Decision Five: Anaconda Blockade

Lincoln's top military advisor, General Winfield Scott, believed he had a plan to defeat the South without much violence

His plan was to place a naval blockade around the Southern states so that they cannot acquire food or supplies. Once starving, they will surrender. Scott called this the "Anaconda Plan," like a snake that strangles its prey

Scott believed that if Lincoln implemented this plan, he could avert ground battle

Watch as Jefferson Davis explains Scott's strategy to Robert E. Lee