naval+war-ch

=The Naval War= President lincoln ordered the Union to block the Confederate ports, in effort to limit their trade around the world. This was very successful for the Union, but since the South had so many ports and the union ships so thinly spread, blockade runners did manage to slip past the Union blockade. Blockade runners were small and fast ships that allowed the south some trade with Europe. The union wanted to close the Southern ports so the decided to attack New Orleans, which at the time was the south's largest cotton trade center. In April 1862 the Union sent warships up the mississippi with about 15,000 soldiers. The Union took control of the city six days later.