From Bad to Better: A Confederate TL

Not Henry G.

Welcome to my second TL!
Since I'm stuck in my Mexico TL and need to do a bit more research, I decided to do my own CSA TL in the meantime. I had this planned for a while, but I was inspired to actually write it down by herrick's own TL.
Without further ado, here's my TL. As always, comments, criticisms or suggestions are welcome.


From Bad to Better: A Confederate TL​


Part 1: Double Tragedy​


The Confederate States of America was officially born in February 8, 1861, uniting six of the seven seceded states into a nation of their own. Over the next three months five more states (Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee) would join them.
Almost as soon as the nation started, however, tragedy struck. On March 17, on his way to Savannah, Georgia, to deliver a speech, Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens suffered a grave accident when riding his carriage [1] [2]. Though he would survive, he was gravely injured and would be out of action for a while.
The one who would not be so lucky would be Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. A few days after the Battle of Fort Sumter, which officially began the War of Confederate Independence, Davis fell down the stairs of the original Confederate White House in Montgomery, Alabama, breaking his neck and dying [2]. Within a month, the new nation had lost its leaders.
The Confederate Congress quickly met to select the new president of the nation. After two weeks of debate, mostly on whether they should follow the Presidential Succession Act of 1792 before deciding to follow their own path, they made their choice.
On May 2, 1861, Robert Toombs became the second President of the Confederate States of America [4].




[1] His death means no Cornerstone Speech
[2] Death by carriage is always a popular way to kill off characters.
[3] So is falling down the stairs :D
[4] The big change in my TL. OTL he was the second option for President but was beaten by Davis.
 

Not Henry G.

rjd1997 said:
First reply! :p

I'll be watching this, Confederate TLs are nice. :D
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Thanks! I think I have a few ideas to make this TL different enough from the others around

Lalli said:
Sounds intresting despite that victorious CSA is pretty implausible.
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"Alternate history is about what's possible, not about what's likely", to paraphrase Roger Ransom. The South winning is a long, long shot, of course, but it's not impossible.
 

RyuDrago

I always thought Davis was quite the ieratic type, a death like that one TTL doesn't seem fitting for him. I felt sorry for him somewhat. :(

Said that, please proceed. :cool:
 

Not Henry G.

RyuDrago said:
I always thought Davis was quite the ieratic type, a death like that one TTL doesn't seem fitting for him. I felt sorry for him somewhat. :(

Said that, please proceed. :cool:
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The original draft had Toombs elected, while Davis died in a blaze of glory as a Confederate general. It kind of messed up what I had planned so I had to change it. If I can come up with a better way for him to die I'll retcon it.
 

Darth_Kiryan

RyuDrago said:
I always thought Davis was quite the ieratic type, a death like that one TTL doesn't seem fitting for him. I felt sorry for him somewhat. :(

Said that, please proceed. :cool:
Click to expand...

Not Henry G. said:
The original draft had Toombs elected, while Davis died in a blaze of glory as a Confederate general. It kind of messed up what I had planned so I had to change it. If I can come up with a better way for him to die I'll retcon it.
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Pretty sure that Toombs is far more erratic that Davis, mostly on account of his drinking. Which is why they didn't pick Toombs in the first place.

Of course, Davis is, and was, the only person whom they could actually choose.
 

Not Henry G.

Darth_Kiryan said:
Pretty sure that Toombs is far more erratic that Davis, mostly on account of his drinking. Which is why they didn't pick Toombs in the first place.

Of course, Davis is, and was, the only person whom they could actually choose.
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Yeah, that's also why I went with the "cursed stairs" approach instead. I was planning on having Toombs elected till I read he was a heavy drinker. From what I read about him, though, he was more reasonable and willing to compromise.
 

Darth_Kiryan

Lost Freeway said:
Simply getting rid of Stevens won't make the CSA magically abandon slavery.
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Putting in toombs is not going to get rid of slavery. He said "“We want no negro equality, no negro citizenship; we want no negro race to degrade our own;..." (quoting from wikipedia profile)
 

Not Henry G.

Part 2: Unpopularity


On July 15, two months after President Toombs was elected, the first battle of the War of Confederate Independence took place. Lincoln, believing the newborn nation to be weakened by the loss of its leaders, ordered Irving McDowell's green Army of Northeastern Virginia to quickly attack the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia [1].
The equally inexperienced Army of the Potomac, led by P.G.T. Bouregard, met the Union army near the city of Manassas. After several hours of combat where the advantage changed hands several times, the battle ended with over 6,000 casualties and a total Union rout; the Confederates, just as disorganized as the fleeing Union troops, were unable to follow [2].
The battle was a wake up call for both nations, as it made them realize the war would be a long and bloody conflict.
This prompted President Toombs, a month after the battle, to issue several orders that would make him a very unpopular man. Following the sensible advice of Attorney General Judah P. Benjamin, Toombs ordered plantation owners to sell as much of their cotton abroad as possible in order to purchase supplies for the upcoming campaigns [3].
To combat the growing Union blockade on Confederate ports, Toombs introduced a bill to increase the number of ships the nation had, allowing soldiers with shipwright jobs to return home and contribute that way.
A third proposal was rejected, as many in Congress believed it to be too pessimistic; a “Cash for Crops” idea to convince plantation owners to switch to growing grain and other edibles.
These proposals created a backlash against the new President, as they ran against the growing “King Cotton” ideology that if hey withheld their crops both France and Great Britain would be forced to break the Union blockade to feed their factories [4].
Toombs, however, stood firm on his decisions, and in the following years would prove to be correct.




[1] OTL Davis moved to Richmond in May, so no point in changing the capital.
[2] Same as OTL, but more casualties due to it being even more rushed.
[3] Benjamin suggested that OTL, but was rejected for [4].
[4] They honestly believed that, and it cost them a lot.
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alexcoppo

Great idea. At least Toombs will stop Lee idiotic invasion plans.

An interesting variation of this timeline would be to have the initial stair fallings happen before Fort Sumnter. Toombs will stop the attack and without it Lincoln hands are tied.
 

Not Henry G.

alexcoppo said:
Great idea. At least Toombs will stop Lee idiotic invasion plans.

An interesting variation of this timeline would be to have the initial stair fallings happen before Fort Sumnter. Toombs will stop the attack and without it Lincoln hands are tied.
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Thanks.
Having him take over before Sumter crossed my mind, but TTL the attack leads to some cool butterflies with a President Toombs in charge
 

Darth_Kiryan

alexcoppo said:
Great idea. At least Toombs will stop Lee idiotic invasion plans.

An interesting variation of this timeline would be to have the initial stair fallings happen before Fort Sumnter. Toombs will stop the attack and without it Lincoln hands are tied.
Click to expand...

Not Henry G. said:
Thanks.
Having him take over before Sumter crossed my mind, but TTL the attack leads to some cool butterflies with a President Toombs in charge
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Itchy trigger fingers is not going to stop an explosion. Toombs is not going to stop the war from happening, confederate first or union first.
 

Not Henry G.

Part 3: Preparations


The rest of 1861 was spent by both nations getting ready for the next year's coming battles.
In the Union President Lincoln put George B. McClellan, one of the few generals with successes so far, in charge of the new Army of the Potomac. He would prove to be the right choice, at least at first, as he was able to turn the group of green troops that fought in Manassas into a real army by the time the next campaign would take place [1].
In the West the similarly gifted Henry Halleck would be put in charge of the Department of the Missouri, where he would also spend the reminder of the year sorting out the chaos and preparing for the next year's fighting, including an offensive against Fort Henry led by Ulysses S. Grant [2].

Unlike the Union's slower preparations, in the South there was a blur of activity. President Toombs's decision to sell as much cotton as possible was paying dividends, as shiploads of supplies arrived through the still-weak Union blockade. These were quickly sent to the Confederate Army of the Potomac and the armies of the West, leading to an increase of morale thanks to the quality French and British weapons [3].
Several commanders were promoted to full generals before the end of the year: PGT Bouregard the hero of Manassas, Joseph E. Johnson, whose critical service in the battle was not appreciated until years later, and Alfred Sidney Johnson due to his extensive military experience going back to the Republic of Texas. Robert E. Lee, though nominated, was not promoted due to his record in West Virginia [4]. He was appointed, however, as his military adviser in order to create an effective plan for the conflict.
Both sides then waited for the war to begin in earnest. On February 6, 1862, it did.




[1] [2]Same as OTL for now. Butterflies haven't begun flapping their wings too much yet.
[3] Now the butterflies start.
[4] Because it's a different leader, Lee stays a Colonel for a bit longer.
 
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