Chronological History of the American Civil War

P a g e | 247

1865 - South is Losing Ground

The Northern military plan consisted of five major goals:

(1) The ANACONDA PLAN , which would fully blockade all Southern coasts. This strategy would eliminate the possibility of Confederate help from abroad. (2) Control the Mississippi River. The river was the South's major inland waterway. This Northern control of the rivers would separate Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana from the other Confederate states. (3) Capture Richmond. The Confederacy without a capital would disrupt the South's command lines. (4) Demoralize the Southern civilian morale by capturing and destroying Atlanta, Savannah, and the heart of Southern secession, South Carolina. (5) Simply outnumber the Confederates at every turn. The North had a much larger population to enlist troops and used this to engage the enemy everywhere to finally break the spirit of the Confederate Army.

By the end of 1864, the most of the goals set by the North had been accomplished. The end of the war was in reach and both sides knew it.