Fenians, Brits, Mexicans, Canucks and Frenchies....OH, MY! An alternate American Civil War

Chapter 186
March, 1882

London


The defection of the Irish MP's back to the Conservatives would prove an almost crippling blow to the Liberal Party. Gladstone's majority had shrunk to virtually nothing. Any piece of legislation may result in an effective vote of no confidence. Grumblings for a new election were nearly constant.

Hoping to lure back some Irish MP's, the Prime Minister (and Foreign Secretary) would dispatch Lord Cavendish as the new Chief Secretary of Ireland in the summer.

April, 1882

Ethiopia


Emperor Yohannes of Ethiopia would demand that his nominal vassals cease fighting one another. With the damnable "Mahdi" threatening Ethiopia as well as Egypt, the nation could not be divided at this time.

Fortunately, the British Consul would arrange for the delivery of thousands of modern rifles and light cannon which the Emperor could use against enemies foreign....and domestic....if the King of Shewa, Menelik, continued to act up.

The British even sent several doctors to the Imperial Court where the Prince and other members of the Royal Family were among the first in Ethiopia to be inoculated for smallpox.

May, 1882

Nashville, Tennessee


The James Gang, led by Frank and Jesse James, would accept the Ford brothers in the early 1880's and proceeded to rob yet another bank in Nashville, this one which catered to Freedmen. The robbery initially went well but would soon fall apart rather spectacularly when a Troop of Buffalo soldiers happened by when the Gang was attempting to flee the bank. A massive firefight ensued in which the Gang's horses were driven off, leaving the men to attempt to flee on foot. Within minutes, several dozen locals, both white and black, would arrive bearing rifles and shotguns.

In short order, Jesse James and the Ford brothers were killed and tough old Frank James was wounded six times before he finally through down his weapon and surrendered.

Surrounded by Buffalo soldiers, Frank James cried out for mercy and seemed about to receive it when one of the men shouted, "My god, that's Frank James!"

Beyond being arguably the most famous bank robber in the nation, Frank James was also held to be a member of the infamous Quantrill's Raiders who had murdered 200 men and boy abolitionists in Lawrence, Kansas in the dying days of the Civil War.

Immediately, the Buffalo soldiers raised their weapons again and fired 147 more bullets into the man's body.
 
Surrounded by Buffalo soldiers, Frank James cried out for mercy and seemed about to receive it when one of the men shouted, "My god, that's Frank James!"

Beyond being arguably the most famous bank robber in the nation, Frank James was also held to be a member of the infamous Quantrill's Raiders who had murdered 200 men and boy abolitionists in Lawrence, Kansas in the dying days of the Civil War.

Immediately, the Buffalo soldiers raised their weapons again and fired 147 more bullets into the man's body.
Proving once again that "overkill" has no place in the American vocabulary.
 
Chapter 187
May, 1882

Hawaii


Over the course of the past 15 years, the "Mormon" migrants to Hawaii under the late Brigham Young (now led by his son Joseph Young) had actively moved to evangelize their religion among the natives of Hawaii and other Pacific Islands with some success. Attempts to convert the British-Australian population often led to bloodshed.

Finally, the situation reached a crisis point when it was determined that nearly half of the 72,000 residents of the Hawaiian islands were affiliated with Brigham Young's "Polygamist" Sect of the Mormon Church (they had been excommunicated by the mainstream church in America years before.

The overthrow of the native Hawaiian dynasty (largely supported with Mormon militia) would see the balance of power thrown to the unified Mormons. Indeed, over half the white population of the islands were Mormons (though the majority did not practice Polygamy).

Joseph Young was considered somewhat of a moderate, bearing only one wife (a Hawaiian woman at that) and concentrating more upon managing missionary work and the building of a new Temple. However, many powerful polygamists would effectively assume control over the church and lead a rebellion against the British authorities which possessed barely 200 soldiers upon the islands augmented by one or two warships normally at anchor in the remote region.

The revolt took the British by surprise as over 2000 men took up arms against the government.

Within days, the rebels had control over much of Oahu as well as "Big Island" of Hawaii.

June, 1882

Dublin


Just days after Irish Nationalists founded a new society intended to petition to wipe out arrears in poor tenant farmers, a terrible event would occur. The new Chief Secretary of Ireland, Lord Cavandish, and his Private Secretary were murdered in the streets by Radical Irishmen, the Irish National Invincibles.

Within days, London convulsed with anti-Irish feeling and Prime Minister Gladstone would realize that his hopes for quietly pushing through Home Rule were at an end.

August, 1882

San Francisco


The dockworkers of San Francisco would successfully form a Union which guaranteed pay from their various employers. Attempts by companies to employ "blacklegs" would be legal...but it would soon prove disastrous as most dockworkers would permanently boycott that company's service. It became common for goods to rot in a hull for lack of longshoremen to move them ashore.

Eventually, most companies came to pay the wages and be done with it.

September, 1882

Upper Egypt


Having had their fill of dismal garrison duties or desk jobs in Washington, Generals Jeb Stuart and George Custer would resign their commissions and accept a position to serve the Khedive of Egypt. They would be among many American and European officers hired to train the Egyptian Army (armed by the British) against the madman from the Sudan.

Under the overall command of General Garnet Wolseley, the officers had steadily drilled the Egyptian Army 20,000 men to a fine state and then marched south in September of 1882 to face the man who had conquered most of the Sudan and threatened both Egypt and Ethiopia. Realizing that supply was the key to victory, Wolseley would organize a large convoy of supply vessels and barges bearing huge amounts of powder, shot, shell, animal feed and other provisions to sail down the Blue Nile in parallel to the march.

In October, Emperor Yohannes and King Menelik would meet the Egyptians with 15,000 Ethiopians (again, mostly armed with British weapons) 100 miles north of Khartoum and join the march on the Mahdist Capital.

The Mahdi would gather his faithful, calling for the "pure" to defend their faith (and himself, as well).
 
Chapter 188
September, 1882

Manhattan


Thomas Edison would flip the switch on a power plant which would light a square mile of Manhattan. This would be considered by many as the start of the electrical age.

October, 1882

Khartoum


Augmented by the Ethiopians, the Anglo-Egyptian force now reached 35,000 as it sailed and/or marched down the Nile to the confluence of the Blue and White Nile at the city of Khartoum.

Years earlier, Muhammad Ahmad had declared himself the Mahdi and determined to evict the Egyptians from Sudan so he may install Sharia Law upon the land...prior to conquering all within his reach.

By 1882, it was more than obvious that the man was too dangerous to be allowed to remain and the Anglo-Egyptian Army allied with the Ethiopian states to crush the rather presumptuous Muhammad Ahmad.

Backed by 50,000 Dervishes, the Mahdi would order his capital defended. With the advantage in cavalry by almost 5 to one, the Mahdist forces attacked with vigor....only to be pushed back again and again as Egyptian and Ethiopian troops, armed with modern rifles, would wither the Sudanese cavalry. Thousands of brave soldiers were massacred with only modest success on the part of the natives. Eventually, the Mahdist Cavalry retreated, leaving their infantry trapped in the Capital.

As the Blue and White Nile protected most of Khartoum's borders. However, the confident Mahdists had not expected to face a siege and failed to properly entrench before the remaining landward border. This proved a pivotal mistake as the heavy land and sea-based artillery easily breached the walls and set much of the city aflame. To the horror of the allies, the Mahdist troops within the walls killed most of the civilians themselves before throwing their bodies upon the enemy in pointless charges. Among the dead were many of the Mahdi's top commanders.

Belatedly, the Mahdi managed to reform his cavalry in an attempt to relieve the town but this resulted only in thousands of Sudanese dying upon the barrages of modern rifles and cannon. Broken, the natives retreated. They would leave behind the Mahdi himself who had been leading the final charge in a desperate attempt to encourage his followers. His horse was shot out from beneath him and his knee wrenched. By this point, he had few followers still breathing to attempt to assist.

Muhammad Ahmad was put in chains and sailed up the Nile to Egypt where the "Redeemer" was widely mocked by the Egyptians. Worse, the King of the Hejaz and Shareef of Mecca would similarly condemn the Mahdi (who had himself condemned all Muslims who did not follow him) as an apostate and heretic.

Within months, the remnant of the Mahdist forces were already fighting among themselves and the more "orthodox" Sunnis of the Sudan would turn upon the Mahdists as heretics and a bloody civil war emerged from which the Sudan would suffer for generations.

The Egyptians, who had hoped that Britain would help them regain control over the Sudan, would be disappointed as Garnet Wolseley had no such orders and only wanted to end the threat to Upper Egypt. The Khedive would consider continuing the Expedition on his own but the costs proved prohibitive (the Khedive's spending prevented any possible hope of financial such an initiative without British support).

Beyond the defeat of Mahdism, the greatest, long-term result of the expedition had been the closer ties forged between Britain and Ethiopia, the primary Christian region of eastern Africa. Seeing Emperor Yohannes as reasonable (and Christian), the British would encourage diplomatic and military ties which would see the Emperor crush his domestic rivals and unify Ethiopia....as well as Muslim Eritrea and Christian southern Sudan under his banner. The British where happy to do so as this meant that the increasingly expansive Italians were effectively blocked from East Africa by Ethiopia....and Britain was able to avoid the worst of the fray.

As for Custer and Stuart, the American Generals would spend over two years in Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. Custer would enter the service of the Emperor while Stuart would explore south inland all the way to Zanzibar.
 
Chapter 189
October, 1882

Cleveland


The incorporation of Standard Oil in January had not been remarked upon by the public in any meaningful manner. However, a general strike in Chicago would lead to John Rockefeller, the Chairman and majority owner in Standard Oil, to perhaps too overtly display his power in firing several hundred workers agitating for a Union in various industries from Rail to Longshoremen to pipefitters. For the first time, the government learned of the true extent of Standard Oil's holdings (something withheld from virtually all employees).

President Grant would authorize his Attorney General to review the potential of this new conglomerate to become a monopoly, something even the business-oriented Republicans despised. An investigation was begun with various court orders demanding that Standard Oil open up their books. With the Railroads having established the right to form Unions and the anti-monopoly laws still being expanded in the nation, Standard Oil was looking to be first non-railroad to face Federal wrath.

The Attorney General authorized a deep investigation which required dozens of clerks to support the regional authorities. Among these was a young Illinois student who spent the summer auditing company books, effectively a clerk in service of the Attorney General. His name was William Jennings Bryan.

Washington

President Grant was confident enough in his Party for the mid-term elections.

1. The economy remained strong.
2. The war debt was being paid off.
3. Tariffs were high enough to protect growing industry but not TOO high to anger the agricultural and mining industry who desired no inhibitions to trade.
4. The return of paper money, though controversial to some, was adding to the money supply to the point that the western farmers who were most supportive of "silver currency" to be placated as their debts were easier to pay off.

Peace was the order of the day. Given how expensive the wars of the early 1860's had been, this was a practical desire.

The Indian Wars were largely over and the President had sought to be generous to the natives.

There were few inhibitions to the black voter anymore....except in those states STILL not readmitted to the Union....largely by THEIR choice. This allowed Grant to experiment with unified black and white schools....an experiment very much in process. For the most part, Grant would be happy if the remaining five "holdout" states never returned to the Union as they would likely vote almost entirely Democrat.

The result of the election was predictable. The Republicans lost a few seats they'd gained in the 1880 self-inflicted Democratic rout but not as many as one might think.

The new states of Comancheria and Utah were welcomed to the Union....though the latter was received with reservations given that so many residents were Mormons (though the "reformed" anti-polygamist variety).

In the end, Grant would see the Republican Majority maintained by a moderately large margin. Shortly enough, he would have enough of his own problems as the constant cigar smoking would wreak havoc upon his throat, often leaving the man incapable of speech for hours at a time.
 
Map of North America - 1882
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South Carolina and Georgia need to grow up and face the facts. They lost!
I predict South Carolina will be the last to rejoin. During this time period the state was majority black, so I imagine the white population will continue to do everything they can to suppress the black vote for as long as they can. The moment they don’t they lose control of the state.
 
Chapter 190
November, 1882

Hawaii


Though it had taken several months, the Dominion of Australia were finally able to summon adequate forces to dispatch an expedition to Hawaii and reassert Australian control over the government.

Over 8000 Australian Regulars (well, some were moderately well-trained militia) and 2000 British Regulars would sail upon a convoy of 28 ships for Honolulu. A devastating squall would scatter the force 500 miles west of Hawaii. Fortunately, only one ship (a supply vessel bearing heavy guns and ammunition with 38 crew) would sink, but the crew would be saved by a nearby vessel. One by one, the warships and transports would arrive in Honolulu.

The Mormon insurgents would not have access to artillery thus the landing was largely unopposed.

The material differences soon became apparent as the Gatling guns and light artillery were enough to prevent the Mormons from putting up a determined stand at any given point. Though they offered a brave resistance, it became immediately obvious that a partisan war was the only option. The Mormons retreated to the hills where the Australian artillery would not give so great an advantage.

The Mormons had been under the delusion that Hawaii was too remote, too unimportant, for the Anglo-Australians to dispatch an expedition six thousand miles across the empty sea to regain. But the very isolation was what made Honolulu Harbor so vital to the Royal Navy. Australia needed no encouragement from Britain to arrange an invasion. Indeed, failure to do so on their own initiative may well have led Britain to reestablish their own direct rule over Hawaii or other Pacific possessions currently under the delegated government of Australia. The Dominion had no intention of losing their hard-won authority.

December, 1882

Paris


Abraham Lincoln had....FINALLY....made it to Europe. After Mary's health issues in recent years, the former President would travel to Europe with his friend Frederick Douglass. Despite having fought French forces during his Presidency, Lincoln was welcomed wherever he went and, despite Parisian reputation for rudeness, he found the French people charming.

While attending an exhibition of art, a piece by some local artist name "Manet" would catch Lincoln's eye (a Bar at the Folies-Bergere) in which a comely barmaid was staring towards the viewer with an odd expression. He would not know until later that she was assumed to be a prostitute.

But Lincoln, who had finally come into some money after over a decade in the private sector (no pension) serving as an "advisor" to various law-firms and on various corporate boards. Mary didn't want to travel so he was happy to take Douglass in her stead (poor Tad was left with his mother). Seeing the picture, the former President felt the spontaneous urge to buy and took the item home. The artist, Manet, was honored that the liberator of so many slaves desired his work that he not only gave Lincoln a good price but even offered to throw in a painting for Douglass as well (Garden Path in Rueil).

Though neither man was an art collector, they both appreciated the impressionist paintings which would remain affixed to their walls of their respective family homes (Douglass hung his over his toilet) over a century after their deaths. Their heirs, on the other hand, would greatly appreciate the millions gained when the paintings were sold in the 1980's.

Lincoln and Douglass followed their European tour by travelling to Rome (despite Grant's poor experience there, having been shot by a French madman) before moving on to Egypt, Greece and the Holy Lands.

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Chapter 191
December, 1882

Guajira Peninsula


After nearly two years of tension and threats, President Blanco of Venezuela finally dispatched forces to push the Colombian squatters from the Guajira Peninsula. As the conflict escalated from border conflict to outright war, the local Indian population which had resisted European domination for 400 years would be largely wiped out or displaced.

As both Venezuela and Colombia had convulsed in Civil War over the past decade, the two armies would prove poorly prepared for war.

Colombia had only recently reorganized into a more central nation. It would prove problematic as the effectively decentralized and autonomous states would prove resistant in many cases to that unification. This would leave Colombia weakened in the face of aggression by Venezuela. President Nunez, unlike most of his predecessors, was not a former General and instead opted to ask support from abroad, namely using his leverage with America and Britain recently gained with the commencement of the Colombian Canal.

Amarillo, Camancheria

Three decades prior, in 1852, huckster P.T. Barnum would visit the Durban in the Cape Colony in his travels (the region now part of the Boer Republic) and witness a local 14 year old girl "Riding" (poorly) a Cape Zebra, also known as a Quagga.

Since then, white settlers had hunted the beasts to extinction. However, Barnum had envisioned a trick-riding show born upon the odd-looking animals and arranged for 44 females and 20 males to be transported to America where he prepared a breeding program. It soon became obvious that the animals would NOT be easily tamed. However, proliferating American zoos may like a breeding pair so Barnum would spent decades breeding the animals methodically to enhance the bloodline, even arranging to ship the last 8 known animals in Southern Africa to America to spice up the blood in 1878. By this point, there were only a few other Quaggas in the world, all in zoos and none breeding.

Barnum owned large properties in Montana and Camancheria where he raised, among other animals, including Plains Buffalo, Capybaras, Sumatran and Javan Rhinos and Komodo Dragons (in a specially created ravine formed into a animal pit) with the intent of someday adding them to his shows. In the meantime, he used the convenient presence of nearby railroad lines to create the first "Open Air Animal Attraction" which would be visited by tens of thousands of paying tourists per year. He would pronounce his stock the "last of these animals in existence" though only the Quagga would meet that description as this time.

By 1883, his herd of Quagga had reached over 360. His herds of Plains Buffalo in Camancheria and Montana were also among the largest in North America and would be primarily responsible for reestablishing the animals in the national parks proliferating through the nation. Barnum would actually hire local tribesmen to tend to the animals. Their presence would lend to the "authenticity" of the experience though it would lead to problems when Barnum's ranch manager fell behind on pay and the Indians would effectively go on strike, refusing to go to work. This led to several dozens buffalo and, much worse, over half a dozen Komodo Dragons escaping the "preserve".
 
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December, 1882

Guajira Peninsula


After nearly two years of tension and threats, President Blanco of Venezuela finally dispatched forces to push the Colombian squatters from the Guajira Peninsula. As the conflict escalated from border conflict to outright war, the local Indian population which had resisted European domination for 400 years would be largely wiped out or displaced.

As both Venezuela and Colombia had convulsed in Civil War over the past decade, the two armies would prove poorly prepared for war.

Colombia had only recently reorganized into a more central nation. It would prove problematic as the effectively decentralized and autonomous states would prove resistant in many cases to that unification. This would leave Colombia weakened in the face of aggression by Venezuela. President Nunez, unlike most of his predecessors, was not a former General and instead opted to ask support from abroad, namely using his leverage with America and Britain recently gained with the commencement of the Colombian Canal.

Amarillo, Camancheria

Three decades prior, in 1852, huckster P.T. Barnum would visit the Durban in the Cape Colony in his travels (the region now part of the Boer Republic) and witness a local 14 year old girl "Riding" (poorly) a Cape Zebra, also known as a Quagga.

Since then, white settlers had hunted the beasts to extinction. However, Barnum had envisioned a trick-riding show born upon the odd-looking animals and arranged for 44 females and 20 males to be transported to America where he prepared a breeding program. It soon became obvious that the animals would NOT be easily tamed. However, proliferating American zoos may like a breeding pair so Barnum would spent decades breeding the animals methodically to enhance the bloodline, even arranging to ship the last 8 known animals in Southern Africa to America to spice up the blood in 1878. By this point, there were only a few other Quaggas in the world, all in zoos and none breeding.

Barnum owned large properties in Montana and Camancheria where he raised, among other animals, including Plains Buffalo, Capybaras, Sumatran and Javan Rhinos and Komodo Dragons (in a specially created ravine formed into a animal pit) with the intent of someday adding them to his shows. In the meantime, he used the convenient presence of nearby railroad lines to create the first "Open Air Animal Attraction" which would be visited by tens of thousands of paying tourists per year. He would pronounce his stock the "last of these animals in existence" though only the Quagga would meet that description as this time.

By 1883, his herd of Quagga had reached over 360. His herds of Plains Buffalo in Camancheria and Montana were also among the largest in North America and would be primarily responsible for reestablishing the animals in the national parks proliferating through the nation. Barnum would actually hire local tribesmen to tend to the animals. Their presence would lend to the "authenticity" of the experience though it would lead to problems when Barnum's ranch manager fell behind on pay and the Indians would effectively go on strike, refusing to go to work. This led to several dozens buffalo and, much worse, over half a dozen Komodo Dragons escaping the "preserve".
I love the idea of P.T. Barnum becoming an animal conservationist.
 
Chapter 192
March, 1883

Caracas


President Blanco was not intent on warfare with Colombia. It simply....happened....in the manner that such wars had cropped up throughout South America over the half century since Independence from Spain. South America, with its vast unsettled spaces inland where mountain and desert and rainforest...etc, etc, was rife with vague boundaries.

Virtually all of Venezuela's population lived along the coast and the Guajira Peninsula was one of the few unsettled coastal areas thus was of prime concern to Venezuela. Similarly, the Venezuelan border with British Guiana had been nebulous at best.

As Colombian and Venezuelan forces clashed, a series of American and British "mediators" were dispatched in hopes of ending the dispute but were rejected out of hand by the Venezuelans.

Irritated by suspected American partiality towards Colombia, a mob of 200 Venezuelans would burn several prominent American merchant homes and businesses. Several were assaulted in the streets and one was murdered by a drunken mugger.

Within days, news of this reached Washington and the population would swiftly rise up in arms.

Darien, Panama, Colombia

Howard Carson, a brilliant American engineer who had been placed in command of the Colombian Canal, would cry out in frustration as the first few waves of workers would suffer and die in great numbers, having accomplished very little.

Over the past year, the initial phases of the project would commence with experimental equipment and improved dynamite.

But none of this would matter in the face of malaria. Great Britain, in particular, would arrange for many of these workers to arrive via the West Indies, which by 1883 was in a perpetual state of recession. Well-paying construction jobs lured thousands, then tens of thousands of men to cut a path through two continents.

The Chief Engineer would dispatch messages to Washington and London BEGGING for help with the damned malaria situation. At is so happened, Cuban Doctor Carlos Finley would write a revolutionary opinion paper that the mosquito...of all things....was responsible for the transmission of Malaria after discovering the biological causes during a Havana outbreak in 1881. This was ignored at first but Carson, with little to lose, would request that Finley travel to the Canal site to review his findings.

He'd certainly have no shortage of patients.
 
Chapter 193
April, 1883

London


Gladstone was livid. After years of struggling to keep his Party together, Gladstone's insistence, however, on supporting the Home Rule movement of Ireland (and keeping the Irish MP's on his side) would lead to a greater break with the rural Liberal supporters of Britain. Finally, fed up with Gladstone's stubbornness, the Liberal Unionist Party would break away from the Liberals and begin to support the Conservatives in a new coalition. Even if the Irish MP's had stayed loyal to Gladstone, which they didn't,

Finally, after a Home Rule died on the first reading in the House of Commons, the leaders of the Liberal Unionists (Jacob Chamberlain and Lord Hartington) would break away and vote against the government.

The vote of No Confidence end the aging Gladstone's Ministry and a new coalition of Conservatives and Liberal Unionists would come to power.

Washington

President Grant still regretted the actions of American against Portugal. The last thing he wanted was to involve his nation in another conflict, especially a dishonorable one (as the Portugal "incident" was looking more and more likely to have been).

But with American lives at risk and America's ally Colombia begging for help, Grant had no choice but to dispatch a flotilla to the Venezuelan Coast.

As it was, the government of Venezuela was making the grievous error of pressing claims against the border territories of the Orinoco Delta.

Constantinople, Greece

Czar Alexander II of Russia would visit the great city of Constantinople (the same which he had liberated from centuries of oppression of the Turk) for the last time. A series of assassination attempts would shatter his confidence. For years, the Czar had viewed himself as a reformer who liberated millions and modernized a backwards nation.

Visiting the Hagia Sofia, the Czar would suffer a sudden heart attack and, perhaps fittingly, die within the walls of the symbol of Eastern Orthodoxy.

Calcutta

For years, the 2nd Mutiny forced the British to grant concession after concession to the Indians as a massive, decade-long would see reform increase exponentially. By the end of the decade, the increasing number of educated Indians from the proliferating regional colleges would press more and more for Dominion status akin to Australia, the Cape and the Maritimes.
 
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