Water Access of the Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America (1861-1865) was not landlocked but had a complex relationship with major water bodies:

• Atlantic Ocean Access: Via coastline of Confederate states (Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida).
• Gulf of Mexico Access: Via coastline (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas).
• Mississippi River System: Critical interior highway. The Confederacy controlled much of its length early in the war, enabling transport of goods and troops.

However, the Union's Anaconda Plan blockaded Confederate ports and seized control of the Mississippi (completed with Vicksburg's fall in 1863), severing both ocean access and internal river transport—crippling the Confederate economy and logistics.