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What was designed by the Union to defeat the Confederacy in the Civil War?

Many things were designed by the Union to defeat the Confederacy, though the Confederacy was able to acquire many of the same things.  One thing that the Union had a near-monopoly on was the Monitor, which was modeled after the U.S.S. Monitor that fought at the battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia in the first battle of ironclads.  This ship was low on the waterline and had a gun turret, while traditional naval ships of the...

Many things were designed by the Union to defeat the Confederacy, though the Confederacy was able to acquire many of the same things.  One thing that the Union had a near-monopoly on was the Monitor, which was modeled after the U.S.S. Monitor that fought at the battle of Hampton Roads, Virginia in the first battle of ironclads.  This ship was low on the waterline and had a gun turret, while traditional naval ships of the time had to fire broadsides into their enemies and often board them for hand-to-hand combat.  These Monitors had such a shallow draft that they were terrible for open-ocean combat but were perfect for riverine missions, which was important in a South that had to move goods via rivers due to its shortage of railroads.  


The main thing that allowed the North to defeat the South, however, was the development of a comprehensive strategy.  The North, under the leadership of Winfield Scott, developed this plan to close off Southern ports and to control the Mississippi River, thus keeping imports away from the South and cutting it in half.  By 1864, both Grant in the Eastern Theater and Sherman in the West were able to coordinate their attacks thanks to the telegram in order to make it more difficult if not impossible for the Confederacy to shift men from one theater to the other.  It was both technology and this innovative strategy that allowed the North to defeat the South.  

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