Anaconda plan

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Caricature of Scott's plan from 1861

The Anaconda Plan was proposed by Lieutenant General Winfield Scott in 1861 as a strategic approach to ending the American Civil War . With him, the Confederation was to be cut off from all connections. Essential parts were a sea blockade and the simultaneous division of the confederation by removing the fortifications along the Mississippi .

background

After the attack on Fort Sumter , the people of both parties were convinced that the war would end quickly. Therefore, strategic considerations appeared superfluous on both sides. Although the responsible leaders on both sides expected a major conflict, they could not foresee that this conflict would result in an all-out war. The goal of the northern states in this limited war was not the conquest of the south, but the return of the breakaway states to the union. A war with such lowly, possibly erroneous goals did not require a deep strategy.

McClellan's proposal for a campaign

Major General McClellan , commander in the Ohio Defense Area and favorite of Scott, proposed two options for a successful campaign to overthrow the southern states on April 27, 1861.

In the first plan, McClellan wanted to advance towards Richmond , Virginia after the Ohio was secured by the Appalachians . This should relieve Washington, DC and defeat the army of the southern states. He saw no difficulty in crossing the Appalachians .

The second plan was to march towards Nashville , Tennessee if Kentucky fell from the Union and break the military force of Kentucky and Tennessee there. Then the army was to advance to Montgomery , Alabama with simultaneous support by a push to Charleston , South Carolina . The subsequent operations could then be directed against the Gulf ports.

McClellan asked for 80,000 men for both proposals. But no matter which plan the government chooses, even if it is just strategic defense, the West must be significantly strengthened.

Before Scott presented McClellan's letter to the President , he commented:

  1. The plans are impracticable because the soldiers (three-month volunteers) had expired during the marches after training and deployment.
  2. West Virginia's exit from the Commonwealth of Virginia would be supported by a march through the Appalachians.
  3. Land marches cost more than shipments and overstrained people, animals and material.
  4. No more troops would be needed for Scott's plan than for the McClellans.

Scott's plan

Scott was among those who foretold a long war. However, he opposed a war of conquest that, even if successful, would leave 15 devastated provinces. A feeling of togetherness with the conquerors that would develop afterwards is unlikely. Rather, the conquered areas would have to be secured for generations by heavily armed garrisons . This would multiply taxes and duties in the north without it being possible to extract parts of the costs from the defeated and destroyed areas.

Scott explained his plan to McClellan on May 3, 1861. The essential points were:

  1. Blockade of the Confederacy's coasts to prevent the export of agricultural products such as cotton, tobacco or meat products and the import of war materials.
  2. Taking possession of the Mississippi and the fortifications on it with gunboats and infantry in order to divide the confederation and prevent the importation of agricultural products from the west.
  3. The strength of the troops involved in the expedition down the Mississippi should be about 60,000 men. The period of service would be set at three years. Scott did not estimate the start of the operation until November 10, 1861 after successfully completing four and a half months of training.

execution

The anaconda plan took time. For one thing, the navy had to acquire or build enough ships for the blockade to be successful. On the other hand, the gunboats required for the Mississippie expedition had to be built and the soldiers had to be trained for the task of conquering the bases along the rivers.

Scott was aware of the crucial point for the eventual failure of his plan: it was the impatience of the patriotic and loyal people of the Union. They urged constant and energetic action regardless of the consequences.

His proposal received noticeable public criticism. A famous newspaper cartoon depicted a large choke snake crushing the southern states, which is where the plan got its popular name. The Northern government never formally adopted the plan, but Lincoln implemented the two components.

Just six days after the fall of Fort Sumter , on April 19, 1861, the President demanded a blockade of the breakaway southern states. This requirement was seen by many critics as an impracticable task, particularly because of the 4,800 km (3,000 miles) of coastline. The Confederation cut its exports in the second half of the year to keep the price of cotton high.

SS Banshee

The blockade was initially unsuccessful in 1862, but after a year of blockade only every third ship reached the Confederate ports and this rate fell even further, the plan, which was regarded as impossible, began to take effect. It was the most successful sea blockade to date and the first to be carried out exclusively by a national fleet without the employment of privateers . As part of the blockade, the US Navy captured numerous southern ports. Coastal fortresses took and held them. The use of confederate blockade breakers ( blockade runner ) could only mitigate the consequences of the blockade, especially since the specially constructed ships could only transport relatively little cargo and to cover costs often only carried high-quality luxury goods that were not necessary for the war.

The second part of the plan was supported by the Tennessee Union Army under Henry W. Halleck , Ulysses S. Grant, and the Gulf Army under Nathaniel P. Banks , and the Mississippi Flotilla under Andrew H. Foote , David Dixon Porter and David Farragut completed. In 1862 the Mississippi and its great tributaries, Tennessee and Cumberland , were conquered bit by bit for the Union. In July 1863, with the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson , the task ended and the anaconda plan, which had been rejected by many, had actually been carried out.

See also

literature

  • United States. War Dept .: The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Govt. Print. Off., Washington 1880-1901.
  • Charles Winslow Elliott, Winfield Scott: The Soldier and the Man. Macmillan, 1937.
  • James M. McPherson : Battle Cry of Freedom . Oxford University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 0-19-516895-X .
  • Angus Kostam: Confederate Blockade Runners 1861-65. New York 2004.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c McPherson, Battle Cry of Freedom, p. 333
  2. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume LI, Part I, pp. 338f: McClellan's Campaign Plan
  3. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume LI, Part I, p. 339: Scott's Statement
  4. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume LI, Part I, pp. 369f: The Anaconda Plan
  5. ^ The War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume LI, Part I, p. 370: My compatriots are impatient