9 April
HMS Troubridge (formerly the US sloop Tuscaroa) stops off in Charleston as a courtesy visit. The makeup of her crew causes some issues, including as it does a few black seamen and one officer, along with the fact that the Spirit incident has been known about for some time - and the 'trouts' (as they are known) consider the capture of Spirit something for the Royal Navy to be proud of. (Indeed, one able seaman - Jackie Seim - was a slave who survived the wreck of the Trouvadore as a young boy.)
12 April
After objections from some members of the White coalition, the Sejm changes their official proposal on voting rights. They now specify the following as the extent of the franchise - either of:
1) A minimum income, specifying an amount of money which a moderately affluent tradesman can meet but a day-labourer is unlikely to.
2) Any owned land in excess of one quarter of an acre.
This, coupled with giving peasants the land they farm, would result in a drastically expanded franchise. It does not quite have enough votes to pass, facing opposition from extreme wings of both the Reds and the Whites for quite different reasons.
13 April
A brawl takes place in Charleston between some of the 'Trouts' and the locals in the early hours of the morning, which is too serious to be glossed over - able seaman Seim is stabbed, leaving him in a bed aboard Troubridge for some days. Stories are contradictory, but several witnesses agree the Spirit of Carolina came up in discussion.
The mayor of Charleston (Macbeth) initially refuses to apologize, until some pointed conversation takes place with Troubridge's second in command. During this time the second alludes to the 110-lber rifles that replaced Troubridge's 11" guns when she was refit for British service. Macbeth bitterly resents the implied threat, but has to concede that the alternative to an apology (the trial of the perpetrators) is not feasible.
Privately he suspects that the owner of the Spirit may be responsible, but has no proof.
17 April
Battle of Zambrow. Russian troops numbering about 6,000 brush aside a screen of rebels, and force the huszaria supporting them to retreat.
18 April
As the news of Zambrow spreads, the Sejm votes on what will become known as the April Reforms. They pass by five votes, along with a motion to delay their announcement by up to a week if a victory can be achieved in that time.
20 April
Heavy muzzle loading rifles go into full production in the United Kingdom as specialized anti-armour weapons, until such time as Armstrong comes up with a stable and powerful breech. The initial indications are excellent - in tests the RML penetrated the Warrior target with a Palliser shell at considerable range, which has promptly made various ship designers throughout the Admiralty go back to their calculations and begin working out new ship designs.
21 April
Battle of Ostromy in Poland. The Russian column from before (swollen by reinforcements to around 10,000) engages another force of rebels, but this time the rebel commander is considerably more skilled. His system of crude embrasures slows the Russian troops, allowing his huszaria to pick them off as they advance, and he also employs a quite skilled version of a bounding retreat. Critically, he neutralizes the Russian artillery fairly early on - shooting down the gunners and horses, refusing to allow them to move the guns forwards by keeping up steady rifle fire - and so the wood-and-earth defences are not simply blasted apart by shells.
The battle lasts for hours, a long slow grind forwards by the Russian troops trying to get into position for Nessler volleys against the mass targets the guerilla huszaria are denying them. Ammunition comes close to running out entirely for the Polish troops, and ultimately the battle is decided by a cavalry charge. (The cavalry in question are the last-gasp trick of the Polish defenders, a combination of minor nobles used to riding in the front ranks and a large number of peasants decidedly not used to riding into battle behind them, but the morale effect coming after the long battle is too much and the Russians break - to reform some miles to the east.)
The news reaches the Sejm as night falls, and they are delighted - the way the battle went makes it ideal for their 'spin' on the April Reforms.
22 April
April Reforms officially announced.
Also on this day, the State of Virginia holds an artillery trial for their new Krupp guns. Everyone is very impressed, especially Robert E. Lee (who has come down to enjoy the occasion, something of a break from his ongoing troubles with trying to remove Fort Tillinghast from his lawn) and P.G.T.Beauregard - the latter starting to sketch out a novel fort design he has come up with, everything in the fort under bombproofs and sited at a set distance from a 'twin' fort which can deluge it with shells if the need (i.e. Union infantry) arises.
The only thing which mars the performance of the German weapons is their propensity for breech explosions, but this is considered a minor issue by comparison to the Parrott Gun.
