Only one day after their victory at Gettysburg, Union forces captured Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River. Lincoln and Union commanders began to make plans for finishing the war.
The Union strategy to win the war did not emerge all at once. By 1863, however, the Northern military plan consisted of five major goals:
Fully blockade all Southern coasts. This strategy, known as the ANACONDA PLAN, would eliminate the possibility of Confederate help from abroad.
Control the Mississippi River. The river was the South's major inland waterway. Also, Northern control of the rivers would separate Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas from the other Confederate states.
Capture RICHMOND. Without its capital, the Confederacy's command lines would be disrupted.
Shatter Southern civilian morale by capturing and destroying ATLANTA, SAVANNAH, and the heart of Southern secession, South Carolina.
Use the numerical advantage of Northern troops to engage the enemy everywhere to break the spirits of the Confederate Army.
By early 1864, the first two goals had been accomplished. The blockade had successfully prevented any meaningful foreign aid. General Ulysses Grant's success at Vicksburg delivered the Mississippi River to the Union. Lincoln turned to Grant to finish the job and, in the spring of 1864, appointed Grant to command the entire Union Army.
Grant had a plan to end the war by November. He mounted several major simultaneous offensives. General George Meade was to lead the Union's massive Army of the Potomac against Robert E. Lee
