What caused General George B McClellan to be successful in carrying out the Union plans for a blockade of Southern ports in the early days of the US Civil War?

Answer 1

Before General McClellan's arrival and the departure of General Scott, Union forces were active in what is called the Eastern front or the Eastern Theater. In mid August, McClellan set forth a campaign to clear away any obstacles in the eastern bay regions of Virginia and Maryland. These actions took several months and ended with success by late November. In addition, the Confederate Port Royal expedition was planned before General McClellan set foot in Washington, DC.

The key to the initial blockade success was in part due to McClellan's agreement with this strategy. McClellan inherited an able partner that became part of his own strategy, namely the Blockade Board. This Board searched for ways to increase the effectiveness of the tricky business of blockading important Southern ports.

With McClellan now on board, the actions and recommendations of the Board, became an important piece of his strategy. There was a need for providing coaling bases for Union shipping along the eastern coast, without which the blockades would be less effective.

This organization, the Blockade Board, was an effective war institution, one of the few the Union had at the time, to study port problems and create sound advice. It provided the mechanism for how the Navy would initiate and then proceed in its blockading operations. Through its recommendations, detailed reports on protective Confederate resources, and details of coastline geography enabled a large degree of Northern success. As an example of this were Naval operations that began in late August of 1861.

Combined military & naval operations secured the Hatteras Inlet, in North Carolina. This was followed by the capture of Port Royal.

When McClellan became general in chief, he recognized the value of the Board's research and he agreed, ( not all generals might have ) with the Boards concept of joint army & naval operations which were risky but produced remarkable results.

To give McClellan proper credit, he had similar strategic ideas and made them known to Secretary of War, Cameron. McClellan asked for and received permission to establish a " Coast Division" . This would act as a floating army base for operations on the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. This base McClellan intended to use as a navy assisted landing army offensive to secure land bases from which the army could conduct for raids into the Southern interior and disable Southern rail lines. McClellan was also planning with Naval officers the future moves against New Orleans.

Without the initial research done and later approved by McClellan, the Blockade Board would have almost faded into military history. The list of bases established on the Southern coasts are far too many to mention here, however, they were significant ones and harassed Confederate operations in their own behind the lines territories.