alternatehistory.com

6 May

The Confederate Congress votes to continue the construction of the Washington Monument, though the funding they provide for this is such that the work on the monument is guaranteed to be slow - very slow, such that completion is expected not to take place until 1871. (There is a general sense it would be a nice tenth anniversary marker, though.)
There is a strand of thought that the Confederate government should shift to Washington itself, but already Richmond has gained a certain inertia - and the safe-looking rivers between Richmond and Pennsylvania make it look rather less vulnerable than Washington does.


8 May

The French government notes that the fast assault supported by a base of skilled rifle fire is still a viable tactic. They are content with this, using the term "élan" a lot.


9 May

A report is produced by the Confederate Nitre Board setting out a series of measures to take in the event of a future war including a full blockade - including cave mining and setting up nitre beds.
The board strongly recommends a stockpile of a certain size be maintained, as being the minimum necessary to carry the country over until the local sources of nitre can take over.


11 May

North and South are both somewhat advanced on their transcontinental railroad projects, which are considered strategically very important. The North has the advantage of having already surveyed most of the route, and the additional advantage that it is not trying to do this difficult task while also regauging half the network as the South is - though the South has the countervailing advantage that most of the regauging work is a State issue and so the Confederate Government can focus on this as their big infrastructure project.
PGT Beauregard insists that there should be a national conversation about the Mississippi levees; few others listen.


14 May

Austrian delegates to the German Confederation ask why the Prussians have not assisted in putting down the Polish Revolt. In reply, the Prussians point out that the Polish "republic of nobles" (which is essentially Congress Poland plus some few areas of Lithuania it has managed to solidify control of) does not have any current territorial ambitions towards German lands, and stress that the Russian encroachment on Polish rights is the true cause of the current upheaval.
They further state that Poland has not been recognized as independent as yet; they merely recognize it as a belligerent.

The Austrians are not pleased.


16 May

Viscount Palmerston (currently 79) rides ten miles along the British coastline inspecting some of the forts bearing his name, having never really gotten the hang of the "old age" concept.


17 May

In a private meeting in New York City, McClellan (who has spent the day inspecting the damage to the Narrows forts and the afternoon praising the New York militia for their comparative efficiency, though also stressing that the greatest city of the United States deserves to be in a state of defence) secures the support of the Democratic delegates for the presidential nomination.