I just did a bit of research and the trans-Atlantic cable was not completed until 1866 by a joint British-American group. Therefore I don't think it would have an effect on this TL.
Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War
- Thread starter Alt History Buff
- Start date
I just did a bit of research and the trans-Atlantic cable was not completed until 1866 by a joint British-American group. Therefore I don't think it would have an effect on this TL.
No, but when Virginia seceded, he offered to. Only the fact that he was demonized for not surrendering the Federal Arsenals in Texas kept the South from accepting him (and politicking by Beauregard).
I think that's been largely forgotten at this point. I mean, he's actively fighting for the Union against the hated British. I think that more than makes up for him offering to fight for the South. Depending on what he does in the war against the British he could very well be a VERY popular figure to run for president. The only problem is that I doubt Lee would accept. He hated politics and I think it would take a lot of prodding for him to accept. I guess we'll see.
Chapter 35
May, 1863
New York Harbor
Slowly, a defensible fleet was rebuilt in New York Harbor. The Passaic-Class USS Montauk had been sunk on her maiden voyage defending Manhattan. A number of other ships had sunk as well.
But the Union was building Passaic Class Monitors throughout the nation in various shipyards.
The USS Patapsco was built in Delaware and launched in September.
The USS Nahant was built in Boston and launched in November.
The USS Weehawken was built in New Jersey and also launched in November.
The USS Sangamon was built in Chester Pennsylvania and launched in December.
The USS Catskill was built in Greenpoint and launched in December.
The USS Nantucket was built in Boston and launched in December.
The USS Lehigh was built in Chester Pennsylvania and launched in January, 1863.
The first two ships of the Canonicus (improved Passaic class) were expected in the fall.
The first four ships of the Miantonomoh class were expected in in 1864.
The first of the Dictator class was expected in December.
The first of the Puritan class was expected in 1864.
The four ships of the Kalamazoo class were also expected by 1864.
These latter three would transition from the "Brown Water" Passaic, Canonicus and Miantonomoh classes to more "blue-water" ocean going vessels.
In addition to this, the Union had several broadside ironclads (they did not have moveable turrets) like the USS Galena and USS Ironsides (both unique designs).
Further, the Union had captured several Confederate broadside including the CSS Atlanta, CSS Virginia and CSS Richmond (the latter need to have armaments put on). With USS Monitor and USS Passaic, these Confederate Ironclads had been instrumental in the battle of the Chesapeake.
The rapid development and production of ironclads would help disguise the embarrassment of the 20 ships of the Casco class being proved unseaworthy. Upon trials, the initial ships launched would barely stay afloat in rivers....and that was without much of the expected Armor, coal, ammunition, etc. This multi-million dollar boondoggle would lead to a number of firings. Eventually several of these ships were re-tasked for use as glorified floating batteries in New York, the rest largely scrapped.
By summer of 1863, the New York fleet counted among it's vessels the USS New Ironsides, the Galena, the Patapsco, the Weehawken, the Catskill and the Lehigh. There were also over a dozen more conventional warships, many being "partially armors" meaning that the shipyards or crews were attacking sheets of arbor wherever they could.
Several of the old wooden sailing ships were doomed to become floating batteries with the beleaguered Casco class.
Most of the fleet which defending Washington in the Battle of the Chesapeake remained there to maintain a defense of the Capital.
Of course, the massive British manufacturing base were scarcely proving less productive. After losing both the "Warrior" Class ships in 1862, the upgraded "Defense" Class ships (Defense and Resistance) were completed in late 1862 and the updated "Hector" class ships (Hector and Valiant) were expected in late 1863 (they were delayed by the bankruptcy of their initial shipyard). Britain was also refitting literally dozens of "conventional" warships to bear armor.
It seemed that the past four years had seen more naval development than all of history before it. The British First Lord of the Admiralty, upon hearing of the battle between the Monitor and the Virginia, would mournfully remark, "Yesterday we had hundreds of ships in the greatest Navy in the world. Today, we have but two (the Warrior and the Black Prince)."
But the next battles of the war would not take place at sea but on land, where America had a decided advantage in numbers.
Southern Canada, two miles from the American border.
General Joe Hooker would curse the damned northern country. For weeks, he had slogged forward through the wilderness into a seemingly never-ending quantity of Abatis, trenches, fortifications, etc. The British knew that he was coming and had prepared well.
Captured British and Canadian soldiers would report that their immediate commander south of Montreal was none other than the famous Chinese Gordon. American intelligence (basically some British newspapers) had revealed that Gordon refused a direct request from the Queen over a year ago to serve in North America. An ardent anti-slaver, Gordon could not bring himself to act even tangentally in the service of s slave power. But, by 1863, it was obvious that the Confederacy was finished and Gordon was surprisingly offered another chance. One did not refuse a monarch and expect to be anything but blacklisted forever.
Arriving in March, Gordon would energetically march south in the frigid snows, preparing for Hooker's assault. It had taken Hooker weeks to move but a few miles and few opportunities for a war of maneuver were to be found in the region.
Fortunately for the Americans, the arrogance of the British leadership did not account for the failure of the invasion of Portland by sea. Leaving a relief force to man the massive guns of the port city, the American General Robert E. Lee had led his army along the Grand Trunk Railroad to the Canadian border (the British and Canadians having been wise enough to remove enough track to halt any further encroachment by vehicle), he managed to break into Canada with much less resistance than Hooker and promptly forced Gordon to disengage and retreat lest he be surrounded.
For fifteen miles, the patient engineer in Lee would turn the retreating British flanks and avoid ambushes by pure guile.
Then the land began to flatten out, the forests becoming less thick as the population grew nearer to Montreal. Most of the population of the region was in the Island city itself or north of the St. Lawrence. But there were still nearly 100,000 souls living on the south side of the city. They had to be protected and Gordon could not abandon them. Also, the city of Montreal is not remotely as strategically protected as Quebec on its high cliffs.
In 1760, Montreal would surrender almost without a shot to Amherst, only one campaign season after a brutal assault on Quebec.
The advent of more powerful artillery would make Montreal's position even more vulnerable. Retreating north of the St. Lawrence would make strategic, military sense but putting the second city of Canada under the range of American guns was not. With very little effort, the city could be burned to the ground.
Thus, Gordon was compelled by his conscience and his orders to defend the South bank of the St. Lawrence. By Late May, Hooker and Lee had managed to slog through the mud (despite it being a relatively dry year) that wore out their horses and wagon wheels with alarming speed.
This was not cavalry territory but the Americans had managed to bring 2000 horsemen along with them. Between the two American forces, they possessed nearly 14,000 infantry and a moderate amount of artillery.
What made this campaign unique in American history were the types of weapons and men at hand. Over 6000 of the combined Union armies were Negroes (some freemen prior to the war, some freedmen) who had volunteered to serve America's colors (Negroes were not subject to the draft). Under Brigadier Robert Shaw, a Brigade of 4 Negro Regiments served under Lee. Despite the latter's discomfit with the idea, Lee came to respect the Negroes. Most of these men had been in Uniform for a year and simply had not had the chance to fight as many white men still doubted the courage of the black. Interestingly, the "Black Brigade" of Robert Shaw had been provided with Dreyse Needle Guns.
Lee, like most Generals, was skeptical of new gadgets. The "needles" of these guns had the habit wearing down. However, being able to shoot five breech-loaded bullets before reloading (and being able to do so lying down rather than standing up making yourself a nice, fat target) at once could potentially turn the tide of battle.
The Cavalry had been almost wholly converted to Winchester Carbines. Lee had been stunned to find nearly half the invading infantry had been issued Winchesters or Sharpe's, neither of which could fix a bayonet.
For his part, Hooker laughed and stated that if an American soldier could shoot 5 to 10 times a minute at an marching British soldier and he STILL reached him, then the American DESERVED to be bayonetted. As Hooker had utilized these weapons in combat....and was the senior officer....Lee was content to keep his worries to himself.
A dozen "Coffee Mill Guns" and eight "Gatling Guns" had also been issued to the various regiments. Lee had witnessed a demonstration and found the weapons horrifically compelling. If these weapons could be kept from jamming and churned out 150 to 300 rounds per minute, then perhaps the American infantry really DIDN'T need bayonets.
Perhaps more concerning was the presence of the old smoothbore bronze "Napoleons" as the backbone of the American artillery with a minority being the Parrott rifled cannon. The Napoleons were tried and true but heavy and with a slow rate of fire. The Parrott's were more modern but prone to occasionally bursting.
The British, on the other hand, possessed new breech-loading "Armstrong" guns which could be finicky but more than made up for it with their versatility brought upon by their light weight, superior accuracy and horrifying fast rate of fire. In this regard, the American artillery were at a decided advantage.
Having flanked the British advance lines, Hooker and Lee somewhat expected Gordon to retreat across the great river. But instead, the man dug in less than ten miles from Montreal on a patch of relatively flat terrain. The Americans were confused by this but then decided Gordon shared the typical British assumption of superiority in their long-serving professionals. While no doubt well-trained and brave to a fault, the new weapons of the day would make the large-scale formations Gordon was about to unleash upon the Americans a thing of the past.
By the morning of May 8th, Gordon had managed to summon 8000 British regulars to match his 8000 Canadians (mostly regulars). He was augmented by about 2000 militia of dubious quality which he preferred to use as skirmishers.
Hooker had he and Lee's 14,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry and would later be stunned to find another 1000 Union Cavalry and 2000 irregular New York Cavalry militia trotting up to them the day of battle. Neither were expected to have arrived so early.
Lee and Hooker, in Gordon's position, would have dug in and let the Americans attack through the open fields into the teeth of entrenched Armstrong fire. But the British tactics had yet to take into account new conditions. Gordon was not fighting Sepoys, Chinese or Russians.
Gordon's assault was more reminiscent of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's mass charges against the Austrians expecting the pure intimidation value to crack the enemy's morale and cause them to flee by the Regiment.
But the truth would soon be revealed:
The poorly situated American artillery would only mildly disconcert the British and Canadian assaults. It would play relatively little part in the battle. The British Armstrong guns would do their best to pound the American defensive formations though their range limited their effectiveness.
At 300-400 yards, most of the American sharpshooters and snipers opened up. Immediately, the British and Canadians began to fall. Almost none of the British commanders gave the order to return fire, preferring to close the gap quickly. Of course, some didn't give the order as they'd been among the first cut down by Sharpe's rifles. At 200 yards, the Winchesters, Dreyse Needle Guns and Springfields (the Enfields were left behind in America to simply the supply train) opened up.
Soon the dead were piling up so quickly that their fellows were forced to walk across the moaning bodies of their friends. At 100 yards, the visibly withering British and Canadian ranks would experience the Coffee Mills and Gatlings for the first time. Within a minute, entire companies disappeared. Regiments lost all cohesion and fell away. Men of Regiments which had never retreated before an enemy would turn as one and retreat for safety. However, the merciless sharpeshooters and artillery continued to fire into their backs.
Aghast at the loss of at least 3000 men in the course of less than a half-hour, Gordon was uncharacteristically hesitant. The American counter attack at the flanks cured him of this and he ordered his reserves forward and the shattered regiments drawn up.
Leading the assault on the right flank were Lee and Shaw's "Black Brigade". At 100 yards, Lee stunned his opponent when ordered a halt to his double-quick charge and ordered his men into ranks to open fire. Expecting a bayonet assault, the British had expected to fire but a single volley into the American ranks and then fix bayonets themselves. Instead, they discovered that exchanging volleys at 100 years with men who could fire 3-5 times more bullets at you than you could at them was a losing proposition. Finally, the British attempted a bayonet charge of their own only to be visibly withered before getting within 50 yards. At this point, Shaw ordered his own men to fix bayonets and charged forward. Bayonet melees were certainly the exception to the rule rather than the rule. Very little could entice two large groups of men into such a slaughter. However, the "Black Brigade" had a point to prove and were none too happy with the British attempting to convince Confederate leaders to "reestablish the South" as it had once been.
Just as massacre escalated, Lee ordered his New York and New Jersey Brigade to turned the flank. That was enough for force the British line to collapse inward. Lee could see the cavalry riding past the New Yorkers into the British rear echelons.
On the left (western) flank, Hooker had pursued a similar strategy to Lee but moved most of his artillery forward into the ranks of his men, along side the infantry, Coffee Mills and Gatlings. Unlike Lee, he would order all but his sharpshooters to hold fire until they were within 100 yards of the American lines.
The result was every bit as disastrous as the on the right. So many officers were killed that there was no one to even order several regiments to stop and exchange fire. Instead, they marched into the heart of the massacre to the point that the Napoleons exchanged cannonball and canister for grapeshot.
Hooker's line included the renowned "Iron Division" and some of the best soldiers in the American army. He ordered his reserves of 2000 Indianans forward and flank the British left. Seeing the British and Canadian lines melt away, he ordered a general advance.
On the right only a modest Regiment of newly raised Canadians were held in reserve and these panicked at the approach of the Indiana veterans. Gordon released his own limited cavalry to stop this assault but would soon regret it as the bulk of the Union Cavalry soon appeared in his camp from the east. They would overrun most of the British artillery and supply train while further scattering the retreating infantry.
Within an hour, the British forces had suffered over 4500 casualties and a thousand captured while the remnant of the army fled northward to the St. Lawrence.
Hooker, seeing his division in order, rode over to Lee, "It seems we have them on the runs, Lee."
"I suggest we keep them running, General, until they have a choice of us or a long swim to Montreal."
Hooker laughted, "My thoughts exactly, General." Then he left to rejoin his own flank.
A few British and Canadian regiments attempted to form rear guards but would usually be thoroughly outgunned in short order. Eventually, any man's courage must wane and the most experienced soldiers ceased to heed his officer's commands (in fairness, there WERE few left) and sought to make for the river.
British and Canadian transports and victualling vessels had been transferring man and material for days south of the river. The captains were shocked to see first dozens, then hundreds, then finally thousands of men approach the shores, begging to be let aboard. One of Gordon's quicker witted staff orders promptly ordered the boats forward (some on docks, others via launches) and commanded the men to the boats. Seeing not just raw Canadian militia but experienced British and Canadian regimental personnel fleeing was enough to prove that the battle had gone disastrously and as much as possible must be saved.
Gordon had survived the artillery duels, the charges and the rampaging Union cavalry in the rear and was attempted to form ragtag blocking squadrons. This worked to an extent as he managed to gather up 4000 men to form another line nearly a mile from the shore. He even managed to save a few Armstrongs. Taking position in a gully, he forced the Americans to draw back long enough to form ranks and exchange fire. Eventually, another flanking movement, this time by the Iron Brigade, would make Gordon's position untenable and he was forced to retreat again, this time to a narrow ridge near the St. Lawrence. From this position, he could look south and see what was left of his army being herded onto dozens of ships as American cavalry attempted cut down anyone unlucky enough to be caught out of range of the British gunboats issued a sporadic and desperate fire. To his pride, hundreds of soldiers were attempting to cover their comrades' retreats.
Saluting their courage, Gordon knew that they could not last long once the American infantry formed up again. Nearly out of ammunition and seeing how unlikely his command was to reach any form of safety with the Union cavalry cutting off his position and the sounds of massed American infantry approaching from the south, Gordon would order his remaining forces to fix bayonets and prepare to charge.
Soon, the plinks of sharpshooter bullets impacting flesh arrived, only to be replacing by those damned repeating rifles which seemed to fire all day. The rise gave some semblance of protection but not nearly enough. He could see to the west that those infernal contraptions the "Gatlings" (he'd heard of them but dismissed them as being unfeasible on the battlefield) were being set up to fire into the flanks of his army.
He was out of time. Whatever officers Gordon had left had been informed of his orders. Within a minute of Gordon departed the relative protection of the rise, virtually every Briton and Canadian still in his command had followed suit at the doublestop. His blade arching forward, Gordon's long legs crossed the ground quickly as the Americans were forming into ranks in order to fire en masse into his forces.
He'd nearly reached the American line when the last thing he heard was the hideous rattle of repeating rifles firing shot after shot after shot after shot after............
New York Harbor
Slowly, a defensible fleet was rebuilt in New York Harbor. The Passaic-Class USS Montauk had been sunk on her maiden voyage defending Manhattan. A number of other ships had sunk as well.
But the Union was building Passaic Class Monitors throughout the nation in various shipyards.
The USS Patapsco was built in Delaware and launched in September.
The USS Nahant was built in Boston and launched in November.
The USS Weehawken was built in New Jersey and also launched in November.
The USS Sangamon was built in Chester Pennsylvania and launched in December.
The USS Catskill was built in Greenpoint and launched in December.
The USS Nantucket was built in Boston and launched in December.
The USS Lehigh was built in Chester Pennsylvania and launched in January, 1863.
The first two ships of the Canonicus (improved Passaic class) were expected in the fall.
The first four ships of the Miantonomoh class were expected in in 1864.
The first of the Dictator class was expected in December.
The first of the Puritan class was expected in 1864.
The four ships of the Kalamazoo class were also expected by 1864.
These latter three would transition from the "Brown Water" Passaic, Canonicus and Miantonomoh classes to more "blue-water" ocean going vessels.
In addition to this, the Union had several broadside ironclads (they did not have moveable turrets) like the USS Galena and USS Ironsides (both unique designs).
Further, the Union had captured several Confederate broadside including the CSS Atlanta, CSS Virginia and CSS Richmond (the latter need to have armaments put on). With USS Monitor and USS Passaic, these Confederate Ironclads had been instrumental in the battle of the Chesapeake.
The rapid development and production of ironclads would help disguise the embarrassment of the 20 ships of the Casco class being proved unseaworthy. Upon trials, the initial ships launched would barely stay afloat in rivers....and that was without much of the expected Armor, coal, ammunition, etc. This multi-million dollar boondoggle would lead to a number of firings. Eventually several of these ships were re-tasked for use as glorified floating batteries in New York, the rest largely scrapped.
By summer of 1863, the New York fleet counted among it's vessels the USS New Ironsides, the Galena, the Patapsco, the Weehawken, the Catskill and the Lehigh. There were also over a dozen more conventional warships, many being "partially armors" meaning that the shipyards or crews were attacking sheets of arbor wherever they could.
Several of the old wooden sailing ships were doomed to become floating batteries with the beleaguered Casco class.
Most of the fleet which defending Washington in the Battle of the Chesapeake remained there to maintain a defense of the Capital.
Of course, the massive British manufacturing base were scarcely proving less productive. After losing both the "Warrior" Class ships in 1862, the upgraded "Defense" Class ships (Defense and Resistance) were completed in late 1862 and the updated "Hector" class ships (Hector and Valiant) were expected in late 1863 (they were delayed by the bankruptcy of their initial shipyard). Britain was also refitting literally dozens of "conventional" warships to bear armor.
It seemed that the past four years had seen more naval development than all of history before it. The British First Lord of the Admiralty, upon hearing of the battle between the Monitor and the Virginia, would mournfully remark, "Yesterday we had hundreds of ships in the greatest Navy in the world. Today, we have but two (the Warrior and the Black Prince)."
But the next battles of the war would not take place at sea but on land, where America had a decided advantage in numbers.
Southern Canada, two miles from the American border.
General Joe Hooker would curse the damned northern country. For weeks, he had slogged forward through the wilderness into a seemingly never-ending quantity of Abatis, trenches, fortifications, etc. The British knew that he was coming and had prepared well.
Captured British and Canadian soldiers would report that their immediate commander south of Montreal was none other than the famous Chinese Gordon. American intelligence (basically some British newspapers) had revealed that Gordon refused a direct request from the Queen over a year ago to serve in North America. An ardent anti-slaver, Gordon could not bring himself to act even tangentally in the service of s slave power. But, by 1863, it was obvious that the Confederacy was finished and Gordon was surprisingly offered another chance. One did not refuse a monarch and expect to be anything but blacklisted forever.
Arriving in March, Gordon would energetically march south in the frigid snows, preparing for Hooker's assault. It had taken Hooker weeks to move but a few miles and few opportunities for a war of maneuver were to be found in the region.
Fortunately for the Americans, the arrogance of the British leadership did not account for the failure of the invasion of Portland by sea. Leaving a relief force to man the massive guns of the port city, the American General Robert E. Lee had led his army along the Grand Trunk Railroad to the Canadian border (the British and Canadians having been wise enough to remove enough track to halt any further encroachment by vehicle), he managed to break into Canada with much less resistance than Hooker and promptly forced Gordon to disengage and retreat lest he be surrounded.
For fifteen miles, the patient engineer in Lee would turn the retreating British flanks and avoid ambushes by pure guile.
Then the land began to flatten out, the forests becoming less thick as the population grew nearer to Montreal. Most of the population of the region was in the Island city itself or north of the St. Lawrence. But there were still nearly 100,000 souls living on the south side of the city. They had to be protected and Gordon could not abandon them. Also, the city of Montreal is not remotely as strategically protected as Quebec on its high cliffs.
In 1760, Montreal would surrender almost without a shot to Amherst, only one campaign season after a brutal assault on Quebec.
The advent of more powerful artillery would make Montreal's position even more vulnerable. Retreating north of the St. Lawrence would make strategic, military sense but putting the second city of Canada under the range of American guns was not. With very little effort, the city could be burned to the ground.
Thus, Gordon was compelled by his conscience and his orders to defend the South bank of the St. Lawrence. By Late May, Hooker and Lee had managed to slog through the mud (despite it being a relatively dry year) that wore out their horses and wagon wheels with alarming speed.
This was not cavalry territory but the Americans had managed to bring 2000 horsemen along with them. Between the two American forces, they possessed nearly 14,000 infantry and a moderate amount of artillery.
What made this campaign unique in American history were the types of weapons and men at hand. Over 6000 of the combined Union armies were Negroes (some freemen prior to the war, some freedmen) who had volunteered to serve America's colors (Negroes were not subject to the draft). Under Brigadier Robert Shaw, a Brigade of 4 Negro Regiments served under Lee. Despite the latter's discomfit with the idea, Lee came to respect the Negroes. Most of these men had been in Uniform for a year and simply had not had the chance to fight as many white men still doubted the courage of the black. Interestingly, the "Black Brigade" of Robert Shaw had been provided with Dreyse Needle Guns.
Lee, like most Generals, was skeptical of new gadgets. The "needles" of these guns had the habit wearing down. However, being able to shoot five breech-loaded bullets before reloading (and being able to do so lying down rather than standing up making yourself a nice, fat target) at once could potentially turn the tide of battle.
The Cavalry had been almost wholly converted to Winchester Carbines. Lee had been stunned to find nearly half the invading infantry had been issued Winchesters or Sharpe's, neither of which could fix a bayonet.
For his part, Hooker laughed and stated that if an American soldier could shoot 5 to 10 times a minute at an marching British soldier and he STILL reached him, then the American DESERVED to be bayonetted. As Hooker had utilized these weapons in combat....and was the senior officer....Lee was content to keep his worries to himself.
A dozen "Coffee Mill Guns" and eight "Gatling Guns" had also been issued to the various regiments. Lee had witnessed a demonstration and found the weapons horrifically compelling. If these weapons could be kept from jamming and churned out 150 to 300 rounds per minute, then perhaps the American infantry really DIDN'T need bayonets.
Perhaps more concerning was the presence of the old smoothbore bronze "Napoleons" as the backbone of the American artillery with a minority being the Parrott rifled cannon. The Napoleons were tried and true but heavy and with a slow rate of fire. The Parrott's were more modern but prone to occasionally bursting.
The British, on the other hand, possessed new breech-loading "Armstrong" guns which could be finicky but more than made up for it with their versatility brought upon by their light weight, superior accuracy and horrifying fast rate of fire. In this regard, the American artillery were at a decided advantage.
Having flanked the British advance lines, Hooker and Lee somewhat expected Gordon to retreat across the great river. But instead, the man dug in less than ten miles from Montreal on a patch of relatively flat terrain. The Americans were confused by this but then decided Gordon shared the typical British assumption of superiority in their long-serving professionals. While no doubt well-trained and brave to a fault, the new weapons of the day would make the large-scale formations Gordon was about to unleash upon the Americans a thing of the past.
By the morning of May 8th, Gordon had managed to summon 8000 British regulars to match his 8000 Canadians (mostly regulars). He was augmented by about 2000 militia of dubious quality which he preferred to use as skirmishers.
Hooker had he and Lee's 14,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry and would later be stunned to find another 1000 Union Cavalry and 2000 irregular New York Cavalry militia trotting up to them the day of battle. Neither were expected to have arrived so early.
Lee and Hooker, in Gordon's position, would have dug in and let the Americans attack through the open fields into the teeth of entrenched Armstrong fire. But the British tactics had yet to take into account new conditions. Gordon was not fighting Sepoys, Chinese or Russians.
Gordon's assault was more reminiscent of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's mass charges against the Austrians expecting the pure intimidation value to crack the enemy's morale and cause them to flee by the Regiment.
But the truth would soon be revealed:
The poorly situated American artillery would only mildly disconcert the British and Canadian assaults. It would play relatively little part in the battle. The British Armstrong guns would do their best to pound the American defensive formations though their range limited their effectiveness.
At 300-400 yards, most of the American sharpshooters and snipers opened up. Immediately, the British and Canadians began to fall. Almost none of the British commanders gave the order to return fire, preferring to close the gap quickly. Of course, some didn't give the order as they'd been among the first cut down by Sharpe's rifles. At 200 yards, the Winchesters, Dreyse Needle Guns and Springfields (the Enfields were left behind in America to simply the supply train) opened up.
Soon the dead were piling up so quickly that their fellows were forced to walk across the moaning bodies of their friends. At 100 yards, the visibly withering British and Canadian ranks would experience the Coffee Mills and Gatlings for the first time. Within a minute, entire companies disappeared. Regiments lost all cohesion and fell away. Men of Regiments which had never retreated before an enemy would turn as one and retreat for safety. However, the merciless sharpeshooters and artillery continued to fire into their backs.
Aghast at the loss of at least 3000 men in the course of less than a half-hour, Gordon was uncharacteristically hesitant. The American counter attack at the flanks cured him of this and he ordered his reserves forward and the shattered regiments drawn up.
Leading the assault on the right flank were Lee and Shaw's "Black Brigade". At 100 yards, Lee stunned his opponent when ordered a halt to his double-quick charge and ordered his men into ranks to open fire. Expecting a bayonet assault, the British had expected to fire but a single volley into the American ranks and then fix bayonets themselves. Instead, they discovered that exchanging volleys at 100 years with men who could fire 3-5 times more bullets at you than you could at them was a losing proposition. Finally, the British attempted a bayonet charge of their own only to be visibly withered before getting within 50 yards. At this point, Shaw ordered his own men to fix bayonets and charged forward. Bayonet melees were certainly the exception to the rule rather than the rule. Very little could entice two large groups of men into such a slaughter. However, the "Black Brigade" had a point to prove and were none too happy with the British attempting to convince Confederate leaders to "reestablish the South" as it had once been.
Just as massacre escalated, Lee ordered his New York and New Jersey Brigade to turned the flank. That was enough for force the British line to collapse inward. Lee could see the cavalry riding past the New Yorkers into the British rear echelons.
On the left (western) flank, Hooker had pursued a similar strategy to Lee but moved most of his artillery forward into the ranks of his men, along side the infantry, Coffee Mills and Gatlings. Unlike Lee, he would order all but his sharpshooters to hold fire until they were within 100 yards of the American lines.
The result was every bit as disastrous as the on the right. So many officers were killed that there was no one to even order several regiments to stop and exchange fire. Instead, they marched into the heart of the massacre to the point that the Napoleons exchanged cannonball and canister for grapeshot.
Hooker's line included the renowned "Iron Division" and some of the best soldiers in the American army. He ordered his reserves of 2000 Indianans forward and flank the British left. Seeing the British and Canadian lines melt away, he ordered a general advance.
On the right only a modest Regiment of newly raised Canadians were held in reserve and these panicked at the approach of the Indiana veterans. Gordon released his own limited cavalry to stop this assault but would soon regret it as the bulk of the Union Cavalry soon appeared in his camp from the east. They would overrun most of the British artillery and supply train while further scattering the retreating infantry.
Within an hour, the British forces had suffered over 4500 casualties and a thousand captured while the remnant of the army fled northward to the St. Lawrence.
Hooker, seeing his division in order, rode over to Lee, "It seems we have them on the runs, Lee."
"I suggest we keep them running, General, until they have a choice of us or a long swim to Montreal."
Hooker laughted, "My thoughts exactly, General." Then he left to rejoin his own flank.
A few British and Canadian regiments attempted to form rear guards but would usually be thoroughly outgunned in short order. Eventually, any man's courage must wane and the most experienced soldiers ceased to heed his officer's commands (in fairness, there WERE few left) and sought to make for the river.
British and Canadian transports and victualling vessels had been transferring man and material for days south of the river. The captains were shocked to see first dozens, then hundreds, then finally thousands of men approach the shores, begging to be let aboard. One of Gordon's quicker witted staff orders promptly ordered the boats forward (some on docks, others via launches) and commanded the men to the boats. Seeing not just raw Canadian militia but experienced British and Canadian regimental personnel fleeing was enough to prove that the battle had gone disastrously and as much as possible must be saved.
Gordon had survived the artillery duels, the charges and the rampaging Union cavalry in the rear and was attempted to form ragtag blocking squadrons. This worked to an extent as he managed to gather up 4000 men to form another line nearly a mile from the shore. He even managed to save a few Armstrongs. Taking position in a gully, he forced the Americans to draw back long enough to form ranks and exchange fire. Eventually, another flanking movement, this time by the Iron Brigade, would make Gordon's position untenable and he was forced to retreat again, this time to a narrow ridge near the St. Lawrence. From this position, he could look south and see what was left of his army being herded onto dozens of ships as American cavalry attempted cut down anyone unlucky enough to be caught out of range of the British gunboats issued a sporadic and desperate fire. To his pride, hundreds of soldiers were attempting to cover their comrades' retreats.
Saluting their courage, Gordon knew that they could not last long once the American infantry formed up again. Nearly out of ammunition and seeing how unlikely his command was to reach any form of safety with the Union cavalry cutting off his position and the sounds of massed American infantry approaching from the south, Gordon would order his remaining forces to fix bayonets and prepare to charge.
Soon, the plinks of sharpshooter bullets impacting flesh arrived, only to be replacing by those damned repeating rifles which seemed to fire all day. The rise gave some semblance of protection but not nearly enough. He could see to the west that those infernal contraptions the "Gatlings" (he'd heard of them but dismissed them as being unfeasible on the battlefield) were being set up to fire into the flanks of his army.
He was out of time. Whatever officers Gordon had left had been informed of his orders. Within a minute of Gordon departed the relative protection of the rise, virtually every Briton and Canadian still in his command had followed suit at the doublestop. His blade arching forward, Gordon's long legs crossed the ground quickly as the Americans were forming into ranks in order to fire en masse into his forces.
He'd nearly reached the American line when the last thing he heard was the hideous rattle of repeating rifles firing shot after shot after shot after shot after............
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"There is a providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children, and the United States of America” is often said to be a quotation of Otto von Bismarck (1818-1898).
Interesting end for General Gordon. That guy was a....... rather unique individual. With his attitude though, he was going to die eventually.
Somebody will correct me if I'm wrong I'm sure, but wasn't the Dreyse Needle gun a single shot breechloader?
Chapter 36
May, 1863
Washington DC
Lincoln had spent the morning arguing with Congress over the new greenback bill. In the past, America had loathed the concept of paper currency. The original "Continentals" of the Revolution were depreciated to the point of worthlessness. Various other pseudo-currencies like promisory notes were equally distrusted over the years.
However, there simply wasn't enough metal currency to cover the bills and there seemed great skepticism now. By happenstance, the nation's reserves of gold and silver were actually quite strong. However, the need for currency was simply too high and the public was asked to take a great deal on faith.
Had the American trade not been largely cut off over the past year, the nation might have been more forgiving. But the loss of so many exports while spending remained high was causing no end of worry to the Treasury. Even the increase of gold and silver mining in the west (and the seizure of the Frazier gold fields) did little to offset the perceived (actual) gap between greenbacks and actual gold or silver.
Naturally, the "unofficial" exchange rate between hard specie and their nominally equal in greenbacks.
But Lincoln would get his way. largely out of Republican partisan loyalty. His party did quite well in the last election and that went a long way.
In the meantime, Lincoln had other problems including the massive number of indigents throughout the nation. The destruction of Manhattan had been the most notable example but the war had destroyed multiple cities and thousands of homes, particularly in the south.
And the freedom of 3.5 million Negroes gave new impetus to "doing something".
Almost from the day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Lincoln was working to arrange viable futures for the freedmen. Fortunately, unlike many nations, America had vast amounts of land still unoccupied to be distributed. Lincoln arranged for millions of acres of Federal land to be distributed to the slaves and general poor of the east. Most of the Negroes (and Irish for that matter) were of agricultural backgrounds serving on others' land. Given the option, many would prefer to own their own.
Lincoln had sent out a virtual army of surveyors out west to break out huge swathes of land. Nebraska remained largely empty, Kansas still had huge swathes of land at its disposal while there were huge tracts in the Indian territory to distribute as well. The new Freedman's Bureau would arrange for transportation, tools, seeds, some animals and other necessities for the Negroes to begin new lives out west.
In less than a year, over 150,000 would migrate westwards just to these three territories. Additional tracts in Iowa, California, Arizona, Texas and western Arkansas would soon be offered to the migrants. Charities would also attempt to help the poor whites of the north (and occasionally even the South) emigrate west. Irish would soon be moving en masse to northern New York, Germans to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas, etc, etc.
In coming years, after the peace, other immigrants would arrive in large numbers from even more remote locales. America would struggle with the influx of new cultures no less than they had with the Irish and German masses entering the nation during the 1840's and 1850's.
Some of the political classes would wonder why the Negroes were expected to leave the homes upon which they'd worked for generations. Shouldn't the vast plantations be divided up among the former slaves?
But Lincoln was adamant that the South be "let up easy". Personal property (beyond the slaves, of course) was respected and that included land. This wasn't simply mercy. To start confiscating huge amounts of land from their rightful owners would almost certainly cause another rebellion. With Britain nipping at America's heels and the economy in flux, the President would not risk this.
Of course, the rather large issue of when the Southern states were welcomed back to the political sphere loomed large as well. Some Senators and Congressmen would not even consider restoring the south to equality until they proved that they could "behave" by eliminating lawlessness, suppression or vengeance against the Freedmen, etc, etc.
Lincoln, in general, agreed though he knew too much oppression would only lead to more unrest or a long-term occupation which would sap Northern resources and turn the South into a sullen, resentful region unable to reach its potential.
The President hoped to thread a needle which protected the Freedmen while also welcoming the former Confederates back into the Union with open arms. The Confederates had been right about one thing: cotton had been America's biggest export crop and the Union needed the exports for balance of payments. Of course, exports could only resume if the conflict with Britain ended soon.
Lincoln could only hope that the assaults to the North would bear fruit in evicting the British from the Americas. Rarely had Lincoln been so far off in judging a nation's actions, both the British and Canadians.
Canada
What Lincoln had not realized was that he had repeated the blunders of previous American administrations in their estimation of the Canadian people. He thought that there would be large numbers of Canadians who would welcome the American "liberators".
This was not the case in the past nor would it be in the present.
In the War for Independence, the Americans had invaded overwhelmingly French Quebec. However, the French residents had come to terms with Britain while the century of vicious colonial rivalry with New England bore deep, deep scars. The bankrupt Americans effectively "living off the land" in Quebec didn't exactly help matters. Very little French support was in the offing when the Americans retreated from the region, not to return. Over 60,000 British Loyalists had been evicted from America and settled the Maritimes.
In War of 1812, former President Jefferson had stated conquering Canada would be but "a matter of walking". Once against this proved incorrect.
As "Upper Canada" was opened for settlement, large numbers of the settlers were "Late Loyalists", namely just Americans who wanted cheap or free land. Had American invaded at that moment, Upper Canada may have thrown in. However, time passed and the Late Loyalists became True Loyalists over the generations. Also, migrants from Britain, Irish Protestants and from the Maritimes would soon flood the region of Upper Canada which would go from virtually unpopulated to 1.5 million in less than 75 years.
The overwhelming English-Speaking majority would be challenged in the 1840's and 1850's by massive numbers of poor, Irish-speaking Catholics arriving after the Famine. Many, however, would only stay a few years or less. Those most resentful of British Authority would cross the southern border into America, leaving those who were willing to remain British behind.
By 1863, only 1/10th of the Canadians and Maritimes residents were Irish-born and most were willing to at least tolerate the status quo.
Yet, many Americans in government still believed that there was a yearning among the French Canadians, the descendants of the "Late Loyalists" and the Irish Catholics to accept statehood in some way. In reality, the Canadians largely had no desire for such as they were a very moderate political people, mostly willing to seek change via slow political processes.
The American invasion of 1863 was just that to Canada...an invasion. Beyond some Fenian agents passing information, the Canadians were at best sullenly resistant, at worst flagrantly rebellious.
However, America DID have an advantage in trained soldiers on hand and that would prove decisive.
Under General MacPherson and George Custer, the American strike from Detroit into western Canada had gone quite well. With little opposition, they would cross with 12,000 soldiers and brush aside the handful of regulars garrisoned that far west.
They army would seize Windsor and the other small towns of western Canada before turning east.
Hancock's invasion from Buffalo was little more difficult. The landing went well on the northern shore of Lake Erie and Hancock was able to seize St. Catherines and the Welland Canal.
Both MacPherson and Hancock would be disappointed to find that the expected support among the Canadian population or even the Irish did not notably come forward to offer assistance. However, the twenty-two thousand Americans would find plenty of Canadian militia harassing their supply lines. While the militia were easily driven off, they seemed to determined to strike again in the dark.
The American Generals could only be grateful for the region's flat topagraphy. They loathed the idea of fighting these irregulars in the Appalachians.
Both men sent urgent dispatches home for reinforcements.
Washington DC
Lincoln had spent the morning arguing with Congress over the new greenback bill. In the past, America had loathed the concept of paper currency. The original "Continentals" of the Revolution were depreciated to the point of worthlessness. Various other pseudo-currencies like promisory notes were equally distrusted over the years.
However, there simply wasn't enough metal currency to cover the bills and there seemed great skepticism now. By happenstance, the nation's reserves of gold and silver were actually quite strong. However, the need for currency was simply too high and the public was asked to take a great deal on faith.
Had the American trade not been largely cut off over the past year, the nation might have been more forgiving. But the loss of so many exports while spending remained high was causing no end of worry to the Treasury. Even the increase of gold and silver mining in the west (and the seizure of the Frazier gold fields) did little to offset the perceived (actual) gap between greenbacks and actual gold or silver.
Naturally, the "unofficial" exchange rate between hard specie and their nominally equal in greenbacks.
But Lincoln would get his way. largely out of Republican partisan loyalty. His party did quite well in the last election and that went a long way.
In the meantime, Lincoln had other problems including the massive number of indigents throughout the nation. The destruction of Manhattan had been the most notable example but the war had destroyed multiple cities and thousands of homes, particularly in the south.
And the freedom of 3.5 million Negroes gave new impetus to "doing something".
Almost from the day the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Lincoln was working to arrange viable futures for the freedmen. Fortunately, unlike many nations, America had vast amounts of land still unoccupied to be distributed. Lincoln arranged for millions of acres of Federal land to be distributed to the slaves and general poor of the east. Most of the Negroes (and Irish for that matter) were of agricultural backgrounds serving on others' land. Given the option, many would prefer to own their own.
Lincoln had sent out a virtual army of surveyors out west to break out huge swathes of land. Nebraska remained largely empty, Kansas still had huge swathes of land at its disposal while there were huge tracts in the Indian territory to distribute as well. The new Freedman's Bureau would arrange for transportation, tools, seeds, some animals and other necessities for the Negroes to begin new lives out west.
In less than a year, over 150,000 would migrate westwards just to these three territories. Additional tracts in Iowa, California, Arizona, Texas and western Arkansas would soon be offered to the migrants. Charities would also attempt to help the poor whites of the north (and occasionally even the South) emigrate west. Irish would soon be moving en masse to northern New York, Germans to Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas, etc, etc.
In coming years, after the peace, other immigrants would arrive in large numbers from even more remote locales. America would struggle with the influx of new cultures no less than they had with the Irish and German masses entering the nation during the 1840's and 1850's.
Some of the political classes would wonder why the Negroes were expected to leave the homes upon which they'd worked for generations. Shouldn't the vast plantations be divided up among the former slaves?
But Lincoln was adamant that the South be "let up easy". Personal property (beyond the slaves, of course) was respected and that included land. This wasn't simply mercy. To start confiscating huge amounts of land from their rightful owners would almost certainly cause another rebellion. With Britain nipping at America's heels and the economy in flux, the President would not risk this.
Of course, the rather large issue of when the Southern states were welcomed back to the political sphere loomed large as well. Some Senators and Congressmen would not even consider restoring the south to equality until they proved that they could "behave" by eliminating lawlessness, suppression or vengeance against the Freedmen, etc, etc.
Lincoln, in general, agreed though he knew too much oppression would only lead to more unrest or a long-term occupation which would sap Northern resources and turn the South into a sullen, resentful region unable to reach its potential.
The President hoped to thread a needle which protected the Freedmen while also welcoming the former Confederates back into the Union with open arms. The Confederates had been right about one thing: cotton had been America's biggest export crop and the Union needed the exports for balance of payments. Of course, exports could only resume if the conflict with Britain ended soon.
Lincoln could only hope that the assaults to the North would bear fruit in evicting the British from the Americas. Rarely had Lincoln been so far off in judging a nation's actions, both the British and Canadians.
Canada
What Lincoln had not realized was that he had repeated the blunders of previous American administrations in their estimation of the Canadian people. He thought that there would be large numbers of Canadians who would welcome the American "liberators".
This was not the case in the past nor would it be in the present.
In the War for Independence, the Americans had invaded overwhelmingly French Quebec. However, the French residents had come to terms with Britain while the century of vicious colonial rivalry with New England bore deep, deep scars. The bankrupt Americans effectively "living off the land" in Quebec didn't exactly help matters. Very little French support was in the offing when the Americans retreated from the region, not to return. Over 60,000 British Loyalists had been evicted from America and settled the Maritimes.
In War of 1812, former President Jefferson had stated conquering Canada would be but "a matter of walking". Once against this proved incorrect.
As "Upper Canada" was opened for settlement, large numbers of the settlers were "Late Loyalists", namely just Americans who wanted cheap or free land. Had American invaded at that moment, Upper Canada may have thrown in. However, time passed and the Late Loyalists became True Loyalists over the generations. Also, migrants from Britain, Irish Protestants and from the Maritimes would soon flood the region of Upper Canada which would go from virtually unpopulated to 1.5 million in less than 75 years.
The overwhelming English-Speaking majority would be challenged in the 1840's and 1850's by massive numbers of poor, Irish-speaking Catholics arriving after the Famine. Many, however, would only stay a few years or less. Those most resentful of British Authority would cross the southern border into America, leaving those who were willing to remain British behind.
By 1863, only 1/10th of the Canadians and Maritimes residents were Irish-born and most were willing to at least tolerate the status quo.
Yet, many Americans in government still believed that there was a yearning among the French Canadians, the descendants of the "Late Loyalists" and the Irish Catholics to accept statehood in some way. In reality, the Canadians largely had no desire for such as they were a very moderate political people, mostly willing to seek change via slow political processes.
The American invasion of 1863 was just that to Canada...an invasion. Beyond some Fenian agents passing information, the Canadians were at best sullenly resistant, at worst flagrantly rebellious.
However, America DID have an advantage in trained soldiers on hand and that would prove decisive.
Under General MacPherson and George Custer, the American strike from Detroit into western Canada had gone quite well. With little opposition, they would cross with 12,000 soldiers and brush aside the handful of regulars garrisoned that far west.
They army would seize Windsor and the other small towns of western Canada before turning east.
Hancock's invasion from Buffalo was little more difficult. The landing went well on the northern shore of Lake Erie and Hancock was able to seize St. Catherines and the Welland Canal.
Both MacPherson and Hancock would be disappointed to find that the expected support among the Canadian population or even the Irish did not notably come forward to offer assistance. However, the twenty-two thousand Americans would find plenty of Canadian militia harassing their supply lines. While the militia were easily driven off, they seemed to determined to strike again in the dark.
The American Generals could only be grateful for the region's flat topagraphy. They loathed the idea of fighting these irregulars in the Appalachians.
Both men sent urgent dispatches home for reinforcements.
Doubt it. America has a much larger population and army than Canada and Canada's population is concentrated near the border. They'll deffo be able to conquer and annex it but it will take 1 or 2 generations before the Canadians become loyal to America.
Thanks, that is a lot of great information.
I think I recall that Britain's shipbuilders had a clause in their contracts which would allow the government to purchase ships being built for other nations but didn't think of that in this TL.
I knew that sheer quantity of ocean-going ships Britain had at her disposal would dwarf any other Navy in the world.
Of the ironclad ships you list, how many would you say could compare with a Passaic Class or Warrior class in armored protection. Are these like the American ships I described, namely converted conventional ships which had armor slapped upon whatever surface would bear it?
Or were they closer to the USS Virginia, which was almost totally armored?
Thanks.
are the French building some like this for sale to the royal navy?
en.wikipedia.org
Japanese ironclad Kōtetsu - Wikipedia
Assuming the US doesn’t just take what it wants in the west and simply puppets the rest in the eastern part. The US could probably take everything west of Ontario if it wanted, the split Quebec, Upper Canada (Ontario) and the Maritimes into separate countries dependent on the US. Shouldn’t involve nearly as many troops for occupation, gets rid of the British, and potentially opens them up for absorption later on.
It is also possible that the most loyal to the British will leave and go to New Zealand or Australia etc.
With British dominance of the high seas by the Royal navy, I do not think that the US will get Hawaii this time.
I could see the royal navy building major bases in Bermuda and islands in the Caribbean with the long term plan to be able to blockade the USA at any time they want.
So no ships in or out of the US without passing within the control area of the royal navy.
The British will want control of any canal in central America.
I could see the royal navy building major bases in Bermuda and islands in the Caribbean with the long term plan to be able to blockade the USA at any time they want.
So no ships in or out of the US without passing within the control area of the royal navy.
The British will want control of any canal in central America.
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