I figured I would write a basic readers digest version of what the union blockade was and what the intent of it was for the south, as well as how it affected them economically and militarily... The Union Blockade was enacted to essentially strangle the southern states militarily and economically by blocking their allies from sending aid to the South, in the way of a Naval Blockade. The blockade was nicknamed the, "Anaconda Plan" due it the nature of strangling the south economically. IN a nut shell, the north utilized their navy to prevent ships from entering southern ports and resupplying their military with weapons, ammunition, and other staples required to wage war. The Union was extremely successful, and by war's end the confederacy was hurting from the blockades. It is noted that the blockades most likely had a strong part in ending the war. The confederacy used methods such as fast moving ships, "Blockade Runners" to try to run the blockades and get supplies to southern ports. The confederacy also utilized torpedo boats to attempt to destroy union blockade ships. One historical event happened amongst others that may have effected naval warfare from then on, that being the use of a submarine to destroy a union ship. Unfortunately it had been a suicide run and both ships lost all hands. This is the basic readers digest version of what happened... For a more in depth and broken down explanation of what happened, you can visit Wikipedia's article on the Union Blockade HERE.
