— Ch. 1 · Winfield Scott's Strategic Vision —
Anaconda Plan.
~7 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
On the 3rd of May 1861, Union General-in-Chief Winfield Scott wrote a letter to Major General George B. McClellan outlining a new approach to the war. The document proposed that all ports in the seceding states be rigorously blockaded while a strong column of perhaps 80,000 men advanced down the Mississippi River. This strategy aimed to cut the Confederacy in two by capturing Confederate positions along the river in sequence. A small amphibious force would lead the way, followed by a traditional army to secure victories. The culminating battle was intended to be for the forts below New Orleans. When those fell, the river would be under US control from its source to its mouth. President Abraham Lincoln had already proclaimed a blockade on the 19th of April 1861, just one week after the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Scott believed this plan would bring the insurgent states to terms with less bloodshed than any other method. He argued against marching directly on Richmond because western Virginia remained pro-Union and an invasion there would alienate many citizens. His vision sought to envelop the entire South at once rather than subjugating it piecemeal. By the end of the year, Scott retired due to age and infirmity before he could impose his strategic vision on the government.
The Mississippi River Campaign
Captain David Glasgow Farragut ran his fleet past the forts defending New Orleans on the night of the 24th of April 1862. He forced the city to surrender despite damage sustained while forcing their way past the forts. After repairing ships, Farragut sent them up the river where they successively obtained the surrender of Baton Rouge and Natchez. The string of easy conquests ended at Vicksburg, Mississippi, however, as Confederate positions occupied bluffs high enough to render them impregnable to naval gunnery of the day. The Army under Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck failed to send even a small body of troops to aid the ships. Farragut was soon forced by falling water levels to withdraw his deep-draft vessels to the vicinity of New Orleans. The Army did not attempt to take Vicksburg until November when Ulysses S. Grant became commander in the West. By that time, the Confederate Army had fortified both Vicksburg and Port Hudson to the south. This stretch included the confluence of the Red River with the Mississippi and became the last contact between the eastern Confederacy and the Trans-Mississippi region. The campaign for Vicksburg eventually settled into a siege which terminated on the 4th of July 1863. Pemberton surrendered all forces under his command numbering approximately 29,500 men. When word reached the garrison at Port Hudson, Maj. Gen. Franklin Gardner knew further resistance was pointless. On the 9th of July 1863, he surrendered the post and its garrison to the Federal Army of the Gulf.