When Lincoln ordered the blockade, the United States Navy had fewer than 9,000 men. By the end of 1861 it had increased to 24,000 men. The blockade was made up of squadrons of ships set up at different points along the Southern coast line. Each group was responsible to monitor a particular area. Two early victories aided the blockade. In April 1862, Union forces captured Fort Pulaski and Savannah, Georgia. A few weeks later New Orleans was captured. In August of 1865, Mobile, Alabama, the last Confederate port in the Gulf of Mexico fell to Union forces.