The war is small battles with limited battles, no knockout blows and with the UK and others getting involved no clear sides. So confusion as we watch two fighters pummel each other.
The American Experiment- A Nullification Timeline
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The war is small battles with limited battles, no knockout blows and with the UK and others getting involved no clear sides. So confusion as we watch two fighters pummel each other.
Good, in terms of I didn't expect you to milk so much good entertainment from Andrew Jackson's character.
Lombardi, Bruno. A History of Canada. Montreal: Smith Printing, 2003. Print.
Much like the Columbian Rebellion, the unrest that wracked Canada from 1837-38 had deep roots. Canada had long been governed under archaic laws, that treated the nation as a mere colony with little right to self-rule, even as the revolutions in America, the Caribbean and South America showed the folly of this approach. The franchise was limited, political corruption rampant and Great Britain still appointed unpopular governors with near dictatorial powers. Aptly, it was the successes of the Reform Movement in the motherland that inspired the same moves in Canada.
It should be clearly noted that while often treated as one country in American histories, Canada was quite two separate governmental entities at this time. There was Upper Canada, generally the Anglo region around the Great Lake, which included large and growing cities like Toronto and Windsor. In this region it was generally Anglo settlers agitating for equal political rights, which were being won in Britain but denied here.
Toronto, a growing center of trade and goverment, the face of a changing Canada
There was also lower Canada, later the region known as Quebec. It was populated by French-speaking Catholic settlers, or Canadiens, left over from when Britain had taken Quebec from France in the Seven Years War. Along with the nature grievances of faith and language, they were also unsettled by talk of combining both colonies together, the better to dilute French influence.
By 1837 the tensions had finally, after years of political strife, risen to violence. Both areas had quite independently erupted into violence at the same time. In Lower Canada an assembly of French protesters refused to be arrested and responded with violence. Things escalated as the government brought in more troops, while the rebels fled into the countryside, razing it behind them. The main rebel leader, Louis-Joseph Papineau, a veteran of 1812 and a longtime lawyer, advocated boycott and civil resistance more than outright rebellion. Ironically, the main rebel that advocated violence was an Anglo named Wolfred Nelson, a former physician turned failed politician. Throughout the summer the two of them whipped Lower Canada into a frenzy, stocking arms, gathering recruits and by fall attacking small British forces with varying success. Papineau fled to the United States, trying to find aid for the revolt.
At the same time, Upper Canada also exploded into revolt. With government troops drawn to Lower Canada, the time was ripe for political radicals to try and seize power. In October 1837 a riot broke out in Toronto, which was barely put down. In the aftermath a group of radicals gathered in a Constitutional Convention headed by Lyon Mackenzie, a staunch republican. After voting on a new Constitution for Lower Canada, they declared themselves in revolt.
Lyon Mackenzie, fervent but sometimes unstable Republican leader
At first they tried peaceful means and hoped that, having won enough rural support, they could simply march into the cities with a fait accompli. However, despite being undermanned, government forces reacted swiftly, and at Montgomery's Tavern sought to force the issue with the bayonet. Mackenzie wanted to stay and fight, but was outvoted. The rebels fled, growing more violent every passing day. In December they were forced to a pitched battle at Hamilton, and lost. The Republicans fled to Navy Island, hoping, like their Canadien cousins, for American support.
Both revolts seemed lost in the cold winter of 1837-38. Most of the leaders in both areas had been driven to the United States and their small armies defeated in the field. If relations between the United States and the United Kingdom had been warm it probably would have ended there. As things stood, though, President Jackson saw these rebels as tools to use against Canada, and, by extension, Great Britain.
He sent food, money and arms to the rebels and helped organize the so-called ‘Hunters Lodges’, bases for the rebels to use in American territory. Lewis Cass, the humiliated general now in charge of the Michigan border, was instructed to ‘provide these men all due aid and respect’. Soon the Great Lakes were full of ships supporting the now recovering rebels. Papineau met Federal agents in New York who provided funds and weapons (although powder was in critically short supply) to the beleaguered Canadiens. Even Mackenzie on Navy Island was provided with regular shipments of food and money, which emboldened the man to declare a Republic of Canada on January 18th.
With all this American aid, instead of the revolts withering, they grew over that winter and when spring came, the leaders once again took to the field. In Lower Canada the French peasants rose up in greater numbers than the previous year, and now had experienced military leaders. Men like Ferdinand-Alphonse Oklowski and Jean-Olivier Chénier were among them. Chenier in particular led his ragged force to victory after victory in those heady days of early 1838. Soon the revolt grew into a real threat to the government forces as the rebels threatened cities like Quebec City and even the newly founded Montreal.
These successes were matched in Upper Canada. Bolstered by American goods and money, Republican forces led by Anthony Van Egmond, a supposed veteran of the Napoleonic wars, took the initiative. The rebels had narrow victories at Moore’s Field and Nelson. Mackenzie himself, still based on Navy Island, actually hijacked a steamboat and threatened trade all over the Niagara region.
The run of victories could not last, however, not with American attention diverted south as their own war heated up for the summer. Both Lower and Upper Canada demanded more British troops be sent. Parliament, increasingly worried about American tensions in the Atlantic agreed and sent thousands of troops. These battle-hardened troops, well fed and led by men such as Roger Sheaffe (a former Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada) and Charles Napier (recently home from India) quickly moved to quash both rebellions. Great Britain, concerned with American involvement in Canada, had broken with tradition and told her commanders to deal harshly with traitors and ‘foreign agents’.
Lower Canada fell first, with the Canadiens first chased into rough, rural country and then slowly beaten down into a poor hungry rabble. Upon capture, dozens of men were hanged and hundreds transported to Australia with little regard for innocence or guilt. A secondary revolt in the fall was bloodily put down, increasing the hatred between French speaking and English speaking groups.
The hopeless 'Second Rebellion' in Quebec being crushed by British troops
In Upper Canada, things took more time. The rougher terrain, the informal ‘navy’ gifted by America, and the resolute nature of Mackenzie all lent themselves to a long rebellion. Napier, aged but brutal, has his own views on rebellion from his days in India.
“The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.”
He lived up to his reputation. He burned towns, scorched fields, and bombarded cities that dared side with the Republicans. Prisoners were generally shot or hanged, and the laws of war were removed. The entire province of Upper Canada was declared under martial law and treated harshly. Civilians were interrogated, supplies requisitioned and no little quarter given. This harsh attitude also showed when dealing with the rebels themselves. When Egmond, holding out in a rough fortress, refused to surrender, Napier sent a simple message.
“Come here instantly. Come here at once and make your submission, or I will in a week tear you from the midst of your troops and hang you.”
Egmond, leading troops with no shoes, food or weapons surrendered on September 22nd. With that, the final flickers of Republican revolt were extinguished by the British troops. Mackenzie once again retreated to Navy Island, which he fortified and manned to withstand any assault. He hoped America would save him once again, but by now Jackson was far too concerned with Columbia, and could spare nothing for the northern rebels. On October 12th, the British heavily shelled Navy Island. After dark, veterans slipped ashore and stormed the poorly manned defenses. Although they watered the ground with blood, they nonetheless captured Mackenzie alive. He was then hanged by a vengeful army, along with many of his most loyal lieutenants.
While both armed insurrections had failed, their uprisings and the brutal British re-conquest fed an underground fire for Republicanism in Canada for decades to come, in both English-speaking and French-speaking hearts.
Much like the Columbian Rebellion, the unrest that wracked Canada from 1837-38 had deep roots. Canada had long been governed under archaic laws, that treated the nation as a mere colony with little right to self-rule, even as the revolutions in America, the Caribbean and South America showed the folly of this approach. The franchise was limited, political corruption rampant and Great Britain still appointed unpopular governors with near dictatorial powers. Aptly, it was the successes of the Reform Movement in the motherland that inspired the same moves in Canada.
It should be clearly noted that while often treated as one country in American histories, Canada was quite two separate governmental entities at this time. There was Upper Canada, generally the Anglo region around the Great Lake, which included large and growing cities like Toronto and Windsor. In this region it was generally Anglo settlers agitating for equal political rights, which were being won in Britain but denied here.
Toronto, a growing center of trade and goverment, the face of a changing Canada
There was also lower Canada, later the region known as Quebec. It was populated by French-speaking Catholic settlers, or Canadiens, left over from when Britain had taken Quebec from France in the Seven Years War. Along with the nature grievances of faith and language, they were also unsettled by talk of combining both colonies together, the better to dilute French influence.
By 1837 the tensions had finally, after years of political strife, risen to violence. Both areas had quite independently erupted into violence at the same time. In Lower Canada an assembly of French protesters refused to be arrested and responded with violence. Things escalated as the government brought in more troops, while the rebels fled into the countryside, razing it behind them. The main rebel leader, Louis-Joseph Papineau, a veteran of 1812 and a longtime lawyer, advocated boycott and civil resistance more than outright rebellion. Ironically, the main rebel that advocated violence was an Anglo named Wolfred Nelson, a former physician turned failed politician. Throughout the summer the two of them whipped Lower Canada into a frenzy, stocking arms, gathering recruits and by fall attacking small British forces with varying success. Papineau fled to the United States, trying to find aid for the revolt.
At the same time, Upper Canada also exploded into revolt. With government troops drawn to Lower Canada, the time was ripe for political radicals to try and seize power. In October 1837 a riot broke out in Toronto, which was barely put down. In the aftermath a group of radicals gathered in a Constitutional Convention headed by Lyon Mackenzie, a staunch republican. After voting on a new Constitution for Lower Canada, they declared themselves in revolt.
Lyon Mackenzie, fervent but sometimes unstable Republican leader
At first they tried peaceful means and hoped that, having won enough rural support, they could simply march into the cities with a fait accompli. However, despite being undermanned, government forces reacted swiftly, and at Montgomery's Tavern sought to force the issue with the bayonet. Mackenzie wanted to stay and fight, but was outvoted. The rebels fled, growing more violent every passing day. In December they were forced to a pitched battle at Hamilton, and lost. The Republicans fled to Navy Island, hoping, like their Canadien cousins, for American support.
Both revolts seemed lost in the cold winter of 1837-38. Most of the leaders in both areas had been driven to the United States and their small armies defeated in the field. If relations between the United States and the United Kingdom had been warm it probably would have ended there. As things stood, though, President Jackson saw these rebels as tools to use against Canada, and, by extension, Great Britain.
He sent food, money and arms to the rebels and helped organize the so-called ‘Hunters Lodges’, bases for the rebels to use in American territory. Lewis Cass, the humiliated general now in charge of the Michigan border, was instructed to ‘provide these men all due aid and respect’. Soon the Great Lakes were full of ships supporting the now recovering rebels. Papineau met Federal agents in New York who provided funds and weapons (although powder was in critically short supply) to the beleaguered Canadiens. Even Mackenzie on Navy Island was provided with regular shipments of food and money, which emboldened the man to declare a Republic of Canada on January 18th.
With all this American aid, instead of the revolts withering, they grew over that winter and when spring came, the leaders once again took to the field. In Lower Canada the French peasants rose up in greater numbers than the previous year, and now had experienced military leaders. Men like Ferdinand-Alphonse Oklowski and Jean-Olivier Chénier were among them. Chenier in particular led his ragged force to victory after victory in those heady days of early 1838. Soon the revolt grew into a real threat to the government forces as the rebels threatened cities like Quebec City and even the newly founded Montreal.
These successes were matched in Upper Canada. Bolstered by American goods and money, Republican forces led by Anthony Van Egmond, a supposed veteran of the Napoleonic wars, took the initiative. The rebels had narrow victories at Moore’s Field and Nelson. Mackenzie himself, still based on Navy Island, actually hijacked a steamboat and threatened trade all over the Niagara region.
The run of victories could not last, however, not with American attention diverted south as their own war heated up for the summer. Both Lower and Upper Canada demanded more British troops be sent. Parliament, increasingly worried about American tensions in the Atlantic agreed and sent thousands of troops. These battle-hardened troops, well fed and led by men such as Roger Sheaffe (a former Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada) and Charles Napier (recently home from India) quickly moved to quash both rebellions. Great Britain, concerned with American involvement in Canada, had broken with tradition and told her commanders to deal harshly with traitors and ‘foreign agents’.
Lower Canada fell first, with the Canadiens first chased into rough, rural country and then slowly beaten down into a poor hungry rabble. Upon capture, dozens of men were hanged and hundreds transported to Australia with little regard for innocence or guilt. A secondary revolt in the fall was bloodily put down, increasing the hatred between French speaking and English speaking groups.
The hopeless 'Second Rebellion' in Quebec being crushed by British troops
In Upper Canada, things took more time. The rougher terrain, the informal ‘navy’ gifted by America, and the resolute nature of Mackenzie all lent themselves to a long rebellion. Napier, aged but brutal, has his own views on rebellion from his days in India.
“The best way to quiet a country is a good thrashing, followed by great kindness afterwards. Even the wildest chaps are thus tamed.”
He lived up to his reputation. He burned towns, scorched fields, and bombarded cities that dared side with the Republicans. Prisoners were generally shot or hanged, and the laws of war were removed. The entire province of Upper Canada was declared under martial law and treated harshly. Civilians were interrogated, supplies requisitioned and no little quarter given. This harsh attitude also showed when dealing with the rebels themselves. When Egmond, holding out in a rough fortress, refused to surrender, Napier sent a simple message.
“Come here instantly. Come here at once and make your submission, or I will in a week tear you from the midst of your troops and hang you.”
Egmond, leading troops with no shoes, food or weapons surrendered on September 22nd. With that, the final flickers of Republican revolt were extinguished by the British troops. Mackenzie once again retreated to Navy Island, which he fortified and manned to withstand any assault. He hoped America would save him once again, but by now Jackson was far too concerned with Columbia, and could spare nothing for the northern rebels. On October 12th, the British heavily shelled Navy Island. After dark, veterans slipped ashore and stormed the poorly manned defenses. Although they watered the ground with blood, they nonetheless captured Mackenzie alive. He was then hanged by a vengeful army, along with many of his most loyal lieutenants.
While both armed insurrections had failed, their uprisings and the brutal British re-conquest fed an underground fire for Republicanism in Canada for decades to come, in both English-speaking and French-speaking hearts.
I am beginning to suspect that this timeline is going to end up with a Balkanized North America by the end of it all.
Now, after reading this entry, it seems that Jackson is completely screwed, and the British have no reason at all not to recognize Columbia and even intervene if they choose too. Not only did Jackson openly supply weapons, provisions and grant safe space to the Canadian rebels, but the British are going to know it. Furthermore, although Canada is being pacified, it also sounds spent (i.e. after the second minor rebellion, it will likely be another generation before the Canadians are able to stage another rising). This leaves thousands of British troops, now combat veterans, sitting in Canada and able to strike south at the United States while it's main focus is on Columbia. Uffda!
On a side note, have you read much about the Provisional Government of Oregon. Its about five years before its formation in OTL, but I could well see a similar government forming early; especially with the US and the British both unwilling and unable to provide protection to settlers in the Pacific Northwest. Which, of course, if Britain directly intervenes could come into play: I could see a situation where neither the US nor Britain want to see the Oregon territory going to the other party, and so compromise by making it an independent state (with the belief that it will be weak enough to bully around if need be). Of course, that is going to mean the United States only has ports on the east coast.
Now, after reading this entry, it seems that Jackson is completely screwed, and the British have no reason at all not to recognize Columbia and even intervene if they choose too. Not only did Jackson openly supply weapons, provisions and grant safe space to the Canadian rebels, but the British are going to know it. Furthermore, although Canada is being pacified, it also sounds spent (i.e. after the second minor rebellion, it will likely be another generation before the Canadians are able to stage another rising). This leaves thousands of British troops, now combat veterans, sitting in Canada and able to strike south at the United States while it's main focus is on Columbia. Uffda!
On a side note, have you read much about the Provisional Government of Oregon. Its about five years before its formation in OTL, but I could well see a similar government forming early; especially with the US and the British both unwilling and unable to provide protection to settlers in the Pacific Northwest. Which, of course, if Britain directly intervenes could come into play: I could see a situation where neither the US nor Britain want to see the Oregon territory going to the other party, and so compromise by making it an independent state (with the belief that it will be weak enough to bully around if need be). Of course, that is going to mean the United States only has ports on the east coast.
On a side note, since you mention Charles F. Adams in your last update; you should totally find a way for his older brother John to get over his alcoholism and survive. I always feel bad that two of JQA's three sons died so tragically. (In fact, one of the theories given for his descent into alcoholism was he felt shamed for being ridiculed by Jackson's southern supporters for not accepting a duel. Perhaps the war would be a good way for him to regain his sense of self)
So if Britain is about to either support indirectly Columbia or intervene directly, the West is still kinda neutral, and the Union is not only unable to break Columbian lines, but actually being pushed back; then we all know what will be the next actor to get it's righteous slice of the pie...
Franklin, Fredrick. A Lion Beset: Jackson's Strategic Choices in the American War of Secession. Baltimore: Orchard, 2000. Print.
While many historians agree with Daniel Webster’s apocryphal remarks regarding Jackson’s Canada adventures, Fools rush in…, should we really be so quick to judge? How else was he to strike at Great Britain, that distant power, protected by an ocean and the greatest fleet afloat? Already it was sending men and ships to Columbia; there must be some consequences. The backing of Canadian rebels also gained President Jackson one thing he needed above all else, time. Time to marshal the resources of the United States, time to quash internal resistance, and time to find the best men for the best positions.
It bought him the winter of 37-38 and most of that following year. During those cold months, The President faced his challenges, as usual, head-on. His external foes blocked for a time, he turned to confront the internal challenges to his war. They were many.
The obvious ones were the neutral states of the West. Bound to the South by trade, and unwilling to invade that ‘distant section’, they had maintained neutrality through nearly one year of war. By now however, the cracks were appearing in all of the states, as neutrality lost its luster.
In Missouri, bands of Columbian raiders had crossed into the vast state, looking for supplies as well as easy loot. In response, local militia fought back with mixed success, failing to stem the violence. Worst of all, from the settlers’ point of view, was the reappearance of the Native tribes. With Missouri weak and cut off, those tribes that had been put down in the Big Neck War came back with a vengeance. To them, the divide of the white settlers offered the last hope to hold onto some of their land. Already by the start of 1838 several bloody skirmishes made many settlers long for the power of the Federal army.
Warlike Native Americans brave, an idea that struck fear in the hearts of white settlers
In Illinois, neutrality was also falling from political grace. Backed by Federal agents, organization of pro-Federal men and women were starting to make their wishes felt at the state level. Rallies, marches and even riots were breaking out. The breakdown of Mississippi trade was strangling the state, and native raids were increasing too, on the borders. The election of governor was coming fast and anti-neutral forces seemed poised to seize it.
In Kentucky, things looked darkest. Already the war had reached their borders despite their best attempts. The war on the river had forced them to take sides, usually the Federal side. In November, Jameson, now head of the Mississippi Squadron, entered Louisville at the head of three steamers. Demanding supplies from the unwilling city he stated he would ‘level’ the city by cannonfire if his needs were not met. Meekly, the city surrendered the supplies. In addition to such blatant acts as this, forces from northwest Virgina were crossing the border, gathering allies and organizing pro-federal groups. Even the iron-willed Metcalfe could not prevent voices in the state legislature from espousing negative views on Neutrality. If the war was coming, could not better terms be gained now than when they had nothing left to bargain with and Federal troops took Kentucky as a prize of war?
Still, as the winter wore on, these states wavered in support of Jackson and his war to reunite the nation. They were not alone. New England, nearly a nation apart, was hardly more enamored of the war.
As in the War of 1812, this region saw the conflict as nothing more than the breakdown of trade, a waste of lives and an excuse for governmental overreach. With Jackson at the helm, the current war seemed an even more extreme example. The anti-British tensions would surely lead to an all-out war, which would wreck the local economy and perhaps mean redcoats invading New England itself. While only a few radicals called for resistance to the war (including some madmen demanding independence), it swelled the feeling of resentment towards the national government.
To counter anti-government feelings in both regions, the President dusted off an old idea. When running for President, in a burst of originality he had help form dozens of ‘Hickory Clubs’ to help agitate for his election. Now, faced with an even greater challenge, he began to reform them. Backed by the army and his cronies at every level of the government (after three terms of patronage few foes remained in appointed positions), Hickory Clubs began appearing, first by the dozens, then by the hundreds. What they did for Jackson depended on where they were.
Common artwork for the Hickory Clubs
They were most innocent in the Mid-Atlantic region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, where Jackson’s support was highest. Here the Hickory Clubs merely acted as recruitment stations, propaganda centers and political touchstones for local democrats. In many cases, they were local social gathering places, and were little different from Democrat party clubs.
In New England they were more sinister. While they certainly served all of the above roles, especially that of recruitment center, they also served as impromptu spy centers. Information on local Whigs and other dissents was recorded and acted upon. Sometimes it was harmless activity, such as midnight rallies or political speeches. Other cases were more dire, however, extending to direct intimidation or blocking polling booths. In a few extreme cases, the Hickory Clubs organized physical violence against local radicals. Through carrot and stick the Clubs helped keep New England in line, as well as gather blackmail for use by party officials.
In the far west they operated underground, officially banned by the neutral states. Here they acted as rally points for those who wished to fully re-join the United States and join the Federal war effort. They organized political activity of all kinds and plenty of violence. In Missouri they helped organize the Federal militia to fight off both Columbian fighters and Native American warriors. In eastern Kentucky, They acted as an unofficial arm of the Federal army, operating in the hills. In Illinois they were weakest, but helped mobilize and organize the scattered pro-Federal citizens.
With the help of the Hickory Clubs, President Jackson had managed to suppress dissent and boost morale in the entire nation, both essential elements to winning the war. As winter turned to spring, the Federal Army was rapidly growing in size due to drafted conscripts, and armed with Congress’s high war taxes. As both the President and Secretary of War Zachary Taylor were saying, now was the time to go on the offensive. To ensure that, Jackson also began handpicking men for the increasingly professional fighting of the war.
Already his inspired choice of Charles Morris had transformed the blockade from an idea into a hard reality for much of Southron shipping and on land Macomb proved to be an effective, if unaggressive commander. In the armed forces good men were already in place, with a few exceptions. It was in Washington itself, ‘that nest of vipers’ as the President often called it, that the President feared he would be undone. The Whigs were untrustworthy political animals who barely supported the war. Perhaps his deal demanded a Whig Cabinet, that didn’t mean he had to listen to them. Instead, Jackson turned to his infamous ‘Kitchen Cabinet’, a collection of informal Jackson loyalist advisers, to help win this war.
Louis McClane, the man given the unenviable task of funding a war with no National Bank
Jackson much preferred to trust such as Louis McClane, a Delawarean politician who had helped Jackson killed the National Bank or Amos Kendall, owner of many important Upper South papers. It was these men who were tasked with raising money for the war and making it popular. Together with the Hickory Clubs, they pushed forward, driven by Jackson’s will.
While many historians agree with Daniel Webster’s apocryphal remarks regarding Jackson’s Canada adventures, Fools rush in…, should we really be so quick to judge? How else was he to strike at Great Britain, that distant power, protected by an ocean and the greatest fleet afloat? Already it was sending men and ships to Columbia; there must be some consequences. The backing of Canadian rebels also gained President Jackson one thing he needed above all else, time. Time to marshal the resources of the United States, time to quash internal resistance, and time to find the best men for the best positions.
It bought him the winter of 37-38 and most of that following year. During those cold months, The President faced his challenges, as usual, head-on. His external foes blocked for a time, he turned to confront the internal challenges to his war. They were many.
The obvious ones were the neutral states of the West. Bound to the South by trade, and unwilling to invade that ‘distant section’, they had maintained neutrality through nearly one year of war. By now however, the cracks were appearing in all of the states, as neutrality lost its luster.
In Missouri, bands of Columbian raiders had crossed into the vast state, looking for supplies as well as easy loot. In response, local militia fought back with mixed success, failing to stem the violence. Worst of all, from the settlers’ point of view, was the reappearance of the Native tribes. With Missouri weak and cut off, those tribes that had been put down in the Big Neck War came back with a vengeance. To them, the divide of the white settlers offered the last hope to hold onto some of their land. Already by the start of 1838 several bloody skirmishes made many settlers long for the power of the Federal army.
Warlike Native Americans brave, an idea that struck fear in the hearts of white settlers
In Illinois, neutrality was also falling from political grace. Backed by Federal agents, organization of pro-Federal men and women were starting to make their wishes felt at the state level. Rallies, marches and even riots were breaking out. The breakdown of Mississippi trade was strangling the state, and native raids were increasing too, on the borders. The election of governor was coming fast and anti-neutral forces seemed poised to seize it.
In Kentucky, things looked darkest. Already the war had reached their borders despite their best attempts. The war on the river had forced them to take sides, usually the Federal side. In November, Jameson, now head of the Mississippi Squadron, entered Louisville at the head of three steamers. Demanding supplies from the unwilling city he stated he would ‘level’ the city by cannonfire if his needs were not met. Meekly, the city surrendered the supplies. In addition to such blatant acts as this, forces from northwest Virgina were crossing the border, gathering allies and organizing pro-federal groups. Even the iron-willed Metcalfe could not prevent voices in the state legislature from espousing negative views on Neutrality. If the war was coming, could not better terms be gained now than when they had nothing left to bargain with and Federal troops took Kentucky as a prize of war?
Still, as the winter wore on, these states wavered in support of Jackson and his war to reunite the nation. They were not alone. New England, nearly a nation apart, was hardly more enamored of the war.
As in the War of 1812, this region saw the conflict as nothing more than the breakdown of trade, a waste of lives and an excuse for governmental overreach. With Jackson at the helm, the current war seemed an even more extreme example. The anti-British tensions would surely lead to an all-out war, which would wreck the local economy and perhaps mean redcoats invading New England itself. While only a few radicals called for resistance to the war (including some madmen demanding independence), it swelled the feeling of resentment towards the national government.
To counter anti-government feelings in both regions, the President dusted off an old idea. When running for President, in a burst of originality he had help form dozens of ‘Hickory Clubs’ to help agitate for his election. Now, faced with an even greater challenge, he began to reform them. Backed by the army and his cronies at every level of the government (after three terms of patronage few foes remained in appointed positions), Hickory Clubs began appearing, first by the dozens, then by the hundreds. What they did for Jackson depended on where they were.
Common artwork for the Hickory Clubs
They were most innocent in the Mid-Atlantic region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, where Jackson’s support was highest. Here the Hickory Clubs merely acted as recruitment stations, propaganda centers and political touchstones for local democrats. In many cases, they were local social gathering places, and were little different from Democrat party clubs.
In New England they were more sinister. While they certainly served all of the above roles, especially that of recruitment center, they also served as impromptu spy centers. Information on local Whigs and other dissents was recorded and acted upon. Sometimes it was harmless activity, such as midnight rallies or political speeches. Other cases were more dire, however, extending to direct intimidation or blocking polling booths. In a few extreme cases, the Hickory Clubs organized physical violence against local radicals. Through carrot and stick the Clubs helped keep New England in line, as well as gather blackmail for use by party officials.
In the far west they operated underground, officially banned by the neutral states. Here they acted as rally points for those who wished to fully re-join the United States and join the Federal war effort. They organized political activity of all kinds and plenty of violence. In Missouri they helped organize the Federal militia to fight off both Columbian fighters and Native American warriors. In eastern Kentucky, They acted as an unofficial arm of the Federal army, operating in the hills. In Illinois they were weakest, but helped mobilize and organize the scattered pro-Federal citizens.
With the help of the Hickory Clubs, President Jackson had managed to suppress dissent and boost morale in the entire nation, both essential elements to winning the war. As winter turned to spring, the Federal Army was rapidly growing in size due to drafted conscripts, and armed with Congress’s high war taxes. As both the President and Secretary of War Zachary Taylor were saying, now was the time to go on the offensive. To ensure that, Jackson also began handpicking men for the increasingly professional fighting of the war.
Already his inspired choice of Charles Morris had transformed the blockade from an idea into a hard reality for much of Southron shipping and on land Macomb proved to be an effective, if unaggressive commander. In the armed forces good men were already in place, with a few exceptions. It was in Washington itself, ‘that nest of vipers’ as the President often called it, that the President feared he would be undone. The Whigs were untrustworthy political animals who barely supported the war. Perhaps his deal demanded a Whig Cabinet, that didn’t mean he had to listen to them. Instead, Jackson turned to his infamous ‘Kitchen Cabinet’, a collection of informal Jackson loyalist advisers, to help win this war.
Louis McClane, the man given the unenviable task of funding a war with no National Bank
Jackson much preferred to trust such as Louis McClane, a Delawarean politician who had helped Jackson killed the National Bank or Amos Kendall, owner of many important Upper South papers. It was these men who were tasked with raising money for the war and making it popular. Together with the Hickory Clubs, they pushed forward, driven by Jackson’s will.
Ahh, the Classic Kitchen Cabinet.
Formalise power in the Cabinet, then deformalised it again. (Of course, the Formal Cabinet a development of informal systems which the US pinched from the British...)
Formalise power in the Cabinet, then deformalised it again. (Of course, the Formal Cabinet a development of informal systems which the US pinched from the British...)
So we now have pseudo-paramilitary and covert 'clubs' that support the President. Ah, Jackson. This is getting good.
Naviaux, Durand. Calhoun's Columbia. San Francisco: Etolie Printing, 1999. Print.
The task of building a real Columbian government was undertaken in that long and fairly quiet winter of 1837-38. While independence had been declared and armies formed, the mundane tasks of civil government had only been partially tackled. As victories mounted, the reality of true nationhood loomed ever larger. In addition, more formal structures were required in order to impress and influence possible European allies, who would much rather treat with an effective state.
While James Hammond was the President of Columbia, real power was held by John Calhoun, who handled the difficult and tedious task of handling the Columbian Congress, still residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Skillful, experienced and with a strength of will perhaps only matched by president Jackson, the fiery Southron soon passed a slate of reforms.
A national flag was created, a national mint opened in New Orleans, and plans for the structure of government after the war even began to take form. Calhoun proposed breaking the government into three parts, the legislative body, the executive and the judicial, and separating them geographically throughout Columbia. These juicy political prizes pitted state against state and city against city, which gave Calhoun leverage over contending governmental plans.
The Columbian national flag
That is not to say governing in the new capital was easy. Without the traditions and protocol of Washington, D.C., arguments were contentious and unruly in Columbia, frequently surpassing even Calhoun’s ability to handle them. Shouting matches, furniture throwing, even physical fights broke out on the very floor of both House and Senate. While the newly formed body lacked true political parties, it fragmented based on personal rivalries and enmities. Personal insults were thrown with wild abandon, in person and through the nascent press. These undignified fights culminated in a formal duel between South Carolina Senator George McDuffie and Louisiana Senator Alexandre Mouton. Officially, it was over the question of government-supported internal improvements, but had in fact degenerated into personal insults and mudslinging. The duel resulted in the death of McDuffie, and so the Columbian government, under the guise of war measures, banned the practice of dueling. Nonetheless, the high tensions in the Southron capital continued.
This was exacerbated as Calhoun spent a considerable amount of time dealing with foreign powers instead of controlling his own fledgling government. Indeed, several times Columbian affairs took a back seat so he could focus on European interests. Despite the Federal blockade, several European advisers, observers and attaches trickled into the South. One of the first was Thomas Cochrane, famed former admiral of Britain’s Royal Navy. Cochrane, originally based in Mobile, traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina in order to help organize the blockade runners and tiny Columbian Navy. On his way he stopped in the capital to meet Calhoun and to ‘invest’ in several wealthy Columbian ventures. After these shadowy meetings he went to Wilmington, and later met a talented young engineer, Robert E. Lee.
Other European representatives came, including French lawyer and Deputy Gustave de Beaumont, who had traveled America with Alexis Tocqueville. While not a sympathizer with slavery, he was regarded as an American expert by the French government, and was sent to ‘attest and affirm’ that French interests in the Caribbean and Mexico would be respected by any Columbian government. Calhoun eased the former magistrate’s mind, and even suggested that France should install a more ‘civil government’ in Mexico.
The next visitor was not so easily handled. William Gladstone was a man on the rise in Great Britain. A member of the House of Commons for several years, he had already served as Junior Lord to the Treasury and as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. A pro-slavery man with deep commercial ties to the Caribbean, and currently in between posts (although still holding his Commons seat), he was regarded as the perfect man to send to Columbia. Still, it was a short visit, and he was more of a tourist then a government representative. Gladstone was unimpressed with the rough and ready state of democracy, commenting that the Congress seemed to have an unfair share of ‘gamblers and conmen’. The Peelite did, however, remark on the ‘robust nature’ of independence and the extensive commercial opportunities available in the new nation.
A young William Gladstone, unimpressed with Columbia but seeing opportunity for his nation and trade
It was this last that gave Calhoun hope. His nation was cash-hungry and had little way of generating money even as war expenses ballooned. Troops needed to be paid, supplied with materiel, fed, and the South lacked the financial instruments to borrow and lend such huge sums. What it did have was white gold: cotton. American cotton, even then before the Boom, was worth well over $22 million dollars yearly, over 31 percent of total US exports. Calhoun had control of nearly all of it but the Federal blockade had turned this torrent of wealth into a trickle.
So it was the commercial, trading men that Calhoun and others had more interest in than governmental representatives. These commercial networks came in the form of two very different men. First was Jules Lecesne, a French cotton trader from Le Havre, a growing French mill town. A well-traveled man, fluent also in German, English and Spanish, he had visited every part of the increasingly complex cotton trade. While many of his fellows saw ruin in the American War, he saw profit. In exchange for cotton futures (and future trading rights for his business) he was able to front millions of dollars in loans and securities for the Columbian government.
Quick on his heels was his English counterpart, William Rathbone V, scion of the noted Liverpool Rathbones, who had made fortunes in commerce for centuries, and recently had invested heavily in cotton. William, a political reformist as well, held a strong distaste for such elements of Columbian political thought as slavery, states’ rights and crushing social hierarchy. But like his French colleague he saw an incredibly rich future in cotton for the newly formed nation. Grabbing even a small share of this huge market could pay off in the millions, assuming they won the war. The Liverpool merchant thought it was a risk worth taking, and invested millions into trade deals throughout Columbia, which gave the struggling government the funds it needed.
Both of these men, and a few others like them, all dealt through Calhoun directly, often even bypassing the Treasury or the President himself. These connections and the deals they created gave Calhoun the political leverage to twist the fractious and quarreling Congress and states to his will. It was a tightrope act, but one the Vice President seemed able to sustain.
Despite the chaotic and sometimes seemingly anarchic government, Columbia continued to function, even grow. In January, 1838, Florida Territory experienced a swell of uprisings and riots which resulted in the weak Federal forces being overthrown and replaced by pro-Southron officials. Their first act was to apply for Columbian statehood, which was speedily granted, bringing the total of Southron states to nine. The addition was not an unalloyed good, of course. Florida added many miles of coastline to defend, and many Native American tribes. Those were troubles for after the war, however, and for now Columbia celebrated this sign of growing strength.
This morale booster was needed as news of the fighting from the Appalachian region trickled into the capital. Even as the fighting in Virginia waxed and waned, small scale fighting had burned in the backcountry. Unlike the massive set-pieces battles up North, here it was all skirmishes, ambushes and night time raids. This brutal war to the knife set brother against brother all throughout the hill country in Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama.
Colbumian commander John B. Floyd, a political appointee with no military experience, had not proven himself equal to the task of subduing the revolt. Indeed, the counter-revolt had grown in 1837 and the Federal commander in charge, Daniel Donelson, had taken the offensive throughout much of that summer and fall. Donelson raided cities as far apart as Asheville, North Carolina and Cleveland, Tennessee. His forces, hard fighting mountain men, became masters at the hit and run fighting that served the rough terrain so well. Floyd, recognizing on some level he was outmatched, refused large scale combat and avoided pitched fights.
Disgusted by his lack of progress Columbia finally sent word to Floyd to ‘crush the rebels with haste’ or he would be relieved of his command. Reluctantly, he moved into the rough mountains, helped by local loyalist guides. On the first day of winter, he led his troops into a series of narrow valleys near Waynesville, North Carolina. Confident his guides were correct, he spread his men out to hurry their passage. At noon the enemy struck the dispersed Columbian troops from every direction. The so-called loyalist guides vanished, leaving the troops in a lurch. In a panic, Floyd retreated haphazardly, leaving the bulk of his men, supplies and cannon behind, where they were cut down or seized piecemeal.
The defeat sent shockwaves throughout the region. Not only had it given the rebels much needed materiel to continue on the fight, it ended any chance of the South sealing off the ‘bleeding sore’ mountain fighting anytime soon. Voices in Columbia, which had earlier threatened Floyd’s removal, grew strident, having no trouble recalling the man. Who was to replace the inept political hack was a bitter political fight, but eventually Davy Crockett was chosen. The one-time Tennessee Representative, frontiersman and ant-Jackson diehard, he seemed to be the perfect men to send to conquer the stubborn hillfolk.
Davy Crockett, the man saddled with bringing the backcountry to heel.
The task of building a real Columbian government was undertaken in that long and fairly quiet winter of 1837-38. While independence had been declared and armies formed, the mundane tasks of civil government had only been partially tackled. As victories mounted, the reality of true nationhood loomed ever larger. In addition, more formal structures were required in order to impress and influence possible European allies, who would much rather treat with an effective state.
While James Hammond was the President of Columbia, real power was held by John Calhoun, who handled the difficult and tedious task of handling the Columbian Congress, still residing in Columbia, South Carolina. Skillful, experienced and with a strength of will perhaps only matched by president Jackson, the fiery Southron soon passed a slate of reforms.
A national flag was created, a national mint opened in New Orleans, and plans for the structure of government after the war even began to take form. Calhoun proposed breaking the government into three parts, the legislative body, the executive and the judicial, and separating them geographically throughout Columbia. These juicy political prizes pitted state against state and city against city, which gave Calhoun leverage over contending governmental plans.
The Columbian national flag
That is not to say governing in the new capital was easy. Without the traditions and protocol of Washington, D.C., arguments were contentious and unruly in Columbia, frequently surpassing even Calhoun’s ability to handle them. Shouting matches, furniture throwing, even physical fights broke out on the very floor of both House and Senate. While the newly formed body lacked true political parties, it fragmented based on personal rivalries and enmities. Personal insults were thrown with wild abandon, in person and through the nascent press. These undignified fights culminated in a formal duel between South Carolina Senator George McDuffie and Louisiana Senator Alexandre Mouton. Officially, it was over the question of government-supported internal improvements, but had in fact degenerated into personal insults and mudslinging. The duel resulted in the death of McDuffie, and so the Columbian government, under the guise of war measures, banned the practice of dueling. Nonetheless, the high tensions in the Southron capital continued.
This was exacerbated as Calhoun spent a considerable amount of time dealing with foreign powers instead of controlling his own fledgling government. Indeed, several times Columbian affairs took a back seat so he could focus on European interests. Despite the Federal blockade, several European advisers, observers and attaches trickled into the South. One of the first was Thomas Cochrane, famed former admiral of Britain’s Royal Navy. Cochrane, originally based in Mobile, traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina in order to help organize the blockade runners and tiny Columbian Navy. On his way he stopped in the capital to meet Calhoun and to ‘invest’ in several wealthy Columbian ventures. After these shadowy meetings he went to Wilmington, and later met a talented young engineer, Robert E. Lee.
Other European representatives came, including French lawyer and Deputy Gustave de Beaumont, who had traveled America with Alexis Tocqueville. While not a sympathizer with slavery, he was regarded as an American expert by the French government, and was sent to ‘attest and affirm’ that French interests in the Caribbean and Mexico would be respected by any Columbian government. Calhoun eased the former magistrate’s mind, and even suggested that France should install a more ‘civil government’ in Mexico.
The next visitor was not so easily handled. William Gladstone was a man on the rise in Great Britain. A member of the House of Commons for several years, he had already served as Junior Lord to the Treasury and as Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. A pro-slavery man with deep commercial ties to the Caribbean, and currently in between posts (although still holding his Commons seat), he was regarded as the perfect man to send to Columbia. Still, it was a short visit, and he was more of a tourist then a government representative. Gladstone was unimpressed with the rough and ready state of democracy, commenting that the Congress seemed to have an unfair share of ‘gamblers and conmen’. The Peelite did, however, remark on the ‘robust nature’ of independence and the extensive commercial opportunities available in the new nation.
A young William Gladstone, unimpressed with Columbia but seeing opportunity for his nation and trade
It was this last that gave Calhoun hope. His nation was cash-hungry and had little way of generating money even as war expenses ballooned. Troops needed to be paid, supplied with materiel, fed, and the South lacked the financial instruments to borrow and lend such huge sums. What it did have was white gold: cotton. American cotton, even then before the Boom, was worth well over $22 million dollars yearly, over 31 percent of total US exports. Calhoun had control of nearly all of it but the Federal blockade had turned this torrent of wealth into a trickle.
So it was the commercial, trading men that Calhoun and others had more interest in than governmental representatives. These commercial networks came in the form of two very different men. First was Jules Lecesne, a French cotton trader from Le Havre, a growing French mill town. A well-traveled man, fluent also in German, English and Spanish, he had visited every part of the increasingly complex cotton trade. While many of his fellows saw ruin in the American War, he saw profit. In exchange for cotton futures (and future trading rights for his business) he was able to front millions of dollars in loans and securities for the Columbian government.
Quick on his heels was his English counterpart, William Rathbone V, scion of the noted Liverpool Rathbones, who had made fortunes in commerce for centuries, and recently had invested heavily in cotton. William, a political reformist as well, held a strong distaste for such elements of Columbian political thought as slavery, states’ rights and crushing social hierarchy. But like his French colleague he saw an incredibly rich future in cotton for the newly formed nation. Grabbing even a small share of this huge market could pay off in the millions, assuming they won the war. The Liverpool merchant thought it was a risk worth taking, and invested millions into trade deals throughout Columbia, which gave the struggling government the funds it needed.
Both of these men, and a few others like them, all dealt through Calhoun directly, often even bypassing the Treasury or the President himself. These connections and the deals they created gave Calhoun the political leverage to twist the fractious and quarreling Congress and states to his will. It was a tightrope act, but one the Vice President seemed able to sustain.
Despite the chaotic and sometimes seemingly anarchic government, Columbia continued to function, even grow. In January, 1838, Florida Territory experienced a swell of uprisings and riots which resulted in the weak Federal forces being overthrown and replaced by pro-Southron officials. Their first act was to apply for Columbian statehood, which was speedily granted, bringing the total of Southron states to nine. The addition was not an unalloyed good, of course. Florida added many miles of coastline to defend, and many Native American tribes. Those were troubles for after the war, however, and for now Columbia celebrated this sign of growing strength.
This morale booster was needed as news of the fighting from the Appalachian region trickled into the capital. Even as the fighting in Virginia waxed and waned, small scale fighting had burned in the backcountry. Unlike the massive set-pieces battles up North, here it was all skirmishes, ambushes and night time raids. This brutal war to the knife set brother against brother all throughout the hill country in Tennessee, North Carolina and Alabama.
Colbumian commander John B. Floyd, a political appointee with no military experience, had not proven himself equal to the task of subduing the revolt. Indeed, the counter-revolt had grown in 1837 and the Federal commander in charge, Daniel Donelson, had taken the offensive throughout much of that summer and fall. Donelson raided cities as far apart as Asheville, North Carolina and Cleveland, Tennessee. His forces, hard fighting mountain men, became masters at the hit and run fighting that served the rough terrain so well. Floyd, recognizing on some level he was outmatched, refused large scale combat and avoided pitched fights.
Disgusted by his lack of progress Columbia finally sent word to Floyd to ‘crush the rebels with haste’ or he would be relieved of his command. Reluctantly, he moved into the rough mountains, helped by local loyalist guides. On the first day of winter, he led his troops into a series of narrow valleys near Waynesville, North Carolina. Confident his guides were correct, he spread his men out to hurry their passage. At noon the enemy struck the dispersed Columbian troops from every direction. The so-called loyalist guides vanished, leaving the troops in a lurch. In a panic, Floyd retreated haphazardly, leaving the bulk of his men, supplies and cannon behind, where they were cut down or seized piecemeal.
The defeat sent shockwaves throughout the region. Not only had it given the rebels much needed materiel to continue on the fight, it ended any chance of the South sealing off the ‘bleeding sore’ mountain fighting anytime soon. Voices in Columbia, which had earlier threatened Floyd’s removal, grew strident, having no trouble recalling the man. Who was to replace the inept political hack was a bitter political fight, but eventually Davy Crockett was chosen. The one-time Tennessee Representative, frontiersman and ant-Jackson diehard, he seemed to be the perfect men to send to conquer the stubborn hillfolk.
Davy Crockett, the man saddled with bringing the backcountry to heel.
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