There was no intention of conquering or occupying the North,, ever.
That is ridiculous, nobody then even thought that was possible or desirable.."
That's all just a game of hidden word definitions.
By "the North" central_va means just the free-states, but not their Southern territories (i.e., New Mexico, Oklahoma) or Border States which remained in the Union (i.e., Kentucky, Missouri).
All those were claimed & fought for by Confederates, even though they had no conceivably lawful right.
And Jefferson Davis had plans on even mid-western free-states like Illinois, which could be pressured to support the Confederacy if its access to New Orleans port was blocked.
Finally, Confederates expected Washington, DC, itself to be abandoned, since it would be surrounded by Confederate states.
Of course, central_va wishes to minimize the existential threat Confederates represented to the United States.
But nobody at the time believed that, nor do many today.
