1777, The Year Boston Burned

Young Henry Buford remembered when joining the Rebellion against Parliament had seemed like a decent idea. The son of a Bostonian merchant, Henry and his father both joined the militiamen in 1774 following the "intolerable acts" which had severly reduced their incomes. Henry was willing to fight, not for liberty, but for his money.

1775 started well enough for the young fighter. Following victory at Concord, Henry felt almost invincible. And Bunker Hill, while not a victory, also inflated his ego. These battles made him feel as though he was an unstoppable warrior, who fought for a greater good. His optimism would be dashed only months later, as he was assigned under General Montgomery to conquer Canada. The fall of Montreal enboldened him, if only momentarily. Soon the cold sapped away his patriotism, as he watched his fellow soldiers wither away in the hunger and cold. The battle of Quebec resulted in the death of his father and of General Montgomery. The rebels fled the cold North, and Henry longed to be home again.

But he could not return home, thanks to the continued British occupation of Boston. Henry joined with Washington's Army, and in March, to Henry's surprise, the town fell without a shot being fired. At that moment Henry longed to leave the Army, but one of the first things he learned about Washington was his disdain for deserters. And so Henry remained with the Continental Army fearing death otherwise.

In July, 1776, the Continental Army celebrated the declared independece from Britain. Henry, who at first only joined the war for monetary reasons, now felt a deep hatred for the British. In 1775, Henry would have seen independece as foolish. But after his father's death, anything short of British annihilation would not satisfy him. He and his friends drank to freedom and independece, and swore to oversee the death of the King.

Celebrations did not last long, however. In early August, General Howe landed in New York City, and out flanked Washington's smaller force. For the rest of the year the Continental Army ran from Howe, and with every mile, the force became smaller and smaller. The fire that Henry felt had left him by December as the ruins of the army crossed the Deleware River. Henry expected to be further harassed outside Philadelphia, yet the relentless forces of Howe had stopped in Jersey. Everything seemed to be getting better, until news reached the army that Charles Lee had been captured, and his army surrendered. That was the last straw for many of the soldiers, including Herny. At night, as Washington slept on a plan of retaliation, the army slipped away, never to be reformed again.

In January, Washington was captured by Hessian forces, and Philadelphia followed days later. It was clear that the revolution was over. As a result, Congress was captured by loyalist forces in Baltimore on the 18th of January. All of them were hung in Philadelphia two days later. The royal governors returned to their positions in the following months. Some resistance in other colonies remained, but it was disorganised and crumbled in the following months. The British, however, were unwilling to let Boston remain unpunished for their part in starting this war. At first the plan was to fine Boston for the damages, but a glory hungry commander named Burgoyne felt that Boston had lost it's right to existance. After months of debating amongst Generals and Politicians, Burgoyne led a force of 8,000 men to ensure Boston burned. He left New York on the 7th of April.

News spread quickly to Boston, and the city scrambled to put a defence together. They called to the countryside and other colonies for help, yet none would aid them. Many had grown agrivated with Boston and the costly bid for independence. Others feared that they would also suffer the wrath of England if they helped now. By the time the British arrived, Boston could only muster around 3,000 defenders.

Henry was one such defender. All other people had left the city, yet he and his fellow comrades stood strong. They realized that if they fled, they would lose their possessions. If they lost, they would all die. Henry knew the battle would be lost, but he intended to finish this fight. He had lost everything in rebellion, and he had nothing more to live for.

Starting on Aptil 21st, roughly two years after the rebellion began, the Siege of Boston lasted 27 days. Initial assaults by Burgoyne's men failed to take the city, and so a naval blockade was ordered. As time went on, the men within Boston began to starve, and artillery pounded them from the hills surrounding the city. On the 18th of May, 1777, Burgoyne surged into the city, slaughtering any of the rebels he found. Any men who surrendered were captured, put on trial, and sentanced to hang. Henry was one such man, and he was hung on the 3rd of June.

Boston was then torched. No buildings remained. A massive uprising accompanied the razing, but it was swiftly put down by Burgoyne. Those who evacuated the city went to live with others in other towns, and for nearly 50 years the region was untouched by new settlers.
 
Nitpicking but "hanging" the congress "two days later" would deny the brits the ability to try them at home ...

Or is it intentional to make them martyrs, and "Remember Boston" the slogan of a new revolution?

Will Donatien Triomphe make the colonies great again?
 
Resentment towards Britain will grow among the colonists. Culturally, they do not see themselves as English but as Virginians, Carolinians, New Englanders ..... and have more affinity for other colonies than Britain.

Will see if the proclamation line is withdrawn for settling west of the Appalachians, is this enforced, or do colonists just go west in defiance? Kentucky area is already seeing settlements by this time. What do the British do about it?

Will the British create a dominion out of its predominantly English colonies, The 13 plus Nova Scotia ???
 
Well, I see someone's getting a recall and summary execution.

He just ensured that the colonies are now going to be united in their HATRED of England.
 
I'm glad that this has generated some interest. Thanks to everyone who has liked this and to those who have commented, I appreciate the feedback.


Part Two: The Ghosts of Boston

A silence fell over the once riotous colonies, as Boston's fate was brodcast to the world. Fear gripped all British subjects, and none dared to raise their fist to England. But as the colonies stood shocked, Parliament was frantic to decide what to do in the aftermath of one of the greatest slaughters in history.

While Burgoyne's orders did come from Parliament, only after they were carried out did the British government realise that they had kicked a hornet's nest. The rebellion put down by Burgoyne only assured Parliament that all they had done was make everything worse. In the chaos, Parliament had an idea.

The colonies had never truly seen themselves as united, each of them having thier own interests and goals. As such, Parliament devised a plan to enlarge these differences, and to prevent organized resistance from the rebellious colonies. Entitled The Liberty Act, colonists were granted the ability to settle past the Proclamation line, as long as they were willing to deal with the natives themselves. They also passed The Manufactuing Act, enabling colonists to have their own pre-industrial facilities in the colonies. Both acts were put into effect on the 5th of September, 1777

These acts were not passed out of kindness, but out of fear. The Liberty Act in particular was designed to divide the colonies. Parliament hoped that colonies would fight over the land West of the Appalachians, weakening and dividing them.

Most importantly, the government sought to isolate New England. Propeganda painted them as greedy traders, who decieved the good colonies into fighting the mother island. Such propeganda also painted those involved in the American Congress as demagogues, who played the heartstrings of the masses for their own gain.

The plan seemed to go well. All colonies South of the Hudson praised the government's mercy and grace, before proceeding to fight one another over rich land to the West. New England as a whole grew to be distrusted, and many remembered the region only when speaking about the failed rebellion. All seemed calm, until the night of April 19th, 1782.

Stanly Bransworth, a tax collector for the colony of Massachusetts, was in his carriage that night. He was just on his way to the town of Carver when his carriage came to a sudden stop. He peered out the window only to find roughly twenty men with rifles charging him. Shots could be heard in the nearby town, but no one came to investigate until the next morning.

Once found, the remains of Stanly Bransworth were strewn across the road, with very few recognisable pieces left. On the road itself, written in the blood of that unfortunate tax collector, was written "The War Is Not Over."
 

Gian

Banned
Meanwhile, this one has inspired me to create an ASB-based map* of which I've yet to divulge or reveal (I only just started this evening)

*based on my current ASB-based TL (link in the sig as "aWoDP")
 
Looking interesting, although I think that such overt acts would take a while to occur as people recover from the trauma of the losses. Remember that the traditional wisdom says 1/3 of the colonists were pro-independence, 1/3 neutral, 1/3 loyalist in 1776. As the revolution progressed these numbers changed as well as loyalists being forced to evacuate. Now there has been a lot of dispute on the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 distribution but whatever the actual proportions it remains clear that there was a substantial group of neutrals as well as loyalists.

IMHO you'll see the most resistance eventually west of the Appalachians. Those who were revolutionaries or so inclined will think it a good idea to move to greener pastures, and here the hands on control of Britain will be much lighter. For the British, the problem is now they have alienated the Native Americans who were allies during the revolution and OTL worked with the British against the Americans as late as the War of 1812.
 
Looking interesting, although I think that such overt acts would take a while to occur as people recover from the trauma of the losses. Remember that the traditional wisdom says 1/3 of the colonists were pro-independence, 1/3 neutral, 1/3 loyalist in 1776. As the revolution progressed these numbers changed as well as loyalists being forced to evacuate. Now there has been a lot of dispute on the 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 distribution but whatever the actual proportions it remains clear that there was a substantial group of neutrals as well as loyalists.
Except here, they just saw the British regulars burn down a major city.

A city full of fellow colonists, on top of years of bad work on their part.

Staying neutral is a bad idea.
 
Except here, they just saw the British regulars burn down a major city.

A city full of fellow colonists, on top of years of bad work on their part.

Staying neutral is a bad idea.

Except it wasnt full of fellow colonists, was it? Most left the city - all that were left were hardcore rebels.
 
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