alternatehistory.com

3 July

Amid jubilation in Richmond, the debates begin in the Confederate congress about what the Confederacy actually wants from the peace. Some of the fire-eaters insist on particularly large concessions - Minnesota, Arizona, California, everything south of the Mason-Dixon line, a transcontinental railway and an indemnity to boot - but Davis is more realistic on the matter, and over the next few days he begins to cajole the Confederate legislators into setting a priority list for what they want.

One thing is immediately clear - the states of the 'main' Confederacy (all slave states bar those called the border states) are not up for negotiation, excepting only for leaving open the possibility of adjusting the northern border of Confederate Virginia.
Davis is also canny - he tells the legislators they must make clear that the war is won when peace is signed, and not before. In other words, that as much as possible the Confederate States must not get complacent and let things fall apart now (by, for example, reducing their army size or pulling back from their positions).



4 July

Independence day celebrations in the United States are distinctly muted, but not as bad as one might think - the blockade has been painful, and the news of a potential peace has turned out to be more popular than anticipated. (Also, very few people are being shot at today, which is an improvement over the past few weeks.)

The fighting continues in California (which will not get the news for some days), but relatively little action is taking place even here - the most notable event is a minor skirmish at the town of Nevada in the Sierra Nevada (in California) between Indians (from Bengal) and Indians (from Nevada), which will briefly confuse students of history whenever they first learn about it.


5 July

The damage assessment on Charleston is complete - the ship's fighting value is seriously marred for service as a line of battle ship as she has taken so much structural damage, but the hull below the waterline is sound. As such, she is evaluated for conversion to a broadside ironclad - something impressive, as there is so much tonnage to work with!

The Vanderbilt stops a British trading vessel (the Gambia) south of Sardinia, and puts a prize crew aboard. The two ships sail to a cove on Sardinia, where Vanderbilt will take on supplies from the Gambia (including coal).