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Chapter 7: 1863 (new format)
--- 1863 ---
On December 11, 1862, the guns around embattled Atlanta fell silent. The Hawthorne Regime surrendered unconditionally to the Combined Allied Forces of North America. It was a truly varied force in the fields of Georgia that day. Men from the Confederation in New England, Federalists and abolitionists one and all. Soldiers fighting from the Democratic-dominated New Union in the North who heeded Hugo Brandt’s call to preserve the core values of the Founders against the tyranny of the Slaver government. Fighters from Britain and what would become Borealia, there to serve Queen and Country and further the cause of their Empire. Not to mention the newly self-emancipated militiamen fighting literally for their lives and their futures. All of them let out a collective sigh of relief as word was relayed that President James Hawthorne capitulated, smoke still rising from parts of the southern city that had been encircled for nearly a month.
The War Between the States, having dragged America to it’s lowest point since the War of 1812, leaving hundreds of thousands of young men dead or maimed and countless civilians homeless, was finally over. Having consumed the nation since the summer of 1859, the nation could now try and catch its breath. But only for a moment. Now, the shattered pieces had to be put back together. As 1862 drew to a close, the South was placed under martial law, and there were rumors of black reprisals against former white masters, something that the leaders of the New Africa Republic combatted fiercely, and something that terrified Democratic statesmen in Franklin. People wondered whether the Confederation would rejoin the Union, or if, with the backing of Great Britain, it would remain independent and become even more radical than it was already. And what would become of the Native Nations that had risen in defiance, or the former slaves? Could the United States repair itself after over three years of bloody civil war? Everyone waited with baited breath as January 7, 1863 approached, to see what would come from the Conference of Philadelphia
McCoy, Jace, Dr. Rebirth of Nation. Franklin, DW: UUS Press House, 1998.
----- PEACE CONFERENCE BEGINS TODAY
PHILADELPHIA - Delegates from the United States, the Confederation of American States, the British Empire, the New Africa Republic, and the native state of Gigadohi, will gather in Philadelphia to begin the much anticipated American Peace Conference. After over three years of fighting, our leaders will finally sit down and try and pull together the pieces of the broken Republic. But will they succeed in their task? That is the question on everyone’s minds. Can it even be done. Here in our own Confederation, there is talk of maintaining independence and charting our own course, a sentiment that is very popular here in Boston. Others, President Portman rumored to be among them, believe we must rejoin the union of states now that the Slavers have been dethroned in Atlanta and the former slaves now walk free. It seems we are on the way to fulfill the requirements set down in the 1859 Proclamation of Restoration, and well before the 5 year deadline. But will the Northern union listen? Will they free all slaves, not just those who’ve emancipated themselves? Will they grant racial equality? Will they change the constitution to prevent another catastrophe like the election of 1858? Somethings may be likely, but others are far from guaranteed. And what of the native peoples of Gigadohi and Kanasaw? They have organized and defended their rights, and are asking for equality as well. Can the Democrats now occupying the city of Franklin agree to treat these people as equal to themselves? It remains to be seen, and the editorial staff here remain skeptical.
"Peace Conference Begins Today." Boston Eagle, January 7, 1863.
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The ceremonial opening of the Philadelphia Conference was held at Independence Hall, and both Acting US President Hugo Brandt, and Confederal President Ulysses Portman gave welcoming speeches to the delegates. They then nominated New York Governor Frank Wilbourn, a Democrat, as Conference Chairman, and he was elected by universal acclamation. Wilbourn had the dubious task of trying to get the varied interests of all those involved in coming to a consensus on nothing less than the future of the nation. Would the United States really survive? There were broadsheets calling for the South to rise against the occupiers, to form a new white nation out of the ashes of the United States and let the North go to their own devices. And there were some in the North, both in the New Union and in the Confederation, that were at least somewhat sympathetic to the idea.
Portman laid out the main requirements for the Confederation to rejoin the Union: A constitutional abolition of slavery; the establishment of birthright citizenship; the protection of the voting rights of all citizens; and the reformation of the Presidential election system to avoid a future repeat of the 1852 or 1858 elections, where the Republicans, despite receiving less than 40% of the vote, had captured the Presidency. Joshua Black, the self-proclaimed First Consul of the New Africa Republic, stated that unless racial equality was granted and protected, the former slaves he now commanded would seek independence, and likely carve their nation out of the ruined state of Mississippi, which at this point was seeing a flood of white citizens of biblical proportions fleeing west to Arkansas and even further, into Jefferson and the unorganized Upper Louisiana Territory. The Native Nations that populated what was now being called Gigadohi and also the Kanasw Territory were demanding statehood for their lands, but with special privileges to preserve their Tribes. This had been agreed to in the Native Nations District Statehood Act, passed in the heat of war in 1861, but it remained to be seen if the New Union government would follow through on its promise. And then there were the British. It could not be denied that if Great Britain had not gotten involved after Hawthorne’s forces sank the S.S. Bombay in 1861, that in all likelihood the war would still be ongoing, and possibly in the Slaver’s favor. Queen Victoria’s empire had to be compensated for its efforts.
After that optimistic and showy opening at Independence Hall, it would take months of negotiations to bring about the post-war order that helped create the modern North America we recognize today. The first and one of the most important would come on January 29th, when it was announced that key congressional leadership in the New Union had agreed in principle to the amendments that the Confederal government wanted as a prerequisite for the New England states to rejoin the Union. The first of these, the 18th and 19th amendments, which abolished slavery and established birthright citizenship, respectively, passed Congress on February 12th, and both would be ratified by the end of April.
McCoy, Jace, Dr. Rebirth of Nation. Franklin, DW: UUS Press House, 1998.
----- MARTIAL LAW TO CONTINUE
PHILADELPHIA - The delegates in Philadelphia have announced that the states currently under military occupation will remain under Martial Law until such time as the states in question can draft new constitutions which reflect the new order being created in the North, that is to say, abolitionist in nature. The new 18th and 19th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, having passed Congress last week, must now be directly reflected into the constitutions of the Southern states before they will be “readmitted” into the so-called “New Union” being created in Philadelphia. Republican leaders in Colombia have stated that this is “the ultimate victory for the Democrat-Federalist alliance, and the utter humiliating defeat of the Republican South. Not only is our negro property being taken from us, but these former slaves are being elevated to the status of Equal in the eyes of Northern-mandated law.”
“Martial Law to Continue,” Charleston Examiner, February 19, 1863.
-----
Though the War Between the States did not start directly due to slavery, it was this so-called peculiar institution that ultimately became the primary issue by the time the guns fell silent around Atlanta. And nowhere was this more acutely felt than in Mississippi, where the so-called New Africa Republic came into being in early 1862, led by a former house slave named Joshua Black. Black received aid from the nearby Native Nations District, which was already in rebellion, and led thousands of slaves across Mississippi and parts of Alabama into full scale uprising against the white masters. And as the war progressed, more and more slaves flocked to his red banner with black fist and broken shackles. By the time the war ended, nearly all of the 400,000-plus slaves in Mississippi had joined the rebellion, and the whites in the state were fleeing en masse to Arkansas and points further west. In addition, hugh sections of Alabama and even part of Tennessee were in the nominal hands of the NAR and its commanders. And just before the war ended, a slave radicalized by the NAR assassinated Vice President Josiah Blankenship in his home in Atlanta. The power of the former enslaved was now on full display, something that both awed and terrified the North, and something that was celebrated in Confederal New England.
With the fighting over, the question now became, “what next?” And the answers varied widely. The most radical NAR leaders wanted to form their own nation, and expel the whites. But Black and most of his senior commanders knew that this would likely only lead to more war. Black called for the “New Union Congress” to grant full equality and help the newly emancipated blacks of the South to better themselves and start a new life as free men. This helped bring about the establishment of the Freedmen’s Improvement Office (FIO) at the end of February, 1863. FIO would be charged with setting up schools, helping to give out loans, and help secure land or employment for the newly Free. Once the 18th Amendment was ratified on March 20th, slavery was truly over, and there were mass celebrations throughout the territory controlled by the NAR. Between this and the passage of the 19th amendment, Black felt that the goals of New Africa were being met, and so he began to work with educated freedmen from the North who were immigrating to Mississippi to draft a new constitution for the state of Mississippi. Their new document would be approved in a statewide convention on July 4th of 1863, and on that day “Acting Governor Black” sent out an application for Mississippi to be admitted to the New Union. This was approved in August, and by the end of the year, Joshua Black became the first black governor in United States history, and also for the first time, the US House of Representatives and the US Senate welcomed in congressmen of color.
Cole, Benjamin, Dr. Land of the Freedmen: Mississippi after 1862. Joshuaville, MI: Freedmen’s Press, 2013.
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When the Native Nations District, followed by the Territory of Kanasaw, both rose up against the Slaver Union in the Winter of 1861-1862, it was done so with the promise of a new beginning for relations between the “Native Dependent Nations” of the United States and the Federal Government. The past several decades had been a story of declining privileges and loss of land and customs. The leaders of the many tribes, especially those in the Native Nations District in what had been Northeast Mississippi, decided for a gamble: support the Free State Alliance against the Slavers in return for as much autonomy at home and as much representation in Franklin as possible.
And in a surprise to many, the gamble paid off. In the Spring of 1863, as delegates from all the parties who had something at stake in the new peace gathered in Philadelphia, the Native Nations of the United States were able to turn their loyalty to the Northern cause into real political capital. Both the Native Nations District, now styling itself Gigadohi (coming from the Cherokee words for “red” and “land”), and Kanasaw would be granted “special statehood”: Both states would have normal representation in Congress, and the residents of those states, both White and Native, would be citizens of the United States and of their particular state of residence. In addition, the tribes that were recognized by the Federal government would be granted local jurisdiction over their land with near-complete autonomy (exceptions being made for Federal lawmen pursuing criminals and a few other “inter-state” issues). The tribes in both states would establish statewide governments with chief executives and legislatures, and White citizens could not be barred from living in the states or participating in statewide elections.
By the end of the April, 1863, both Gigadohi and Kanasaw had been granted statehood under new constitutions, each sending two Senators and three Representatives to Franklin.
Childers, Anthony, Dr. Native Rebirth: How the Native Nations Took Back their Land, New Echota, GG: Sequoyah Press, 2008.
----- CONGRESS PASSES ELECTION AMENDMENT
FRANKLIN - As part of an agreement that was worked out between the United States and the Confederation, the US Congress today passed the 20th Amendment, which will reform how presidential elections are conducted. First, from now on all electors will be elected based on proportions. The number of electors from each state who vote for a particular candidate will be based on the proportion of the popular vote in that state that goes for each candidate. Secondly, the 17th amendment is now repealed, and a candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes to win the presidency. And thirdly, it establishes the concept of “asset-elector voting,” a process whereby in the event that no candidate wins a majority of the electors outright, the candidate with the fewest electors can give their electors to another candidate to create a majority. This has been a contentions debate on how to solve the problems of the 1852 and 1858 elections, and it remains to be seen if this is the perfect fix. But most in Congress agree that it is better than the current messy system that helped contribute to the recent War. People are also hopeful that this will be another step towards bringing the still-wayward Confederation back into the fold of states.
“Congress Passes Election Amendment,” Franklin Observer, March 8, 1863.
----- TREATY SIGNED WITH BRITAIN: TERRITORY AND MONEY TO BE GIVEN AWAY
PHILADELPHIA - The US Secretary of State has signed a treaty with the British Ambassador that will repay the British for their assistance in fighting the Slavers in the recent war. Britain is being leased the territory around the north side of Tampa Bay, in the State of Florida, for a period of at least 75 years, with the ability to renew. The British want a mainland base to help patrol their Caribbean colonies. Furthermore, the new treaty also states that the United States will help ffund several major infrastructure projects in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Upper Canada, to include but not limited to a railway linking Milwaukee with Upper Canada, a canal across the Michigan Peninsula, and a possible canal linking Milwaukee with the Mississippi River. And Finally, the United States promises not to interfere with or protest about any future territorial reorganizations that take place in British territories to our north, meaning Wisconsin, Michigan, the Canadas, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. There has been rumor coming from these territories that some sort of union may occur within the next decade, creating one large British domain north of the United States, instead of several small colonies.
It remains to be seen how the citizens of Florida will take to this news about Tampa Bay, but New Union officials made it clear that it didn’t matter. Florida, as a former slave state, had no say in the matter, and would just have to make do.
“Treaty Signed with Britain,” Boston Eagle, March 23, 1863.
----- VOTING RIGHTS AMENDMENT PASSES CONGRESS
FRANKLIN - Amid great pomp, the last of the amendments requested by the Confederation has passed its final vote in Congress. The 21st Amendment states that the only requirement for voting rights in the United States is that the person be a male citizen, 21 years old or older, who has resided in his state for at least a year. This amendment was drafted to prevent states in the South from passing laws barring newly freed slaves from voting. It has been hailed a great success across the New Union, though some grumble that it goes too, putting an end to property requirements that were still the norm in many places.
In the occupied South, there is little support for the amendment, but also not much left in the way of fighting spirit to resist the changes coming from Franklin and the North in general. It also seems unlikely that some states in the South will be quick to adopt new constitutions that support these abolitionist measures any time soon, meaning that military occupation of the South could continue for a longer period than previously expected.
“Voting Rights Amendment Passes Congress,” Baltimore Gazette, March 30, 1863
-----
When President Portman received word via telegram that the New Union Congress in Franklin had passed the 21st Amendment, he immediately packed his bags in Philadelphia and got on the next train for Concord, New Hampshire, with instructions to his fellow Confederal delegates to vote to conclude the Conference now that the majority of goals had been achieved. Two days later, on April 1, Portman stood before the Confederal Congress and called for a vote to dissolve the Confederation of American States, and for the constituent states to rejoin the United States under the government currently operating in Franklin. The motion passed by nearly 80% (there were some radicals who thought that with British backing the Confederation should have struck out on its own, but they were in the clear minority). Shortly after the vote, Ulysses Portman stood on the steps of the State House in Concord, which had served as the Capitol of the Confederation for the past four years and proclaimed, “Citizens, our sojourn in the wilderness is over. Our fight over tyranny is won. We are now apart of the great Union of states started by our forefathers four score and seven years ago. We shall rejoice in the reformation and renewal of our Republic, and give thanks to those who sacrificed so much the past four years to make it happen. The evil scourge of Slavery is no more in this great land, and in its place Liberty and Equality reign supreme.”
A telegram was then sent to Acting President Brandt in Franklin and to Congress, which held an emergency session to approve the readmittance of the Confederal States. By the time the sun sets on April 1st, the Confederation ceases to exist, and the New Union is boosted with the admission of 7 new states.
Clemens, Victor. 100 Years of Confederation: Celebrating New England’s Rebellion Against Slavery, 1859-1863. Boston, MA: Kennedy Publishers, 1953
----- MILITARY DISTRICTS ESTABLISHED
FRANKLIN - Secretary of War Rutherford Fraser announced today that the Army has established “districts of military governance” for the former states of the Slaver Union. These districts will be governed by a single military governor, and for the most part will consist of multiple states. These districts will remain in place until the former states draft new constitutions that support the new changes to the U.S. Constitution that have been passed this spring in the wake of the War. District 1 will consist of Jefferson, Arkansas, and Louisiana, and be headquartered in New Orleans. District 2 will consist of Mississippi, and is expected to be short lived, as the Negros of that state have been hard at work drafting a new constitution to bring a new, black dominated Mississippi into the New Union. District 3 will consist of Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and be headquartered in Mobile. District 4 will consist of North and South Carolina, and be headquartered in Charleston. In these districts, regular law has been suspended, and citizens are subject to military justice.
Up until today, each state had been individually administered by Army officers in the state capitals. Military command wanted to break the hold of the old political class by creating multi-state jurisdictions and moving the headquarters to non-political cities.
“Military Districts Established,” Franklin Observer, May 12, 1863.
----- HAMILTON III TO LEAD NEW YORK CITY
ALBANY - The New York State Legislature today appointed Alexander Hamilton III as “Special State Administrator for New York County,” and declared that the military administration of Manhattan to be at an end. Administrator Hamilton will take up offices at Castle Clinton, where he is to administer a city in ruin. It is estimated that during the past four years of war, nearly 90% of the structures on Manhattan were destroyed, and most of those surviving are on the north, rural end of the island and away from the city. For over a year, since the fall of Slaver forces in March of 1862, the island has been used as a defacto military base for Confederal and British troops. Much of the debris have been removed to the west side of the island (a more permanent fate yet to be found), and Lower Manhattan now “boasts” huge open spaces where a thriving city once stood. Majority of the citizens of New York City have fled to the cities of Brooklyn, Westchester, West Farms, and Yonkers, and various communities in Queens County. Hamilton has been tasked with overseeing the rebuilding of New York City, and has been given a mandate of authority that is not to exceed 15 years. The state leaders hope that, by 1878 the city can be on its own two feet again and on the road to recovery.
“Hamilton III to Lead New York City,” Brooklyn Standard, July 20. 1863.
----- OUTRAGE! HAWTHORNE GIVEN ASYLUM IN BRITISH MICHIGAN!
FRANKLIN - In a special announcement given today at Washington House, Acting President Brandt declared that former Slaver leader James Hawthorne would be pardoned of all crimes, “real and alleged,” so long as he left the United States within thirty days. Brandt went on to explain that the Governor of British Michigan has offered asylum to Hawthorne in his territory, something that the British Ambassador has also confirmed has been approved of by Queen’s government in London.
Democrats in the capital are calling this a master stroke of diplomacy and peacekeeping, saying that a trial and punishment of Hawthorne would only turn him into a martyr for the South, and possibly lead to renewed unrest. However, many Federalist congressmen are crying foul, saying that Hawthorne needs to pay for the crimes committed by him and his government that led the nation into four years of war.
“Outrage! Hawthorne Given Asylum in British Michigan!” Boston Eagle, August 24, 1863.
-----
From the time Hugo Brandt became “Acting President” in May of 1860, there was no Presidential Guard for the “New Union.” What was left of the original Guard served “Old Union” President James Hawthorne, and when he and his administration fled Franklin in May of 1861, half the Guard went to Atlanta to protect the President, and the other half, some 2,000 men, remained to protect the city from the Free State Alliance under Brandt. Those soldiers would then vacate the city in March of 1862, when the Free States marched on the city. The last of the old Guard remained loyal to Hawthorne until his surrender in December of that year, afterwhich it was disbanded by order of the Allied Armies.
Once peace was established and order began to be restored in 1863, Brandt began the work of reestablishing the Guard. Working with Secretary of War Rutherford Fraser and General of the Armies Nathaniel Wilburn, the groundwork was laid for reviving the organization. It was decided that 100 men from each state would serve in the new Guard, and they had to prove they were among the best in the Army. Starting in April of 1863, Wilburn had his subordinates screen men throughout the country, and by the end of the summer, they had their men. In a grand celebration on September 1st, 1863, the Presidential Guard was reinstated. There was a grand parade on South Union Avenue in Franklin, and Acting President Brandt stood on the North Balcony of Washington House to review the troops. Red, White and Blue bunting adorned every building from President’s Square to the Ohio River.
The new guard would consist of 3,100 soldiers in 1863 (expanding as new states in the west were admitted as the 19th century wore on). Although their primary objective was the protection of the President, they also stood guard at the Federal Congress Hall, the Supreme Court, and the War Office. Part of the Guard would be assigned to ceremonial duties and be housed at the Guard Barracks located on President’s Square, while the rest would be housed at nearby Fort Washington where they would train and rotate out with the ceremonial positions. In addition, men from the guard were assigned to the Bank of the United States, and served as guards at the main facility in Franklin and also oversaw larger shipments of gold throughout the country as needed.
Sacks, Porter, Gen. 150 Years on Watch: The Presidential Guard, 1839-1988. Brooklyn, NY: Harper Brother’s, 1988.
----- OHIO RIVER TO BE BRIDGED
FRANKLIN - In a ceremony on the South Bank of the Ohio River, Acting President Brandt announced that work would soon begin on a bridge that would link the north and south ends of Union Avenue in the nation’s capital. Ever since the plan for the city of Franklin was developed back in 1818, it had been understood that as soon as engineering know-how made it possible, the central thoroughfare of the capital city would be linked by a massive bridge across the mighty Ohio River. Recently, engineers from the firm Hawkins and Row of Pennsylvania have come up with a plan for a new type of bridge, called a “suspension bridge,” where large towers would be built on either side of the river to anchor giant metal cables, from which the roadway would be “suspended.” The firm approached Congress and President Brandt earlier this year about their plan, which has now been approved.
Construction on the bridge, to be named the George Washington Bridge, will start in the Spring of 1864, and is expected to take between seven and ten years to complete. It has been expressed that authorities in Franklin hope that the the new bridge will be open and fully operational by the time the nation celebrates its centennial in 1876.
“Ohio River to be Bridged,” Brooklyn Standard, September 27, 1863.
----- GOVERNOR BLACK SHOT!
JEFFERSON CITY - Governor Joshua Black, who had just returned from a meeting in neighboring Alabama where he was helping the Freedmen’s Party in that state start organizing a convention to create a new state government in the next year, was shot at the central train station here in Jefferson City. The governor was rushed to a military hospital nearby, where he has been under constant care (and 24-hour guard, by both Federal soldiers and old NAR militiamen). Lt. Governor Thomas Newman has stated that he is assuming temporary control until Black’s condition becomes more clear. Thousands are expected to pack the cities churches tonight to pray for the recovery of “The Commander.”
Joshua Black has been the leader of the Freedmen’s community in Mississippi and much of the South since he started the uprising in 1862 that led to the establishment of the short-lived New Africa Republic. He has been Governor of Mississippi since July.
“Governor Black Shot!” The Freedmen’s Press (Jefferson City/Joshuaville, MI), October 3, 1863.
----- MISSISSIPPI NEGRO GOVERNOR STEPS DOWN
JEFFERSON CITY, MISS - Two weeks after being shot by a Slaver sympathizer at the train station in Jefferson City, Mississippi, Joshua Black, the nation’s first Negro Governor of any state, has announced that he is stepping down to recover from the wound he received in his shoulder. There is still fear of infection, and his doctors and friends insisted that Black needed to step down and convalesce for the good of his health. Lt. Governor of Mississippi Thomas Newman, a compatriot of Black from the slave uprising of 1862, has been sworn in as Governor.
Military commanders across the South are reporting a noticeable uptick in violence between Whites and Negros across their jurisdictions since the October 3 shooting of Governor Black. Several times, soldiers have had to square off with mobs of Freedmen out for vengeance. One incident in Alabama resulted in 10 soldiers and 35 Freedmen dead in the streets of Mobile. There has been a steady uptick in whites that are moving West, a stream that has already been pretty constant since the Slaver’s capitulation in 1862.
“Mississippi Negro Governor Steps Down.” Franklin Observer, October 18, 1863.
-----
The modern holiday of Thanksgiving began the year after the War Between the States. It had been an on-again, off-again tradition dating back to the founding of the Republic, for government leaders to declare a day of thanksgiving to celebrate the end of the harvest season, the dates of which would vary from year to year and state to state, anywhere from mid-October to late November. Several times in the 1850s, Presidents Haines and Lee had called for national days of thanksgiving in the fall.
As Summer 1863 began to transition to autumn, there was a growing campaign for the nation to have a day of thanksgiving to properly celebrate the end of war and mourn those lost. President Brandt’s office was flooded with letters coming from all over the North and Midwest asking for such a day. So, on October 4th of that year, President Brandt signed a proclamation making the November 1st, the first Sunday in November, the official National Day of Thanksgiving and Remembrance. When the day arrived, President Brandt and members of the Federal government attended a special service held in the still incomplete National Chapel in Franklin. That afternoon, the President hosted the Cabinet Secretaries, the First Secretary and other senior members of Congress, along with various other officials and their families at Washington House for a Thanksgiving banquet that has since become a national tradition. After the feast, Brandt gave an address to crowds of people from the North Balcony of the executive residence that was reprinted over the following week across the country.
Across the country, families attended special Thanksgiving services in churches big and small, and then went home to a family feast. Many people wrote to newspapers and congressmen following the event, saying that they enjoyed this holiday and hoped that it would be repeated. And it would. The following year, Congress passed the National Day of Thanksgiving Act, declaring the first Sunday in November to be the holiday’s permanent date from then on.
Hampton, Sally, Dr. America’s Holiday: The Story of Thanksgiving Day. Boston, OR: Western Press House, 1997.
----- PORTMAN DEAD OF FLU!
BOSTON - The Portman family announced today that Ulysses Portman, longtime Massachusetts statesman and former President of the Confederation of American States during the recent War, has passed away after contracting the flu shortly after the National Day of Thanksgiving last month. According to his widow, Sarah Portman, her husband had been bedridden for several weeks, and for the past three days had been in and out of consciousness. In her account, Mrs. Portman said that early this morning Mr. Portman awoke, looked at her and said, “we did it Sarah, the slaves are free,” and then went back to sleep, passing about an hour later at just after 6.
Governor Hamlin has already stated that a state of mourning will be declared throughout Massachusetts, and he suspects the rest of the New England states of the old Confederation will do the same.
“Portman Dead of Flu!” Boston Eagle, December 10, 1863.
----- BRANDT TO ATTEND PORTMAN FUNERAL
FRANKLIN - Acting President Brandt proclaimed a national state of mourning for the whole of the United States for the next month in honor of the passing of Ulysses Portman, the former leader of the Confederal States during the War. Washington House and other government buldings are to be draped in black, and flags across the nation are to be flown at half mast. After the proclamation, Brandt announced that he was leaving for Boston soon, to attend the funeral that is to be held on the 17th.
“Brandt to Attend Portman Funeral,” Brooklyn Standard, December 12, 1863.
Some notes:
- Terms for the war: by present day, "The War Between the States" is almost universal. Terms such as the "Abolitionist War," (enjoyed popularity among pro-Southern communities in the late 19th and early 20th centuries), the "War of Reformation," (popular in New England for a time), and the "Anti-Slaver War," (popular in Democratic-leaning states in the North and Midwest) have all fallen out of style for the more neutral "War Between the States."
- Terms for the two sides in the war: by present day, most people refer to the North as the "New Union," occasionally acknowledging the separate CAS as the "Confederal States." The South is usually referred to as the "Slaver Union," except in old pro-Southern communities, where is is usually called the "Old Union."
- The newspapers: All made up, as most OTL newspapers that are famous today got their start in the 1850s or later. The ones I'm using here will mostly continue into the 20th century as national papers of record. There will be a major competition between the Brooklyn Standard and soon-to-be-reconstituted New York Sentinel starting in the 1870s.
- Gigadohi: Looked up the Cherokee words for "red" (gige) and "land" (gadohi) and merged them, similar to how "Oklahoma" was created OTL. Postal abbreviation: GG
- Jefferson City/Joshuaville: OTL Jackson. In OTL, the city wasn't founded until 1821, and named after Andrew Jackson, who isn't known for anything ITTL. So, I had the city named Jefferson City instead in honor of Republican favorite Thomas Jefferson. In 1863, the city is still called Jefferson City, but after Joshua Black's death in the 1880s, the city will be renamed Joshuaville in his honor. ALSO, since Michigan isn't in the US ITTL, the postal code for Mississippi is MI.
EDIT, 4/29/17: Changed the British Treaty to include multiple infrastructure projects.