The Evolution of Union Strategy in the Civil War

Union Objectives: Initial Strategies and Goal Evolution

The Union's Initial Strategies

The Union initially adopted three primary strategic goals at the outset of the Civil War:

1. Invade the Confederacy and destroy its will to resist.
2. Obtain the loyalty of the border states: Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, and, starting in 1863, West Virginia.
3. Prevent European powers—especially Great Britain and France—from extending recognition of and giving assistance to the Confederacy.

Strategic Importance of Border States

Each border state was geographically strategic for the Union:

• Kentucky: Held a 500-mile border on the Ohio River, a crucial transportation artery.
• Maryland: Surrounded the Union capital, Washington D.C., on the north.
• Missouri: Bordered the Mississippi River and controlled vital routes to the West.
• Delaware: Controlled access to Philadelphia.

The Evolution of Union War Goals

Initial Goal: Reconciliation and Defense

The Union's initial goal was to reconcile the nation. This objective was firmly grounded in the belief that the South had no right to secede, viewing secession as treasonous and paramount to an act of war against the Union.

Their actions, therefore, were considered defensive, as they felt they had no choice but to call for troops after the firing on Fort Sumter.

Mid-War Shift: Ending Slavery and Reshaping the Union

As the war continued, the Union's goal changed dramatically. When it became clear to President Lincoln that the North might lose the war or would only win with great difficulty, it became necessary to change the fundamental reason for fighting.

Freeing the slaves became that new reason.

Thus, the new Union goal was to retain and reshape the Union—by reuniting the states under a union that no longer tolerated slavery. The war, from beginning to end, would be framed as a noble crusade for democracy for all people, not just in America, but throughout the world.

The Impact of the Emancipation Proclamation

By changing their war goals from “quelling the rebellion” to “quelling the rebellion and also ending slavery,” the Emancipation Proclamation provided several critical advantages:

• It gave the Union the moral high ground.
• It improved relations with European powers, making intervention on behalf of the Confederacy politically difficult.
• It created a potentially large new segment of manpower ripe for recruitment into the Union Army.

On September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which set a date for the freedom of more than 3 million enslaved Black people in the United States and fundamentally recast the Civil War as a fight against slavery.