TL-191: Filling the Gaps

I also have some thoughts on the Big Brawl between the Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet during 2GW, which I'm not sure have been previously posted here - I shall see if one can come up with them (in brief one sees this clash as less a Death Ride and more a shell game that ended up with the Germans getting their pea crushed, as it were).:)
 
I also have some thoughts on the Big Brawl between the Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet during 2GW, which I'm not sure have been previously posted here - I shall see if one can come up with them (in brief one sees this clash as less a Death Ride and more a shell game that ended up with the Germans getting their pea crushed, as it were).:)

Oh! Well that sounds exciting! Hey, if you ever do get around to making that, I got a thread specifically catered to that kind of thing for TL-191!

https://www.alternatehistory.com/fo...offensives-across-the-world-1861-1944.451967/

^^^ --- This one here! You can put there if you like, or here doesn't matter to me. I'm shamelessly promoting!

I actually did an alternate "Battle of Corinth" from the Civil War/War of Secession Era. In the alternate ending, the Confederates win at Corinth, helping to cover General Bragg's advance into Kentucky in 1862.
 
Just wanted to pop in and say how grateful I am for all you fellows keeping this thread going; I keep meaning to post something and one keeps missing the mark!:confounded:

Ya got all the time in the world, pal. Pop in and give us something to gnaw on when ya got it, we're starving for content lol
 
Just putting this here too since it seems relevant. Will put more.

@cortz#9 @Allochronian --- And here is my short list on the subject below! Feel free to add your own lists after this one!

Reputations of Pre-Secession (Pre-POD) American Individuals: Part 1 - Soldiers of the Revolutionary War

View attachment 436628

^^^ Friedrich Von Steuben --- German --- Prussian officer famed for being one of the "fathers" of the United States Army. Wounded twice in the Seven Years War he was one of only 13 officers chosen to participate in a special course of instruction delivered by Frederick the Great. Served as Inspector General of the Continental Army, greatly assisting in its organization and teaching the essentials of military drills and discipline. Owned a greyhound named "Azor" that accompanied him everywhere he went.

Union --- In the years after the Second Mexican War of 1881-1882, Von Steuben's fame and popularity in the United States skyrocketed as closer ties with Germany were established and an influx of Germans immigrated to the United States. Remembrance revauchists put Von Steuben on a pedestal, lionizing him as one of the great symbols for US-German cooperation and his military career in the Continental Army as being critical to the success of the revolution. The image of a professional Prussian officer willingly volunteering his services to train the rag-tag, battered, yet grimly determined American soldiers was not ignored by US political and military officials. Every effort was made to exploit that image to best possible extent, in the best possible light. The US Army experienced a kind of renaissance as German instructors and officers helped reshape organization, administration and training, where allusions to Valley Forge were not lost US officers and recruits alike. The German immigrant community enjoyed a rather warm welcome in the US as well, with "Von Steuben Day" being recognized by some US states as an official holiday to celebrate German heritage and to indirectly support the Remembrance ideology taking hold. In the years after GWI Von Steuben was still well regarded in the US and his good reputation still persisted well into the years after GWII.

Confederacy --- Von Steuben's military career and contributions are inevitably dwarfed by that of George Washington and other foreign military officers to the point of irrelevancy. At best, he is acknowledged for helping to organize George Washington's army, merely a small figure in a larger picture, a footnote compared to the gentlemen officer from Virginia. At worst, his notoriety concerning his rumored homosexuality and relations with young US military aides is brought up as a way to mock US-German relations, portraying him as a flamboyantly queer German officer with "certain reprehensible eccentricities".

-----

View attachment 436629

^^^ Casimir Pulaski --- Polish --- Considered one of the "founding fathers" of the United States Cavalry. Exiled from Poland after a failed uprising against the Russians, having his titles and rank stripped from him. He earned fame in the American Revolution at the Battle of Brandywine for preventing a disastrous rout and supposedly saving George Washington's army. He died from grievous wounds suffered on the battlefield.

Union --- Like Von Steuben, Pulaski enjoyed respectable popularity in the years after the Second Mexican War in the US, though his reputation was well established in the US even before the war. He is remembered more fondly by US military officials and soldiers rather than civilians as one of the fathers of the US Cavalry, though the Polish communities in the US view him in especially high regard just as German-Americans view Von Steuben in high regard. In fact he is one of four US cavalrymen that have become well-known names to US soldiers - the other three being the Americans Custer and Roosevelt, the other being the Hungarian-born Kovats. US paratroopers in GWII were actually taught a specific challenge-and-password phrase before the Battle of Chattanooga to identify friend and foe - the challenge was "Poland" and the response was "Pulaski".

Confederacy --- Casimir Pulaski is hardly mentioned or even remembered by Confederate historiographers, if at all, though he is not vilified to any extent, unlike Von Steuben. At best he is remembered for his actions at the Battle of Brandywine, but they are, once again, overshadowed by the ever prominent George Washington.
 
And this one.

** --- Lafayette, Jones, and Arnorld will get additional perspectives, beyond the Union and Confederacy.

Reputations of Pre-Secession (Pre-POD) American Individuals: Part 2 - More Soldiers of the Revolutionary War

View attachment 437221

^^^ Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette** --- French ---
French aristocrat, officer, and general of the Continental Army. Believed the American Revolution was a just cause and volunteered his services there, seeking glory. Fought alongside George Washington through major campaigns. Returned to a France on the brink of revolution and took part in major events there, helping to draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man with Jefferson's assistance, and becoming commander of the National Guard. Was blamed for Louis XVI's escape and his popularity declined dramatically after the Champs de Mars Massacre. Was captured by Austrians and held prisoner until Napoleon vouched for his release.

Union --- Despite a legendary status as one of the great generals of the American Revolution, being received with open arms on his grand tour of the United States in 1824, Lafayette's reputation suffered grievously in the aftermath of the War Secession and was very nearly destroyed in the North after the Second Mexican War... but not completely. In part due to the circumstances of the times, revaunchist scholars in the United States after the Second Mexican War heavily diminished Lafayette in their writings due to his relationship with George Washington and Jefferson. Interestingly enough his action in the French Revolution are looked upon with more nuance, though it is hardly sympathetic. Street names and buildings dedicated to him in the North were removed, with the dedications being erased or signs being replaced with "Von Steuben" instead. His reputation in the years before and after GWII have never fully recovered.

Confederacy --- Interestingly enough, Lafayette is a rather controversial figure for both Confederate scholars and white citizens alike and his legacy has generated intense discussion on how he should be looked at. On one hand he fought alongside George Washington on many of his campaigns and was a man that Lafayette greatly admired, naming his own son after him. His relationship with Thomas Jefferson in the years after the revolution also paints Lafayette as a close and professional friend, both men aiding each other in the causes of their home countries. The one major "black stain" on Lafayette's reputation, and consequently what makes him so controversial to whites in the Confederacy, is his passionate advocation for the abolition of slavery in America, his insistence of the equality of all men, and his willing cooperation to work with black Americans. Although street names and statues were still preserved in the Confederacy even under Featherston's administration, crowds waving the Freedom Party flag would protest in front of them, threatening to remove them by force.

African-Americans/Black Communists** --- Lafayette's career as a soldier fighting in the Continental Army is not so much important to Black Americans and Communists; his political and social actions are. While it is unclear when Lafayette became convinced of the emancipation of slaves in the US, his character and actions greatly suggest that he was a man willing to act on his beliefs. Frederick Douglass himself called Lafayette a true abolitionist and an advocate for radical equality among men and his work with black spy James Armistead, (later named "James Armistead Lafayette") is looked upon with great interest. His work on helping to draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man, wherein he insisted on all men are equal, are lauded among educated Blacks. While communists the world over do not think that much of Lafayette, he enjoyed a rather interesting niche reputation among the Black communists in the south as one of the few whites that were actively willing to help free blacks. Guerrillas and refugees in the south that escaped the aftermath of the Red Rebellions of 1915 and the Population Reductions of 1941-1944 gave themselves surnames as a mark of their freedom - "Lafayette" was recorded to be one of the most popular.

France** --- Lafayette has been consistently looked upon in a nuanced light in France for many years. Even under the Monarchist Restoration era of Charles XI beginning 1931 his reputation among the French people has largely remained the same, primarily because of his actions during the French Revolution and his actions during the turbulent political years after Napoleon Bonaparte's permanent exile.

-----

View attachment 437222

^^^ John Paul Jones** --- Scottish ---
Sailor, captain, and one of the "founding fathers" of the United States Navy. Becoming a sailor at age 13, Jonh Paul can be described as a man for the sea. Although Scottish by birth, he adopted the United States as his "beloved" home country. After a turbulent career in the merchant navy that saw him flee to the United States after killing a man with his sword, he took up a captain's position in the new Continental Navy. He raided both the English and Irish coasts from his base in France, taking many prizes earning notoriety for being a pirate. After the Revolution he signed up with the Russian Imperial Navy, fighting Ottomans in the Black Sea and retiring, with Russian pension, as a rear admiral.

Union --- John Paul Jones is something of a "bad boy" to US scholars in the aftermath of the Second Mexican War, sometimes looked upon as controversial and sometimes looked upon as a wily rapscallion. While he sometimes shares the sobriquet of "Father of the United States Navy" with John Adams, he is more popularly labelled as its "champion". In an age where the United States suffered numerous disasters at sea due to British dominance of the waves, John Paul Jones was the one exception Americans could look to as a defiant example that Britain's mastery of the seas could still be challenged. His actions during the Revolution, especially his fight with the Serapis on board the Bonhomme Richard, are lionized by US citizens and in particular by the US Navy, hungry for a chance to rebuild its reputation and to build up its fleet size to compete with the British. Jones' apocryphal and defiant words of "I have not yet begun to fight!", were taken to heart by the US Navy as a rallying cry to rebuild its strength and fight the British once again - it was a saying that cropped up numerous times in propaganda poster during GWI. In the Inter-War years, efforts to exhume and recover John Paul Jones' body in France were met with failure that, at one point, caused a small international incident with the United States and France. After GWII and with Paris all but annihilated by atomic weaponry, recovering Jones' remains among radioactive ruins would prove impossible.

Confederacy --- Scholars, officials, and citizens have over time shared Britain's sentiment of viewing John Paul Jones as being nothing but a vile pirate. He is however, something of an afterthought by Confederates in general and is not paid any attention to since his impact on history for the South is largely irrelevant.

Great Britain** --- Surprisingly, John Paul Jones is a rather vilified American, even by Confederate standards of vilifying certain Yankee founding fathers. As a man who sewed fear and panic along the northern English coasts, even going so far as to raid and pillage is native Scotland and especially Mother England from bases in France, John Paul Jones has received international notoriety as a pirate. Propaganda posters, films, political cartoons and the like, from the Second Mexican War to the Second Great War, have consistently portrayed him as a reprehensible villain and one synonymous for piracy and savagery in England. British sailors even into GWII have consistently mocked and joked about the US Navy using Jones as a punchline and politicians at home, fearing American naval raids and blockades, have made references to Jones in the most negative way possible.

France** --- John Paul Jones was something of a sore-spot to talk about in diplomatic circles before GWI and before GWII. As an open ally to the American cause for Independence in the 18th Century, in the aftermath of the War of Secession, Napoleon III's successful intervention in Mexico, and the Second Mexican War, France made efforts to distance itself from its past dealings with America for fear of antagonizing the British as part of their games of empire around the world. It was known fact, however, that Jones was buried somewhere in Paris and in 1905 American efforts were made to recover the remains for reburial, leading to a international and diplomatic incident involving Great Britain, France, the Confederacy, and the United States. With the ruins of Paris irradiated in the aftermath of the atomic strike on the city, any effort to recover the body is impossible.

Russia** --- Imperial Russia looked upon John Paul Jones with embarrassment. Catherine the Great herself viewed Jones in high regard when he entered service with Russia, but in the hundred years since his career in the Russian Navy is viewed with distain. Despite fighting well enough against the Ottomans in the Black Sea, his habit making enemies among allies forced him to be removed from command. On top of that his reportedly dubious behavior as both a drunk and horny lecher sank his reputation with Russian scholars and record keepers. Although not as vilified as he is in Great Britain to the point of exploiting him for propaganda purposes, John Paul Jones is someone that officials in Imperial Russia would rather forget about.

Ottoman Empire** --- Despite a record fighting against the Ottomans in the Black Sea, hardly any record exists that talks about John Paul Jones in great detail. He is virtually irrelevant to the Ottomans.

-----

View attachment 437223

^^^ Benedict Arnold** --- American --- Continental Army general that fought with great distinction in the American Revolution before his defection in 1780. Was one of George Washington's most trusted generals before his defection. Distinguished himself at Ticonderoga and Saratoga. Sought employment with other companies and commissions in the British Army, but was unsuccessful. Settled in Canada where his descendants now live.

Union --- Just as he was vilified in his time, so too was he vilified in the United States after the War of Secession. Benjamin Franklin compared him with Judas and said, "Judas sold one man, Arnold sold three million". Even before the the War of Secession, when the idea of seceding from the Union finally took root, politicians likened southerners to Benedict Arnold, calling Confederates, "men taking part in a colossal treason, by whose side Benedict Arnold shines white as a saint". He would remain a man synonymous with treason in the America for as long as the country would last.

Confederacy --- Surprisingly enough, Benedict Arnold is a man that both US citizens and Confederate citizens hold in very low regard. He too is a man synonymous with treason, though not as extremely demonized as he is in the North. Southerners would balk at being put into same category as a man that betrayed the great George Washington, a man that the general himself held in high regard before his betrayal, a man that the general order to be hanged summarily if captured alive. Featherston was even noted to have commented on Arnold in the later years of GWII, when he suspected people in his administration to be plotting against him, "I have people with me that have hearts as black as Arnold's, hearts as black as a nigger's skin".

Canada** --- Benedict Arnold is looked upon as a notable yet minor figure in their history, one of the many thousands of loyalists that fled to Canada in the aftermath of the American Revolution. It was here that he was able to make a new life, where his descendants were able to live as well.

-----

@cortz#9 @Allochronian --- Here are more of these! Apologies of Arnold's seems a bit lean.
 
This one.

** --- Means they get more than one view besides the Union and the Confederates.

Reputations of Pre-Secession (Pre-POD) Individuals: Part 3 - Monarchs during the American War of Independence

View attachment 437388

^^^ George III --- English --- Ruler of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector of Hanover, from 1760 until his death in 1820.
He was one of the longest reigning monarchs in British history, beaten only by Queen Victoria. His reign as king was marked by numerous wars in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, from the Seven Years War, The American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary Wars, and finally the Napoleonic Wars. Britain became a world power during his time despite losing the American Colonies, going on to conquer more of India, to defeat Napoleon, and to experience the start of both the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions. Toward the end of his life, after slowly suffering from severe bouts of madness, he permanently slipped into that mental state and withered away until his death in 1820.

Union --- In the United States, even after the War of Secession, King George III was still looked upon by US citizens as a tyrant incapable of understanding the grievances of an independent-minded people thousands of miles away in his castle in the British Isles. His eventual slip into a permanent state of madness is played up in US history books as a result of him being unable to cope with the loss of the American Colonies. Indeed, US scholars and citizens after the Second Mexican War and just before the Great War could look upon the American Revolution as "The War that Broke King George". US soldiers joked after the Great War of whether or not the current monarch in Britain also went "Mad like George" after losing Canada and Caribbean to the United States.

Confederacy --- King George III is looked upon with some complication in the Confederacy. On one hand many Confederates share the sentiment that independence from Great Britain was inevitable and entirely justifiable. On the other, in light of the Confederacy's very close and special alliance with Great Britain, it was deemed prudent and necessary to not paint the British in a bad light. By extension this meant that King George III was looked upon in a rather nuanced yet respectable way. While the tale of American colonists breaking away from an overbearing and unfair form of governance is still taught in schools as way to parallel the Confederacy's eventual break away from the US Federal Government under Lincoln, George is portrayed as a monarch performing his duty and merely defending the right of an elected British Parliament to levy taxes, rather than seeking to expand his own power. In turn the colonists, especially any southern politicians, are portrayed in a rather gentlemanly fashion as firmly yet respectfully expressing their grievances for being taxed unfairly and requesting that they be allowed to govern their own affairs as an independent nation. George's slip into madness, while talked about, is not openly mocked or taken advantage of for propaganda purposes. It is viewed with nuance as a result of the pressures of ruling during a very turbulent time in world history.

Great Britain** --- It is likely that the Confederacy's views on King George III are highly influenced by Great Britain's views about its own king. Over the years George's reputation has run the gauntlet of praise, ridicule, sympathy, and indifference, with scholars tending to frame their views on him from the interpretations of his actions during his life. As a result, like so many British monarchs, he is looked upon in a rather balanced light, but even during his time, when he slipped into madness, he garnered both support and distain. Records based on his personal letters and correspondence, essentially a wealth of invaluable historical records detailing his life in his own writing, were tragically destroyed when London was annihilated by atomic weaponry.

-----


View attachment 437389

^^^ Louis XVI --- French --- Bourbon King of France from 1774 until his execution in 1792, referred to as Citizen Louis Capet in the months before his death. When he took power in 1774 he attempted to reform his government. Heavy bureaucracy and corruption had resulted in poor management of French finances over the years and despite attempts to reform these Louis was met with open hostility by the nobility and clergy, who successfully blocked his attempts. Efforts to deregulate the grain market also led to failure which led to food scarcity in France for the lower and middle classes. His support for and funding of the American Patriots in their war for independence from Britain further pushed France into financial debt. Despite Louis' efforts his indecisiveness, lack of firmness, and conservatism in some areas for governance led to the people believing he represented everything wrong with absolutism in France. After the Fall of the Bastille and his Flight to Varennes his popularity continue to plummet among his people as France was gripped in revolution. He was executed for in 1792, ending nearly a thousand years of monarchical rule in France and ushering in one of the bloodiest stages of the French Revolution.

Union --- Even during Louis' time his death, and by a larger extension the French Revolution, was an intensely debated subject in the United States. Federalists such as Hamilton and Adams feared the growing unrest and radicalization of the revolutionaries in France, worried that their example and victories in Europe would cause upheavals at home. The advocated for stability and trade as a neutral party. Public support was with the French revolutionaries and attempts by Edmund-Charles Genet, the Minister for the United States, to use American ports to commission privateers to fight for France against Great Britain were exposed, resulting in him being sent back to France and a treaty to be signed with Great Britain to remain neutral in the conflict in Europe. Louis' death in 1792 was an ill omen as France's radicalization reached fever pitch and leaders around Europe took steps to clamp down democratic French ideas. For Federalists such as John Adams his presidency was marked by the Quasi War with France and the creation of the US Navy to preserve US trade and travel on the high seas. In the years after the War of Secession, with the First Mormon Revolt and the rise of the Remembrance Movement, the memory of Louis was seen as something of a cautionary tale in the United States, a tale of the dangers of rebellion, indecisiveness, and infirmness. And the United States drew its own lessons from the ever complex and ever enduring legacy of the French Revolution. Paradoxically the US drifted further way from its democratic ideals as the rest of the world seem to embrace them over the years. A need for strong and firm leadership in the face of adversity, backed up by strong military forces, was coveted above all. Louis' decisions and example would be the nagging little thought every US leaders' mind, of the consequence of weakness in the face of more rebellion and revolution. The thinking was this --- they had lost the South, and they had lost land and prestige in the process, with enemies on all sides; they would not lose again, or risk annihilation.

Confederacy --- Even during Louis' time his death, and by extension the circumstances of the French Revolution, was an intensely debated subject in the United States. It polarized the American public to such a degree that the first political parties were formed, allowing individuals such as Hamilton, Adams, and Jefferson to organize their ideas advocate in favor for them with support from like minded people. Jefferson and anti-Federalists favored supporting France in its Revolution and public support for France seemed to reflect that. Jefferson himself, while Minister of France, closely worked with and advised Lafayette as the latter helped to draft the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Jefferson's support of France and by extension is beliefs in in republicanism persisted even into France's Reign of Terror, with him stating "To back away from France is to back away from the cause of republicanism in America". Jeffersons career during this time, along with his intense rivalry with John Adams, is looked upon with intense interest by Confederates. As a result, his views and support for the Revolution in France, as well as the lessons he would take away from them, seeped into the Confederacy over the years. Louis himself was not looked upon as a tyrant, but as a king out of his depth and incapable of the task before him that suffered a terrible fate at the hands of his own people. Confederate leaders and citizens would draw their own lessons from the ever complex and ever enduring French Revolution and of the death of the Louis XVI. Like the United States they would draw lessons in leadership during times of crisis, but it was the complicated legacy of the French Revolution that would endure in Confederacy and what that meant for its government, its people, and its future moving forward. In a way, even after the War of Secession, it was a subject of debate and comparisons to the Revolution in France with events in the Confederacy over its history affected the public's perception on whether those events were good or bad. Memories of the ever volatile food market in the Confederacy during the War of Secession drew parallels to the French Revolution, where the price of bread was high and food grew scarce. In times of peace the ideals of freedom and republicanism, as well as freedom from ever present tyrants, was expounded upon. Again, during the Red Rebellions of 1915 the fear of a "black" Reign of Terror in the Confederacy should the Reds win prompted some Confederate officials to clamp down hard, with some fear their heads would roll just like Louis XVI. Even during the Freedom Party's rise to power allusions to the French Revolution were drawn. In a sense the French Revolution and Louis XVI continued to be viewed with nuance in the Confederacy until its very end in 1944.

France** --- In Louis' time the circumstances around his execution was a hotly debated issue and the final decision to execute him was agreed upon only by a very slim margin. Many in France at the time feared what precedence it would set if a king could be executed by his own people. To some, that precedence set the stage for the Reign of Terror and the bloodshed from executions that was to follow. To scholars in France during the Monarchical Restoration of 1931 with Charles XI ascending to the throne, Louis was looked upon in a much more sympathetic light. To them a lack of compassion at that moment contributed to a radicalization of revolutionary violence and to greater divisiveness among Frenchmen, an execution that signaled the end of the role of God in history. Despite failed efforts in 1820 to have Louis XVI canonized another memorandum was proposed during Charles' reign to have Louis canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. The Pope at the time, however, declared it an impossibility by proving that Louis had been executed for political reasons rather than religious ones.

-----

View attachment 437390

^^^ Charles III --- Spanish --- Previously the Duke of Parma in 1731 as Charles I, the King of Naples as Charles VII in 1734, and the King of Sicily as Charles V in 1735, he became King of Spain in 1759 until his death in 1788. He was an enlightened monarch and was a major proponent of the sciences and academic research. He also modernized agriculture in Spain, facilitated trade, and promoted reforms in his government to decrease the influence of the Catholic Church. He was a seasoned leader with experience in ruling several kingdoms and was tested battlefield commander from campaigns in Italy. He oversaw Spain's participation in the American War of Independence by siding with the Patriots due to a rivalry with the British in the Caribbean, capturing of Nassau in the Bahamas, West Florida, and Menorca in the Mediterranean.

Union --- To the majority of the United States public, Charles III is virtually unknown to them and would seem irrelevant. Despite his country's role in the Revolutionary war as a co-beligerent, Spain's participation in the war, and consequently Charles' reasons for siding with the Patriots, is not taught in classrooms. It would take a scholar or university student studying history to ascertain this monarch's role in the Independence of the United States.

Confederacy --- Confederate citizens in Florida and Cuba are taught at a young age the history of their states and as result Charles III's role in the American Revolution is most prominent in these region of the Confederacy. He is given a fairly balanced and nuanced look and his country's rivalry with Great Britain at the time is taught in depth so that students can understand the king's reason for capturing the state, largely as just another part of the never-ending game of politics and war between the European Powers. In Confederate Cuban classrooms Spanish rule is further expanded upon with Havana's capture in 1762 by the British, an event that took part under Charles' reign as part of the Seven Years War, largely as a way to demonstrate Spain's weakening grasp in the Americas and to compare the oppressive Spanish rule with the more beneficial Confederate statehood that occurred in the 1870s. Outside of these regions however, Charles is almost as unknown to Confederates as the Yankees are to him.

Spain** --- Under Charles III, Spain began to be recognized as a united nation rather than a collection of separate kingdoms ruled by a common monarch. He declared the "Marcha Real" as the national anthem of Spain, created the colors and general design of the current flag of Spain, and built up Madrid to such an extent as to be worthy of the title of a capital city, with new road systems that connected the city to the rest of the country. He was, in many regards, considered a capable and able king.

-----

@cortz#9 @Allochronian @Historyman 14 --- Here you go! The monarchs! I won't lie, Louis XVI's reputation was difficult to interpret and I found now way to talk about him without talking about the French Revolution, which is in itself still a complicated topic. Here it is though!
 
Aaand last one.

@cortz#9 @Allochronian @Historyman 14 --- More! This time on African Americans of the Revolution!

Reputations of Pre-Secession (Pre-POD) Individuals: Part 4 - African Americans of the American War of Independence, Part 1

View attachment 437620

^^^ Crispus Attucks --- C. 1723-1770 --- Of African and Native-American descent, his ethnicity is a topic of much debate, since he was described as being African, Indian, and Mulatto. Sources differ on whether he was a freedman or an escaped slave, with some records indicating a man with the same first name having ran away from his master in Massachusetts, with a reward for his capture. What is known was that he worked as a sailor and a longshoreman, spending most of his life at sea and traveling the eastern seaboard as far south as the Bahamas. As one of the many waterfront men in Boston that were organized into groups by Patriots in defiance of British troops garrisoned in Boston, Crispus Attuck was part of the crowd that was fired on in the Boston Massacre. Witnesses say he led a crowd to the Customs House on King Street, daring the soldiers there to fire back on the crowd, throwing objects at them. He is considered to be the first man to die in the crowd and by extension the first man to die in the American War of Independence.

Union --- During the trial in which John Adams successfully defended the British soldiers charged with firing on the crowd (a fact that Revaunchist scholars have tried to play down with little success), he charged Attucks with having "undertaken to be the hero of the night, having precipitated a conflict by his mad behavior." In the years just before the outbreak of the War of Secession, abolitionists in the North advocating for the freedom of slaves lauded Crispus Attucks as a hero of the Revolution and of the United States. With the United States defeat in the war the cause for abolition waned, but the fight to keep Crispus Attucks' legacy alive did not in the state of Massachusetts nor in Boston. Old school abolitionists and freed blacks in New England doggedly attempted to keep the histories of Black-Americans alive in the face of growing Pro-German revaunchism in the aftermath of the Second Mexican War. Boston schools still tell the stories of the Boston Massacre and Crispus' role in the event and he was still considered a hero in his local area well into the Great Wars years. Outside of the New England area however his legacy too much longer to sink in and it wasn't until after GWII that his story began to be widely told.

Confederacy --- In the south, when the story of Crispus Attucks is talked about is mocked and diminished, especially in regards to John Adams' testimony of Crispus during the Boston Massacre as way to humiliate the North's own legacy and history. More eloquent Confederate scholars attempt to point out that Crispus was more Native-American than he was black and that he was nothing more than a hooligan, a thug, and a rabble rouser out for "white blood" that deserved his fate. Indeed, his story and death as a rabble rouser and troublemaker is something that Confederates especially during Featherston's Administration would try to spin, in a way helping justify Featherston's own beliefs in seeing Blacks completely eradicated.

-----


View attachment 437621

^^^ Phillis Wheatley --- 1753-1784 --- Enslaved at a young age, likely taken from Gambia or Senegal, Phillis Wheatley was named after the ship she was transported on and given the surname of her master's family. The Wheatleys were a wealthy and influential family in Boston and Phillis was originally given to Mrs. Wheatley to be her servant. She was given a very good education, which was unprecedented for a slave and woman in her time, learning to read Greek and Latin classics as well as passages from the Bible. Recognizing her talent as a writer, reader, and poet, her masters allowed her to pursue her talents. She was able to meet quite few powerful British individuals and many people from her time, including George Washington, praised her work. Thomas Paine, author of "Common Sense", republished a poem she had sent to George Washington in the Pennsylvania Gazette. She was emancipated after publishing her book of poems and writings and eventually married a freedman. Unfortunately she died at age 31, with her husband imprisoned for debt and her being left impoverished, having lost three children to sickness.

Union --- Her legacy, like that of so many notable African-Americans before the War of Secession, struggled to stay relevant in United States society, persevering over the years and doggedly kept alive by those that would remember her. That she received praise for her work by so many influential and notable individuals like Voltaire and even the Confederate idol George Washington was proof to abolitionists that Blacks in America could rise to such prominence, contributing to the story and progress of the United States. Her memory in Massachusetts remained strong, especially in her native Boston, where local teachers continued to tell her story in classrooms, sharing a curriculum that advocated intense hatred for the Confederates and British through focused studies in history. Her poems were also read in English classes along side Imperial German poets translated to English for immigrant German children. Her work was still published in Massachusetts by pro-black publishers and printers. Interestingly enough Socialists and Communists in the United States also took an interest in her work.

Confederacy --- Any records of Phillis' works and poems, if found, were discarded and burned in the Confederacy in the years between the Second Mexican War and the Great War, where intense Confederate nationalism grew substantially. Any mention of George Washington praising her work or receiving her as a guest to read her poems is unacknowledged and struck from the records. During Featherston's Administration as part of his Population Reduction program any and all Black publications, as well as documents relating to communism and socialism, were to be destroyed. Phillis Wheatley's poems, surprisingly enough, was one of the few persistent pieces of literature found on black guerrilla fighters in the Confederacy. It was discovered after the war that her poems were smuggled into the south by the few socialists willing to take the risk, being used to help illiterate blacks who escaped population reduction to read and write.

-----

View attachment 437623

^^^ Peter Salem --- 1750-1816 --- Born to a slave mother in Massachusetts, his early life and the occupation of his parents are largely unknown. Consequently being a slave himself he was sold by army captain Jeremiah Belknap to army Major Buckminster in 1775. With hostilities between the British and the New England colonists imminent, a call for militia was sent out and able bodied men for a coming fight were needed. Since African Americans were banned in Massachusetts from bearing arms and joining the military in 1656 for fear of slave revolts, the Committee of Safety allowed for freed African Americans to join the militia and army. Salem's master, once again called to service as a major in militia, emancipated Salem the same year he bought him, allowing him to serve in a militia company. At the age of 25, he was one of the few black Minutemen taking an active part in the very first battles of the Revolution, fighting at the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April. In June that same year Salem was once again on the front lines at the Battle of Bunker Hill, being the man supposedly responsible for killing Major John Pitcairn of the Royal Marines, who led the advance party into Lexington and Concord earlier in April. Salem was one of a dozen or so freed black men present at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Salem would go on to enlist for more consecutive years with various Continental and State Regiments, fighting at the Battles of Saratoga and Stony Point. He died in 1816 at age 66, having survived the war a freed man.

Union --- Peter Salem's story, as well as the stories of many other fighting black men of the Revolutionary War, was one that abolitionists in the North pointed to as proof of the fighting resolve of black men, championing the idea that blacks could enter service with the Army as a way to fight for their freedom and for the freedom of their enslaved brothers and sisters in the south. The crushing end to War of Secession severely dampened hopes of blacks officially serving with the United States Army, but the idea and its advocates persisted over the decades, making slow progress as black recruits trickled in over the years to garrison forts and outposts in the western territories, in Occupied Canada, and in Utah. Being a part of Massachusetts local history Peter Salem entered into the text books of students in the state, with teachers recognizing him and other black soldiers for their bravery and determination for helping in the cause of independence. In the years just before the Great War, this was considered rather progressive in terms of education, but the dogged determination of pro-black supporters in the North ensured that Salem's legacy would not be forgotten. His actions at Bunker Hill are said to be of particular interest, with scholars debating over whether he was truly the man responsible for killing the British officer that supposedly gave the order for minutemen to disperse on the Lexington Green. He was read about along side German soldier-heroes from the Franco-Prussian War in Massachusetts in classes where German speaking children learned English in the years before the Great War.

Confederacy --- Peter Salem's legacy proved an interesting one in the South. Like all records of Black Americans that were of some prominence pre-secession, his was erased from Confederate memory and he is largely unheard of by white Confederates. However, in the years since secession and especially during the 20th Century, when the Great War, Red Rebellions, and Second Great War, wracked the North American continent, Confederate soldiers that managed to take black guerrillas as prisoners noted a peculiar practice among them --- surnames. Among some of the most numerous surnames recorded were Attucks, Lafayette, and Salem, to name a few. To Confederates whites it is unknown how they came up with these surnames, but the reading material found on them seems suggest they took the name of Salem from the smuggled history books they read, with publication stamps from Massachusetts.
 
Büffel-Soldaten: The Black and German Experience in the American Wild West - 1881-1911

RattleSnake Springs.jpg


^^^ --- Led by white officers and closely observed with interest by German advisors, Buffalo Soldiers of the US 10th Cavalry, one of only a few units of US Army Colored Troops, charge an Apache raiding camp in New Mexico. Despite the expansion of the Army and the massive manpower demands of manning two long borders across its frontiers, the US Government was still reluctant to authorize the recruitment of Black-Americans into its ranks. However, after lengthy legislation and first hand testimonies from veterans of the War of Secession that fought in Missouri with the 1st Kansas Colored, the government allowed certain US states and territories to recruit blacks into its ranks for the purpose raising all black cavalry and infantry regiments to help pacify the frontier territories and to patrol the Canadian and Confederate borders.

otjihhama.jpg


^^^ --- German Schutztruppen ("protection forces") in a training exercise in the New Mexico Territory. Very similar to the other colonial armies used by Europeans, the German Schutztruppen consisted of all-volunteer European commissioned officers, NCOs, medical, and veterinary officers. Although most enlisted ranks were generally recruited locally within the German African colonies, troops in the German South-West Africa colony were almost entirely European, with very few African recruits. The terrain and climate of the American South West proved an excellent training ground for Schutztruppen intended for service in South-West Africa, with German cavalry in particular working closely with Buffalo Soldiers when circumstances allowed for it.

---


In the aftermath of the Second Mexican War in 1881, the United States Army when through a period of massive overhaul largely based on Prussian style organization and doctrine, creating a general staff and instituting compulsory military service and conscription. The United States Army effectively doubled its size and funding in the immediate years since the war out of necessity, contending with two hostile countries to its North and South - the Confederacy and the Dominion of Canada, and by extension the British Empire. Such vast borders across virtually untamed and harsh environments would prove a challenge to the new United States Army. In addition, territories within the United States' borders were still populated by hostile Indian tribes resisting encroachment by settlers, often crossing Confederate and Canadian borders to avoid pursuit by the US Army.

Faced with such a daunting task, many US officials worried that the Army was not up to the task based on the experience of the Second Mexican War. Such a challenge, however, presented a unique opportunity for the newly reorganized US Army to truly prove itself. In the years just before the Great War, despite the shocking revelations of modern weaponry on a new battlefield, the US Army gained valuable insights and experiences from taming the West that helped mold it into the fighting force that would allow it to adapt and claim victory over its adversaries.

It was during this time that a truly unique opportunity presented itself that would allow the US to strengthen its ties with its new found ally - Germany. From 1881-1911, it was well known that US officers and soldiers cooperated closely with German advisors and observers. What is not well known is the fact that German colonial troops bound for service in South-West Africa received additional training in the United States. In a peculiar twist of circumstances, veteran US soldiers of the frontier found themselves working as advisors and instructors for these German colonial troops in training, with units working along side each other to gain experience.

It was in this capacity that German troops and Buffalo Soldiers encountered each other for the very first time. And it was in this curious capacity that some Buffalo Soldiers found themselves playing the parts of instructors for white men or fighting along side them.

Screen Shot 2019-02-04 at 5.43.15 PM.png


^^^ --- German South-West Africa. By the 1890s, large groups of German settlers journeyed to the colony to set up businesses. Hostilities with the local African tribes there were frequent and bloody, requiring the Imperial German government to authorize the formation of volunteer colonial units. With so few African locals to recruit from due to hostilities in the area, German authorities relied on European Schutztruppen to protect settlements and pacify rebellious regions of the colony.

Due to the climate and geography of South-West Africa, Imperial officials desired to acclimatize their new colonial troops to better prepare them for their new postings. While the hot weather of the Upper-Rhine in Baden offered new recruits in training some preparation, German advisors returning from the United States proposed that training could be better achieved on the American Frontier. They highlighted that the harsh environments were roughly similar and that practical experience could be better applied through US advisors. Though reluctant due to the vast distance in transporting these recruits, German officials agreed to send small contingents to the United States to "learn from the Americans as students, so as to become teachers themselves to new volunteers".

Buffalo_Soldier_9th_Cav_Denver.jpg


^^^ --- Buffalo Soldier of the US 10th Cavalry in the Dakota Territory, winter, 1889. Winter conditions unique the American frontier was something the Germans learned to adapt to thanks to no small part to the Buffalo Soldiers. While the majority of Schutztruppen cooperated with white US soldiers, German experiences with the Black soldiers of the US cavalry and infantry had a profound impact on them.

The few black regiments of cavalry and infantry were primarily posted to forts and garrison across the frontier, with their primary missions being to guard and patrol mail and travel routes, control the movement of Indians, provide protection from raids, laying telegraph wire, and to scout uncharted terrain. These missions that the Buffalo Soldiers undertook had them travel through some of the harshest environments of the frontier from desolate plains to rocky passes. All the while the soldiers had to remain vigilant of ambushes set by Indians. Attacks and raids were frequent, with the Buffalo Soldiers gaining much experience and earning a reputation for tough soldiers used to the harsh environment with few comforts. Some scholars suspect discrimination was involved in the posting of the Buffalo Soldiers to posts were deemed very dangerous. Regardless the men managed to accomplish there duties.

What complicated the their missions, however, was when Indian raiders slipped over the border to the Confederacy. Numerous reports from Buffalo Soldier often complain about the strict limitations on them when approaching the border with the Confederacy, unable to pursue racing parties. On more than one occasion Confederate cavalry was encountered, with tense yet bloodless stand offs occurring over the pursuit of raiding parties. In this way, certain war chiefs were able to slip away many times, exploiting the intense rivalry between the US and CS to their advantage. And while certain tribes from Sequoyah were given protection under the Confederacy, other tribes were mutually attacked by both sides with only unwillingness of the US and CS to cooperate allowing them to fight another day.

For the Confederate cavalrymen that encountered the Buffalo Soldiers on the frontier, they had nothing but extreme disgust for them. Stand-offs on the border often garnered much attention in local news and national new, and several bloodless incidents involving the Buffalo Soldiers resulted in a diplomatic crisis at point between the Confederacy and the United States.

On several known occasions, with likely dozens, if not hundred more undocumented ones, the Buffalo Soldiers found themselves thrust into a moral dilemma when encountering escaped slaves from the Confederacy that tried to slip across the border. Officially they were required by strict orders to stop all efforts to cross the border, whether by Confederate whites or Confederate blacks. On more than one occasion slaves encountered by the Buffalo Soldiers on the frontier were forced to turn back under orders by their white officers, often into the chains of pursuing bounty hunters or Confederate cavalrymen. On other occasions however, escaped slaves were allowed to cross with Buffalo Soldiers giving them assistance... though all of these incidents of insubordination and defiance of orders were kept secret. That's not to say that any of these secrets weren't revealed. In several cases Buffalo Soldiers were court martialled for helping escaped slaves cross the border, often resulting in imprisonment, or even execution. Incidents like these gave the Buffalo Soldiers a bad reputation and often put the future of black recruitment in army in a bad light. The new army, with its emphasis on Prussian doctrine, organization, and discipline, insubordination was severely punished. This resulted in the Buffalo soldiers being posted to places away from the Confederate border and into the interior, sometimes even up north along the Canadian border.

It was the reputation for toughness that prompted some German official to request their units be trained by Buffalo Soldiers despite the reluctance of the US government to do so on account of incidents of insubordination when it came to escaped slaves. With conditions in Africa harsh, German officials wanted their new colonial troops to be well acclimatized to humid environments and to gain valuable experience in conducting patrols, raids, marches, and scouting duties. Although the majority new German colonial troops received training with US whites, some went on to be trained by Buffalo Soldiers. Often posted to tough garrisons in dangerous territories, the experiences gained by the Germans with the Buffalo Soldiers proved invaluable when applied to their colony in South West Africa. Working along side them, they gained practical experience in how to conduct themselves in a dry environment with little water, enduring harsh conditions with very little comforts.

One German schutztruppe officer, named Hans Geiszler, a veteran cavalryman from the Franco-Prussian of 1870-1871 that volunteered to serve in Africa, described his training in America with the Buffalo Soldiers as, "An odyssey of extreme peril, punishment, privation, and adventure". He went one to say that, "Even with the onset of winter in France and the occasional skirmish with the bloody franc-tireurs, we enjoyed a tolerable measure of comfort. Here in New Mexico the conditions with which we must endure are beyond anything I have ever experienced. The weather is unbearably hot, the land barren and vast and rocky, the local settlements deplorable and ragged and nearly lawless, with drunken brawls in the streets and gunfights every other week, and the indian tribes always on the prowl, ever hostile and elusive. I never thought such a wild savage place could exist."

The Germans gained much respect for their American counter-parts due to this close cooperation and the Buffalo Soldiers were no exception. A German advisor, Captain Paul Bohm, said, "I commanded troops at Sedan and saw many a man fall to French volleys. These negro soldiers fight, work, and conduct themselves as if they have something greater to prove. They have earned my undying respect. Their discipline and courage in face of the indian tribes here matches that of the finest Prussian soldiers. Their spirit and camaraderie amongst themselves is something to be admired. They complain little and endure much despite the derision given to them by their own NCOs and officers. Had I a company of these brave negros at Gravelotte I would happily fight with them as if they were my own countrymen."

On numerous occasions both Buffalo Soldiers, Germans advisors and recruits fought along side each other against the Indian tribes of the Great Plains and New Mexico. While Schutztruppe recruits were not meant to be apart of the fighting that occurred the frontier, the unpredictable and indiscriminate nature of Indian tribes meant that these recruits, while on training exercises with their American counterparts, would often be ambushed. Skirmishes took places as a harsh "baptism by fire" and it was in these instances that respect for the Buffalo Soldiers came through. In the New Mexico Territory, they fought numerous skirmishes with the Apache, while in the Great Plains the Sioux proved a tough adversary. With the hostile stance taken toward Canada and the Confederacy the suppression of the Indian tribes of the American west proved a great challenge, with both nations using some of the tribes as proxies, arming indians with rifles when possible and making the act of taming the West that much more difficult.

Some German advisors had mixed feelings about the Buffalo Soldiers however. One was at the court-martial of a soldier that was found guilty of helping an escaped slave cross the border from the Confederacy, "... the proceedings revealed that he had defied orders and helped the slave get to a town near the border. The soldier said he'd be damned if he was the leave him to his fate. The slave was a wretched soul, his back covered in scars and his cheek bones sharp, but the officers at the hearing would have none of it. Discipline and punishment would be enforced. While it is highly commendable that the Americans are willing to follow our methods of discipline, something I highly approve of, I must confess that in this moment I wished morality and compassion would have prevailed. Such is life as a soldier."


schutztruppe-08cbea8c-a9c2-4118-9ef4-a6e22296050-resize-750.jpeg


^^^ --- Black schutztruppen in German South-West Africa, c. 1907. For the German officers and men departing for Africa to posts in the colonies, their experiences with the Buffalo Soldiers had a curious impact on them. One officer, Lieutenant Otto Dekker, who helped to take part in the suppression of the Apache in New Mexico with the Buffalo Soldiers, wrote "... It was so strange for me when I arrived in Africa. Here, I am the commander, the master and father figure of negros, with which I have authority to use as I deem necessary to keep the peace with the tribes. In America, I was the student, the bumbling foolish child, one in which I owed my very life to a buffel-soldaten that whipped me into fighting shape, to be a proper soldier. It was a humbling experience burned into mind, just as the sun burned my skin in the deserts of New Mexico. I wonder now whether we have the right to be the overlords over the people here in Africa."

Bundesarchiv_Bild_105-DSWA0132,_Deutsch-Süd-Westafrika,_deutscher_Reiter.jpg


^^^ --- German schutztruppen patrolling the frontier in South-West Africa. When the Great War erupted in 1914, the experiences learned in the American West carried over to training new recruits in the colony and contributed immensely to the dogged resistance offered by the Germans when the British and South Africans invaded. Methods taught by the Buffalo Soldiers were still being used by the Schutztruppen in the colony.

-----

@cortz#9 @Allochronian @Historyman 14 --- What do you guys think of this? Please let me know.
 
Great update a nice story about US-German interactions.

I appreciate that, thank you. Tried to do get a good idea of the situation. I'll admit that it might be too optimistic in some areas, but I like it. Tried to make it somewhat morally gray. To me, while the cause for equality would be severely hampered in TL-191, it would not be completely abandoned. The Buffalo Soldier regiments would be far fewer in number and their stint in the history of the Army might be shorter, but their legacy would be equally as impactful.
 
Which nation was the CSA closest with before the Second Great War? I feel like the UK was since the 1880s, but I feel France under Napoleon III was its closest ally until it became the French Republic in 1872. Any thoughts on this?
 
Which nation was the CSA closest with before the Second Great War? I feel like the UK was since the 1880s, but I feel France under Napoleon III was its closest ally until it became the French Republic in 1872. Any thoughts on this?

You mean who was the CSA's closest ally before the 1941 war? Well, I believe Great Britain arguably takes that spot. It would probably be a dark mirror to how closely the United States and Great Britain cooperated in our timeline during WWII. The CSA gained its independence thanks to the intervention of British and French, but it was, of course, due to British dominance of the seas that helped ensure the survival of the Confederacy twice, putting pressure on the United States by threatening its coasts.

France would be the Confederacy's second closet ally, regardless of whether it is ruled by an emperor or a duly-elected legislature or a king. With Napoleon III's intervention in Mexico a success, in part due to the victory of the Confederacy in the War of Secession in 1862, France has a stake in the Americas and would need an ally to ensure its interests remain secure, namely to check the United States. Even though a Napoleon III may have been instrumental in forging that alliance with the Confederacy, I feel the Third French Republic that took his place after the Franco-Prussian War would still seek ties with the Confederates --- again, I believe their interests in Mexico (whatever they may be) would still apply regardless of the government.
 
Which nation was the CSA closest with before the Second Great War? I feel like the UK was since the 1880s, but I feel France under Napoleon III was its closest ally until it became the French Republic in 1872. Any thoughts on this?
Britain was the primary partner. Probably partly realpolitik on the belief that the Royal Navy, the Canadians in the North, and Confederates in the South could check US expansion. References in the books even show the influence the alliance has on Confederate culture like military uniform colors and police pre-WW1 even look like British ones.

IIRC they even provided the info to the CS during the Second Great War that gave the Featherston the Superbomb.
 
Last edited:
Britain was the primary partner. Probably part-realpolitik that the Royal Navy, the Canadians in the North, and Confederates in the South could check US expansion. References in the books even show the influence the alliance has on Confederate culture like military uniform colors and police pre-WW1 even look like British ones.

IIRC they even provided the info to the CS during the Second Great War that gave the Featherston the Superbomb.
Thanks for the info. I'm currently reading the books. I've finished the first two in settling accounts, how few remain, and center can not hold. Currently half way through Blood and Iron. But I saw some mentions about France that made me think they might be closer.
 
Thanks for the info. I'm currently reading the books. I've finished the first two in settling accounts, how few remain, and center can not hold. Currently half way through Blood and Iron. But I saw some mentions about France that made me think they might be closer.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Freedom Party and Action Française felt a political kinship over wanting to get revenge on a historic enemy but I imagine Britain would be seen as the more practical ally and also the shared ancestry heritage of the Confederacy and the British isles.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Happy President's Day! In honor of this Federal Holiday please see the follow on post for a list of Federal Holidays in TL-191 as of 1944.
 
FEDERAL HOLIDAYS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA


January 1st New Years

Celebrates beginning of the Gregorian calendar year. Festivities include counting down to 12:00 midnight on the preceding night, New Year's Eve, often with fireworks display and revelry.



February 15-21 (third Monday in February) Washington’s Birthday

Washington's Birthday was first declared a federal holiday by an 1879 act of Congress. The federal holiday honoring Washington was originally implemented by an Act of Congress in 1879 for government offices in Washington. In the 1870s and 80s there were petitions to expand the holiday to the States (and not just Federal employees) but due to anti Confederate and a general anti-southern mentality in the aftermath of the Second Mexican War, there was little appetite to further celebrate a southern Founding Father. The CSA had declared Washington’s Birthday a Confederate Holiday in 1869 and thus Northerners were loath to be seen mimicking their hated southern adversaries. Thus, in the United States Washington’s Birthday continued to be a more subdued footnote, and while Federal employees were happy to have the corresponding Monday off it remained largely uncelebrated outside the Federal Government until after the victories of 1917.



April 22nd. Remembrance Day.

U.S. holiday celebrated on April 22. It was first marked in 1882 by decree of President James G. Blaine to commemorate US capitulation in the Second Mexican War. As the Remembrance ideology took hold in the US, the day became a symbol of US nationalism and dedication to strengthening the country. During the Great War the day became a ceremonial rededication to the ultimate goal of victory, and in the final year of the war it was a day of gleeful gloating. Shortly after the war's end the day became a triumphant celebration, then a tradition of purely historical value in the interwar years, then as the Second Great War approached it regained some of its old martial significance.

Remembrance Day was marked in large American cities by military parades with US flags flown upside down to represent national distress and political speeches. The Socialist Party did not take part in Remembrance Day festivities before and during the Great War, preferring their own May Day holiday nine days later. After the Great War, the holiday became more celebratory. The US flag would be flown right-side up to show that the defeats the United States had suffered during the War of Secession and the Second Mexican War had been avenged. However, in 1941, after the plebiscites of the Richmond Agreement had taken place, the flag was once more flown upside down to symbolize how the United States had suffered a defeat without war.

In the aftermath of the Second Great War, Remembrance Day took on additional significance and was generally celebrated by all US Citizens as a reminder not only of past humiliations but also ultimate victory over the nation’s enemies. More significantly the spirit of “Never Again” become intertwined with Remembrance ideology in the aftermath of the Ohio Invasion. Democrats, Socialists, and Republicans, despite their many differences, were united in their vow and understanding that the USA must never again be caught off-guard by another Featherston or Operation Blackbeard. Militarism and the concept of Peace through Strength of Arms became thematic of Remembrance Day celebrations throughout the 1940s. Long considered the second most important holiday in the United States after The Fourth of July, Remembrance Day’s primacy in the National psyche nevertheless began to wane in the post war period.




May 1-7th (First Friday in May) May Day (Labor Day in certain states).


May Day is an international holiday celebrated by socialists the world round on May 1 of each year. In the United States, the Socialist Party sponsored May Day parades and demonstrations. Before and during the Great War, these were considered as rebuttals to the festivities by which nationalists (by and large constituents of the Democratic Party) celebrated Remembrance Day. In 1922 President Sinclair signed an executive order making May 1st a federal holiday, to be observed on the first Friday of May (thus the weekend becoming known as May Day Weekend). It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country.

Before the election of the first Socialist President, May Day was a very much a partisan celebration being the bailiwick of a single party in the USA, and viewed in conjunction with the international socialist movement. Naturally, Democrats, conservatives, and businessmen viewed May Day celebrations with great suspicion if not outright malice. After the election of President Sinclair, the Socialist Party proved more moderate in governance than hoped for by its ardent supporters (and feared by its detractors) and thus the concept of honoring the workers of the United States slowly became more palatable to Democrats and conservatives. By placing the holiday on the first Friday of the month the President and Congress hoped to also put more distance between May Day celebrations and Remembrance Day, a mere nine days preceding. For much of the 1920s and early 30s the holiday remained one recognized only at the federal level with many Democratic states, especially in the north east, refusing to acknowledge or celebrate it. With the continued moderation of the Socialist party under Presidents Blackford and Smith, more states came to accept the premise, with many adopting resolutions referring to May Day as “Labor Day.” New Hampshire and Vermont were the last states in the Union to officially recognize “Labor Day Weekend” in 1939.



July 4th Independence Day.

Celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence from British rule, also called the Fourth of July. Fireworks celebrations are held in many cities throughout the nation. Considered the most important Federal Holiday of the year.



July 14th Union Day

Declared a Federal Holiday by Congress on 14 July, 1945, and signed into Law by President Dewey a year after the end of hostiles. Union Day celebrates the 14 July, 1944 surrender of the Confederate States of American and the Re-Unification of the North American continent. The 83 years that sundered the American people between the North and the South is immortalized as one of the bloodiest periods in western history and saw 4 great conflicts between the North American Republics. Celebrations focus on the community and commonality between former citizens of both the United States and Confederate States and early on encouraged every citizen- north and south of the Mason Dixon- to think of themselves as “Americans.” Union Day was one of many concepts formulated by president-elect Dewey with an eye towards reconciliation of the former confederate populations.



September 9th Armistice Day

Honors all veterans of the United States armed forces. It is observed on September 9th to recall the end of the Great War on that date in 1917. The global calamity of the Great War had raged for 3 years and cost the United States over 1.5 million killed and twice that number wounded. Likewise, the Confederates had suffered nearly a million dead on their own (Footnote 1). The war that was ignited with a single blast in Sarajevo on 28 June, 1914, had raged around the world only to slowly sputter to a conclusion in the summer and autumn of 1917. The Russian Empire had dissolved into revolution and anarchy in the early spring of 1917. After the French Mutinies in the early summer, and the arrest of Field Marshal Foch, the French Republic asked for armistice on 28 June, 1917.


On the American Front, June 20th would see the Confederate Army of Kentucky requesting a local armistice, having proven itself unable to resist the Barrell Roll Offensive launched by 1st Army under Lieutenant General George Custer. Elsewhere the War dragged on between the USA and CSA as peace negotiations flickered between Richmond and Philadelphia, and President Roosevelt sought to ensure that the Confederates were sufficiently hammered. Finally, after the Army of Northern Virginia was forced south of the Rappahannock the Confederated States formally asked for an Armistice, which was accepted by President Roosevelt on August 12th, 1917. The Empire of Brazil then entered the war on the side of the Central Powers on 25 August, 1917. While not bringing any significant forces to the fight the ability of US and Chilean warships to refuel and refit in Brazilian harbors would prove decisive to calculations of the British Admiralty. The British Empire requested and was granted a ceasefire from the United States and German Empire on land and sea on 31 August, 1917, a mere 6 days after the Brazilian entry. Despite Britain and the Confederacy suing for peace Canada fought on. Unfortunately for the Canadian people this was out of inertia than anything else as they understood that men like President Roosevelt and Senator Lodge intended to end its existence. By late August U.S. Barrels were out flanking the Grierson Line and the Great Lakes Fleet were finally able to clear the mines and shell Toronto. Canada officially surrendered to the United States on Sunday, 9 September, and the bloodiest conflict in human history up until that point had come to an end. President Roosevelt declared September 9th a federal holiday on the first anniversary of Canada’s surrender in 1918. Because it is a federal holiday, some American workers and many students have Armistice Day off from work or school. When Armistice Day falls on a Saturday then either Saturday or the preceding Friday may be designated as the holiday, whereas if it falls on a Sunday it is typically observed on the following Monday. In the aftermath of the Pacific War in the 1930s (and subsequent Second Great War), Armistice Day expanded its celebrations to remember the sacrifice of the men and women who had fought and died in all of America’s wars.



November 22-28 (Fourth Thursday in November) Thanksgiving Day

While the Great War started with great distinction for the USA at sea, with the Battle of Pearl Harbor and the capture of the Sandwich Islands, the war on land did not start well for the United States as the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia captured Washington D.C. and sliced its way through Maryland and into southern Pennsylvania. Fortunes began to shift in November of 1914, however, as the Confederate Army’s advance on Philadelphia stalled and was unable to cross the Susquehanna. At the same time that the ANV was grinding to a halt outside Harrisburg, a Squadron of Royal Navy pre-dreadnought battleships were destroyed in the Battle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These twin victories did much to restore American morale and led President Roosevelt to hold a pro-war rally in Philadelphia. There he invited ministers of different faiths to offer prayers of thanks and declared a national day of thanksgiving to observed on the fourth Thursday of each November.

Long a regional holiday in New England and among the parts of the nation settled by New Englanders, henceforth Thanksgiving would be a national holiday to celebrate not only the autumn harvest but also Divine Providence that had delivered victory unto the American people in their hour of greatest need.



December 25th Christmas Day

The most widely celebrated holiday of the Christian year, Christmas is observed as a commemoration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Commonly celebrated by Christians and non-Christians alike with various traditions.



***********************************************************************



Footnote 1: Casualty estimates come from the conversation between Col Morrell, USA, and Lt Col Landis, CSA, on page 553 of Breakthroughs.


Footnote 2: Dates of capitulation referenced from President Mahan’s Henry Cabot Lodge article (1917-1920) as well has his Winston Churchill essay (part 1), along with Craigo’s Battle of Verdun and French Mutiny essay.
 
Last edited:
Kind of an obscure TTL cultural question...what does Karl May write in a world where the Apaches are CS subjects/citizens?

IOTL, May’s most famous works (the Winnetou stories) take place in West Texas and focus on German cowboys and their Apache friends. His works were wildly popular in Germany (Hitler’s favorites, among others’), despite being written with no real knowledge of the Wild West.

ITTL, the stories will be wildly different, if they exist at all. Maybe Winnetou and Old Shatterhand (May’s self-insert) team up against villainous Confederates. Maybe there’s a theme of saving blacks from bondage (the books were an early plea for tolerance of the Indians—so why not for the blacks?). Closer ties between the US and Germany and Germany’s strong economic position could make TTL May stories more lucrative—maybe more awareness of him in the US, post-GW2 German tourism in the State of Houston, and possibly more ‘sauerkraut Westerns’ instead of OTL ‘Spaghetti Westerns.’
 
Top