civil wars begins union navy and texas civil war in october 1862 john b magruder

Official proclamations were published in Southern papers, and ships were dispatched to give due notice of the Union policy to neutrals and Confederates in the most populous of 189 harbors, rivers, and inlets along 3,500 miles of Southern coast.Īn “effective blockade”-actually preventing entry and exit at Southern ports-would require 600 ships. Union unpreparedness did not prevent a “paper blockade” of Southern ports. Thus, as states seceded, the Union could not halt the seizure of ports, ships, and naval facilities from Norfolk to New Orleans. Other squadrons routinely assigned to protect American commerce around the globe could not be recalled for months. Commanding general of the army Winfield Scott proposed an “Anaconda plan” to constrict the Confederacy between the army on land and a blockade by sea however, eight ships comprised the Home Squadron, only four of them screw steamers. Navy had no more than ninety ships, about half that number in service. President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of Southern ports the week after Fort Sumter fell but the U.S.

Civil wars begins union navy and texas civil war in october 1862 john b magruder