Stonewall Jackson's Way: An Alternate Confederacy Timeline

[Odinson]

Custer looks to be committing treason...
Well, as they say in westerns, Hang em high!!

 

[HonestAbe1809]

What do the choices in the poll mean? I want to be informed before I vote on anything.

 

[Odinson]

What do the choices in the poll mean? I want to be informed before I vote on anything.

Abandon the Alamo!: This TL would start with a Texas Revolution POD that seems fairly clear from the title. This is the one that would probably take the longest for me to make, and I like the least, as I am not an expert on the Texas Revolution. It probably would also have the most historical inaccuracy and lack of detail early on.

We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists: This timeline would focus on a POD in the aftermath of the Election of 1796. I like the idea of this one, and already have some of ideas of put down, but am not sure if I should create yet another Founding Father POD TL, as there seems to be plenty being created currently. Then again, this one would be quite different from the others

Old Cump and Pap: This timeline is probably my favorite of the group, and I have the most ideas for it. It would be another Civil War TL, but very different from Stonewall Jackson's Way. It would probably be the shortest of the three, but would have a major change in format from my current TLs, in that it would combine the history book writing style I currently use with scenes and dialogues amongst characters similar to The Killer Angels. In my opinion, it probably would be the best.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Battle for Philadelphia

An photo depicting one of Custer's "overnight soldiers"
​

With Custer refusing to give up his seat, the nation descended into panic. This was unprecedented in U.S. history, and people were unsure about what exactly to do. Could McKinley, who was not technically president of the United States yet, order in the U.S. military to attack the man who was still technically their Commander-in-Chief? The problem would be solved when Chief Justice Harlan swore McKinley into office in a ceremony held in Harrisburg. Harlan would then preside over a quick Supreme Court case that unanimously invalidated Custer's presidency, thus allowing McKinley to deploy U.S. Army force against him.

Chief Justice John M. Harlan
​

Custer took full advantage of the time when the country was panicking, however. He had managed to bring together a small army of men consisting of the Black Guard, who were his elite men who he placed under the command of his brother, Tom Custer. He then drafted a large number of Philadelphia's male population into his army, forming two brigades of men, who became known known as Custer's "overnight soldiers" due to the way they had been rapidly raised. Many of these men were uniformed in fancy or outlandish uniforms at Custer's specification. These men he placed under the command of two of his cronies from his army days, his brother-in-law James Calhoun and Myles Moylan, who was Calhoun's brother-in-law. With these men, Custer imposed martial law over Philadelphia, effectively making the District of Franklin, as the territory that contained the U.S. capital was known, a kingdom which Custer ruled.

Tom Custer, James Calhoun, and Myles Moylan
​

It was at this moment that Custer's desire to conquer the Philippines backfired on him in a major way. For the planned conquest, he had organized a corps of infantry under U.S. General-in-Chief Wesley Merritt, as well as a division of cavalry under the U.S. second-highest ranked officer Major General James H. Wilson. Commanding the four divisions of infantry were four of U.S. Army's best soldiers. Commanding the 1st Division was Major General Henry Lawton, the 2nd Division was under Major General Arthur MacArthur Jr., the 3rd under Major General Frederick Funston, and the 4th under Major General John J. Pershing, who had formerly been a Brigadier General and Merritt's chief-of-staff, but had been handpicked by Custer and Merritt for promotion and division command. Altogether, these forces were known as the Army of Franklin, due to the District of Franklin, their main goal. Despite knowing the odds against him, Custer continued to persevere, even when McKinley, Harlan, and Merritt agreed to send him one final offering of amnesty if he agreed to step down, which he refused, calling it "the deal of a defeated coward". With this final offer rejected, McKinley gave Merritt the go ahead to retake Philadelphia with his Army of Franklin.

Wesley Merritt, James Wilson, Henry Lawton, Arthur MacArthur, Frederick Funston, and John Pershing
​

Merritt began his action by having Wilson capture all the outskirts of the District of Franklin, while not directly attacking Philadelphia itself. He was planning on completely encircling the town before moving in to ensure Custer could not escape. With Wilson and and his brigade commanders, Brigadier Generals Leonard Wood, Frank Baldwin, and Samuel S. Sumner, reporting that Philadelphia was completely encircled, Merritt planned the final attack to begin. Lawton, MacArthur, and Funston were all to march into Philadelphia and begin attacking, applying strong pressure all along Custer's lines. When the spot under most strain was found, Pershing and his division would break through the line, and capture Custer. With this plan set, Merritt ordered his division commanders to begin the attack.

Leonard Wood, Frank Baldwin, and Samuel Sumner
​

With the attacks beginning, Custer would send his men forward. As soon as two forces meet, however, it became abundantly clear that Custer's weak-spirited, poorly trained men who were severely outnumbered were no match for trained U.S. Army soldiers. Bulges and cracks soon began to form all over Custer's line, and these rapidly turned into breaks when Pershing's division was committed. Within a half hour of the battle starting, U.S. soldiers were streaming towards the Executive Mansion. Custer had only one reserve to try and stem the tide, the Black Guard under his brother, who he threw against Pershing's advancing men. With this desperate attack, Pershing's men were halted, albeit briefly. Within a matter of minutes, the shock of the charge of the Black Guards had dissipated, and the tough U.S. Army soldiers were grinding through them. When Tom Custer was shot down, the Black Guards routed, and nothing stood in the way of the U.S. troops from capturing Custer. Seeing his world fall apart around him, Custer would ride out to his men and try to rally them, trying to have one more final last stand. Custer was able to rally no more than a dozen Black Guards to side, and all these men were rapidly killed, with Custer going down firing two revolvers with a bullet to the skull. Thus ended Custer's rebellion, but retribution was not done yet.

Some soldiers of the 10th U.S. Cavalry finding the mortally wounded Tom Custer on the front of the Executive Mansion's lawn.​

When the U.S. Army soldiers finally reached the Executive Mansion, they found a defiant Elizabeth Custer, who was completely unaware if her husband was still alive or not. Angered by the rebellion, the U.S. soldiers would take it out on Elizabeth, who they stripped naked before shooting her twice with mortal effect and throwing her into a ditch to die. General Merritt himself would oversee the lowering of the flag over the Executive Mansion, which had been Custer's battle pennant from the wars. In the aftermath of the rebellion, both Calhoun and Moylan were tried for treason, found guilty, and executed. The Black Guard was not reformed either, as McKinley viewed them as a symbol of Custer, similar to the Old Guard with Napoleon, thus ending a tradition that had begun with President Pendleton. Custer's two remaining brothers, Nevin and Boston, would promptly board a ship bound for the United Kingdom to try and escape the constant threats they received. The ship would ultimately disappear somewhere in the Atlantic, never being heard from again. Interestingly, one of the soldiers that would storm of across the lawn of the Executive Mansion would be Jack London, who would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his service before eventually making a name for himself as a writer, authoring such works as Call of the Wild, "To Build A Fire", and most famously Storming Custer's Lawn, in which he described his services in the Battle of Philadelphia. Another man of note present at the battle would be John Philip Sousa, who would lead Army of Franklin's band, but would later pick up a rifle and join in the fighting.

Jack London and John Philip Sousa​

 

[sampleswift]

Well, that's the end of Custer. Good riddance!

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Well, that's the end of Custer. Good riddance!

Well, sampleswift, this TL still has one more president on the way that will go do down as a bad president, although he will be in the CSA this time. He should appear in the next chapter.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Fifty-Three: The CSA Election of 1897

A 1958 photo depicting the South Carolina Custom House, where the Democrats would convene for the 1897 election
​

Although Jackson had had a high reputation when he entered office, he had much marred it during his term. Now many people had come to associate the Liberty Party with abolition, and the Democrats intended to take full advantage of that during the campaign. When the Liberty Party National Convention meet, they turned to their figure head Jackson to suggest candidates. After much thought, Jackson would suggest two men, and they would be the dominating candidates in the Liberty Party's mind. One was Vice-President William Bate, while the other was Secretary of War Patrick Cleburne. Well aware that they were in for a hard campaign, the Liberty Party would ultimately go with the more moderate of the two, nominating William Bate to be their candidate. For the vice-presidential nomination, they turned to Secretary of the Treasury Francis R.T. Nicholls, who had reputation as a corruption fighter, and while fairly radical on the slavery question, he was more quiet about it then Jackson or Cleburne.

William Bate and Francis Nicholls
​

The Democratic Party was ready to take on the Liberty Party. At first, several familiar names all were seeking the nomination, including South Carolina Senator Matthew C. Butler, Texas Senator Roger Q. Mills, and the Alabama Senators John T. Morgan and Edmund Pettus. Originally, Morgan carried the lead in the convention, and many expected him to receive the nomination. But then, another candidate entered in contention: South Carolina Senator Ben Tillman. Tillman had succeed William P. Miles to the Senate following the latter's death, and was a rising voice in the party, known for brutally attacking the Jackson administration. The first ballot after which Tillman announced his candidacy would see a stark drop in support for Butler, causing him to drop out of the race. Tillman then started undermining Morgan's base of support, causing the former front runner to secretly approach the Mills and Pettus campaigns in hopes of convincing them to drop out. Mills refused, and by the time Pettus agreed to drop out, it was too late to block or hinder Tillman's candidacy. On the final ballot, Tillman was able to final best Morgan and gain the majority, leaving Mills as a distance third with only the support of Texas and Arizona. In an effort to sure up Morgan supporters, however, Tillman agreed to let Morgan be his running mate, and Morgan accepted the nomination.

Benjamin Tillman and John Morgan
​

With this election also came the rise of a new but minor party: The Populist Party. Created by workers in CSA ever increasing industry workforce, they stood for increasing the rights of the common man. Unfortunately for the their future legacy, one of the things they advocated for in the Populist Party was the exclusion of former slaves from non-agricultural jobs, playing up on the fears of workers in the CSA's industry that these former slaves would take their jobs. They also stood for an eight-hour work day and increase wages, as well as the direct election of CSA senators. They had managed to take a root in some states, particularly the more industralized ones like Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, and Tennessee. At the convention, five of the founders of the party faced off: Governor Wilkinson Call of Florida (who would later go on to be the Populist Party's sole senator in their history, although Thomas E. Watson would later become a senator for the Liberty Party), Representative Thomas E. Watson of Georgia, Representative Marion Butler of North Carolina, Representative John P. Buchanan of Tennessee, and former Representative and lawyer James G. Field of Virginia. The infighting was fierce, but ultimately Butler was nominated for the presidency, with Field receiving the vice-presidential nomination. Watson's and Buchanan's causes were not lost, however. To sure about party support, Watson was promised the role of Secretary of State if the ticket won, with a similar promise for the office of Secretary of the Treasury going out to Buchanan. It was also strongly implied in private after the convention that Watson would be on the ticket in the next election, as Field was beginning to show his age, and might not make it until 1903 election. With this, both Watson and Buchanan were satisfied, and urged their supporters to rally behind the ticket.

Marion Butler and James Field
​

In this election, the Democratic and Populist Parties seemed to be on the offensive, while the Liberty Party were on the defensive. Tillman would deliver devastatingly harsh and racist speeches against the Liberty Party as to make them unreadable in a modern context. Butler would also attack the Liberty Party, but focused more on the fact that the Liberty Party was the party of the powerful industrialist bosses rather than of the worker. In response, meanwhile, the Liberty Party would champion itself as the party who had created all the industrial jobs, and claimed that they were a better bet for workers hoping for reform than the Populist Party. Secretly, however, Bate and the Liberty Party doubted their chances of victory, with the always religious Jackson commenting, "We have done the right things in the eyes of God, but the wrong things in the eyes of the Confederacy."

A photograph entitled "The Election Debate" showing a group of dock workers discussing the candidates for the 1897 election
​

In the end, the Populist Party would end up costing the Liberty Party the election. Tillman would receive the presidency with 70 electoral votes from Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi. Bate would win 46 electoral votes from Virginia, Tennessee, Maryland, Louisiana, and Arizona. The Populist Party would ultimately receive no electoral votes, but their campaign would be enough to take enough popular votes away from the Liberty Party in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas as to cost them the election. Now in office, Tillman was prepared to reverse all the efforts of the previous presidency.

 

[sampleswift]

Maybe the bad CSA president is the one that causes its ultimate demise?

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Maybe the bad CSA president is the one that causes its ultimate demise?

No, Tillman won't cause the CSA's downfall, but, as you will see in one of the upcoming chapters, he will try his hardest to try and reverse the Jackson presidency.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Fifty-Four: The Presidency of William McKinley

President William McKinley
​

From the outset, William McKinley tried to restore normalcy to the United States following the Custer coup. This, however, did not mean he was going to let the people involved get away. He would turn to Secretary of War Shelby Cullom and the War Department to handle the matter. After some discussion, it was decided they would proceed as follows. The surviving senior officers of Custer's rebellion, James Calhoun and Myles Moylan, would immediately be brought before a court-martial as they were soldiers, and tried for treason. Both men were found guilty and executed. The harder time came with Custer's cabinet. At first, Cullom let only Vice-President Dickinson, Secretary of State Gorman, Secretary of the Treasury Boies, and Attorney General Stevenson off the hook, intending to further investigate the remaining cabinet members. Of these men, Secretary of War Alfred Pleasonton, Secretary of the Interior Julius S. Morton, and Secretary of Agriculture Claude Matthews were dropped after further investigation, leaving only Secretary of the Navy Sylvester Pennoyer and Postmaster General George B. McClellan Jr. to be tried in front of the Supreme Court, as there was evidence linking knowledge of the plot and encouraging it to both of them, including a letter from Custer to McClellan offering him the vice-presidency of his new nation. Ultimately, Harlan and the Supreme Court would find both guilty of aiding and abetting treason, and sentence both to death.

Custer's two cabinet members convicted and punished for treason: Sylvester Pennoyer and George McClellan Jr.
​

For his cabinet, McKinley hoped to get a fair spread of ideas. For the roles of Secretary of State, Secretary of War, and Attorney General, he would turn to veteran senators William Allison, Shelby Cullom, and George Hoar respectively. These men would become the domineering figures in McKinley's cabinet. For the post of Secretary of the Treasury, he turned to Lyman Gage, a politically moderate man known from drifting from party to party. McKinley would fill the rest of cabinet with lower-level Republicans who had not made a name for themselves yet. McKinley initially offered the post of Secretary of State to Thomas B. Reed, who remained the House Speaker, but Reed would decline, choosing instead to retain his post in the House.

The dominating figures of McKinley's cabinet: William Allison, Shelby Cullom, and George Hoar
​

To help return the sense of normalcy in the country and to move pass Custer's rebellion, many in Congress and the country began pushing for war with Spain, similar to ongoing Spanish-Confederate War. Many wanted to go for the Spanish colonies in the Pacific that the CSA were leaving untouched due to their naval limitations, such as Guam and the Philippines. The Philippines were currently in rebellion, and many people viewed their struggle as a fight for freedom. Helping to spread this fervor was a rise in yellow journalism, with newspapers competing to publish the most sensational stories. Among the biggest players in the yellow journalism game would be newspapermen and former Custer antagonists William R. Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. For Hearst, his big story would be that a innocent Philippine woman had been taken aboard an American ship by male Spanish officials claiming she was carrying letters for rebel leaders, and then stripped searched to satisfy their lust. The woman would later write an open letter to Hearst, explaining that while she had been detained on an American ship by Spanish officials thinking she was carrying rebel letters, but the investigation had gone on properly without any of the harassment trumpeted in Hearst's papers. Unfortunately for the public, Hearst would begin a cover-up campaign of this letter, although eventually be published by Pulitzer shortly before the start of the war. Part of the reasoning for Hearst trying to make his story look real was that Pulitzer had uncovered an actually scandal to be his big story. A man who had been born in the Philippines and later moved to America and gained citizenship had returned to his Philippine home to help bring his parents to the U.S. to help protect them from the ongoing rebellion. What ended up happening, however, was that on his way out of the country, Spanish officials arrested him under suspicion of bringing supplies to the rebels, unaware of his U.S. citizenship. On little evidence other than his nationality, Spanish courts convicted him and sentenced him to a firing squad, which would ultimately kill him. When Pulitzer caught wind of this story, he rapidly published it, and many Americans were outraged that an American citizen had been executed on such flimsy charges. With the public in this state of mind, and even members of his cabinet, including Roosevelt, Cullom and Navy Secretary John D. Long pushing for war, President McKinley, along his chief anti-war allies Speaker Reed and Attorney General Hoar, received the inevitability of conflict, and ultimately McKinley would agree to a congressional war declaration.

U.S. soldiers preparing for war
​

For troops, McKinley would turn to the corps of infantry and the division of cavalry from Custer's rebellion, as well as raising one more infantry division under Major General Frederick D. Grant, son of former general-in-chief and secretary of war Ulysses S. Grant. Over concerns that five infantry divisions were too much for even a veteran commander to handle in a campaign focusing on several islands, McKinley agreed to leave Lawton's, MacArthur's, and Funston's divisions with Merritt to form the I Corps, with Pershing's, Grant's, and the cavalry division, now under Leonard Wood to be placed under General Wilson to form the II Corps. The goal of these men where to secure the Philippine Islands. A second cavalry division, placed under the command of Samuel Sumner, another Civil War son this time of General Edwin Sumner, was to capture Guam. In naval support of Merritt would be Rear Admiral William T. Sampson, while Commodore George Dewey would act in support of Sumner. Finally, Rear Admiral Winfield S. Schley would lead the largest fleet in the hopes of engaging the Spanish one in battle. With this prepared, McKinley sent the troops off.

The primary Spanish-American War naval officers: William T. Sampson, George Dewey, and Winfield Schley
​

Luckily for the McKinley administration, and the American public's morale, each branch of the Spanish-American War would go successfully. Following a successful naval battle, Sampson began a bombardment of Manila Bay, which helped clear out what was left of the Spanish defenders, allowing Merritt and his forces, aided by Philippine rebels led by Emilio Aguinaldo to capture Manila. Sumner and Dewey, meanwhile, faced minimal resistance in their capture of Guam, with the small Spanish garrison surrendering before the battle even begun, with the now famous charge lead by General Loyd Wheaton and his brigade crashing through the final line of Spanish defenders. Schley, meanwhile, would find that his mission of neutralizing the Spanish fleet was not as much of a fight as he was expecting. Much of the Spanish fleet was involved in the Spanish-Confederate War, along with their better ships. Thus, when Sampson severely wounded the Spanish fleet during his Battle of Manila Bay, Schley decided it was his duty to decimate it. The few Spanish ships that had survived that battle, along with a few other shabby boats would be his target, with them being commanded by Patricio Montojo, a Spanish naval commander of some skill who found himself with a very poor fleet. Both Schley and Montojo knew it was a battle of antihalation from the start, and ultimately when Montojo's flagship, the Reina Cristina, which had already been heavily damaged at Manila Bay, went down, Montojo decided to go down with it rather than face humiliation in Spain. With their goals accomplished, the United States sent diplomats to Spain, and ended the war with the 1898 Treaty of Spain, which ceded the Philippines and Guam to the U.S., where they became territories, and dismantled the Spanish Empire in the Pacific. The war also served its purpose of helping the American public get past Custer's rebellion.

Emilio Aguinaldo, a painting of Spanish defenders during the Battle of Manila, and Patricio Montojo
​

During his time in office, McKinley would get to make one nomination to the Supreme Court. His opportunity would arise with the passing of Associate Justice Stephen J. Field in 1897. McKinley would replace him with Joseph McKenna, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and before that a California representative. With the rest of his term, McKinley would only do minor things, and when the 1900 election arrived, the man who had not even been interested at running for president at first decided not to seek a second term.

Associate Justice Joseph McKenna
​

McKinley and his cabinet:
President: William McKinley
Vice-President: Theodore Roosevelt
Secretary of State: William Allison
Secretary of the Treasury: Lyman Gage
Secretary of War: Shelby Cullom
Attorney General: George Hoar
Postmaster General: Henry C. Payne
Secretary of the Navy: John D. Long
Secretary of the Interior: Ethan Hitchcock
Secretary of Agriculture: James Wilson

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Fifty-Five: The Presidency of Ben Tillman

President Ben Tillman
​

When Tillman assumed office, he prepared to accomplish what his main goal in assuming office was, namely repealing the abolition laws passed under his predecessor. For this, the Democrats had gained a slight majority in the Senate, having 14 senators to the Liberty Party's 12, but in the House, the Liberty Party had the majority. Nonetheless, Tillman began his attacks on Jackson's actions. He had two targets: the Governmental Abolition Act, or the one which stated the government will purchase slaves from slave-holder interested for the fixed rate of $100, and second and his greater target: The Manumission Amendment that allowed state governments to end slavery. Despite hating the Manumission Amendment more, Tillman decided to go after Governmental Abolition Act first, as it would require less support to repeal. In the Senate, Senators Richard Coke of Texas and Edmund Pettus of Alabama spear-headed the movement for the repeal of the Governmental Abolition Act, while Senator Fitzhugh Lee of Virginia attempted to block it. Despite all his best efforts, Lee would fail in saving the act, and the Senate repealed it, sending it to the House. Here, the Democrats realized compromise and stronger arguments were necessary, and they turned to the argument that the states which supported this idea had already implemented it, making it unnecessary for the government to continue the program. Ultimately, this argument would work, convincing several Liberty Party members, including House Speaker Charles J. Faulkner, to support the act's repeal. Not all were, convinced, however, as was made clear by Alabama's lone Liberty Party representative Oscar Underwood (although Milford W. Howard, a Populist also serving from Alabama frequently voted with the Liberty Party and would later join them following the collapse of his own party), who would deliver an impassioned speech in favor of maintaining the bill. Despite his best efforts, however, the House voted in favor of the repeal by seven votes. The first part of Tillman's plan had been enacted, leaving only the Manumission Amendment standing in his way.

Edmund Pettus, Fitzhugh Lee, and Charles Faulkner
​

Unfortunately for Tillman, the Manumission Amendment would be a tougher nut to crack. In addition to it requiring more votes to pass a new amendment then to repeal a law, he could not use the same arguments as he had done with the Governmental Abolition Act, as if the Manumission Amendment was repealed, then the eight state laws allowing for abolition would automatically become unconstitutional. This also brought up the issue of state's rights, one of the things Tillman was famous for advocating for in his earlier political days. It would be a massive violation of that ideal for the federal government to make null the laws of states, something the Liberty and Populist Party gleefully pointed out. These arguments resonated even with some Democrats, and Tillman had caused to be worried that his attempt would fail even before it left the Senate. In this moment, it became the time for another rising star in CSA politics, Postmaster General James K. Vardaman of Mississippi to attempt to support Tillman's effort. Tillman would send him to personally address the CSA Senate with an impassioned speech for repeal, but similar to Tillman's speeches, it was extremely racist, and it even rubbed some Democratic senators the wrong way. Tillman's attempt to repeal the Manumission Amendment would fail before it even left the Senate, with 3 Democrats along with all the Liberty Party members voting against it.

Postmaster General James Vardaman
​

With his ultimate goal for the presidency now lying shattered, Tillman decided he would try and get it passed another way. He would start an easy war in hopes of getting the public support of the people, which he could leverage into getting his agenda passed. He would set his sights on Cuba with his casus belli being the oppression of the Cuban population. In reality, Tillman had little concern for the Cuban population, and was instead using their plight to his political advantage. For the commander of the ground forces, he would turn to CSA General-in-Chief Simon B. Buckner. Under him were three corps of infantry under Lieutenant Generals A.P. Stewart, Lieutenant General Patrick Cleburne, and Lieutenant General William D. Pender, as well as a Cavalry Corps under Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler. It is often observed that the Spanish-Confederate War would be the twilight of the Civil War era commander, with no major war after it featuring a Civil War general at its head. Commanding the naval forces would be Admiral John Hood. It is interesting to note that many of Tillman's highest-ranking officers were Liberty Party members, with Buckner, Stewart, Cleburne, Pender, and Wheeler all falling into this category. Only Hood was a Democrat, but he was an adherent one. Historians debate whether this was done purposely, hoping to have these known Liberty Party members eventually supporting their commander-in-chief's policies after the war, or if this was all coincidental. Either way, Tillman was ready for war, and declared it on a unsuspecting Spain, who already had their hands full with Cuban rebels.

Senior Spanish-Confederate War CSA Officers: Simon Buckner, A.P. Stewart, Patrick Cleburne, William Pender, Joseph Wheeler, and John Hood
​

On May 7, 1899, the first CSA troops of the division of Major General George H. Thomas Jr., son of George H. Thomas, landed on Cuba. The vastly numerically superior CSA force completely overwhelmed the defenses of an already tired Spanish force under General Arsenio Linares, and soon the drive for Santiago begun, with all forces standing between it an the CSA quickly being overwhelmed until they were at the city itself. At this point, Wheeler, who had been leading the way with his cavalry, was in favor of a direct attack on the city, but Buckner, along with Stewart, Cleburne, and Pender, decided to settle in for a siege, as they did not expect the Spanish to hold out long. They were correct, and after 2 weeks of siege, the Spanish forces began sending out surrender overtures. Buckner agreed to begin negotiations, and by the next day, July 6, 1899 the Spanish forces inside Santiago agreed to the terms of the surrender. Linares, who had been wounded by an artillery shell during the siege would lead his men in the surrender ceremony out of the town. Combining this with Hood's victory at sea, in which he defeated the Spanish fleet to which he outnumbered four fold, with him commanding 16 ships against the 4 ship Spanish fleet under Pascual Cervera, the Spanish saw no point in continuing the war. With their string of defeats, the Spanish government sued for peace, which Tillman gleefully granted them on the condition of CSA annexation of Cuba as a territory. Spain agreed, and Tillman had achieved the war victory he was searching for.

Some CSA field officers of Wheeler's Cavalry Corps during the Spanish-Confederate War
​

Riding high on his success, Tillman was prepared to begin to restart his movement to repeal the Manumission Amendment. He planned to restart it with the coming of the new year, 1900. His plan was to announce this to the people through one of his famous speeches. This speech, which he delivered on January 1, 1900, would be the last of his career, however. Before the speech, anarchist and British immigrant Leonard Abbott would plant a bomb under the stage Tillman was going to deliver his speech on, and set it to denote during it. The explosion would go as Abbott planned, completely destroying the stage in a massive ball of fire, instantly killing Tillman, Vice-President Morgan, and the majority of Tillman's cabinet, all of whom were on the stage. Tillman's only cabinet secretaries to survive were Secretary of State Matthew C. Butler, Secretary of the Treasury Roger Q. Mills, and Secretary of the Navy Hilary A. Hilbert, all of whom did not attend the speech, and thus were not present during the fatal blast. After several weeks of investigation, the police would link the bombing to Abbott, and he was arrested, tried, and hung for his crimes. With both the president and vice president dead, the presidency devolved on, in one of the most interesting cases of historical irony, President Pro Tempore William B. Bate, who Tillman had run against the election. Bate had run for the Tennessee Senate seat he formerly occupied after his failed presidential bid, managing to achieve the post, and eventually being elected to the role of President Pro Tempore by the moderate Democrat-Liberty Party coalition that saved the Manumission Amendment, as Bate was a known moderate and acceptable to both groups. With this assassination, Bate assumed the CSA presidency.

Leonard Abbott
​

Tillman and his cabinet:
President: Ben Tillman
Vice-President: John T. Morgan
Secretary of State: Matthew C. Butler
Secretary of the Treasury: Roger Q. Mills
Secretary of War: John McCausland
Attorney General: Samuel Pasco
Postmaster General: James K. Vardaman
Secretary of the Navy: Hilary A. Hilbert
Secretary of the Interior: James K. Jones

 

[Odinson]

Down with Tillman!

With Bate as the president post Tillman assassination, will he run for reelection, or simply finish the term?

 

[MrVulcan]

With Bate as the president post Tillman assassination, will he run for reelection, or simply finish the term?

If he does win re-election, he's gonna die 2 years in.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Down with Tillman!

With Bate as the president post Tillman assassination, will he run for reelection, or simply finish the term?

No, Bate won't run for re-election. Instead, a war hero from the Spanish-Confederate War will. I'll leave it to you to guess who it is.

 

[Odinson]

No, Bate won't run for re-election. Instead, a war hero from the Spanish-Confederate War will. I'll leave it to you to guess who it is.

Joe Wheeler?

 

[GeorgeUK]

Cleburne?

 

[cheffisti]

No, Bate won't run for re-election. Instead, a war hero from the Spanish-Confederate War will. I'll leave it to you to guess who it is.

George H. Thomas jr?

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

Chapter Fifty-Six: The U.S. Presidential Election of 1900

A Republican political cartoon trying to link Roosevelt with the generally well-approved McKinley in the public mind
​

With the Republican National Convention approaching, McKinley made it clear he was not interested in a second term. He had not sought out the presidency to begin with, and now his desire was to retire from public life and live out the rest of his days with his family. What he did not tell the general public, although he would confide it to his family after his retirement, was that he kept having nightmares in which he was assassinated by an anarchist, and he somewhat believed they were going to happen if he continued with the presidency. This worry was not with precedent, as in 1900 alone, two world leaders, President Ben Tillman of the CSA and King Umberto I of Italy had been assassinated by anarchists. This cleared the way for a new Republican leader. To fill this void, Vice-President Theodore Roosevelt was interested, but many of the more conservative members of the party disliked him. They could not rally around a single person, however, and this cleared the way for Roosevelt's nomination. The conservatives had to be represented, however, and the Republicans ultimately went with James S. Sherman, an agreeable and political experienced man who had formerly been a New York Representative before moving to New Jersey, the home state of his wife. Many believed Sherman's state move was as a result of being promised the vice-presidency, because Roosevelt was a New Yorker, and thus Sherman had to live in a different state in order to be on the ticket. At first, Roosevelt was unsure about Sherman, but the genial personalities of both men meshed well, and it became clear that their political difference would not hinder the campaigning efforts.

Theodore Roosevelt and James Sherman
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The Democrats, meanwhile, were still reeling from the effects of Custer, and they generally agreed that this election was going to be a Republican landslide. Nonetheless, they put together a ticket. For the presidency, they turned to former Secretary of State and senator Arthur P. Gorman. For the vice-presidency, they would nominate former Attorney General and representative Adlai Stevenson. There was not much debate at this Democratic convention, and the majority of the delegates were satisfied to support the men who had been picked by the party bosses. Thus, the Democrats put forth their ticket with such a low belief in its chances of success that had not been seen since the 1876 election.

Arthur P. Gorman and Adlai Stevenson
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With this election, the Reform Party was fired up. They believed now was their opportunity to finally make themselves one of the major parties in the U.S.'s two party system, and reduce the Democrats to a third party. They had the perfect candidate to lead them in their ascendance as well, Nebraska Representative William J. Bryan. Bryan was a great speaker, and could attract voters from his own party, progressives from both the Democratic and Republican Party, and also Democrats who wanted to see a man who could possibly defeat Roosevelt. For his running mate, the Reform Party nominated Minnesota Representative Ignatius L. Donnelly, who is now more famous for his pseudoscience writings. Overall, the Reform Party believed this was the election that would mark their rise to becoming a part of the two party system.

William Bryan and Ignatius Donnelly
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With this election, Roosevelt decided to focus his energy on trying to take down the Reform Party, content to leave the Democrats mostly alone, knowing that they stood almost no chance. Both Bryan and Roosevelt were great speakers, and their speeches drew crowds of sizes previously unseen in presidential elections. Once again, the Reform Party was trying to break out of its Western foothold, and grab some Eastern states, focusing much effort on the Midwest, as well as New York and Pennsylvania. It was in New York City where disaster struck the Reform Party. While Bryan was delivering a speech to a large crowd, an anarchist Leon Czolgosz fired three shots at him, striking him twice in the chest, and once in the hip. As Bryan collapsed on the stage, his riotous supporters descended upon Czolgosz, leaving behind only a bloody pulp for the police officers to find. Following the shooting, Bryan's health steadily declined. When word reached them, both Roosevelt and Gorman agreed to put a halt to their campaigning out of respect for Bryan. Unfortunately, Bryan could not pull through, and he died from his wounds three days after the assassination had taken place. The Reform Party had lost their champion to a mad man, and, in the words of historian Edward Morris, "The greatest champion of the Reform Party had passed, taking with him their hopes of ever reaching the Executive Mansion." Following Bryan's death, the Reform Party promoted Donnelly to be their presidential nomination, and nominated prohibitionist Hale Johnson to be his running-mate. With Bryan's death, the momentum of the Reform Party began to waver quickly, and after both the Democrats and Republicans restarted their campaign, it became clear that Roosevelt was going for the Reform Party base in the West.

Leon Czolgosz, a photograph of Bryan moments before his assassination, and Hale Johnson
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The Reform Party had a right to worry, as this election marked the beginning of their downfall. Roosevelt would dominate both his opposition parties, both in terms of electoral and popular vote. He would receive 272 electoral votes from California, Oregon, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Gorman received 33 electoral votes from Missouri, Kentucky, and Delaware, while Donnelly received 16 from Montana, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, and Wyoming. This was the second Republican landslide victory in a role, and going into the 20th century, many Democrats wondered when their party could finally regain power, while the Reform Party was just trying desperately to stay together after such a devastating loss.

 

[CountofDooku]

The first image isn't working but maybe that's just me. Great chapter once again.

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

The firs image isn't working but maybe that's just me. Great chapter once again.

I think it should be working now.