The document summarizes the strategies and early events of the American Civil War. It describes how Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor in April 1861, marking the start of the war. Both sides rushed to recruit volunteers and build their armies. The Confederacy hoped "King Cotton" would force Britain and France to support the South, but this strategy backfired. The Union aimed to squeeze the Confederacy like an anaconda by blockade, splitting the Mississippi River, and taking Richmond, though this would take time. As the war intensified, the sides shifted from defensive to more offensive strategies in an attempt to crush the other's morale.