The Grey
- Thread starter herricks
- Start date
It did, to an extent (and political infighting lol). The oldest road in ontario (Dundas street, or hwy 5) runs from windsor opposite detroit, via London ontario to Toronto and kingston. Fairly flat but it still crosses the escarpment just to the north of Hamilton, down a fairly steep cut (i drive that cut everyday from hamilton to missisauga for work). Most of the route is fairly flat though it does go through swampy terrain. Most of southern ontario is broadly rolling hills, with the escarpment cutting through it from tobermory to niagara. Most of the escarpment is worn away to the point its indistinguishable from the rest of the hills in ontario. Its only in my area (Hamilton, Burlington, dundas) that it becomes a series of tall cliffs cut by nature and engineers with gullies and transverable road cuts and that terrain stretches to niagara falls. And not that I want to help americans trash my province, but if I had to invade ontario and strike for toronto against determined opposition, i'd go from detroit down dundas street. It however gives the Imperial forces time to gather and fight the americans in open country, as well as time to set up defenses in the escarpment line. I'd only go the niagara route with one army if I knew there were no defences or naval forces on the great lakes. The naval forces in the great lakes need to be overcome to successfully take the province though.
I apologize for such a long delay in making a new post. I hope yall still enjoy
You win some you Lose some
As Rosecrans reinforced his army for the assault of Richmond General Early was also getting some much needed help. At the time of America's entrance into the war General Longstreet had been in the process of returning from Cuba with 60,000 men to fight Mexico. By the time the war expanded roughly 50,000 battle trained troops had arrived in Georgia and South Carolina and now these troops task was to protect the capital. Before Longstreet could arrive with his entire army however Rosecrans attacked again on June 19 at the Battle of Goochland Courthouse. Only having received 15,000 raw recruits as reinforcements General Early was once again vastly outnumbered by more than 4-1. Though the Confederates would fight valiantly to fend off the Americans they just couldn't stop the American onslaught and by the end of the day they were withdrawing to Richmond. Early's 25,000 troops wouldn't be the only ones defending the capital. Richmond had a capital guard of another 20,000 not including police and militia. With over 100,000 US troops converging on the capital however they were still outnumbered nearly 2-1. That wasn't enough of a larger force for Rosecrans to risk a street fight across the Confederate capital however, so instead Rosecrans besieged the city and called in more reserves. By mid July the Siege of Richmond was fully in place. Though the capital was now cut off the majority of the Confederate government had managed to escape the siege. President Davis however hadn't. His vice president however. John C. Breckenridge wasn't as he had been in Montgomery when the Americans had invaded. When it looked like Richmond could fall he had been ordered to remain in Columbia, South Carolina. Though Davis remained president Breckenridge would become acting president over the rest of the country from the intern capital in Columbia.
Though Richmond had been besieged the war on the eastern theater continued. With reserves taking over the Siege of Richmond General Rosecrans resumed the march south on August 7. General Longstreet however was moving his growing army, named the Army of the Roanoke, as fast as he could to take the fight to the Americans and save the capital. Longstreet hoped to reach the Americans before they got out of Virginia, however in late August Rosecrans invaded North Carolina. General Rosecrans as moving quickly to capture the state capital of Raleigh and if need be continue into South Carolina to end the war quickly. Longstreet was intent on halting he American advance however and on September 2 the to armys met near Chapel Hill. The Battle of Chapel Hill was the largest battle to be fought in North Carolina with over 60,000 Confederates engaging just under 100,000 American troops. For to days the Battle of Chapel Hill raged as waves of blue and gray clashed. Though the Confederates lacked the numbers that the Americans had they made up for it in ferocity. Finally in the late afternoon of the second day the Americans had had enough and began to withdraw ending the incursion into North Carolina. Now it was Rosecrans turn to be on the defensive. On October 10 Longstreet would attack Rosecrans I Corps under Major General Joesph Hooker at the Battle of Danville where he forced their retreat again. On November 9 however the Americans got their act together and defeated Longstreet at the Battle of Lynchburg ending the Confederate counteroffensive. Following Lynchburg the war in Virginia began to die for the winter with the last significant engagement being on November 29 in a cavalry engagement in the Battle of Roanoke which the Confederacy won.
In the Western Theater Burnside was planning a rapid drive across Tennessee towards the Georgia border. On July 19 the Army of Illinois assaulted the strategic city of Nashville with 80,000 men. With Richmond threatened few troops were moving to this theater of the war so General Hill had only 45,000 men to defend Nashville. Hill however had been fortifying the city as quickly as possible in preparation for the American attack and gave the Confederates a good defensive position. For four days the Battle of Nashville raged as the Americans were forced to dislodge the Confederates street by street. Though he eventually achieved victory in the engagement Burnside's army had suffered nearly 30,000 casualties and further actions were put on hold for more than a month not moving until early September. On September 10 Burnside moved out again in his campaign across Tennessee. Since Nashville General Hill had encamped his army in Murfreesboro and by the time the Americans reached it the town was heavily fortified with miles of trenches and fortifications constructed. The Battle of Murfreesboro would begin on September 15 as American artillery began shelling the Confederate lines. Though the Army of Illinois had suffered many casualties in its assaults on the Confederacy at Nashville Burnside ordered the same frontal attacks here despite protesting of some of his subordinates such as Major General's Winfield Scott Hancock and George Thomas. For three days the battle raged as wave after wave of blue slammed into thousands of soldiers in grey. Though the Confederacy was forced back in many places they never broke and as the third day of intense fighting the Americans were exhausted. As night fell on the battlefield General Burnside ordered the army to begin withdrawing from Murfreesboro. For his failure at Murfreesboro Burnside would be relieved of his command on November 3 being replaced by George Thomas. Though he gained a large victory for the Confederacy General Hill wouldn't see it as late in the third day a faulty cannon would explode near Hill. While initially it as thought that his injuries were minor, he had internal injuries and would die during the night. Two days later newly promoted Lieutenant General Stonewall Jackson was given command of the Army of the Cumberland.
Though the Royal Navy still far outnumbered the US Navy much of it was tied up in trying to keep Europe and the French and Italian navies pinned down. On June 23 a fleet of 4 ironclad battleships, 4 ironclad monitors, 5 wooden frigates, and 8 other vessels neared Louisiana. The Confederate Navy had only a single ironclad battleship at New Orleans ready to sail but it did have 8 ironclad monitors, 4 wooden frigates, and 5 other vessels. As the Americans near the Confederates would engage in the Battle of the Head of the Passes that was the first ever fleet engagement for the Confederate Navy and would end in defeat. Though they did sink or take out of action a battleship, two monitors, and a frigate they lost their battleship, four monitors, two frigates, and three other vessels though luckily most managed to escape to Galveston and Mobile. Two weeks later 20,000 of what would be 40,000 US soldiers under Major General Benjamin Butler landed in Plaquemines Parish and assisted the navy in the Battles of Forts Jackson and St. Philip which opened up New Orleans to attack. On July 12 the Confederacy's second largest city, after Richmond, fell to US forces after a brief but bloody fight.
At the beginning of the American invasion of the Confederacy Major General Robert E. Lee had been in Jackson, Mississippi overseeing the 30,000 troops preparing to move into Texas. With the US entering the war many of these troops had been diverted to Arkansas and Tennessee with Lee having little more than a Brigade and had been placed on standby. With the Americans invading Louisiana Lee was the most senior officer near this new front, Major General Richard Taylor had been captured at Fort Jackson, and began moving into Louisiana. Lee began rallying the scattered regular and state militia units as he entered the state but by the time he reached Alexandria he had roughly 18,000 men to combat the nearly 40,000 that Butler had. That wouldn't stop him however and on August 1 engaged the Americans in the Battle of Yellow Bayou in the first major battle to occur on Louisiana soil since the War of 1812. For eight hours the battle raged as Butler tried to use his over 2-1 numerical advantage to crush the Confederate force. Butler however had never confronted someone like Lee who despite his small force would repeatedly pound the Americans and near the fights end successfully cut off and captured over 5000 American soldiers. The Battle of Yellow Bayou would end in an astounding victory for the Confederacy and Butler was forced to retreat to Baton Rouge. The Americans wouldn't have much of a rest however as Lee would attack him again a week later this time with 25,000 men at the Battle of Baton Rouge where he again landed a decisive defeat on Butler. In these two major engagement Butler had lost more than half his force and was desperately trying to reach the relative safety of New Orleans. On September 2 however Lee successfully outflanked Butler and got in between him and New Orleans at Whitehall. The Battle of Whitehall would last only five hours before Butler called a ceasefire and surrendered to the Confederacy. Barely 5000 of Butlers men would escape to New Orleans where the navy would pick them up and on October 8 begin to withdraw from the city and with it Louisiana itself. Though numbers wise the Louisiana Campaign was a minor one, the Confederate victory in it was a massive blow to the US's strategy in the war and propelled Lee to international fame.
The Siege of Pine Bluff would go on for more than two months as Hardee repeated tried to breakout of the American lines. Try as he would though he just didn't have the manpower to succeed. On August 14 with supplies running low Hardee surrendered opening up most of Arkansas. With Hardee's force out of the picture General Logan turned his army towards the main target of Memphis. For the rest of August Logan slowly moved back north towards his target. Though there were some efforts to stop them none were able to and on September 2 he reached his target. The Battle of Memphis began on September 5 as Logan's force, along with the American Riverine squadron that had broke through from St. Louis, began to bombard the city. Memphis was guarded by 16,000 volunteers and though vastly outnumbered they fought hard and would hold the Americans at bay for nearly a week before they finally abandoned the city. Logan's army had been badly mauled during the fight and could not continue past Memphis for nearly a month. Finally on October 10 the Americans, now strengthened to 40,000, could move out again and now were targeting the strategic town of Corinth, Mississippi. The Army of Missouri moved across southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi for two weeks moving slowly towards their target. On October 26 Logan reached his objective. He as however in for a rude surprise.
Upon destroying General Butler's army General Lee immediately began preparing to move to challenge Logan. With 20,000 troops Lee began moving north as quickly as possible. By the time he had reached his army was nearer 30,000 being reinforced by troops guarding Corinth and as soon as Logan's army neared he attacked beginning the Battle of Corinth. For nine hours the battle raged as Logan tried to destroy Lee's smaller force. The lands around Corinth would be devastated by the bloody fighting but finally it ended as Logan retreated and withdrew his force to Memphis.
General Johnston invaded Mexico on June 16. His target was Monterrey which he hoped would force the Mexicans to the negotiating table. Though the Texas Campaign had been disastrous for the Mexican Army it still had somewhere around 60,000 men standing in Johnston's way. The first action would be on July 1 at the Battle of Vallecillo where General Diaz attempted to halt the Confederate advance. Although he would hold the Confederates at bay for more than a day he couldn't stop them and would be forced to withdraw from the field. For the next two weeks Diaz would fight only delaying actions against Johnston as he tried to give those in Monterrey as much time as possible to build defenses. Finally on July 19 these defenses were put to the test as the Battle of Monterrey began. The Mexicans were determined to hold the Confederates at bay and save Monterrey. For over a week the Battle of Monterrey raged as the Confederates were forced to fight street to street in bloody bitter fighting. Over 20,000 military casualties would be made during the engagement and though General Johnston finally succeeded in capturing the city his army as exhausted and drained thus allowing Diaz to withdraw his forces in good order towards Saltillo. With so many men needed to combat the Americans it would be December before Johnston could move again.
Following his defeat at Puyallup Freemont would hold off on further attacks for over a month before finally setting off again. This time he attacked Tacoma with 22,000 troops. With only about 13,000 troops in Tacoma the Anglo-Canadians had a severe numerical disadvantage. Despite this they fought hard. For seven hours the Battle of Tacoma occurred before they finally withdrew from the town shortly after nightfall. From there General Freemont set his sights on Seattle. Seattle was the best fortified British settlement on the west coast and taking it would seriously hamper Britain's ability to wage war in the region. Because of this Britain had 25,000 men guarding the city and that was only growing as the troops from Tacoma began arriving. But the city had to be taken however and General Freemont began preparing to assault. The Battle of Seattle began on September 8 as the Army of California began its assault on British defenses. For a week Seattle was witness to almost constant bloody fighting. Thousands in red and blue fell in bloody heaps. The front would moved at most half a mile back and forth dozens of times throughout the battle but neither side could really overtake the other. By September 15 both sides were exhausted but the Americans moreso. Running low on both men and material General Freemont began to order his army to withdraw and by the morning of the 16th the Battle of Seattle was over and the city remaining in British hands. With more troops needed elsewhere, especially in the southwest where the US was taking over occupation for Mexico, Freemont wouldn't mount another assault for the remainder of the year.
As soon as General Grants army was reinforced he resumed his assault on Toronto on July 4. Instead of taking the most direct route to Toronto Grant instead chose to move deeper inland in his assault. This was mainly due to the Navy's inability to defeat the Anglo-Canadians Great Lakes squadrons in the First Battle of Lake Ontario in mid June. Though Britain and Canada were putting a lot of men into the Toronto Front they were still vastly outnumbered by the Americans. On July 19 they were defeated again by Grant in the Battle of Guelph though they did manage to halt his advance for two days to recuperate. The Army of New York was now in spitting distance of Toronto and the British knew it. On July 27 Grant began moving towards Halton Hills. General Wolseley had amassed his largest army yet of 55,000 though was still outnumbered by the Americans and had entrenched himself here to make a stand against them. For four days the Battle of Halton Hills would go on and see some of the bitterest fighting ever seen in Canada, over 15,000 men would die because of this battle with even more wounded. By the end of it though Wolseley's men still held their positions and Grant was reluctantly forced to withdraw. The Battle of Halton Hills would bring about the end of the First Toronto Campaign and on August 20 Grant was ordered to withdraw from the Niagara Peninsula and Ontario. The terrain had been as much an enemy as the opposing forces had so now they were being rerouted to launch a second invasion, this time from Detroit.
On July 10 after near threats from President Foster and Washington General McClellan finally got back on the move. Now with close to 80,000 men he moved towards Ottawa albeit slowly. McClellan outnumbered van Straubenzee's army by over 30,000 but that did not stop the British general from challenging him yet again on July 22 at the First Battle of Kemptville. Though he had a great numerical advantage McClellan was still cautious and slow in his moves convinced that van Straubenzee had more men enroute to the battle. This gave van Straubenzee he shouldn't have and he was quick to take it. He moved his men attacking in several different spots along the American line before on late morning of the second day he began to force the Americans back and by mid afternoon they had begun to break. Instead of using his superior number to try and halt the British advance at about 6pm McClellan had had enough and ordered a full retreat. McClellan retreated almost all the way to the Saint Lawrence before finally stopping. His defeat in the First Battle of Kemptville was the last straw and on August 19 McClellan was given the boot and was replaced by Major General Joesph Hooker. General Hooker was ready to move quickly and end the year from a position of strength. He moved out from Cornwall moving northwest with 70,000 troops on September 9. He was moving quickly to catch the British off guard however in doing so he was stretching out his army. This would prove a mistake when on September 16 Anglo-Canadian forces attacked Hookers forward I Corps near Casselman thereby giving them the numerical advantage. The Battle of Casselman would last three days. The first day van Straubenzee's men rolled back the I Corps several miles only stopping when the rest of Hookers army arrived. Hooker was planning a counterattack to begin the next morning. Before it could begin however a Canadian division attacked Hookers flank which had been weakened by the moved troops in anticipation for the counterattack. Within three hours over 2000 Americans had been captured and a whole section of the Army of Vermont was in retreat. The Americans still had the numbers however and the officers were wanting to counterattack but Hooker gave no orders and it was like he was in a daze from a near miss from a shell or blow to the head. Though his III Corps commander Major General Nathaniel Banks eventually took charge the situation had already deteriorated too much and by the third day was forced to retreat from the battle and withdrew to the border. For complete failure Hooker was relieved of command and sent to the frontier to combat Indians and General Banks was given the Army of Vermont.
1866 was an election year for the Confederacy and despite the invasion the country was intent on continuing with being a democracy. On November 6,1866 the presidential election took places all areas not under occupation. Not surprisingly Vice President Breckenridge, who had already been de facto running the country since the Siege of Richmond began would win in a landslide taking all states but Florida. Come March 4 of the next year he would officially become the fourth president of the Confederacy.
You win some you Lose some
As Rosecrans reinforced his army for the assault of Richmond General Early was also getting some much needed help. At the time of America's entrance into the war General Longstreet had been in the process of returning from Cuba with 60,000 men to fight Mexico. By the time the war expanded roughly 50,000 battle trained troops had arrived in Georgia and South Carolina and now these troops task was to protect the capital. Before Longstreet could arrive with his entire army however Rosecrans attacked again on June 19 at the Battle of Goochland Courthouse. Only having received 15,000 raw recruits as reinforcements General Early was once again vastly outnumbered by more than 4-1. Though the Confederates would fight valiantly to fend off the Americans they just couldn't stop the American onslaught and by the end of the day they were withdrawing to Richmond. Early's 25,000 troops wouldn't be the only ones defending the capital. Richmond had a capital guard of another 20,000 not including police and militia. With over 100,000 US troops converging on the capital however they were still outnumbered nearly 2-1. That wasn't enough of a larger force for Rosecrans to risk a street fight across the Confederate capital however, so instead Rosecrans besieged the city and called in more reserves. By mid July the Siege of Richmond was fully in place. Though the capital was now cut off the majority of the Confederate government had managed to escape the siege. President Davis however hadn't. His vice president however. John C. Breckenridge wasn't as he had been in Montgomery when the Americans had invaded. When it looked like Richmond could fall he had been ordered to remain in Columbia, South Carolina. Though Davis remained president Breckenridge would become acting president over the rest of the country from the intern capital in Columbia.
Though Richmond had been besieged the war on the eastern theater continued. With reserves taking over the Siege of Richmond General Rosecrans resumed the march south on August 7. General Longstreet however was moving his growing army, named the Army of the Roanoke, as fast as he could to take the fight to the Americans and save the capital. Longstreet hoped to reach the Americans before they got out of Virginia, however in late August Rosecrans invaded North Carolina. General Rosecrans as moving quickly to capture the state capital of Raleigh and if need be continue into South Carolina to end the war quickly. Longstreet was intent on halting he American advance however and on September 2 the to armys met near Chapel Hill. The Battle of Chapel Hill was the largest battle to be fought in North Carolina with over 60,000 Confederates engaging just under 100,000 American troops. For to days the Battle of Chapel Hill raged as waves of blue and gray clashed. Though the Confederates lacked the numbers that the Americans had they made up for it in ferocity. Finally in the late afternoon of the second day the Americans had had enough and began to withdraw ending the incursion into North Carolina. Now it was Rosecrans turn to be on the defensive. On October 10 Longstreet would attack Rosecrans I Corps under Major General Joesph Hooker at the Battle of Danville where he forced their retreat again. On November 9 however the Americans got their act together and defeated Longstreet at the Battle of Lynchburg ending the Confederate counteroffensive. Following Lynchburg the war in Virginia began to die for the winter with the last significant engagement being on November 29 in a cavalry engagement in the Battle of Roanoke which the Confederacy won.
In the Western Theater Burnside was planning a rapid drive across Tennessee towards the Georgia border. On July 19 the Army of Illinois assaulted the strategic city of Nashville with 80,000 men. With Richmond threatened few troops were moving to this theater of the war so General Hill had only 45,000 men to defend Nashville. Hill however had been fortifying the city as quickly as possible in preparation for the American attack and gave the Confederates a good defensive position. For four days the Battle of Nashville raged as the Americans were forced to dislodge the Confederates street by street. Though he eventually achieved victory in the engagement Burnside's army had suffered nearly 30,000 casualties and further actions were put on hold for more than a month not moving until early September. On September 10 Burnside moved out again in his campaign across Tennessee. Since Nashville General Hill had encamped his army in Murfreesboro and by the time the Americans reached it the town was heavily fortified with miles of trenches and fortifications constructed. The Battle of Murfreesboro would begin on September 15 as American artillery began shelling the Confederate lines. Though the Army of Illinois had suffered many casualties in its assaults on the Confederacy at Nashville Burnside ordered the same frontal attacks here despite protesting of some of his subordinates such as Major General's Winfield Scott Hancock and George Thomas. For three days the battle raged as wave after wave of blue slammed into thousands of soldiers in grey. Though the Confederacy was forced back in many places they never broke and as the third day of intense fighting the Americans were exhausted. As night fell on the battlefield General Burnside ordered the army to begin withdrawing from Murfreesboro. For his failure at Murfreesboro Burnside would be relieved of his command on November 3 being replaced by George Thomas. Though he gained a large victory for the Confederacy General Hill wouldn't see it as late in the third day a faulty cannon would explode near Hill. While initially it as thought that his injuries were minor, he had internal injuries and would die during the night. Two days later newly promoted Lieutenant General Stonewall Jackson was given command of the Army of the Cumberland.
Though the Royal Navy still far outnumbered the US Navy much of it was tied up in trying to keep Europe and the French and Italian navies pinned down. On June 23 a fleet of 4 ironclad battleships, 4 ironclad monitors, 5 wooden frigates, and 8 other vessels neared Louisiana. The Confederate Navy had only a single ironclad battleship at New Orleans ready to sail but it did have 8 ironclad monitors, 4 wooden frigates, and 5 other vessels. As the Americans near the Confederates would engage in the Battle of the Head of the Passes that was the first ever fleet engagement for the Confederate Navy and would end in defeat. Though they did sink or take out of action a battleship, two monitors, and a frigate they lost their battleship, four monitors, two frigates, and three other vessels though luckily most managed to escape to Galveston and Mobile. Two weeks later 20,000 of what would be 40,000 US soldiers under Major General Benjamin Butler landed in Plaquemines Parish and assisted the navy in the Battles of Forts Jackson and St. Philip which opened up New Orleans to attack. On July 12 the Confederacy's second largest city, after Richmond, fell to US forces after a brief but bloody fight.
At the beginning of the American invasion of the Confederacy Major General Robert E. Lee had been in Jackson, Mississippi overseeing the 30,000 troops preparing to move into Texas. With the US entering the war many of these troops had been diverted to Arkansas and Tennessee with Lee having little more than a Brigade and had been placed on standby. With the Americans invading Louisiana Lee was the most senior officer near this new front, Major General Richard Taylor had been captured at Fort Jackson, and began moving into Louisiana. Lee began rallying the scattered regular and state militia units as he entered the state but by the time he reached Alexandria he had roughly 18,000 men to combat the nearly 40,000 that Butler had. That wouldn't stop him however and on August 1 engaged the Americans in the Battle of Yellow Bayou in the first major battle to occur on Louisiana soil since the War of 1812. For eight hours the battle raged as Butler tried to use his over 2-1 numerical advantage to crush the Confederate force. Butler however had never confronted someone like Lee who despite his small force would repeatedly pound the Americans and near the fights end successfully cut off and captured over 5000 American soldiers. The Battle of Yellow Bayou would end in an astounding victory for the Confederacy and Butler was forced to retreat to Baton Rouge. The Americans wouldn't have much of a rest however as Lee would attack him again a week later this time with 25,000 men at the Battle of Baton Rouge where he again landed a decisive defeat on Butler. In these two major engagement Butler had lost more than half his force and was desperately trying to reach the relative safety of New Orleans. On September 2 however Lee successfully outflanked Butler and got in between him and New Orleans at Whitehall. The Battle of Whitehall would last only five hours before Butler called a ceasefire and surrendered to the Confederacy. Barely 5000 of Butlers men would escape to New Orleans where the navy would pick them up and on October 8 begin to withdraw from the city and with it Louisiana itself. Though numbers wise the Louisiana Campaign was a minor one, the Confederate victory in it was a massive blow to the US's strategy in the war and propelled Lee to international fame.
The Siege of Pine Bluff would go on for more than two months as Hardee repeated tried to breakout of the American lines. Try as he would though he just didn't have the manpower to succeed. On August 14 with supplies running low Hardee surrendered opening up most of Arkansas. With Hardee's force out of the picture General Logan turned his army towards the main target of Memphis. For the rest of August Logan slowly moved back north towards his target. Though there were some efforts to stop them none were able to and on September 2 he reached his target. The Battle of Memphis began on September 5 as Logan's force, along with the American Riverine squadron that had broke through from St. Louis, began to bombard the city. Memphis was guarded by 16,000 volunteers and though vastly outnumbered they fought hard and would hold the Americans at bay for nearly a week before they finally abandoned the city. Logan's army had been badly mauled during the fight and could not continue past Memphis for nearly a month. Finally on October 10 the Americans, now strengthened to 40,000, could move out again and now were targeting the strategic town of Corinth, Mississippi. The Army of Missouri moved across southern Tennessee and northern Mississippi for two weeks moving slowly towards their target. On October 26 Logan reached his objective. He as however in for a rude surprise.
Upon destroying General Butler's army General Lee immediately began preparing to move to challenge Logan. With 20,000 troops Lee began moving north as quickly as possible. By the time he had reached his army was nearer 30,000 being reinforced by troops guarding Corinth and as soon as Logan's army neared he attacked beginning the Battle of Corinth. For nine hours the battle raged as Logan tried to destroy Lee's smaller force. The lands around Corinth would be devastated by the bloody fighting but finally it ended as Logan retreated and withdrew his force to Memphis.
General Johnston invaded Mexico on June 16. His target was Monterrey which he hoped would force the Mexicans to the negotiating table. Though the Texas Campaign had been disastrous for the Mexican Army it still had somewhere around 60,000 men standing in Johnston's way. The first action would be on July 1 at the Battle of Vallecillo where General Diaz attempted to halt the Confederate advance. Although he would hold the Confederates at bay for more than a day he couldn't stop them and would be forced to withdraw from the field. For the next two weeks Diaz would fight only delaying actions against Johnston as he tried to give those in Monterrey as much time as possible to build defenses. Finally on July 19 these defenses were put to the test as the Battle of Monterrey began. The Mexicans were determined to hold the Confederates at bay and save Monterrey. For over a week the Battle of Monterrey raged as the Confederates were forced to fight street to street in bloody bitter fighting. Over 20,000 military casualties would be made during the engagement and though General Johnston finally succeeded in capturing the city his army as exhausted and drained thus allowing Diaz to withdraw his forces in good order towards Saltillo. With so many men needed to combat the Americans it would be December before Johnston could move again.
Following his defeat at Puyallup Freemont would hold off on further attacks for over a month before finally setting off again. This time he attacked Tacoma with 22,000 troops. With only about 13,000 troops in Tacoma the Anglo-Canadians had a severe numerical disadvantage. Despite this they fought hard. For seven hours the Battle of Tacoma occurred before they finally withdrew from the town shortly after nightfall. From there General Freemont set his sights on Seattle. Seattle was the best fortified British settlement on the west coast and taking it would seriously hamper Britain's ability to wage war in the region. Because of this Britain had 25,000 men guarding the city and that was only growing as the troops from Tacoma began arriving. But the city had to be taken however and General Freemont began preparing to assault. The Battle of Seattle began on September 8 as the Army of California began its assault on British defenses. For a week Seattle was witness to almost constant bloody fighting. Thousands in red and blue fell in bloody heaps. The front would moved at most half a mile back and forth dozens of times throughout the battle but neither side could really overtake the other. By September 15 both sides were exhausted but the Americans moreso. Running low on both men and material General Freemont began to order his army to withdraw and by the morning of the 16th the Battle of Seattle was over and the city remaining in British hands. With more troops needed elsewhere, especially in the southwest where the US was taking over occupation for Mexico, Freemont wouldn't mount another assault for the remainder of the year.
As soon as General Grants army was reinforced he resumed his assault on Toronto on July 4. Instead of taking the most direct route to Toronto Grant instead chose to move deeper inland in his assault. This was mainly due to the Navy's inability to defeat the Anglo-Canadians Great Lakes squadrons in the First Battle of Lake Ontario in mid June. Though Britain and Canada were putting a lot of men into the Toronto Front they were still vastly outnumbered by the Americans. On July 19 they were defeated again by Grant in the Battle of Guelph though they did manage to halt his advance for two days to recuperate. The Army of New York was now in spitting distance of Toronto and the British knew it. On July 27 Grant began moving towards Halton Hills. General Wolseley had amassed his largest army yet of 55,000 though was still outnumbered by the Americans and had entrenched himself here to make a stand against them. For four days the Battle of Halton Hills would go on and see some of the bitterest fighting ever seen in Canada, over 15,000 men would die because of this battle with even more wounded. By the end of it though Wolseley's men still held their positions and Grant was reluctantly forced to withdraw. The Battle of Halton Hills would bring about the end of the First Toronto Campaign and on August 20 Grant was ordered to withdraw from the Niagara Peninsula and Ontario. The terrain had been as much an enemy as the opposing forces had so now they were being rerouted to launch a second invasion, this time from Detroit.
On July 10 after near threats from President Foster and Washington General McClellan finally got back on the move. Now with close to 80,000 men he moved towards Ottawa albeit slowly. McClellan outnumbered van Straubenzee's army by over 30,000 but that did not stop the British general from challenging him yet again on July 22 at the First Battle of Kemptville. Though he had a great numerical advantage McClellan was still cautious and slow in his moves convinced that van Straubenzee had more men enroute to the battle. This gave van Straubenzee he shouldn't have and he was quick to take it. He moved his men attacking in several different spots along the American line before on late morning of the second day he began to force the Americans back and by mid afternoon they had begun to break. Instead of using his superior number to try and halt the British advance at about 6pm McClellan had had enough and ordered a full retreat. McClellan retreated almost all the way to the Saint Lawrence before finally stopping. His defeat in the First Battle of Kemptville was the last straw and on August 19 McClellan was given the boot and was replaced by Major General Joesph Hooker. General Hooker was ready to move quickly and end the year from a position of strength. He moved out from Cornwall moving northwest with 70,000 troops on September 9. He was moving quickly to catch the British off guard however in doing so he was stretching out his army. This would prove a mistake when on September 16 Anglo-Canadian forces attacked Hookers forward I Corps near Casselman thereby giving them the numerical advantage. The Battle of Casselman would last three days. The first day van Straubenzee's men rolled back the I Corps several miles only stopping when the rest of Hookers army arrived. Hooker was planning a counterattack to begin the next morning. Before it could begin however a Canadian division attacked Hookers flank which had been weakened by the moved troops in anticipation for the counterattack. Within three hours over 2000 Americans had been captured and a whole section of the Army of Vermont was in retreat. The Americans still had the numbers however and the officers were wanting to counterattack but Hooker gave no orders and it was like he was in a daze from a near miss from a shell or blow to the head. Though his III Corps commander Major General Nathaniel Banks eventually took charge the situation had already deteriorated too much and by the third day was forced to retreat from the battle and withdrew to the border. For complete failure Hooker was relieved of command and sent to the frontier to combat Indians and General Banks was given the Army of Vermont.
1866 was an election year for the Confederacy and despite the invasion the country was intent on continuing with being a democracy. On November 6,1866 the presidential election took places all areas not under occupation. Not surprisingly Vice President Breckenridge, who had already been de facto running the country since the Siege of Richmond began would win in a landslide taking all states but Florida. Come March 4 of the next year he would officially become the fourth president of the Confederacy.
I liked to see how the generals still generally act how they do as in OTL. I liked Lees entrance into the war.
Well I mean on the battlefield like with McClellan being as cautious on his advances as he was in OTL.
Well situations may change but I thought personalities would more or less remain the same
No worries, I hope I didnt overstep but this always bugs me when Americans make TLs that involve canada, they always assume (as ironically the american commanders did in the war of 1812) that invading Ontario is simply a matter of marching, when A. Canadians are just as patriotic as Americans and just as into hunting (even if we're not as into guns as Americans) and B. the terrain of ontario depending on the directions you're coming from is verrrry good for defense. Just FYI Halton hills is escarpment country. Highway 25 that goes north through milton and north into the halton hills country runs along the base of the escarpment and while the area around Milton is flat, all settlements to the north started off in this period around mills based around waterfalls (gorgeous area lol). There's stretches of country in that area that are lightly settled even today due to the difficulties of settling there due to terrain. Id say in the period of this TL, the battle of Halton Hills would be the equilavent of the Wilderness campaign that Grant fought in real life, albeit with muuuch better equiped and trained opponents (all canadian militia would at least have boots lol). Otherwise Great tl, the battle of Kemptville is very well done.
I might also say ive spent some time analyzing the capabilities of Grant and Wolsely and here's how I see it. Grant, all that he has a reputation of somebody willing to sacrifice his mens lives in the pursuit of his objectives, was actually pretty good at conserving them. He also understood the benefits of firepower. However Wolsely (who is actually the newbie in military experience at this point, compared to Grant) is the more innovative of the two, (his seizure of the suez canal is a classic example of using your enemies stupidity and terrain to defeat an enemy that outnumbers you). Hes if anything tougher then Grant and very good at getting the best result with the least amount of forces available to him (almost every campaign he fought he fought with troops then his enemy) and his understanding of logistics is superior to grant (he always fought in areas on the peripheries of settled areas, or areas where getting supplies was hard, and he was very good at setting up a great supply chain under even the toughest of situations). Southern Ontario and Quebec are at least as heavily settled as northern new york state and possess a high population for that period. In other words unless you bolster grant and the american thrust at ottawa by a lot, this invasion is dead in the water. Grant might be able to shove wolsely aside using sheer numbers (hes the more stubborn of the two), but wolsey will make him pay for each step he takes with loss ratios of 2 to 1. Just my analysis of the situation (as an arm chair military historian interested in this period, Im sorta having a nerdgasm just watching this matchup lol)
Blood flows across a continent
As the new year began General Rosecrans was determined to reverse the setbacks he had had in the previous fall. On February 17, 1867 General Rosecrans began his Second North Carolina Campaign with over 100,000 troops setting out from Petersburg. He was moving quickly to gain as much ground as possible before Longstreet could react. Longstreet was quick to pursue Rosecrans however, he had miles and miles to cross before he could catch up. For two weeks the two armies moved across southern Virginia and northern North Carolina as they moved closer together. Finally on March 4 the to came in contact in major battle at the Battle of Rocky Mount. With over 180,000 men participating in the engagement the Battle of Rocky Mount was the largest battle to yet be fought in the war. For three days the battle raged as the two armies clashed together on an epic scale. The first day fighting began in early afternoon when opposing cavalry and infantry engaged one another. The next day Longstreet attacked in force but couldn't break the American line. The next day the Confederates resumed their assault. Late in the morning though Rosecrans was misinformed that a gap had been formed in his lines. Trying to close up this supposed gap he would accidentally create a gap directly in front of a coming assault by a division led by Major General George Pickett. The attack drove a full third of the American army including Rosecrans himself. His subordinate Major General Greenville M. Dodge assumed command and and attempted to halt the Confederate attack. Though he would put forth a good effort he was unable to to regain the initiative and in the evening ordered the retreat. The Battle of Rocky Mount had been an astounding victory. Over 60,000 casualties had been caused by the engagement and had ruined Rosecrans chances to continue having an independent command. Longstreet would pursue the retreating Americans back into Virginia and engage them again at the Battle of Ream's Station on April 2 but exhausted and short on supplies were unable to achieve another dramatic victory and instead this one ended inconclusively.
General Jackson began moving on January 9 determined to drive the Americans from Tennessee. Just five days after beginning the move Jackson attacked Thomas at Franklin. The Battle of Franklin was Jackson's first independent command of an entire army and he proved his worth driving the Americans back everywhere and capturing over 10,000 and forcing them to retreat first to Nashville and then a week later into Kentucky. General Jackson would cross into Kentucky on March 1 bent on driving the Americans completely from Confederate territory in this theater. A week later the first major engagement to occur in Kentucky since shortly after the war began happened at Bowling Green. For two days the Battle of Bowling Green would spread the blood of thousands of American and Confederate alike across the ground. Unlike at Franklin, General Thomas was more prepared this time around and put up a stiffer defense. Despite this however Jackson's forces proved too powerful and on March 9 he withdrew. Jackson didn't want Thomas simply defeated however he wanted him crushed and pursued vigorously. Just five days after Bowling Green the two met again in major battle in the Battle of Glasgow. Though Jackson's men had the vigor of recent victory in them they were also exhausted and low on supplies. Thomas's men though equally tired had more in the way of both supplies and men. For twelve hours the two armies clashed nearly non stop. As night fell however the Army of the Cumberland had nearly completely exhausted their ammunition. During the night General Jackson would reluctantly begin withdrawing from the field. Though victorious in the Battle of Glasgow Thomas wouldn't hold the town. Bowling Green and Glasgow had severely depleted his supplies and manpower. Over the next few weeks he moved his army north and with additional troops crossing over the Ohio occupied Louisville on April 1, Frankfort April 8, and Lexington on April 11 creating a strong hold on roughly half of Kentucky. Stonewall wasn't out however though it took nearly a month he rebuilt and recuperated his army even moving back to Bowling Green and Glasgow as the Americans moved out. Having much of his home state, including his hometown the new President Breckenridge was adamant about the liberation of Kentucky and was ordering Jackson to do so as soon as possible. On April 27 the Army of the Cumberland set out again to rid Kentucky of the Yankee invaders. Though Jackson wished to strike directly at Louisville orders from Columbia were to move on the American strongholds of Frankfort and Lexington. Deciding on retaking the capital first Jackson moved north and on May 13 met Thomas once again in the Battle of Lawrenceburg and after two days forced him back to Frankfort. On May 28 the Battle of Frankfort began and with the number of troops and defensive trenches the Americans had it wouldn't end until mid June.
Since his withdrawal to Memphis General Logan had been heavily fortifying all land routes while the navy was making the river nearly impenetrable. Instead of making costly assaults against well made entrenchments Lee chose to lure them out by invading the north. Other than raids made into Kansas and southeast Missouri by mostly native units like Stand Watie's there had been hardly any fighting on American soil. Lee sought to change that and had begun moving much of his army into Arkansas. On February 5 Lee began his offensive moving rapidly north with 45,000 men. The Confederates quickly smashed through American occupation forces in Arkansas where the only significant engagement at the Battle of Jonesboro was an overwhelming victory by him over a far inferior American rear guard. On February 19 Lee crossed into Missouri near Neelyville marking the first time a larger Confederate army invaded the US during in the war. The move had worked and on February 12 General Logan abandoned Memphis, setting fire to anything of military use and began to pursue Lee. For weeks the pursuit moved north. Though he moved towards St. Louis General Lee was not sure that his force could successfully capture a city of more than 150,000. But if the opportunity let presented itself he wouldn't let it go to waste. Logan's force was slowly gaining ground on Lee though and by March 13 were only a few miles behind him. It was then that Lee finally decided to turn and face him at Old Mines. The Battle of Old Mines was the first major engagement on American soil of the war. For eighteen hours the battle raged as Logan tried to overrun and destroy Lee's force. As the fight drug on throughout the night it looked like he may as he forced Lee onto the defensive. As the early morning light rose however Logan got word of fighting at his rear. Shortly after Lee crossed into Missouri General Watie invaded as well with nearly10,000. Besides a slight delay after having to fight the Battle of Springfield, Watie had been moving almost undeterred to join up with Lee. Now with roughly 8500 men his was assaulting Logan from behind and now Lee began advancing once more and by late morning the Americans were in full retreat towards Jefferson City. Though St. Louis was now virtually open Lee had suffered many casualties and was forced to withdraw to Farmington and wait for more supplies and reinforcements for a month. General Logan's force was also rebuilding however though Logan wouldn't be the one doing it as Washington had lost faith in him after his disastrous campaigns and he was replaced by Major General John Pope. On April 1 General Lee began to move once more towards St. Louis. Though he knew that there was almost no way to hold St. Louis Lee knew that raiding the city would be a massive blow to the morale of the US. Pope was also on the move to protect the city and on April 15 the two met in the Battle of Kirkwood. Though Lee had received reinforcements Pope's army still outnumbered him by more than 20,000. For two days the battle raged as Pope attempted to overrun Lee's force. Though he had the numbers he was up against Lee and in the afternoon of April 16 his army successfully got around Pope's flank, capturing over 4000 prisoners and forcing the entire army to retreat. His first independent command had been a disaster for Pope and he would loose his command a month later. Meanwhile Lee moved on St. Louis and entered the city with little fight, occupying it for three days, taking everything of value and when leaving destroying all military, government, and railway structures. By June Lee had withdrawn from St. Louis but much of southern Missouri was more or less under Confederate occupation.
By late December General Johnston's army had been replenished enough to move out and on January 3 he did just that. The war had turned drastically against Mexico and it was showing. Desertion plagued the Mexican Army with more and more leaving daily. With large portions of the Confederacy occupied by the US and its capital besieged President Juarez however wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet and ordered General Diaz to resume the attack and destroy Johnston's army. On January 18 Mexican forces attacked Johnston near Rinconada. The Battle of Rinconada caught the Confederates off guard and they were almost immediately forced back. For eight hours the Confederacy was forced back only able to stop once night fell. The first day of the Battle of Rinconada had been an overwhelming Mexican success. But Johnston wasn't ready to admit defeat and had his men working shifts all night to set up defenses. When the sun rose on the second day the Confederacy had lines of trenches dug in the Mexican earth. Diaz wasn't stopped however and at 8am ordered his men forward. For six hours wave after wave of Mexican troops attacked the Confederate lines only to be driven back every time. By mid afternoon Diaz's men were exhausted and assaults were called off for the remainder of the day. Johnston's men were likewise exhausted though and the remainder of the day the battle entered a lull. In the early morning of the third day however that lull ended. At 4am the Confederates left their trenches and attacked. Most of the Mexicans were either still asleep or just barely waking up and were caught completely off guard and many troops were swept up before they could even fire a shot. By daybreak it as the Mexicans who were retreating as quickly as possible and by early afternoon the Battle of Rinconada came to an end completely different than what it looked like on day one. Of the 45,000 Mexican troops that started the battle over 4000 dead, 6500 wounded, 12,000 captured, and 5500 disappeared. One of the wounded was General Diaz who was sent to Mexico City to recover. The remainder would withdraw and continue to withdraw until they were out of Coahuila and in Zacatecas.
After many months of being idle the second front against Mexico reopened. Brevet Major General Stuart who had been doing nothing more than protecting Albuquerque and Santa Fe from Mexican and American forces finally received enough men to bring his army to 12,000. Now he felt it time to finally go back on the offensive and on February 1 attacked the 4000 strong Mexican garrison at Las Cruces scoring a decisive victory and opening the way to El Paso. Ten days later Stuart was again victorious when he defeated 8000 Mexicans at the Battles of El Paso and El Paso del Norte and crossed into Chihuahua three days later. For three weeks Stuart steadily moved south repeatedly beating back the inferior Mexican force at every turn. On March 20 nearly all Mexican troops in northwestern Mexico surrendered to Stuart after the Battle of Chihuahua City.
By late March Johnston was moving into Zacatecas facing less and less resistance. Finally enough troops were brought together to make a stand at the Battle of Fresnillo on April 14 but were knocked aside within a day. In the Yucatan Anglo-Yucatani forces had been on the offensive too and by now had almost liberated all of the Yucatan. The Mexican people had had enough and riots began erupting across Mexico City. On May 5 the presidential palace came under rifle and cannon fire. The guards vanished with hardly a fight and soon soldiers were storming the palace. After a brief fight President Juarez as subdued and the still recovering General Diaz placed him under arrest and placed himself as the new president, temporarily of course. Diaz would immediately request a ceasefire from the Confederacy, Britain, and Yucatan. On May 11 a ceasefire began across all of Mexico finally bringing an uneasy peace to the land. With no leg to stand on the peace talks were entirely one sided and on June 1,1867 the Treaty of Veracruz brought an end to the war with Mexico. To get peace accepted Mexico was forced to completely disarm, cut all relations and trade with France and the US, and cede Chaipas to the Yucatan and Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa to the Confederacy.
Though Freemont had been planning another attack on Seattle to begin in the spring. By spring however Washington was growing more worried about the happenings in Mexico and whenever Mexico fell southern California would be open to attack. So for now at least Freemont was ordered on the defensive and withdrew to Olympia.
On February 27 60 artillery pieces in Detroit opened up across the Detroit River. General Grant was beginning his second invasion of Ontario from Michigan this time. The next morning Grant began crossing the river with 80,000 men. Though Wolsely knew of the new troop build up he had only managed to move around 25,000 men to confront the new threat. Though vastly outnumbered they would do just that at Emeryville on March 1. Outnumbered nearly 3-1 the Canadians didn't stand a chance but they fought hard and for nearly two days held the Americans before finally retreating. That gave time for more Anglo-Canadian units to move south and begin setting up defenses. Now with nearly 40,000 men, including Wolsely himself, they made a stand again on ground that had been fought over before 50 years prior in the Battle of the Thames. With over 100,000 men participating in it this new Battle of the Thames was on steroids compared to the first one. For nearly three days the battle raged with the fury of nearly 100 years of hatred between the two nations. Though the Americans would eventually emerge victorious the Anglo-Canadians delivered to the Americans more than 20,000 casualties and forced Grant to halt for nearly a month. On April 10 Grant began moving again through southern Ontario. For over a week the Americans moved fairly undeterred and captured London with almost no casualties. On April 19 however General Wolsely attacked Grant's III Corps at Dorchester. In the Battle of Dorchester Wolsely actually outnumbered the Americans under Major General Orlando B. Wilcox and after six hours had him in full retreat. Grant was moving quickly to hit back after Dorchester but Wolsely had already withdrawn and he pursued. For five days the two armies moved north as Grant tried to bring Wolsely into battle. Finally on April 25 he did as Wolsely turned and attacked in what would be the Battle of New Hamburg. For three days the Battle of New Hamburg would rage as Grant tried to overwhelm Wolsely with superior numbers. The Anglo-Canadians held their ground however and stopped attack after attack. In the end the Battle of New Hamburg ended in a draw with both armies exhausted and withdrawing. Grant withdrew his battered force to London and Wolsely to Stratford.
Now under the command of the Army of Vermont General Banks was ready to go back on the offensive. On March 27 Banks moved out to try again to take Ottawa from Cornwall. For a week the Americans had hardly contact with British or Canadian troops other than a few minor skirmishes. But finally on April 4 the two armies met in full at the Battle of Casselman this was General Banks' first major engagement as overall commander of an army. For eight hours the two sides clashed again and again before finally, as the sun began to set the Anglo-Canadians were forced to withdraw. Despite the victory Banks had to hold his position for nearly two weeks to recuperate. On April 16 he began moving towards his target again. van Straubenzee refused to let the Americans take the Canadian capital without another fight however and on April 21 attacked Banks at Sarsfield. For the Battle of Sarsfield van Straubenzee had pulled the 20,000 reserve guards that Canada had at Ottawa bringing his army to almost 70,000. For two days the battle raged between the two. The Americans had the numbers van Straubenzee's men were fighting to protect their capital and homes. After vicious fighting Banks knew that the cost of defeating the Anglo-Canadians in this engagement would be too great and ordered the withdrawal late in the evening on April 23 and withdrew to Casselman.
The war on the American continent looked to be without end. It wouldn't be the only major war for long in the world as the fragile peace in Europe was quickly cracking.
As the new year began General Rosecrans was determined to reverse the setbacks he had had in the previous fall. On February 17, 1867 General Rosecrans began his Second North Carolina Campaign with over 100,000 troops setting out from Petersburg. He was moving quickly to gain as much ground as possible before Longstreet could react. Longstreet was quick to pursue Rosecrans however, he had miles and miles to cross before he could catch up. For two weeks the two armies moved across southern Virginia and northern North Carolina as they moved closer together. Finally on March 4 the to came in contact in major battle at the Battle of Rocky Mount. With over 180,000 men participating in the engagement the Battle of Rocky Mount was the largest battle to yet be fought in the war. For three days the battle raged as the two armies clashed together on an epic scale. The first day fighting began in early afternoon when opposing cavalry and infantry engaged one another. The next day Longstreet attacked in force but couldn't break the American line. The next day the Confederates resumed their assault. Late in the morning though Rosecrans was misinformed that a gap had been formed in his lines. Trying to close up this supposed gap he would accidentally create a gap directly in front of a coming assault by a division led by Major General George Pickett. The attack drove a full third of the American army including Rosecrans himself. His subordinate Major General Greenville M. Dodge assumed command and and attempted to halt the Confederate attack. Though he would put forth a good effort he was unable to to regain the initiative and in the evening ordered the retreat. The Battle of Rocky Mount had been an astounding victory. Over 60,000 casualties had been caused by the engagement and had ruined Rosecrans chances to continue having an independent command. Longstreet would pursue the retreating Americans back into Virginia and engage them again at the Battle of Ream's Station on April 2 but exhausted and short on supplies were unable to achieve another dramatic victory and instead this one ended inconclusively.
General Jackson began moving on January 9 determined to drive the Americans from Tennessee. Just five days after beginning the move Jackson attacked Thomas at Franklin. The Battle of Franklin was Jackson's first independent command of an entire army and he proved his worth driving the Americans back everywhere and capturing over 10,000 and forcing them to retreat first to Nashville and then a week later into Kentucky. General Jackson would cross into Kentucky on March 1 bent on driving the Americans completely from Confederate territory in this theater. A week later the first major engagement to occur in Kentucky since shortly after the war began happened at Bowling Green. For two days the Battle of Bowling Green would spread the blood of thousands of American and Confederate alike across the ground. Unlike at Franklin, General Thomas was more prepared this time around and put up a stiffer defense. Despite this however Jackson's forces proved too powerful and on March 9 he withdrew. Jackson didn't want Thomas simply defeated however he wanted him crushed and pursued vigorously. Just five days after Bowling Green the two met again in major battle in the Battle of Glasgow. Though Jackson's men had the vigor of recent victory in them they were also exhausted and low on supplies. Thomas's men though equally tired had more in the way of both supplies and men. For twelve hours the two armies clashed nearly non stop. As night fell however the Army of the Cumberland had nearly completely exhausted their ammunition. During the night General Jackson would reluctantly begin withdrawing from the field. Though victorious in the Battle of Glasgow Thomas wouldn't hold the town. Bowling Green and Glasgow had severely depleted his supplies and manpower. Over the next few weeks he moved his army north and with additional troops crossing over the Ohio occupied Louisville on April 1, Frankfort April 8, and Lexington on April 11 creating a strong hold on roughly half of Kentucky. Stonewall wasn't out however though it took nearly a month he rebuilt and recuperated his army even moving back to Bowling Green and Glasgow as the Americans moved out. Having much of his home state, including his hometown the new President Breckenridge was adamant about the liberation of Kentucky and was ordering Jackson to do so as soon as possible. On April 27 the Army of the Cumberland set out again to rid Kentucky of the Yankee invaders. Though Jackson wished to strike directly at Louisville orders from Columbia were to move on the American strongholds of Frankfort and Lexington. Deciding on retaking the capital first Jackson moved north and on May 13 met Thomas once again in the Battle of Lawrenceburg and after two days forced him back to Frankfort. On May 28 the Battle of Frankfort began and with the number of troops and defensive trenches the Americans had it wouldn't end until mid June.
Since his withdrawal to Memphis General Logan had been heavily fortifying all land routes while the navy was making the river nearly impenetrable. Instead of making costly assaults against well made entrenchments Lee chose to lure them out by invading the north. Other than raids made into Kansas and southeast Missouri by mostly native units like Stand Watie's there had been hardly any fighting on American soil. Lee sought to change that and had begun moving much of his army into Arkansas. On February 5 Lee began his offensive moving rapidly north with 45,000 men. The Confederates quickly smashed through American occupation forces in Arkansas where the only significant engagement at the Battle of Jonesboro was an overwhelming victory by him over a far inferior American rear guard. On February 19 Lee crossed into Missouri near Neelyville marking the first time a larger Confederate army invaded the US during in the war. The move had worked and on February 12 General Logan abandoned Memphis, setting fire to anything of military use and began to pursue Lee. For weeks the pursuit moved north. Though he moved towards St. Louis General Lee was not sure that his force could successfully capture a city of more than 150,000. But if the opportunity let presented itself he wouldn't let it go to waste. Logan's force was slowly gaining ground on Lee though and by March 13 were only a few miles behind him. It was then that Lee finally decided to turn and face him at Old Mines. The Battle of Old Mines was the first major engagement on American soil of the war. For eighteen hours the battle raged as Logan tried to overrun and destroy Lee's force. As the fight drug on throughout the night it looked like he may as he forced Lee onto the defensive. As the early morning light rose however Logan got word of fighting at his rear. Shortly after Lee crossed into Missouri General Watie invaded as well with nearly10,000. Besides a slight delay after having to fight the Battle of Springfield, Watie had been moving almost undeterred to join up with Lee. Now with roughly 8500 men his was assaulting Logan from behind and now Lee began advancing once more and by late morning the Americans were in full retreat towards Jefferson City. Though St. Louis was now virtually open Lee had suffered many casualties and was forced to withdraw to Farmington and wait for more supplies and reinforcements for a month. General Logan's force was also rebuilding however though Logan wouldn't be the one doing it as Washington had lost faith in him after his disastrous campaigns and he was replaced by Major General John Pope. On April 1 General Lee began to move once more towards St. Louis. Though he knew that there was almost no way to hold St. Louis Lee knew that raiding the city would be a massive blow to the morale of the US. Pope was also on the move to protect the city and on April 15 the two met in the Battle of Kirkwood. Though Lee had received reinforcements Pope's army still outnumbered him by more than 20,000. For two days the battle raged as Pope attempted to overrun Lee's force. Though he had the numbers he was up against Lee and in the afternoon of April 16 his army successfully got around Pope's flank, capturing over 4000 prisoners and forcing the entire army to retreat. His first independent command had been a disaster for Pope and he would loose his command a month later. Meanwhile Lee moved on St. Louis and entered the city with little fight, occupying it for three days, taking everything of value and when leaving destroying all military, government, and railway structures. By June Lee had withdrawn from St. Louis but much of southern Missouri was more or less under Confederate occupation.
By late December General Johnston's army had been replenished enough to move out and on January 3 he did just that. The war had turned drastically against Mexico and it was showing. Desertion plagued the Mexican Army with more and more leaving daily. With large portions of the Confederacy occupied by the US and its capital besieged President Juarez however wasn't ready to throw in the towel yet and ordered General Diaz to resume the attack and destroy Johnston's army. On January 18 Mexican forces attacked Johnston near Rinconada. The Battle of Rinconada caught the Confederates off guard and they were almost immediately forced back. For eight hours the Confederacy was forced back only able to stop once night fell. The first day of the Battle of Rinconada had been an overwhelming Mexican success. But Johnston wasn't ready to admit defeat and had his men working shifts all night to set up defenses. When the sun rose on the second day the Confederacy had lines of trenches dug in the Mexican earth. Diaz wasn't stopped however and at 8am ordered his men forward. For six hours wave after wave of Mexican troops attacked the Confederate lines only to be driven back every time. By mid afternoon Diaz's men were exhausted and assaults were called off for the remainder of the day. Johnston's men were likewise exhausted though and the remainder of the day the battle entered a lull. In the early morning of the third day however that lull ended. At 4am the Confederates left their trenches and attacked. Most of the Mexicans were either still asleep or just barely waking up and were caught completely off guard and many troops were swept up before they could even fire a shot. By daybreak it as the Mexicans who were retreating as quickly as possible and by early afternoon the Battle of Rinconada came to an end completely different than what it looked like on day one. Of the 45,000 Mexican troops that started the battle over 4000 dead, 6500 wounded, 12,000 captured, and 5500 disappeared. One of the wounded was General Diaz who was sent to Mexico City to recover. The remainder would withdraw and continue to withdraw until they were out of Coahuila and in Zacatecas.
After many months of being idle the second front against Mexico reopened. Brevet Major General Stuart who had been doing nothing more than protecting Albuquerque and Santa Fe from Mexican and American forces finally received enough men to bring his army to 12,000. Now he felt it time to finally go back on the offensive and on February 1 attacked the 4000 strong Mexican garrison at Las Cruces scoring a decisive victory and opening the way to El Paso. Ten days later Stuart was again victorious when he defeated 8000 Mexicans at the Battles of El Paso and El Paso del Norte and crossed into Chihuahua three days later. For three weeks Stuart steadily moved south repeatedly beating back the inferior Mexican force at every turn. On March 20 nearly all Mexican troops in northwestern Mexico surrendered to Stuart after the Battle of Chihuahua City.
By late March Johnston was moving into Zacatecas facing less and less resistance. Finally enough troops were brought together to make a stand at the Battle of Fresnillo on April 14 but were knocked aside within a day. In the Yucatan Anglo-Yucatani forces had been on the offensive too and by now had almost liberated all of the Yucatan. The Mexican people had had enough and riots began erupting across Mexico City. On May 5 the presidential palace came under rifle and cannon fire. The guards vanished with hardly a fight and soon soldiers were storming the palace. After a brief fight President Juarez as subdued and the still recovering General Diaz placed him under arrest and placed himself as the new president, temporarily of course. Diaz would immediately request a ceasefire from the Confederacy, Britain, and Yucatan. On May 11 a ceasefire began across all of Mexico finally bringing an uneasy peace to the land. With no leg to stand on the peace talks were entirely one sided and on June 1,1867 the Treaty of Veracruz brought an end to the war with Mexico. To get peace accepted Mexico was forced to completely disarm, cut all relations and trade with France and the US, and cede Chaipas to the Yucatan and Sonora, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa to the Confederacy.
Though Freemont had been planning another attack on Seattle to begin in the spring. By spring however Washington was growing more worried about the happenings in Mexico and whenever Mexico fell southern California would be open to attack. So for now at least Freemont was ordered on the defensive and withdrew to Olympia.
On February 27 60 artillery pieces in Detroit opened up across the Detroit River. General Grant was beginning his second invasion of Ontario from Michigan this time. The next morning Grant began crossing the river with 80,000 men. Though Wolsely knew of the new troop build up he had only managed to move around 25,000 men to confront the new threat. Though vastly outnumbered they would do just that at Emeryville on March 1. Outnumbered nearly 3-1 the Canadians didn't stand a chance but they fought hard and for nearly two days held the Americans before finally retreating. That gave time for more Anglo-Canadian units to move south and begin setting up defenses. Now with nearly 40,000 men, including Wolsely himself, they made a stand again on ground that had been fought over before 50 years prior in the Battle of the Thames. With over 100,000 men participating in it this new Battle of the Thames was on steroids compared to the first one. For nearly three days the battle raged with the fury of nearly 100 years of hatred between the two nations. Though the Americans would eventually emerge victorious the Anglo-Canadians delivered to the Americans more than 20,000 casualties and forced Grant to halt for nearly a month. On April 10 Grant began moving again through southern Ontario. For over a week the Americans moved fairly undeterred and captured London with almost no casualties. On April 19 however General Wolsely attacked Grant's III Corps at Dorchester. In the Battle of Dorchester Wolsely actually outnumbered the Americans under Major General Orlando B. Wilcox and after six hours had him in full retreat. Grant was moving quickly to hit back after Dorchester but Wolsely had already withdrawn and he pursued. For five days the two armies moved north as Grant tried to bring Wolsely into battle. Finally on April 25 he did as Wolsely turned and attacked in what would be the Battle of New Hamburg. For three days the Battle of New Hamburg would rage as Grant tried to overwhelm Wolsely with superior numbers. The Anglo-Canadians held their ground however and stopped attack after attack. In the end the Battle of New Hamburg ended in a draw with both armies exhausted and withdrawing. Grant withdrew his battered force to London and Wolsely to Stratford.
Now under the command of the Army of Vermont General Banks was ready to go back on the offensive. On March 27 Banks moved out to try again to take Ottawa from Cornwall. For a week the Americans had hardly contact with British or Canadian troops other than a few minor skirmishes. But finally on April 4 the two armies met in full at the Battle of Casselman this was General Banks' first major engagement as overall commander of an army. For eight hours the two sides clashed again and again before finally, as the sun began to set the Anglo-Canadians were forced to withdraw. Despite the victory Banks had to hold his position for nearly two weeks to recuperate. On April 16 he began moving towards his target again. van Straubenzee refused to let the Americans take the Canadian capital without another fight however and on April 21 attacked Banks at Sarsfield. For the Battle of Sarsfield van Straubenzee had pulled the 20,000 reserve guards that Canada had at Ottawa bringing his army to almost 70,000. For two days the battle raged between the two. The Americans had the numbers van Straubenzee's men were fighting to protect their capital and homes. After vicious fighting Banks knew that the cost of defeating the Anglo-Canadians in this engagement would be too great and ordered the withdrawal late in the evening on April 23 and withdrew to Casselman.
The war on the American continent looked to be without end. It wouldn't be the only major war for long in the world as the fragile peace in Europe was quickly cracking.
Man imagine what the Mexican psyche might be now. They've now lost 3 wars to the Confederacy in the rough span of 30 years, losing more and more territory each time.
Yeah I thunk Mexico is donde antagonizing the confederacy after this. Ady least for a while