Northern Strategies in the Civil War

The North entered the Civil War with a plethora of advantages over the South: a larger population, a superior railway infrastructure, and a higher level of industrial production. So, it was going to be a quick and easy victory, right? Well, not exactly. Strategy played a large role in the North's early defeats as well its later triumphs.

Northern Strategies at the Beginning of the Civil War

At the beginning of the Civil War, the North’s main goal was to force the South back into the Union. Major General Winfield Scott suggested the Anaconda Plan to strangle the South into submission. The Anaconda Plan was essentially a naval blockade along the Atlantic Coast that would disturb the supply of key resources from abroad. After a disturbingly brutal and bloody defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run, however, Lincoln opted to focus on a more active strategy. The Anaconda Plan would take too long for its effects to be felt, and the Union wanted a swift victory.

Fig. 1 - illustration of the Anaconda Plan

President Abraham Lincoln looked towards General George McClellan, whom he appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, to formulate a strategy.

McClellan believed that launching several attacks simultaneously would wear the South out, as the Confederacy lacked both supplies and manpower when in comparison with the North. But it quickly became clear that McClellan was prone to indecisiveness and inaction. Conditions were never quite perfect, and as a result, the Union army stalled.

Fig. 2 - portrait of General George McClellan

What Were Northern Strategies in the Civil War

By 1863, the overall military strategy consisted of five major points:

• Hold strong with the Anaconda Plan

• Gain control of the Mississippi River

• Capture Richmond, Virginia (the Confederacy’s capital)

• Capture major civilian cities

• Engage in simultaneous offenses

The Siege of Vicksburg proved a critical turning point, with the Union finally gaining control of the Mississippi River. This essentially extended the naval blockade of the Anaconda Plan through the South itself, cutting Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas off from the rest of the Confederacy. This exacerbated the Confederacy’s supply shortage even further and made Union General Ulysses S. Grant look really attractive as the next commander of the Union Army. President Lincoln appointed Grant in early 1864, replacing the generally unsuccessful Henry Halleck.

Fig. 3 - General Ulysses S. Grant

General Grant believed in the same simultaneous offense that McClellan had suggested but failed to truly implement. Grant sent General Benjamin Franklin Butler to capture Richmond and General William Tecumseh Sherman to capture major civilian strongholds in the heart of the South like Atlanta and Savannah. Both would hurt Southern morale. Grant, himself, would stay with General George Meade and the Army of the Potomac to face off with Confederal General Robert E. Lee. His goal was to engage and overpower with sheer manpower so that Confederate troops would lose their will to fight.

Types of Northern Strategies in the Civil War

Essentially, the North was waging a war of attrition against the South, hoping that a lack of resources, manpower, and morale would eventually lead to a surrender. But, with all this talk of breaking Southern morale, what was President Lincoln doing to keep morale up in the Union?

Well, he made the decision to change the Union’s main goal of the war. It was no longer a war to bring the South back into the Union, but a war to end the atrocity of slavery. He did this by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Fig. 4 - print of the Emancipation Proclamation

Southern Strategy in the Civil War

The Emancipation Proclamation was a double-edged sword for the Confederacy. It led to a renewed vigor in the North, but it also dashed Confederate hopes for European assistance. The Confederacy had long believed that European powers, particularly England and France, would provide support. The South had cotton, and the British and French needed it and would surely intervene, right? Well, what the South had not anticipated was England and France turning to other sources, particularly India. So, now the Confederacy was left on its own, magnified even further by the naval blockade.

When it came to military strategy, the South had begun with a cordon defense, in which they sent troops to defend all borders. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, it soon became clear this was not a viable strategy. The Union Army far outnumbered Confederate troops, and they simply couldn’t be everywhere at once. Instead, the Confederacy turned to an offensive-defensive strategy, in which they only staged attacks where they knew would be at an advantage.

Outcome of Northern Strategy in the Civil War

While the South may have had initial success, with General Ulysses S. Grant at the helm, the Union began to make considerable headway. Where previous commanders were hesitant to attack, Grant was decisive and lethal. He knew that the North had numbers and was not scared to run through them. With this approach, he found success, and under his watch, all five points of the Union strategy came to fruition.