Stonewall Jackson's Way: An Alternate Confederacy Timeline

[Tanner151]

Love Confederate TLs. Watching with interest.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Four: Gettysburg, Day 1

Union Generals John Buford and John Reynolds observe their lines, and plan their assault on Confederate lines.
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As what began a skirmish began heating up into a full fledged battle, both sides began requesting reinforcements, with the Confederates managing to bring more sooner, with Trimble bringing up the rest of his division to help in the battle. This help drive back Buford's cavalry, but Buford still had one last trick up his sleeve. While he and his men had been putting up their brave and valiant stand, they had been buying time for John Reynolds and his I Corps to come to their support, which would shift the battle back into their favor. By trading lives for time, Buford was able to hold out long enough for Reynolds to arrive. With his arrival, the battle now shifted into the favor of the Union. Buford and Reynolds planned to exploit this by pushing their troops forward and breaking the Confederate lines. Just prior to the plan being put in motion, however, a sniper would fatally shoot John Buford through the heart, with his limp body falling into the arms of Reynolds. Reynolds would then turn to Myles Keogh of Buford's staff, and reportedly say "I fear the same will befall me today." before removing a necklace with a cross attached and handing to him, asking that it be returned to his fiancee Katherine Hewitt after his death. Despite his fatalistic beliefs, Reynolds would still order the attack, and ride at the front lines with the men of the Iron Brigade as they advanced. Before the attack could truly commence, however, Reynolds would be proven correct, and would be fatally shot from his horse, with some believing he was killed by the same man who killed Buford. Unfortunately for Reynolds' hope of his necklace returning to his fiancee, Keogh would also be killed in these opening actions, still clasping the necklace in his hand.

A romanticized and inaccurate depiction of Reynolds' death
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With Reynolds' death, command of the I Corps, and of the field would devolve to Abner Doubleday. While by no means a terrible or incompetent general, Doubleday would lose his nerve after Reynolds' fall, and put a halt to the advance of the I Corps, pulling back to their former position, and would await the VI Corps' arrival, bringing a battle to a temporarily lull. By the time the XI Corps arrived and joined the Doubleday's defensive position, more Confederate troops also arrived on the field, with D.H. Hill's division coming in from the west, and A.P. Hill's division coming in from the north, with Early's and Rodes' divisions not far behind him. The fighting would begin once more, with all the Confederate forces on the field beginning an assault all along the Union line. Initially, the Union line was able to hold out against the attacks from Trimble's and D.H. Hill's divisions in the west, and A.P. Hill's division in the north, but the tables soon turned. Lee arrived on the field with Hood's division from the west, superseding Longstreet in command of the Confederate forces, with Jackson arriving on the field soon after with Early's and Rodes' divisions in such a way that they would be able to crush the Union right. With two whole corps on the field, Lee ordered Jackson to use Early's and Rodes' divisions to crush the Union right, while the rest of his men on the field tied down the Union line. The order was enacted, and Jackson led yet another brutal flank on the VI Corps, once again crushing it, and sending it, along with the rest of the Union line, into utter rout. While riding near the front lines of the action with General Early, Jackson would point out how many of the senior Union officers on the field were abolitionists, including Howard, Doubleday, Wadsworth, Robinson, Schurz, and Barlow. Early's response was simple, "All the more reason to crush them!" This they did, and the Union line fell back through Gettysburg itself towards the hills south of the town.

Confederate troops pushing back the Union soldiers through Gettysburg
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Hearing of Reynolds' death, and the disastrous rout of the Union lines, Meade would send General Winfield S. Hancock in advance to assume command of the battlefield to try and stabilize the Union lines. Upon arriving on the field, Hancock would find Union troops streaming back in disarray towards the south. Seeing how great a defensive position the hills south of Gettysburg were, Hancock tried to organize a stand of the routing troops there. He had two things going against him though. First, the Confederates were continuing to push their advance, and second, General Howard was refusing to acknowledging that Hancock, who was his junior in rank, had been given command of the field. Ultimately, the dispute would be settled when Hancock rode forward towards the Confederate lines, trying desperately to rally the Union forces on the hills, only to have a Confederate cannon shot come and behead him. Major Willie Pegram, commander of the artillery battalion who fired the fatal shot, would comment following the news of Hancock's death, "If only he would have waited. The shot that killed him was the last of our ammunition." With Hancock's death, any hope of stablizing the Union lines was shattered. Jackson would seize command of the hills south of Gettysburg, and would soon be joined by Longstreet's men, and finally Thomas' men at the end of day. Howard moved the remaining Union troops to the east of these hills, and waited for the rest of the Army of the Potomac to arrive. During the night, the rest of the Army of the Potomac and George Meade would arrive, and Lee would organize his forces so that Longstreet's corps held Benner's, Culp's, and Cemetery Hill, Thomas held Cemetery Ridge, and Jackson held Round Top and Little Round Top. Both forces could only nervously await the action that was sure to arrive with the next day.

General Winfield S. Hancock and Major Willie Pegram
​

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Five: Gettysburg, Day 2

A 1906 painting by Howard Pyle depicting the second day of the battle of Gettysburg, currently hanging in the visitor's center of Gettysburg National Military Park
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With two corps of his army in shambles, two corps commanders along with several division commanders killed, and the Army of Northern Virginia possessing the high ground and interposing itself between the Army of the Potomac and Washington D.C., General George Meade announced a council of war on the night of July 1 in his headquarters located near where a portion of Rock Creek splits off to Power's Hill. All of his corps commanders would be in attendance, with John Newton taking over command of the I Corps and John Gibbon leading the II Corps. By this time, all of Meade's army was lined up along Rock Creek facing the Confederate lines, within the exception the V Corps and VI Corps, which would arrive on the morning of July 2. At the meeting, Meade and his generals discussed their plans for the next day. A plan was proposed by Generals Gibbon, Slocum, and Sedgwick in which the I, III, V, and, XI demonstrated along Lee's front, while the II, VI, and XII Corps would attack Lee's position from its left flank of Benner's Hill. The plan held the support of all the corps commanders with the exception of Daniel Sickles, who wanted to be involved in the flanking movement, and Oliver O. Howard, who also wanted to be involved in order to salvage his reputation tarnished on the first day of fighting. The debate would settled, however, when Meade revealed a telegram he had received before the council of war started. In a message which was sent with the name of General-in-Chief Henry Halleck attached, orders were given for the Army of the Potomac to clear the hills between themselves and Washington. This order met the instant disapproval of all the men present, with the exception of Sickles and Howard once again. Despite his reservations about the plan, Meade told his corps commanders it was to be enacted, not revealing the further information in the telegram promising his relief if he did not take immediate action the next day. With it made clear what the general plan was, the details were planned out. The III, II, VI, and V Corps would attack against the Confederate positions on Culp's Hill, Cemetery Hill, Cemetery Ridge, and Little Round Top in that order. Meanwhile, the battered I and VI Corps would protect the Union right, and attack against Benner's Hill. Finally, the XII Corps would guard the left, and attack against Round Top. With the plans in order, the generals readied themselves for the next day of battle.

Meade's Council of War, July 1, which hangs in Gettysburg National Military Park
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With the arrival of the V and VI Corps on the field on the morning of July 2, the plan that was forced upon Meade and his commanders was put into motion. The Army of the Potomac lined up as ordered, and upon the order, they began their charge towards the Confederate line. Crossing across the shallow Rock's Creek, long range artillery fire began. At first, the long distances made most of the shots miss their mark, but as the Union drew closer, the Confederate artillery soon starting taking a heavy toll, with the Union guns too far out to support the assaulting infantry effectively. Once the Union soldiers reached the base of the crests, they broke into a running charge, as musket fire and canister shot began to fire into their ranks. Shredded by such heavy fire, the Union infantry was unable to reach, let alone breach, the Confederate lines. With many senior officers down due to leading from the front, and his corps shredded, Meade would have to act quickly to save the battle from being an utter Union rout.

A Daniel Troiani painting depicting the charges of the Union line against the Confederates' position
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Seeing the command structure gutted, order completely lost, and his men in a complete panic and rout, Meade decided he most personally rally his troops. Inquiring of his staff which corps of his army remained in the best condition, he was informed the V Corps seemed to have the most men still combat ready. Upon this information, Meade set about rallying his old corps, until some order was brought about in it, and they could perform one last charge. Deciding to personally lead his men in the charge, Meade's assistant adjutant general Seth Williams tried to stop him, fearing that his commander would be killed. Meade would respond, "These men, my men, need me leading this charge for it to succeed. If I am to die, let it be on the battlefield, rather than the death of a coward who succumbs to a thousand congressional investigations, and a dishonorable relief from command." Seeing his commander's determination, Williams would accompany Meade in his charge. The V Corps would again charge, this time focusing on Cemetery Ridge. The Meade's final attack would be slaughtered, with Williams dying rather early in the charge, and Meade falling killed mere yards from the Confederate lines at the height of the charge. The charge would come to be known as Meade's Charge.

A Currier & Ives lithograph of Meade's Charge, with an inaccurate depiction of Seth Williams on the horse at left, and Meade on the horse at right.
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Seeing the entire Union line crumbling, Lee would order Thomas, Jackson, and Longstreet to charge down from their positions, with the hopes that Jackson and Longstreet could pincer the routing Union forces. The orders were put into place, and the charge began. The movement would have its desired effect, and Jackson's and Longstreet's corps crushed the flanks of the Union corps trying to form up in front of the Confederate position.

A painting by David Nance, the third of the triumvirate of major modern day Civil War painters, depicting the advance of the Confederates
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With the Union infantry in a headlong rout off the field, a rearguard was needed to cover their retreat. Chief of Artillery Henry J. Hunt and Cavalry Corps commander Alfred Pleasonton would try to provide this by forming a long line of Union artillery, which having gone unused for the most part in the battle and still had plenty of ammunition, supported by dismounted cavalry. The artillery fire would blunt the Confederate infantry's attack, and for a moment, it seemed that the Union infantry would receive the rearguard they required. This dream was shattered, however, by the arrival of J.E.B. Stuart and his Cavalry Corps on the field. Still smarting from Brandy Station, Stuart would charge the Union position without orders. The Confederate cavalry slammed into the Union artillery and dismounted cavalry in a whirling but ultimately one-sided melee. Dismounted and unprepared, the Union cavalry was unable to face their mounted opponents.

A painting by Daniel Troiani depicting Stuart's charge
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However, Pleasonton had kept one of his cavalry brigades mounted as his last reserve. Seeing the Union rearguard collapsing and an opportunity for glory, newly appointed Brigadier General George A. Custer would charge his mounted cavalry brigade against the CSA cavalry brigade of Wade Hampton. The fighting between the two brigades was brutal, and Custer seemed to be able to hold back Hampton, but the attack of the cavalry brigades under Fitz and Rooney Lee on his flanks decimated his command, with himself only narrowly escaping. With no more Union reserves to face, Stuart was free to bring the full force of his cavalry into chasing the routing Union men. The Battle of Gettysburg ended with Stuart's cavalry chasing down routing Union soldiers in what Stuart would call "the finest day in the history of Confederate cavalry." In fact, when Stuart met with some of his officers after the battle ended, he would call the meeting "the greatest concentration of cavalry talent the world has ever seen." [1]

A painting depicting Custer's first last stand by Matthew Kunstler
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The Battle of Gettysburg had been a disaster for the Union in all senses of the word. The Army of the Potomac would lose almost 41,000 men, with the high number due both to the fact of the extreme dangers the soldiers had faced in the battle, and that Union forces on the field had routed twice with no rearguard. Officer losses had also been terrible. The price of senior officers leading from the front had been paid in full during the battle, with no other battle in the war even rivaling the amount of Union senior officer losses [2][3]. The list of Union regimental commanders lost at Gettysburg could also be considered a list of some of best Union regimental officers in the Army of the Potomac, with Joshua Chamberlain, Harrison Jeffords, James Rice, Kenner Garrard, Arthur F. Devereux, Patrick O'Rorke, Rufus Dawes, Nelson Miles, and St. Clair Mulholland among them. The losses of the day are probably best summarized by a quote from the diary of George T. Strong, made famous by it being featured of Kaden Burns' famous documentary, The Civil War, “As Rome had her Cannae, and France her Agincourt, the United States of America has her battle of national disgrace in the form of Gettysburg. Like of the fields of Agincourt on that October 1415 day, the gallant leaders of her army lay slain, with the enlisted men right beside them.”

A photo by Matthew Brady of the Union fallen at the battle of Gettysburg
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Despite suffering much fewer casualities, roughly 9,500 to be exact (mostly from the first day's fighting), the Confederates also had their share of losses, with such gallant officers as Harry T. Hays, Evander M. Law, and James K. Marshall falling slain as a result of the battle. The low loss of men of Confederate side could likely be attributed to both their defensive role for most of the battle, and that the Union army spent two large portions of the battle in utter rout. The Battle of Gettysburg shattered the Army of the Potomac as it had existed, with it pulling back into Philadelphia to defend it. With the Army of the Potomac no longer a threat for now, Lee prepared to move South for his ultimate goal: capturing Washington D.C.

[1] The men present at this meeting are as follows: J.E.B. Stuart, Wade Hampton III, Fitzhugh Lee, William H.F. "Rooney" Lee, William E. "Grumble" Jones, Beverly Robertson, Albert Jenkins, John Imboden, John Pelham, James B. Gordon, Thomas T. Munford, John R. Chambliss, Thomas L. Rosser, Lunsford L. Lomax, William C. Wickham, Pierce M.B. Young, Matthew C. Butler, Laurence S. Baker, Dennis D. Ferebee, Richard L.T. Beale, Milton J. Ferguson, William H.F. Payne, Vincent "Clawhammer" Witcher, Elijah V. White, Harry Gilmor, Rufus Barringer, John S. Mosby, William H. Chapman, John H. McNeill, William L. Jackson, James Breathed, Roger P. Chew, Channing Price, Heros von Borcke, Henry B. McClellan, John E. Cooke, Robert F. Beckham, William D. Farley, Joel "Banjo" Sweeney, Gustavus W. Dorsey, and William P. Roberts.
[2]Here is a complete list of Union army, corps, division, and brigade commanders killed or mortally wounded at Gettysburg: Army: George Meade Corps: John Reynolds, Winfield Hancock, John Sedgwick, Oliver Howard, Henry Slocum Division: James Wadsworth, John Robinson, Abner Doubleday, John Gibbon, Alexander Hays, David Birney, Andrew Humphreys, Romeyn Ayres, Samuel Crawford, Horatio Wright, John Newton, Francis Barlow, Adolph Steinwehr, Alpheus Williams, John Geary, John Buford Brigade: Edward Cross, Patrick Kelly, Samuel Zook, John Brooke, Alexander Webb, Strong Vincent, Frank Wheaton, Samuel Carroll, George Greene, Joseph Carr, Thomas Smyth, Norman Hall, Hiram Berdan, Emory Upton, Alfred Torbert, Thomas Ruger, George Willard, William Gamble, Joseph Bartlett, Lewis Grant, Davis Russell, Philippe Trobriand, Henry Baxter, Stephen Weed, Adelbert Ames, Elon J. Farnsworth, Freeman McGilvery
[3]Here is a complete list of Union generals captured at Gettysburg: David Gregg, Henry J. Hunt, Wesley Merritt.

 

[Odinson]

With the head of the Army of the Potomac dead or wounded, I wonder who will lead the shattered remains of the army. Sickles, maybe? I didn't see his name in the list of dead or injured (which is rather ironic after he lost his leg in OTL).
Also, you have a way with words, managing to write the battle aspects perfectly in an enjoyable fashion.

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

Looks like the war is all but over now. With the battle of Gettysburg a defeat for the Union and the south moving to DC I could see maybe one last battle before it's all said and done. It'll be interesting to see how the wider world reacts to a southern victory. Look forward to the next chapter.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Six: Gettysburg's Fallout

A group of Union in camp around Philadelphia following the defeat at Gettysburg
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With Gettysburg being the terrible defeat that it was, calls for someone to place the blame on grew loud. Horace Greeley would write for his New York Tribune, “Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and even Chancellorsville have been outdone in showing the idiocy of the Army of the Potomac’s high command and their commander-in-chief Abraham Lincoln. It remains to be seen what more disasters await with them at the helm of the ship of state.” With many of the Army of the Potomac's senior officers now dead as a result of Gettysburg, public outrcry was mostly aimed at Lincoln, who remained firmly entrenched in the White House due to the Republican Congress. The blood lust of the public would finally be satisfied when during his testimony before the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War, Daniel Sickles revealed the fateful order Meade had received from Halleck ordering the attack. With a name of someone still alive attached to the orders for the attack, the public cried for his dismissal. Facing little other choice, Lincoln would dishonorably strip Halleck of his command, and dismiss him from the army.

Former Major General Henry W. Halleck, U.S. General-in-Chief July 23, 1862-July 23, 1863
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What Lincoln did not reveal to the public was the further information he knew about the order. The order had originally been drafted by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, but when he brought it before Lincoln and Halleck at the telegram office, they both espoused the folly of it, and Lincoln ordered the order not to be sent before leaving. From what Lincoln gathered, after his leaving from the office, Stanton threatened Halleck into sending the order with his name attached under the threat of his relief of command, resulting in Meade receiving the fatal order. After Halleck's relief, Lincoln's first stop was to a meeting with Edwin Stanton at the War Department office, in which he revealed how he knew Stanton went behind his back and forced the order. In another quote made famous by Kaden Burns' documentary, Lincoln would say to Stanton, "I hope, and the country demands, that you be able to rectify the mistake you made on that July 1 night." When Lincoln left the meeting, it was said that all weapons not being used by the guards had to be taken from the building to prevent Stanton from committing suicide.

Secretary of War Edwin Stanton
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Despite all the public outcry of Gettysburg, a war still had to be fought. Realizing that the Army of the Potomac would need reinforcement from other theaters, Lincoln ordered almost all offensive operations in the Western Theater to halt, ordering Generals Grant and Banks to pull back from their sieges into Union territory, along with an order for Quincy Gillmore to stop his planned assault on Fort Wagner, with only Rosecrans being allowed to continue his operations. Banks would immediately follow the order, ending his 41 day siege of Port Hudson. Grant, on the other hand, fiercely resisted Lincoln's order, and begged for a few more days, as he believed that the Confederate forces were near capitulation. Lincoln would give Grant one week to win the Siege of Vicksburg. Unfortunately, news of both the victory at Gettysburg and Lincoln's deadline would reach the defenders inside Vicksburg, increasing their determination to hold out. Lincoln's deadline came and passed, and angrily Grant pulled back, with the news of his promotion to Major General in the Regular Army and asssignment to Halleck's position a few days later doing little to appease him. News that two corps, the XIII Corps under Edward O.C. Ord and the IX Corps under John G. Parke were being stripped from his command to be added to the rebuilding Army of the Potomac brought him further anger, with the assignment of Banks and the XIX Corps to his command doing little again for Grant.

The Winners and Losers of the Sieges of Port Hudson and Vicksburg: Generals Franklin Gardner, John C. Pemberton, Nathaniel Banks, and Ulysses S. Grant
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The shell of the Army of the Potomac limped into Philadelphia following Gettysburg's crushing defeat. With the threat of the Army of Northern Virginia larger now than ever, Lincoln had to call on all his possible sources to rebuild it. First, a commander had to be decided on after the death of Meade. Ultimately, the command of the army would be handed to General George Sykes, a man with no spectular achievements or failures under his belt. Second, the lack of experienced corps and division commanders was addressed by the return of Generals Darius Couch, James Ricketts, Charles Griffin, and Gouverneur Warren to field command. Third, men to rebuild the Army of the Potomac were required. Lincoln would draw from many sources, mainly the Western Theater for it. Ultimately, Lincoln's plan for the Army of the Potomac was to have the shells of the army corps condensed into two corps, the III Corps under Daniel Sickles and the VI Corps under Darius Couch, the XXIII Corps under Ambrose Burnside to be transferred from the Department of the Ohio, the XXI Corps under Thomas L. Crittenden to be brought in from the Army of the Cumberland, and the above mentioned XIII Corps under Edward O.C. Ord and the IX Corps under John G. Parke coming from the Army of the Tennessee. This, in addition to the Cavalry Corps, which was to be brought back to full strength by reinforcement from the cavalry in the Department of the Susquehanna was Lincoln's intentions. However, Sykes still feared this would be insufficient, so Lincoln also order the transfer of Michael Corcoran and his division from the VII Corps, and Truman Seymour and his division with Thomas Stevenson's brigade attached from X Corps. This would be Lincoln's last order to Sykes before Confederates cut the telegram lines connecting Washington to the outside world. Without the nucleus of military matters, troop movements moved slowly, and it would take a while for the Army of the Potomac, which currently only constituted the III, VI, and Cavalry Corps, to form up. Lee would not give them this time as he swiftly advanced on Washington, and prepared for what he hoped would be the decisive battle of the war.

General George Sykes, commander of the Army of the Potomac​

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

Damn, that was fast. Looks like it's all over but the yelling or in the case of Lincoln the crying at having lost 1/3 of the nation in less then five years. I feel sorry for the Union in this timeline. But as a lover of all things CSA I love seeing them lose. I guess the saying is now the north shell rise again lol.

 

[Pulmonic_Consonant]

This thread mostly avoids being a Confederate wank, but I must say- the idea of the Confederates taking 5,500 casualties to the Union 41,000, a difference of nearly 8 to 1, is insane. There's no way that something like that could ever have occurred, on either side of the war. The Battle of Fredericksburg, considered to be the most one-sided major engagement in the entire war, in which Union forces had to cross a river, fight through an entire city, and march across an open field to charge against dug-in, reinforced Confederate lines that were perched on cliffs surrounding them, without any artillery support to speak of, was 5,400 Confederate casualties to 12,700 Union casualties- not even 3 to 1! It was simply a reality of Civil War engagements that no one side could ever really hope to deal enormous casualties without taking a fair number of their own, even with the best possible circumstances, which aren't present in this timeline's Gettysburg. More realistic would be 10,000 to 30,000- still devastating, and a clear indicator of the sheer loss suffered, but not fantastical.

Also, and this is incredibly minute, I just wanted to point it out- you said, "The order had originally been drafted been Secretary of War Edwin Stanton", repeating the word "been" twice. I assume you meant "The order had originally been drafted BY Secretary of War Edwin Stanton". Like I said, a very minor thing, just wanted to point it out in case you hadn't seen the typo.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

This thread mostly avoids being a Confederate wank, but I must say- the idea of the Confederates taking 5,500 casualties to the Union 41,000, a difference of nearly 8 to 1, is insane. There's no way that something like that could ever have occurred, on either side of the war. The Battle of Fredericksburg, considered to be the most one-sided major engagement in the entire war, in which Union forces had to cross a river, fight through an entire city, and march across an open field to charge against dug-in, reinforced Confederate lines that were perched on cliffs surrounding them, without any artillery support to speak of, was 5,400 Confederate casualties to 12,700 Union casualties- not even 3 to 1! It was simply a reality of Civil War engagements that no one side could ever really hope to deal enormous casualties without taking a fair number of their own, even with the best possible circumstances, which aren't present in this timeline's Gettysburg. More realistic would be 10,000 to 30,000- still devastating, and a clear indicator of the sheer loss suffered, but not fantastical.

Also, and this is incredibly minute, I just wanted to point it out- you said, "The order had originally been drafted been Secretary of War Edwin Stanton", repeating the word "been" twice. I assume you meant "The order had originally been drafted BY Secretary of War Edwin Stanton". Like I said, a very minor thing, just wanted to point it out in case you hadn't seen the typo.

Both the low Confederate causality number and the "by" have been fixed. The heavy Union losses stem from two completely unguarded routs, which provided the South with ample opportunity for capturing prisoners with low risk to themselves which battles such Fredericksburg or Chickamauga in our OTL did not have, due to fall of darkness and Thomas' defensive stand respectively. Nonetheless, thank you for pointing out the errors.

 

[farmerted555]

How long until the Royal Navy bombards New York?

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

How long until the Royal Navy bombards New York?

At the rate this is going would this even be necessary? The Confederacy is already making its way towards DC and unless the Union can pull a 180 in a few days the war is basically over. The army has lost some of it's best and the disastrous PR after the defeat at Gettysburg is likely going to force Abraham Lincoln's hand. What's left of the army is going to have to win the upcoming battle or her majesty's navy is just going to add salt to an open wound. At this point, even with a win, the south should have European support so the Union is boned six ways to Sunday.

 

[farmerted555]

At the rate this is going would this even be necessary? The Confederacy is already making its way towards DC and unless the Union can pull a 180 in a few days the war is basically over. The army has lost some of it's best and the disastrous PR after the defeat at Gettysburg is likely going to force Abraham Lincoln's hand. What's left of the army is going to have to win the upcoming battle or her majesty's navy is just going to add salt to an open wound. At this point, even with a win, the south should have European support so the Union is boned six ways to Sunday.

I give the Confederacy ITTL 50 years of life.

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

I give the Confederacy ITTL 50 years of life.

Really just 50 years? Their last battle was an impossible good win for them. The Union just had some of it's best people killed or replaced. The only thing I could see messing that up is the institution of slavery which in my opinion is probably going to die out before too long. It'll live maybe until the 1870s but if it lasts much more then that I would honestly amazed. With the Confederacy surviving the Civil War maybe the Spanish-American War becomes the Confederate-Spanish War and they gain Cuba. I know this isn't a Confederate wank but even so, they have had some big wins as of late.

What I see happening is a cold war attitude towards the Union with maybe the Great Union Wall running along the border between the two countries. It'll be interesting to see how the two nations deal with World War one and World War two, that is if the south doesn't collapse in on itself. Maybe post-war we could see how race relations develop over the course of the 19th century. Surely we could see some blacks fight in segregated regiments.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

At the rate this is going would this even be necessary? The Confederacy is already making its way towards DC and unless the Union can pull a 180 in a few days the war is basically over. The army has lost some of it's best and the disastrous PR after the defeat at Gettysburg is likely going to force Abraham Lincoln's hand. What's left of the army is going to have to win the upcoming battle or her majesty's navy is just going to add salt to an open wound. At this point, even with a win, the south should have European support so the Union is boned six ways to Sunday.

Also, can we see what the CSA looks like on a map ITTL?

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

Also, can we see what the CSA looks like on a map ITTL?

Yes, that be great. But wouldn't it just be the CSA but without the state of Kentucky (Unless that was another CSA timeline) but even so a map would be nice to have. Also how soon until we hit the end of the Civil War? It looks like we may be near the end.

 

[PGSBHurricane]

Yes, that be great. But wouldn't it just be the CSA but without the state of Kentucky (Unless that was another CSA timeline) but even so a map would be nice to have. Also how soon until we hit the end of the Civil War? It looks like we may be near the end.

What about Missouri? Both states had Confederate governments "in-exile" in our timeline and were equally divided over loyalties with slavery being strongholds in each. For me, Kentucky and Missouri are a pair that stays together.

 

[Coyote_Waits]

Yes, that be great. But wouldn't it just be the CSA but without the state of Kentucky (Unless that was another CSA timeline) but even so a map would be nice to have. Also how soon until we hit the end of the Civil War? It looks like we may be near the end.

that was another timeline which is a lot less realistic than this

 

[SpaceOrbisGaming]

that was another timeline which is a lot less realistic than this

I kind of guess that but didn't feel like going back and looking. I have been jumping from one thing after another as of late so I must of get the timelines messed up. But I had a feeling it wasn't this story but wasn't sure.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Seven: The Confederate Assault on Washington

A depiction of Garnett's Brigade, Pender's Division during the assault on Washington. The battle would be a particular importance to Garnett, as Jackson officially rescinded his charges of cowardice against Garnett after the battle due to the bravery he showed in the battle
​

With the Union Army of the Potomac tied down in Philadelphia waiting for reinforcements, Lee knew the time to attack Washington had come. The long-awaited moment had finally arrived, and Lee positioned his forces in a sieging position around the capital of the United States. Despite the overwhelming confidence Lee had in his army, he would still send a letter to Davis in Richmond, requesting that more troops be raised in the case that the Army of Northern Virginia should fail and be destroyed when the Army of the Potomac moved south. Facing Lee inside Washington were around 20,000 men composing the XXII Corps and various other units in Washington's garrison, mostly inexperienced in actual combat, under General Samuel Heintzelman, former commander the Army of the Potomac's III Corps. Lincoln and the United States government had evacuated Washington the day before Lee had put the city under siege. Knowing the delay would only give advantage to the Union, Lee decided the attack Washington on the third day of the siege, having only waited for Stuart and his command to reconnoiter the ground.

A painting by David Nance showing Lee surveying his lines one last time before the assault on Washington, with Longstreet riding up to ask for Lee's permission to begin the assault.
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Lee would bring the full force of his three infantry corps to bear against the Northern defenses of Washington, focusing on Forts Stevens, Slocum, DeRussy, and Kearney. Opposing them would be the northern division of the XXII Corps under the one-armed Lieutenant Colonel Joseph B. Haskin, an experienced artilleryman. The attack would begin in the morning. Charging under heavy artillery fire directed in some cases by Haskin himself, Lee's forces would cross the fields in front of Washington's defenses. Eventually, they reached their target forts, and brutal hand to hand fighting would begin, with bayonets and pistols, not muskets and cannons, now controlling the fighting. In this, the lack of infantry proper on the Union side began to show as Heintzelman tried desperately to shift every infantryman in the southern division north to heed Haskin's desperate cries for reinforcement. Eventually, the skill of Lee's veteran troops prevailed, and they managed to capture their four target forts. It is here that Heintzelman made a critical mistake. Lacking the infantry necessary to hold the position and fearing the loss of more artillery to Lee, he ordered the men in the forts to west and east of the forts Lee captured to try and pull back into Washington for a consolidated last stand. Lee would figure out what Heintzelman was doing, and order Jackson and Longstreet to attack the forts to the west, while Thomas cleared the forts to the east. The Union soldiers, unprepared for the fighting to start again, would put up a desperate stand, but it was to no avail, and soon the forts fell into Southern hands, along with their long range artillery and stores of ammunition.

A painting depicting the advance of Barksdale's brigade on Washington
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At this critical point in the battle, Lee trained all his artillery, including the newly captured guns, on Washington D.C. before sending Heintzelman a letter under flag of truce. In it, he declared he would wait one hour for Heintzelman to surrender Washington, or he would open fire with all his artillery, and completely destroy Washington and all of its defenders in a bloody final rush. Despite having consolidated all of his forces in Washington and having barricaded the streets, Heintzelman realized he stood no chance against Lee's army, and surrendered Washington and all of its defenders to Lee, ending the Confederate assault on Washington. In a poignant moment, Heintzelman, accompanied by southern division commander Brigadier General Gustavus A. DeRussy and the 1st District of Columbia Cavalry, who were serving as his escort, would ride out of their makeshift defenses to meet with Lee, accompanied by his staff and a few cavalrymen of Company K, 1st Virginia Cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Gus W. Dorsey. Soberly, Heintzelman would hand his saber to Lee, who quietly doffed his hat before riding back to his lines to make preparations for Washington's occupation. In his post-war memoirs, Dorsey would note, "It seemed as if the whole world had their eyes transfixed on this moment, all of the creatures of it standing silent at the reckoning. Even if our horses remained still and quiet, guided by an unknown sense of the magnitude of the moment. Thus it came to pass that the capital of the Union would transfer from their hands to ours."

General Samuel Heintzelman, the soldier who both lost and saved Washington D.C.
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The battle would prove to be quite bloody, costing the Confederates nearly 10,000 men, and the services of five brigade commanders killed in combat, Jerome Robertson, Alfred Iverson, Edward O'Neal, Joseph Davis, and Beverly Robertson. Also killed was William Pendleton, Lee's chief of artillery, who was surveying Washington's defenses with Lee, and was replaced by Edward P. Alexander. Perhaps the mostly personal loss for Lee, however, would be the lost of son Robert E. Lee Jr., who was serving as an aide to his brother Rooney Lee. The men who brought Lee in from the field would be an interesting trio, with two of them being Majors William Gist and Robert Lilley, but the third and most interesting being Richard R. Kirkland, the so-called "Angel of Marye's Heights", further enshrining him into Confederate legend. Another death that was in relation to the Army of Northern Virginia high command was that of Major John D. Barry, who recklessly tried to take on the entire crew of the 16th Independent Battery Indiana Light Artillery by himself, killing three before receiving a mortal shot to the skull. Supposedly his last words were "Tell General Jackson...that he need not worry about the charges of incompetence... he brought against Major Barry.", in reference to charges Jackson had pressed against him for his role in Colston's accidental death at Chancellorsville. One more change in command would come as a result of the battle as well. During the battle, General William "Extra Billy" Smith of Early's division would order his brigade to retreat without orders due to the heavy losses it was suffering. As a result, Lee would relieve him of command on the field, and give it to James Terrill, who was trying to rally the brigade. This action would later come back into the lime light in one of the most interesting events in the post-war CSA.

A small monument to Richard R. Kirkland in Fredericksburg, Virginia
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The Union losses would be the entire garrison of Washington D.C., with only a small number of soldiers escaping across the Potomac. One interesting death to note would be that William Seward Jr., son of Secretary of State William Seward and commander of the 9th New York Heavy Artillery. As a result of the surrender of Washington, Lee also captured two senior U.S. Army officers who had stayed behind, Generals James B. Fry and Montgomery C. Meigs. Both would approach Lee after the battle. Fry would bring to Lee's attention the fact the now vindicated pro-Southern faction in Washington was threatening several Federal government buildings with arson, and requested Lee post some of his men to guard them. Lee would see to it that the buildings were guarded, commenting “When the British captured Washington, they burned it to the ground. I will not let the same happen under my command.” Meigs would approach Lee with a more angry tone, lambasting him for allowing his cavalry to be scourges to the North. Upon further conversation, Lee was able to find out Meigs' anger stemmed from the recent death of his son, killed by CSA cavalry while he and a few other engineers were attempting to repair telegraph wires. Lee would in turn reveal the death of his son, and soon both veteran military men were brought to tears by their losses of sons. Of interesting note was that in the skirmish that killed Meigs' son, the sole Confederate casualty would be one man killed, known Fire-Eater and the man who had been offered the first shot of the war, Roger A. Pryor, who was serving as a scout.

Generals James B. Fry and Montgomery C. Meigs
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And thus the Union capital fell into Confederate hands. Yet the Union was not out of the fight yet, still having Sykes' slowly assembling Army of the Potomac, which, if it could recapture Washington, could turn the tide of the war back into the Union's favor.

 

[G-6]

Where Lincoln?