The first action of naval warfare in the American Civil War was the blockade of Southern ports by the Union Navy. Starting on April 19, 1861, the blockade was part of General Winfield Scott's strategy called the Anaconda Plan, which was an effort to reduce the South's ability to make war. Scott knew that the South relied heavily on manufactured goods from the Northern states and foreign countries. In addition, the South relied on them to purchase Southern cotton and other cash crops. With these ideas in mind, the main objectives of the blockade were to prevent desperately needed goods—including war material, manufactured goods, and luxury items—from reaching the South and to stop the exportation of raw cotton to foreign manufacturers.

Accomplishing these objectives in 1861 proved to be a challenge because the Union Navy at the beginning of the war had only thirty-five modern...