alternatehistory.com

25 January

Frederick III and his cabinet debate the Polish uprising. Some of the conservative faction want to supply as much aid as possible to the Russians to aid in stamping out the dangerous revolt in Congress Poland, but Frederick - much more a child of the liberal era - declines. Instead, he instructs that for now the position that should be taken is that this is a matter between Poland and Russia - an important point as this in fact holds that Poland is a distinct entity from Russia itself.


28 January

After seeking and getting individual (and often reluctant) ratification from the state governments of California, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Washington, the United States formally ratifies the Treaty of Havana. This also officially removes those states which entirely seceded from the Union.
Several major tasks remain to be completed, including the readjustment of senator classes (in which Maryland in particular is likely to get the short end of the stick as it has been cut in half) and the wholesale transference of the United States government to the city which will now host it - something which has not yet been decided upon, and indeed it has been so contentious that a bill has been passed declaring Philadelphia as the temporary capital of the United States until such time as the new permanent capital has been selected.


29 January
James Mason arrives in the United Kingdom. The process of accepting his credentials will take some ten to twelve days.


2 February
The uprising in the western Russian Empire spreads to the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Armouries are looted, officials executed, and a group of peasants armed with scythes is run down and massacred by a squadron of Russian hussars. Čysta Būda becomes something of a bloody shirt.


7 Feburary

Clashes escalate between the Polish rebels and the Russian troops. One of the important side effects of the modern rifles that have entered the country is that - while in relatively short supply, at only a few thousand - they will take captured powder, their special minie bullets can be made with a mold put together by most any competent blacksmith and a supply of lead (such as captured bullets) and - most importantly of all - they are essentially sniper weapons by contrast to the armament of the Russian army (a musket with a Nessler ball can reach out accurately about half as far as a Minie rifle, and a round ball is significantly worse).
This, coupled with the local terrain familiarity of the rebels, has led to some extremely hard-to-handle guerilla warfare being prosecuted by the Polish rebels armed with their new rifles. While the campaign is only beginning at this point, it is already becoming demoralizing for Russian infantry (around half of whom were in the army at the time of the Crimea) to be fired upon from outside their own effective range.


11 February

Due to the social in addition to national dimensions of the Polish uprising, sympathy is being engendered across Europe. The debate on whether to adopt a more "national" or more "liberal" direction to the uprising is fierce among the Reds and the Whites - who have the ability to actually discuss it now, as it is becoming clear that any Russian victory will be hard-fought.
Attempting to take lessons from the Confederate independence is hard to say the least.

News of Union ratification arrives in the United Kingdom.

Mason is accepted as ambassador to the Court of King James.


15 February

The Spirit of Carolina runs into HMS Archer, a Royal Navy corvette, about twenty miles south-east of Cape Three Point. Spirit of Carolina's captain is initially cordial, though his attitude very abruptly changes when the Archer orders him to heave-to for search.
An argument takes place via speaking cone and flag hoist, at which Archer's captain (John Bythesea) is unimpressed by the arguments made by the Spirit's captain - for a number of reasons, including the smell.

After several long minutes, Archer fires a shot across the bows of the Spirit to force her to stop, and the Spirit is boarded.
Almost immediately, Bythesea's suspicions are confirmed - Spirit is a slaver, and currently carries a cargo of nearly six hundred Africans purchased as slaves from the Dahomey area.
Spirit's captain protests the illegality of the boarding - less forcefully than before, as there are now rifles pointed not quite at him - and stresses that the boarding is as illegal as the Trent affair. He can only watch as Archer's crew frees every single slave, apparently preferring to leave the matter of legality to the courts.



EDIT: moved Mason's arrival here and made the timing explicit.