American Elephant

[modelcitizen]

General Robert E. Lee did not like the elephants as cavalry.
He loved them.
The beasts did not share the full measure of horse agility, nor were they especially simple to mount and dismount.
It was impossible to not be awed by their incredible presence and available shocking turns of fierce speed, or by their formidable robustness in the field of battle.
With regards to the latter, Lee had insisted that the beast's natural lack of vulnerability be augmented with armor over key parts of their heads and bodies to further discourage any attempts to wound the splendid animals.

The elephant's prominent role in the American military had its roots in the 1812 rematch with the British Empire. An eccentric British general with interests in India had thought himself insightful to send a convoy of half a dozen ships of elephants and marabouts to "make the rebels flat" on their arrival at the United States.

Luckily for the Americans, the still spry retired president and general George Washington continued to maintain a formidable network of spies and informants that stretched now around the world. This would-be Cincinnatus carefully reviewed his crops and his spy reports on the same desk, and it was from that desk that his mind-boggling but sternly voiced warning was delivered to American naval officials.

Washington made it clear that he would personally commission a fleet of ships to intercept the elephant armada if the US government did not.

Within several weeks, the elephant fleet had arrived on American shores, captained by American officers whose forces had found and then boarded the half-dozen elephant-toting shps at sea.

To this day, every year, elementary schools across the state of Quebec exhort their students to write poems commemorating the "liberation" of their province from British oppression, with wildly colorful posters competing to best depict Le General George Washington on his lead elephant, leading his majestic Hannibal Corps down the avenues of Montreal, reviewing the troops in Quebec City, appearing over the horizon into a gloriously open field, and so on.

As soon as the war had concluded, the old legend had retired again back to his fields. Washington had politely refused the offer of several elephants for farm work, emphasizing the importance of these creatures for the future of American military ability to discourage invaders and keep the peace.

Washington still liked to regularly visit Carthago, Carthago who had stolidly bourne the general up from the capital and across the stretches of Canada. Carthago was said to well recognize his master and fondly at that also.

American scientists did their best to encourage breeding of their elephants at their rather spacious facility in Virginia. Additional imports of elephants from Africa livened up the stock and added more than a dash of size and spirit.


Additional thoughts:

Rough And Ready/personally leading elephant cavalry into southern areas of seccessionism to put an end to such things. Then, without the benefit of congressional consultation, the mercurial "Muskrat" arbitrarily declared --from atop his mount, Scipio-- that slavery had come to an end, and that he would "personally arm the n___ers and lead them in massacring the women and children" if slave-owners resisted his order.

Zachary Taylor, or, "Zack The Mad" as he was known in parts of the south, was said by some to have personally averted a later and more damaging civil war between the anti- and pro-slavery sides of the United States of America. Others bitterly dismissed "barbarian praise" of what had been seen by some as violent and brutal overrreaction.

To the horror of those that loathed war, Taylor was not done yet.

Expressions of concern from freshly truncated Mexico were accepted as Causus Belli by the commander in chief, who turned Scipio south to take the rest of that beleaguered Spanish-speaking country.

The implacable Taylor, a man notorious for spurning compromise --"Not even in the face of armaggedon"-- had not only ended slavery, but subsequently provided a means for plantation owners to obtain low-cost labor of what the former slave-masters hoped would be of a less trouble-causing sort.

Many of the freed slaves happily joined Taylor's expanded army, some becoming elephant-cavalry riders and serving to keep Native Americans and ambitious white settlers apart as America adjusted to its new breadth. (See http://www.american-presidents.com/zachary-taylor/ for verifying Taylor's inclinations against secessionists and those that would invade into Native American lands.)

[Color-Copycat]

Hmm, that's certainly a refreshing twist on the old "Lincoln accepts Siamese war elephants" premise.

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Color-Copycat

Hmm, that's certainly a refreshing twist on the old "Lincoln accepts Siamese war elephants" premise.

Thank you.

I'd never heard that about Lincoln and the Siamese war elephants! Sweet.


My inspiration came from theman from the ministry, http://www.alternatehistory.com/disc...ostcount=10063 most emphatically when he wrote that he thought the personnel in the picture looked American.

[Lord Grattan]

A creative and well told introduction to your story!

Here's some background on the elephants Color-Copycat mentioned:

Elephant Story
Contrary to popular belief, King Mongkut did not offer a herd of war elephants to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War for use against the Confederacy. He did, however, offer to send some domesticated elephants to President James Buchanan, to use as beasts of burden and means of transportation. The royal letter of 14 February 1861, which was written even before the Civil War started, took some time to arrive in Washington DC, and by the time it reached its destination, President Buchanan was not in office any longer. Lincoln, who succeeded Buchanan, is said to have been asked what the elephants could be used for, and in reply he said that he did not know, unless "they were used to stamp out the rebellion." However, in his replying letter dated 3 February 1862 Lincoln did not mention anything about the Civil War. The President merely politely declined to accept King Mongkut's proposal, explaining to the King that the American climate might not be suitable for elephants and that American steam engines could also be used as beasts of burden and means of transportation.

A century later, during his state visit to the US, King Bhumibol of Thailand, who is Mongkut's great-grandson, referred to this event in his address before the US Congress on 29 June 1960. He said, "my great-grandfather offered to send the President and Congress elephants to be turned loose in the uncultivated land of America for breeding purposes. That offer was made with no other objective than to provide a friend with what he lacks, in the same spirit in which the American aid program is likewise offered."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongkut

[eliphas8]

Originally Posted by Lord Grattan

A creative and well told introduction to your story!

Here's some background on the elephants Color-Copycat mentioned:

I still find this story ridiculously sureal (although I do have to chastise Lincoln for his lack of fun, I mean come on, he could have accepted the proposal and rode around on it in the streets of DC!).

[d32123]

This gets an awesome stamp for being awesome.

[Riain]

It's funny what people fixate on.

Leaving aside the utility of elephants in a military environment were cannon are common; can Asian elephants breed with African elephants? I know that Lions, Tigers, Jaguars and Leopards can interbreed, with sterile offspring, but can elephants?

[Atomicwalrus]

I'm pretty sure they can breed but the babies don't normally last long.

[Captain Jack]

Originally Posted by Riain

Leaving aside the utility of elephants in a military environment were cannon are common; can Asian elephants breed with African elephants? I know that Lions, Tigers, Jaguars and Leopards can interbreed, with sterile offspring, but can elephants?

IIRC there's only been one recorded incident of African and Indian elephants interbreeding and the resulting baby died within a matter of minutes

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Lord Grattan

A creative and well told introduction to your story!

THANK YOU!!!!!

Originally Posted by Lord Grattan

Here's some background on the elephants Color-Copycat mentioned:
Quote:
Elephant Story
Contrary to popular belief, King Mongkut did not offer a herd of war elephants to President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War for use against the Confederacy. He did, however, offer to send some domesticated elephants to President James Buchanan, to use as beasts of burden and means of transportation. The royal letter of 14 February 1861, which was written even before the Civil War started, took some time to arrive in Washington DC, and by the time it reached its destination, President Buchanan was not in office any longer. Lincoln, who succeeded Buchanan, is said to have been asked what the elephants could be used for, and in reply he said that he did not know, unless "they were used to stamp out the rebellion." However, in his replying letter dated 3 February 1862 Lincoln did not mention anything about the Civil War. The President merely politely declined to accept King Mongkut's proposal, explaining to the King that the American climate might not be suitable for elephants and that American steam engines could also be used as beasts of burden and means of transportation.

A century later, during his state visit to the US, King Bhumibol of Thailand, who is Mongkut's great-grandson, referred to this event in his address before the US Congress on 29 June 1960. He said, "my great-grandfather offered to send the President and Congress elephants to be turned loose in the uncultivated land of America for breeding purposes. That offer was made with no other objective than to provide a friend with what he lacks, in the same spirit in which the American aid program is likewise offered."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongkut
_______

(Sadist Yankee grows a pointed little beard to go with a widening evil smile...)

Oh, that would have been fun!!!!!!!!!!!

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by eliphas8

I still find this story ridiculously sureal (although I do have to chastise Lincoln for his lack of fun, I mean come on, he could have accepted the proposal and rode around on it in the streets of DC!).

That and Beast Butler riding to the occupational hq in New Orleans.



Edit: Would Sherman and company atop elephants be a tad too much?

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by d32123

This gets an awesome stamp for being awesome.

(Kneels in royal posture)

Thank you, thank you very much!

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Captain Jack

IIRC there's only been one recorded incident of African and Indian elephants interbreeding and the resulting baby died within a matter of minutes

That is sad.

(Pondering pretty bottle of "Handwavium" on table...)

That is sad.

[Tallest Skil]

This just rocks. We need a map of the United States of Amerlephant.

And Photoshopped pictures of the Plains Elephants roaming free.

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

This just rocks. We need a map of the United States of Amerlephant.

And Photoshopped pictures of the Plains Elephants roaming free.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A map requires worthwhile pondering. I'll see what I can do about the 'phants on the plains...

[modelcitizen]

Skeet Uggins had been about to rape the young Indian girl when he realized that the thunder he felt in his veins had nothing to do with his circulatory system. What was more notable was that the thunder had quickly diminished.

Skeet looked up --way up-- into the widely spaced eyes of an enormous elephant, an elephant with a black "Negro Elephant Cavalryman" in a box behind its shoulders bearing down on Skeet with a very large rifle.

The elephant lifted his trunk and screamed.

Skeet shat himself.

[modelcitizen]

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

This just rocks. We need a map of the United States of Amerlephant.

And Photoshopped pictures of the Plains Elephants roaming free.

This map is from 1859.

[Derek Jackson]

Is it imaginable that North america could have a species of Elephant or Mamoth as tamable as Asian elephants are?

[yourworstnightmare]

Originally Posted by Derek Jackson

Is it imaginable that North america could have a species of Elephant or Mamoth as tamable as Asian elephants are?

Not with this PoD. But imagine the Conquistadors facing up against the War Mammoths of the native empires.

[modelcitizen]

Incidentally, the Handwavium Decision has been to keep it in the bottle (for now), that is, the American Elephant Inventory is a mix of Asian and African elephants. (Early attempts at Asian-African hybrids were failures, and Elephant Cavalry officers privvy to these endeavors forbade further attempts.)