By adopting the plan, many thought that Lincoln would come under diplomatic and political scrutiny. Lincoln initially thought the plan had merit but many in his cabinet disagreed. Finally, the third element of the plan was to capture Richmond and cut the head off the serpent. The second step, the control of the Mississippi River, was an attempt to split the Confederacy in half by isolating the western states of Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the eastern section of the Confederacy, preventing them from providing troops to aid Richmond. The first step, the blockade of the Southern seaports, was intended to prevent the South from exporting its primary crop, cotton, to Europe in exchange for supplies and weapons to support their war effort. Also, it kept that region's troops and supplies out of the hands of the Confederates, preventing their use against the Union.īased on this strategic environment, General Winfield Scott developed an initial plan which consisted of three steps: 1) the blockade of the Southern seaports 2) the control of the Mississippi River and 3) the capture of Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy.

Effectively, this ensured that the Ohio River would not become the Northern border of the Confederacy, which would have complicated an invasion of the South. Additionally, Lincoln secured the western counties of Virginia for the Union, which he was happy to admit as the new state of West Virginia. Lincoln was successful in securing the border states, preventing them from seceding from the Union and demonstrating a knack for handling each situation in just the right way.

In addition, Kentucky, like Missouri and Maryland, had many Confederate sympathizers that Lincoln did not want to provoke. In short, he did not want to take any anti-slavery action, which might jeopardize the situation and cause Kentucky to revoke its neutrality and secede from the Union. As a result, Lincoln, along with Jefferson Davis, for that matter, wanted to respect its neutrality, at least for the time being.

Union navy strategy civil war