Attrition is a gradual reduction in work force without firing personnel, as when workers resign or retire and are not replaced. Or in other words, it is a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength (can be used in <em>"ACW"</em> terms)

<h2>What was General Ulysses S. Grant's strategy to win the war? (American Civil War)</h2>

It's critical to keep in mind that Grant wasn't solely responsible for the overall plan he employed during the war's final year. Lincoln urged that Confederate forces be struck and that Confederate cities and logistics be disregarded in favor of striking the enemy where he was, as described in James McPherson's book Tried by War. Lincoln's insistence on this at the expense of actions that would have had a larger immediate impact on the Confederate ability to prolong the war contributed in part to the "butcher" label placed on Grant. Grant would have sent half of the Army of the Potomac below the James River in order to push on Petersburg in May 1864, which would have certainly resulted in a shorter conflict and far fewer losses. Grant had the most crystal-clear vision of everyone as to how the Union could and should win the war: deny the Confederacy the resources necessary for it to wage war. Making the Anaconda Plan work first and foremost means seizing control of all significant Confederate harbors in order to prevent the supply of weapons and equipment from Europe. (In his narrative, he frequently laments how he was unable to carry out the attack on Mobile that he had planned, first because to Banks' Red River campaign and subsequently as a result of the sluggish and uncooperative generals on the ground.)

As a department commander in the Mississippi Valley, Grant's largest grievance, incidentally, was with licensed trade that occurred between the Union and Confederacy. Lincoln's government actually let traders to cross the lines and buy cotton using gold coin, which the Confederates would employ to transport drugs and other contraband from the Union. This was because the North was in such dire need of raw cotton. Grant thought that the commerce had bolstered the rebellion while weakening Union war resolve by fostering corruption. (And he felt a great deal of personal humiliation about the whole situation because his own father was heavily involved in the cross-border commerce.) Grant supported stealing or destroying indigenous Southern industries in addition to blocking Confederate trade overseas. As a result, the main Confederate cities—New Orleans, Richmond, Nashville, and Charleston—were captured and held while lesser towns were destroyed. This naturally included agriculture, which is why he specifically instructed Sheridan to remove all livestock from the Shenandoah and why he authorized Sherman's march into Georgia. Finally, Grant thought that steady pressure from all Union troops acting together would be the best way to achieve this on all fronts. By 1863, Grant realized that the Confederacy's greatest strength was their ability to shift troops from one dangerous location to another because Union forces kept starting and stopping without applying constant pressure to the enemy. Grant was well aware of the manpower and logistical limitations of the Confederacy. He thought that by applying continued pressure to the rebel troops, they would be forced to retreat or capitulate in the face of considerably superior forces. Grant's initiatives, as we all know, had a mixed record of success and were not completely implemented. Lincoln and Stanton (especially Stanton) interfered quite a bit. Grant's feeling of urgency for quick action was not shared by the majority of other Union generals, allowing the Confederacy to continue temporarily moving forces to fulfill demands. However, when massive casualty lists failed to do so, it was the conquest of Confederate ports, the obliteration of Confederate industry and agriculture, and the ensuing collapse of the southern economy that eventually shattered the rebel will to fight. In that regard, Grant's plan was the best one—and it worked.

Learn more about Ulysses Grant:

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