Lincoln Goes Napoleanic

Been lurking this outstanding board for years and have decided to finally throw my hat into the ring. The POD for this takes place on Friday, April 14 1865. Lets assume that instead of going to Ford's Theater and getting shot, Abraham Lincoln decides to stay at the White House and spend a quiet night with his lovely wife Mary Todd. Mary is in a bad mood so Lincoln sits alone by the fire reading the White House copy of the Monroe Doctrine. He decides on this night to take the Doctrine literally and that now is probably the best time to once and for all remove the European powers from the Western Hemisphere, or at least North America.

The next day Lincoln meets with Secretary of State Seward (already a staunch annexationist), Secretary of War Stanton and General Grant explaining to them his thoughts and plans. They all realize that the Union currently has over a million men under arms, and sweeping the English out of British North America (Canada) and the French out of Mexico should be relatively simple affair. After all, the Union had already almost gone to war against England over the Trent Affair, and the English had responded by sending 30,000 (IIRC) troops, minus artillery, to Canada. In OTL Seward was all for annexation of Canada for most of his professional life, so right away he is convinced.

So where do they go from here. Lets assume that war with England, and thus France, are a given and take it from there. Some immediate problems exist, not the least of which is selling this on an already war-weary American public (Draft riots in NY for example). Most Americans assumed it was natural that Canada would eventually join the US, so the annexation part is an easy sell. War with England and France might not be.

Also, Union troops are stationed throughout the South to begin Reconstruction. So does the Union fight a two-front war, sending a force to Mexico as well as Canada? What about a major naval buildup of ironclads to keep the Royal Navy away from the American coast?

Any thoughts or comments? My hope is to take this into a major land and naval war with England and France.

Disclaimer: In no way do I want this to take the course of Stars and Stripes by Harrison.

Maybe a new post-CW conflict against Britain and France could be a vehicle to build American nationalism in order to reunify the country and the races (have ex-Confederates and their freed slave neighbours recognise that they're now in it together, and they have to work together and put potential post-slavery animosities behind them) with a common cause against a new external enemy (much like the SAW was in 1898). I think in this scenario, a 2-front war is inevitable, and the Union's likelihood of success, with still such a large, well-equipped, veteran army which hasn't yet been demobilised, is considerable, although 1 must still account for possible war weariness.

War weariness would be an issue...

You are right, war weariness would be a major issue, but I can see Lincoln possibly offering amnesty to any Confederate soldier willing to volunteer for the Regular Army. Not sure if Congress would go along with allowing Southern officers to serve in an expanded conflict however. Maybe if the war with England and France takes a turn for the worse or continues for a number of years it could happen.

I would imagine that Britain and France would turn around and make the former Conferate soldiers even more money and arms to rebel against Lincoln the war-monger.

I think the adminstartion might suggest to Lincoln to wait maybe a year or two.

Rough expansion plan

With the war over, but Lincon and the administration going expansionistic (unlikely, IMHO) something could be arranged.
Step one is a mild reconstruction, to last only a year or so. Perhaps a few radical Republicans could be brought on board by the prospect of new lands in the north.
Step 2--each soldier that is demobilized is offered a monthly stipend to reamin a reserve
Step 3--Play up the close call with war with Britain, how they were ready to stab the USA in the back. Use this to get money for a better coast defence navy, new weapons--and coastal fortresses. Make sure that the railroads are ready to move troops. Keep the men that built railroads so rapidly in the war available for the puch into Canada.
Step 4--really develop the new weapons from the war--Gatling guns, observation balloons.

Now, when it's time for war, you've got a veteran reserve, some of the South back on board, and are ready for war production. Fortuneately, the USA does not import any war-critical resources--a good thing since the sea lanes will be shut down by the enemy.
Lee did apply for personal amnesty after the war--under a mild reconstruction, he might just take service with the US again to set an example.

Note--this is a severe misreading of the Monroe Doctrine--it prohibited expansion of existing colonies, not the retention of new ones. France in Mexico was in violation of the Monroe Doctrine, Britian was not.

Just a few rough thoughts on one possible way to do this.

I find it hard to imagine Lincoln taking on both Britain and France so cavalierly. To be sure, the US might have the most powerful army on the planet at the moment, but the UK still rules the waves. The military power of both is considerable, and I don't see Lincoln just casually going into such a war....

NHBL - You are correct about the Monroe Doctrine. My thought was Lincoln would use the British movement of troops into Canada as an excuse, so to speak.

As far as getting volunteers to fight the English in Canada, the Union would have an abundance of Irish volunteers willing to continue the fight (remember the Fenians). I would also say a large portion of the 180,000+ Colored Troops would not mind staying in to get a steady paycheck and to serve under Lincoln.

Lee getting amnesty is intriguing. Like you said he would go a long way towards setting an example for the rest of the South. How would you use him.

I am working on the Strategic Planning of the US and will post it a bit later.

David Howery said:

I find it hard to imagine Lincoln taking on both Britain and France so cavalierly. To be sure, the US might have the most powerful army on the planet at the moment, but the UK still rules the waves. The military power of both is considerable, and I don't see Lincoln just casually going into such a war....

Click to expand...

David - I must admit I agree as Reconstruction was the absolute focus of the Republicans. However in OTL after the Trent Affair Lincoln was quoted as saying quote One War at a Time unquote. And at times war did seem inevitable.

Lincoln may not have chosen to take on France as well, but Napoleon III would have followed the lead of England, thus war against one would be a war against both.

Interestingly, I may reverse my previous scepticism that the Union could and would have chased the French out of Mexico...but only if there are certain answers to two questions

1. Who is Sheridan, what is his force, and what is his remit ?

2. Did Schofield really go on a secret mission to Napoleon III and pass on the message that France was to leave Mexico, or is this somewhere between a rumour and a patriotic legend ?

Grey Wolf

Bloody board crashed my bloody post again !

Brittania rules the waves

I think any war against Britain and France in the late 1860s would be very similar to the war of 1812. The defense of Canada would be left in the hands of the Canadians themselves and what ever British troops were already there. For the British themselves it would be a war waged at sea. Attacks on US trade, raids along the coast against economic targets and the like. There is no way that the British would try to match the US army on land unless the US tried to invade the UK. I feel fairly certain that the British would concede the loss of Canada but they would probably try to hold onto Anticosti and Newfoundland. A war like this could go on for several years and it is likely that a peace treaty would have to wait untill U.S.Grant had been president for a year or two.

The United States would probably find allies with Prussia and Russia in this conflict. Russia would be eager to get back and Britain and France for the loss of the Crimean War. Bismarck just may see this as his opportunity to unify Germany under the Prussian banner and at the same time, neutralize the effect of Britain and France on continental affairs by seeking an alliance with the United States.

Of course, this is assuming Lincoln is willing to start a global conflict...

I would vote no. Lincoln may just go after France exclusively to kick them out of Mexico. Whether or not Prussia would take the opportunity to go to war with France to unify Germany is up to a flip of the coin.

Consequences

Ace Venom said:

The United States would probably find allies with Prussia and Russia in this conflict. Russia would be eager to get back and Britain and France for the loss of the Crimean War. Bismarck just may see this as his opportunity to unify Germany under the Prussian banner and at the same time, neutralize the effect of Britain and France on continental affairs by seeking an alliance with the United States.

Of course, this is assuming Lincoln is willing to start a global conflict...

I would vote no. Lincoln may just go after France exclusively to kick them out of Mexico. Whether or not Prussia would take the opportunity to go to war with France to unify Germany is up to a flip of the coin.

Click to expand...

Of course, if Lincon decides to try and force France out of Mexico, he might get a global war weather he wants one or not. England warns the USA to back off--or just jumps into the war. At that point, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Russia and Prussia see that there is no better time to start a new war with France and Britain, and World War I kicks off almost a half-century early.
If they don't jump in on their own, the US would be well advised to get some help if it can.
On the other hand, what results on world history if the US manages to thoroughly defeat the Anglo-Franch alliance on its own? Difficult, but possible IMHO. Britain and France have long supply lines, the USA has a fantastic army with new technology coming into play (gatling guns) and is the only nation with experiance in a railroad-mobile war. Yankee commerce raiders will exist in far larger numbers than Confederate ones did, too. A British blockade will be possible, but expensive to keep up in both money and ships--even monitors will be enough to sink wooden blockaders. In addition, the USA is not militarily dependent on imports, and Britain is...
In addition, the Anglo-French allinace has to be concerned about Russia and Prussia, even if they simply sit on the sidelines. The US has no other enemies to worry about. The US may be able to force European powers out of anywhere it can reach by rail.
Weather or not other nations come in, an American victory forces the US onto the world stage, and makes it, like it or not, the number one world power within a few years.