America: A TL Retold

Making my first America TL was one of the funnest things I've done on here and was glad that many of yall liked it. Here lately I've been thinking of a new idea to take America and finally decided to write a TL on it. To all the read this I hope you enjoy it and as always I would really appreciate yalls input on the posts. Here it goes.




The Drop of a Pebble in an Ocean

George Washington, a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and president of the Constitutional Convention became the first President of the United States under the new Constitution in 1789. For his Vice President the position was given to John Adams in the winter of 1791 however Adams would suffer a fall breaking his leg which would become infected with gangrene. Though the leg would be amputated it was too late and Vice President Adams would die on January 31,1792. The remainder of Washington's first term in office continued without a Vice President. Upon starting his second term on March 4,1793 however a new Vice President was selected with President Washington persuading Major General John Stark to become the new Vice President.

The major accomplishments of the Washington Administration were creating a strong national government that was recognized without question by all Americans. His government, following the vigorous leadership of Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, assumed the debts of the states (the debt holders received federal bonds), created the Bank of the United States to stabilize the financial system, and set up a uniform system of tariffs (taxes on imports) and other taxes to pay off the debt and provide a financial infrastructure. To support his programs Hamilton created a new political party, the first in the world based on voters, the Federalist Party. Despite the accomplishments however the Washington Administration would cut short however and end in tragedy. In November 1795 the President got pneumonia which would cause his death on December 23,1795.

This caused the first succession crisis in the young nations history as Congress wasn't quite sure what to do. Stark was now acting as president but whether or not he was now actually president was now up for debate. After three months Congress would ultimately decide that Stark would succeed Washington and on March 11,1796 was officially sworn in as the nations president. 1796 was an election year however and while no one had wanted to oppose Washington in the two previous elections that wouldn't be true for Stark who had ultimately decided to run for his own term. In the Presidential Election of 1796 put President Stark running against Thomas Jefferson for the office of the presidency. After a tight race President Stark was elected to his own term in office with 82 electoral votes acquired. Stark's new term however wouldn't be as peaceful as the first.

In 1792 a revolution had toppled France's monarchy & established the French Republic. The a coalition made up of the monarchies of Europe would soon go to war to defeat the republicans, however after five years the coalition had been defeated with republican France the victor. With the Bourbon monarchy toppled many in Congress felt that the US should end its debt payment to the new regime & in March 1796 the payments ceased. Outraged France would respond. First, French privateers began seizing American ships trading with Britain and bringing them in as prizes to be sold. Next, the French government refused to receive Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, the new U.S. Minister, when he arrived in Paris in December 1796. In a message to Congress, President Stark reported on France's refusal to negotiate a settlement and spoke of the need "to place our country in a suitable posture of defense."In May 1797, President Stark informed Congress of the "XYZ Affair", in which French agents demanded a large bribe before engaging in substantive negotiations with United States diplomats.

Meanwhile, the French Navy was inflicting substantial losses on American shipping. On 21 February 1797,Secretary of State Timothy Pickering told Congress that during the previous eleven months, France had seized 316 American merchant ships. French marauders now cruised the length of the Atlantic seaboard virtually unopposed.

With the War of Independence over the United States had disbanded the US military with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point's arsenal. The Navy had been abolished at the end of the Revolutionary War and its last warship was sold in 1785. The United States had only a flotilla of small revenue cutters and a few somewhat neglected coastal forts. In 1789, the new Constitution of the United States authorized Congress to create a navy, but during George Washington's first term little was done to rearm the navy. In 1793, the French Revolutionary War between Great Britain and France began, and a truce negotiated between Portugal and Algiers ended Portugal's blockade of the Strait of Gibraltar which had kept the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean. Soon after, the pirates sailed into the Atlantic, and captured 11 American merchant ships and more than a hundred seamen. In reaction to the seizure of the American vessels, Congress debated and approved the Naval Act of 1794, which authorized the building of six frigates, four of 44 guns and two of 36 guns. Supporters were mostly from the northern states and the coastal regions, who argued the Navy would result in savings in insurance and ransom payments, while opponents from southern states and inland regions thought a navy was not worth the expense and would drive the United States into more costly wars. After the passage of the Naval Act of 1794, work began on the construction of the six frigates: USS United States, President, Constellation, Chesapeake, Congress, and Constitution. Soon after the bill was passed, Congress authorized $800,000 to obtain a treaty with the Algerians and ransom the captives, triggering an amendment of the Act which would halt the construction of ships if peace was declared. After considerable debate, three of the six frigates were authorized to be completed: United States, Constitution and Constellation. However, the first naval vessel to sail was USS Ganges, on 24 May 1798.

The increasing depredations by French privateers had led to the rebirth of the United States Navy and the creation of the United States Marine Corps to defend the expanding American merchant fleet. Congress authorized the president to acquire, arm, and man not more than 12 ships of up to 22 guns each. Several merchantmen were immediately purchased and refitted as ships of war, and construction of the frigate Congress resumed.
Congress would rescind the treaties with France on 7 July 1798; that date is now considered as the beginning of the Quasi-War. This was followed two days later with the passage of the Congressional authorization of attacks on French warships in American waters. Concerns about the War Department's ability to manage a navy led to the creation of the Department of the Navy, which was established on 30 April 1798.

Interesting. Will the US become more of a stratocracy ITTL? After all, its first two presidents were generals.

OrsonWelles said:

Interesting. Will the US become more of a stratocracy ITTL? After all, its first two presidents were generals.

Click to expand...

John Adams?

Adams died and was replaced by John Stark. He then becomes president, defeating Jefferson.

OrsonWelles said:

Adams died and was replaced by John Stark. He then becomes president, defeating Jefferson.

Click to expand...

Sorry, thought you meant OTL.

OrsonWelles said:

Interesting. Will the US become more of a stratocracy ITTL? After all, its first two presidents were generals.

Click to expand...

Depends. What does stratocracy mean?

herricks said:

Depends. What does stratocracy mean?

Click to expand...

It means a government headed by military chiefs, but not the same as military dictatorship, because instead stratocracy is a form of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity, and government positions are always occupied by commissioned officers and military leaders.

IOTL 7 Presidents had previousbeen Generals in the US Army:
Washington
Jackson
Taylor
Grant
Eisenhower
Hayes
Garfield

Jonathan said:

It means a government headed by military chiefs, but not the same as military dictatorship, because instead stratocracy is a form of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity, and government positions are always occupied by commissioned officers and military leaders.

IOTL 7 Presidents had previousbeen Generals in the US Army:
Washington
Jackson
Taylor
Grant
Eisenhower
Hayes
Garfield

Click to expand...

Eight. You forgot Harrison

Diplomacy of the Sword and of the Pen


The U.S. Navy operated with a battle fleet of about 25 vessels, which patrolled the southern coast of the United States and throughout the Caribbean, hunting down French privateers. Captain Thomas Truxtun's insistence on the highest standards of crew training paid dividends when the frigate Constellation captured the French Navy's frigate L'Insurgente and severely damaged the frigate La Vengeance. French privateers generally resisted, as did La Croyable, which was captured on 7 July 1798, by the Delaware outside of Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The Enterprise captured eight privateers and freed 11 American merchant ships from captivity. Experiment captured the French privateers Deux Amis and Diane. Numerous American merchantmen were recaptured by the Experiment. The Boston forced Le Berceau into submission. The undeclared Franco-American war was fought almost entirely at sea. However in the Caribbean the United States Marine Corps received their first true test when 600 Marines and sailors backed by two warships landed on the French island of Martinique on August 5, 1799 in a week long campaign that brought the island under American control at the cost of 104 US casualties. By 1800, both sides wanted the incident buried. While an official peace treaty wasn't signed both parties agreed to a truce that ceased hostilities between them. Though not officially owned or annexed by the US, the French island of Martinique remained under US occupation.

President Stark had a successful presidency and had led the US in the victorious Franco-American War, however despite what looked like a given for Stark to get his own second term, the president declined to run for a second term and opted to retire from public life and return to his native New Hampshire. In the Presidential Election of 1800 Revolutionary War veteran George Clinton was elected as the nations third president. Taking office in March 1801 Clinton became the first president sworn in to office from the nations new capital split between land from Virginia and Maryland, Washington.

As Clinton entered office another threat had appeared to American shipping. This one not from Europe but from North Africa. The Barbary pirates had long attacked British and other European shipping along the North Coast of Africa. They had been attacking British merchant and passengers ships since the 1600s. The many captives required regular fund raising by families and local church groups, who generally raised the ransoms for individuals. The British became familiar with captivity narratives written by Barbary pirates' prisoners and some who were sold into Arab slavery before the North American colonies were well established. This was decades before English colonists became subject to captivity by Native Americans and began to write their own narratives. During Americas War for Independence, the Islamic pirates attacked American ships. On December 20, 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that the American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage into the Mediterranean and along the coast. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U.S.'s oldest non-broken friendship treaty with a foreign power. In 1787 Morocco had been one of the first nations to recognize the United States.

Immediately prior to Clinton's inauguration in 1801, Congress passed naval legislation that, among other things, provided for six frigates that 'shall be officered and manned as the President of the United States may direct.' ... In the event of a declaration of war on the United States by the Barbary powers, these ships were to 'protect our commerce and chastise their insolence by sinking, burning or destroying their ships and vessels wherever you shall find them.” On Clinton's inauguration as president in 1801, Yusuf Karamanli, the Pasha of Tripoli, demanded $225,000 from the new administration. (In 1800, federal revenues totaled a little over $10 million). Clinton refused the demand. Consequently, on 10 May 1801, the Pasha declared war on the U.S., not through any formal written documents but in the customary Barbary manner of cutting down the flagstaff in front of the U.S. Consulate. Algiers and Tunis did not follow their ally in Tripoli.

Before learning that Tripoli had declared war on the United States, Clinton sent a small squadron, consisting of three frigates and one schooner, under the command of Commodore Richard Dale with gifts and letters to attempt to maintain peace with the Barbary powers. However, in the event that war had been declared, Dale was instructed "to protect American ships and citizens against potential aggression," but Clinton "insisted that he was 'unauthorized by the constitution, without the sanction of Congress, to go beyond the line of defense.'" He told Congress: "I communicate all material information on this subject, that in the exercise of this important function confided by the constitution to the legislature exclusively their judgment may form itself on a knowledge and consideration of every circumstance of weight." Although Congress never voted on a formal declaration of war, they did authorize the President to instruct the commanders of armed American vessels to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli "and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify." The American squadron joined a Swedish flotilla under Rudolf Cederström in blockading Tripoli, the Swedes having been at war with the Tripolitans since 1800. On 31 May 1801, Commodore Edward Preble traveled to Messina, Sicily, to the court of King Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples. He sought help and found a good ally. The kingdom was at war with Napoleon, but Ferdinand supplied the Americans with manpower, craftsmen, supplies, gunboats, mortar boats, and the ports of Messina, Syracuse and Palermo to be used as a naval base to launch operations against Tripoli, a port walled fortress city protected by 150 pieces of heavy artillery manned by 25,000 soldiers, assisted by a fleet of 10 ten-gunned brigs, 2 eight-gun schooners, two large galleys, and 19 gunboats.

In 1802, in response to Jefferson's request for authority to deal with the pirates, Congress passed "An act for the protection of commerce and seamen of the United States against the Tripolitan cruisers", authorizing the President to "…employ such of the armed vessels of the United States as may be judged requisite… for protecting effectually the commerce and seamen thereof on the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and adjoining seas." "The statute authorized American ships to seize vessels belonging to the Bey of Tripoli, with the captured property distributed to those who brought the vessels into port." The U.S Navy went unchallenged on the sea, but still the question remained undecided. Jefferson pressed the issue the following year, with an increase in military force and deployment of many of the navy's best ships to the region throughout 1802. Argus, Chesapeake, Constellation, Constitution, Enterprise, Intrepid, Philadelphia and Syren all saw service during the war under the overall command of Preble. Throughout 1803, Preble set up and maintained a blockade of the Barbary ports and executed a campaign of raids and attacks against the cities' fleets. By 1804 the combination of naval and amphibious raids had worn on the Tripolitan's. On July 28,1804 Yusuf Karamanli signed a treaty ending hostilities. With the Barbary War over and peace restored Clinton was easily elected to a second term in 1804.

The Franco-American and Barbary War's had shown the US the importance of a standing military to protect American interests. Along with the six current frigates in service with the navy Congress authorized the construction of two more 36-gun frigates to bolster the navy's strength. In 1806 the Legion of the United States was reformed into the US Army and given authorization for a peacetime standing for of 10,000.

While the Barbary War was being fought in North Africa diplomatic gains were occurring back on the home front. In 1801 with the signing of the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso Spain returned to France the territory of Louisiana which had been under Spanish control since the end of the French and Indian War. This was part of Napoleon Bonaparte's plan to create a new empire in North America. However with ongoing conflicts occurring in Europe and Britain ruling the seas this venture failed and in 1803 Napoleon opted to sell the territory to the Americans in 1803.

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) and the official annxation of Martinique (890 square miles) by the US from France in 1803. The U.S. Paid 52 million francs ($11,750,000 USD) and a cancellation of debts worth 18 million francs ($3,750,000 USD) for a total of sixty-eight million francs. The Treaty of Paris, also known as the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, was signed on 30 April by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbé Marbois in Paris. Clinton announced the treaty to the American people on July 4. After the signing of the Louisiana Purchase agreement in 1803, Livingston made this famous statement, "We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives...From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank." The United States Senate ratified the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. The Senators who voted against the treaty were: Simeon Olcott and William Plumer of New Hampshire, William Wells and Samuel White of Delaware, James Hillhouse and Uriah Tracy of Connecticut, and Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. In legislation enacted on October 31, Congress made temporary provisions for local civil government to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule and authorized the President to use military forces to maintain order. Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In 1807 President Clinton signed the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves ending legal African Slave Trade in the US. This would be the last major act of the successful Jefferson administration before he would step down and decline to run for a third term. In the Presidential Election of 1808 Clinton's Vice-President James Madison would narrowly be defeated by the Federalist candidate Henry “Light Horse” Lee III who the following March became the fourth American President.

Franco-American War Infobox

Blood Runs Red

While the Treaty of London on 1794 had brought about nearly a decade of fairly good relations between the US and Great Britain by the end of President Clinton's tenure as president those relations were quickly souring once more. In 1807, Britain introduced a series of trade restrictions via a series of Orders in Council to impede neutral trade with France, with which Britain was at war. The United States contested these restrictions as illegal under international law. Between 1802 and Lee's inauguration the American merchant fleet had nearly doubled in size making it by far the largest neutral fleet. Britain was the largest trading partner, receiving 80% of U.S. cotton and 50% of other U.S. exports. The British public and press were resentful of the growing mercantile and commercial competition. The United States' view was that Britain's restrictions violated its right to trade with others.

Fighting Napoleonic France, the Royal Navy expanded to 175 ships of the line and 600 ships overall, requiring 140,000 sailors to man. While the Royal Navy could man its ships with volunteers in peacetime, it competed in wartime with merchant shipping and privateers for a small pool of experienced sailors and turned to impressment when it could not operate ships with volunteers alone. Britain did not recognize the right of a British subject to relinquish his status as a British subject, emigrate and transfer his national allegiance as a naturalized citizen to any other country. Thus while the United States recognized British-born sailors on American ships as Americans, Britain did not. It was estimated that there were 11,000 naturalized sailors on United States ships in 1805. Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin stated that 9,000 were born in Britain. The Royal Navy went after them by intercepting and searching U.S. merchant ships for deserters. Impressment actions such as the Leander Affair and the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair outraged Americans, because they infringed on national sovereignty and denied America's ability to naturalize foreigners. *Moreover, a great number of British sailors serving as naturalized Americans on U.S. ships were Irish. An investigation by Captain Isaac Chauncey in 1808 found that 58% of the sailors based in New York City were either naturalized citizens or recent immigrants, the majority of foreign sailors (134 of 150) being from Britain. Moreover, eighty of the 134 British sailors were Irish. The US Navy also forcibly recruited British sailors but the British government saw impressment as commonly accepted practice and preferred to rescue British sailors from American impressment on a case-by-case basis. The United States believed that British deserters had a right to become US citizens. Britain did not recognize naturalized United States citizenship, so in addition to recovering deserters, it considered United States citizens born British liable for impressment. Aggravating the situation was the widespread use of forged identity or protection papers by sailors. This made it difficult for the Royal Navy to distinguish Americans from non-Americans and led it to impress some Americans who had never been British. While some gained freedom on appeal American anger at impressment grew when British frigates were stationed just outside U.S. harbors in view of U.S. shores and searched ships for contraband and impressed men while in U.S. territorial waters. "Free trade and sailors' rights" was a rallying cry for the United States throughout the conflict.

The Northwest Territory, comprising the modern states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, was the battleground for conflict between the Indian Nations and the United States. The British Empire had ceded the area to the United States in the Treaty of Paris in 1783, both sides ignoring the fact that the land was already inhabited by various Indian nations. These included the Miami, Winnebago, Shawnee,Fox, Sauk, Kickapoo, Delaware and Wyandot. Some warriors, who had left their nations of origin, followed Tenskwatawa, the Shawnee Prophet and the brother of Tecumseh. Tenskwatawa had a vision of purifying his society by expelling the "children of the Evil Spirit": the American settlers. Tenskwatawa and Tecumseh formed a confederation of numerous tribes to block American expansion. The British saw the Indian nations as valuable allies and a buffer to its Canadian colonies and provided arms. The British had the long-standing goal of creating a large "neutral" Indian state that would cover much of the territory. Attacks on American settlers in the Northwest further aggravated tensions between Britain and the United States. As raiding grew more common, Westerners in Congress found the raids intolerable and wanted them permanently ended.

These growing tensions between the two nations were causing a growing call for war by the American populace. President Clinton had tried to calm the situation during his presidency not wanting to drag the nation into war with the British Empire. Upon taking office President Lee sought to keep the US out of war as well however, barely a year after taking office another incident occurred. This one however unlike previous ones wouldn't subside. On April 1,1810 the British fifth rate HMS Guerriere fired upon and stopped the American merchant ship the Sapphire just off Boston harbor to board her. The USS Congress frigate sailed immediately to halt the action and soon shots rang out from both ships. The Battle off Boston was fought in full view of the shore for over 30 minutes before the Congress caught fire and began to sink.

The sinking of the Congress and the loss of over 100 sailors outraged the American public who called for immediate retaliation. On May 9, 1810, with the crisis only growing, President Lee sent a message to Congress recounting American grievances against Great Britain, though not specifically calling for a declaration of war. After Lee's message, the House of Representatives deliberated for four days behind closed doors before voting 81 to 47 (62% in favor) the first declaration of war, and the Senate agreed by 20 to 12 (59% in favor). The conflict began formally on May 18, 1810, when Lee signed the measure into law and proclaimed it the next day marking the first time that the United States had declared war on another nation.

Opening Campaigns

Although the outbreak of the war had been preceded by years of angry diplomatic dispute, neither side was ready for war when it came. Britain was heavily engaged in the War against France, most of the British Army was deployed in the Peninsular War (in Portugal and Spain) since Napoleon's attack on its former ally Spain in 1808, and the Royal Navy was compelled to blockade most of the coast of Europe. The number of British regular troops present in Canada in June 1810 was officially stated to be 6,034, supported by Canadian militia. Throughout the war, the British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies was Viscount Castlereagh. Few troops could be spared to reinforce North America and he urged the commander-in-chief in North America (Lieutenant General Sir George Prévost) to maintain a defensive strategy.

The United States was not prepared to prosecute a war, for Lee had assumed that the state militias would easily seize Canada and that negotiations would follow. In 1810, the regular army consisted of just under 12,000 men. Congress authorized the expansion of the army to 35,000 men, but the service was voluntary and unpopular; it offered poor pay, and there were few trained and experienced officers. The militia objected to serving outside their home states and were not open to discipline.

The British scored an important early success when their detachment at St. Joseph Island, on Lake Huron, learned of the declaration of war before the nearby American garrison at the important trading post at Mackinac Island in Michigan. A scratch force landed on the island on July 17, 1810, and mounted a gun overlooking Fort Mackinac. After the British fired one shot from their gun, the Americans, taken by surprise, surrendered. This early victory encouraged the natives, and large numbers moved to help the British at Amherstburg. The island totally controlled access to the Old Northwest, giving the British nominal control of this area, and, more vitally, a monopoly on the fur trade.

An American army under the command of William Hull invaded Canada on July 12, with his forces chiefly composed of untrained and ill-disciplined militiamen. Once on Canadian soil, Hull issued a proclamation ordering all British subjects to surrender, or "the horrors, and calamities of war will stalk before you". This led many of the British forces to defect. John Bennett, printer and publisher of the York Gazette & Oracle, was a prominent defector. Andrew Mercer, who had the publication's production moved to his house, lost the press and type destroyed during American occupation, an example of what happened to resisters. He also threatened to kill any British prisoner caught fighting alongside a native. The proclamation helped stiffen resistance to the American attacks. Hull's army was too weak in artillery and badly supplied to achieve its objectives, and had to fight just to maintain its own lines of communication. The senior British officer in Upper Canada, Major General Isaac Brock, felt that he should take bold measures to calm the settler population in Canada, and to convince the aboriginals who were needed to defend the region that Britain was strong. He moved rapidly to Amherstburg near the western end of Lake Erie with reinforcements and immediately decided to attack Detroit. Hull, fearing that the British possessed superior numbers and that the Indians attached to Brock's force would commit massacres if fighting began, surrendered Detroit without a fight on August 16. Knowing of British-instigated indigenous attacks on other locations, Hull ordered the evacuation of the inhabitants of Fort Dearborn to Fort Wayne. After initially being granted safe passage, the inhabitants (soldiers and civilians) were attacked by Potowatomis on August 15 after travelling only 2 miles in what is known as the Battle of Fort Dearborn. The fort was subsequently burned.

Brock promptly transferred himself to the eastern end of Lake Erie, where American General Stephen Van Rensselaer was attempting a second invasion. An armistice (arranged by Prévost in the hope the British renunciation of the Orders in Council to which the United States objected might lead to peace) prevented Brock from invading American territory. When the armistice ended, the Americans attempted an attack across the Niagara River on October 13, but suffered a crushing defeat at Queenston Heights. Brock was killed during the battle. While the professionalism of the American forces would improve by the war's end, British leadership suffered after Brock's death. A final attempt in 1810 by American General Henry Dearborn to advance north from Lake Champlain failed when his militia refused to advance beyond American territory.

With the war entering the lull of winter the American Army received a much needed rest from the fighting. Since the wars beginning the Army had failed at almost every turn and president Lee knew some thing needed to be done within the ranks before the next season of fighting began. In November Lee appointed Alexander Hamilton as the knew senior commander on the Army with the rank of Major General. He was tasked with getting the army into shape for the upcoming spring campaigns. Upon taking command Hamilton promoted several promising officers throughout the army. Throughout the winter months the army and militia was drilled heavily with discipline being enforced and taught to the militia. As Spring approached the Americans seemed to finally be forming a professional army.

On March 15,1811 major land operations of the war were renewed when General Hamilton launched a new invasion of Canada. With the new year brought a new target for the American's with an army of 5,300 regular and 2,500 militia, commanded by regular army officers and better disciplined, General Hamilton moved to capture Montreal and cut the St. Lawrence supply line into Upper Canada. The campaign started off well with the army facing only limited resistance. On March 24 the first major battle of the Montreal Campaign occurred at Châteuguay. The Battle of Châteuguay began around noon with 2600 British and Canadian troops and militia engaging Hamilton and 3000 mostly regular troops. For over 5 hours the battle would rage with the British for the most part holding the Americans back. As the sun began to set however nearly 900 American militiamen began nearing the battle. While unreliable, the militia would greatly turn the numbers in Hamilton's favor. As night fell the British forces withdrew from the field.

During the Battle of Châteuguay the British had suffered 276 casualties including 85 dead. The Americans however, despite winning the battle had suffered 418 casualties including 141 dead. As the British withdrew into Montreal and to Morrisburg the Americans would rest in Châteuguay for three days to recuperate from the battle. While the main goal for Hamilton was still Montreal there were still nearly 1000 British, Canadian, & newly arrived Indian troops in Morrisburg that could threaten the American assault. On March 30 Hamilton dispatched the young brevet Brigadier General Winfield Scott with 950 regular and 400 militia troops to Morrisburg to defeat the British threat there. Nine days later on April 9 the Battle of Morrisburg occurred in a fierce eighteen hour battle that would cause over 250 British and 325 American casualties before Scott finally claimed victory and drove the British across the St. Lawrence.

As General Scott neared Morrisburg General Hamilton and his army wold reach Montreal. With over 4000 British and Canadian troops defending the city would prove costly and could spell disaster for the Americans. Instead Hamilton elected to lay siege to the city and on April 7 the Siege of Montreal began.

In the West

As the Siege of Montreal began further south and to the west the war continued. After Hull's surrender of Detroit, General William Henry Harrison was given command of the U.S. Army of the Northwest. He set out to retake the city, which was now defended by Colonel Henry Procter in conjunction with Tecumseh. A detachment of Harrison's army was defeated at the Battle of Frenchtown along the River Raisin on February 22, 1811. Procter left the prisoners with an inadequate guard, who could not prevent some of his North American aboriginal allies from attacking and killing perhaps as many as sixty Americans, many of whom were Kentucky militiamen. The incident became known as the River Raisin Massacre. The defeat ended Harrison's first campaign against Detroit, and the phrase "Remember the River Raisin!" became a rallying cry for the Americans.

In early April 1811, Procter and Tecumseh set siege to Fort Meigs in northwestern Ohio. American reinforcements arriving during the siege were defeated by the natives, but the fort held out. The Indians eventually began to disperse, forcing Procter and Tecumseh to return north to Canada. In an attempt to improve Indian morale, Procter and Tecumseh attempted to storm Fort Stephenson, a small American post on the Sandusky River, only to be repulsed with serious losses, marking the end of the Ohio campaign.

On Lake Erie, American commander Captain Oliver Hazard Perry fought the*Battle of Lake Erie on May 2, 1811. His decisive victory at "Put-In-Bay" ensured American military control of the lake, improved American morale after a series of defeats in the area, and compelled the British to fall back from Detroit. This paved the way for General Harrison to launch another invasion of Upper Canada, which culminated in the U.S. victory at the Battle of the Thames on May 25, 1811, in which Tecumseh was killed. Tecumseh's death effectively ended the North American indigenous alliance with the British in the Fort Detroit region. American control of Lake Erie meant the British could no longer provide essential military supplies to their aboriginal allies, who therefore dropped out of the war. With the alliance with their regional Indian allies in shambles British forces could no longer hold Fort Detroit and in July the British would withdraw from Michigan.

Because of the difficulties of land communications, control of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River corridor was crucial. When the war began, the British already had a small squadron of warships on Lake Ontario and had the initial advantage. To redress the situation, the Americans established a Navy yard at Sackett's Harbor in northwestern New York. Commodore Isaac Chauncey took charge of the large number of sailors and shipwrights sent there from New York; they completed the second warship built there in a mere 45 days. Ultimately, almost 3,000 men worked at the naval shipyard, building eleven warships and many smaller boats and transports. Having regained the advantage by their rapid building program, Chauncey and Dearborn attacked York on the northern shore of the lake, the capital of Upper Canada, on April 14, 1811. The Battle of York was a "pyrrhic" American victory, marred by looting and the burning of the small Provincial Parliament buildings and a library resulting in a spirit of revenge by the British/Canadians led by Gov. George Prévost.

However, Kingston was strategically much more valuable to British supply and communications routes along the St. Lawrence corridor. Without control of Kingston, the US Navy could not effectively control Lake Ontario or sever the British supply line from Lower Canada. To take away this asset from the British an army was being put together to capture Kingston. On May 7 Major General Jacob Brown who had assembled 3,800 regular and 2,400 militia troops for the campaign set out from Sacketts Harbor. Upon learning of the new invasion Britain quickly moved over 4000 troops to Kingston to stop the Americans. Little more than a week after the campaign began the two armies would meet and begin the Battle of Kingston. One of the largest battles of the war yet the Battle of Kingston would see fierce heavy fighting. Finally, after more the eight hours of fighting the Americans would be forced to withdraw. Though victorious the Battle of Kingston had cost the British dearly who had suffered more than 1200 casualties of which 366 were killed. The American army would suffer even worse with 1600 casualties including 509 killed. While the Americans were beginning to get victories in their campaigns across the front one of the most important, the Kingston Campaign had ended in failure.

how's the TL so far?

On the Defense

Following the victory of the Battle of of Kingston British forces soon moved to relieve Montreal. For two weeks 2100 British troops moved north towards Montreal encountering only light resistance. From scouting parties General Hamilton learned of the advancing British force when they were only 20 miles away. On June 2,1811 Hamilton lifted the siege and began withdrawing back towards the American border.

While the British position was mainly defensive that did not stop raids, sometimes very large from occurring. On July 4 750 Canadian troops crossed into upstate New York and defeated a smaller militia force at the Battle of Ogdensburg, occupying the town for nearly two weeks before news of a large US regular force caused them to withdraw. On July 14 1,100 British and Canadian troops attacked and burned Sacketts Harbor killing over 150 Americans before withdrawing. There was some good news however in this string of bad luck for the American's however. On August 23 a British-Canadian invasion force of nearly 5,000 crossed into northern New York and began moving south on a massive raid aimed at assaulting Albany.

Since the raids began General Hamilton had spread out much of his army to help protect against further raids. This caused Hamilton to only have about 1,700 regular troops with him when the offensive began. With their homes being threatened however, over 2,000 volunteer militiamen would rally to Hamilton to fight. Moving quickly to cut the British off the two forces met on September 4 just outside the town of Plattsburgh. The Battle of Plattsburgh began mid afternoon as the first shots rang out. Soon the two armies were fully engaged with one another in the first major battle on American soil. For nearly two days the armies fought fiercely against one another. Despite being numerically inferior to the invading British, the Americans made up for it in ferocity. In the night of September 6 the British began to withdraw, with the final shots being fired just after dawn the next day. The British had suffered more than 900 casualties including over 300 killed compared to the Americans 550 casualties of which only 117 were killed. This would be the last major land operation of the year as the two sides, exhausted, calmed down for a much needed rest. The victory in the Battle of Plattsburgh would restore morale in the American's who now thought victory was possible.

Wait, Vice Presidents weren't selected in the early US they were elected. In the early US the Vice President was the runner up in the presidential election. Hence Jefferson being Adams Vice President even though they hated each other and were from different parties.

King of Etri said:

Wait, Vice Presidents weren't selected in the early US they were elected. In the early US the Vice President was the runner up in the presidential election. Hence Jefferson being Adams Vice President even though they hated each other and were from different parties.

Click to expand...

They were? Whoops

War in the South

By the Spring of 1812, American generals, including Major Generals Jacob Brown and Winfield Scott, had drastically improved the fighting abilities and discipline of the army. Their renewed attack on the Niagara peninsula quickly captured Fort Erie. Winfield Scott then gained a victory over an inferior British force at the Battle of Chippawa on March 5. An attempt to advance further ended with a hard-fought but inconclusive battle at Lundy's Lane on March 25. The outnumbered Americans withdrew but withstood a prolonged Siege of Fort Erie. The British suffered heavy casualties in a failed assault and were weakened by exposure and shortage of supplies in their siege lines. Eventually the British raised the siege, but American Major General George Izard took over command on the Niagara front and followed up only halfheartedly. The Americans lacked provisions, and eventually destroyed the fort and retreated across the Niagara.

The Battle of Burnt Corn between Red Stick Creeks, who had allied themselves with the British, and US troops, occurred in the southern parts of Alabama on July 27, 1811 prompted the state of Georgia as well as the Mississippi territory militia to immediately take major action against Creek offensives. The Red Sticks chiefs gained power in the east along the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers – Upper Creek territory. The Lower Creek lived along the Chattahoochee River. Many Creeks tried to remain friendly to the United States, and some were organized by federal Indian Agent Benjamin Hawkins to aid the 6th Military District under General Thomas Pinckney and the state militias. The United States combined forces were large. At its peak the Red Stick faction had 4,000 warriors, only a quarter of whom had muskets.

Before 1811, the Creek War had been largely an internal affair sparked by the ideas of Tecumseh farther north in the Mississippi Valley, but the United States was drawn into a war with the Creek Nation by 1811. The Creek Nation was a trading partner of the United States actively involved with Spanish and British trade as well. The Red Sticks, as well as many southern Muscogeean people like the Seminole, had a long history of alliance with the Spanish and British Empires. This alliance helped the North American and European powers protect each others claims to territory in the south. On August 18, 1811, Red Stick chiefs planned an attack on Fort Mimms, north of Mobile, the only American-held port in the territory of West Florida. The attack on Fort Mimms resulted in the death of 400 settlers and became an ideological rallying point for the Americans.

The Indian frontier of western Georgia was the most vulnerable but was partially fortified already. From November 1811 to January 1812, Georgia's militia and auxiliary Federal troops - from the Creek and Cherokee Indian nations and the states of North Carolina and South Carolina – organized the fortification of defenses along the Chattahoochee River and expeditions into Upper Creek territory in present-day Alabama. The army, led by General John Floyd, went to the heart of the "Creek Holy Grounds" and won a major offensive against one of the largest Creek towns at Battle of Autosee, killing an estimated two hundred people. In November, the militia of Mississippi with a combined 1200 troops attacked the "Econachca" encampment ("Battle of Holy Ground") on the Alabama River. Tennessee raised a militia of 5,000 under Colonel Andrew Jackson and Major General Coke and won the battles ofTallushatchee and Talladega in November 1811.

The Georgia militia withdrew to the Chattahoochee, and Jackson's force in Tennessee mostly disbanded for the winter. In January Floyd's force of 1,300 state militia and 400 Creek Indians moved to join the US forces in Tennessee, but were attacked in camp on the Calibee Creek by Tuckaubatchee Indians on the 27th. Despite enlistment problems in the winter, the US Army forces and a second draft of Tennessee state militia and Cherokee and Creek allies swelled his army to around 5,000. In March 1812 they moved south to attack the Creek. On March 26, Jackson and General John Coffee decisively defeated the Creek Indian force at Horseshoe Bend, killing 800 of 1,000 Creeks at a cost of 49 killed and 154 wounded out of approximately 2,000 American and Cherokee forces. The American army moved to a fort on the Alabama River. On April 29, 1812, the Upper Creek chiefs and Major General Andrew Jackson's army signed the "Treaty of Fort Jackson". The most of western Georgia and part of Alabama was taken from the Creeks to pay for expenses borne by the United States. The Treaty also "demanded" that the "Red Stick" insurgents cease communicating with the Spanish or British, and only trade with U.S.-approved agents.

Some British aid to the Red Sticks began arriving in February 1812 and after Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane assumed command from Admiral Warren in March. The Creek promised to join any body of 'troops that should aid them in regaining their lands, and suggesting an attack on the tower off Mobile.' In early April 1812 the British established an outpost on the Apalachicola River at Prospect Bluff. Cochrane sent a company of Royal Marines, the vessels HMS Hermes and HMS Carron, commanded by Edward Nicolls, with further supplies to meet the Indians. In addition to training the Indians, Nicolls was tasked to raise a force from escaped slaves, as part of the Corps of Colonial Marines. In early June 1812, General Andrew Jackson complained to the Governor of Pensacola, Mateo Gonzalez Manrique, that combatants from the Creek War were being harbored in Spanish territory, and made reference to the British presence on Spanish soil. Although he gave an angry reply to Jackson, Manrique was alarmed at the weak position he found himself in. He appealed to the British for help, with Woodbine arriving on June 18, and Nicolls arriving at Pensacola on July 12.

The British established a military presence of up to 200 Marines at Pensacola. On July 31, General Jackson with a force of 3,000 men crossed into Spanish Florida to capture Pensacola. The next day the Battle of Pensacola was fought where Jackson's force fought 310 British Marines and sailors and also, over 500 Spanish soldiers. Using his vastly superior numbers Jackson emerged victorious in the engagement and captured the town. However the active participation of Spanish troops in the battle angered many American's. The Jackson had actually invaded the neutral Spanish territory was mostly overlooked.

Hearing of American casualties caused by Spanish bullets, 1,200 Georgia militiamen commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Hunts crossed into Florida on August 21 and began raiding settlements as they moved south towards St. Augustine. Four days after entering Florida Hunts force neared their target objective and were challenged by 400 Spanish soldiers and 170 militia. Though more than doubling the Spanish force, the untrained and undisciplined Georgia militia would be decisively defeated suffering over 300 casualties to only 71 Spanish casualties and would retreat back into Georgia.

There were now two battles fought against the Spanish, one against a solely Spanish force, fought on Spanish colonial soil. Calls for war against Spain began grew louder and louder especially in the south. While the Washington majority was still against widening the war, that number was shrinking.

Bloodbaths

As the first half of 1812 saw the war growing in the southern states and territories General Hamilton sought to take the war permanently back to Canadian soil. As General's Scott and Brown launched new attack's into the Niagara Peninsula Hamilton planned to launch a new campaign to capture Montreal. Instead of bringing nearly all of his troops to bare on Montreal as he did the previous year General Hamilton had a smaller offensive make a second attempt to take Kingston from British control. During the winter General Harrison had been called back from the frontier theaters and given the command of 4,000 troops and 1,400 militiamen at Sacketts Harbor. Harrison had spent the winter months intensely drilling his forces in preparation for the upcoming spring campaigns.

On February 25,1812 General Harrison and his army crossed out of New York into Canada and began marching on Kingston. Since the first Kingston Campaign Britain had kept a force of 3,500 regular and nearly 2,000 militia troops in the area in anticipation of a second attempt to take the town. Three days after crossing the border the two armies met in the Second Battle of Kingston. Unlike during the first engagement the much better trained and disciplined American forces would drive back several British attacks before after five hours of battle launched their own assault which succeeded in taking the field and achieving the victory.

With the main route from Upper Canada to Montreal cut with the capture of Kingston, General Hamilton launched the Second Montreal Campaign on March 14. Hamilton lead a force of nearly 9,000 regular troops and 2,500 militia in the offensive. Since General Hamilton's first invasion Montreal's defenses had been increased to 7,500 regular troops and 1,200 trained militia. Eight days after crossing into Canada General Hamilton's army neared Montreal British forces marched to meet them and the Battle of Montreal began that afternoon. For the next 32 hours the Battle of Montreal, the largest battle of the war to date, raged. Fighting on the defense, the British were able to fend off several American assaults for the first day of the battle. On the morning of the third day however Britain was running out of steam.

Shortly before noon Hamilton launched a final offensive using over a third of his available forces to try and punch a hole in the British lines. Over 3,000 US troops began moving forward under the cover of a hail of American bullets and artillery fire to assault the British center. Soon the firing stopped and the battle turned into a bloody melee. Though both sides were exhausted, the numbers would be on the side of the Americans and 35 minutes after the assault began the British line began to break. With a hole finally made Hamilton ordered the entire army to attack and the British began to withdraw. Over the next two hours the withdraw turned into a retreat and then into a route. By the end of the day the Battle of Montreal was over in a decisive American victory and Montreal was in US hands. Victory however didn't come without cost as the US had suffered 2,100 casualties including 587 dead. Britain's casualty rate however was much higher. Over 5,200 casualties of which 621 dead and 3,300 captured with the remaining fleeing towards Quebec City. This ended major fighting in Lower Canada for the remainder of spring as both sides were completely exhausted.

Seems like the training of more discipline troops are paying off.

Western Theaters

With Montreal captured the war in Upper Canada was beginning to look more like a side show. That didn't mean the war had ended there however. In late April General Harrison left Kingston with part of his army on an offensive and began moving towards York. Four days after departing Kingston, Harrison's army would fight the inconclusive Battle of Belleville against a superior British force. Suffering over 350 casualties during the battle Harrison would abandon his campaign on May 9 and return to Kingston. Several more attempts to take Upper Canada would occur through the rest of the summer but to no avail. As the summer of 1812 came to an end with much of Canada still in British hands.

The Mississippi River valley was the western frontier of the United States in 1812. The territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 contained almost no U.S. settlements west of the Mississippi except around Saint Louis and a few forts and trading posts. Fort Bellefontaine, an old trading post converted to a US Army post in 1804, served as regional headquarters. Fort Osage, built in 1808 along the Missouri was the western-most US outpost, it was abandoned at the start of the war. Fort Lee, built along the Mississippi in what is now in the Illinois Territory, was also built in 1808, and had been repeatedly attacked by British-allied Sauk since its construction. In June 1812 Fort Madison was abandoned after it was attacked and besieged by natives, who had support from the British. This was one of the few battles fought west of the Mississippi. Black Hawk played a leadership role.

Little of note took place on Lake Huron, but the American victory on Lake Erie and the recapture of Detroit isolated the British there. During the ensuing winter, a Canadian party under Lieutenant Colonel Robert McDouall established a new supply line from York to Nottawasaga Bay on Georgian Bay. When he arrived at Fort Mackinac with supplies and reinforcements, he sent an expedition to recapture the trading post of Prairie du Chien in the far west. The Siege of Prairie du Chien ended in a British victory on July 20, 1812.

Earlier in July, the Americans sent a force of five vessels from Detroit to recapture Mackinac. A mixed force of regulars and volunteers from the militia landed on the island on August 4. They did not attempt to achieve surprise, and at the brief Battle of Mackinac Island, they were ambushed by natives and forced to re-embark. The Americans discovered the new base at Nottawasaga Bay, and on August 13, they destroyed its fortifications and a schooner that they found there. They then returned to Detroit, leaving two gunboats to blockade Mackinac. On September 4, these gunboats were taken unawares and captured by British boarding parties from canoes and small boats. This Engagement on Lake Huron left Mackinac under British control.
The British garrison at Prairie du Chien also fought off another attack by Major Zachary Taylor. In this distant theater, the British retained the upper hand until the end of the war, through the allegiance of several indigenous tribes that received British gifts and arms, enabling them to take control of parts of what is now Michigan and Illinois, as well as the whole of modern Wisconsin. In 1812 US troops retreating from the Battle of Credit Island on the upper Mississippi attempted to make a stand at Fort Johnson, but the fort was soon abandoned, along with most of the upper Mississippi valley.