alternatehistory.com

Well, okay, folks. It's a little bit late, and not totally finished yet, but nonetheless, here is the very first bit of material for the TL. Hope you all both enjoy what's already written down, and look forward to what's to come!

Post #1: A Look At How It All Began

From the personal blog of a U.S. History 1201 student at California State University, Santa Clara, fall 2019:

When it comes to all the nations of the world, it is sometimes argued that the United States has one of the most fascinating histories of any country; from America's humble beginnings as the world's first democratic republic to the world-renowned superpower that it is today, our country's history is rich and storied, and there are many different nuances to explore. So, with that said, how did we get here? Let's start at the beginning.....

If we want to truly understand just what led to the American Revolution and how, it would help to first take a look at the French and Indian Wars.....

One of the early significant battles of the conflict in what is now the Northeast U.S. was at Fort William Henry, in August 1757.....ultimately, after the seventh day dawned the French were able to capture the fort, but this victory came at a noticeable cost. Late that morning, General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm was seriously wounded during the final struggle for the fort, and would require medical attention for some time, before he could recover enough not to be completely bedridden; additionally, certain of his injuries had hobbled him enough to the point where he was no longer able to effectively serve on as direct of a position in relation to the front lines, as he had before[1]. This was, as it turned out, a turn of events that Montcalm himself was deeply bothered by for the rest of his life, according to some of his personal letters, including some first publicly published in Louis Van Sickle's 1951 history text, “Montcalm: The Man and the Myth”[2].

[1]The first significantly noticeable difference from OTL! Louis-Joseph de Montcalm was a particularly famous French general during the French and Indian Wars, but in our universe, he died after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in Sept. 1759; here, although badly wounded in the Battle of Fort William Henry(or, just Fort Henry for short ITTL), since he was transferred to a safer position he was no longer in danger of dying in combat, thus he lived rather longer ITTL after recovering from his injuries.....

[2]And, although Montcalm's name lives on IOTL as well, in this universe he actually became even more famous; although his time on the front lines ended in 1757, that did not end his career altogether, and he would later gain fame elsewhere, particularly in the service of the Patriots in TTL's American Revolution.....