AH Challenge: Britain enters the ACW, on the side of the Union

How could this come to be and what would be the lasting effects? An earlier Great Rapproachment is a given, but what other butterflies will it cause?
 
If the Confederacy tried to reopen the African slave trade or did something to wrong the British (like perhaps sending minions to kill someone in British territory), that might be doable.

You'd need Confederate leadership much crazier than Jefferson Davis.
 
First PoD - the navy is not completely Union. Parts of it side with the Confederacy.
Second PoD - the Confederacy captures Norfolk completely intact. Ships, naval yards, stores, provisions.
Third PoD - because of this, the Union can only really blockade the Confederate Atlantic coast. The Gulf of Mexico is Confederate seas, and most of the Confederate ports, coasts and islands are not attacked and captured by the Union - this includes New Orleans.

The Confederacy, which is actually fighting a real war at sea in this scenario, trying to keep its ports open for trade and destroying Union trade, issues letters of marque. The privateers engaged soon lose all discipline and act like pirates. British trade suffers, especially the vital grain from USA and its own exports to the same country, but the privateers are not beyond making up reasons to attack merchant vessels sailing to other places.

The Confederates also make a serious attempt to re-open the slave trade, annoying the British even further.

At some occasion in mid-1862, a privateer captures a British vessel carrying diplomatic envoys for the US. Before the Confederates can react, the British declare war and lay to blockade to the Confederate coast. They destroy Norfolk, capture New Orleans, take the forts and islands and bombard Charleston. Because of British support for the Union and the lack of trade and support for the Confederacy, the war probably ends in Autumn 1864.
 
Rhett becomes President and begins working to re-establish the slave trade, attacking British ships that seek to enforce it and disregard "Southron rights". Instant casus belli, instant end of the CSA in the Anglo-American/Confederate War. :cool:
 
Rhett becomes President and begins working to re-establish the slave trade, attacking British ships that seek to enforce it and disregard "Southron rights". Instant casus belli, instant end of the CSA in the Anglo-American/Confederate War. :cool:

Agreed, GB wouldn't even have to send troops as the Union can turn all those sailors who were used to enforcing the blockade into soldiers if the RN is enforcing the blockade. That translates into a LOT of soldiers.
 
Of course this will lead to more post war resentment than OTL as the "Lost Cause Movement" will blame the British and say we woulda whipped the dammyankees if it weren't for the Limeys

Foreign intervention in a civil war always triggers resentment
 
Of course this will lead to more post war resentment than OTL as the "Lost Cause Movement" will blame the British and say we woulda whipped the dammyankees if it weren't for the Limeys

Foreign intervention in a civil war always triggers resentment

Of course this would also hold true for the UK-CSA alliance scenario, with the Union preferring to blame the British as opposed to seeing any flaws in how it conducted the war.
 
Of course this would also hold true for the UK-CSA alliance scenario, with the Union preferring to blame the British as opposed to seeing any flaws in how it conducted the war.
Of course you are 100% correct, just going to throw that out and say 60-80 years down the road things will be interesting in either case
 
Given the electoral realities of the time, impossible. The upper reaches of the British ruling classes were overwhelmingly pro confederate.
 

Germaniac

Donor
Well, Im working on a TL right now that has an earlier break between the French and British where the French side with the confederacy and the British side with the Union... Hopefully it will be ready soon.
 
Given the electoral realities of the time, impossible. The upper reaches of the British ruling classes were overwhelmingly pro confederate.

If the CSA fire on RN ships patroling the African coasts while trying to restablish the Atlantic Slave Trade that would change in one hell of a hurry!
 
Russia was pro-Union - hence sending their fleets to New York and San Francisco. Unfortunately, this was mainly as a deterrent to the British if they declared for the Confederacy. So there might be some sparks there between the British and Russians.
The Prussians, don't really know, but i always seem to think that since they would/are fighting for their own unification of Germany-proper, they would side with the Union anyway as well.
 
The Russians were fairly pro-Union, but their deployment of ships to the US was more because they wanted them in neutral, warm water ports in case Britain went to war over the crisis in Poland at the time rather than anything directly to do with the Civil War.

Prussia was pro-Union as well, as was Italy. While not a great power, I seem to remember Switzerland even made some sort of official declaration in support of the Union.
 
Of course this would also hold true for the UK-CSA alliance scenario, with the Union preferring to blame the British as opposed to seeing any flaws in how it conducted the war.

The difference is that in only one scenario are the embittered defeated party still in the same country as the victor after a peace is signed...
 
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