What was the name of the Union strategy in which the Union wanted to blockade the Confederate coast and take control of the Mississippi River?
1 Answer
The Anaconda Plan.
Explanation:
The Union wanted to kill the Confederacy by slowly squeezing the southern states to death in the same way an anaconda snake kills its prey. .
The Southern economy was an export, import, trade economy, The south grew cash crops mainly cotton and sugar which were exported and traded for cash to buy manufactured goods. The south had few factories with which to produce military weapons and supplies.
The Union wanted to block all exports of cotton so the south would have no income. The Union also wanted to block any imports of manufactured goods that would help the south's economy and military.
The Union set up a blockade to intercept any ship leaving or entering the southern ports. The Union conquered and occupied key ports like New Orleans and Mobile Alabama. The south could still get critical goods through Mexico, across Texas and the Mississippi River.
The conquest of Vicksburg in July 4 1963 completed the encirclement of the Confederacy. The south could no longer get supplies from outside the Confederacy. The Union gunboats now controlled the Mississippi.
The Anaconda plan worked. The Blockade of the ports and the control of the Mississippi River squeezed the economic life out of the south, greatly hindering the ability of the Confederacy to wage modern warfare.
