Anaconda Plan

The Union’s Civil War strategy to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi River, restricting the Confederacy’s trade and dividing its territory.

Union blockade: The Union Navy’s effort to prevent ships from entering or leaving Confederate ports during the Civil War. The blockade was the Anaconda Plan’s maritime arm, designed to cut off overseas trade and supplies.
Winfield Scott: A senior United States Army general who commanded Union forces at the start of the Civil War. Scott proposed the strategy later nicknamed the Anaconda Plan.
Abraham Lincoln: The sixteenth president of the United States, who led the Union during the Civil War. Lincoln considered Scott’s proposal while shaping the Union’s early war aims.
Confederate blockade runners: Ships that evaded the Union blockade to carry goods into or out of Confederate ports. Their voyages show how the blockade constrained trade without sealing the coast completely.
Offensive strategy: A military approach that seeks to defeat an opponent through attacks and seizure of territory. Critics preferred rapid advances and decisive battles to a gradual squeeze on the Confederacy.
Mississippi River campaign: The Union military campaign to gain control of the Mississippi River during the American Civil War. River control formed the plan’s western arm and would split the Confederacy in two.
Scott's Great Snake: A 1861 newspaper cartoon depicting Winfield Scott’s strategy as a snake encircling the Confederacy. The cartoon helped give the strategy its enduring name.
George B. McClellan: A Union general who commanded the Army of the Potomac and later served as general-in-chief. McClellan favored organizing and training Union forces before undertaking major offensives.
United States Sanitary Commission: A civilian organization that supported the health and welfare of Union soldiers during the Civil War. The prolonged war demanded large-scale support for soldiers and military operations.
Peninsula Campaign: A 1862 Union campaign to capture Richmond by advancing through Virginia’s Peninsula. McClellan’s direct drive toward the Confederate capital contrasted with Scott’s broad containment strategy.

Linked from 11 pages