Until Every Drop of Blood Is Paid: A More Radical American Civil War

Well I'm caught up. I paused to reflect after the last post in 2020 (and because I didn't want it to end).

For now I'll just say what. a. year. to be in the midst of writing such a TL!

And add: This is a masterwork, an inspiration, and a treasure. Thank you.
 
I forget what thread, but somewhere I postulated the idea of John F Kennedy as an actor in this Blockbuster where he plays Paul Revere in the late 40s. Perhaps Paul Revere's Ride would be even better as the replacement for Birth of a Nation. The action sequences would be very good. It would be a subject people would have learned about in school so moviegoers would be able to read - since movies aren't talkies yet – and know what to expect yet have some good drama included. You could have whole bunches of people marching as red coats being shot at on the way back from Bunker Hill and then later if you didn't want to limit it to the opening days of the revolution as Patriots at Yorktown or something.

As for southern women, how often did women go out alone to the Old West? I'm trying to remember if it happened a lot even in westerns on TV, I think I remember one or two Lone Ranger episodes, though most westerns were a little before my time.
That's an amusing idea, but I don't think Kennedy would be around ITTL. I really like the idea of a Paul Revere's Ride movie though, but maybe one about Bunker Hill would be more significative? It could even be slightly political if the filmmakers depict Black soldiers there - a historically accurate idea.

Ha! Finally caught up. Great work!
Thank you very much! You know, one of my favorite things is seeing people advacing through my TL by seeing how they like one update after the other. I saw that with you. I'm glad I managed to capture your attention!

What I really love about this timeline is how every single move the rebellion makes only makes their situation worse and encourages pro-civil-rights sentiment in the loyal states. It's the little things like "very slightly different timing" and "slightly different leadup" turns into a massively different result, which makes this timeline IMO a pinnacle of the AH genre.
One of my favorite things is how by rebelling the South brought about the very revolution they wanted to avoid. I ran away with that idea, and it's a constant theme in the TL. As a result, most of the changes are relatively small but they will amount to a very different United States.

Kind of wondering, what's the apprenticeship system. I know that today in the USA apprenticeships are maybe viewed as an archaic but beneficial way to learn a trade.
Apprenticeships were like that in the North and in Europe, but in a lot of the South, especially during Presidential Reconstruction, it was a way to force Black minors to work, unpaid, for White masters, who could use physical punishments and violence to force them to work. Apprenticeships of this style were involuntary, done without the consent or even knowledge of the parents, and by people who weren't interested in helping the freedmen learn any new skills but just wanted to continue slavery under another name.

But I'm worried about the horrible precedent of justified political violence for moral aims.
It's a worrying prospect, certainly, but needed in the short term if the Klan is to be defeated.

What does Europe think of all of this? Slaves rising up and demanding their freedom, something that might elicit comparisons to Spartacus or Judah Maccabee, I imagine that from a safe distance away it would seem terribly exciting - almost certainly rather romanticized in The Times and Le Figaro. Is the Manchester Guardian publishing yet?

If any of these black soldiers become famous as individuals then they could do gangbusters touring Europe, being thighly sought-after guests in all the salons in France

Edit: some newspapers perhaps describing it as the greatest call to arms for Christian men since Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade, eliciting European volunteers.
Many Britons are horrified at the violence, but there are some who see this as a great crusade for freedom and a romantic story of people freeing themselves from their oppressors. 19th century racist conceptions of course mean that many Europeans see Blacks as savages and heap most prize on the white abolitionists. Some are bound to become famous, especially in France where the racism is, shall we say, subdued. A point in favor of the abolitionism is how explicitely Christian their movement is, which resonates with many Europeans.

But whatever Red_Galiray does, I believe it'll prove interesting either way, even if he leaves Mexico at to continue as in the OTL at least for the 1860s.
Latin American history is my thing, so be sure that I'll devote a lot of effort to this. Thank you very much for your post, it will be useful in the future. But for now I'll focus on the US.

Well I'm caught up. I paused to reflect after the last post in 2020 (and because I didn't want it to end).

For now I'll just say what. a. year. to be in the midst of writing such a TL!

And add: This is a masterwork, an inspiration, and a treasure. Thank you.
The train is still going on! However slow, it's still going on! And yeah, it was a difficult year, for everyone. But I'm proud of this TL among other stuff. Thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it.
 
Many Britons are horrified at the violence, but there are some who see this as a great crusade for freedom and a romantic story of people freeing themselves from their oppressors. 19th century racist conceptions of course mean that many Europeans see Blacks as savages and heap most prize on the white abolitionists. Some are bound to become famous, especially in France where the racism is, shall we say, subdued. A point in favor of the abolitionism is how explicitely Christian their movement is, which resonates with many Europeans.

I'd say explicitely Protestant. Not because there weren't Abolitionist tendencies within the Catholic Church - but because much of the American abolitionist Movement really comes out of the Protestant reformist impulses of the 19th century. An unfortunately reality is that, at least in OTL (and perhaps this has been worked out somewhat in the ATL) there was a very strong strain of Anti-Catholicism within the movement, and the line between Anti-Fugitive Slave Law Riots and Anti-Catholic riots during the 1850s was far fuzzier than we usually remember today. McGreevy writes about this well in in "Catholicism and American Freedom" if you're interested in exploring it and other cultural religious changes in this timeline (a fascinating subject and something that doesn't get explored much in many TLs. But, then again, I'm studying it for my PhD so I WOULD say that :p )
 
Not because there weren't Abolitionist tendencies within the Catholic Church - but because much of the American abolitionist Movement really comes out of the Protestant reformist impulses of the 19th century.

Oh sure, no doubt. But there were a lot more Protestants than Catholics, and they had both the cultural status and spare moral energy to take on that battle, God bless 'em.

There were growing denunciations by popes at the time, and grassroots Catholic efforts (albeit shamefully fewer in the South, natch), but the truth is, Catholic clergy in antebellum America just had their hands full trying to take care of the mass waves of Catholic immigrants showing up dockside every week.

An unfortunately reality is that, at least in OTL (and perhaps this has been worked out somewhat in the ATL) there was a very strong strain of Anti-Catholicism within the movement, and the line between Anti-Fugitive Slave Law Riots and Anti-Catholic riots during the 1850s was far fuzzier than we usually remember today.

All too true, and thanks from this Catholic for bringing that up.
 
What does Europe think of all of this? Slaves rising up and demanding their freedom, something that might elicit comparisons to Spartacus or Judah Maccabee, I imagine that from a safe distance away it would seem terribly exciting - almost certainly rather romanticized in The Times and Le Figaro. Is the Manchester Guardian publishing yet?

The Manchester Guardian is about thirty years old, and if it's anything like OTL, it is currently publishing wave after wave of editorials in favour of the south and denouncing Lincoln. It said that the only sad thing about his assassination was that he didn't get a chance to prove the Guardian wrong about him in his second term.
 
Just finished reading through the TL @Red_Galiray and I have to say, just my hat is completely off. You’ve created a very belivable plausible way to make a civil war which is both gut wrenching in its horror but also uplifting, pointing to a brighter ultamite future... just well done to you sir!

In regards to the Conversation above, as a Catholic myself I’d be quite interested to see the Church’s role in the conflict explored more ITTL.
 
I'd say explicitely Protestant. Not because there weren't Abolitionist tendencies within the Catholic Church - but because much of the American abolitionist Movement really comes out of the Protestant reformist impulses of the 19th century. An unfortunately reality is that, at least in OTL (and perhaps this has been worked out somewhat in the ATL) there was a very strong strain of Anti-Catholicism within the movement, and the line between Anti-Fugitive Slave Law Riots and Anti-Catholic riots during the 1850s was far fuzzier than we usually remember today. McGreevy writes about this well in in "Catholicism and American Freedom" if you're interested in exploring it and other cultural religious changes in this timeline (a fascinating subject and something that doesn't get explored much in many TLs. But, then again, I'm studying it for my PhD so I WOULD say that :p )
Of course, thank you for the correction. I am really interested in how culture, including religious culture, will be affected by the changes in this TL. Cultural changes are an important part of my other TL for example, but here most of the focus on them will be left to the second part about Reconstruction. I might approach you for help since I don't know a lot abut religion in the United States.

There were growing denunciations by popes at the time, and grassroots Catholic efforts (albeit shamefully fewer in the South, natch), but the truth is, Catholic clergy in antebellum America just had their hands full trying to take care of the mass waves of Catholic immigrants showing up dockside every week.
Some quotes I've seen in some sources seem to show Catholics supporting slavery, opposing emancipation, and adopting plainly racist aptitudes. It's sad, really, and I hope not representative of the general Catholic population's opinions. Since I was raised Catholic, though I'm an atheist now, I do want to include Catholicism in the TL. It's just that it's a delicate topic.

Just finished reading through the TL @Red_Galiray and I have to say, just my hat is completely off. You’ve created a very belivable plausible way to make a civil war which is both gut wrenching in its horror but also uplifting, pointing to a brighter ultamite future... just well done to you sir!

In regards to the Conversation above, as a Catholic myself I’d be quite interested to see the Church’s role in the conflict explored more ITTL.
Thank you very much for your kind words. I really appreciate messages like yours, which motivate me immensely.


By the way, mini update time! I am really liking these small side stories that help me flesh out the world a little more, especially because the most noticeable uptick in violence, brutality and suffering is best shown through small stories that prioritize the human element over the broad analysis of the regular updates. Hope you enjoy!
 
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Side-story: "A Mississippi Soldier"
A Mississippi Soldier

Jordan Shaw marched around the perimeter of the contraband camp, holding his rifle tight against his breast. Shaw. It was still hard to think of himself as Jordan Shaw instead of Jordan Gardner, the slave of old massa Richard J. Gardner. But he didn’t want to remember that man, the man who had robbed him of his freedom and sold his daughter down the Mississippi even as he boasted of how he was kind to his Negroes. Well, now he had neither Negros nor land! All of the people he enslaved had been liberated by the Lincoln soldiers, and the Bureau had confiscated the plantation when old man Gardner failed to show up to prove his loyalty. Of course, Jordan smirked, he was a traitor so the result would have been the same either way.

Jordan Shaw continued to walk around the camp. He had chosen Shaw as his new surname because it was the name of the colonel who led the Heroes of Union Mills. Doubleday, Lincoln and Reynolds were options too, but those names were too long and Jordan wanted something he could spell. More importantly, those gentlemen were alive. It felt correct to honor the Colonel’s sacrifice, so when the Yankee officer asked for his name, Jordan proudly said Jordan Shaw, not Jordan Gardner. Others still called themselves Gardner, others took new names as well – there was a wealth of Grants and Eatons in their camp. In their home.

Maybe it was naïve to think that the Pleasance Plantation would become theirs. It had never felt like a home to Jordan, what with the whips and the overseers. But now, with schoolhouses for their children and payment for their labor, it finally felt like a home. Besides, weren’t they the ones who built it up with their labor? Weren’t they the ones who sweated under the sun and bled under the whip, planting the cotton and building the houses, while massa sat in the shadow and complained of their laziness? If they asked Jordan, massa was the lazy one! Giving them land was the least the Yankees could do, but maybe it was naïve to think that White men would try to do the Negro justice. But when he heard Mr. Lincoln’s speeches and declarations, and when he remembered Colonel Shaw’s noble spilt blood, Jordan could not help but have hope too.

The sound of horses interrupted his musings. His sweat turned cold and his heart threatened to blast out of his chest. His legs carried him even if his mind was frozen in terror. The rebels were coming, he knew it. No Union cavalry would advance with such speed in the middle of the night. Jordan ran to the nearest outpost, and soon the alarm went forth. In minutes his regiment had assembled. Pride momentarily shone through the fear, as Sergeant Major Jordan Shaw saw his men, all in blue uniforms, all ready to lay down their lives. Captain Forbes came quickly too, and organized them to defend their home against the marauders.

Yankee soldiers talked of seeing red mist when going into battle. When General Grant’s army had liberated his plantation, some of the soldiers chatted with the contrabands and told them of seeing the elephant at such glorious battles like Dover and Corinth. It was strange for the Union soldiers to be kind, even stranger for them to welcome Black soldiers into their armies. Only later did Jordan and the rest of the men learn about Union Mills, and that’s what had inspired them to ask for a blue uniform. Their regiment, the 24th Mississippi, US Colored Infantry, was posted in Pleasance to protect the plantation against rebel raiders, allowing White Yankees to go with Grant and take Vicksburg. As the cotton grew in the home-farms of Pleasance, Jordan and others could not help but being jealous of the Colored Soldiers that Grant had taken with him, because they too wanted to strike a blow for their freedom. Then came news of the Battle of Liberty, and instead of coming home covered in glory the survivors of McPherson’s USCT corps came home limping or in caskets.

That hadn’t dissuaded Jordan. He still hoped to go into battle, but as days passed, as the children learned their letters and the women started to sing without fear, as news of Forrest’s bloodthirst and the massacres inflicted on other colored people arrived, Jordan and the rest concluded that they were needed more at home. Thank the Almighty for that, for Jordan was now sure they needed all the men they could get. How many rebels were there? A hundred? A thousand? How long would it take to reach the headquarters and bring in reinforcements? How many women and children would be murdered or kidnapped before those reinforcements arrived?

The sight of the gray and the blood curling rebel yell stopped Jordan’s thoughts. He wondered briefly whether the Heroes of Union Mills had felt such terror when they faced the feared Stonewall. And then he saw red. Bullets poured out even though Jordan couldn’t remember reloading, and he thought of nothing but a desperate need to keep moving in order to keep living. James Grant fell bayoneted besides him (“do you think the Yankees will help us find our families?”, he had asked once while they drilled), but Jordan could not pause to feel horror or sadness when the murderer was still there. Jordan only saw red as he brandished his bayonet and pierced his heart.

Finally, a cannon thundered, drowning out even the chilling rebel yells that had been resounding since the beginning of the battle. A small piece of artillery, all General Eaton could spare for Pleasance. The fire fell from the sky into the rebels that had retreated and regrouped (“He has loosed the fateful lightening of his terrible swift sword!”, as the Yankee song said) and scattered them again. Then the regiment went forward and the marauders had no choice but to retreat. Jordan still saw red when a second roar parted the skies and an explosion sent many rebels flying. It was only when they fled, screaming out of pain or out of fury, that the world came into color again. And with that horror came, as Jordan saw the burning buildings and corpses strewn around the camp.

The next day he and Abe Jones cleaned the bodies. “This here is Dick Hinds”, Abe said, kicking a young man, not older than 18, who could have seemed to be peacefully sleeping if not for the red wound that covered his throat and had turned his gray uniform into a red and brown rag. “His father owned me. He was an angry man, but Dick Hinds was worse, oh yes”, Abe said as they lifted him and dropped him alongside a comrade. They did that because they knew nothing would offend the rebels more than being buried alongside the Colored troops that had bested them. “It would break Ol’ Missus’ heart to see her boy like this, oh yes it will. She had paid for a substitute, you sees, but Dick Hinds wanted to fight still.” Jordan just nodded, not really caring.

They took another corpse. It was John Sumner, who had a little girl and two boys. How would Jordan explain to them that papa would not come back? “You know,” Abe started, “Massa Hinds was the sheriff here. I knows Massa Hinds fled when the Lincoln soldiers come, so we need a new sheriff. You think we could get someone who would do us coloreds justice?” “Maybe I’ll run”, Jordan mussed, and Abe laughed. Jordan did not blame him. They had given the Colored men the vote in Maryland, he knew, but thinking of Black sheriffs and Black legislators and Black congressmen seemed ridiculous. Then again, thinking of Black soldiers and Black free laborers would have seemed ridiculous just a couple of years ago. “Maybe I’ll run”, Jordan repeated, and this time Abe did not laugh. “I’ll vote for you and Mister Lincoln,” he said finally. Then they moved to the next corpse.

The battle, which had seemed so terrible and so hard-fought, had actually only involved at most a hundred men on each side. It wasn’t worth mentioning to General Eaton, much less report to General Grant. They had lost 15 men and had 28 wounded; their blood had resulted in 22 corpses in gray. But, even if their battle hadn’t involved hundreds of thousands of men over hundreds of thousands of miles, Jordan knew that it was important, for without them instead of burying 15 men they would be burying 300 women and children. The schools of Pleasance would remain open, their children would remain with their mothers, their wives wouldn’t have to suffer under the whip. They still had their hopes and their futures, and it was because of Jordan the rest of the 24th Mississippi. Perhaps the Battle of Pleasance wasn’t as big as the Battle of Union Mills, but Jordan was still sure they were heroes too.
 
Really nice update. It’s interesting to see soldiers not involved in major battles and their experiences because that isn’t something that’s often covered in media. It’s especially to see this from the perspective of a freedman soldier and the hints for the future. Glad to be caught up once again and thanks for this awesome TL.
 
Some quotes I've seen in some sources seem to show Catholics supporting slavery, opposing emancipation, and adopting plainly racist aptitudes. It's sad, really, and I hope not representative of the general Catholic population's opinions. Since I was raised Catholic, though I'm an atheist now, I do want to include Catholicism in the TL. It's just that it's a delicate topic.

Irish clergy demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for getting themselves Americanized once they arrived in America. (And nearly all Catholic clergy in the U.S. in those days were Irish.)

There were some interesting exceptions, though...
 
Nice work. I remember reading historian Donald S. Frazier commenting that most studies of Vicksburg and Port Hudson were incomplete because they neglected to mention what exactly happened to the liberated slaves. Small unit actions and big government policies did as much as the titanic clashes between armies to shape the outcome of the war, and you really illustrated it well here. Once the Confederate government ceases to exist and the armies demobilized, these African-American regiments will serve as the army of occupation and as defenders of their civil rights.

It's also worth noting that Southern sympathizers did their best to relocate every able-bodied slave within twenty miles of the Mississippi River to to Northeast Texas or the Mississippi Interior in order to keep them out of Yankee hands. In response, there were plenty of slave refugees and a concerted Union effort to extract as many slaves back to Union strongpoints as possible. This, however, created a humanitarian crisis in Natchez and Vicksburg as the towns were overwhelmed with black refugees. ITTL since the Grant's Mississippi campaigns penetrate much deeper into Mississippi than historical, there's likely more black refugees than OTL. I wonder if this as well as the addition of McPherson's USCT corps would compel the Union army to expand their occupation zones and contraband camps.

For example, Yazoo county, Mississippi's wealthiest plantation county IIRC, and Chimenyville Jackson, Mississippi were left to the Confederates although they were raided occasionally. During Reconstruction, the aforementioned areas saw violence against African-Americans as well as voting suppression. Since the USCT were mobilized earlier than historical and more are likely to be armed and mobilized, it might be possible to secure the effects of Reconstruction by establishing a permanent presence there.
 
Excellent update. I find myself wondering if Jordan found his daughter. I would imagine so, it seems you hint that it when you talk about their children learning letters and numbers and things.
 
I a bit surprise they aren't throwing the rebel dead into a bonfire and burying them with their own.

Through they did good in their battle. Even the small ones do have an impact in their own ways.
 
Of course, thank you for the correction. I am really interested in how culture, including religious culture, will be affected by the changes in this TL. Cultural changes are an important part of my other TL for example, but here most of the focus on them will be left to the second part about Reconstruction. I might approach you for help since I don't know a lot abut religion in the United States.

I'm definitely a bit better versed in American Catholicism (the focus of my PhD is actually focused on Irish and Polish priests in the US and their role in identity formation amongst their parishoners). But I would be more than happy to help as best I can - I could definitely throw some good books your way :)
 
Some quotes I've seen in some sources seem to show Catholics supporting slavery, opposing emancipation, and adopting plainly racist aptitudes. It's sad, really, and I hope not representative of the general Catholic population's opinions. Since I was raised Catholic, though I'm an atheist now, I do want to include Catholicism in the TL. It's just that it's a delicate topic.

One of the issues you will run into with antebellum Catholics is that they were closely associated with the Democratic party. Partially this was a matter of some convenience - the Democrats generally speaking were far better at doing outreach amongst immigrant populations - but there was an idealogical reason as well. The Democrats promised a less activist federal government, which for many Catholics was seen as a positive thing. The less powerful that federal government, the less likely it was to come around and start mucking in the affaris of their community. Abolitionism was just one facet of the mid-19th century reform movement which was, at its heart, very Protestant in nature - school reform was another major one, as was, of course, the early women's movement, and temprance. The list goes on and on. But one thing that many of these movements had in common was a, at least, antipathy to Catholicism and sometimes outright hostility.

Now, how does this relate to slavery? Well, it shows why many Catholic leaders were more than a little unlikely to get involved in the Abolitionist movement (though not all. there were some prominent Catholic intellectuals who did join the movement). First, as Athelstan has mentioned, they had their hands tied - the Church was experiencing explosive growth during this time and was having a difficult enough time tending to its own flock and didn't have a lot of energy to dabble in social causes. Secondly, they viewed themselves as a disliked minority - why draw any more flack than they had to? Especially when adopting some of the popular ideas around them would make themselves appear less foreign. And, unfortuantely, some of those ideas were the racist ones of the time. Then, you had the general class makeup of the Catholic Church during this era - largely poor immigrants who were unskilled laborers. There was a very real fear that abolition would lead to a massive freedman population working for even less money and (to paraphrase South Park) Take der jawbs! Finally, they looked at the Abolitionists and other reformers and saw a group of people who were openly hostile to Catholics in general - it can't be forgotten that many prominent Republican leaders during the late 1850s and into the 1860s had previously been associated with the Know Nothing Party, it's been less than 20 years since the bloody Natvist Riots in Philly and even less time since some of the less-destructive but still traumatic riots of the 1850s.

The association of the GOP with Anti-Catholicism can't be underplayed. As late as the 1870s and even into the 1880s, GOP leaders had a tendency of making comments that were preceived to be anti-Catholic (Grant) or associating with people who certainly were (In the casse of Blaine, this likely cost him election to the Presidency after he shutdown a speaker at a dinner party he was attending who made Catholic slurs. The ironic thing was, Blaine's mother was Catholic). Earlier, prior to the war and during it, the connection was even closer. When the rural Belgians of eastern Wisconsin rioted in the early 1860s, it was officially over the draft - but yet they made sure to attack the houses of a GOP leader, a local Abolitionist and (if I'm remembering correctly) a Protestant minister. All of whom were seen being the local representation of these forces that they were protesting against.

All of which is to say, that due to these factors, it would have been difficult to get a more vibrant Catholic pro-Abolitionist movement at this time. They were too unsteady on their feet, saw Abolitionists as hostile to them, were afraid fo job competition and, lest it make me sound like I'm being a bit too benevolent to their position, many had adopted the racist attitudes of their neighbors as well.

Now, that isn't to say that all Catholics were in accord here. Even before the war, as I mentioned, there were a small, but vocal, group of Catholic abolitionists. And after the war, you have figures like John Ireland of Minneapolis. He served as the first Catholic chaplain of the Union during the early years of the Civil War, returned to Minneaplis and became bishop (and later archbishop). John Ireland was many things - a reformer, proponent of Americanism, a staunch defender of racial equality and a temprance man through and through. (he was ALSO a bit of an ass at times, but that's another matter. There are Eastern Rite Catholics in the US who STILL hate him to this day, and he really disliked the German-American bishops of Milwaukee and St. Louis as well). Ireland was also a devoted Republican - one of the few amongst Catholic leaders of that era - who actually became close with many GOP leaders, including Theodore Roosevelt. I'd suggest looking into him if you want a Catholic Church leader who can help make more inroads into the African-American community.

And, as I said before, i'd suggest looking into "Catholicism and American Freedom" by John McGreevy which is a very good intellectual history of Catholics and their engagement with reform movements throughout US history. It's a really well written book and super informative. (you may also want to look into D'Augistino's "Rome in America" which deals more with the 19th century Rome Question, but also really sheds a light on the ethnic makeup and attitudes of Catholics of the later 19th century.
 
One thing which I could see here is that the Hierarchy, if not the immigrant community itself, could take a good wind taste right about now with the Emancipation and the Battle of Union Mills and get abit more forceful on the anti slavery message, both to intergrate more seamlessly as Americans and put themselves in a good position after the conflict (there was some interesting discussion of the 1866 council being used as a Jump point to try and convert freeman but it never came around to anything)
 
They had lost 15 men and had 28 wounded; their blood had resulted in 22 corpses in gray. But, even if their battle hadn’t involved hundreds of thousands of men over hundreds of thousands of miles, Jordan knew that it was important, for without them instead of burying 15 men they would be burying 300 women and children. The schools of Pleasance would remain open, their children would remain with their mothers, their wives wouldn’t have to suffer under the whip.
This is my favorite part of the update by far.
 
Really nice update. It’s interesting to see soldiers not involved in major battles and their experiences because that isn’t something that’s often covered in media. It’s especially to see this from the perspective of a freedman soldier and the hints for the future. Glad to be caught up once again and thanks for this awesome TL.
Thank you for your kind words. I agree, I think we often miss the human element in these big discussions about great campaigns. The "home farm guards" are especially important for the future, since they will be tasked with protecting their communities and will be natural leaders once Reconstruction starts and most Yankee leave. As Eric Foner explains, their military service served to radicalize them and get them involved in politics, so war-time experiences defending their home farms against Confederate marauders will be valuable.

Irish clergy demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for getting themselves Americanized once they arrived in America. (And nearly all Catholic clergy in the U.S. in those days were Irish.)

There were some interesting exceptions, though...
Thanks for the info!

Great work! Good to see some freedmen kicking ass for Lincoln and Liberty, Too!
Thank you!

Nice work. I remember reading historian Donald S. Frazier commenting that most studies of Vicksburg and Port Hudson were incomplete because they neglected to mention what exactly happened to the liberated slaves. Small unit actions and big government policies did as much as the titanic clashes between armies to shape the outcome of the war, and you really illustrated it well here. Once the Confederate government ceases to exist and the armies demobilized, these African-American regiments will serve as the army of occupation and as defenders of their civil rights.

It's also worth noting that Southern sympathizers did their best to relocate every able-bodied slave within twenty miles of the Mississippi River to to Northeast Texas or the Mississippi Interior in order to keep them out of Yankee hands. In response, there were plenty of slave refugees and a concerted Union effort to extract as many slaves back to Union strongpoints as possible. This, however, created a humanitarian crisis in Natchez and Vicksburg as the towns were overwhelmed with black refugees. ITTL since the Grant's Mississippi campaigns penetrate much deeper into Mississippi than historical, there's likely more black refugees than OTL. I wonder if this as well as the addition of McPherson's USCT corps would compel the Union army to expand their occupation zones and contraband camps.

For example, Yazoo county, Mississippi's wealthiest plantation county IIRC, and Chimenyville Jackson, Mississippi were left to the Confederates although they were raided occasionally. During Reconstruction, the aforementioned areas saw violence against African-Americans as well as voting suppression. Since the USCT were mobilized earlier than historical and more are likely to be armed and mobilized, it might be possible to secure the effects of Reconstruction by establishing a permanent presence there.
Undoubtably that still happens ITTL. I did not linger on it, but not all the freedmen come from the Gardner plantation but are contrabands who fled to Federal lines and were located in Pleasance as part of General Eaton's "Home Farm" project. The lands have been confiscated and the long term goal is to divide them into individual land plots that will be turned over to the freedmen, but for the moment they are administered by the Army which seeks to both protect the freedmen's rights and produce cotton for Northern factories. In order to defend them, the men are organized into regiments such as the one featured in this story, allowing White Union soldiers to remain with the main armies and reducing the costs of occupation, It also means that the Union is free to occupy more terrain, and gives an extra incentive to confiscation as a way to create more home farms and thus manage the humanitarian crisis. As you note, the long term effect is probably a stronger Reconstruction, since it means that thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands more Black men will have served by the war's end, and former Union soldiers were notable for their committment to radical ideas and greater capacity to resist White violence. This is why one of the South's demands was for Black regiments to be disbanded, since, according to them, they encouraged "indiscipline and insolence" among the freedmen - and that bastard Johnson of course accepted this demand.

Excellent update. I find myself wondering if Jordan found his daughter. I would imagine so, it seems you hint that it when you talk about their children learning letters and numbers and things.
In real life, after the end of slavery many freedmen did desperately seek their families, but the lack of economic resources and the fact that they often had no info meant that most of the time they didn't find their relatives. It's heartbreaking.

I a bit surprise they aren't throwing the rebel dead into a bonfire and burying them with their own.

Through they did good in their battle. Even the small ones do have an impact in their own ways.
I don't think a bonfire is a good or hygienic way of disposing of corpses. I assumed they had limited land and didn't want to contamine the water or soil on which they rely by digging more holes. It's also a way to insult the rebels.

And, as I said before, i'd suggest looking into "Catholicism and American Freedom" by John McGreevy which is a very good intellectual history of Catholics and their engagement with reform movements throughout US history. It's a really well written book and super informative. (you may also want to look into D'Augistino's "Rome in America" which deals more with the 19th century Rome Question, but also really sheds a light on the ethnic makeup and attitudes of Catholics of the later 19th century.
Thank you for all the info. I knew that the Republican party was in many ways the party of the middle-class Protestant Anglo-Saxon, explaining the nativist and anti-Catholic undertones. But it was a very superficial knowledge. That's why I glossed over the Know Nothings in the first few chapters for example. I found your post very informative and interesting, and I appreciate that you took the time to write it.

One thing which I could see here is that the Hierarchy, if not the immigrant community itself, could take a good wind taste right about now with the Emancipation and the Battle of Union Mills and get abit more forceful on the anti slavery message, both to intergrate more seamlessly as Americans and put themselves in a good position after the conflict (there was some interesting discussion of the 1866 council being used as a Jump point to try and convert freeman but it never came around to anything)
Since the Democratic Party and the National Union are basically dead, Catholics need to adapt or die. Democratic ideas survive, of course, and they are likely to hijack any "Liberal" movement, but in the immediate aftermath of the war I think Catholics could accept the new order and maybe try and convert the freedmen.

This is my favorite part of the update by far.
Another lovely update!
Thank you very much!
 
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