used as the Union's winning strategy. Although Scott hadn't thought that the plan would actually cause more bloodshed than intended, it did help in the end of the bloodiest war ever fought on American soil. Winfield Scott lived to see the end of the war, and died later in 1866 at his beloved West Point Academy.

SOURCES

Photo by dbnunley