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Chapter 34 The Trail to the Oregon War
Chapter 34 The Trail To the Oregon War
"Many people ask me what I believe to be the start of the fall of the British Empire. To be perfectly honest while there are many points in the decadence of Victoria's reign that lead to the horrors of the Great War, I firmly believe that one can find the roots of the elitist colonial movement with the Oregon War. Though the Americans did rebel against us they did so for democracy and freedom from a tyrannical King. We should've allied with our former children to combat against the spread of Napoleonic France instead of driving America into its corner. But this was not meant to be. Fueled by greed for land, colonies, and prestige, we went to war where there could've been peace and prosperity. War all for the pride and glory of the incestuous Lords of London." History of the English Speaking Peoples by Lord Protector Oliver Mosley 1926
"For many years I and my predecessor President Johnson have tried to use reason and negotiations to deal the matter of the Oregon dispute with England. We offered millions of dollars, compromises of land, and guarantees of peace on the Canadian border. Each time we were rejected so that the elitist nobles of London could block the Pacific, our God-given right and manifest destiny to expand. Let it be known that we were not the first ones to spill blood. That the British chose to become the aggressors by attacking our troops on U.S soil and massacring men of the United States Army. The time of negotiations is over! I now call for congress to declare war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland so that we may drive the monarchist menace from our northern borders and guarantee peace for the American peoples for generations to come!- President William Harrison 1846
"It is time we put those bloody Americans in their place once and for all. To war fair Britannia! Godspeed and victory with thee."- Queen Victoria 1846
In the past eighty years in the United States history two wars had been fought against the nation of Great Britain. The American Revolution ended in a total victory for the Americans with the thirteen colonies managing to receive independence as well as territory leading all the way to the Ohio River. The War of 1812 was rather inconclusive but can be considered by some to be an American victory as the British policy of impressement had ended and the nation would once more resume its trade without threat of attack. Peace continued for the next three decades and had the Oregon War not commenced then it would have been very possible for both the United States and Great Britain to enter into an alliance someday. Sadly this would not be the case as North America would once more erupt into he fires of war. Unlike other conflicts though the war did not merely start over a simple deceleration for conquering territory, rather due to an unfortunate series of events that would make the United States demand for British blood.
Due to the recent militarization that President Harrison had put the United States through, 3,000 troops were deployed to the Oregon country under the command of Colonel Stephen Kearny. Kearny was a veteran officer of the War of 1812 and has been widely recognized as the father of the US cavalry for his role in creating cavalry combat doctrine among the plains of North America. The official role of Kearny's forces was to stay below the 49th parallel and protect American settlers from the threat of Indian attacks on their journey to the Pacific. Their unofficial role assigned by Washington was to stand watch for any British incursion into American territory and be able to completely take control of the Oregon country in a time of war. Until 1846 the Americans and the British had engaged in several small skirmishes and disputes but there was little bloodshed that happened, that is until May of 1846. on May 1st, 1846 a small American settlement of about 30 settlers was attacked and massacred by an Indian war band believed to be apart of the Chinook tribe. In retaliation a US cavalry unit of 100 men chased after the rouge Indian warband all the way to their home camp which was across the 49th parallel. Around 5:00 P.M a British scout force had seen the American unit crossing the border and had presumed that the Americans were launching an attack on the British encampments. The riders headed out to the main British fort across from Vancouver Island which housed 750 troops. The commanding officer Colonel George Anderson decided to take action on his own and dispatched 300 of his troops to deal with the Americans. The next day the American cavalry had finally caught up with the Indian warband and had commenced a small battle to annihilate the party. All 50 of the opposing Indians were killed while 6 Americans were killed with 13 wounded. The Americans having been satisfied with their mission being completed decided to head back across the border and return to camp. What they did not know was that they were being followed by the British party who had planned a surprise attack. Around 4:30 P.M the Americans had crossed the 49th parallel and made base at a small cabin outpost that was used by the army as a way point for supply gathering and was clearly in American territory. This knowledge was uncommon to the British who still suspected they were operating in British lands. Around 6:30 P.M the British force of 300 launched a surprise attack on the American forces who were caught unaware due to their intentions to rest and attend to the wounded. The resulting battle was one sided as the British fought with unrelenting fury against the surprised Americans and mowed down many who had taken up arms. Approximately 26 more Americans would die that day with 17 being wounded and the rest but 6 troops being held as prisoner. The last 6 had managed to escape on horseback in order to alert Kearny that the British had attacked American troops on their territory. When they told their tale to Kearny the man was enraged that the British would massacre his men shortly after completing a battle and that American lives had been lost on their own soil. Deciding to take independent action, Kearny sent a single platoon with instructions to head west in order to inform Washington of the massacre and Kearny's plan to attack the remaining British in Oregon in retaliation. He had assumed that Harrison would want him to commence war in retaliation. On the British side of the camp Colonel Anderson was visibly appalled by the actions of his men since they had found out from interrogating the prisoners that the Americans had only crossed the border to attack a hostile tribe and that they were had attacked the US troops on the American side. In order to clear up the situation and prevent war Anderson sent a squad to the Americans in order to explain their side of the story and give back the prisoners. When the squad was dispatched on March 13th they had found the American forces only 3 days later to discover that the American army had gathered in full force and was ready to invade Canada. When the Americans saw the British scout force they instantly attacked with dozens of men and completely mowed down the British forces, leaving no one alive before they had a chance to explain their actions. Kearny then decided to move the Army of the West to attack the Vancouver garrison, who were unaware of the approaching American army. 8 days later on May 24th all 3000 of the American forces had reached Fort Vancouver and began an immense artillery barrage with their 20 artillery canons. This attack caught the British garrison by surprise who were currently off duty due to it being a Sunday. The barrage continued for 4 hours straight and had killed off 1/4th of the garrison with most of the defenses being destroyed. After getting his men into position Kearny called for a charge and launched the infantry straight at the for while the cavalry flanked the entrances in order to prevent any escape. The Battle of Vancouver would last for the rest of the day as the American army fought viciously in close combat with the British garrison inside the fort and then proceeded to cut down any organization with fast tactical maneuvers by the cavalry. At the end of the day 52 American lives were lost with 73 wounded. The British suffered more previous casualties with 340 dead, 236 wounded and the rest taken prisoner. Among the lives lost were Colonel Anderson. Afterwords Colonel Kearny ordered the rest of the army to secure the surrounding British Oregon in order to secure it as an American occupied zone for future negotiations. Meanwhile and off duty British squad was at a nearby farmhouse where they proceeded to observe the ongoing battle. In the aftermath with the fort fallen this small group of men led by Sargent Victor Hawkins vowed to return back to Toronto in order to warn the Canadian authorities that they were attacked by the Americans on British soil.
View attachment 292985View attachment 292986
US Cavalry in the Aftermath of the Battle of Vancouver (Left) Fort Vancouver (Center) Colonel Stephen Kearny (Right)
By mid-July word had reached both America and Canada of the attacks by both sides on the border, each nation was convinced that they were wrongfully attacked by an aggressive expanding neighbor on their border and that the dead needed to be avenged. Within both nations however there were factions that had wanted for peace. On the Canadian side most of the population were nervous about going to war as the US was far superior in both industry and population. While they were able to successfully defend their nation last time it was mainly due to the incompetence of the US military and its poor organization. Since then the American forces had increased greatly and the nation was more connected with the usage of railroads, allowing for greater movement of troops and resources within the United States. Still the threats by the British forces with charges of treason along with mass demonstrations by Canadian patriots would keep the country on the path to war. Immediately after the colonial government began plans for war, news was sent to Britain in order to warn them of the coming storm and ask them for reinforcements. Meanwhile Quebecois patriots who were veterans of the Lower Canada rebellions were secretly gathering and plotting. They saw this war as a chance for liberation from the British tyrants from their American cousins who had managed to do so only eight decades before. Representatives were sent to Washington in order to ask for support while they planned for the new rebellion to commence. On the American side the public was increasingly going towards war while in congress there were still many who wanted to avoid war through negotiations. Both the South and New England faction were wary of war with Great Britain as it would disrupt their trade with the South's export of cotton and New England's of manufactured goods. Both regions had relied heavily on British imports also and New England would be the first one to suffer under a British invasion. With this opposition violence erupted in the United States Congress with New York Senator Daniel Dickinson at one point assaulting South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun with Calhoun being accused of cowardice for not wanting to fight the British and attempt negotiations. The matter was ultimately resolved when President Harrison appeared before a joint session and asked for congress to give a decleration of war against the United Kingdom for violating American sovereignty and attacking US troops on American soil. Most congressmen relented due to pressure from their respective representative counties and states and thus war was declared on July 20th with a congressional approval of 195-35 in the Senate and 41-11 in the Senate. The Oregon War had commenced.
In terms of strategy for the beginning of the war the two sides would differ immensely. The Canadians would prefer to take a defensive approach as they were in noway able to launch an invasion of the massive United States. Instead differing to fortify their positions and launch raids across the border while they awaited for reinforcements from Britain. The American side differed greatly as they had wanted to end the war as soon as possible in order to prevent a large-scale invasion from the superior Royal Navy. In order to achieve this Harrison and the Department of the War had come up with the Carolus plan, named after Swedish King Charles XII. Currently the United States had around 15,000 regular troops on the border compared to the Canadians 10,000 and had planned to launch a blitzkrieg attack in coordination with an additional 20,000 militia from the surrounding states while the rest of the nation began recruitment. The Army would be divided into four groups with Army Group West (5000) Central (10,000) New York (12,500) and Maine (7,500) West would launch attacks on the Canadian border west of the great lakes and then invade eastward toward Ontario, while Kearny's Army of the west would head back to them after securing the Oregon country and arriving with additional reinforcements from the Midwest. Central would launch an invasion of Southern Ontario once the Great Lakes fleets had successfully secured control of Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Huron. Before total naval superiority would be achieved they would be in charge of defense of Michigan and Western New York. Army Group New York would take the most defensive position in the beginning by securing the border of the state with both Ontario and Quebec. Once all Canadian attacks had ceased the army would then be given the go ahead to invade Quebec and target first Montreal and then Quebec City, hopefully launching a rebellion of Ontario in the process. Finally Army Group Maine would quickly launch a rush into New Brunswick to secure the area against an invasion. If the British Navy was to arrive then they would stay away from Nova Scotia and focus on securing Maine. Finally the US Navy would begin the first months of the war destroying whatever fleets the British would have in Canada while launching activity against British colonies in the Gulf. When the Royal Armada would arrive in force the Navy would resume a defensive position on American shipping and the coastline. It was a very daring plan that would need the upmost time and speed if the United States was to secure Canada and increase the Army to at least 150,000 to prepare for a future British Invasion. The War to decide the fate of North America was now under way.
View attachment 293027
Theater of Operations under the Carolus Plan. Black Represents troop movements while Green represents US Navy control and movements.
"Many people ask me what I believe to be the start of the fall of the British Empire. To be perfectly honest while there are many points in the decadence of Victoria's reign that lead to the horrors of the Great War, I firmly believe that one can find the roots of the elitist colonial movement with the Oregon War. Though the Americans did rebel against us they did so for democracy and freedom from a tyrannical King. We should've allied with our former children to combat against the spread of Napoleonic France instead of driving America into its corner. But this was not meant to be. Fueled by greed for land, colonies, and prestige, we went to war where there could've been peace and prosperity. War all for the pride and glory of the incestuous Lords of London." History of the English Speaking Peoples by Lord Protector Oliver Mosley 1926
"For many years I and my predecessor President Johnson have tried to use reason and negotiations to deal the matter of the Oregon dispute with England. We offered millions of dollars, compromises of land, and guarantees of peace on the Canadian border. Each time we were rejected so that the elitist nobles of London could block the Pacific, our God-given right and manifest destiny to expand. Let it be known that we were not the first ones to spill blood. That the British chose to become the aggressors by attacking our troops on U.S soil and massacring men of the United States Army. The time of negotiations is over! I now call for congress to declare war against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland so that we may drive the monarchist menace from our northern borders and guarantee peace for the American peoples for generations to come!- President William Harrison 1846
"It is time we put those bloody Americans in their place once and for all. To war fair Britannia! Godspeed and victory with thee."- Queen Victoria 1846
In the past eighty years in the United States history two wars had been fought against the nation of Great Britain. The American Revolution ended in a total victory for the Americans with the thirteen colonies managing to receive independence as well as territory leading all the way to the Ohio River. The War of 1812 was rather inconclusive but can be considered by some to be an American victory as the British policy of impressement had ended and the nation would once more resume its trade without threat of attack. Peace continued for the next three decades and had the Oregon War not commenced then it would have been very possible for both the United States and Great Britain to enter into an alliance someday. Sadly this would not be the case as North America would once more erupt into he fires of war. Unlike other conflicts though the war did not merely start over a simple deceleration for conquering territory, rather due to an unfortunate series of events that would make the United States demand for British blood.
Due to the recent militarization that President Harrison had put the United States through, 3,000 troops were deployed to the Oregon country under the command of Colonel Stephen Kearny. Kearny was a veteran officer of the War of 1812 and has been widely recognized as the father of the US cavalry for his role in creating cavalry combat doctrine among the plains of North America. The official role of Kearny's forces was to stay below the 49th parallel and protect American settlers from the threat of Indian attacks on their journey to the Pacific. Their unofficial role assigned by Washington was to stand watch for any British incursion into American territory and be able to completely take control of the Oregon country in a time of war. Until 1846 the Americans and the British had engaged in several small skirmishes and disputes but there was little bloodshed that happened, that is until May of 1846. on May 1st, 1846 a small American settlement of about 30 settlers was attacked and massacred by an Indian war band believed to be apart of the Chinook tribe. In retaliation a US cavalry unit of 100 men chased after the rouge Indian warband all the way to their home camp which was across the 49th parallel. Around 5:00 P.M a British scout force had seen the American unit crossing the border and had presumed that the Americans were launching an attack on the British encampments. The riders headed out to the main British fort across from Vancouver Island which housed 750 troops. The commanding officer Colonel George Anderson decided to take action on his own and dispatched 300 of his troops to deal with the Americans. The next day the American cavalry had finally caught up with the Indian warband and had commenced a small battle to annihilate the party. All 50 of the opposing Indians were killed while 6 Americans were killed with 13 wounded. The Americans having been satisfied with their mission being completed decided to head back across the border and return to camp. What they did not know was that they were being followed by the British party who had planned a surprise attack. Around 4:30 P.M the Americans had crossed the 49th parallel and made base at a small cabin outpost that was used by the army as a way point for supply gathering and was clearly in American territory. This knowledge was uncommon to the British who still suspected they were operating in British lands. Around 6:30 P.M the British force of 300 launched a surprise attack on the American forces who were caught unaware due to their intentions to rest and attend to the wounded. The resulting battle was one sided as the British fought with unrelenting fury against the surprised Americans and mowed down many who had taken up arms. Approximately 26 more Americans would die that day with 17 being wounded and the rest but 6 troops being held as prisoner. The last 6 had managed to escape on horseback in order to alert Kearny that the British had attacked American troops on their territory. When they told their tale to Kearny the man was enraged that the British would massacre his men shortly after completing a battle and that American lives had been lost on their own soil. Deciding to take independent action, Kearny sent a single platoon with instructions to head west in order to inform Washington of the massacre and Kearny's plan to attack the remaining British in Oregon in retaliation. He had assumed that Harrison would want him to commence war in retaliation. On the British side of the camp Colonel Anderson was visibly appalled by the actions of his men since they had found out from interrogating the prisoners that the Americans had only crossed the border to attack a hostile tribe and that they were had attacked the US troops on the American side. In order to clear up the situation and prevent war Anderson sent a squad to the Americans in order to explain their side of the story and give back the prisoners. When the squad was dispatched on March 13th they had found the American forces only 3 days later to discover that the American army had gathered in full force and was ready to invade Canada. When the Americans saw the British scout force they instantly attacked with dozens of men and completely mowed down the British forces, leaving no one alive before they had a chance to explain their actions. Kearny then decided to move the Army of the West to attack the Vancouver garrison, who were unaware of the approaching American army. 8 days later on May 24th all 3000 of the American forces had reached Fort Vancouver and began an immense artillery barrage with their 20 artillery canons. This attack caught the British garrison by surprise who were currently off duty due to it being a Sunday. The barrage continued for 4 hours straight and had killed off 1/4th of the garrison with most of the defenses being destroyed. After getting his men into position Kearny called for a charge and launched the infantry straight at the for while the cavalry flanked the entrances in order to prevent any escape. The Battle of Vancouver would last for the rest of the day as the American army fought viciously in close combat with the British garrison inside the fort and then proceeded to cut down any organization with fast tactical maneuvers by the cavalry. At the end of the day 52 American lives were lost with 73 wounded. The British suffered more previous casualties with 340 dead, 236 wounded and the rest taken prisoner. Among the lives lost were Colonel Anderson. Afterwords Colonel Kearny ordered the rest of the army to secure the surrounding British Oregon in order to secure it as an American occupied zone for future negotiations. Meanwhile and off duty British squad was at a nearby farmhouse where they proceeded to observe the ongoing battle. In the aftermath with the fort fallen this small group of men led by Sargent Victor Hawkins vowed to return back to Toronto in order to warn the Canadian authorities that they were attacked by the Americans on British soil.
View attachment 292985View attachment 292986
US Cavalry in the Aftermath of the Battle of Vancouver (Left) Fort Vancouver (Center) Colonel Stephen Kearny (Right)
By mid-July word had reached both America and Canada of the attacks by both sides on the border, each nation was convinced that they were wrongfully attacked by an aggressive expanding neighbor on their border and that the dead needed to be avenged. Within both nations however there were factions that had wanted for peace. On the Canadian side most of the population were nervous about going to war as the US was far superior in both industry and population. While they were able to successfully defend their nation last time it was mainly due to the incompetence of the US military and its poor organization. Since then the American forces had increased greatly and the nation was more connected with the usage of railroads, allowing for greater movement of troops and resources within the United States. Still the threats by the British forces with charges of treason along with mass demonstrations by Canadian patriots would keep the country on the path to war. Immediately after the colonial government began plans for war, news was sent to Britain in order to warn them of the coming storm and ask them for reinforcements. Meanwhile Quebecois patriots who were veterans of the Lower Canada rebellions were secretly gathering and plotting. They saw this war as a chance for liberation from the British tyrants from their American cousins who had managed to do so only eight decades before. Representatives were sent to Washington in order to ask for support while they planned for the new rebellion to commence. On the American side the public was increasingly going towards war while in congress there were still many who wanted to avoid war through negotiations. Both the South and New England faction were wary of war with Great Britain as it would disrupt their trade with the South's export of cotton and New England's of manufactured goods. Both regions had relied heavily on British imports also and New England would be the first one to suffer under a British invasion. With this opposition violence erupted in the United States Congress with New York Senator Daniel Dickinson at one point assaulting South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun with Calhoun being accused of cowardice for not wanting to fight the British and attempt negotiations. The matter was ultimately resolved when President Harrison appeared before a joint session and asked for congress to give a decleration of war against the United Kingdom for violating American sovereignty and attacking US troops on American soil. Most congressmen relented due to pressure from their respective representative counties and states and thus war was declared on July 20th with a congressional approval of 195-35 in the Senate and 41-11 in the Senate. The Oregon War had commenced.
In terms of strategy for the beginning of the war the two sides would differ immensely. The Canadians would prefer to take a defensive approach as they were in noway able to launch an invasion of the massive United States. Instead differing to fortify their positions and launch raids across the border while they awaited for reinforcements from Britain. The American side differed greatly as they had wanted to end the war as soon as possible in order to prevent a large-scale invasion from the superior Royal Navy. In order to achieve this Harrison and the Department of the War had come up with the Carolus plan, named after Swedish King Charles XII. Currently the United States had around 15,000 regular troops on the border compared to the Canadians 10,000 and had planned to launch a blitzkrieg attack in coordination with an additional 20,000 militia from the surrounding states while the rest of the nation began recruitment. The Army would be divided into four groups with Army Group West (5000) Central (10,000) New York (12,500) and Maine (7,500) West would launch attacks on the Canadian border west of the great lakes and then invade eastward toward Ontario, while Kearny's Army of the west would head back to them after securing the Oregon country and arriving with additional reinforcements from the Midwest. Central would launch an invasion of Southern Ontario once the Great Lakes fleets had successfully secured control of Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Huron. Before total naval superiority would be achieved they would be in charge of defense of Michigan and Western New York. Army Group New York would take the most defensive position in the beginning by securing the border of the state with both Ontario and Quebec. Once all Canadian attacks had ceased the army would then be given the go ahead to invade Quebec and target first Montreal and then Quebec City, hopefully launching a rebellion of Ontario in the process. Finally Army Group Maine would quickly launch a rush into New Brunswick to secure the area against an invasion. If the British Navy was to arrive then they would stay away from Nova Scotia and focus on securing Maine. Finally the US Navy would begin the first months of the war destroying whatever fleets the British would have in Canada while launching activity against British colonies in the Gulf. When the Royal Armada would arrive in force the Navy would resume a defensive position on American shipping and the coastline. It was a very daring plan that would need the upmost time and speed if the United States was to secure Canada and increase the Army to at least 150,000 to prepare for a future British Invasion. The War to decide the fate of North America was now under way.
View attachment 293027
Theater of Operations under the Carolus Plan. Black Represents troop movements while Green represents US Navy control and movements.
- Kaiser Chris
- Word Count: 2.5k