War of the Two Commonwealths

[benjamin]

Didn't the Indian Mutiny end years before the ACW?

The POD for my timeline was Sept. 11, 1857. OTL Indian Mutiny went from early 1857 till about mid-1859. Canning declared the Mutiny over on July 8, 1859 but major fighting had ended well before than.

I butterflied in a POD in India with the survival of Brigadier Niell on September 25, 1857 and then in June of 1858 I made Gen. Hugh Rose's bout with heat exhaustion a bit more severe. This gives the Rani of Jhansi and Tantya Tope more time to properly fortify the fortress at Gwalior and the battle there becomes a long siege. When the British finally take Gwalior the two rebel leaders escape and are able to continue the fighting. Thus, the tail end of the original mutiny gets merged into the Indigo Revolt (OTL 1859 to 1860/61 depending upon the source).

Hope this helps.

Benjamin

 

[Grimm Reaper]

I see...I'm a bit wary since the initial success of the revolt OTL required an unusual number of breaks going the way of the rebels to the point that there several cases where a single change of an officer in command would have significantly weakened the revolt.

 

[benjamin]

I see...I'm a bit wary since the initial success of the revolt OTL required an unusual number of breaks going the way of the rebels to the point that there several cases where a single change of an officer in command would have significantly weakened the revolt.

Understandable and I'm almost certainly going to change the portion concerning Niell and the Lucknow - Cawnpore campaign. I do like the idea of a long nasty siege at Gwalior though. The Rani of Jhansi (Rani Lakshmi Bai) and Tantya Tope had the chance to pull it off but Rose pushed himself nearly to death and they never got their act together. An Indian history book I have from India hints that had Gwalior held it could have reinvigorated the rebellion in Central India. Better yet if the Maharajah of Gwalior, Jayajirao Scindia, had sided with the rebels sometime prior to March of 1858 the British would have had lost nearly complete control of much of Central India.

Right now I'm deciding what bits to change with regards to affairs outside of the US.

Benjamin

 

[benjamin]

Changes Made

OK. I made some important edits to the Great Indian Rebellion mini-timeline. There is no longer mention of an Anglo-French War because it was averted.

The Indian Mutiny does last a bit longer in this TL and is a lot more costly for both sides. I haven't decided what repercussions this will have for the future of the British Raj and for now that's not too important.

If anyone has some ideas regarding British India please let me know.

Thanks.

Benjamin

The main entrance of the Gwalior Fort just days before the start of the Great Siege

 

[benjamin]

A Last Chance to Talk (September 18, 1859)

The Sit a’Spell was far busier than it had been the last time Major Gordon had visited the small café. As he looked around the saloon’s smoky interior he recognized over a dozen Northern Congressmen. Over the last several months since the 1858 elections it had been the preferred watering hole for many of then new Republican Congressmen to assume office. That it was located right next to a high end brothel had not escaped the notice of both the Democratic opposition and any number of religious moralists. Gordon didn’t really care either way whether or not he was dining next a whore house but he was glad that that very fact kept the number of Democrats in the inn to a very minimum.

As he sipped his tea and began to unfold the newspaper two young men entered the tavern. He instantly recognized James and Virgil Earp and tipped his hat to them as their eyes met. Looking back at the Washington newspaper, The Daily Evening Star, Gordon turned once again to the major headlines, “WAR IMMINENT! London Charges US with Supplying Guns to Rebels in India! Buchanan Denies Accusation! Canada Prepares Militia!” His look soured as he thought about the implications. Already his aide, Major Wolseley, had been transferred north to Canada where he was to take command of the second regiment of Regulars to be raised solely in Canada. Gordon envied the man as he too longed for a combat command, but he felt no great urge to fight against his American hosts. Unfortunately, he saw no way to avoid what would surely be a costly affair in both life and gold.

As he fretted over the possibility of war Gordon noticed several people hovering outside of the window of the Sit a’Spell. The tall man in the stovepipe hat was unmistakable but he didn’t recognize the young man in an army uniform with captain’s bars or the two men in civilian clothing. Gordon watched as the soldier handed a large envelop over to Abraham Lincoln and saw Lincoln give a broad smile and warm pat on the shoulder to the younger man. When Lincoln attempted to tip the soldier the young man declined. Shortly there after the four of men entered the tavern still continuing their conversation.

“Then at least let me buy you a drink Captain Kirk.” Lincoln said as he once again warmly patted the man on the shoulder.

“It would be much appreciated Sir. But only some form of juice or water.” The soldier replied.

Gordon could see that the man was hot and sweaty despite the slight mid-September chill in the air. He realized that motion that had first caught his eye out the window had been the Captain running up to Lincoln, probably to deliver an important message.

Captain Kirk and the larger of the two other men departed ways and moved to sit down with the Earp brothers. Soon enough the four of them wear having drinks and engaging in friendly conversation.

Lincoln and the other man sat down at Gordon’s table. The meeting between Gordon and Lincoln had been arranged only yesterday, but Gordon had fully expected to be alone with Lincoln as it had been in their other meetings. Lincoln as astute as ever noticed the look of concern on Gordon’s face.

“Not very pleasant news.” Lincoln said motioning towards Gordon’s newspaper. “My apologies at the unsettling nature of our meeting Colonel.”

“Few of our discussion have been in regards to pleasant news, Mr. Lincoln.” Gordon replied as he placed the newspaper in the leather satchel that leaned against his chair. “I thought our meetings were to be one on one. My benefactor is taking a great risk keeping this line of communications open, especially now.”

Lincoln nodded in agreement. “I am truly appreciative. It’s funny, or perhaps very sad, that those who try so hard for peace are often the most maligned after the war comes to an end. Either way in this instance I felt it imperative that I bring along my associative. Word of these meetings have made it into the halls of Congress and several Southern Congressmen have begun to look into my activities. Already the word ‘traitor’ has made its way from their lips. The truth of this is for the future to judge, but I am unmoved in my conviction. Unfortunately, bringing our meetings into the light of day would not be in the best interest for either of our nations.

With that in mind I am an introducing you to a dear friend of mine. Mr. William Herndon has been my law partner since 1841, and I trust him implicitly. If you feel comfortable to do so I would ask that he be included in this meeting as well as all future meetings. My aim is to have Mr. Herndon act as my intermediary. He will meet with you when I believe it un-‘practical’ to do so myself.”

Gordon looked Mr. Herndon over. He seemed intelligent enough, and Gordon had come to believe Lincoln to be a good judge of character.

“If you are so inclined I have no real objection, but I will have to speak to my patron.” Gordon answered. “But I’m afraid it won’t really matter. As you are well aware, once war is declared I will no longer be welcomed in this city. It is no secret that relations between France and Britain are also strained. So my future location could be one of any number of far flung locales.”

“Including Canada I gather.” Herndon said hastily. Lincoln grabbed his arm slightly to warn Herndon that he was broaching a touchy subject.

Gordon couldn’t deny it. Canada was almost certainly where he would be sent. The rumor within the consulate staff was that Gordon was to receive command of a brigade that included the recently formed 101st and 102nd Royal Canadian Regiments of Foot and a yet unidentified regiment of regulars from the home islands. Already there were just under 18,000 regulars in Canada with a further 6,000 expected within a month. But that would then be it. The rebellion in Indian, fighting in China and threat of war with France had already severely strained Britain’s limited pool of regulars. Colonial troops could only go so far and always needed to be stiffened by the addition of a battalion or two of regulars. Gordon knew for a fact that the Canadian militia was largely a joke. Almost a third of the Sedentary Militia had failed to show when called to muster, and the newly formed Active Militia, which managed to put nearly 5,000 men in uniform, possessed only 4,000 modern 1853 Enfield rifles. The Sedentary Militia had a few Enfield rifles but was armed largely with old converted flintlocks. Much of the effort had been spent raising and equipping three regular regiments for service in India and one of those, the 100th, was already in England awaiting shipment. The other two regiments of Canadian regulars were well equipped but poorly trained. The Regulars would hold their own and then sum but the Canadians worried him.

On the other side there was the U.S. Army. Hardened by fighting in Utah, northern Mexico and even Kansas they were no longer a force to be scoffed at. Both Buchanan and Davis understood that so long as the American Army and Navy were weak the nation would never truly be able to dictate terms to Britain, even in affairs concerning their own North American continent. To that end a major military expansion was begun just following the end of the Mormon War. The current plan was to have a peacetime army of 22 Infantry Regiments, 1 Regiment of Voltigeurs, 2 Regiments of Pioneers along with 6 Regiments of Cavalry, 3 of Dragoons and one of Mounted Rifles. Along with these were to be 8 Regiments of Artillery, a dedicated Signals Corps and a dedicated Medical Corps. Over all the new American Army was to number over 39,000 men and would be reinforced by a militia system that could for all intensive purposes call up over 1,000,000 men. There was no doubt about if the will was there than Canada would fall. It was only at sea that the Royal Navy still dominated. Even so the U.S. Navy too was growing quickly and could in the coming years become a real threat within local waters.

Gordon sensed that for Britain it was now or never. Fight a costly war to put the Americans in their place or back down and risk a future where every disagreement went to negotiation or arbitration. Were the deaths of thousands worth it just to avoid having to give a little here and there along a near uninhabited indefensible border than ran for thousands of miles through Red Indian territory? Gordon doubted it. He would fight defend the rights and honor of the British subjects living in Canada, but to what end?

Gordon looked at the two men sitting across from him. Lincoln was a common enough name in England and while he had not known anyone by the name Herndon he was sure it would not raise any eyebrows if heard on the streets of London. Were then, these men so different? They certainly not Russians or Frenchmen. Should not Britain be focused on facing her more historical enemies? When would it end; when Canada was swallowed up by the United States or when this republic was sliced apart by British soldiers. Gordon couldn’t stomach either option.

“Where ever you go Col. Gordon you have my best wishes.” Lincoln said as if understanding Gordon’s own thoughts. “I may never say that you are my friend, but I will always say you are an honorable and trustworthy man.”

There was something impressive about this man Gordon thought. “Thank you, Sir.” He replied without thinking.

Lincoln smiled and then slid the large envelop over to him. “This war will not be good for any of us. It will try men’s souls and the graveyards will stretch as far as the eyes can see. Already the economic recovery we had seen since the Panic of 57 is fading away. The fear of war has further panicked already jittery investors and companies are once again closing their doors. Trade across the Canadian border is returning to levels lower than before the Napier-Cass Agreement and insurance rates for merchant ships have skyrocketed.”

“That holds true for both sides of the Atlantic. Lloyds has recently raised its rates by over 30% and there is fear that once the Naval Assessment Review is read to Parliament rates will increase even further. Your new ironclads have the Admiralty in an uproar.” Gordon said as he skirted a line between feeling out Lincoln to judge his intents and telling the man too much. “Cotton prices are also rising dramatically. Investors are hoarding all they can in preparation for being cut off from their American suppliers. Coupled with the continuing problems in India, Britain may soon be facing a severe shortage that will have major repercussions throughout the nation. The same holds true for indigo as well and perhaps even wheat.”

“So it seems we are at each others throats.” Herndon said with a little too much satisfaction.

Lincoln sighed and both Gordon and Herndon turned to look at the older man.

“Dark have been my dreams of late.” Lincoln said quietly. “War comes to us whether we wish it or not. English versus Americans, Northerners versus Southerners, Pennsylvanians versus Virginians…it matters not. Garrison was right. We have signed ‘a Covenant with Death, an Agreement with Hell.’ There will be so much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?”

Gordon and Herndon watched in disbelief as Lincoln stood and walked out of the tavern. Herndon saw the small pistol in Lincoln’s hand but for him time seemed to slow down as if he were watching it from afar and could do nothing to intervene. He saw Ward H. Lamon, the man he had entered Sit a’Spell with, and the Earp brothers get up from their tables but it was obvious they would never reach Lincoln in time. Lincoln’s pistol filled hand moved closer and closer to his temple and Herndon screamed out. Gordon ran towards the still open door and Lincoln stood there silauetted against the incoming light; gun to his own head. Herndon did not hear a shot from the small pistol but he watched as Lincoln fell to his knees, his body shaking. The next thing Herndon remembered hearing was someone shouting, “Father! Father!”

Benjamin

 

[benjamin]

Duel Problems (September 18, 1859 continued)

Herndon snapped out of his daze and ran towards the door. He pushed his way through the gathering onlookers and past the Earp brothers. There on the wooden walk way in front of the tavern was the sixteen year old Robert Todd Lincoln holding his sobbing father.

“Mary, I need you.” Lincoln sobbed as his son held him close.

“And we need you father.” Robert answered back through his own tears. “I need you. Willie and Tad need you father.”

William Herndon reached down and quietly pocketed the unfired derringer. As he rose he saw the growing crowd of people gathering in the street. News was already spreading that Abraham Lincoln, the outspoken anti-slavery senator from Illinois, had nearly killed himself. And now the man sat sobbing on the steps of a tavern right next to a whorehouse. The crowds that gathered in Washington were rarely sympathetic to the idea of abolition. Jeering and insults began immediately. They worsened and Lamon, the Earp brothers and a few others from the Sit a’Spell moved to shield the Lincolns from the growing mob.

One man in particular stood out at the front of the crowd. He was sharply dressed with well groomed hair and a large but finely trimmed beard. In his hand he held a thick gutta-percha cane with an engraved silver head polished so bright that sparkled in the afternoon sun. Etched in the wood were the words “Hit ‘em again!” Herndon instantly recognized the man and the meaning of the phrase that decorated his cane, and his blood boiled with anger.

“Why didn’t the coward finish the job?” The man asked with a sneer. He lifted his cane and placed its tip under the chin of the young Virgil Earp. “Is that quivering heap really worth your time boy?”

“He is five times the man you are.” Virgil replied stoically.

Representative Laurence M. Keitt gave a little chuckle and the whapped the end of his cane into Virgil’s chin so hard that he chipped several teeth and left his mouth full of blood. He then turned his back towards the dozen or so Lincoln supporters still on the porch and took a few steps towards the crowd. He raised his hands and held his cane high above his head. Several people in the crowd called out…”Hit ‘em again!”

“There they stand!” Keitt called out to the crowd. “Honorless, godless and degraded. Let them be freethinkers and home wreckers! Let them bed the niggers and the nabobs! But for God’s sake do not let them control our beloved Republic!”

The crowd let out a rawkus cheer and several people threw clods of dirt at the men standing around Lincoln. Herndon thought of taking refuge inside the tavern but couldn’t bring himself to abandon his friends. He knew that the next thing to be thrown would be rocks and then out would come the clubs and knives. Herndon looked around. Thirteen men stood on the porch. He knew some of them had weapons; mostly knives and a few pistols, perhaps even a shotgun under Lamon’s unusually long coat. Even so there were now well over a hundred people in the crowd and they too had weapons. Herndon could see a few rifles and shotguns amongst the scythes, axes and clubs. Some members of the crowd were already brandishing pistols and calling for blood.

Lincoln now stood and walked to the front of the small group. His eyes were still red and salty trails streaked his cheeks but he had a frightful air about him. Like an avenging angel newly descended to Earth he walked towards Keitt.

The man had stayed his own hand only to meet death at the hands of an angry mob. Herndon thought as Lincoln neared Kiett.

Kiett turned around as Lincoln called his name. The Southern jabbed his cane forward in an attempt to hit Lincoln in the chest and keep the larger man at arms length. Lincoln caught the cane in his left with the graceful skill of a practiced wrestler. Just as it looked as if it would come to blows, a prospect that would surely not end well for the Northerners, a new voice called out.

“It is you who taint this Republic!”

Herndon recognized the voice and its English accent. As he turned and looked he saw the English Colonel, whose name he did not yet know, walk forward from near the back of the crowd. In his hand was a small tea cup with a dainty design of pink flowers and as he sipped from it his pinky would go up into the air like the raising of some small absurd flag.

“You see Sir.” The Colonel continued. The crowd had suddenly grown quiet not so much at the man’s commanding presence but at the absurdity of the situation. “During my time here in America I have met many men like Mister Lincoln; crass, outspoken, backwoods, country bumpkins born of ill mannered uneducated fathers and their uncultured wives.”

The crowd howled with laughter at this and Representative Kiett tucked his cane under his arm to give the Englishman applause. Now Herndon himself wanted to slug the no good Brit, and he saw that Lincoln was mentioning to Lamon, whose fists were balled in rage, not to interfere. As the crowd continued to laugh Colonel Gordon finished his tea and handed the cup over to Lincoln who meekly took it. He then withdrew a handkerchief from his breast pocket and carefully dabbed his lips. Once his lips were dry to his satisfaction he neatly returned the piece of cloth to his pocket.

“Yet, despite their obvious and many flaws,” Gordon continued as the crowd once again grew silent. “These men have in them a spark; a spark of intelligence, fairness and honor that you Sir are utterly and completely lacking. You are a lout and a bore of the worse sort.”

Congressman’s Keitt face reddened with rage.

“I will not stand for this!” He shrieked. “You, you English bastard!”

Gordon looked rather nonplussed by the outburst. “I dare say, I only wished to inform you of the facts of the situation. And you can rest assured of my credentials as just moments ago I was called both honorable and trustworthy by a man whose opinion many people take very seriously, including myself.”

“You are a coward, you’re Queen is a bitch and your country is full of the worst sort of whores and curs!” Keitt snarled back.

Gordon stepped forward until he was just inches from Keitts quivering face and said, “You’d do bloody well to hold that tongue of your’s Sir.”

“If you’d care to settle this affair here and now I would be open to the possibility.” Keitt replied; his meaning quiet clear to everyone around. “Or perhaps the men of Britain no longer have the courage to stand upon their own honor. Do they instead ally with radicals and heathens? Do the men of Britain no longer respect their own race enough to fight against the rising tide of those would befriend the Devil and marry a nigger?”

Gordon realized he had reached a point where a decision must be made. His honor and the honor of his country were at stake. He would not, could not, take back what he had said. Lyons will be exceedingly unhappy he thought just before spoke up once again.

“Does anyone here have in their possession a set of matching pistols?” Gordon asked loudly. The crowd seemed a bit shocked and a mummer of excitement seemed to sweep through the people. But it began to die down as it appeared that no one would be able to produce two firearms similar enough and in good repair so as to be acceptable dueling weapons. Finally a man stepped out of the group of people who had gathered to watch the altercation. They were neither Republicans nor part of the Southern mob; just a bunch of curious onlookers. He looked to be in his early twenties but had a hard edge to him like a man who’d spent too much time in the elements. He wore clothing that was a mix of deer skin Indian apparel and homespun miners wear. As he walked up to Gordon he pulled to very new looking pistols from his belt and then handed them over to Gordon to inspect.

Gordon turned both of the revolvers over in his hands. They looked brand new and felt good in his hands.

“I’d want them back of course.” The young man said. “They’re brand new and cost a pretty penny.”

“Of course.” Gordon replied still looking at the guns.

“They’re matching Starr Model 1858 Army double-actions.” The man said proudly. “I came back east to collect on a will. Bought these with my inheritance. You don’t have to cock them, they’re double action.”

“Yes, of course. Thank you, Mister…”

“Utter, Charlie Utter. From Niagara Falls originally, then Illinois, but now I aim to stay in Utah and buy some land or do some trapping.”

“Are these to your satisfaction, Mr. Keitt?” Gordon asked letting the Congressman from South Carolina hold and inspect both guns.

“They are not proper dueling weapons.” Keitt replied as he tried to hand the guns back to Gordon. Gordon took one of the weapons but left in Keitt’s hand.

“Then you withdraw both your challenge and your insults?” Gordon asked, honestly hoping to have away out of the mess he had created.

“By God, I do not!” Keitt bellowed. “You have partnered yourself with witless knaves who…”

“Enough!” Gordon barked. “Either retract your words, sulk away or man up and face me.”

Keitt blanched. He had not meant for this outcome. He had hoped to stir up the crowd and if lucky get Lincoln and his followers beaten to bloody pulps. Gordon could see the man waver and hoped it would end without bloodshed, but unfortunately the man, egged on by the crowd, steeled his resolve and gripped the revolver.

“Mr. Miles there will be my second.” Keitt said pointing to another well dressed man at the front of the crowd.

“Ten paces with Starr Model 1858 Army double-action revolvers it is then. Mr. Utter if you would be so kind as to count off the steps please.”

No one spoke as Charlie Utter counted off the ten paces and then called out…”You may turn and fire.”

Gordon turned and saw the nervous Keitt’s arm shaking as he raised his pistol. Confident that the man would miss Gordon pointed his pistol into the air and fired off a round. Keitt’s gun discharged just a moment later and Gordon felt a sharp pain on the right side of his torso. When he looked down he saw a small tear in his shirt and a streak of blood. With his left hand he reached over and felt the wound. It was just a grazing shot no more than skin deep. Gordon let out a sigh of relief. Honor had been fulfilled with only a minor bit of blood spilled. Maybe Lord Lyons would refrain from sending him to some far off station along the fridge Hudson Bay after all.

“Very good then.” Gordon said as he moved to give the Starr revolver back to Charlie Utter. It was then that he noticed that Keitt was trying to manually cock his revolver for a second shot. “There, there, man it is all over. I am satisfied that we have both protected our honor.”

Keitt, having forgotten that his weapon was a double action, fumbled some more with the pistol. As such the weapon fired off again and Gordon suddenly felt a searing pain in his right calf. Keitt’s second shot had ripped through Gordon’s brightly polished new boots and into his calf.

“Damn it man! Get a hold of that weapon and hand it up!” Gordon shouted furiously.

Keitt seemed to be in a daze as he raised his gun for a third shot. Keitt took a second to look around and then moved his aim towards the Northerners. As Gordon watched Keitt’s aim move away he saw that it soon had the weapon pointed at Lincoln’s son. He could feel the anger course through his body and without thinking he turned a grabbed the other pistol out of Utter’s hand. Without thinking about the consequences Gordon took up the gun and pointed it at Keitt. He could see Keitt’s arm tense as he went to pull his weapon’s trigger.

“No.” Gordon said sternly as he fired his own weapon at the Congressman. Gordon’s bullet smashed into Keitt’s chest sending both the bullet and a hail of bone fragments deep in Keitt’s right lung. Keitt went down in a heap; his gun unfired.

The crowd let out a collective gasp but soon quieted as the sound of Keitt’s gurgling chest wound got louder and louder as he tried to speak.

“That damn Brit shot Mister Keitt down in cold blood!” Keitt’s second, William Porcher Miles, yelled to the crowd. A few of the more vocal members of the crowd surged forward as Miles advanced. Gordon watched as Miles pulled out a pistol of his own and began to raise the weapon.

My God what am I to do? Shoot them all? Gordon worried as he readied his own weapon.

Suddenly a loud crack sounded out and Mile’s ankle gave way with a small wisp of blood. The man fell to his hands and knees cursing.

“I’d advise you to stay down, Congressman. If you get back up, I may have to aim higher.” Someone said from behind Gordon.

Gordon expected to see Mr. Lamon holding the rifle in question but instead there was a different man with puffy mutton chops brought together by a walrus like moustache. In his hands was a Sharps rifle that he loaded with obviously skill. Gordon felt relieved and by now all of the Republicans who had weapons now brandished them. Furthermore many people from the crowd of uninvolved onlookers had brought out their own knives and firearms. To Gordon’s eyes their anger seemed more focused on the pro-slavery men than towards the Northerners.

As both sides mentally assessed the situation Lincoln stepped forward and pointed to a cluster of young pro-slavery men. “You gentlemen, get your people to a proper surgeon. If you hurry, Mister Miles may yet live.”

Gordon doubted that but the other men seemed to believe it and hustled to drag both Keitt and Miles away and down the road to a doctor. The rest of the mob milled about for a few more minutes, but no one came forward to lead them to further thoughts of blood shed. Within a few minutes the incident was over. Gordon went over to the man with the bushy facial hair and shook his hand.

“Thank you, Sir. I, Col. Charles Gordon, am in your debt.” Gordon said to the man. “That was fine shooting. Well done.”

“Thank you, Colonel. My name is Anson Burlingame; Representative from the great Commonwealth of Massachusetts. And all I ask is that you talk to your superiors and stop this damn foolish rush to war. I’d hate to see Boston come under the guns of your formidable Royal Navy.” Burlingame replied.

“If only it was in my power.” Gordon said gloomily. “Unfortunately, my actions here today have done more to ensure the coming of the war then to ward it off.”

“The South will scream for blood. But what is done is done. If perhaps you would have chosen cavalry sabers; he would have balked.” Lincoln said, referring to his own brush with dueling.

Gordon and several others standing around him smiled. Most of the pro-Southern mob had dispersed, and the people left in the street seemed more interested in socializing that further violence.

“But what of the envelop I hadn’t to you?” Lincoln suddenly asked with deep concern. “Mister Bexar and Capt. Kirk went through a great deal of trouble to get its contents to me.”

“My man, 2nd Lt. Teesdale, went off with it. Lord Lyons may already have it in his hands.” Gordon replied. “Why is it so important?”

“We have found the source of the guns that are so plaguing your army in India, and we know who is behind their appearance.” Lincoln said in a near whisper.

“Good, God. That might make a difference.” Gordon replied.

Benjamin

NOTES: I like cliffhangers. You didn’t really thing I’d kill off Lincoln did you? Either way it’s a given that Lincoln is probably an emotional wreck. In OTL Herndon feared he may commit suicide after he called off his engagement with Mary Todd. I figured if a break-up nearly drove him over the edge then Mary’s death would prove even more difficult for him to handle. Lincoln will battle with even more severe bouts of “melancholy” in this TL.

Unfortunately for Gordon, he has just thrust himself into the middle of the slavery debate. Lord Lyons will not be happy, and there may be interesting repercussions.

I think everyone mentioned by name in these past two installments are historical people. They’re all pretty interesting folk, so look them up, because the more you know the more you grow.

I haven’t done any posts from a future perspective in this TL except the Great Indian Rebellion time line, which I’m not too happy with. But I think it would be interesting to follow the full history of the Twin Starr Revolvers from their use in this duel to their current places in the Smithsonian and the British Museum.

 

[benjamin]

The Twin Starr Revolvers

Arguably the most famous set of guns in the world, the Twin Starr Revolvers (Utter’s Guns, Keitt-Gordon Duel Pistols or Rebecca-Renfrew Revolvers as they are also called) came to represent the amicable relations that arose between the United States and Britain following the War of 1859. Newly purchased in late August of 1859 by Charles H. Utter, Utter offered his weapons up for use in the illegal duel fought between South Carolina Congressman Laurence M. Keitt and future British Prime Minister, Charles George Gordon, who was then a Colonel in the British Army. Gordon received two separate bullet wounds from the one weapon used by Congressman Keitt before firing a shot into Keitt’s torso that left him mortally wounded. Keitt would die two days later and his death would cause outrage throughout the slave holding South.

The pistol used by Keitt remained in his hand as his supporters dragged him away and it is said that the man clung to the weapon until his death. Kiett’s newly wed, but now widowed, wife, Susanna Sparks Keitt, gifted the revolver to George Washington Custis Lee, son of slave holder and Confederate General Robert E. Lee. In June of 1862 Susanna Sparks would go on to marry George Washington Lee, but once again her marriage would be cut short. Major-General George W. Lee would fall less than a year later at the Second Battle of Washington. Ironically, the commander of the Union corps that directly opposed Lee’s own force held the revolver’s twin.

Shortly after the duel Charles Gordon purchased the Starr revolver that he had used during the duel. Paying enough to replace both of the weapons, Gordon felt the purchase well worth it. Just a day later Gordon was sent north to command a brigade of Canadians. His rank, which had gone from Colonel back to Major due to his role in the duel, was made Brigadier-General. When Gordon came forth on September 29th to help negotiate the “surrender” of British forces at Ticonderoga he carried with him his Starr revolver. It is said that Major-General John F. Reynolds made direct note of this and Gordon allowed him to inspect the gun. When Gordon returned to Washington in early 1860 the gun went with him.

When Breckenridge assumed the presidency he revoked Gordon’s diplomatic papers and Gordon moved temporarily to Philadelphia where he worked as a civilian assistant at the large British consulate. In August of 1860 Gordon moved once again, this time to Harrisburg where he oversaw Britain’s new “unofficial embassy.” September brought about the first official visit to America by a high ranking member of the Royal family. Prince Edward, disguised and going under the name Lord Renfrew, arrived in America by way of Niagara Falls on September 22, 1860. On September 29th Lord Renfrew participated in celebrations at Fort Ticonderoga to commemorate the end of the War of 1859 and then traveled to Philadelphia by train. After several days in Philadelphia he traveled, against the advice of several of his advisors, including Gordon, to Harrisburg. Lord Renfrew attended a reception at the newly built convention hall and befriended Harriet Lane, niece of President Buchanan and so called First Lady. It was at this time that Virginia launched an effort to capture Harrisburg. Lord Renfrew observed the initial action from a church steeple just across the Susquehanna River, but upon hearing of Harriet’s death during the initial artillery barrage descended the steeple in a fit of rage.

It was at this time that Gordon gave the unarmed Prince his Starr revolver. Lord Renfrew made good use of the revolver during the Virginian attempt to cross the carriage bridge that straddled the river. Some say that it was a bullet from Renfrew’s Starr revolver that brought down Fitzhugh Lee as he led the charge across the bridge, though it is far more likely to have been bullets from Cornplanter’s Regiment that killed the eldest son of Robert E. Lee. Despite being offered the gun as a gift from Charles Gordon, Renfrew returned the weapon to Gordon after the Battle of the Susquehanna. Not long after offering to give the pistol away, Gordon lost the gun sometime during the confusion that followed the battle as Pennsylvania prepared its own offensive.

Brigadier-General Benjamin Satterthwaite, whose men had been so crucial during the Battle of the Susquehanna, found the pistol in the rubble that lined the eastern shore of the Susquehanna. Unaware of its significance Satterthwaite kept the weapon for himself. During the Maryland-Washington Campaign Satterthwaite’s, 2nd and 8th Pennsylvanian Divisions were often in the vanguard. Their turning of Lee’s left flank out side of Washington forced Lee to withdraw into Virginia and left Lee’s last surviving son dead. While burying bodies Lee’s Starr revolver was recovered by a soldier who noticed its resemblance to the weapon carried by his commanding officer. The men of the 5th Pennsylvania Colored Infantry gave the pistol to Satterthwaite as a birthday present on May 24, 1863. Satterthwaite now had both Starr pistols.

Satterthwaite who had become a self proclaimed Free Thinker was an avid reader of the articles and Pamphlets written by an author known only as Rebecca. In early March just days before leading the Maryland-Washington Campaign Satterthwaite had proposed to Rebecca sight unseen. Rebecca declined but bade the General the warmest wishes in the upcoming effort to bring Maryland back into the Union. On May 27, 1863 Satterthwaite once again sent Rebecca a letter asking for “her” hand in marriage and this time sent one of the pistols as a gift. On June 7th Satterthwaite received a surprise visit from President Lincoln. After the visit Satterthwaite became the butt of many friendly jokes within the U.S. Army. Lincoln visited Satterthwaite not only to congratulate him for his victories in Maryland but also to inform him that Rebecca was in truth Lincoln, who as President felt it better to write under a pseudonym. The highly embarrassed Satterthwaite told Lincoln to keep the pistol, especially since Lincoln informed him of the pistol’s colorful history. Lincoln then went out of his way to introduce Satterthwaite to his children’s nanny, the widow Anna Leonowens.

Lincoln kept the pistol for several more years before sending it to Prince of Wales Edward as a christening present for his first son, Albert Victor. Edward would receive the pistol on February 15, 1864 and those around him said that he was very moved by the gesture. Upon entering the military in 1883 during the Anglo-Russian War, Albert Victor took the pistol with him to Central Asia. After the end of the war in 1885 he gave the gun to Charles George Gordon who had become a hero during the desperate fighting in Afghanistan and Tibet. Gordon’s fame propelled him into Parliament and the position of Prime Minister shortly thereafter. His time as Prime Minster almost perfectly over lapped Satterthwaites’ two terms as President.

The two guns came together one last time at the funeral of Abraham Lincoln in November of 1888 (The fiftieth anniversary of the Reading Massacre). Edward, Prince of Wales, represented Britain at the funeral and brought with him Gordon’s Starr pistol (Gordon had meant to attend but had taken ill just days before his departure). First Lady Anna Leonowens Satterthwaite got along perfectly with Princess Alexandra as the two men reminisced about the Battle of Susquehanna. President Satterthwaite offered the second Starr pistol to Edward but it was declined. Edward then offered the other pistol to Satterthwaite on behalf of Prime Minister Gordon. Satterthwaite too declined the gift. In the end the two pistols parted ways and returned to their owners.

Today, President Satterthwaite’s pistol is on display at the Smithsonian National War of Emancipation Museum in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania a gift to the American people from First Lady Satterthwaite upon her husband’s death in 1902. It remains even now one of the most popular items in the museum’s vast inventory. Prime Minister Gordon’s matching Model 1858 Starr Army double-action revolver is on display in the British and American Friendship room at the British Museum. It is still used as part of the regalia worn during coronations; a tradition started by Edward VII, but is not counted as an official part of the Crown Jewels. It is one of the most popular exhibits in the museum despite the claim from Traditionalists that the gun is a crass symbol of the Americanization of Britain. Plans to get the guns together during the American Bicentennial fell through but the current effort to bring them together on the 100th Anniversery of the Anglo-American Treaty of 1911 may yet bring the matching pistols together after 123 years apart.

Benjamin

NOTES: Many minor spoilers and a few bigger ones, but I like how this turned out.

Lincoln really did write some political satire under the pseudonym, Rebecca. Unfortunately, his ex-fiancée / future wife knew of this and wrote a second, less eloquent letter under the name Rebecca as well. The target of the attack, a fellow politician from Illinois I believe, did not take this well and when he got angry. To protect Mary’s honor Lincoln claimed to have written all of the “Rebecca” letters and accepted the challenge to a duel. Lincoln chose cavalry sabers which caused the man pause. Cooler heads prevailed and the duel was averted.

Yes, Seward wins the 1860 Presidential election. Cassius Clay is his running mate. But by 1863 Abraham Lincoln is now President. It gets ugly…fast.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

Who would have thought that Afrikaaner time travelers from the 21st Century were arming rebels in India?

 

[benjamin]

The Two Grants (September 5 – December 31, 1859)

After each rain the forests of New Caledonia smelled strongly of leaves and pine. Occasionally the salty smell of the sea would enter the mix and remind Colonel Satterthwaite of the rocky shoreline that lay just seven miles to the west. Satterthwaite had just gotten back from a reconnaissance of the coastal area. His mission had been to assess the feasibility of crossing the Georgia Strait with a large enough force to threaten Victoria. Unfortunately, the rough seas made any such venture risky. Furthermore the British now had several small steam sloops patrolling the Strait at all times. Just south of the San Juan Islands rested a much large British squadron, and while the more moderate Admiral – had recovered from his illness it still acted to close the Strait. Satterthwaite had reported to Grant that he didn’t believe it worth the risk at this time to attempt such an exercise. Satterthwaite feared that Grant felt he wasn’t aggressive enough of commander, but he still felt that taking such a risk was unwarranted at this time. Even more so since Great Britain and the United States were not yet at war.

Grant had after the initial advance northward withdrawn most of his force back into the Washington Territory. Only Satterthwaite’s Brigade had been left north of the 49th latitude. He was ordered to keep a low profile but protect the claims and rights of the increasing number of American miners and settlers that were moving into the area. Patrol thousands of square miles with just a few thousand men; that didn’t appeal to much to Satterthwaite. Luckily, the British also had problems. Disagreements over the conduct of the conflict meant that General James Hope Grant had no clear orders beyond, ‘protect the lives and property of loyal British subjects within the colonies of New Caledonia and Vancouver.’ Furthermore Grant was caught between recently promoted Commodore Hornby and colonial General James Douglas who continued to argue over every minor detail.

So for the next several days an unwritten truce held. Neither Gen. Grant wanted to risk provoking all out war without a direct order, and both knew reinforcements were on the way. The truce was finally broken on September 12, 1859 when Royal Marines came ashore and occupied Alki Point. Commodore Hornby had finally conceded to Governor Douglas’ argument to ‘act swiftly to preserve the territory of New Caledonia before it becomes so filled with settlers and gold seekers that it falls from our grasp’. But still hoping to avoid war, he did so in a manner that was both measured and easily reversible. Hornby‘s aim was to threaten the American overland line of supply and force all American forces to withdraw back towards Seattle. At the same time James Hope Grant was to proceed southward in a slow and deliberate manner pushing any American unwilling to swear an oath to the Crown out of British territory. Satterthwaite made the decision to withdraw in good order in the face of the British advance but refused to disarm or arrest any Americans residing north of the 49th latitude.

Angered by the refusal to disarm, Governor Douglas declared that all persons settling or mining on British territory required a permit which had to be purchased from the colonial government in Vancouver or from authorized agents of the Hudson Bay Company. The cost of the permit was set a fifty dollars but would be reduced to twenty upon swearing of an oath to the British Crown. Word of his pronouncement had just barely reached New Westminster when news of the ‘American Wind’ and the destruction of the British squadron reached Seattle. By September 20th much of the region knew that a key British squadron had been dashed apart by a powerful storm and over a thousand British soldiers and sailors had died. The survivors were trapped without transportation hundreds of miles away. Added to that an American force, including a powerful naval squadron, was only a few days travel from the Puget Sound. For Douglas this was terrible news. He had just sent out letters authorizing agents of the Hudson Bay Company to begin the process of ensuring that all residents within the New Caledonia purchased a permit and if they refused gave the agents permission to evict squatters and confiscate land and property.

Perthshire Grant, as the British General was becoming known to differentiate him from his American counterpart, recognized the new situation for what it was as soon as the news reached him. His original plan was to advance past the 49th latitude until hitting the American line of bockhouses and forts. Then he would halt his main force and work closely with Commodore Hornby to land the British reinforcements at points south of Seattle. If possible he hoped to cut US Grant off from Seattle and isolate his army north of the town. Now this plan seemed exceedingly difficult. With no reinforcements forthcoming he would have to either rely on the Royal Navy to provide men for the landing party south of Seattle or take from his own already overstretched force. If it was further true that a strong American naval force was entering the Sound then a battle was inevitable. Perthshire Grant had full faith in the Royal Naval to defeat the American squadron but even if no American reinforcements were landed the odds favored the Americans. If a clash occurred between either the naval forces or the small armies facing each other then the many armed militias would certainly become involved. The only thing preventing that from happening already was the mutual fear of the local Indians as well as strict orders from both Grants to refrain from armed conflict unless directly attacked. That these orders had worked was a minor miracle in itself but neither Grant harbored any illusion that this would last if open warfare began. And in the area of militia numbers America had a decidedly marked advantage.

What Grant did not know and wouldn’t find out until early October was that the commander of the American squadron had become spooked by news that the British had recently reinforced the number of ships they had within the Puget Sound. This was incorrect but shaped his actions anyway. On September 15th Longstreet’s men were rather unceremoniously unloaded at the tiny port of Grays Harbor on the western neck of the Olympia Peninsula and told to march northeast over 100 miles through rough terrain until the reached Seattle. Longstreet was furious but decided to make the march anyway. He left a company from the 5th Infantry Regiment behind to guard Grays Harbor and then set out on September 17th towards Seattle. It would take him and the 2,450 men under his command just over twenty-seven days to reach Alki Point. After a brief siege the contingent of Royal Marines holding Point Alki surrendered on October 17, 1859. Longstreet then moved the majority of his forces through Seattle to link up with Grant. Grant and Longstreet moved north towards New Caledonia with a combined force of about 7,350 men. With them were nearly 1,500 militia men and 250 Indian allies. Opposing them were the remaining 4,250 men of James Grant’s command. With him were only 250 militia and 500 Indians. A large number of his men were spread throughout New Caledonia acting as enforcers for the HBC in their effort to collect permit fees.

The two forces finally met along the Skagit River but torrential rains and a severe storm delayed the fighting. Following the storm both sides were low on dry powder and unwilling to press the issue. Both sides dug in and decided to wait it out. Over the next four days the cold wet weather brought misery and sickness to both armies. Its unknown which army had the first case of cholera but by late October both armies were seen ten to twenty men die each day. On November 12th Longstreet, who had been promoted above Grant by Secretary of War Davis, died of cholera, and Grant resumed command of the Army. A day later the two Grants met and agreed to share doctors and medical supplies. Two days later further talks led to a local cease-fire and US Grant agreed to open Seattle up to shipments from the RN that were then transported by caravan to the British lines. These supplies included food, medicine and dry clothing. As per their agreement Perthshire Grant refused to even attempt the importation of bullets or powder through Seattle despite repeated prodding from Governor Douglas. By the end of the cholera outbreak a week later the British had lost one in eight of their soldiers and the U.S. had lost one in ten.

After a series of delays word of the permanent cease-fire and the Treaty of Reading finally reached U.S. Grant on November 22nd. He passed the word on to the British the next morning and in celebration Grant allowed the surviving British to come into the outskirts of Seattle where they could be better cared for. On November 24, 1860 the British and American soldiers, along with many of the civilians living in Alki-Seattle, held an end of the war celebration that included a large Thanksgiving Dinner. James Hope Grant and Ulysses S. Grant posed for a sketch which Pennsylvanian artist Clifford Satterthwaite later turned into an oil-on-canvas called The Two Grants, and James Grant would play several songs on his cello accompanied by Alfred Satterthwaite on violin. Two years later this celebration would heavily influence President Lincoln’s decision to make the last Thursday of November the official Federal Holiday of Thanksgiving while December 2nd would become Emancipation Day.

Within a month only a single regiment of soldiers from each side would remain in the Caledonia-Columbia Territory. The sickly remains of Grant’s force would travel to Hawaii to rest and then from there they returned to India where they were crucial in suppressing the Second Stirring of the Great Indian Rebellion. U.S. Grant’s command was broken up and nearly all of the volunteer regiments and companies were mustered out and sent home. The regular regiments remained together in almost brigade strength. Just two years later these men would become the core of the Union’s Army of the Colorado.

NOTES: In an effort to return the focus to the primary story line, the conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia, I’m going to post most of the non-PA vs. VA stuff in essay form. I like the narratives, but they move too slowly.

Clifford Satterthwaite is semi-fictional. My grand mother, who was herself the daughter of Alfred Satterthwaite, was good friends with a local artist named Cliff Satterthwaite. They had been introduced because people assumed they were related given their shared, and somewhat rare, last names. It turned out there was no direct relation ever found, but they remained friends. And yes the painting, The Two Grants, is a nod to a similarly named book. WOW...I just looked him up on the internet. He's still alive and painting. I think I'll send him an email.

I didn’t include a town name along the Skagit River, because as far as I can find there were no towns yet established in that region. OTL town Mount Vernon was founded in 1870. I figure in this TL we’ll get a Grantshire on the north bank of the Skagit and a Grantsburg on the south side of the river.

Ulysses S. Grant and James Hope Grant in pictures taken just minutes before their posing for The Two Grants. The origins of the vase pictured in the painting was once disputed by historians and many believed it had been added by the artist, Cliff Satterthwaite. The discovery of this photograph in 1967 put that assertion to rest, though many are still amazed at its similarity to a vase shown in a picture of James Grant years before in India.

 

[benjamin]

It's been a while since my last update. I'm still working on this but once again am contemplating a change of format.

Would it better to post this as a more conventional TL in this forum and have a separate thread in the Fiction Forums for the more detailed narrative? This format seems to get very little in the way of comments so I'm a bit curious as to what my audience thinks about the TL thus far.

Also, would you like to see more images, maps or links to relevant web sites? How about bibliographies for relevant nonfiction books that I've used for research? Would any of that be helpful or interesting?

As for the actual TL, I'm contemplating a bit of a rewrite. I want the focus to remain firmly on the conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia. With that in mind I intend to clip the wings of a few butterflies and make European events adhere more closely to OTL. Of course after a while the ripple effects will begin to affect events outside of the US. Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean will diverge first with Europe changing more slowly.

Finally, I may go with Dual PODs that occur nearly at the same time but have no connection. I won't say what they are as of yet, but I'm looking over some source material to see if it would make the story/TL more interesting and more plausible. Any input would be helpful. Thank you.

Benjamin

 

[benjamin]

The Compromise of 1860

I like this TL too much to give it up although some parts need revision. I've been reading a lot Civil War literature that is directly pertinent to the War of the Two Commonwealths. My plan is to post some tidbits here while I finish up some revisions and editing. Then I will move the major portion of my writing to the Fiction and Short Story Sub-forum.

Here is a look at my thoughts on the oft mentioned Compromise of 1860 (or the Last Compromise).

The Compromise of 1860

The Compromise of 1860, or as it is often called, the Last Compromise, was first conceived by Kentuckian John J. Crittenden, but when the task of finding a solution to the Two Commonwealths Crisis passed to the Senate Crittenden’s role in developing the compromise was soon forgotten.

The ongoing conflict between Pennsylvania and Virginia caused much concern for President Buchanan. The President was a Pennsylvanian but had tied both his political career and his personal sympathies to the South. When outright fighting arose between Virginia and Pennsylvania in early 1859 Buchanan made the much criticized decision to follow the advice of his Southern dominated Cabinet. Their advice was to hold the Federal government aloof from the interstate disagreement and adhere to a policy of non-interference. Most Southerners believed that the money obsessed bankers in Philadelphia and industrialists in Pittsburgh would have little stomach to engage in actual manly combat against the soldiers of Virginia. At the same time it was said that the small farmers, mill workers and recent immigrants residing in rural Pennsylvania would do nothing to oppose an oversized Virginian posse aiming to catch slaves and enforce federal law. The Richmond papers speculated that the people of Pennsylvania might even “…gather up their firearms and implements of framing and march on Harrisburg themselves.” The editor of the Richmond Enquirer went so far as to write a very supportive editorial.
“It is easy for this paper to rightfully speculate that in a very short period of time Harrisburg will be inhabited by a whole different group of persons; a group far more to our liking. We need only march to Harrisburg through a tranquil land full of content Christian folk wholly unsupportive of the abolitionist venom that has thrust upon them. This paper would be completely surprised if even a single shot need fired to force the current mob of criminals to flee Harrisburg and take their Yankee radicals with them. It is comforting to know that the fine people of Pennsylvania, now tired of been abused and degraded by those who claim time and again to be their moral superiors but have no honorable intent, will undoubtedly stand at our side to see justice done.”

Of course these predictions would prove very wrong. The level of violence in Pennsylvania, Virginia and Delaware ended more lives in three months than “Bleeding Kansas” did in three years. During the winter of 1859-60 the level of fighting petered off and some came to believe that the level of carnage exemplified by Pennsylvania’s failed Peninsular Campaign and the Wheeling Revolt was do solely to the bumbling amateurs who fought the war. Unfortunately, upon Spring’s arrival Virginia’s new governor, Henry A. Edmundson, sent a further 20,000 Virginian’s into Pennsylvania and renewed the harsh efforts to subdue the western portions of his state.

In late February, fighting resumed with the Battle of Charleston (February 24 – 25, 1860). The fact that Virginia herself seemed to be falling apart at the seams frightened many Southern governors and they finally began to apply pressure on both Buchanan and Edmundson to bring an end to the year long conflict. Edmundson still hoped to bring the invasion of Pennsylvania to a successful conclusion but he needed to quell the growing violence in the state’s western counties. The brutal nature of Ashby and Jackson’s Monongahela Campaign shocked the nation and its culmination with the Clarksburg Hangings finally overcame Buchanan’s lethargy. Buchanan forced Breckenridge to establish a seven person panel to come up with a national compromise in a final effort to end the sectional crisis and prevent dissolution of the Union. Breckenridge approached numerous Senators but found it difficult to garner broad support for any type of compromise. Finally in mid-April, Senator Houston came forward and offered to chair what he termed of the Committee of Seven. In return Houston demanded that Buchanan put before the Supreme Court the issue of secession by way of a newly developed case brought against the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by then Attorney General, Edwin M. Stanton. Realizing that more than an effort to punish Pennsylvania for its nullification of the Fugitive Slave Act; The United States v. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania was instead an attempt to end the idea of nullification and state secession once and for all. In return Breckenridge and Davis persuaded Buchanan to apply pressure once again on the Supreme Court to hear the recent New York Superior Court Case of Lemmon v. New York which, like the Dred Scott Decision before it involved the transportation of slaves through free states.

For over a month the Committee of Seven met in Annapolis, Maryland and worked behind closed doors. Finally on May 22, 1860 the Committee presented their Compromise for the Continuation and Future Prosperity of the Perpetual Union to President Buchanan and the Senate. A wide range of topics were dealt with within the Compromise but the primary focus was on the issue of slavery.

Sam Houston (I-TX), (D-), Anthony Kennedy (A-MD), John C. Crittenden (A-KY), Willard Saulsbury, Sr. (D-DE) and Andrew Johnson (D-TN) work together to create the Compromise of 1860.

• California is split with the southern portion being combined with Baja to form the slave state of Colorado with its capital at Calhoun.
• Texas is to be split into two states. East of the Brazos River is to become the slave state of Jacinto with its capital at Nacogdoches.
• Slavery is to be allowed in all territory south of the 36’30” latitude and prohibited north of this line, excepting Kansas which is to remain a slave state.
• There are to be eight new Constitutional Amendments, 13th. sets the Supreme Court at ten members; five justices from slave states and five from free states and creates a four member Executive Advisory Council, two from each region, to advise the President and have veto power over all legislation so long as two of Council declare the bill void; 14th. prohibited national citizenship to all blacks, free or slave; 15th. denied Constitutional Rights to all non-citizens; 16th. denied the right of Naturalization to non-whites and extended the time to become a citizen to 15 years for recent immigrants; 17th. created a Federal Fugitive Slave Patrol with full legal powers and provided for Federal funds to compensate slave holders for escaped slaves; 18th. protected slavery in all Federal property, protected slavery in Territories south of the 36’30” latitude, protected slavery in Washington DC, protected the interstate slave trade including coastal shipping and guaranteed slavery in perpetuity within those states where it now existed; 19th. declared the above seven amendments to be permanent and un-amendable; 20th. made U.S. federal law superior to any treaty or international law;
• Delaware is to become a free state and Oregon is to be admitted as a free state.
• All Federal and Virginian troops are to be withdrawn from Pennsylvania and martial law in Delaware and Pennsylvania is to be ended.
• Virginia is to cede its spur of land north of the Mason-Dixon Line to Pennsylvania in return for $1 million in funds from Pennsylvania and $1.5 million from the Federal government.
• The Southern states are to repeal all re-enslavement and slave trade laws.
• The Northern states are to repeal all personal liberty laws.
• Naval patrols are to be increased along the African coast and in the Caribbean to catch slave traders.

Debate on the Compromise of 1860 began immediately. Republicans and even many Northern Democrats initially opposed the entire compromise, but William Bigler (R-PA) convinced his fellow Pennsylvanian Edwin Cowan (R-PA) to accept the Compromise (or at least portions of it) in order to remove Virginian troops from central Pennsylvania. Cowan, allied with Senators Lincoln, Henry Wilson (R-MA), Charles Durkee (R-WI), Hannibal Hamlin (R-ME), and George Riddle (R-DE) [riddle replaced James A. Bayard, Jr. who resigned following the passing of the Gradual Compensated Emancipation Act]. Together they formed The Second Six, a group of anti-slavery Senators tasked with reviewing the Compromise and offering modifications to make it more palatable to the Northern States. As an act of good faith a minority of Republicans, including Durkee and Riddle, crossed the aisle and voted with the Democrats, Americans and newly formed National Union Party to pass the Triple Statehood Act of 1860 (The attached Lincoln Proviso forced Southern states to officially acknowledge and accept the legality of Delaware Emancipation). This Act allowed Texas and California to split land off to form two new slave states while Oregon was brought into the Union as a free state.

The Triple Statehood Act passed Congress and was signed by Buchanan on July 4, 1860. A day later Jacinto and Oregon became the 34th and 35th states of the Union. The entrance of Colorado was delayed after protestors led by the self proclaimed Emperor Norton arrived in Sacramento by rail demanding that the issue of splitting California into two states be put to a statewide referendum. As thousands gathered outside of the state capital building the governor called out the militia. These armed men were countered by Norton’s Honor Guard and a tense stand-off ensued. After a few days the state legislature agreed to put the issue up to a state vote, and on August 20, 1860 the population of California voted overwhelmingly to not partition the state. In response the wealthy planters around Lake Cabazon met in Calhoun City and formed a rival state government. In a special late night session portions of the California legislature voted to recognize the assembly at Calhoun City as the provisional government of California and Baja. In the last few days of August a number of legislatures along with Governor Milton Latham traveled to Calhoun City and took seats in the Provisional Capital to form a quorum. On September 7th they voted to split absorb the Baja Territory, allow slavery in all of California and split the state into two slave states. Per the already passed Triple Statehood Act Colorado became a state on September 11, 1860. Buchanan allowed for this despite the improper handling of the situation citing that Luther v. Borden tied his hands so long as California retained a republican form of government. Northern states were furious especially since the Provisional government in Calhoun City had opened all of California to slavery. When Latham and the legislatures attempted to return to Sacramento they were blocked by a hastily raised citizen militia. Latham once again called out the state militia and a battle ensued that was only ended with the arrival of Norton’s Honor Guard. Latham fled south along with several members of the state government.

Angered by the events in California and the renewed Virginian offensive in Pennsylvania the Republicans threatened to derail the entire Compromise. Instead the Compromise was broken into its component parts and voted on separately. Congress voted once again to increase funding to the US Navy and Army and add ships to the slave patrols along the African coasts and in the Caribbean. Congress agreed to form a Federal Slave Patrol and form a centrally located Marshals Service. Congress also agreed to return to the provisions of the old Missouri Compromise. In mid-July the eight proposed Constitutional amendments were joined by a further four proposed Amendments.

21st resurrected the proposed amendment to ban American citizens from holding titles of nobility.
22nd allowed a federal law to be nullified by a majority vote in the legislatures of 2/3 of the states
23rd proposed changes to the Constitution’s preamble that would acknowledge the U.S. as a Christian nation
24th prohibited the federal or state governments from using any publicly collected funds for religious purposes

Argument and debate continued for weeks. Further fat was thrown on the proverbial fire when the Supreme Court finally released their rulings on Lemmon v. New York and the United States v. Pennsylvania. The Taney led Supreme Court ruled just as Buchanan had hoped. In Lemmon v. New York the court decided 5-4 for Lemmon and once again the majority opinion clearly stated that blacks had little to no rights and states, even free states, had no right to interfere with the practice of chattel slavery. All of Lemmon’s slaves were returned to servitude and New York was told to pay the legal fees. In their decision regarding United States v. Pennsylvania the majority decided 6-3 that Pennsylvania had no legal authority to nullify federal law and that all personal liberty laws were there by unconstitutional. Further more Grier said, writing for the majority, that by ratifying the Constitution a given state joined a perpetual union that could only be exited with the consent of the Federal government and the other states. This essentially made unilateral secession illegal. Grier was joined by six other justices including Chief Justice Taney to declare that unilateral or even sectional secession was indeed illegal without the consent of the other states or Congress. Once again it looked as though the nation had dodged a bullet.

Congress realized that the nation still sat on the brink and so on August 25, 1860 in a legally dubious maneuver, Congress passed all twelve proposed amendments by a very narrow margin. From there they went to the states and over the next two months nearly all Southern states ratified all the proposed amendments, usually in a block vote. In the North the process was far more complicated. The proposed 20th, 22nd and 24th Amendments were ratified as the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments by the required three-quarters of the states prior to the November elections but the rest languished and went unratified. Anger over the decision of some Southern states to expand their attempts at re-enslavement and expulsion of free blacks resulted in nearly all of the Northern states refusing to even contemplate ratification of numerous pro-slavery Amendments.

The provisions concerning the occupation of Pennsylvania were made moot by the battles of Susquehanna River (Sept. 29-30, 1860), Wrightsville (Sept. 29, 1860), Second Battle of York (Oct. 19, 1860), Morgantown (Oct. 22-25, 1860), Simpson’s Farm (Oct. 31-Nov. 1, 1860) and First Battle of Gettysburg (Nov. 2, 1860). Virginian forces withdrew following Federal intervention at Gettysburg, and Virginia resorted to suing Pennsylvania. The demands for payment of 2.5 million dollars from Pennsylvania to Virginia as well as $15 million in compensation from British North America to cover losses in escaped slaves were added to the still yet to be finalized Compromise of 1860. The refusal of the Republican dominated Congress to even consider these demands prompted the President to maintain martial law in Pennsylvania. This gave the Southern states reason to claim that the North was not holding up its end of the bargain and so when Seward was elected South Carolina felt vindicated in its decision to secede. Before the end of the year two other Deep South states had also seceded but the key state of Virginia would wait until March due to the violence in Washington D.C. and Maryland.

NOTES: The pro-slavery amendments are essentially OTL Crittenden Compromise. The other amendments are based on actual amendments that had been proposed or were soon to be proposed in OTL. The amendment preventing American citizens from accepting titles of nobility has been pending ratification since the 1790s.

Pennsylvania gains a bit of land in the form of the Wheeling pan-handle, thus extending the Mason-Dixon Line to the Ohio River. This is a bit of a nod to Ward's Bring the Jubilee. I figure the Virginia government wants to get rid of the center of anti-slavery sentiment in the state and get hold of some money to pay for their failed excursion into PA.

Benjamin

 

[Ke$ha IRL]

I can't believe this doesn't have more replies. it's a really good, really detailed, timeline. keep going!

 

[benjamin]

Parting Ways (September 19, 1859)

Robert Gould Shaw looked across the fire at his good friend, Jacob Wolf. Jacob was digging through his stew and pulling out the large hunks of lard. Once on his spoon he flicked them with surprising accuracy into the camp fire where they would sizzle and cook while he looked for another fatty sacrifice. Shaw smiled to himself as he watched his friend’s antics. Then he turned his attention back down towards the letter in his hand. He reread the letter twice more and then stood up. The short walk to the other side of the fire was a difficult to make and he cringed slightly as he sat down next to Jacob.

“I got a letter yesterday.” Lt. Shaw said as Jacob threw one last bit of fat into the fire.

“How’s your family?” Jacob Wolf asked as he ate the last of his stew.

“It wasn’t from my family.” Shaw answered. “It’s from Governor Banks. Of Massachusetts.”

“Well aren’t we high and mighty.” Jacob replied with a snicker. “What’s ol’Banksie have to say? Did he mention our life long friendship?”

“No. No mention of it at all.”

“That cad.” Jacob said laughing along with his friend.

“He wants to give me a regiment.” Shaw said quietly as their laughter died down.

“You, a regiment. Are you sure he got the name right on that envelop?” Jacob said in mock disbelief.

“Well I don’t know. I think he got the name right.” Shaw said playing along. “Either way I’m going to assume it’s for me.”

Jacob could see that his friend was becoming uncomfortable and so he set his empty bowl down. He stretched his arm upwards and let out a long sigh.

“We can’t stay here forever. It’s been almost thirty days. They’ll move us out soon.” Jacob said wishfully.

The victory at Fort Ligonier had turned back the Virginian advance towards Pittsburgh but it had done nothing to remove the large numbers of Virginians that now occupied York County. Following the battle Hancock had moved his men back towards Youngstown and then from there he had marched them south along a narrow wagon road for several miles until they arrived at Pleasant Unity. After two days at Pleasant Unity where they were reinforced by several regiments of militia raised in the towns around Pittsburgh. From there they marched south along the road that led from Pleasant Unity all the way to the Oliphant Iron Works. They had gone through numerous towns like Mount Pleasant and Uniontown, but they never stopped longer than a single night to rest and eat. They reached Oliphant on August 20th and were greeted warmly by the residents and workers there. Once at Oliphant movement stopped and now the men were getting restless as they had expected to take the war into Virginia.

“I’m leaving in two days.” Shaw returned. “Nine or ten of us from Massachusetts are returning home. Governor Banks has raised a handful of regiments that he intends to send to New York. I guess the people of New England don’t want a repeat of the War of 1812. There’s no talk at all of keeping their militias only within their home states and the Governors of New England, New York and New Jersey recently met in Albany to devise a comprehensive plan to deal with the impending invasion.”

“Yeah, I heard.” Jacob said as the realization set in that his friend would soon be leaving. “I talked to Colonel Hawthorne yesterday, and he seems to think that something big is in the works. A lot of men that were supposed to have gone to reinforce us have moved east instead. Not just a few of them either, but thousands. He must have known you’d be leaving soon since when I asked him to allow us to go east too he told me to wait a few days before putting in an official request.”

“He knew. I sent off my letter accepting the posting as Colonel of the 45th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment this morning, but the Colonel knew long before that.” Shaw looked over at his gloomy friend. “I couldn’t turn down the offer Jacob. When we go to war with Britain my home state will be in danger. The Limeys could land a whole division on Cape Cod and march on Boston with almost nothing standing in their way except a few untrained militiamen. They need people who’ve seen the elephant. You know what the fresh meat is like. Hell, you know what we were like. Shaking so hard we could barely hold a rifle. We marched away from New Freedom like a bunch of lost sheep. I didn’t even have the grit to keep hold of my gun.”

“And now we’re daft enough to lead a head long charge into a wall of bayonets without a second thought. That’s progress…or plum craziness.” Lt. Wolf replied. “But you can’t get that spending time at some camp marching straight and dressing proper. The only way to get that is by being in the thick of it, smelling the powder and hearing the screams of the wounded. It’s a butcher shop, Hell and your worst nightmare all rolled into one.”

His voice trailed off as they both pictured in their minds the horrors they had seen over the last six months. Either way realized why Robert had decided to go. It wasn’t because of the promotion. He knew that by having an experienced Colonel in command the 45th would have a much better chance of coming out of their first few battles without having suffered unnecessary casualties and needless deaths.

Jacob stood up and saluted his friend. After that he took Shaw’s hand and gave it a hardy shake. “You’ll do fine Robert. The men of your regiment are lucky to have you as their Colonel.”

“I just hope I have more luck than their first commander. He fell off his horse just a week ago and broke his neck.” Robert Shaw said.

The next morning both Robert and Jacob were up early. Since neither one of them had their own horse they were forced to borrow a wagon with two draft horses from the nearby by iron furnace. That the whole rig reminded Wolf of Old Man Shaw’s goods wagon disturbed him more than a little. Despite that he helped Robert load his small amount of luggage onto the back of the empty wagon. A few minutes later he found himself standing next to the wagon with nothing to do so when he heard a commotion on the northwest side of the camp he quickly grabbed his rifle and ran toward the noise.

Jacob could see a growing group of soldiers, many of them with their guns raised, facing a cluster of people who were emerging from the tree line. Jacob pushed his way through the group and front where he could see what was occurring. Even though the morning light was still dim Lt. Wolf could clearly recognize two of the men standing before him.

“Put down those guns, dammit!” Wolf snapped. “Don’t you recognize these men?’

The growing group of soldiers let out a collective mummer but it didn’t take long for a few of the more widely read within the crowd to make the connection.

“I’ll be dammed!” One of the men in the front of the crowd let out. “That there is ol’John Brown and that crazy negro, Frederick Douglass.”

Rousing General Hancock and the other officers from their tents didn’t take long. Within twenty minutes all of the major officers ranking Major or higher had gathered together within the nearby barn. The old farmer who owned the homestead had offered to rent the house to Hancock and the other ranking officers but Hancock had declined. Instead Hancock made use of the large, and largely abandoned, barn. Usually home to only two old horses, a hand full of chickens and ducks and a lonely milk cow; the barn now held the fifteen horses of the various regimental and staff officers. Wolf and Shaw were the only two officers in the building with a rank below Captain and were surprised to be there in the first place. The whale oil lamps made it easy to see in the otherwise dim barn. Wolf could see the face of Frederick Douglass much better in the well lit barn. He was covered in cuts and abrasions. Two of his front teeth were missing, his nose looked broken and his left eye was open just slit and wept a pussy ooze. Even so he sat upright with an air of defiance. Hancock’s personal surgeon pushed his way through to Douglass and immediately began to clean his face and dab his injuries with alcohol. Wolf could see Douglass wince with pain but the man said nothing. Even while the doctor stitched shut the two deepest cuts the man said nothing. Once the doctor was finished his work, which also included setting Douglass’s three broken fingers and wrapping the man’s broken ribs, Hancock motioned for his immediate staff to bring a large table forward.

They set the table down in central aisle of the barn and unrolled a collection of maps. Everyone, including Douglass who was now back on his feet despite a limp, gathered around the table. Ashtrays soon appeared around the table along with cups and in a very short time many of the men had light cigars or pipes and coffee was offered.

“Well, gentlemen.” Hancock began. “Some of you may have heard the rumors. I am officially stepping down.”

Brigadier-General Hillary Hancock ignored the rumblings of surprise around the table and continued. “I’m doing so per my own request. I’ve come to realize that I am a much better procurer of supplies than I am a leader of armies.”

No one there could really deny that. Hancock had established a very efficient system of procurement and transportation for the Army of the Allegheny. Food was plentiful, ammunition and powder was never in short supply and the new Sharps rifles now armed over half of the regiments in the army. But at Ligonier and the skirmishing after wards Hancock had proven overly timid and prone to second guess himself. Only the quick actions of men like Col. Hawthorne and other regimental commanders allowed for the Pennsylvanian forces to achieve a quick lopsided victory. Even so the men liked Hancock, and he would be sorely missed.

After letting that sink in for a few moments Hancock looked once more around the table. He would miss he men gravely, but not the gut wrenching bouts of terror he experienced every time he entered combat. He wondered if his brother Winfield had ever felt the cold rush of unmitigated fear upon hearing the first volley of rifles. Had he wanted vomit at the sight of the dead and wounded? Had he frozen in place unable to think clearly upon the smell of gunpowder? Hillary doubted that he had. He longed to have Winfield military sense and bravery, but alas he did not. So he felt he would better serve his men and the commonwealth by setting up a small office of procurement in Pittsburgh. Governor Packer and General Anderson had given him permission to do so a month ago, and a small staff was already in that city awaiting his arrival.

Following Hancock’s revelation the conversation turned its focus to the harrowing ordeal of John Brown and Frederick Douglass. Despite an attempt to surrender in the minutes before the storming of the Brokenbough Mansion the Virginians led by Captain George Washington Custis Lee, Federal troops and Virginian militia entered the house in force. All but four of the seventeen men and women barricaded within the large stone house were killed while Lee’s men suffered but two dead. Surviving the attack were Frederick Douglass, Mary, John Brown’s son Oliver and an older white servant named Henry Banks. Brown’s oldest son Salmon was killed during the attack while his other son Watson had snuck out of the house with two others during the night to find water. A week after their capture Douglass and the others were put on trial and within two days found guilty and sentenced to hang. Henry Banks was hanged on April 5, 1859. Douglass and the others were scheduled to be executed two days later, but Governor Wise issued a two week stay after New York, New Jersey and the New England states put intense pressure on Wise to commute the sentence. After the two weeks were over Douglass, Brown and Mary were brought out to the gallows and had nooses placed around their neck. Mary was hanged but Frederick Douglass and Oliver Brown were brought down from the gallows in an effort not to create anti-slavery martyrs. Unfortunately, it was too late for that. Mary’s execution had galvanized the abolitionist movement like no other event.

On April 21, 1859 Governor Wise signed an executive order staying Douglass and Brown’s executions for six months. Political pressure from the Virginia state assembly prevented Wise from commuting the punishment to life in prison. The two men shared a small dirty prison cell for the next four and half months. Underfed and in squalid conditions they both suffered frequent beatings at the hands of the guards. Less than month before their scheduled execution a man neither of them recognized removed them from their cell and led them past the guards who appeared to be drunk or heavily drugged. Once out of the jail the man led the two of them through the back alleys of Richmond. After a long confusing walk that left both men feeling a bit lost the three of them met up with John Brown and a few other men and they were loaded into a wagon and taken west. They did notice that two other nearly identical wagons also departed and headed northward towards the Mason-Dixon Line. The large posse that was formed to find them followed the other two wagons allowing them to escape into Appalachian region where with help from the disgruntled hill people of the region they were able to escape into Pennsylvania.

Once the telling of this tale had ended Hancock, Douglass, John Brown and the other officers agreed that Douglass and Oliver Brown would ride north with Robert and Jacob. At Latrobe Lt. Shaw, Douglass and Brown would travel by train to Harrisburg. Shaw would of course continue on to Massachusetts while Douglass and Brown would stay in the Pennsylvanian capital to drum up support for John Brown’s next foray into Virginia.

With that finished the conversation changed once again. This time the focus turned towards the numerous maps that had thus far gone unlooked upon. Hancock pointed at point south of Pittsburgh near the town of Washington, Pennsylvania. His finger traced the long line that ran nearly the entire length of the map. This map which showed the entire southwestern corner of Pennsylvania also showed a nearby portion of Virginia and Maryland and the line that Hancock had carefully followed was a railroad.

“That gentlemen is the Washington to Wheeling railroad. It’s a branch of the B&O and was completed in 1857.” Hancock traced the line again and then moved his finger slightly further north along a penciled in line that had just recently been added to the map. “This new line is the just recently completed Washington to Pittsburgh branch line. As a joint project of the Pennsylvania Central and the Baltimore & Ohio it came about only after immense pressure from Governor Packer and Philadelphia bankers.”

Several of the officers leaned over the table to get a better look at the map. It was easy to see why this railway could easily become militarily significant. With the new branch line now completed there was a straight shot going all the way from Philadelphia to the largest city in northwestern Virginia.

“Mayor of Pittsburgh, Henry Weaver, has recently passed on some information to me.” Hancock said as he stood up and straightened up his top coat. “There have been several semi-secret meetings in Wheeling. A group calling itself the Westsylvania Liberty League has come together to call for an end to the occupation of Pennsylvania. It seems as though the good people of western Virginia have grown tired of playing second fiddle to the slave holding planters. Not only do the Planters demand that thousands of young western boys fight and die on their behalf, but they have taken effective control of the Virginian government and refuse to provide the more industrious portions of the state with its fair share.

“My original orders were to move my army south along the Monongahela River so as to take the conflict into Virginia. Unfortunately, the fighting at Ligonier and Bushy Run pushed our ability to move south back several months and our plans have changed accordingly. Supplies have been re-routed north ward into New York. We’ve also lost a few regiments but I’ve told to expect several new regiments from Pittsburgh and elsewhere. They’ll be green but its better than nothing. My replacement is one Samuel P. Heintzelman, recently of the United States Army. He’s raised two full regiments from Lancaster and the surrounding counties and now he’s been given a command. Somehow he’s been able to avoid being sent north to New York to face the damn Brits. He’ll be here in two days.

“So with that in mind Heintzelman and I have decided to redirect our effort. With the new rail links we now have a direct route into Wheeling. Unfortunately, there are those who want us to still push a force down the Mon. To this end I have agreed to send three regiments on riverboats up the river into Virginia. The rest of the Army will move west by rail and defense of the valleys will be handed over to local militias. Hopefully, if the Virginians move back into the Commonwealth they will delay them long enough for us to transfer some men eastward as a blocking force.”

Hancock looked around the table. The men under his command were for the most part competent and the soldiers were looking more and more like a trained army and less like an armed mob. He was proud of these men and would be sorry to leave them but he knew he lacked what was needed to be a victorious field commander.

Shaw, Wolf and their two passengers left less than half an hour after the meeting in the barn. The wagon ride to Connellsville was uneventful but slow. The four men chatted about a variety of topics. Wolf found Oliver Brown to be a bit of a fanatic like his father, but recent events had done much to convince him that slavery was indeed the blight that the Brown’s declared it to be. To Wolf’s surprise the ex-slave Douglass seemed moderate and reasonable. Douglass explained how the Constitution itself had worked to limit and even allow for an end to the institution of slavery. Despite numerous cuts and bruises Douglass was still a rather imposing man, and Wolf was continually impressed by his speaking abilities and bearing.

Along the way they passed a large amount of military traffic; wagons of supplies, a handful of heavy field guns and several thousand militia men that were heading south to replace the departing Army of the Allegheny. Shaw and Wolf saluted passing officers at least a dozen times before reaching Connellsville just after lunch. All the passenger trains were being halted in Connellsville out of fear of Virginian cavalry raids. Thus far none had occurred but the threat of such had made the rail ways cautious. Because of this the town had grown busy as those wanting to go one to Uniontown were forced to disembark in Connellsville. A steady stream of wagons and coaches carried soldiers and supplies southward and returned with either empty or carrying the civilians and personal effects away from what many feared would become a war zone very shortly.

At the train station all four men got out of the wagon. Douglass and Brown thanked the two lieutenants profusely and then boarded the train that already sat in front of the brick and board station. People bumped and jostled the two friends as they said their good-byes.

“The next one of us shot gets ten dollars.” Jacob Wolf said as he shook Robert Shaw’s hand.

“Damn, Jacob I was nervous enough leading a company.” Shaw replied.

“The men will be lucky to have you.” Wolf countered sincerely. “Just tell those darn bean towners to buck up and stand hard and tall. I won’t lie and say the Redcoats will be push overs, but a regiment of angry Irishmen will give them hell enough, especially with you in command.”

“You’ve been a good friend Jacob. I’ll see you soon enough.” Robert flashed his friend a smile and then hefted the small canvas bag that carried his small collection of personal affects.

Lt. Robert Shaw boarded the train to Latrobe and so began his long trip back home to Boston. After taking his seat he took one last look out the window. He could see Wolf’s back as he walked back towards the wagon.

“Looking after a friend?” Shaw looked away from the window to see a man leaning towards him across the isle. “I don’t mean to pry really.”

The man gave a broad smile and extended his hand towards Shaw. Shaw was dubious especially since the man had a noticeable Virginian accent. Shaw’s hesitancy was noticed by the man who let out a chuckle.

“Me, I’m headed to Harrisburg. I have a few meetings to attend to with some people there.”

“Good for you.” Shaw replied curtly.

“I noticed Mr. Douglass traveled with you. Now’s he a man I’d like to meet. I guess in a way he really represents the whole situation we’re in now, don’t he?” The man reached up and gently brushed some of the crumbs out of his beard. He then offered a piece of bread to Shaw. “You and I have more in common than you think. I too am no fan of Mr. Wise.”

Shaw looked the man over. He hadn’t had breakfast and was more than a bit hungry so he took a piece of bread. As Robert Shaw ate his bread the man resumed talking.

“As you may already know Lt. Shaw there are some in the western counties of Virginia who don’t agree with the slave holders who control our state assembly. I wasn’t able to attend that meeting in the barn, though I do know a think or two about Mr. Douglass’s interesting ordeal. And I do know how desperate the slave holders have become. There are some, the fire-eaters who look forward to these days of reckoning. Men like Ruffin who long to see the South an independent nation where only the slave-holding aristocracy enjoys those inalienable the Founders wished upon us all. They will lord over their negro slaves as master while the mudsill whites tow the line just as obediently; happy in the knowledge that at least they’re not as bad off as the slaves. But their dream is dying. Every year immigrants pour in and for every one that goes to live in the South seven choose the North as their home. They have lost the House and it is only a matter of time before they lose the Senate and the Presidency.”

Shaw found himself nodding along with the man as he spoke but he also let out a long yawn. He began to apologize for being rude, but the man held up a hand to stop him.

“I take no offense.” He said. “I’ll let you sleep and apologize as well if I cuss those accursed British for getting in the way of a good brother against brother brawl. You doze off. But if you don’t mind could I look at your Susquehanna Valley Post? I don’t get to read it much as my cousin’s newspaper has been declared illegal in Virginia. And Lieutenant if you need any thing at all just ask. My name’s Sherrad Clemens.”

As Shaw drift off to sleep he could hear Sherrad humming the new tune that was becoming popular in the military camps throughout Pennsylvania…Poor Mary’s Body.

NOTES: As much as I like having Hilary Hancock as a general I just found it to be a little unbelievable that he would be as competent as his brother Winfield. So I’m moving him to the role of Quartermaster where his political connections and knowledge of the law and bookkeeping will come in handy.

Poor Mary’s Body
Poor Mary's body lies a-mouldering in the grave; (3X)
Her soul's marching on!
(Chorus)
Glory, glory, hallelujah! Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah! her soul's marching on!
She's gone to be a soldier in the army of the Lord! (3X)
Her soul's marching on!
(Chorus)
Poor Mary's baby is a crying for his mama! (3X)
Her soul's marching on!
(Chorus)
Her pet lambs will meet her on the way; (3X)
They go marching on!
(Chorus)
They will hang Masser Lee to a sour apple tree! (3X)
As they march along!
(Chorus)
Now, three rousing cheers for our state and liberty; (3X)
As we are marching on!

As hard as I looked I couldn’t find a picture of Sherrad Clemens so I really don’t know if he had a beard or not. But it is cool that Mark Twain’s cousin was involved in the movement to form the state of West Virginia.

I’m speeding up a bit the extension of Pennsylvania’s railroad net. I figure that the movement of troops for the Mormon War, Oregon Crisis and the War of the Two Commonwealths will prompt a bit of a rail building binge. This of course extends to areas outside of Pennsylvania especially as the transcontinental railroad is being worked on. Any railroad that links up to the trunks lines which in turn link into the transcontinental line will see increase in revenues. I plan to do a whole post soon on the expansion of the railroads in the four years from 1857 to 1861.

Here's a picture of the Connellsville Train Station circa 1860. The station is less busy with the Army having moved on towards the west. The warehouse next to the station was originally built to store military goods but soon became a general storage depot to assist in the construction of the new South Pennsylvania Railroad.

 

[Grimm Reaper]

I'll go into more details soon but very little of that proposed compromise would have had any chance of passing in 1860 and the last thing any southern state, least of all Virginia, would have wanted would have been a precedent for splitting a state as proposed for California, given the powerful pro-Union sentiment in so much of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia among other states.

 

[benjamin]

I'll go into more details soon but very little of that proposed compromise would have had any chance of passing in 1860 and the last thing any southern state, least of all Virginia, would have wanted would have been a precedent for splitting a state as proposed for California, given the powerful pro-Union sentiment in so much of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia among other states.

You're right. Very little of it progressed beyond the vote in Congress. It's essentially a more detailed version of OTL Crittenden Compromise and a return to the Compromise of 1820 regarding the split between free and slave territories. This is pretty much what some moderate Republicans and almost all northern Democrats were willing to agree to in OTL to bring the seceded states back into the Union even some months after the fighting started. Passage of the Corwin Amendment (OTL) attests to this. Of course the status of Kansas will remain a very sore issue.

As for splitting California and Texas, well the bill to divide California passed the state legislative bodies and was signed by the governor on April 18, 1859 (again OTL). The US Congress didn't follow up on it but ITTL they do given the desperate need to find a compromise to end sectional tensions. Google Andres Pico for more information.

Texas was almost split numerous times throughout its early history as a state. OTL saw a bill introduced to the Senate in 1860 but the worsening crisis ensured that it went no where. Here it is endorsed by Houston and thus allows Texas to split. While it is true that Virginia and a few other states with dissatisfied populations may balk at the idea of splitting apart a state I don't see them garnering enough support in the US Congress. Besides a state's government needs to agree to the split and the slave holding aristocracy that dominates VA has no reason to fear since they could squash any attempts at doing so. Also, by selling the Wheeling Spur they rid themselves of one of the hotbeds of western state level secession.

Thanks for the comment. Please comment further. I realize portions of this TL seem pretty implausible, but I am trying to base as much of it as possible on OTL historic events.

Benjamin

 

[Grimm Reaper]

Oh, I can easily see the South putting up what they know is a doomed compromise in hopes of making a case before history that they were the reasonable party given no choice but to secede but for that same reason they would try avoid parts of the compromise which might be seen even at the time as implausible.

There's also the question of whether a new state in southern California would even be viable as the population was extremely limited and would remain so until Hoover Dam transformed the electrical and especially water situation. It's not often realized that as late as the 1948 election California represented barely 3 million people.

 

[benjamin]

Oh, I can easily see the South putting up what they know is a doomed compromise in hopes of making a case before history that they were the reasonable party given no choice but to secede but for that same reason they would try avoid parts of the compromise which might be seen even at the time as implausible.

There's also the question of whether a new state in southern California would even be viable as the population was extremely limited and would remain so until Hoover Dam transformed the electrical and especially water situation. It's not often realized that as late as the 1948 election California represented barely 3 million people.

Exactly, its really an effort (albeit backhanded as I've read some fairly convincing arguments the many of the fire-eaters had secession followed by an independent slavocracy as their primary goal regardless of any national compromises) to gain the moral high ground. The vast majority of people in the North were Unionist long before they were abolitionists. ITTL this is changing a bit especially since William Lloyd Garrison's assassination. While it is true that he has become a martyr for the cause of abolition, his anti-Union rhetoric has been silenced and those hoping to use the Constitution and Federal government to end slavery have become the primary leaders within the abolition movement. Thus, Unionism and Gradual Emancipation are becoming closely tied ideas within the Republican Party.

The new state of Colorado includes the Baja Peninsula (taken by William Walker and then bought from cash strapped Mexican government) and has the newly Lake Cabazon. Cabazon was formed by diverting the Colorado River into the Salton sink and is quickly becoming a major cotton growing region.

Benjamin

 

[benjamin]

Maryland

Maryland

The War Between the Commonwealths began as a dispute between Virginia and Pennsylvania over the status of escaped and recaptured slaves. Even more it was the culmination of nearly three decades of slave and free state animosity. Going back even further one could see its origins in the 1780 law that began the process of gradual emancipation within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With the end of slavery in Pennsylvania that state became the southern most free state within the Union. Directly south of Pennsylvania lay the slave states of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. Delaware remained closely tied to the Pennsylvanian economy and over time slavery diminished to such a degree that by 1847 state emancipation nearly passed. Eleven years later when Governor Peter F. Causey championed compensated abolition he found the growing population of the more industrial northern counties receptive to the idea. In Maryland though the anti-slavery faction floundered despite the declining importance of slavery in the state. Within the state there existed a large and economically important population of free blacks. Initial attempts to enact re-enslavement and deportation laws failed despite strong anti-black rhetoric from the fire-eaters within the Maryland assembly.

Maryland’s struggle to come to grips with the slow and inexorable decline of slavery within its borders brought with it a large amount of social anxiety, soul searching and vile rhetoric. Many looked towards Delaware for inspiration and advanced gradual abolition as a solution. Others backed the efforts of conservative slaveholders such as Curtis Jacobs in their call for re-enslavement and expulsion. In between those two extremes there existed a majority of Marylanders who espoused the status quo. They realized the importance of the free blacks and fought against their expulsion while simultaneously feared their presence and had no wish to add to their numbers or given them civil rights. Most likely these moderates would have held sway for the foreseeable future but events unfolded that upset the balance. The Reading Massacre and Burning of Glen Rock shocked the people of Maryland. For those living in the state’s northern counties sympathy for the citizens of Glen Rock was wide spread. Wagons and trains crossed the Mason-Dixon Line daily and the people who lived along its path were inexorably connected by both economic and family ties. Further south within Maryland’s bayside counties, where slavery remained extremely profitable, the reaction took a different course. Reactionaries in south Maryland reconvened their November 3-4, 1858 Convention of Slaveholders of the Eastern Shore of Maryland in early February and within a few hours they had issued a declaration of support towards the Lee family and Governor Wise.

Once again it may have ended there but events transpired to force the people of Maryland to take sides. In Baltimore where both abolitionist and pro-slavery sentiment ran high all that was needed was a spark. That spark came on March 24th when a young black man was found having an intimate moment with a young white woman in the back portion of a local harbor front bar. This bar had long been a sort of neutral territory for the numerous black, immigrant and nativist dockhands and sailors but heightened racial tensions caused an argument over the affections of a pretty girl to boil into a riot. Initially the fighting began as a brawl between blacks and Irish but soon expanded into a city wide conflict. Nativist gangs such as the Rip Raps, Plug Uglies and Blood Tubs soon found excuses to settle old scores with rival Irish gangs and the gang like rowdies of the New Market Fire Company. Within days much of the city was aflame and over 55 people were dead. As the fighting between white gangs died down many then turned their attention back towards the blacks and their abolitionist supporters. Thousands of young white males prowled the streets of Baltimore looking for black victims. The Irish and the nativists recognized an uneasy truce as they lynched and raped their way through the black population of Baltimore.

Prominent abolitionists, Republicans and reformers also faced the mob’s wrath. The houses of suspected abolitionists and Republicans were often looted and then set ablaze. Thousands fled north to the relative safety of eastern Pennsylvania.

By mid-April the situation had deteriorated to such a point that President Buchanan agreed to send two regiments of Army regulars and several companies of Marines to the beleaguered city. Unfortunately, this was not to be and instead twelve companies of volunteer militia from a hand full of Southern states as well as New York and New Jersey were sent instead. Hand picked by Democratic loyalists these troops clashed almost immediately with the Know-Nothing members of the American Party that controlled both the Maryland and Baltimore governments. Rioting resumed in some portions of the city as the largely Irish militia members from New York and New Jersey assisted their Democrats in attacking the nativist gangs. Though, never to the scale of the initial riots a further 30 people would be killed in fighting during the next month and a half. By the end of May order had been returned to the city. Exhaustion coupled with a sense of shock brought calm to the ravaged city. On May 23, 1859 Gov. Thomas Hicks was forced to resign, and he was quickly replaced by Democrat John Charles Groome. President Buchanan’s role in this change of government was widely known and added to the growing list of complaints his opponents put forth.

The new governor quickly moved to improve relations between the large immigrant community within the state and those supporting the various nativist groups. To this end he continued Hicks policy of attacking abolitionism and praising slavery. He supported a modified re-enslavement bill, which was passed in July, that made re-enslavement and deportation a county’s choice while holding “dark counties” financially liable for any escaped slave found within their boundaries. Groome also used his power to replace Mayor Swann of Baltimore by declaring martial law in the city and having Swann held with out charge for 87 days until he agreed to “resign due to declining health.” Swann was quickly replaced by ex-Mayor, and staunch Democrat, Enoch Louis Brown. Groome quickly placed George P. Kane at the head of a hastily reformed Baltimore City Police department and began the long process of bringing civil order back to the city.

Further west Groome, like Hicks, turned a blind eye towards the growing numbers of Virginian soldiers moving north through Maryland. When angry citizens in Taneytown accused several Virginians of stealing Groome initially sided with his angry constituents. This attitude would change after his meeting with Gov. Wise on July 20th. Wise promised that Maryland would receive a substantial portion of the money acquired from Pennsylvania and warned Groome that unless Virginia was given a free hand to “make Pennsylvania and her abolitionist allies squeal,” Maryland would follow Delaware down the road towards emancipation and nigger equality. Had things been different Groome may have ignored these warnings as fire-eater fear mongering, but events in Delaware and Pennsylvania had put the entire Mid-Atlantic region on edge. Unrest in the western counties of Virginia convinced the Maryland governor that further violence was a distinct possibility in his own state. In an effort to preempt possible violence Gov. Groome extended the martial proclamation to encompass all Maryland counties that bordered Pennsylvania. To enforce this proclamation Groome moved the majority of Maryland’s militia to positions along the Mason-Dixon Line.

An uneasy peace hung over the state throughout the remainder of the summer through the fall and into earliest days of winter. Maryland was largely unaffected by the bloody Peninsular Campaign that saw heavy fighting in Virginia’s Accomac and Northampton counties, despite the hundreds of Marylanders who volunteered to fight against the invading Pennsylvanians. Ironically, these Marylanders often saw conflict against the many residents of Accomac County who opposed Governor Wise’s policies. The counties of the Eastern Shore not only sent volunteers to fight in Virginia, but they also raised a militia tasked with enforcing the new Negro Expulsion Act. There was little resistance to the Act and by the end of 1859 nearly one third of all free blacks had been expelled from the counties that bordered the Chesapeake Bay. This sudden loss of cheap labor caused incredible economic hardship throughout Maryland that was further blamed on blacks and Catholic immigrants. As Maryland’s economy went into freefall thousands of whites joined the fleeing abolitionists and expelled blacks in their movement northward. In Baltimore and other towns suffering from the “Long Run North” governor Groome organized a system of land “reclamation.” By 1860 this had turned into a politically motivated way of punishing those disloyal to the Democrats that held control of the state.

In the western counties the political dynamic was a bit different. Ties to Pennsylvania outweighed the links to Annapolis. Many of the people had grown tired of being dominated by the planter class of eastern Maryland. They had no real love for the abolitionists but neither were they supportive of re-enslavement, expulsion or Virginia’s conflict with Pennsylvania. These points they made abundantly clear in the raucous debates that dominated the Maryland assembly. They introduced bills calling the governor to block the passage of Virginian troops through Maryland, by force if necessary and one member even proposed a system of toll roads that would apply only to men from Virginia. By late July of 1859 Governor Groome and his supporters had tired of this constant interference and badgering. Seeing that the threat of violence in Annapolis had faded and that rioting in Baltimore had been contained, Groome felt confident enough to send the entire First Light Division of Maryland Volunteers westward. Led by pro-slavery and loyal Democrat, General George H. Steuart, who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Maryland Volunteers these men proceeded to secure a line of towns through Maryland.

This “Slaver’s Trail” ran from Berlin and Weverton, Maryland northward through Petersville, Jefferson, Frederick City, Woodsborough, Bruceville and Taneytown, Maryland. From Maryland it went north into Pennsylvania and some Maryland militia units were used to occupy Littlestown, Pennsylvania from early October until the following October when the initial conflict came to an end. As per Steuart’s request Governor Groome supported a law making it illegal to interfere in “Virginia’s rightful effort to collect, capture and return fugitive slaves residing in Pennsylvania.” Over the next year nearly 65,000 Virginian soldiers would march along this series of roads (or upon completion of the Cotoctin Mountain and Valley Railroad, which ran from Hagerstown to Frederick City and from Frederick City to Littlestown, PA with a spur from Frederick City to Weverton, they road the rails) and out of Pennsylvania went nearly 6,000 captured blacks claimed as escaped slaves or fugitives from the law. This coupled with the continuation of martial law throughout the border counties greatly angered the populace. Over time many people in northern Maryland would find common cause with likeminded people in western Virginia. Resistance to Democratic rule and the so called Slave Power began slowly in northern Maryland but would play a critical part in the upcoming War of Southern Rebellion.

Benjamin

NOTES: Not much in the way of notes...any comments or questions would be appreciated.

 

[benjamin]

Upon the Cast (September 20, 1859)

Lord Lyons had not spoken to Colonel Gordon for nearly two full days. Gordon knew the man was furious at him. The Duel had already reached legendary proportions throughout the East coast, and he was sure that with the completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph just a day prior the news was now spreading throughout California. Gordon cursed himself yet again as he entered the brownstone building that served as Britain’s embassy in Washington City. The previous two days had been nice and cool but the mugginess so common in the American capital seemed to be returning once again.

Perhaps it is just my nerves. Gordon thought as he walked down the hall towards Lyons’ office. He watched as an older man left the office he was headed towards. His jowls shook as he walked and the large dark bags under his eyes made the man look unhealthily tired. Gordon recognized the American Secretary of State Cass and gave the man a brief nod in acknowledgement. Cass returned the nod but looked to be in some sort of daze.

Lyons’ secretary greeted him as he neared the door. The man looked as though he had gone several nights without sleep. His small frame did little to fill up the clothing that hung over his body and his wire rimmed glasses sat far down his nose. Gordon knew the man, newly arrived from England just a month ago, was not yet out of his twenties but already he seemed to be suffering just as much as those around him. Gordon didn’t like how the man seemed to constantly twitch and fidget but he seemed competent enough at his job.

“Lord Lyons is in an important meeting right now, Colonel.” The man said nervously.

“I received a notice that I was to meet with him promptly at 8:30 AM. I am already several minutes late, and I have no wish to further antagonize Lord Lyons.” Gordon replied anxiously.

“Oh, no greater truth has been spoken.” The man whose name, Charles Bowen, Gordon just now remembered said with a sly smile. Previously, Gordon had thought the man was having fun at his expense, but having secretly overheard the man speak on his behalf just the day before put Gordon at ease. Gordon could only nod in agreement and let the man continue. “He we see you shortly. And just as a warning, Colonel, the man has heard mixed news today and could be in any sort of mood.”

“Thank you, Bowen.” Gordon said as he took a seat in the hallway. He wondered who else could possibly be in that office since he knew all of Lyons’ previous meetings with Cass had been extremely secretive. As he sat he replayed the duel in his mind once again and once again he came to the conclusion that in the end he had done what honor had required of him. It would be nearly a full hour before the door to Lyons’ office swung open once again. Gordon was surprised to see Lord Lyons come out with a broad smile on his face and even more surprisingly just a moment later a tall man emerged from the office holding a stovepipe hat under his left arm. Gordon practically jumped to his feet.

“Senator Lincoln.” Gordon said as he out stretched his hand.

Lincoln’s eyes lit up upon seeing Colonel Gordon and the tall man allowed himself a toothy smile. He took Gordon’s hand and gave it a strong but friendly handshake.

“Colonel Gordon, I am truly pleased to see you once again.” Lincoln began. “I just got done informing the good Lord Lyons that I am now and always will be in your debt. Unfortunately, Congressman Keitt has passed away and there will be, no doubt in my mind, an outcry of anger from the Slave South. Already a warrant for your arrest has been issued. It seems you flagrantly broke the ordinance banning dueling in Washington City.”

“It is more than that.” Lyons interjected. “As Cass informed us you are now to be charged with murder. I have already refused to hand you over to Federal Marshals but the pressure will increase. Of course other problems and issues have arisen. It seems that the newly completed transcontinental telegraph has given us a rather distressing bit of news.”

Lyons handed a Gordon a small hand written telegraph message.

FROM COM HARCOURT-VERNON OF HMS SURPRISE: MAJOR CYCLON 11SEPT AT HUMBOLDT BAY. SQUADRON DESTROYED. THOUSANDS LOST. ADM AND COMMANDING GEN DEAD. THOUSANDS CAPTURED AND HUNDREDS MISSING. US FORCE ENROUTE TO PUGET SOUND. NO FURTHER UK FORCES AVAIL. DEFEAT POSSIBLE.

Gordon felt the strength ebb out of his body. This could be disastrous for British control of New Caledonia.

“I have word that the good citizens of Humboldt Bay risked there own lives to save hundreds of British soldiers and sailors. These survivors are being detained but treated well.” Lyons added after a moment. “So long as there are no massacres or executions we may be able to make something from this disaster. Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Cass and I are of the same mind. War would be a disaster for both Britain and America. Only France and her allies stand to gain from such an affair.”

“Unfortunately, Mr. Buchanan has refused my request for a private talk. He instead asked for a larger meeting to include Breckenridge, Davis and Cass, and while Cass’ presence would cause me no undo concern, Breckenridge and Davis’ presence would defeat my purposes.” Lincoln said. “Buchanan has been given information pertaining to the recently discovered passage of firearms to India, but he thus far has said nothing. He has had ample time to do so. Congress has agreed to stay in session until the end of September. I fear he chooses to ignore once again the improprieties of those few seeking to bring us into war.

“Cass informs me that Buchanan now believes that only a foreign war will save the Union and prevent its dissolution. He has called for a joint session of Congress this Friday. It is almost certain that he will ask for an official declaration of war at that time. It seems he plans to follow this with a renewed attempt at creating some form of national compromise. Buchanan has once again thrown his support behind an extension of the Missouri Compromise; just as he did following the Mexican Cession.”

“President Buchanan is a man caught in a trap of his own making.” Gordon said.

“As are our two great nations.” Lyons added. “But this is a trap that could be our ruin. William Fenwick Williams has army of over 25,000 that has already begun its advance into New York and Vermont. A further force of nearly 12,000 is heading to capture Portland. We are stripping all of are most seasoned regiments from Britain to fight in America and secure India. France knows this. Napoleon sits waiting to pounce. I am certain he plans on declaring war on Britain as soon as we are fully engaged in America. And now I have received this.”

Lyons led the men into his office and shut the door behind them. He walked over to his desk and picked up another telegraph. He held it in his hand for a moment as if unsure whether to allow Gordon and Lincoln to see the dispatch. In the end he shrugged his shoulders and handed the paper to Lincoln. The Senator held the paper out in such a way so that Gordon could also read it clearly.

FROM PRINCE CONSORT ALBERT: PARLIAMENT VOTED, WAR DECLARED. QUEEN DISPLEASED BUT WILL LEAD NATION. ABOUT 8 DAYS BEFORE DECLARATION REACHES WASHINGTON. NO WAR MESSAGE OVER TELEGRAPH. TIME SHORT. FIND HONORABLE COMPROMISE. WE PRAY FOR PEACE.

“I received this last night and have been lucky enough to keep it secret. We have eight days. But I have received notice from Cass that my diplomatic papers are to be turned in on Friday, and I have until Monday to leave the United States.” Lyons said in a melancholy tone as he looked out of the window towards Pennsylvania Avenue.

Senator Lincoln was once again seated in one of the two armchairs facing Lyons’ large oak desk. Gordon on the other hand paced the floor wondering what was to become of him. Finally Lyons turned away from the window and looked back at his two guests.

“Mr. Cass spoke to me some time ago. He outlined a possible compromise but admitted he did not have the support of President Buchanan. I was reluctant to pursue the matter any further as it had not come to me through the proper channels. Also, reopening the Columbia / New Caledonia Territories to joint occupation seemed too steep of concession and a blow to British honor. Now we will lose that land at the cost of a humiliating military defeat. He did not mention that compromise to me today.”
Lincoln nodded.

“Perhaps my presence made him reluctant to speak out of turn.” Lincoln noted. “I could have fellow Senators from Michigan approach him in private. If they can convince him to put this compromise down on paper you could review its merits once again.”

“Perhaps. Unfortunately, time is short.” As Lyons said this, Bowen knocked on the door and then peaked his head into the room.

“Excuse me Sir, but I have the mourning’s paper.” Not waiting for a response Bowen handed the folded broadsheets to Colonel Gordon. Gordon immediately handed the paper over to Lyons and Bowen ducked back out of the room.

Lyons quickly unfolded the paper and sunk down into his chair. “Damn, time is has run out.”

Lyons handed the paper to Lincoln so that he good get a good view of the front page. BRITISH INVADE! PLATTSBURGH CAPTURED! IT WILL BE WAR!! Lincoln took a few minutes to scan the article further.

“There are no mentions of casualties. It would appear that General Williams advanced down Lake Champlain making only minimal use of the railroads.” Lincoln said. “If casualties and property damage are minimal than we still have a chance.”

With that being said Lincoln bolted upright bade the two men good-bye and hurried out of the building. Gordon and Lyons said nothing to each other for several minutes. Finally Lyons spoke.

“Senator Lincoln spoke on your behalf. That issue is done, but you are no further use to me here in Washington. Captain Arthur Fremantle of the Cold Stream Guards will take your place as my military attache. You, Colonel, are to go to Harrisburg. If Lincoln is correct and war may still be avoided I would have you somewhere useful. But remember war is likely to begin in eight days time...or less.” Lyons said as he began to gather up the papers that covered his desk.

“If General Williams is already advancing slowly down Lake Champlain and another force is soon to arrive off the coast of Maine what hope do we have of averting war?” Gordon asked gloomily. “Defeats in the west will only harden Parliament against the United States while any victories of ours here in the East will surely anger the Americans.”

“Of, course. But you and I both know the Northern states are against this war to a degree not seen since the affair of 1812. Half of British North America too seethes with anger at the thought of war. Trade has become so lucrative for the merchants in Montreal within the last year that they are furious over the recent embargo. Exports to the US had risen by nearly 50% while imports from America had increased by about 30%. Many people from lumberjacks to expert craftsmen are or were benefiting greatly and now their lively hood is threatened. Added to that, McDonald’s ‘Double Shuffle‘ has greatly angered the Reform Party and the Clear Grits. These reformists are coming to together as a cohesive force under the new Liberal Party. Tensions with the United States and the growing reform movement within that nation work to increase anxiety in our North American colonies. The recent brawls in Quebec, Montreal and Toronto are just a taste of what’s to come I’m afraid.” Lyons once again paused to look out the window and the bustling streets of Washington City. “We sit a precipice here Colonel. As much as those big bugs hate to admit our nation’s fate is tied to the fate of these United States.”

Gordon smiled at Lyons’ use of an odd bit of American slang, though in his mind’s eye he found it easy to picture the members of Parliament as large chittering insects. “So what would you have me do Sir? I’m a soldier and a loyal subject. If war comes I will fight for the Queen and our nation’s honor.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Lyons snapped in a somewhat insulted tone. “Go to Harrisburg and talk to people. Get a gauge of their attitudes. Promote Britain’s cause and let them know we too hope for peace. Give a sympathetic ear to those who would work towards peace or if war comes those who would work against their government. Make friends. Call in favors and ferment dissent. The unrest in Canada may be our Achille’s heel, but the same can be said of America. Do what you can to make good on this. But remember if war comes you will be no more than a spy or a fugitive so be sure to have a route north to Canada prepared.

“It would be so much easier if you had not shot that man Keitt. I know the circumstances and such but the South would be so much more receptive to your charms if it had not been for that damn duel.”

“I would not go forth amongst those people for anything. And I would not have the honor of my name, my Queen and my country sullied by an unholy alliance with slavers. Would you have us ‘giveth our Empire, up to a whore?’” Gordon hissed as he was now the one to be insulted.

“Of course not.” Lyons replied quickly. “I meant no offense Colonel Gordon. Allying with slave holders would be stain on all men of Britain. But Canada’s militia is yet still in a terrible state, Napoleon continues to threaten his own war while advancing through the Italian states, India still festers with rebellion and China is in complete chaos. Britain’s Army can not be everywhere at all times. We need whatever advantage we can get.”

“Is that the argument you will make to the Queen and Parliament?” Gordon asked. “Will you advise them that we make use of every dirty trick possible against the one nation with which a true and lasting peace may be both possible and extremely beneficial?”

“Peace is not likely, Colonel.” Lyons answered. “I fear I am too much a realist. We must do that which we can for victory and honor, but in the end...’I have set my life upon a cast, and I will stand the hazard of the die.’”

Benjamin

NOTES: This is sort of a test post. I just switched from a PC laptop to a MacBook Pro so I have to relearn MAC after ~15 years of not using one. So far so good.

 

[benjamin]

This is just a slight bump. I have a new update almost ready and I'm fooling around with my new laptop to figure out the best way to manipulate maps. I'm hoping to map out a few of the up coming battles. Either way I'll probably get a post up by end of day tomorrow.

Thanks
Benjamin