The Union strategy of divide and conquer has its best example in its objective of control the Mississippi River to split the Confederate territory in two, carried out through the Anaconda Plan.
The Anaconda Plan was a military project of the Union Army, created by General Winfield Scott, which came into force in 1862. The Plan instituted a siege on the Confederation of the Union through a naval blockade, with the intention of control the Mississippi and Tennessee rivers, in order to surround and totally divide the Confederation. The naval blockade had the objective of suppressing the export of cotton, tobacco and food to European countries, and the importation of armaments into the Confederation.
The blockade had good results in the first six months of operation, and was really severe two years after the start of the war. Although numerous Confederate ships managed to evade it on several occasions, they were isolated cases, because the presence of Union ships prevented the Confederate States of America from maintaining an appreciable international trade with their European clients, greatly weakening their economy.
The division of the Confederation was confirmed after the Siege of Vicksburg. As a result of this battle, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana were cut off from the rest of the Confederacy. The loss also meant for the Confederation the loss of livestock and agricultural resources of the first two. Additionally, the victory at Vicksburg and the victory at Gettysburg the day before marked the beginning of the end of the Civil War.
