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Chapter 42 Star Spangeled Supreme
Chapter 42 Star Spangled Supreme
"You limey's think you can come and burn Washington just like you did 30 years ago? Not today my friend."- Captain Robert E. Lee 1847
"We started this infernal war over trees and beavers and we come out losing Quebec. It was a mistake to trust those Frenchman and it was a mistake to start another war with America."- Lord John Russel 1847
"Can you believe how badly those army idiots screwed up. At least the Royal Navy will never be responsible for losing a war, that's for damn sure."- Commander Howard Gordon 1847
By the end of 1846 it seemed that the Oregon War was already an American victory. Due to a swift blitzkrieg along with the aid of the Quebecois, the United States was able to conquer a majority of Canada and now had the entirety of Oregon under its control. While the Royal Navy had near control of the ocean and America could not hope to invade Britain, the United States reigned were the masters of North America and would not give up an inch of their new territories without a fight. Yet, despite these conditions the British refused to back down even when they were being drawn closer into the conflict of German Unification every day. During the winter of '46 as the United States consolidated its gains and prepared for its defenses, Great Britain was preparing a massive invasion force to one retake Canada and hopefully knock off a few stars from the flag. Already the Royal Navy had near naval superiority and Great Britain and the British economy appeared to be strong enough to finance the war for several years. An expedition force of around 60,000 British regular forces were created with the intent of launching an invasion at three points; Washington, Quebec, and New Orleans. Queen Victoria and her council felt confident of their chances as in their viewpoint the British Army was the greatest force in the entire war and had been successfully winning multiple colonial conflicts around the globe for the past two decades. These nobles were confident of their chances due to their victories in the Napoleonic Wars three decades ago and the assumed superior fighting capabilities of a British regular to an "backwards American hillbilly". Multiple times in preparation the head staff of the Royal Army begged her majesty for the recruitment of more men from Britain's population, the chance to wait until more reinforcements came from India, or for the three separate divisions to be consolidated into one main invasion force. Victoria would have none of it. Britain would strike the Americans in three decisive blows and they would once again show which empire reigned supreme across the globe. The Royal Armada set sail on February 27th. They would arrive in America six weeks later around Mid-April. Britain believed that the war would be won by the end of the year, they were wrong.
Quebec: The British Invasion of Quebec is a rather popular topic that is discussed in many of the Texan military academies today as an invasion plan that sounds good on paper but should never have been implemented. At the time Quebecois nationalism was at an extreme high with tens of thousands of Quebecois joining the revolutionary army that was being formed in Quebec City, additionally the former new nation was constructing defenses all around the coast and in the interior as the people of Quebec were keen on this uprising failing for a second time in another British invasion. While all this was going on those soldiers in the Royal Armada were expecting to be welcomed as liberators like they were in the War of 1812 when the people of Quebec cheered as the British came in to push the Americans out. The biggest difference between now and then was the fact that back then the United States looked to conquer Quebec, now they were being portrayed as the liberators. What made matters worse is that the extra time needed to sail to the St. Lawrence River had given the Quebecois and Americans weeks in advance to prepare for a British attack. When the British did come in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence they were also constantly harassed by the American ships stationed in the gulf, causing the British to lose 7 ships before the invasion and around 3,000 soldiers. Finally on May 19th, the British entered the Saint Lawrence River and prepared for a massive assault on Quebec City to take it back from the Americans. What they did not expect was for the entire population of Quebec City to be against them. Under the combined leadership of General Winfield Scott, the Americans and Quebecois constantly hammered the British ships and men on shore with multiple artillery bombardments that were stationed around the city. When the Royal Marines and Regulars did reach the shores they found miles of traps along the beach and fire from riflemen that were covered in trenches and behind steel walls. To say that it was a 19th century reenactment of the Calais Assault was quite true. Eventually the large quantity of British troops managed to pull through but they also met fierce street fighting from the civilian guerillas and American army in the city, who now numbered 30,000 within the cities limits. By the time dusk fell the British assault split off into two different forces, those who retreated back to the ships and those who elected to escape the city and into the mainland under Brigadier Neville Jenkins. Unfortunately for the 5,000 soldiers who did chose this route, they would be unable to be reinforced by the Royal Navy as they could not establish a safe port on the coast. For a single month these men ran through the Canadian wilderness in a desperate attempt to get the civilians to join their side in staging a grand revolt against the Americans, only to find that every town they ran into supported the new Republic of Quebec. On June 24th the men of the expeditionary force got tired of their conditions and staged a mutiny against Jenkins, then immediately surrendering to the American Army. With the inability to find a good staging ground in Quebec the Northern Expedition simply retreated to Nova Scotia where they hoped to make a base of operations and wait for further reinforcements and supplies. These men would become instrumental in the war by defending the peninsula against the American forces that attempted to gain access to the last British territory in mainland North America. The Quebec campaign was very costly for the British as they had lost 2,247 KIA, 1,903 MIA, and over 6,412 POW. The Americans and Quebecois suffered 1,422 Killed and 1,965 wounded.
View attachment 297340
Quebec Campaign
Washington: Once again this time around the British chose Washington as an objective in order to knock out the capitol, hopefully capture the government, and force the Americans to a quick surrender. This time however they would be meet with the bulk of the American Navy as a flotilla of over 35 ships, half of which being steam vessels, met the Royal Armada in Chesapeake in order to prevent a second burning of Washington from happening again. In contrast the British ships had over 50 armed vessels but most of them were reliant on the traditional sail power and had less obsolete canons due to their constant usage in small colonial conquests. The Battle of the Chesapeake was the largest naval battle of the war on May 1st as the bay became filled with gunpowder as constant barrages came from the large warships in the bay while Marines faced off in boarding combat and some ships had to resort to raming in order to fulfill their objectives. Ultimately it was a tactical draw as the Americans lost 13 ships compared to the British losses of 17, it was however a strategic victory as the battle allowed the British flotilla to sneak by and land near the capitol. As soon as the British landed the evacuation order was sounded and the people were sent into a panic, thousands tried to leave the city in order to escape a burning while congressmen gathered their belongings and headed up North to flee to Philadelphia and set up an interim government there. One man who would not abandon the city though was President William Henry Harrison. Old Tippecanoe had been dying to enter the fields of battle once again and saw this as his chance to take command while the Union's best generals were across the nation or in Canada. Vice President Webster pleaded constantly for his superior to flee with him to Philadelphia, to this William Harrison said, "While I was off fighting Injuns the damn British burned our capitol to ashes, they looted Washington, ravaged the countryside, and destroyed everything that stood for liberty. I will stand here and show them why the President takes an Oath to defend the Constitution. Take Anna with you and bring as many national treasures that you can carry. If I die then I'll make sure to see old Vicky in hell." With those words President Harrison put on his old Generals Uniform and equipped himself with sabre and pistol, becoming the first President since Washington to take field command in wartime. For two months the Battle of Washington raged as the Royal Army under Major General Arthur Wellesley (Son of his father the famous Duke of Wellington) battled it out with the 25,000 American defenders while the Royal Navy patrolled the coast of the Chesapeake, despite numerous attempts by the American Navy to reach through. The fighting was fierce and bloody as for every foot the British gained they took ten casualties in return. The Americans fought like hell to defend their capitol while having a high morale due to their President standing in the front lines with them during the fighting. Everytime the British neared a major landmark or government office they would be met with multiple waves of American troops who fought to the death in order to prevent a second burning. The most memorable occasion was the Battle of the Monument where the British attempted to launch a bombardment on the Washington Monument and were faced with retaliation by a thousand man cavalry charge that virtually overwhelmed the battalion sent to deface the monument, leaving no survivors, Miraculously the Monument along with other major buildings such as Congress and the White House survived the entire battle unscathed, prompting the creation of the Oregon War Memorial by President Lincoln in 1868. To give the British credit they had fought hard throughout the battle and had maintained a strong dedication throughout the first half. The tide of the Battle turned in June as reinforcements kept on pouring in from the South in the thousands along with the battle hardened veterans of the Canadian campaigns. The Royal Navy could not supply the troops long enough for the six week supply chain and on June 30th the leading Naval officer Rear Admiral Horatio Roberts decided to retreat, unfortunately they could not escape with the Royal Army as a suprise raid by the Americans on the 29th caused every single troop transport in the harbor to be sunk or too damaged to set sail. Faced with the prospect of total annihilation, the Duke of Wellington surrendered on the 4th of July. The aftermath of the battle would render it the bloodiest of the war as the British lost over 15,000 casualties while the Americans suffered over 13,000.The Battle of Washington would become a huge morale boost for the Americans as they had protected their capitol from conquest, especially with the battle ending on Independence Day. It would also catapult Harrison's popularity to that near equal Washington's as the man added the title Defender of D.C to his long list of achievements.
"Harrison Defending the Republic" a largely fictionalized image of Harrison during the Battle of Washington inspired by "Washington Crossing the Delaware"
Gulf Coast: Further south the British had experience much more success then their counterparts up North but never enough to turn back the tide of war. On June 2nd the British landed near the mouth of the Mississippi and then proceeded to capture the capitol of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, on June 6th. Further south they met sent a force to capture New Orleans on the 9th but fortunately for the Americans they were able to defend the city under the command of Militia Colonel Henry Jackson (of no relation to Andrew Jackson) due to captured intelligence of the plans by Creole spies and help from some of the first river monitors on the Mississippi, driving the British into the swamp and causing them to back out from the city. Nevertheless the British decided to enact total control of the Gulf instead of focusing on the Mississippi in order to prepare fro reinforcements from Britain at a later date. Through the rest of the month the British captured Biloxi, Mobile, and Pensacola from the Americans as the Royal Navy held superiority at sea and often supported the invasions. Another factor that contributed to the British success was the sending of the local forces and volunteers to Washington or Canada. Enraged that his former state of Georgia could be invaded next, Texas President Mirabeau Lamar sent an arms package of over 10,000 rifles and pistols across the Sabine to help the Southern militia. In addition the Texas Congress ratified a treaty that it had been earlier sent from the State Department that allowed American merchants and sailors to fly under the Texas flag and be under Texan escort as part of its merchant navy in a temporary contract during the war. This benefited both parties as Texas trade increased incredibly while the Americans were able to still trade with Europe. For over two months the British gradually took control of the coast and even promised to free some of the slaves on the plantations, something that angered the Southern population greatly. By the end of June virtually the southern half of Mississippi and Alabama along with Western Florida and Eastern Louisiana were under British control. It was this greed that unfortunately for the British caught them at their worse as their supply lines were becoming overextended which made it easy for southern militias and guerillas to commit hit and run tactics on unsuspecting troops. The tide turned at the Battle of Montgomery where the Alabama 1st and 2nd were able to defend the state capitol from an British attack by an opposing force of 1500. Soon as summer settled in, reinforcements came in from the various southern states along with some veterans from Washington. Slowly but surely the British were pushed back to the coast by the beginning of fall. They would've been able to keep the coast under their control with help from the Royal Navy, but unfortunately most of the British military was now focused on the Russian Intervention in Germay and thus could not provide support. Gradually before the end of the year the British army of the South retreated and were forced to turn to Jamaica, the last southern city liberated was Biloxi on December 1st. The overall casualties of the campaign were around 10,000 British and 12,000 for the Americans. By Christmas there were no more British on American soil and the war was now restricted back to the Atlantic, where the Americans were slowly scoring minor victories with the majority of the Royal Navy being deployed to the Mediterranean and the Baltic. The Stars and Stripes were victorious and began preparation for a possible fourth invasion of their soil. For both sides the Oregon War would officially end next year.
View attachment 297341
Battle of Montgomery
"You limey's think you can come and burn Washington just like you did 30 years ago? Not today my friend."- Captain Robert E. Lee 1847
"We started this infernal war over trees and beavers and we come out losing Quebec. It was a mistake to trust those Frenchman and it was a mistake to start another war with America."- Lord John Russel 1847
"Can you believe how badly those army idiots screwed up. At least the Royal Navy will never be responsible for losing a war, that's for damn sure."- Commander Howard Gordon 1847
By the end of 1846 it seemed that the Oregon War was already an American victory. Due to a swift blitzkrieg along with the aid of the Quebecois, the United States was able to conquer a majority of Canada and now had the entirety of Oregon under its control. While the Royal Navy had near control of the ocean and America could not hope to invade Britain, the United States reigned were the masters of North America and would not give up an inch of their new territories without a fight. Yet, despite these conditions the British refused to back down even when they were being drawn closer into the conflict of German Unification every day. During the winter of '46 as the United States consolidated its gains and prepared for its defenses, Great Britain was preparing a massive invasion force to one retake Canada and hopefully knock off a few stars from the flag. Already the Royal Navy had near naval superiority and Great Britain and the British economy appeared to be strong enough to finance the war for several years. An expedition force of around 60,000 British regular forces were created with the intent of launching an invasion at three points; Washington, Quebec, and New Orleans. Queen Victoria and her council felt confident of their chances as in their viewpoint the British Army was the greatest force in the entire war and had been successfully winning multiple colonial conflicts around the globe for the past two decades. These nobles were confident of their chances due to their victories in the Napoleonic Wars three decades ago and the assumed superior fighting capabilities of a British regular to an "backwards American hillbilly". Multiple times in preparation the head staff of the Royal Army begged her majesty for the recruitment of more men from Britain's population, the chance to wait until more reinforcements came from India, or for the three separate divisions to be consolidated into one main invasion force. Victoria would have none of it. Britain would strike the Americans in three decisive blows and they would once again show which empire reigned supreme across the globe. The Royal Armada set sail on February 27th. They would arrive in America six weeks later around Mid-April. Britain believed that the war would be won by the end of the year, they were wrong.
Quebec: The British Invasion of Quebec is a rather popular topic that is discussed in many of the Texan military academies today as an invasion plan that sounds good on paper but should never have been implemented. At the time Quebecois nationalism was at an extreme high with tens of thousands of Quebecois joining the revolutionary army that was being formed in Quebec City, additionally the former new nation was constructing defenses all around the coast and in the interior as the people of Quebec were keen on this uprising failing for a second time in another British invasion. While all this was going on those soldiers in the Royal Armada were expecting to be welcomed as liberators like they were in the War of 1812 when the people of Quebec cheered as the British came in to push the Americans out. The biggest difference between now and then was the fact that back then the United States looked to conquer Quebec, now they were being portrayed as the liberators. What made matters worse is that the extra time needed to sail to the St. Lawrence River had given the Quebecois and Americans weeks in advance to prepare for a British attack. When the British did come in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence they were also constantly harassed by the American ships stationed in the gulf, causing the British to lose 7 ships before the invasion and around 3,000 soldiers. Finally on May 19th, the British entered the Saint Lawrence River and prepared for a massive assault on Quebec City to take it back from the Americans. What they did not expect was for the entire population of Quebec City to be against them. Under the combined leadership of General Winfield Scott, the Americans and Quebecois constantly hammered the British ships and men on shore with multiple artillery bombardments that were stationed around the city. When the Royal Marines and Regulars did reach the shores they found miles of traps along the beach and fire from riflemen that were covered in trenches and behind steel walls. To say that it was a 19th century reenactment of the Calais Assault was quite true. Eventually the large quantity of British troops managed to pull through but they also met fierce street fighting from the civilian guerillas and American army in the city, who now numbered 30,000 within the cities limits. By the time dusk fell the British assault split off into two different forces, those who retreated back to the ships and those who elected to escape the city and into the mainland under Brigadier Neville Jenkins. Unfortunately for the 5,000 soldiers who did chose this route, they would be unable to be reinforced by the Royal Navy as they could not establish a safe port on the coast. For a single month these men ran through the Canadian wilderness in a desperate attempt to get the civilians to join their side in staging a grand revolt against the Americans, only to find that every town they ran into supported the new Republic of Quebec. On June 24th the men of the expeditionary force got tired of their conditions and staged a mutiny against Jenkins, then immediately surrendering to the American Army. With the inability to find a good staging ground in Quebec the Northern Expedition simply retreated to Nova Scotia where they hoped to make a base of operations and wait for further reinforcements and supplies. These men would become instrumental in the war by defending the peninsula against the American forces that attempted to gain access to the last British territory in mainland North America. The Quebec campaign was very costly for the British as they had lost 2,247 KIA, 1,903 MIA, and over 6,412 POW. The Americans and Quebecois suffered 1,422 Killed and 1,965 wounded.
View attachment 297340
Quebec Campaign
Washington: Once again this time around the British chose Washington as an objective in order to knock out the capitol, hopefully capture the government, and force the Americans to a quick surrender. This time however they would be meet with the bulk of the American Navy as a flotilla of over 35 ships, half of which being steam vessels, met the Royal Armada in Chesapeake in order to prevent a second burning of Washington from happening again. In contrast the British ships had over 50 armed vessels but most of them were reliant on the traditional sail power and had less obsolete canons due to their constant usage in small colonial conquests. The Battle of the Chesapeake was the largest naval battle of the war on May 1st as the bay became filled with gunpowder as constant barrages came from the large warships in the bay while Marines faced off in boarding combat and some ships had to resort to raming in order to fulfill their objectives. Ultimately it was a tactical draw as the Americans lost 13 ships compared to the British losses of 17, it was however a strategic victory as the battle allowed the British flotilla to sneak by and land near the capitol. As soon as the British landed the evacuation order was sounded and the people were sent into a panic, thousands tried to leave the city in order to escape a burning while congressmen gathered their belongings and headed up North to flee to Philadelphia and set up an interim government there. One man who would not abandon the city though was President William Henry Harrison. Old Tippecanoe had been dying to enter the fields of battle once again and saw this as his chance to take command while the Union's best generals were across the nation or in Canada. Vice President Webster pleaded constantly for his superior to flee with him to Philadelphia, to this William Harrison said, "While I was off fighting Injuns the damn British burned our capitol to ashes, they looted Washington, ravaged the countryside, and destroyed everything that stood for liberty. I will stand here and show them why the President takes an Oath to defend the Constitution. Take Anna with you and bring as many national treasures that you can carry. If I die then I'll make sure to see old Vicky in hell." With those words President Harrison put on his old Generals Uniform and equipped himself with sabre and pistol, becoming the first President since Washington to take field command in wartime. For two months the Battle of Washington raged as the Royal Army under Major General Arthur Wellesley (Son of his father the famous Duke of Wellington) battled it out with the 25,000 American defenders while the Royal Navy patrolled the coast of the Chesapeake, despite numerous attempts by the American Navy to reach through. The fighting was fierce and bloody as for every foot the British gained they took ten casualties in return. The Americans fought like hell to defend their capitol while having a high morale due to their President standing in the front lines with them during the fighting. Everytime the British neared a major landmark or government office they would be met with multiple waves of American troops who fought to the death in order to prevent a second burning. The most memorable occasion was the Battle of the Monument where the British attempted to launch a bombardment on the Washington Monument and were faced with retaliation by a thousand man cavalry charge that virtually overwhelmed the battalion sent to deface the monument, leaving no survivors, Miraculously the Monument along with other major buildings such as Congress and the White House survived the entire battle unscathed, prompting the creation of the Oregon War Memorial by President Lincoln in 1868. To give the British credit they had fought hard throughout the battle and had maintained a strong dedication throughout the first half. The tide of the Battle turned in June as reinforcements kept on pouring in from the South in the thousands along with the battle hardened veterans of the Canadian campaigns. The Royal Navy could not supply the troops long enough for the six week supply chain and on June 30th the leading Naval officer Rear Admiral Horatio Roberts decided to retreat, unfortunately they could not escape with the Royal Army as a suprise raid by the Americans on the 29th caused every single troop transport in the harbor to be sunk or too damaged to set sail. Faced with the prospect of total annihilation, the Duke of Wellington surrendered on the 4th of July. The aftermath of the battle would render it the bloodiest of the war as the British lost over 15,000 casualties while the Americans suffered over 13,000.The Battle of Washington would become a huge morale boost for the Americans as they had protected their capitol from conquest, especially with the battle ending on Independence Day. It would also catapult Harrison's popularity to that near equal Washington's as the man added the title Defender of D.C to his long list of achievements.
"Harrison Defending the Republic" a largely fictionalized image of Harrison during the Battle of Washington inspired by "Washington Crossing the Delaware"
Gulf Coast: Further south the British had experience much more success then their counterparts up North but never enough to turn back the tide of war. On June 2nd the British landed near the mouth of the Mississippi and then proceeded to capture the capitol of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, on June 6th. Further south they met sent a force to capture New Orleans on the 9th but fortunately for the Americans they were able to defend the city under the command of Militia Colonel Henry Jackson (of no relation to Andrew Jackson) due to captured intelligence of the plans by Creole spies and help from some of the first river monitors on the Mississippi, driving the British into the swamp and causing them to back out from the city. Nevertheless the British decided to enact total control of the Gulf instead of focusing on the Mississippi in order to prepare fro reinforcements from Britain at a later date. Through the rest of the month the British captured Biloxi, Mobile, and Pensacola from the Americans as the Royal Navy held superiority at sea and often supported the invasions. Another factor that contributed to the British success was the sending of the local forces and volunteers to Washington or Canada. Enraged that his former state of Georgia could be invaded next, Texas President Mirabeau Lamar sent an arms package of over 10,000 rifles and pistols across the Sabine to help the Southern militia. In addition the Texas Congress ratified a treaty that it had been earlier sent from the State Department that allowed American merchants and sailors to fly under the Texas flag and be under Texan escort as part of its merchant navy in a temporary contract during the war. This benefited both parties as Texas trade increased incredibly while the Americans were able to still trade with Europe. For over two months the British gradually took control of the coast and even promised to free some of the slaves on the plantations, something that angered the Southern population greatly. By the end of June virtually the southern half of Mississippi and Alabama along with Western Florida and Eastern Louisiana were under British control. It was this greed that unfortunately for the British caught them at their worse as their supply lines were becoming overextended which made it easy for southern militias and guerillas to commit hit and run tactics on unsuspecting troops. The tide turned at the Battle of Montgomery where the Alabama 1st and 2nd were able to defend the state capitol from an British attack by an opposing force of 1500. Soon as summer settled in, reinforcements came in from the various southern states along with some veterans from Washington. Slowly but surely the British were pushed back to the coast by the beginning of fall. They would've been able to keep the coast under their control with help from the Royal Navy, but unfortunately most of the British military was now focused on the Russian Intervention in Germay and thus could not provide support. Gradually before the end of the year the British army of the South retreated and were forced to turn to Jamaica, the last southern city liberated was Biloxi on December 1st. The overall casualties of the campaign were around 10,000 British and 12,000 for the Americans. By Christmas there were no more British on American soil and the war was now restricted back to the Atlantic, where the Americans were slowly scoring minor victories with the majority of the Royal Navy being deployed to the Mediterranean and the Baltic. The Stars and Stripes were victorious and began preparation for a possible fourth invasion of their soil. For both sides the Oregon War would officially end next year.
View attachment 297341
Battle of Montgomery
- Kaiser Chris
- Word Count: 2.6k