Why capital-centred strategy trapped the eastern armies

The eastern theatre's drive toward Washington or Richmond followed a straight-arrow strategy aimed at the opponent's political centre of gravity. Capturing Washington would not remove the Union's population, finance, or industrial power concentrated around cities such as New York and Chicago. Each side could anticipate the other's obvious advance on its capital, encouraging direct collision rather than operational surprise. Western commanders, farther from the rival capitals, found more room for manoeuvre and experimentation.