The plan was adopted in 1862, involving 4 main parts: The Anaconda Plan was drawn up to end the Civil War in favor of the Union. It was his belief that sympathy for secession was not as strong as it appeared and that isolation and pressure would make the "fire-eaters" back down and allow calmer heads to take control.īut the war-fevered nation wanted combat, not armed diplomacy, and the passive features of Scott's plan were ridiculed as a proposal "to squeeze the South to military death." The press, recalling McClellan's alleged "boa-constrictor" remark, named the plan after a different constricting snake, the anaconda. Then, he believed, Union troops should stop, waiting for Southern Union sympathizers to turn on their Confederate governors and compel them to surrender. Scott then presented it to the president, in greater detail, proposing that 60,000 troops move down the Mississippi with gunboats until they had secured the river from Cairo, Ill., to the Gulf, which, in concert with an effective blockade, would seal off the South. McClellan, that he believed an effective "Blockade" of Southern ports, a strong thrust down the Mississippi Valley with a large force, and the establishment of a line of strong Federal positions there would isolate the disorganized Confederate nation "and bring it to terms."Ĭontemporary sources said McClellan called it Scott's "boa-constrictor" plan. This was a good plan but it was never given the opportunity to be put into action.About May 3rd, Scott told his protégé, Maj. It would not be a quick victory but given enough time it had a chance of being successful. Capturing the Mississippi river would also cut the Confederacy in half.
They would secure the Mississippi river down to the Gulf of Mexico which would link up with and keep their lines of communication open with the naval blockade. They would capture and hold forts and towns along the way. The second objective of the plan was to transport roughly 60,000 Union troops in 40 steam transports escorted by upwards of 20 steam gunboats down the Mississippi river. This would cut off all trade to and from the rebellious states. The first objective was to set up a naval blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico ports that were controlled by the Confederacy. The Anaconda Plan consisted of two main objectives. The other generals wanted to crush the rebellion quickly and permanently as soon as possible. General Scott’s plan would require patience and time. They wanted to attack the south and defeat them with the Union’s overwhelming military and industrial might. Pretty much all of the Union commanders disliked this plan and referred to it as being too complacent. His problem was convincing fellow Union commanders that this was a good idea.
The problem General Scott had with his idea wasn’t the rebels. General Scott’s Anaconda Plan was a very passive way of defeating the Confederacy.
It was a humanitarian way of defeating the rebellion as opposed to invading the south with massive numbers of troops, killing, burning and capturing everything in sight. The strategic plan would have eventually ended the Civil War, ideally with minimal casualties on both sides. The plan was developed by General Winfield Scott at the beginning of the Civil War following the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter on April 12th 1861. This would cut off and isolate the south from the outside world. The goal was to defeat the rebellion by blockading southern ports and controlling the Mississippi river. "The Anaconda Plan was the Union’s strategic plan to defeat the Confederacy at the start of the American Civil War.
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