What strategy did Union generals develop to defeat the South?

The Union strategy to defeat the war was developed by
General Winfield Scott. He was the only member of the army high command who did not
anticipate a short war. Others believed that because of the close proximity of
Washington and Richmond (the Confederate Capital) to each other, the war would end with
possibly one battle. Gen. Scott anticipated a long war, and planned accordingly. His
plan was the "Anaconda Strategy:"

• Blockade the
  Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. The South was heavily dependent upon exports of cotton to
  purchase weapons and supplies from Europe. There was only one arms manufacturer in the
  entire South, the Tredeger Iron Works near Richmond. By blockading Southern ports,
  exports and imports would be shut off, and the South
  isolated.


• Capture the Mississippi, Tennessee and
  Cumberland Rivers moving Southward. This would cut the South in two and deny it the use
  of the vital port of New Orleans.


• Capture the Confederate
  capital of Richmond.

Many newspapers in the
North were skeptical of Scott's plan, which they believed to be too slow, and Scott too
old. Lincoln in fact liked the plan and adopted it; particularly after the disastrous
defeat of Union forces at the first battle of Bull Run. The plan was completed when Gen.
Ulysses S. Grant captured Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 4,
1863.

The Emancipation Proclamation was also part of the
Union strategy. General Robert E. Lee had invaded Maryland and hoped thereby to convince
Europe that the South was a viable force and gain recognition from European countries.
It was after the battle of Antietam when this plan became obvious that Lincoln issued
the Proclamation. Contrary to popular belief, no slaves were freed by the Proclamation;
it merely created a moral dilemma for Europe, and kept England and France from
supporting the South.