USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Anaconda plan, military strategy proposed by Union General Winfield Scott early in the American Civil War. The plan called for a naval blockade of the Confederate littoral, a thrust down the Mississippi, and the strangulation of the South by Union land and naval forces.

Detailed explanation-2: -Scott’s Great Snake, published at the outset of the Civil War, humorously portrays General Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda Plan” to strangle the southern states by cutting off any imported supplies and halting cotton exports. Blockading fleets were also used on inland rivers to assist Union military operations.

Detailed explanation-3: -Though Lincoln did not totally abandon the idea of land campaigns, elements of the Anaconda Plan, such as the naval blockade, did become part of Union strategy. One aspect of Scott’s original plan was for federal troops to secure the Mississippi River.

Detailed explanation-4: -The plan was called the Anaconda Plan because, like a snake, the Union meant to constrict the South. They would surround the southern borders, keeping out supplies. Then the army would split the South in two, taking control of the Mississippi River.

Detailed explanation-5: -The Anaconda Plan was the nickname attached to Lieutenant General Winfield Scott’s comprehensive plan to defeat the Confederacy at the start of the American Civil War (1861–1865).