The Discord That Follows

My first attempt at any timeline whatsoever. Comments and Criticism are Welcome.

AN AHISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD 1865-2009



“Untune that string, take but degree away, and hark! what discord follows…”

April 7th, 1865

Robert E. Lee strode down a dirt path toward Appomattox. As he bounced up and down on Traveler, the horse he had ridden for the duration of this long and terrible war. He looked behind him, and gazed upon the few ragged men left in the once grand Army of North Virginia. They were tired, and they were hungry. But the men were still loyal to the fullest. “They are certainly braver than I had ever imagined possible,” he thought to himself, “Surely I owe it to each and every one of these men to see them through this safely.” He had never thought about surrendering, and even now had doubts about such an action, but yesterday’s rout at Saylor’s Creek had shaken his resolve to fight on and try and take to the battle to North Carolina.

While he contemplated his serious and difficult course of action, a brief flash caught his eye from the far bushes to his right. Less than a second later, a crack shook his eardrum, as the bullet struck his right side, piercing his heart. The impact and the shock of what had just happened knocked him off Traveler, who whinnied and stood on its hind legs at the sharp sound of the distant rifle shot. Hitting the ground, Lee could only wonder why instantaneously the sound from all around him became almost mute, and why when the soldiers around him screamed, only a few words reached him. As he listened for what seemed to be an eternity, though it had only been seconds, one of the words Lee finally overheard was shot. “Ah, so now I am sure.” Lee thought dryly. But even with his fate known, the General was still perplexed at his surroundings. He didn’t feel anything, but at the same time, it was hard to breath, or even look around. “This is most peculiar, Lee thought to himself, then felt inclined to make a witty comment. “I am most sure, that if man knew that this was in fact death, he wouldn’t be so inclined to fear it!” Lee chuckled at his ability to joke at such a time. As his eyes started to close for the last time, a small smile grew across his face.

An Excerpt from:
Bowler, Jerry. The Uncivil War: A History of American Partisan Warfare from 1865-66. Cincinnati, OH: Candid Publishing, 1983. Print.

“…shook the Confederate nation to its core. But in the aftermath of Lee’s death, his top commanders met on the night of April 8th, 1865, to decide the course of action in the next few days. Edward P. Alexander, one of Lee’s trusted aides, suggested not to retreat as a regular army, but instead to send a volunteer force of around 10,000 soldiers into the woods, where they could still prosecute the war indirectly. The other commanders, although wary of this idea, finally agreed with Alexander because of a combination of lost hope in an outright military victory and Alexander’s convincing arguments. So, during the early hours of the morning on April 9th, almost 10,000 Confederate volunteers trudged off into the backwoods of Virginia.

The next day the Army of North Virginia ceased to be, surrendering to General Grant near Appomattox Courthouse. However, Grant was surprised to find how small the remaining army was, as only about 15,000 Confederate troops remained. Both General Longstreet and General Grant signed the official surrender documents at 4 o’clock p.m on April 9th, 1865. But the war was far from over, as 10,000 soldiers dispersed into smaller groups along the Appalachian Mountain range.”

Part 1
Post Civil War Resistance and The April 14th Plot

The group of almost ten thousand that had detached from the Army of North Virginia that fateful April morning had begun dispersing that very same day, all throughout Virginia and even some making their way to rural Maryland. Within a few days murder, rape, arson, and other sorts of property damage were rampant. Many commanders, including General Grant, only needed a few days to connect the suspicion of missing troops to the rampage that had followed over Western Virginia and Maryland. Union troops were once again put on high alert, and many even engaged these “bushwhackers”, though usually they were inconclusive. This new wave of attacks though, was sidelined by the events of April 14th.

On the night of April 14th, a plot to kill the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, the Vice President, Andrew Johnson, and the Secretary of State, William Seward, was carried out, succeeding to kill all but the Secretary of State. Abraham Lincoln was killed while watching a play in Ford’s Theatre, while Vice President Johnson was killed in his sleep. William Seward, which was already severely wounded because of a carriage accident, managed to survive the attack on him, but he still sustained injuries to his cheek and chest. The plot was led by a Confederate sympathizer/actor named John Wilkes Booth, but he was never captured until later that year in October, when a Union patrol suppressed a bushwhacker camp near Charlottesville, Virginia. Although he died from wounds before he could be tried, his associates were. Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt, and 6 others were tried and found guilty of high treason and were all sentenced to death by hanging. A day later, Seward learned of the act and that the President and Vice President were dead. The President pro tempore at the time, Lafayette Foster, took the oath of office at his bedside, becoming the 17th President of the United States at 3 P.M. on April 15th, 1865. The next day, Congress, in accordance with the Presidential Succession Act of 1792, set a special election date for the same year, on November 7th, 1865, in order to decide on a new President. Foster would act as President until this date.


The 17th President of the United States

President Foster immediately stated he would not run for re-election, and would increasingly over the next few months become a puppet to his Cabinet, filled with some of the most genius minds in the nation such as Salmon P. Chase, and the wounded William Seward. In the absence of a strong central figure like Lincoln, individual Generals took it upon themselves to root out bushwhackers. Unfortunately, rooting such partisans out became a very hard business. Many Confederates in the armies whose commanders had not yet surrendered, chose to run to the hills. Nathan Bedford Forrest, who commanded in the Deep South, instead of choosing to surrender, took command of a small army, and raided army posts and small towns throughout South Carolina, culminating in an outright battle with Union troops outside of Columbia, on August 27th, where the partisan army were all but destroyed and Nathan Bedford Forrest was captured and tried for treason. He was found guilty, but escaped from prison, and went n the run for 4 years, before he was killed in a shoot-out with federal authorities in the backwoods of Alabama, while he was one of the leaders of the racist White Knights.

Resistance to Union soldiers was still on the rise when Forrest was captured outside Columbia, and did not subside until almost 1867, when Jefferson Davis, who had been on the run since the fall of Richmond, was captured around Asheville, North Carolina on November 7th, 1866. With this capture, President Foster made an almost brilliant decision, and did not imprison Davis, but was instead only stripped of his right to hold public office or vote. Jefferson Davis was the beacon Southerners looked to during the last year-and a half since Lee had died, and his sparing allowed Southerners to see that there was still time for reconciliation. Although this decision went over very well in the South, many prominent ‘Radical’ Republicans in Congress, including Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, were outraged that such a leading member during the Civil War and its aftermath could be let off so easily, furthering the split between Sumner’s Radical Republicans and the President and Cabinet's moderates. Instead of folding to the power of Congress, President Foster put forth his new plan, one for the “Reconstruction” of the South.

You are a hundred percent right, I didnt even look to see tht, I thought that the reason he wouldve been assasinated was because he was next in line. Is there a way to still get seward to be President? or are the butterflies arent even close to enough for this to happen? And i mean like someone killing off Foster. Just makin sure.

Would these events have put more backbone into Napolean and Max? I just learned that in OTL Grant said "Now for Mexico!" after Appomattox...

037771 said:

Great work, but im not sure about the above- were there provisions for such a line of succession (i.e. Lincoln to Johnson to someone lower in the administration)? Because i thought that only came about in 1959, given for a long time before the precedent set by John Tyler was all that the US ever really needed.

EDIT- Scratch that, there were i think: President pro Tempore of the Congress would succeed, him in this cause being (even temporarily so) Lafayette S. Foster, that is, until elections are held. I may be wrong though.

Click to expand...

The Presidential Succession Act of 1792 was the governing law at the time, which states that the president pro tempore of the Senate is next in line after the VP. I believe, however, in such a case he'd only be Acting President until such time as a special election could be held to fill the vacancy.

The line of succession was changed in 1886 to make the Secretary of State the #2 successor.

Sorry everyone, I edited the entry so Foster is President and Seward isnt. However, I found that in the absence of both the POTUS and Vice that a special election is held that same year. So Seward might not be out for long . Also, if this election is held, how likely would it be that another is held in 1868? or would the election now be a totally different cycle? That i couldnt find.

Part 2
The Election of 1865

With the South in flames, the government of the United States still had the secondary problem of leadership. Although the President pro tempore, Lafayette Foster, was now the Head of State, a special election was set for November 7th, 1865, to decide on the White House’s permanent resident. The states that were in rebellion still had no electoral power, so the backbone of the Democratic Party was broken, and many of the remaining Northern Democrats chose between the dueling wings of the Republican Party; the Radical Republicans led by Charles Sumner, and the Moderates, led by Foster and his Cabinet. When an agreement could not be reached on a candidate, the two sides instead chose to nominate their own candidates for November. Since Lafayette Foster had already vowed not to run, the Moderates then looked to William Seward to take up the flag. He was the mastermind behind most of the Reconstruction efforts after the event of April 14th, and one of the most skilled politicians in the Moderate circle. Not surprisingly, the Radicals chose their most outspoken member-Charles Sumner. Both sides also nominated Vice Presidents, on the Radical side, Benjamin Wade, and on the Moderate side, Cassius Marcellus Clay. Both sides knew the election would be close, and that the result would change the course of American history.

That fateful autumn, both candidates toured the nation, putting forth their view of Reconstruction. Sumner used the example of the continuing bushwhacker skirmishes to convince people that the only way back to normalcy was hard-line Reconstruction, while Seward explained that the harder the United States stepped on the former Confederacy, the harder they would squirm under the boot of U.S military might. Both however, agreed on amendments to protect the rights of the newly emancipated black population. By November, the race was extremely close…

The Election of 1865

Sumner-114 Electoral Votes
Kansas- 3
Maine - 7
Massachusetts- 12
Michigan- 8
Minnesota - 4
Nebraska - 8
Nevada - 2
New Hampshire- 5
Ohio - 21
Pennsylvania- 26
Vermont - 5
West Virginia- 5
Wisconsin - 8


Seward -119 Electoral Votes
California- 5
Connecticut- 6
Delaware- 3
Illinois- 16
Indiana- 13
Kentucky- 11
Maryland- 7
Missouri- 11
New Jersey- 7
New York- 33
Oregon- 3
Rhode Island- 4



The election was one of the closest in history, and almost the entire voting demographics were split, including the soldier vote, of which 70% had voted for Lincoln only a year before. The election showed that Reconstruction was a very fragile and divided issue, and the now President Seward would have to tread very carefully, or else face the wrath of another house divided. Charles Sumner, who had campaigned day and night, took the loss hard, but was still determined to propel his policies forward using his powerful position in the Senate. He and his devoted ring of Radical Republican followers would be a real force to be reckoned with for the rest of the Reconstruction period.


Charles Sumner
Defeated Presidential Candidate,
One of the Most Influential Voices In Congress

So thats the second part, however, Id like to know if anyone has some map-making tips? Id like to make the updates a little more colorful using them, but I have zero clue how to make even the simplest map. Thanks

Reconstruction and Early Civil Rights Pt. 1

The 39th Congress was hard at work right after the election, passing new amendments and legislation. The first was the 13th Amendment, in the last months of the short-lived Foster Presidency, on December 10th, 1865. It abolished all slavery in the United States, including all occupied territories in the South. The second piece of landmark Civil Rights legislation was passed the following year. It was called the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and protected the rights of all the slaves freed in 1865, and gave “all persons born in the United States not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed” were American citizens. This was a huge bill for freedmen, as the remaining bushwhackers preyed many black citizens throughout the occupied South, although by 1867 this was mostly confined to the Deep Southern areas like Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina. In the other former Confederate States, where instead of outright violence Southerners used more subtle means to disenfranchise the black population, the bill was useful, as it made clear to Southerners that the newly freed blacks had the same rights as anyone else, including the power to file lawsuits.

But even before all the legislation, and the 1865 election, the somewhat forgotten President Foster had outlined the plan for which he and the rest of the country would rebuild. It was built on the legacy of the Lincoln’s Ten-Percent Plan, which called for 10% of citizens from each of the states previously in rebellion to vow loyalty to the government of the United States. This outraged Radical Republicans, as this was only a year after the failed Wade-Davis Bill, which was pocket-vetoed by President Lincoln. After Seward was inaugurated in March of 1866, and the 13th Amendment was passed, an addition was put on to the plan, which stated that each returning Confederate state must also ratify the 13th Amendment. This was almost certainly done to appease the Radical Republicans, who had become extremely outspoken about Reconstruction issues, although they were not a large enough group to stop the path it was headed in, and in the case of Civil Rights, supported the actions.

Another debate was how was started over how the ex-Confederates would be re-integrated into the electoral process. Many Radical Republicans, who had also supported the Wade-Davis Bill, thought these terms should be extremely strict. Thaddeus Stevens, a Radical Republican from Pennsylvania, put forward a plan that all Confederates would lose the right to vote for 5 years, but even some Radicals believed this was too strict, and it was defeated in Congress. Finally, a compromise was made between the Radicals and Moderates, and all Confederates were given pardons, except for a few thousand high-ranking ex-Confederate military leaders and politicians. All citizens or soldiers not listed could still vote and hold public office.


Thaddeus Stevens, a Radical Republican from Pennsylvania,
argued for a strict Reconstruction. He would be dead before the decade was over.


Since the Bushwhacker rebellions were still occurring as late as the beginning of 1867, the Southern states stayed fully under military occupation, but President Seward, wished to bring the states back into the fold as quickly as possible. The Radicals, on the other hand, wished to keep the South under military occupation. The Radical plan called for the Southern states formally in rebellion to be split up into five different military districts. The districts would each have a military governor, but each of the individual states would retain a republican form of government, with a stress on Republican. This plan outraged Seward, who, although there was presently a military occupation, believed that a real, organized occupation, to prop up Republican governments would never fully heal the wounds caused by the Civil War, and instead backed the old Moderate plan of eventual re-integration using the Ten-Percent Plan, the Civil Rights Act, and the 13th Amendments as tools. In 1867, the Radicals in Congress introduced the Re-Integration Act, which outlined the military occupations of the districts. The battle was bitterly fought, and while the bill made it out of the House, it was defeated in the Senate by a coalition of Northern Democrats and Moderate Republicans. Seward had won a major battle, and from now on, took control of the direction of Reconstruction, instead of defending his policy from the Radicals.

Reconstruction Pt. 2 & The Election of 1869

The first state to return to the Union was Tennessee in July 1868, and by the election of 1869, every state formally in rebellion against the United States of America had rejoined the nation. The states governments were put into place by the Republican administration, and although Seward had promised to appoint non-partisan officials, the bias was far from hidden. Republican state governments were put up across the South, which still did not help the situation; the South was relieved they had been re-admitted, but angry that the governments of their state did not reflect the majority of the state’s feelings.

Reconstruction had embarrassed many of the high-class plantation owners, and had destroyed their way of income. With the addition of the federal government propping up Governors and other officials, the hatred-filled, embarrassed men began to join with each other, and soon, these upper class meetings attracted some of the remaining bushwhackers, and bitter ex-soldiers. This mix soon evolved into planned attacks and criminal activities, activity that was especially directed towards the nation’s freedmen. The largest of these groups was the White Knights, a group that included the well-known fugitive General Nathan Bedford Forrest, and at its height in the late 1860’s and early 1870’s, the group claimed over half a million followers. Many joined to fight government movement towards black rights, and soon started to not only target black citizens, but also white politicians who supported Reconstruction in the South. Many Southerners, especially the planters, saw the Knights as a way to fight everything they thought wrong with Reconstruction. But as soon as the Knights seemed to be at its pinnacle of power, even having some Congressmen as secret members, the Knights were on the decline and by the mid-1870’s, the Knights were almost extinct. The United States fought them on two fronts, passing more legislation to curb Southern attempts to destroy Black Civil Rights, including a bill in 1868 that allowed federal troops to confront the White Knights instead of local police and militias, and also by just continuing with the planned Reconstruction. As the White Knight members became less discontented, they lost more and more members. While some could say the Knights had some of their dreams realized their impact on United States’ Reconstruction policy was very small, and in fact their involvement only made the policy stricter than it needed to be. The Knights were gone for now, but within decades; they would experience a revival, growing on discontent with immigration.

As this was going on, President Seward also needed to look forward to the election. With the April 14th Plot, and the Presidential Succession Act put into effect, Seward had been granted a full four-year term, and now the election years were re-arranged, with the next presidential one held in 1869. During that election, the South would also elect their new governors and state officials. The Southern Democrats and Northern Democrats had really stood strong aside President Seward, and instead of nominating their own candidate, also chose to nominate Seward. The Radicals on the other hand, still wanted to take Reconstruction in their own hands, and nominated Hannibal Hamlin for President, and Benjamin Wade again for Vice President. The campaign for the Presidency was not as hard-fought as 4 years earlier, as Reconstruction had been fruitful, bushwhacker attacks had been all but eradicated, and the Southern states had truly been re-integrated. When Election Day came this year, Seward’s re-election was not in doubt.

Although Seward had won the election, the results of the Southern governor elections took some of the wind out of the Moderates sails. All the states had thrown out the supportive governors, senators, and representatives, and instead elected back hyper-conservative aristocrats. This was a huge blow to Seward, but instead of reacting harshly, he instead brought forth a very subtle plan to combat the ex-slaveocrat vote. Give the vote to ex-slaves as well. He put forth his plan, and in 1870, the 14th Amendment, gave all men the right to vote. Although many thought it unlikely that the South would ratify it, Seward brought a few of those states officials in and convinced them that Seward would remove the remaining troops stationed in the South, if they passed the Amendment. The first blacks voted that November.

Although they had voting rights now as well, over the next decade, many Southern governments passed black codes, restrictions on voting for blacks with things such as grandfather clauses, literacy tests, and poll taxes. If that wasn’t enough to keep blacks away from voting, the White Knights and other white paramilitary groups were ready to maim or kill any black man who voted, or any white man who helped him. Some Southerners used their economic advantages. While the blacks were now free, many did not have money, and still lived on their planter’s farms, as if nothing had changed. Planters used this and kept blacks in debt to them, giving them a share of the money, but never enough to let them leave. So while black men and women had been freed from the bondage of slavery, they had entered a world that in some ways were much worse than before.


Ex-Slaves ca. 1870

October 13th, 1869

Nathan Bedford Forrest awoke early, to a beautiful Alabama sunrise. At least he thought it was, for him and about six others awoke in a basement, and saw none of it. They had been running for almost 4 years since he had escaped from federal authorities, traveling along the Appalachians all the way to the Deep South. There had been a couple of close calls with the Army, but somehow God had been on their side. God has always been on our side, he thought, adding but a lot of good it did us. He used to be a wealthy, well-respected man. Not now though. Now he was hiding in a basement, which had fortunately been owned by a die-hard member of the White Knights, a group that had been founded about a year or two ago. Nathan, and all his fellows had joined the Knights, even going to a few meetings whenever they had heard through the grapevine there was one. It was amazing how many of those people were willing to help him, even though harboring as large a fugitive as he was could mean some horrible things happened to you if the Army found out.

The owner of the house, Nathan couldn’t remember his name, called down from the top of the stairs to announce breakfast. They had met the night before at a Knight’s meeting, and the man agreed to let them stay at his home before the men would head West; eventually to cross over into Mexico. He had heard that Emperor Maximilian, who was now fighting his own Civil War, needed expertise in the form of ex-Confederate advisors. In exchange, he would receive sanctuary in Mexico, which seemed all right with him. When they got to the top of the stairs, they were treated to the beautiful scent of eggs and grits, and the beautiful sight of the owner’s wife. Nathan’s eyes tried to avoid the woman’s broad chest. “Why good morning ma’am, what a fine morning, and what a lovely breakfast!” He said as his voice croaked a tiny bit.

“Good morning General, I hope you slept as well as you could, the cellar is quite dreary and cold.” She responded, handing him his plate. The men devoured their dishes, without stopping to say a word, or even breathe. It had been the most delicious thing the men had tasted in weeks. The owner had not even sat down before Forrest and his compatriots were done, or before they heard the sound of horses galloping outside.

One of Forrest’s men, a young teenager named James Calkens peered through the shades. “Jesus H. Christ General! It’s the Yanks! What are we gonna do?”

The owner of the house quickly stepped in. “Those bastards came two days ago! Why are they here again so soon?!" He took a deep breath, and instructed Nathan. "Go out the back, I will try and stall them. There are woods back there, they go for miles. There is a trail leading all the way through it. They’ll never find you in there.” He pointed towards the door through the kitchen, and the forest about fifty yards from it.

Forrest looked at the man, than turned to his men, “He is surely in the right my boys. Now come on now fella’s. let’s go before the Yanks know were in here. Take that route, I will catch up to you.” The men scrambled toward the back door, and sprinted toward the wood. Nathan turned back to the man before joining his men. "My friend, I do appreciate you and your wife's generosity, but I must be going now." He tipped his hat, and started for the forest, but turned again and said, "This is most embarrassing, but I seem to have forgotten your name."

The man grinned. "Thats quite alright General, the names Flagg sir, Randall Flagg. Now really sir, get going!"

Nathan quickly high-tailed it toward the forest, found the tiny trail, and didn't turn around until he was reunited with his compatriots. That's when he heard gun shots from the house, surprising him, and soon heard more horses galloping into the forest."It seems the Yanks knew we were there sir", said one of his men. "Do you really think we can outrun them?" The mans eyes showed his fright. He had stared down death before, a few times, but it seemed that this might really be a tough situation to get out of.

Nathan considered running only for a second. He knew there were only a few Yankees, and his band of what the Yankees disdainfully called "bushwhackers", could easily stand their own. "We fight", Nathan said,"Bobby, Jimmy, we will hide over there in those bushes. Our clothes are dirty enough to blend in with the leaves on the ground. Dylan, get into that tree. Jeb and I, we will be up about fifty yards or so. Now, the Yankees will surely find this trail and follow it. When they pass our position, I will give a shout, and we shall pounce on our unfortunate trackers. Does this sound reasonable?"

The men shook their heads up and down, and took their position. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later, the Yankees came trotting down. They surely are alert Yankees, Nathan thought, observing them. There were about ten of them, with five on horseback, and the others with rifles at the ready. As they passed him, he waited about twenty seconds or so to call attack. When he finally did, it was the loudest Rebel yell he thought he ever gave.

Six rifle shots called out in the forest, with three hitting their targets, and the horses rearing greatly, throwing the riders who weren't already shot off the back of the horse. Nathan leapt from behind the tree he had been hiding from and bayoneted the nearest Yankee in the throat from behind, before the poor soul had any indication of what had just happened. Another soldier, who had just been thrown of his horse, took out his six-shooter, and fired rapidly at the oncoming group of Rebels, hitting Jimmy in the chest, killing him, and Bobby in the arm, but still Bobby charged, gutting him with a bayonet. The melee went on for what seemed hours, and each Yankee he killed, he let out a curdling scream. But, in the bloodlust that had consumed Nathan, he had failed to notice, a man who was under his horse, not yet dead. The man pulled out his sidearm, and before anyone could reach him, unloaded his weapon into Nathan's body. The six bullets all reached their target, making his body spasm with each impact. In disbelief, the General fell to his knees, looked down upon his riddled body, and lost consciousness, as his fellow companions, who had followed him so proudly, either escaped, or were killed by the six remaining Federal soldiers, who later that day identified that he was in fact the former General and fugitive Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Randal Flagg?? Is this the same guy from 'The Stand', or have you just borrowed the name?
If the former, Flagg needs to have his hindquarters kicked posthaste

Mike Garrity

Im glad you noticed. I love that book. And i just put the name in there. In 'The Stand', Randall Flagg is resurrected as someone who causes mischief, so I figured I could put him in there as a White Knight member. This timeline isnt going to be anywhere close to supernatural, or related to King's work, I thought it would be funny

Part 3
Diplomacy and Expansion

Although President Seward had much to worry about domestically, his foreign policy also made many headlines. Being the Secretary of State before his ascension to the Presidency, when he finished taking the Oath of Office, one of his first acts as President was the appointment of Frederick Seward, his son, to the office of Secretary of State. Frederick was already the Assistant Secretary of State, and over the next few years he would prove himself as great a statesman as his father.

Frederick Seward’s most remembered act was his 1867 dealings with Russia to purchase their last remaining territory on the North American continent, Alaska. By the time the meeting was over, Seward had purchased the territory for about 7 million dollars, which was about 2 cents an acre. The press immediately lauded both the Secretary of State and the President, calling the purchase “The Seward’s Folly”, but much of the public agreed with the transaction, and some notable Republicans, including Charles Sumner, thought the land grab was a grand idea. Many thought this was the beginning of a new period of expansion, or a feeling of “New Manifest Destiny”. A lot of Americans supported the movement, as it would help heal the rift between North and South with a heavy dose of American style nationalism, a system which Europe had begun experimenting with.

This new feeling would be supported by another purchase and a small annexation in the Pacific. The Purchase would come in 1867, this time from Denmark to the United States, and the land would be the Danish West Indies. The purchase, unlike “The Seward’s Folly”, was accepted and supported by the press, as the Islands gave the United States a foothold and major naval base in the Caribbean. In the Pacific, the Brook Islands were annexed, but nothing really came of it, except a coaling station that was put in place in 1871. By the end of the 1870's, the feeling of New Manifest Destiny had withered, but its effect on American history had already been immense.


While much of the United States Army was still occupied in the Deep South, fighting bushwhackers, a group of Irish-Americans called the Fenian Brotherhood planned attacks on Canadian soil to help take control of Canada, using it as a bargaining chip with the British government to force them to recognize Ireland’s independence. During the spring and summer of 1866, numerous raids were conducted from the United States upon Canada, but the United States did only the minimum to stop them. There were two reasons for this; first the United States did not have the material as many of the men were fighting in the South, and second, many in the United States had blamed Britain for supporting the Confederacy, and had no wish to help protect Canada’s or the United Kingdom’s territory. However, it is ironic that these raids, instead of helping Ireland’s fight for independence, only helped Canada unite under one flag as a dominion of the British Empire, as it convinced many of the opponents of Canadian unity that as one country Canada could better defend itself. The raids killed more than 200 people over the few months, and while the Irish weren’t successful, the effects of these events would change Anglo-American relations forever.


The Fenian Brotherhood meets the British on the fields of Ontario.

These events would come to a head in 1871, at a meeting in Washington D.C. between diplomats of the United States and the United Kingdom, to try and put to rest disputes that stemmed from the Civil War and the Fenian raids. The United States, long wished to gain a British apology for its role in creating commerce raiders for the Confederacy, which killed many American sailors and caused millions of dollars in damage. The British wished the same for the Fenian raids, and so, in 1871, the met in Washington D.C. The talks quickly broke down, as both sides debated their cases. The United States argued that the British had directly violated their neutrality by making the warships for the Confederacy, knowing how they would be used. Some in the United States, the most vocal being Charles Sumner, argued that Canada should be handed over in payment for the British acts, but the British refused. The British, on the other hand, argued that the United States did nothing to stop the Fenian raids. Both nations finally gave up, and no agreement was made, instead only irritating the people of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom even more.

While this was happening over the United States' North border, to the South, Mexico was in disarray....

SilverSwimmer


This sounds distinctly ominous. I can see storm clouds ahead. Both sides could get very heated about this, especially the British.

I think ~200 people were far more than the Fenians killed OTL wasn't it?

Steve

Yes, about 3 times as much. I put 200 as I think there would be more raids, and that they would be more intense and well-planned as the Americans couldn't stop any at the border. I believe there was only about 60 dead OTL, im not sure though

Part 4
The Mexican Civil War 1863-1870

While not always agreed upon, the Mexican Civil War stretches from the time Maximilian I was installed as Emperor of Mexico, in 1863, until 1870, when the main fighting ended after the execution of Benito Juarez, and the end of the French military withdrawal from Mexico. Started by French intervention, the war between the “Monarchist”, and “Republican” factions would see atrocities committed, and blood shed by both sides over the course of almost a decade. And while it would not end suddenly, taking up a “bushwhacker”(which Mexicans called ‘bandito’) culture for years afterward, the Second Mexican Empire had successfully consolidated enough power to call themselves the victors, with the power of France’s invisible hand in the back round.


Emperor Maximilian I, the Founding Monarch of the 2nd Mexican Empire

Emperor Max did not have many allies in Mexico; he was too Liberal for conservatives, as he upheld many of the reforms the former Mexican Republic had established, but was too conservative for the Liberals, as they would never accept a monarch. However, what Allies he had were very powerful. Napoleon III had sent a huge amount of French soldiers to Mexico during the intervention there, and as Maximilian was a Hapsburg and his wife Belgian, Austria and Belgium also sent large amounts of supplies and volunteers to aid his cause. This gave the Europeans the upper hand during the beginning years from 1863-1865, and the French scored numerous victories, but the Republican forces still would not surrender, holding out in Northwest Mexico, and along the border with the United States. From there, the Republican armies would stage attacks on the Monarchist forces, winning several victories in the West of Mexico. In October of 1865, Maximilian gave the Black Decree, which stated that anyone found in rebellion against him would be executed.

With the aftermath of the American Civil War, the United States was still heavily involved with fighting partisans in their own borders, and could not intervene in Mexico’s affairs, however much they wanted to. The American partisan problem served as both a relief and a lifesaver for the Mexican Empire. Napoleon III and Maximilian had feared American intervention, but the United States was still very much occupied, and could not act out. The lifesaver on the other hand, came in late 1865, when Maximilian, with the help of his old friend Matthew Fontaine Maury, invited ex-partisans and Confederates to fight for him, in exchange for land and amnesty. During 1866 alone, almost 3,000 ex-Confederate soldiers streamed across the border, including the high-ranking General Braxton Bragg. The influx of men and experienced officers gave the Monarchists the boost it needed, and in November of 1866, Monarchist forces, supported by a small ex-Confederate contingent crushed a Republican Army in the 3rd battle of Tacámbaro.

The war only went downhill for the Republicans after this. In July of 1867, the Monarchists advanced through the rest of Sinaloa, surrounding the port city of Mazatlán, which surrendered that fall. The battered Republican forces successfully used fighting withdrawal tactics however, and escaped encirclement by Monarchist forces from Sinaloa, and French forces from Guaymas during the winter/spring of 1868, keeping the hope of the Republican cause alive. But unfortunately for the Republicans, they were only delaying the inevitable, and the last major engagement between the two factions came in September, 1869. There, Monarchist forces stormed the provisional capitol of the Republicans, razed the city, soundly defeated the troops there, and captured Benito Juarez. After a mock trial, Benito was put in front of a firing squad. The day was November 17th, 1869.


Monarchist Mexican forces storming Republican positions at Chihuahua.
September, 1869.

Even before the final battle at Chihuahua, French forces had begun withdrawing, as the growing threat of Bismarck's Prussia loomed over Europe. The last of the French troops left in January of 1870, although some advisors stayed with the military. The Civil War that rocked the nation for the last decade was all but over, as pockets of resistance across Northwest Mexico still caused many problems, making a martyr out of the late Benito Juarez. They would be a continual headache for Maximilian I, and for the next decade, covert aid from the United States would trickle down from the border.

Great TL!

And I never knew about the Fenian Brotherhood before. I was amazed to find out that was OTL!

Hmm, I would think the North South duivide would be far geater with the Bushwacker Rebellions. I wonder if we will see further rebellions down the line. Also it seems Anglo-Yankee relations will decline.

Mexico is very interesting. As a monarchist I am of course pleased to see Emperor Maximillian survive. If he is allowed to actually rule he could do great things for Mexico with peace having broken out. I wonder how long the Habsburg-Iturbide Dynasty will last? Perhaps until the Depression?

The French defeat coming up could change things. Napleon III will probably be be somewhat more popular with the Mexico venture succeeding, but if the but if the Franco-Prussian War goes according to OTL he will still loose the throne.

In the eventof the French Empire going under Perhaps Maximillian will seek Brirtish patronage? It would create encirclement fears in the USA and sour relations between Washington and London for violating the so called Monroe Doctrine.

Hmm, I wonder what kind of impact the new Confederate Mexicans will have? If they are successful we might see a steady trickle of former Confederates into Mexico over the next few years. For thatr matter Napoleon III's heir might end up in Mexico rather than Africa and survive longer.

SilverSwimmer

While I can see the Confederate migrants being welcomed by the imperial authorities would they fit in that well in Mexico? Their overwhelmingly Protestant, pro-slave, Anglo, all things that might make them unpopular with the local population. Probably even more so than the French troops given recent history.

Steve