Brock Lives

interesting you know I can just see that Britain will gain some land in Maine really maybe Michigan and the native Americans will differently gain some kind of home land really but I just wonder really what this all means in the long term as this is going to cause a lot of bad relations with America really and probably shut American markets to British goods for a long time really but I do wonder how this will affect the growth of Canada and you having a decisive victory may help to form an earlier type of Canadian identity
 
Part IX: Scramble and Stalemate on the Northwest

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)

...The fall of Fort Meigs coupled with the defeat of Clay’s army on the Maumee would mark the end of one part of the Northwest campaign and the beginning of another. Having scored such a crucial victory it was becoming apparent that like a Phoenix rising from the ashes, Tecumseh’s Confederacy was being reborn. Every day more and more warriors joined his ranks all the while those white settlers still in the area fled for fear of another Indian massacre...

...Moving on from their victory on the Maumee, Brock and Tecumseh held a brief council to determine their next move. With the recent victories having had the effect of swelling Tecumseh’s ranks the Native leader was determined to strike hard while the iron was hot and regain all of those lands lost in recent years...

...Brock on the other hand, was cautious for perhaps the first time in his career. Already his supply lines were beginning to be stretched. His militia had abandoned him to plant this year’s crop, and he was becoming overburdened with ever increasing numbers of American prisoners. The prospect of a prolonged campaign deep into the Indiana Territory and Ohio hardly seemed practical...

...Furthermore Brock recognized the balance he and Tecumseh walked. “We are certainly now walking the knife’s edge by driving ever deeper into American territory. Not only does every mile we march south extend our supply lines and shorten theirs, but we also risk the prospect of uniting the Americans against us. Up until now we have had the advantage in that we have not been fighting all of the American states, should we enrage them by some horrendous act and push them too far, I fear the prospect of victory vanishing...”(1)

...Eventually a compromise was worked out as Brock and the British army would accompany Tecumseh on his initial offensive into the Indiana territory, attacking Fort Wayne before turning south and attacking Fort Recovery in Ohio. Upon seizing those two forts Brock and what was left of his army, save two garrisons at Fort Wayne and Fort Recovery, as well as an artillery contingent attached to Tecumseh’s force, would march north to continue defending Canada...

...Despite his initial caution in joining Tecumseh’s offensive, upon reaching a compromise, Brock returned to being his aggressive self. Moving with lightning speed he and his men arrived at Fort Wayne on the Wabash, one of the primary bastions of American strength in the sparsely populated Northern half of the Indiana territory...

...Upon arriving at Fort Wayne, Brock and Tecumseh would find it in the same dire straits as much of the Northwest following the defeat of Harrison at Fort Meigs and Clay on the Maumee. Having witnessed firsthand the retreat of Clay’s Kentucky militia, most of Fort Wayne’s garrison of militia opted to return home soon after leaving only a handful of men to man the strategically vital fort. With the approach of Brock and Tecumseh’s exponentially larger force, the remaining garrison of Fort Wayne decided that discretion was indeed the better part of valour and surrendered lest they face the wrath of the Shawnee chief’s bloodthirsty warriors...

...Following yet another bloodless victory at Fort Wayne, Brock left a small garrison under Arthur Warburton before continuing south with Tecumseh towards Fort Recovery at the Headwaters of the Wabash River...

...However unlike Fort Wayne, this victory would be hardly bloodless. It would quickly become apparent to both Brock and Tecumseh alike that the British and the Natives did not have a monopoly on unconventional warfare...

...Richard Mentor Johnson popularly known as “Tecumseh’s Bane” and his motley collection of some 1500 mounted Kentucky militiamen would prove quite successful in impeding what otherwise would have been a simple march south. Using their superior mobility, greater morale, and unconventional, almost Native tactics, Johnson’s riders were able to score several small victories over portions of Tecumseh’s growing army of Native followers. However they would fall short of their ultimate objective of stopping Brock and Tecumseh’s advance prior to reaching Fort Recovery (2)...

...Yet despite Johnson’s failure to ultimately halt the bulk of the combined British/Native army headed to Fort Recovery, his actions in the Indiana territory did wonders for American morale. His stirring words and news of accompanying victories bolstered volunteerism in not only Kentucky but other states as well. Furthermore, Johnson’s determined irregular actions allowed the defenders of Fort Recovery to prepare for the coming siege...

...Under the command of Major General James Wilkinson, some 2000 American troops, mostly Ohio militia prepared for the defence of Fort Recovery. Though universally disliked by everyone in the American army and perhaps the most corrupt man ever to wear two stars, Wilkinson had been given the task of replacing Harrison nonetheless once news of the latter’s capture had reached Washington(3)...

...The combined British/Native army would arrive outside Fort Recovery on the 9th of May to find its garrison, unlike that of Fort Wayne’s, determined and ready to fight. Indeed, having been further bolstered by Richard Johnson’s raiders only days before, the garrison now stood ready to fight to the last, believing the largely fabricated tales of Native massacres told by Johnson’s men (4)...

...Further complicating matters were the continued presence of a force of Raiders under James Johnson outside of the fort. Though the majority of Johnson’s army remained inside the walls of the aging fort to assist in its defence, Richard’s brother, James Johnson would succeed in leading some 500 raiders in harassing the rear and supply lines of the British army...

...With his core of regulars being successively whittled away by the frustrating hit-and-run tactics of Johnson’s raiders, Brock nevertheless attempted to prosecute the siege of Fort Recovery to the best of his ability...

...Attempting to solve the continued problem of Johnson’s raiders, Brock in conjunction with Tecumseh set up what was perhaps one of the most ambitious ambushes of the war. By goading James Johnson into committing nearly all of his raiders, the British in conjunction with their native allies managed to outfox the knavish Kentuckians by allowing a small group of British regulars to be surrounded by the Kentucky raiders only to surround said regulars with a far larger force of 1000 Native warriors...

...Taking over 90% casualties in the Ambush on the Wabash, James Johnson’s fifth column was effectively finished allowing Brock and Tecumseh freedom to prosecute the siege of Fort Recovery to their utmost ability. However the damage was done. Brock’s supply lines had become insufferably long; his supplies of ammunition were beginning to fall short partly due to the actions of Johnson’s raiders and the Americans were beginning to arrive in greater and greater numbers. Furthermore Brock no longer had the added numbers of the Canadian Militia, all of whom had been released to plant the year’s crop...

...Outnumbered nearly 5-to-1 on unfavourable terrain with dwindling supplies, Brock called yet another quick council with Tecumseh under the walls of Fort Recovery. Though the native leader had insisted on regaining all land west of the settlement line of 1795, Brock’s entreaties to retreat did manage to find some traction. Opting to engage the American armies on ground of their own choosing, Tecumseh agreed to withdraw North lifting the siege of Fort Recovery on May 18th...

...Once news of the successful defence of Fort Recovery reached Washington, euphoria was in the air. Wilkinson, quite by accident, was elevated from national disgrace to national hero. At once, the Northwest was stabilized and offensive actions could be mounted to drive Tecumseh and Brock northwards back to the frigid lands from whence they came. Little did they know that the actual situation on the ground was quite different...

...Having achieved his first victory in the Northwest quite by accident and through no action of his own. Wilkinson stalls, perhaps due to his own sickness, or perhaps fearing vast hordes of Natives reinforcing Tecumseh...

...Officially he is waiting for the American Fleet under commander Jesse Elliot to gain control of Lake Erie. Had the Americans regained control of the lake, the entire British position in the Northwest would be compromised. Wilkinson would have had the capacity to take the war to Upper Canada and cut off Brock and Tecumseh from their base of supply leaving Brock with no choice but to retreat and allowing Wilkinson to roll up their positions at Fort Wayne, Fort Meigs, and Fort Detroit having only to contend with local natives...

...However, Elliot’s loss at the Battle of Lake Erie would dash all these plans. With Wilkinson’s massive army sitting idle at Fort Recovery, Secretary of War John Armstrong immediately sent word for Wilkinson to march northward in spite of the recent setback on Lake Erie...

...Having succeeded in marshalling what he termed as a significant force and without any more excuses, Wilkinson set about turning his army northward to regain Fort Wayne, Fort Meigs, and hopefully Fort Detroit thus driving the British back into Canada. With him he had nearly 8000 men, including some 1500 regulars, exponentially outnumbering Brock and Tecumseh. Yet not all was what it seemed...(5)

...Where decisive action on Wilkinson’s part may have led to a reversal of American fortunes in the Northwest, instead his hesitation would see the American army teeter on the verge of disaster. Inefficiency, waste, and sickness quickly become the bywords of The Army of the Northwest under Wilkinson’s command. Short of ammunition and artillery, time is spent, not on procuring those items, but instead medical supplies, wagon upon wagon of them. So much so, that when Wilkinson’s army does get underway in September it resembles far more “A hospital on wheels” than a formidable fighting force. Adding to this portrayal are nearly 1000 men who fall ill during the army’s assembly under the walls of Fort Recovery...

...The chief causes are bad food –which in the words of the camp surgeon, has “destroyed more soldiers than either Brock or Tecumseh – and wretched sanitation. The meat is rotten, the whiskey adulterated, and the flour so bad that “it would kill the best horse in Ohio.” The greatest offender is the bread, which when examined is found to contain bits of soap, lime, and, worst of all, human excrement. The bakers take their water from a stagnant pool off the Wabash, no more than three feet from a drain for the army’s latrine. Naked men knead the dough. Nearby is a cemetery housing 200 corpses, together with the contents of a box of amputated limbs buried in no more than a foot of sandy soil...

...But although the troops are weak from dysentery and the leading officers have been warned of the problem, nothing is done. His subordinates are convinced that Wilkinson himself is too ill to be told and too weak (from the same conclusion) to act upon the information if he were...

...When he does move northward in late September, rather than expand upon and encourage the extremely successful tactics of “Johnson’s Raiders” Wilkinson manoeuvres his army northward conventionally in a manner of those European armies marching towards France, in the manner in which he had been taught. In a manner completely unsuited to the Northwest...

...Richard Johnson and his remaining raiders were deployed in an incredibly limited sense as short ranging scouts. Not only would this lead to Tecumseh’s men being able to act with complete impunity, but also the desertion of many of Johnson’s raiders, frustrated at taking casualties for no appreciable gain and abandoning the successful tactics of the spring...

... Wilkinson nevertheless continued to plod northward, only to come under the increasing harassment of Tecumseh’s native warriors. Striking at his supply lines, Wilkinson, like Brock except on a grander scale, found out the difficulties of supplying an army in the barren wilderness of the Northwest...

...Wilkinson and his army would arrive outside of Fort Wayne on the Maumee nearly four and a half months after it had been initially captured by Brock and Tecumseh in October of 1813 only to find it thoroughly garrisoned by the British, and the woods around it swarming with Native warriors....

...Like Brock’s siege of Fort Recovery, Wilkinson soon found his position untenable, his casualties were mounting more from sickness than enemy action, his supplies dwindling, and every day more and more natives were arriving to harass his behemoth of an army. Furthermore Wilkinson’s own health has begun to deteriorate at a remarkable rate...

...With the harvest now upon them, desertion amongst Wilkinson’s militia reached endemic levels. His army reduced by disease, attrition, guerrilla warfare, and desertion, by late October, Wilkinson had no choice but to turn back retreating southward and leaving the Northwest in the hands of Tecumseh...

...In his report to the Secretary of War John Armstrong, Wilkinson proceeds to declare victory, announcing that Tecumseh and Brock had been driven North of the Maumee. Only an army of some 10,000 natives (nearly three times the actual number) prevented him and his army from retaking Fort Wayne and driving them back into Canada...

...Yet it is Wilkinson who is beaten, emaciated almost to a skeleton and unable to sit on a horse or move without being aided turns south when his desired reinforcements fail to arrive. Writing to John Armstrong he intends to retreat to Fort Harrison and there, reorganize his army for another attack down the Maumee and into the now occupied Michigan Territory. This is complete posturing, he intends to do nothing. For all intents and purposes the campaign season is over on the Northwest...

...While Wilkinson’s army turns back, Tecumseh and Henry Procter, the commander in charge of the garrison of Fort Wayne, (Brock having departed in July for the Niagara) celebrate a great victory. Every day, Tecumseh’s ranks are bolstered by new recruits as he continues to foray further and further south into Ohio and the Indiana Territory, sometimes as far south as Kentucky...

...The sieges of Fort Recovery and Fort Wayne and there aftermath, would showcase the future of War in the Northwest in 1813-1814. No longer would it be a conflict of decisive battles, but rather one of drawn out frontier sieges and irregular warfare...

Notes
1)As aggressive as he was, Brock never was in a situation in Upper Canada where his supply lines were this long. Considering that Upper Canada possessed very little appreciable industry, most of Brock’s supplies are shipped in from Britain or bought illicitly from the Federalist states. This quote also reflects Brock’s “victory disease” as he fears pursuing the war beyond the Northwest (which in his mind is already his) and into Kentucky and Ohio (of both of which he had a fair degree of respect for the martial nature of the inhabitants). Hopefully this explains his hesitancy in this portion of TTL.

2)Richard Mentor Johnson actually did this in OTL for exactly this purpose. However in OTL his raiders never got to raid extensively due to Perry’s victory on Lake Erie and the British forces being limited to Michigan territory. With TTL’s British being far more aggressive, Johnson’s troop comes into service faster and is far more successful than OTL.

3)Not altogether unreasonable considering that in OTL, Wilkinson was selected to replace Henry Dearborn on the New York front even though that was a primary front despite his record.

4)Quite similar to what happened in OTL, eventually the fear of being massacred by Indians subsided as Americans resigned themselves to their fate and prepared to fight to the last.

5)Wilkinson’s actions on the Northwest were similar in OTL, I see no reason why he should somehow become far more aggressive in TTL on the Northwest.

6)All of the depictions of the army camp are near verbatim from Berton’s descriptions of Wilkinson’s OTL army at Sackets Harbor.

 
Part IX: The Battle of Burlington

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)

...Elliot’s defeat on Lake Erie was undoubtedly a low water mark for the Americans in August 1813. Though things were certainly not as bad as they were at the end of 1812, the Americans had yet to overcome the gains made by the British and drive them back into Canada. Though the situation on the Northwest was somewhat stabilized, Tecumseh and his renewed confederacy still held most of the Northwest Territory west of the Wabash River and the British still held the strategic points of Fort Niagara and Fort Schlosser. Furthermore the American attempts to take control of the Great Lakes had failed on both Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, allowing the British to retain their narrow supply line into the colony...

...Yet as bad as the situation seemed for America in late summer 1813, not all hope had been lost. In the Northwest, General Wilkinson was preparing to march northward with an army of 8000 to regain territory lost to Tecumseh. On the Great Lakes, despite losing two horrific battles at Sackets Harbor and Lake Erie, American resolve remained unshakeable as ships were being built at a record pace to challenge British control of Lake Ontario and cut Upper Canada’s tenuous supply line. Finally, on the Niagara, General Pike had succeeded in retaking the strategic Fort Schlosser and was preparing for another offensive into Upper Canada...

...The fall of Fort Schlosser in August 1813 was all together expected by Major General Roger Sheaffe. The weaker of the two fortifications held by the British upon the conclusion of the first American counter-offensive on the Niagara, Sheaffe fully expected Fort Schlosser to fall unless substantial British aid be rendered within the first few months...

...Indeed, given the fort’s dilapidated state, Sheaffe would marvel at the garrison’s fortitude in holding out as long as they did against the incessant artillery of Pike’s besieging armies. In addition, unlike Fort Niagara which had the support of the Royal Navy from time to time, Fort Schlosser was completely isolated, an easy target for Pike’s army...

...In the five months interspacing the beginning of the American counter-offensive on the Niagara and the fall of Fort Schlosser, Brigadier General Zebulon Pike had changed substantially. Week upon week of siege warfare, which the American army was unprepared for, coupled with constant raids on his supply lines by Mohawk and Tuscarora Indians had taken its toll on Pike’s vainglorious views on warfare. However his desire for victory could not be dampened as he struggled, seemingly singlehandedly, to turn tide of the war to America’s favour...

...The defeats of Chauncey and Elliot on Lake Ontario and Erie respectively increased Pike’s feelings of isolation. Also adding to these was the consistent inaction of his friend James Wilkinson in the Northwest and the demand of John Armstrong and Washington to produce a much needed victory for the American public...

...Facing such pressures, even as the sieges of Forts Niagara and Schlosser proceeded, Pike was already making plans for another offensive to push the war back into Upper Canada. Moving troops away from Sackets Harbor (as many as could be allowed) Pike began constructing a fleet of riverine craft to send his army of unparalleled size across the Niagara and deep into Upper Canada, bypassing the fortifications currently held by the British...

...As the months drew on, the only thing preventing Pike from launching his offensive was the persistence of the British garrison at Fort Schlosser. Should that fort fall, the Americans would have de facto control of a sizeable stretch of the river, more than enough to send Pike’s army across and once again invade Upper Canada...

...Things finally began to progress in July of 1813 as Pike redeployed the bulk of his artillery to the siege works surrounding Fort Schlosser, abandoning his attempts to take Fort Niagara. As the dilapidated old fort, only recently reinforced by the British began to feel the full weight of the American army’s artillery, cracks inevitably began to show leading to the walls being breached on August 15th and the garrison surrendering the next day...

...With the fall of Fort Schlosser, Pike was at last free to commence offensive operations once again on the Niagara. Stripping the besieging army at Fort Niagara of all but a skeleton force, Pike marshalled his troops for a landing south of the Chippewa River on the Canadian side of the Niagara. Possessing nearly 8000 troops of which about half were regulars, Pike’s opponent, Sir Isaac Brock only possessed some 2000 troops including regulars, militia, and natives...

...Further exacerbating matters for the British, Brock’s forces were scattered across the entire breadth of Upper Canada. Brock himself was in York along with several companies of militia. Elements of the 104th division were garrisoning the Burlington heights, and the 41st and 49th divisions were divided between supporting Tecumseh in the Northwest and preparing for what Brock perceived as an inevitable attack on Kingston...

...In fact the only forces directly facing Pike were the some 750 British troops garrisoning Forts Niagara and Schlosser. Of these 500 were penned up under Roger Sheaffe in Fort Niagara, and 200 surrendered with the fall of Fort Schlosser. That left a grand total of 50 troops along with a handful of militia under the enterprising, hero of Fort George, newly promoted Captain James Fitzgibbon to hold the Canadian shore of the Niagara against Pike’s attack...

...Fearing that the Americans would cross the river above Fort Niagara and take advantage of the disparity in numbers, Fitzgibbon had consistently pressured both Brock and Prevost for reinforcements. Yet every time, his requests were denied. The closest thing he got to reinforcements being a handful of troops sent to strengthen the garrison of Fort Erie guarding the head of the Niagara...

...Exponentially outnumbered, it’s no wonder Pike’s invasion of September 1813 faced little to no resistance. Rather than waste his meagre force opposing the initial invasion, Fitzgibbon would resort to precisely the tactics that had been plaguing Pike for the entire campaign. Though Pike’s army would not fight a single battle while securing the Canadian shore of the Niagara, Fitzgibbon and his men would see to it that the American rear echelon took its share of casualties...

...Nevertheless, the early phase of Pike’s offensive succeeded beyond his wildest imagination. Chippewa, Queenston, Newark, were all captured and the British garrison at Fort Erie was placed under siege. Had Pike possessed, perhaps, a modicum of caution he would have focused on the Niagara, eliminating the remaining British garrisons at Fort Erie and Niagara, and scoring a crucial victory for his country. But months of frustrating guerrilla warfare had taken its toll on the American commander who saw the potential for a crushing victory. Leaving only token forces to continue the sieges of Fort Erie and Fort Niagara, Pike set forth at the head of his army towards the capital of Upper Canada: York(1)...

...News of Pike’s victory was met with cheers across the United States, a nation long deprived of good news in this war. In Canada, Sir Isaac Brock reacted as well as could be expected. Having returned from the American Northwest in July to better coordinate the defence of Upper Canada against resurgent American forces, he now found himself faced with the challenge presented by Pike’s army. Though his forces were few and out of position, he knew that in order to get to York, Pike would have to take the Burlington Heights. If Brock could marshal enough troops to hold him there, the harsh Canadian winter would put an end to the rash general’s attempt on the capital...

...Key to the designs of both Pike and Brock was control of Lake Ontario. Though technically the British still had control of the lake, the indecisiveness of Commodore James Yeo had seen to it that British control was theoretical at best. Furthermore, under the newly promoted Oliver Hazard Perry, the American fleet had recovered from its disastrous loss at Sackets Harbor and was once again in a position to challenge the British for control of the vital supply line...

...To a great extent both commanders were depending on running supplies across Lake Ontario to reinforce and supply their armies. Brock desperately craved the potential thousand men Yeo could spare from Kingston in order to further even the disparaging odds he faced. Pike on the other hand, found his supply trains, limited to a single coastal road, constantly under attack from Fitzgibbon’s militia. As he marched further and further away from the Niagara, his army’s supply situation became worse and worse...

...In fact as they neared Burlington, many of Pike’s men had taken to eating whatever they could find, tree bark, grass, even their own shoes, in an effort to fill their aching stomachs. Everything hinged on Commodore Perry being able to run much needed supplies into Burlington Bay in order for Pike to continue his march on York...

...Thus the stage was set for a second major fleet engagement on Lake Ontario as both fleets would converge on Burlington bay filled with the supplies and reinforcements needed for their respective armies. Yet whereas the British fleet would have no problem in complying with Brock’s demands, the American fleet under newly promoted Commodore Perry would face a more formidable challenge...

...Inheriting a fleet barely worthy of the name in the aftermath of the defeat at Sackets Harbor, over the past 5 months, Perry had worked tirelessly to rebuild an American force on Lake Ontario. In July he completed the gargantuan General Scott then the largest vessel afloat on the lake. The Scott would be followed by another brig the Chauncey and several more vessels were placed under construction and were well under way by early September though nowhere near completion...

...Nevertheless despite Perry’s aggressive building programme, the British were not inactive and furthermore possessed a large head start. Building another brig to equal the Madison to serve with his fleet. This would put the overall strength of the British Lake Ontario Fleet at 9 large ships to the American 7 (five of which were schooners compared to the British 2)...

...Thus as Pike’s demands for supplies reached Sackets Harbor Perry was forced to decline sending his entire fleet out. Though he eagerly desired combat with the British, the qualitative and quantitative superiority possessed by Yeo proved to be too formidable for even Perry to attempt to challenge. Perhaps in 1814 after a furious season of building would the American fleet be in a position to challenge the British for control of Canada’s only supply route...

...Yet Perry was not content to completely abandon Pike’s offensive, in the end, only a token force of gunboats and barges led by a single sloop the Hamilton under Lieutenant John Winters, were sent across the lake with barely a quarter of what Pike had requested. Meanwhile James Yeo had undertaken a similar operation, sending a small force of gunboats and barges under Captain James Mulcaster his second in command, to send Brock some of his requested supplies...

...Departing at roughly analogous times and hugging their respective coasts, the two fleets wouldn’t come into contact, ironically until after delivering their respective cargoes. With both Brock and Pike desperately short of artillery, each flotilla of gunboats was requisitioned to provide support for the coming battle on Burlington Heights...

...In the American camp, though the arrival of supplies was welcome it was far from what Pike had expected. His men were still desperately short of food, gunpowder, ammunition, and other basic goods (mostly due to the incessant activity of Fitzgibbon’s partisans). Facing men on the verge of revolt, Pike utilized all of his oratory skill to rally their spirits. Convincing them that the British army had received a large shipment of supplies that was waiting to be seized, Pike assembled his army to take the Burlington Heights...

...Leaving only a screening force in front of Brock’s positions, Pike secretly positioned the bulk of his army on the British left flank in the hopes that their attack would surprise the British and force them into a headlong retreat, allowing the American army to seize whatever supplies they could and in so doing prolong an offensive that was rapidly running out of steam...

...To Pike’s credit, his deception proved amazingly successful. Using the same tactics Brock had used at Fort Detroit, Pike managed to convince the British that indeed the bulk of his force was assembled directly in front of the British. Marching troops by multiple times in front of makeshift fortifications convinced the British that far more troops were present. In addition the construction of “Pike’s Cannons”, false artillery pieces made of logs and old wagon parts, convinced the British that the bulk of the American artillery was in position at the base of the heights(2)...

...Had anyone else but Brock been in command, Pike’s desperate attempt at Burlington may have succeeded bringing a great deal of hope to the American cause. Yet Pike failed to take into account the blatantly aggressive posture of his opponent, who upon discovering the enemy was determined to attack him. Whereas Pike firmly believed that the British would not leave the heights, here Brock was determined to do exactly that(3)...

...Brock’s pre-dawn attack would pre-empt Pike’s by several hours and in so doing completely shatter the American commander’s brilliant battle plan. When his initial artillery barrage met little to no response, Brock ordered his men in to attack. Though the screening force did manage to inflict numerous casualties on the British, they found themselves completely unprepared for such a manoeuvre and found themselves forced to cede their position at the foot of the Heights...

...With the screening force retreating in disarray, it didn’t take long for Brock to see through Pike’s deception. Recognizing that he had the initiative, Brock reformed his troops to not only meet Pike’s potential attack, but deliver a flanking manoeuvre of his own. Positioning his militia in front of his artillery on the Heights, Brock ordered his regulars along with his Native allies and Fitzgibbon’s Partisans (fresh from the Niagara) to slam into Pike’s flank and hopefully send the American army reeling...

...To his credit, upon hearing of Brock’s attack on the screening force, Pike took as action as quickly as possible. Yet faced with an army on the brink of starvation, as quickly as possible turned out to be not quick enough. Pike’s hope that he could launch his planned attack earlier and seize the heights while Brock’s men were out of position, were promptly dashed as the first wave of attackers were cut down by British grapeshot and the vengeful volleys of the Canadian Militia...

...Pike soon found the bulk of his army caught in a vice, backs against the unforgiving Canadian wilderness, the Heights were held by British Artillery and Militia, while their flanks were assailed by Native Militia and Brock’s regulars approached resolutely from their right...

...With his army teetering on the breaking point, Pike abandoned his aim of taking the heights and instead focused purely on ensuring the survival of his army. Turning to face the British Regulars, Pike threw all of his men into the attack hoping that by sheer weight of numbers alone, they could drive them from the field of battle and retreat in good order...

...This phase of the Battle of Burlington would go down as one of the bloodiest in the war. It would also serve to highlight a critical difference between the two armies. When Pike’s army advanced, it did so as an army of individuals. Comprised of men born and raised on the frontier, men who knew how to shoot from boyhood, and who participated in the countless “Indian Wars” of American history, Pike’s army was not so much comprised of soldiers but of warriors. Though impressive in martial skill, order and discipline were sorely lacking. Many of Pike’s men, when they came under fire from the British, proceeded to take cover and return fire rather than remain in formation...

...The British regulars on the other hand, despite being outnumbered nearly four to one, possessed what the Americans lacked, order and discipline, in spades. Rather than the scattering of aimed shots masquerading as a “volley” emanating from the American lines, British volleys came off in a tremendous cloud of smoke, their concerted shot wreaking havoc on the enemy(4)...

...Thus, beneath the Burlington Heights was the lifeblood of America’s youth spilt. Wave after wave of starving soldiers ran forward to their death, their countless shots hardly abetting the British volleys. As the battlefield became immersed in clouds of gunsmoke, Pike had no other option but to retreat and try to save what was left of his army. The Battle of Burlington Heights was over...

...In stark contrast to his advance on Burlington, Pike’s retreat was anything but glorious. Despite the fact that Brock’s forces on the heights were in no way capable of mounting a successful pursuit, Pike’s army soon disintegrated as the logistical situation deteriorated from dismal to non-existent. Harassed by Natives and Partisans, those remnants of Pike’s army that did make it across the Niagara counted themselves among the lucky...

...When Brock’s army did move to pursue they found little to no resistance. Those Canadian settlers who defected joined the American army in retreating leaving the Niagara region even more of a barren wasteland. As the frontlines began to stabilize around mid-September, both sides found themselves in a similar situation to that prior to the offensive. Despite taking Fort Schlosser, the American sieges of both Fort Erie and Fort Niagara had been broken leaving the British in firm control of the region and making Pike’s grand offensive a complete failure...

...The only redeeming feature of the Battle of Burlington Heights would be the oft overlooked naval battle, in which American forces led by the schooner under Lieutenant Winters, managed to score a tactical victory and sink several British gunboats, forcing the remnants under Mulcaster to retreat towards York. Though this victory did give the Americans naval superiority for a time, it was rendered moot by the battle taking place inland beyond the reach of the American carronades. Nevertheless, for defeating the British, Winters was promoted to captain and slated to command one of the new brigs under construction at Sackets Harbor...

...Despite wasting considerable resources both men and materiel, on a relatively pointless offensive, Pike did not find himself joining his fellow Generals in semi-retirement. Rather, Pike managed to convince Secretary of War John Armstrong that the entire affair was a result of Perry’s indecisiveness in not sending him enough supplies. Furthermore Pike promised a renewed offensive come spring to end the invasion of Canada once and for all. In the end this proved to be enough for the American government who left Pike in charge of the Center and hoped that somehow he would learn from Burlington in time to salvage this conflict gone horribly awry...

Notes

1)Pike’s actions here are representative of the little we know about him. His desire for glory and victory are quite apparent in his letters preceding his death during OTL’s sack of York. Had he survived he most likely would have taken similar gambles in the hopes of scoring a decisive victory. In TTL these desires are encouraged by the government as well as his own men who are eager to escape the bleary sieges along the river...

2)Yes, these are “Quaker Cannons” 50 years ahead of time...

3)Again these actions are predicated on what we know of Brock and his behaviour.

4)Much of the preceding two paragraphs was based on a similar passage in Berton’s book which chronicled a similar battle at Chrysler’s Farm in OTL
 
amazing really, I am so happy that the Brits are fighting back with true strength really but you know this may help show the Americans the need for a real large standing army seeing the difference between the two armies and I think that soon all indians maybe forced to move to the North West after this war really and are the British still going to try and attack New Orleans and Washington
 
Fearless Leader

Been away a week but catching up. Interesting couple of chapters and looks like its coming to a climax. If Brock can hold things together until summer 1814 then, baring major butterflies he can expect a lot of reinforcements.

In a longer war that sets up an interesting situation. Given the gains made the US will either have to concede territory or prepare for a long war against what will then be the world's greatest power. Also if they reject fairly moderate terms then that will anger British opinion, possibly enough to overcome war weariness and possibly as importantly bring frustration in the NE to a head.

Steve
 
amazing really, I am so happy that the Brits are fighting back with true strength really but you know this may help show the Americans the need for a real large standing army seeing the difference between the two armies and I think that soon all indians maybe forced to move to the North West after this war really and are the British still going to try and attack New Orleans and Washington

zeppelin247

True and makes for an interesting post war situation. A highly militarised US could pose a continued threat to Canada which would have interesting potentials for its development and also that of the British empire. It would also have impacts on the development of the US.

Steve
 
Thanks for all the comments everyone! Hope you still enjoy the subsequent parts!

Part XI: Those Long Dark Nights...

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)

...As the characteristic Canadian Winter began to take hold ending the campaigning season of 1813 both sides took time to take a step back and re-examine their positions. Much to their chagrin, the Americans found themselves no better for a year of intense campaigning and considerable expense. Indeed along the Northwest, due to Wilkinson’s incompetence the situation was actually worse. Tecumseh and his allies now dominated the Northwest and were beginning to foray deep into American territory. In the east, Pike’s foolhardy attempt to take York and subsequent defeat at Burlington had eliminated the possibility of further campaigning as the young General eagerly set about rebuilding his army. Furthermore, American attempts to wrest control of the Great Lakes from Great Britain had failed miserably with the British managing to maintain Upper Canada’s vital maritime supply route...

...For the Canadians under Sir Isaac Brock and George Prevost 1813 had been yet another year in which a seemingly inevitable American invasion had been beaten off. Despite a late rally by Pike on the Niagara, superior British discipline won out in the end at Burlington leading to the status quo being maintained in the East. The West was another matter, with British garrisons supporting an ever growing Native Confederacy under Tecumseh. Perhaps with Napoleon nearly finished, Britain would be able to achieve all she dreamed of and more on the American continent, including the creation of a valuable Native American buffer state...

...Yet despite the American defeats in 1813, not all was lost for the young republic. In the west, thousands of men took up arms to defend home and country against the ravages of Tecumseh’s war parties. The inept and frail James Wilkinson had been summarily sacked following his disastrous attempt at Fort Wayne. His replacement, the ever popular Richard Mentor Johnson “Tecumseh’s Bane” was determined to not only stop Tecumseh’s advances but drive him back into the frozen wasteland of Upper Canada...

...Meanwhile in the east, General Zebulon Pike had managed to escape the crucible of Burlington and learn from his experience. Rebuilding his army from the ground up, Pike was now determined to end this war personally. Salvaging a French Army Infantry manual from the library of the deceased Winfield Scott, Pike set about preparing for yet another thrust into Upper Canada. He soon became convinced that should he throw the entirety of his army, properly trained of course, that the British lines would break leaving Upper Canada in the hands of America at last...

...In addition to Pike’s ambitions, Commodore Perry in Sackets Harbor had enlisted some of America’s best shipwrights including the ambitious Noah Brown to construct a fleet equal to that of Commodore Yeo’s in Kingston. Should he succeed in securing the Lake yet another nail would be driven into the coffin of British Canada In December alone 5 new ships, 3 of which were frigates, were laid down set to be completed come spring...

...Faced with such spirited determination exhibited by the Americans, Sir Isaac Brock and George Prevost immediately sent letters to London pleading for reinforcements. The reply was less than satisfactory as Lord Castlereigh promised troops, only after Napoleon had been dealt with. This left the Upper Canadian garrison of some 3500 men spread out between Fort Wayne and Kingston to face the combined might of America come Spring...

...Particularly troubling to both Brock and Commodore James Yeo was Commodore Perry’s ambitious building program in Sackets Harbor. With Upper Canada possessing no appreciable industrial base, all British ship construction on Lake Ontario had to be done with supplies imported from Britain. As a result British ship builders found themselves unable to keep up with the insane building programs taking place at Sackets Harbor. Indeed should all the American vessels be completed on time, by spring it would be the Americans who would outnumber the British on the Lake...

...Faced with such an unappealing prospect, both Commodore Yeo and Sir Isaac Brock decided to go ahead with a daring offensive proposed earlier in the conflict. Despite the relatively mild winter weather, it was decided to go ahead with an offensive that would send roughly 1000 men across the Ice of Lake Ontario on snowshoes to attack the American shipyards at Sackets Harbor(1)...

...These men, mostly regulars and Royal Marines, would travel across the Ice of Lake Ontario using snowshoes, hauling supplies and artillery on sledges to attack the American base at Sackets Harbor. Though trained for such an operation, few relished the “honour” of participating in such a raid especially so late in the year...

...Ironically, The Raid of Sackets Harbor would be delayed not by logistics, or indecisiveness, but by weather. The Winter of 1813/1814 was an uncharacteristically mild one forcing Brock to postpone launching the raid until the ice was thick enough. Yet as temperatures remained relatively mild, Brock found himself running out of time. Lake Ontario seldom froze over completely, and should he delay too long, the sheet of ice connecting Kingston to Sackets Harbor would be too thin to send even the most daring men across...

...Faced with the unwelcome prospect of a numerically superior American fleet come Spring, Brock ordered the raid ahead on New Years Eve 1813 after a stint of particularly cold weather. 1000 men under the command of Captain John Fitzgibbon, with snowshoes on their feet, supplies on their backs, and towing guns and ammunition on sledges behind them, set forth from Kingston on one of the most daring attacks of the war...

...Though not as thick as they would like, the Ice covering the eastern shore of the River proved thick enough to bear the weight of the raiders as they crossed in the dead of winter. Though the raiding force lost its share of men, supplies, and guns to thin ice and exposure, enough made it across to warrant an assault on the American shipyards...

...For Captain John Fitzgibbon the Raid on Sackets Harbor would mark the pinnacle of his career. Having risen through the ranks as Brock’s personal protégé during his stay in Upper Canada, Fitzgibbon had gone on to participate in defending the Niagara against not one but two American offensives, each time contributing to the repulsion of the invaders despite being gravely outnumbered. Transferred to Brock’s force at Kingston at the General’s personal request, Fitzgibbon’s daring and combat record made him the perfect choice for leading the raid. Though some had come to resent the young commander’s rise through the ranks, his amicable nature and fierce determination quickly won him the respect and love of the men crossing the ice of Lake Ontario with him...

...As Fitzgibbon and his men overlooked the Sackets Harbor on January 4th, few could believe their eyes. There in front of them was the entire American fleet as well as no less than 7 new ships under construction. Despite the freezing cold, hundreds of carpenters swarmed over the vessels eagerly constructing them in anticipation of seizing the Lake come spring. Yet despite all this activity, only a handful of militia could be seen monitoring the goings on of the harbour...

...The Raid on Sackets Harbor serves as yet another case of extremely good timing for the British and extremely bad timing for the Americans. Despite being heavily defended for the majority of the war courtesy of the fact that it was the headquarters of the American fleet on Lake Ontario, the winter of 1813/1814 saw the small town nearly undefended. It’s troops stripped away to participate in Pike’s offensive across the Niagara, only a handful of militia were left to defend Commodore Perry’s fleet and the shipyards which contributed to its exponential growth...

...Emulating his mentor, Fitzgibbon immediately ordered his men into action. Establishing his battery of small guns in a redoubt on the treeline, the raiders proceeded to form ranks and advance on the city...

...As the crackle of musket fire and the screams of men echoed through the town, men began to panic. Those building the ships were certainly not soldiers and had no desire to fight these demons emerging from the snow. Commodore Perry, the only officer of any appreciable rank found himself facing a force without any means of fighting it. Most of his militia had gone home for the winter and were only beginning to return. Furthermore his marines had also been billeted for the season and only a handful had reported for duty as of yet...

...Nevertheless, Perry gallantly assembled a last ditch force comprising anyone and everyone able to fight in a last ditch effort to save the ships they had all worked so hard on. Rapidly assembling barricades the men prepared to fight to the last to save America’s last hope for victory in the war...

...Yet Perry’s ramshackle force of militia, marines, and carpenters proved to be hardly a match for Fitzgibbon’s raiders. Backed by a small 3-pound gun, Fitzgibbon’s men formed ranks and began to unleash volley after volley into Perry’s men. Unsurprisingly, the carpenters broke first, followed quickly by the militia. This left only Perry himself and a small cadre of Marines firing furiously from a hastily constructed barricade. Despite Fitzgibbon’s repeated pleading for Perry to surrender, Perry remained adamant, he and his men were prepared
to fight to the last...

...Holed up in their barricade, Perry and his men continued to fire at the British troops moving in to torch the ships. Exasperated at Perry’s unwillingness to yield and himself unwilling to take any more casualties, Fitzgibbon ordered Perry’s barricade stormed stating “They say they wish to fight to the last man...oblige them...

...Following their burning of the American fleet, Fitzgibbon’s men proceeded to destroy anything else they believe to be of military value in the town. Guns were spiked, provisions spoiled, gunpowder destroyed. In the end only buildings and stores unrelated to the war effort were spared as Fitzgibbon and his men began their treacherous return to Kingston...

...Despite losing nearly half his force of nigh irreplaceable regulars, Fitzgibbon was given a hero’s welcome. In one fell swoop he had succeeded in destroying the American fleet and thereby guaranteed British superiority on Lake Ontario for the foreseeable future. Such a feat earned him the lasting respect of the British military establishment, who were more than willing to overlook the high percentage of casualties in light of such a critical victory...

...News of the Raid on Sackets Harbor would be slow to reach Washington, yet already events were put in motion to bring about an end to the conflict. December 30th 1813 saw the HMS Bramble arrive in Annapolis with a letter from British Foreign Secretary Lord Castlereagh entreating President Madison to negotiate an end to the war (2)...

...With Congress mulling over Castlereagh’s offer as news of the Raid on Sackets Harbor reached them, the choice became increasingly clear. The invasion of Canada was at a standstill after nearly a year of campaigning and the American position in the Northwest was getting worse every day, obviously the war was not going well. Furthermore with the War in Europe drawing to a close many Britons were pushing for the Americans to be chastised, indeed the war could get much worse for America...

...With surprisingly little debate from the “War Hawks”, now clipped, Madison dispatched Speaker of the House Henry Clay to London to begin negotiating a treaty to bring an end to the conflict. Letters were also sent to the other diplomats in Europe summoning them to London to participate in negotiations. At long last, events had been put in motion to draw the conflict to an end...

...With American diplomats assembling in London, the goal of the American war effort became to score enough victories to secure an amicable peace. To further this aim, Secretary of War John Armstrong is sacked and replaced by Secretary of State James Monroe who leaves the post of Secretary of War vacant while assuming all of its duties...

...Recognizing the immense responsibility upon his shoulders, Monroe is quick to direct American energy into two primary offensives. In the west, troops under the newly promoted Brigadier General Richard Mentor Johnson are to push northward, driving Tecumseh and his men North of the Wabash and Maumee Rivers initially. This is to be done in conjunction with a massive offensive in the East under the brash General Pike towards Kingston. With Kingston taken Upper Canada, and by extension Tecumseh’s confederacy would be cut off from British supplies forcing them to consolidate and improving America’s chances at a favourable peace...

...For Pike, Monroe’s orders to take Kingston are hardly a surprise. Pike himself had planned to attack the strategic city come Spring, however the disastrous raid at Sackets Harbor changed all that. Now unable to transport his army by sea, Pike was left with no other choice but to march from the Niagara to Sackets Harbor and from there launch a do or die offensive in the hopes of salvaging his country’s honour...

Notes
1)Such an attack was planned in OTL during the winter of 1813/1814 however indecision by the British commanders forced it to be abandoned due to the short winter season. In TTL Brock is more decisive causing the attack to go ahead with great success.

2)This is an OTL event, and the earliest plausible date peace could be negotiated in the conflict. In TTL due to the worse situation America finds itself in, immediate action is taken to secure a peace, lest America lose even more. As a result no attempt is made to get Britain to agree to Tsar Alexander’s offer of mediation, and the negotiations are held in London to facilitate signing a treaty.
 
Fearless Leader

Hopefully the Sackets Harbour attack will be decisive. With a clean naval superiority the British will be able to move troops and supplies a lot more easily and also gain information on enemy movements. Possibly even force the Americans to keep away from the lakeside in many cases to avoid naval bombardment. Pike has a long march through fairly difficult terrain even to reach his starting point. Furthermore he probably has to keep at least some forces behind to prevent the British making even more gains by attacking again in the Niagara region. Hence despite his superior numbers and the fact he seems to have learnt to train his forces better, although whether the militia will be happy with that;), I think Brock will prove too strong for him.

It's more uncertain in the west as Johnson has more knowledge of what warfare in the region needs and has already shown his skills. There is the danger if Tecumseh is killed that his confederation could fall apart. However Tecumseh is also a skilled leader and has a lot of men available with experience of the war. Furthermore this time Johnson will be doing the attacking and won't have clear supply lines to raid. His cavalry and possibly artillery could be a serious threat, depending on how well they can be used in the conditions and how much British support Brock can survive.

While the idea of new offensives seem to make sense I'm not sure how practical it is given that negotiations are occurring in London and hence the time delay. If an agreement is reached given borders at a certain date then by the time news has reached America Pike has won a possibly very costly victory the US would be faced with giving up such gains of repudiating the treaty and really angering the UK.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how things develop. How long are you thinking of carrying on the TL? Sounds like peace is approaching so will you stop it then or [hopefully] continue for some years [preferably a lot] afterwards?

Steve
 
Fearless Leader

Hopefully the Sackets Harbour attack will be decisive. With a clean naval superiority the British will be able to move troops and supplies a lot more easily and also gain information on enemy movements. Possibly even force the Americans to keep away from the lakeside in many cases to avoid naval bombardment. Pike has a long march through fairly difficult terrain even to reach his starting point. Furthermore he probably has to keep at least some forces behind to prevent the British making even more gains by attacking again in the Niagara region. Hence despite his superior numbers and the fact he seems to have learnt to train his forces better, although whether the militia will be happy with that;), I think Brock will prove too strong for him.

It's more uncertain in the west as Johnson has more knowledge of what warfare in the region needs and has already shown his skills. There is the danger if Tecumseh is killed that his confederation could fall apart. However Tecumseh is also a skilled leader and has a lot of men available with experience of the war. Furthermore this time Johnson will be doing the attacking and won't have clear supply lines to raid. His cavalry and possibly artillery could be a serious threat, depending on how well they can be used in the conditions and how much British support Brock can survive.

While the idea of new offensives seem to make sense I'm not sure how practical it is given that negotiations are occurring in London and hence the time delay. If an agreement is reached given borders at a certain date then by the time news has reached America Pike has won a possibly very costly victory the US would be faced with giving up such gains of repudiating the treaty and really angering the UK.

Anyway, looking forward to seeing how things develop. How long are you thinking of carrying on the TL? Sounds like peace is approaching so will you stop it then or [hopefully] continue for some years [preferably a lot] afterwards?

Steve

The very idea behind the offensives is to influence the negotiations in the hope that the victories will be somewhat timely. America pursued a very similar course in OTL.


Part XII: One Last Gasp

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)

...As Brigadier General Zebulon Pike trundled along the dusty roads leading from the Niagara peninsula to Sackets Harbor at the head of his reformed Army of the Center, one could not help but notice the weight of an entire nation’s fate upon his shoulders. Rather than attempt another futile offensive along the Niagara, Pike, under the orders of John Armstrong and James Monroe began his march northwards towards Sackets Harbor in the hopes of severing Upper Canada’s supply line at Kingston(1)...

...It is somewhat ironic that despite the strategic city of Kingston being at the heart of every American plan for invading Canada, only in the war’s final year was a direct offensive ever attempted at it. Born out of desperation of a country unable to gain the upper hand in what was supposed to be a simple conflict, the stage was being set for the war’s decisive battle. Should Pike and his forces be victorious in taking the port, America would have scored a critical victory, perhaps one that would allow them an honourable way out of the conflict before more British troops, fresh from the battlefields of Europe could arrive...

...Indeed as the spring of 1814 progressed, the stage was being set for the final decisive battle to decide the fate of Upper Canada. From the Niagara, Pike marched north with some 6000 men, all regulars, well drilled after the embarrassment at Burlington Heights. They would proceed North to Sackets Harbor where they would be met by some 4000 troops headed south from Lake Champlain under newly promoted General George Izard. Together the two armies would then march northwest to the town of Ogdensburg where they would cross the St. Lawrence before turning south and attacking Kingston...

...This entire operation would have been considerably easier, had the American fleet on Lake Ontario, survived the Raid on Sackets Harbor. Had the fleet been intact, taking Kingston would have taken weeks at most, instead Pike was now forced to detour well to the north to avoid British naval interdiction. As it was, the fleet, now under the command of Commodore John Rodgers, was just barely beginning to recover. Though yet another gargantuan building program was being undertaken, priority was given to repairing those ships still salvageable and constructing a small flotilla of riverine gunboats to secure the St. Lawrence. These ships, though not able to wrest control of the lake from the superior forces under Commodore Yeo, would prove invaluable to Pike in transporting men and supplies from the Niagara to Sackets Harbor under the very noses of the British and in the upcoming offensive(2)...

...Aided by Rodgers’ fleet, Pike’s army was able to make excellent time travelling from the Niagara to Sackets Harbor. Yet despite arriving in mid May, Pike, eager to learn from his mistakes took over a month to establish a logistical base for his strike on Kingston. Guided by an unusual combination of caution and urgency Pike began to undertake logistical preparation for his upcoming offensive. This time, his invasion of Canada would not be depending on the often oh so unreliable naval forces technically at his disposal...

...The arrival of Pike’s army as well as George Izard’s would transform the sleepy town of Ogdensburg New York overnight. As a border town in a traditionally Federalist portion of New York, Ogdensburg had already seen the furies of war, being the sight of a minor skirmish in which Pike gained a name for himself, eventually catapulting him to command the final American invasion of Canada. Immediately upon arriving Pike would proceed to establish martial law in the town, effectively quarantining the residents there whom Pike viewed as “dubious in their loyalty”. Meanwhile hundreds of oxcarts towing everything from food, to clothing, to powder and shot, to bateaux began their long journey to Ogdensburg to support Pike in his offensive...

...These American preparations for a final invasion of Upper Canada would not go unnoticed by Brock. Brock, who had suspected an invasion around Kingston in the fall of 1813, only to find Pike attacking through the Niagara, this time began to pool all his resources in and around the Kingston area. British garrisons supporting Tecumseh in the Northwest, and holding down the Niagara frontier were stripped to bare minimums while continuous letters were sent to George Prevost pleading for troops stationed in Lower Canada...

...In the end, by June 1814 Brock was able to marshal some 5000 troops (out of the entire British North American garrison of 9000) to protect a stretch of coastline from Montreal to Kingston. Any more, he was informed, would increase the chance of Britain losing Lower Canada and leave Upper Canada cut off from further reinforcement. Nevertheless, despite a generous infusion of troops including French Canadian Militia under Charles De Saleberry Brock still found himself outnumbered by the Americans by a ratio of nearly two to one...

...Though Brock’s initial response to the situation was to launch an aggressive attack on the American position, the realities of the situation precluded him from doing so. Any attack on the American position risked being destroyed in detail, and further worsening the long odds Brock was already facing. Furthermore whereas in the initial phases of the war Brock held advantages such as having better trained troops and fearsome Indian allies, by 1814 these advantages had largely been nullified by American war experience and the incessant drilling of Zebulon Pike...

...Indeed, even at Burlington Heights, Brock could not help but note the improvement in the quality of American regulars. Though the British were still victorious, Brock personally feared the Americans training troops equal to the British regulars and in greater numbers and thereby overwhelming them...

...Yet despite not having his traditional advantages, Brock was not without resources with which to defeat the Americans. For once, time was on his side, every day that passed was a day closer to peace as British and American diplomats hammered out the details of a peace treaty in London. Brock need not win this battle, he just needed to keep Pike from taking Kingston. Brock was further aided in this endeavour by British superiority on Lake Ontario, whereas it would have been quite simple for Pike to launch an amphibious assault on the key port, British naval superiority had forced the Americans to make a long detour north to safely cross the St. Lawrence...

...The long awaited American offensive would begin on June 14th 1814 as American bateaux, guarded by a brace of gunboats towed overland to the particular section of the St. Lawrence, began to ferry American troops across the river towards the sleepy town of Prescott. Supported by thunderous volleys of American artillery as well as the guns on the gunboats, the first wave of American invaders faced little opposition from the bewildered Canadian garrison in Prescott...

...After delivering only a handful of volleys against the assembling American troops, Prescott’s garrison of Militia promptly abandoned their positions marching eastward to join with Brock’s main body of troops while sending riders both to Kingston and Montreal to inform the authorities of the location of the attack...

...Lacking the resources to respond strongly to Pike’s initial landing Brock was forced to resign himself to a more passive, yet proven strategy in order to blunt yet another American invasion of Upper Canada. Echoing the events at Burlington Bay, the majority of Brock’s troops would assemble at Elizabethtown to stop Pike well before Kingston. Meanwhile local partisans and native allies (most notably Caughnawaga Indians under Captain Dominique Ducharme) would harass Pike’s gargantuan army as it assembled and made its way towards Kingston. Finally a fleet of some 15 gunboats under the command of Captain James Howe Mulcaster, veteran of Burlington Bay and second in command to Commodore James Yeo would sail into the Thousand Islands and wrest control of the St. Lawrence from the Americans, severing Pike’s supply line and cutting off his retreat...

...Unfortunately for Brock, it would seem that his luck was beginning to run out. Almost immediately it became apparent that these troops arriving by the boatload in Prescott were a far cry from the ill trained and demoralized troops formerly employed by the Americans. Un phased by partisan and Native attacks Pike’s army began its long march towards Kingston on June 17th, though the partisan attacks would make a dent in the supply situation of the army, by and large the Americans were unaffected as they approached Brock’s positions outside of Elizabethtown for what was to be the final battle of the war(3)...

...To make matters worse, Brock had intended for British gunboats under Captain Mulcaster to seize the St. Lawrence by the time his army met Pike’s and provide artillery support. However staunch American resistance in the Battle of the Thousand Islands had prevented Mulcaster from ridding the river of American craft and had set his timetable for seizing the crucial waterway by weeks at the very most...

...As a result the Battle of Elizabethtown would be a relatively simple affair, uncomplicated by partisans, navies, or supply lines. Simply army versus army, commander against commander come what may. Though the British did possess a degree of fortification, Pike’s army had considerable weight of numbers roughly cancelling out British preparations...

...As soon as the battle was joined on the morning of June 20th, it became apparent that the regulars employed by Pike were a far cry from those the British had seen earlier in the war. Unflinching under heavy British fire, they let off volley after volley into the British barricades inflicting their share of casualties on the hated redcoats...

...Fortunately for Brock, he had chosen his battlefield well. With impenetrable forest and swamp to his left, Pike’s advance was limited to the road bisecting a small clearing between the wall of trees and the river. The very nature of the terrain made it all but impossible for Pike to do anything but send wave after wave of men against the British positions, so he did knowing full well that his army could afford to take such losses while Brock’s could not...

...With the American columns advancing fearlessly under a hail of British fire, Brock orders a phased withdrawal as he’s planned all along. Truth be told, Elizabethtown was a relatively minor village, the engagement here had been one of experimentation. Now the size and composition of Pike’s force was known and furthermore substantially reduced allowing Brock to prepare for the defence of Kingston. While Pike and his men count the cost of taking Elizabethtown, Brock and his own will join up with the garrison at Kingston while over 1000 fresh men under Colonel Charles De Salaberry approach from the East. Though the battle of Elizabethtown is over, this campaign has only just started...

...Still Brock’s army does not manage to escape completely unscathed. The daring actions of Eleazar Ripley’s brigade see to it that the British lose a substantial portion of their artillery in the engagement, though the cost is incredibly high to the point of removing Ripley’s brigade from active service for the remainder of the offensive...

...As Pike enters the town of Elizabethtown he finds unsurprisingly that there is little of value. Echoing his previous offensive along the Niagara, the British have employed a scorched earth strategy to further complicate and lengthen his supply line. Yet this does not worry Pike who has planned for such an occurrence. His logistical base is more than capable of supplying his army on its march to Kingston...

...Nevertheless, despite American papers crying of a great victory at Elizabethtown, Pike knows that this is merely a prelude to the real battle, and an expensive prelude at that. All told, Brock’s stand at Elizabethtown has reduced Pike’s total number of effectives by fifteen hundred while costing the British only a fraction of that number. Yet such casualties were to be expected, taking only a few days to rally his troops, Pike resumes his march towards Kingston on the twenty second of June...

...Though Pike and his command remained optimistic that they could take Kingston before the onset of peace, an analysis of the strategic realities facing the Americans paints a different picture. Not only was a sizeable British force approaching their rear from Northern Canada, their supply lines were lengthening daily and Brock was in possession of sizeable fortifications outside of Kingston. Once Pike and his army arrived outside of Kingston placing the city under siege would be their only option, all the while more and more British forces would be brought to bear on their position...

...The exact outcome of Pike’s final invasion of Canada in 1812 will forever remain a mystery and one of the wars most tantalizing “what if” questions. For mere hours after arriving outside Brock’s defensive works surrounding Kingston on June 30th, couriers would arrive from Albany and Quebec to deliver messages to Pike and Brock respectively bringing news of the recently signed Treaty of London and the end of the War...

Notes
1)In OTL the final American offensive under Winfield Scott would take place in the Niagara to take advantage of American superiority on Lake Erie and to make the most of American numerical superiority before the arrival of British reinforcements from Europe. In TTL the Americans are desperately seeking a peace, and have no superiority on Lake Erie causing them to make one last attempt at Kingston in the hopes of securing an amicable peace instead of launching another offensive on the Niagara.

2)With the death of Oliver Hazard Perry, the command of the Lake Ontario Fleet, in TTL one of America’s most important naval commands is transferred to Commodore John Rodgers who has up until now, sat inactive in Maryland (In OTL he played a key role in the defence of Baltimore).

3)The state of Pike’s army is meant to reflect the increased training it has received in TTL due to Pike being in command for longer. Compared to the army wielded by Winfield Scott in 1814 in OTL Pike’s army is slightly better and as such does better in these final engagements.
 
Fearless Leader

Interesting. I would still have suspects the odds would be with Brock as the Americans have to take a strongly fortified position while their long and exposed supply lines are threatened both by guerillas and a force approaching from the rear. [Not sure if Pike would know about De Salaberry's force but he must be having to detach men to guard the supply lines as they lengthen]. Coupled with the threat of the British winning control of the river and also by this time of forces arriving from Europe it could well end a total disaster for the US.

Anyway, lets see what's been agreed. I presume that Tecumseh's position will be secured, probably as a British protectorate, since the US refused to recognise Indian states. What the exact borders will be could be a great subject of debate.

When I saw note 2 I did wonder if Roger's absence would have an impact further south.;) However things are decided before then.

Hopefully, as said earlier, you will continue post-war with the development of the various powers. Pretty please.;)

Steve
 
Part XIII: Hollow Victories

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)
...As 1814 dawned on the Northwest Front things could hardly look bleaker for the Americans. Despite their best efforts, the British had succeeded in aiding their native allies to the extent that Tecumseh’s Confederacy had been revived and was in the position of seriously threatening American settlement of the Northwest. Day by day more British supplies arrived at Fort Detroit and day after day, more Native warriors flocked to Tecumseh’s cause strengthening his endless stream of warbands sent south into American territory. Making matters even worse, by 1814 the spirit of Tecumseh had travelled south prompting a general uprising amongst the 5 civilized tribes...

...By winter of 1814 most settlers had by and large retreated from the Old Northwest. In Ohio though the eastern portion of the state remained relatively secure, in the west settlers were confined to living in close proximity to a number of hastily erected forts designed to protect newly granted homesteaders. American settlers had completely abandoned the Illinois territory and the northern half of the Indiana territory. Only around Vincennes in southern Indiana did a knot of settlers rally around a series of forts in defiance to Tecumseh’s warbands...

...It was no secret that Tecumseh aimed to establish a native state in the old northwest. Though some of the more optimistic politicians clamoured for more resources to completely destroy the menace, most recognized that the establishment of some kind of native state was a fait accompli the only question being size...

...Tecumseh was set on establishing the western border of his state on the old treaty line of 1795 bisecting the state of Ohio. If everything went according to plan, the newly negotiated peacetreaty would see the establishment of a mighty Indian confederacy stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes effectively hemming in American expansionism and protecting the remainder of the continent and its peoples from that particular menace...

...To help him accomplish his aim of a grand Native Confederacy Tecumseh had at his disposal some 6000 native warriors along with 500 British regulars manning strategic garrisons along the frontier. Unfortunately, more help, especially that of British artillery, was denied to him in favour of protecting the vital supply line at Kingston...

...Though one would expect Tecumseh to feel betrayed at Brock’s withdrawal of the majority of British troops, in light of other considerations, Tecumseh’s ambivalence is understandable. For unlike the British who had the limited population base of Canada to draw upon for some of their supplies, as of 1814 Tecumseh’s Confederacy had no such resources. Indeed its entire existence hinged upon regular shipments of food, clothing, guns, and ammunition to Fort Detroit, lest it collapse under its own weight(1)...

...Even without Brock’s artillery, the warriors of Tecumseh’s confederacy were a powerful force in their own right and could, under the right circumstances succeed in driving the Americans from the Old Northwest...

...Yet whereas in previous years the fate of Tecumseh’s confederacy had been aided by incompetent commanders such as Hull, Wilkinson, and the overbearing influence of John Armstrong, by 1814 no such helps remained. Armstrong had been replaced by James Monroe who saw to it that an able commander was given as many resources as possible to secure the American Northwest. So as of 1814 the American army in the Northwest found itself under the command of the capable veteran of Fort Recovery, former congressman Richard Mentor Johnson...

...Now a Brigadier General, comprising the new cadre of American officers destined to reshape their country’s military, Johnson set about restoring the American position in the Northwest. Raising a number of regiments akin to his highly successful Kentucky Mounted Militia or “Rangers” utilized in the relief of Fort Recovery in 1813, Johnson proceeds to re-establish a solid American frontline along the Wabash. It is his hope that upon securing the Wabash as his frontline that he may be able to drive Tecumseh and his ilk further north, hopefully into Canada itself...

...Yet Johnson’s “March to the Wabash” is no easy matter. Not only must he deal with Tecumseh’s ever growing war bands and burnt-over terrain, but his troops are half-trained at best and his supply situation strenuous to say the least. Nevertheless, by using the same tactics that worked so well in 1813, Johnson is able to, in the spring of 1813 blunt all of Tecumseh’s warbands...

...Used to demoralized troops trying to fight a European war, Tecumseh’s warriors have grown overconfident and are caught off guard by Johnson’s Rangers. Believing themselves to be ambushing the Americans, all too often Tecumseh’s men find themselves the target of an ambush with deadly results. Using horses to provide greater mobility, Johnson’s Rangers operate as mounted infantry and sometimes as cavalry as the situation dictates often with deadly results...

...As word spreads to Prophetstown of the fate of this newest set of warbands, intended to plunge deep into Kentucky and Ohio, Tecumseh is greatly disappointed. He had long feared that the Americans would begin to adapt to the unique mode of warfare suited to the Old Northwest. As it appears they have, Tecumseh begins to prepare for a final offensive, marshalling all of his warriors into one grand warband set on destroying the last vestige of American power in the Indiana territory, destroying Fort Harrison and the city of Vincennes...

...Meanwhile on the otherside of the Wabash, Richard Mentor Johnson is not one to rest on his laurels. Having by and large reclaimed a large section of the Indiana territory from the ravages of Tecumseh’s warbands he immediately sets about building a new Fort, Fort Johnson, on the Wabash close to the Maumee River, to serve as a logistical base for his future offensive into Tecumseh’s Confederacy...

...Throughout the early summer both sides will labour on preparing for their offensives slated for late summer only to see the onset of peace render all their efforts fruitless...

...In the end both Tecumseh and Johnson will be able to claim victory from the Treaty of London. For Tecumseh it represents at long last, the honouring of British promises made during the American revolution in the shape of establishing a native state. For Johnson, word of his victories would prove instrumental in establishing the western border of Tecumseh’s Confederacy and protecting the livelihood of thousands of settlers in the Northwest...

(From “The Naval War of 1812” By Theodore Roosevelt II, 1882)
...Though occurring too late to have any impact on the negotiations in London, the Battle of New York remains an important piece of history both in regards to the history of the United States, but also to the history of seafaring worldwide and the development of steam technology. For Americans, the Battle of New York marked the rise of Stephen Decatur to national hero, a meteoric rise that would eventually lead to him becoming Vice President of the United States. For the world it would mark the first time in history that a steam powered warship played a key role in a naval battle, foreshadowing the development of naval warfare in years to come...

...By 1814 the Royal British Navy, through use of its superior numbers had managed to place a tight blockade on the United States restricting the young republic’s ships to their home ports. Among those penned in their home ports would be none other than Commodore Stephen Decatur who having failed to break the British blockade around New London Connecticut in June 1813, transferred his flag to the USS President a 44-gun Frigate then in New York harbor. In addition to the President, Decatur commanded a squadron consisting of the USS Hornet (20 guns), the USS Peacock (22 Guns), and the brig USS Tom Bowline (12 guns). Together Commodore Decatur hoped to break the British blockade surrounding Long Island Sound and set out for the West Indies before war’s end(2)...

...Delayed by weather during the early part of the year, Decatur found himself forced to wait in New York Harbor until conditions were favourable. Though often willing to heed the warnings of his fellow captains, as the year drew on, Decatur feared that any action would be too late to have any effect on the ongoing peace negotiations. So on the 24th of June Decatur prepared to sail out of New York with his entire squadron in the hopes of breaking the British blockade(3)...

...Arrayed against the Americans were the 56 gun razee HMS Majestic, the 40 gun frigate HMS Endymion, the 38 gun HMS Pomone, and the 38 gun HMS Pomone. Yet unbeknownst to the British, recent events had conspired to give Commodore Decatur an unseen advantage in the shape of a highly experimental vessel known as the USS Demologos or more commonly the USS Fulton...

...Commissioned by Congress in the aftermath of the disaster at Sacketts Harbor in 1813, the USS Demologos was to be the world’s first steam powered warship, designed by the pioneer of civilian steamships in the United States, Robert Fulton. It was hoped that upon being deployed on the waters of Lake Ontario, at long last naval supremacy could be wrested from the British(4)...

...However construction of the vessel, and her unusual nature prevented her from being deployed on the Great Lakes. Forced to undergo limited sea-trails in New York Harbor before being dismantled and shipped to Sackets Harbor, the Demologos found herself stranded behind the front unable to contribute to any meaningful victory. Had she been deployed to Lake Ontario as soon as practicable, perhaps Perry could have resupplied Pike on his offensive towards York, or on the otherhand perhaps the USS Demologos would have arrived merely in time to be burned along with the rest of the American fleet in January 1814...

...Events unfolding they way they did, by June 1814 it was decided to attach the 16 gun Demologos to Decatur’s squadron. Though not as fast as the rest of Decatur’s vessels in optimal conditions, the Demologos had the advantage of being very sturdily built as well as being able to move despite prevailing winds. This being the case, Commodore Decatur opted to include the Demologos if only to provide a distraction to enable the rest of his squadron to escape the British blockade. Little did he know just how valuable the Demologos would prove to be...

...Though Decatur had originally intended to evade the British squadron blockading New York, as he attempted to make good his escape on June 24th it quickly became apparent that this would not occur. Almost immediately upon leaving the harbor, Decatur found himself overtaken by the British squadron...

...The weak winds preventing the American squadron from making good their escape, Decatur found himself left with no other option than to engage the British squadron. Manoeuvring the President to engage both the HMS Majestic and the HMS Endymion he left the remainder of the British squadron, two 38 gun frigates, to the smaller vessels in his squadron. Meanwhile courtesy of engine problems, the USS Demologos lagged far behind the American squadron, leading Decatur to dismiss the experimental vessel’s value in the subsequent engagement...

...Drastically outgunned by the British squadron, the ships and their crews nonetheless were determined not to go down without a spirited fight. This can be seen especially in the actions of the smaller vessels in Decatur’s squadrons who, despite being outgunned 76 guns to 56, fought valiantly and succeeded in driving off the HMS Tenedos and damaging the HMS Pomona...(5)

...Meanwhile the President also heavily outgunned would succeed in inflicting a great deal of damage on both her opponents destroying much of their masts and rigging and greatly reducing their speed and manoeuvrability as well as inflicting grievous casualties...

...Yet as the battle drew on it became apparent that the American squadron was outmatched, one by one the American vessels were forced to strike their colours in the face of superior British firepower, until only the President was left, firing ragged broadsides against the HMS Majestic while being raked by the fire of the HMS Endymion it would not be long, before she too would be forced to strike her colors, bringing the engagement to a close...

...Yet just when things seemed darkest for the Americans, a spark of light emerged on the horizon. Billowing black smoke there came the ungainly sight of the USS Demologos, who having repaired her engines was pushing ahead at full steam to rejoin the engagement. Passing the hulks that formerly comprised the rest of the American squadron, the Demologos promptly overtook the HMS Pomona and proceeded to unleash the full fury of her 32 pounder broadside upon the British vessel...

...The sight of the American vessel billowing smoke and belching cannon fire struck fear into the British and new life into the Americans nearly simultaneously. Leaving the President to the tender mercies of the 56-gun Majestic the HMS Endymion turned to aid the flagging Pomona in her battle against the odd looking American vessel...

...Yet much to the surprise of the British, the Demologos proved to be nearly impervious to their attacks. Possessing wooden armor foreshadowing the ironclads of our current era, the Demologos shrugged off British broadsides and responded with devastating ones of her own. Despite facing not one, but two British frigates, the USS Demologos was able to maintain withering fire and eventually force both vessels to strike their colours within short order(6)...

...The victory of the Demologos over the Paloma and Endymion would lead Decatur to transfer his flag from the nearly disabled President to the experimental ship to continue the battle. Leaving the President in the capable hands of her sailing master, Decatur took a very risky journey on a longboat to transfer his flag to the experimental ship...

...With fire now only coming sporadically from the President, the engagement boiled down to the 56-gun Majestic and the experimental Demologos. Heavily outgunned by the British razee even in her dilapidated state following her engagement with the President, the Demologos’ only hope was to outmanoeuvre the British vessel. Thanks to the abnormally calm winds and the damaged state of the Majestic’s rigging, the Demologos was able to do just that, avoiding the vessel’s dreaded broadside and raking her bow and stern again and again with her dreaded 32-pound guns...

...Unable to bring his vessel’s broadside to bear on the American vessel, and facing the unwelcome prospect of continuing 32 pound broadsides, Captain Hayes of the Majestic was forced to strike his colors in the early afternoon of June 24th effectively ending the Battle of New York...

...Though a British strategic victory in that it severely damaged the American squadron and prevented it from escaping to the West Indies, the Battle of New York will go down in history as an American victory precisely due to the fact that a larger British force was unequivocally defeated by a smaller American force, due in no small part to the advent of new technology in the USS Demologos. Indeed though only departing the port that morning, as Decatur’s squadron re-entered Long Island sound towing the captured British hulks behind them, they received a hero’s welcome...

...Indeed in those few days before word of the Treaty of London reached the continent, Decatur was already planning another operation to break the British blockade of New London to free the USS United States and the USS Macedonian utilizing the Demologos and the repaired President along with the newly converted USS Majestic. However like many of the American operations in 1814 news of the Treaty of London put an end to any further operations bringing word of peace and a new status quo...

(From “The Steam Warship 1815-1905” by Adam Lambert)
...The American victory over the British at the Battle of New York would go down as one of the most important battles in the history of naval warfare precisely due to the actions of the USS Demologos. Immediately following the battle both the United States and Great Britain would start to invest in their own steam warships followed quickly by the other great powers. It is interesting to note that had the Demologos not participated in the battle of New York for whatever reason, she probably would have been discarded as a fruitless endeavour, perhaps retarding the advancement of steam propulsion and the era of steam by 50 years...

Notes
1)This was the case in OTL, as Tecumseh’s people were heavily dependent on British supplies. TTL is no different and in fact Tecumseh is even more dependent on British supplies due to the growing number of warriors and their families under his command. In addition by 1814 Tecumseh has gotten cocky regarding his own warrior’s abilities and begins to downplay the importance of British military aid.

2)All ship numbers are OTL as is Decatur’s plan to escape New York Harbor and raid the West Indies

3)Whereas in OTL, Decatur attempted to escape in January 1814 in the President alone, resulting in his defeat and capture. In TTL he decides to wait it out until the last moment, and then escape along with the rest of his squadron.

4)The history of the USS Demologos is slightly different than OTL in that due to the worse situation on the Great Lakes, she is commissioned around a year earlier than OTL and is deployed in New York Harbor in time for the end of the war. Keep in mind that the technology existed and was being used for several years, all that was lacking in OTL was political will, something provided by the more desperate situation America finds herself in ITTL...

5)Keep in mind that when engaging the President in OTL, despite having the advantage, the Tenedos refused to engage. This IMO is due to cowardice on the part of the captain, so I do not think it unreasonable that faced with stiff opposition, even from an inferior foe, the Tenedos would retreat. Also keep in mind the American navy’s record in the War of 1812 (one of the few good things in the war...barely)

6)The Demologos is what we would call a “timberclad” and possessed 5 foot (1.5m) thick wood hulls to protect it from gunfire making it all but impervious to all but the biggest British naval artillery.
 
Fearless Leader

Interesting post-script. The New York battle in TTL might speed up a bit the development of steam power, although the engines of the time weren't really reliable enough.

OTL the RN knew of the Demologos and were planning to deal with it using red hot shot. Not sure how reliably that would have set it on fire, presumably depending on weather conditions.

Tecumseh's wider plans were too ambitious especially given the purchase of Louisiana by the US. I fear the southern tribes finally fighting back against the US are going to get shafted but hopefully he will get most of his aims in the north.

I know OTL of course in the south there was Jackson's successful attack on the Creek, aided by division in their ranks but sounds like there was markedly heavier fighting TTL.

Steve
 
Part XIII: Hollow Victories

(From “The Forge of Nations 1813-1814” by Pierre Berton)
...In Ohio though the eastern portion of the state remained relatively secure, in the west settlers were confined to living in close proximity to a number of hastily erected forts designed to protect newly granted homesteaders. American settlers had completely abandoned the Illinois territory and the northern half of the Indiana territory. Only around Vincennes in southern Indiana did a knot of settlers rally around a series of forts in defiance to Tecumseh’s warbands...

Really, only the northwestern most part of Ohio was vulnerable to Tecumseh, I believe. Dayton is a city and Cincinnati a growing village at this point.

Indiana aside from Vincennes and south, I'll grant.

Illinois also had a settled 'American Bottom' on the Mississippi flood plain - basically from St. Louis south.

These are minor enough quibbles that our 'alt-Pierre' might have written those words.
 
...To help him accomplish his aim of a grand Native Confederacy Tecumseh had at his disposal some 6000 native warriors along with 500 British regulars manning strategic garrisons along the frontier. Unfortunately, more help, especially that of British artillery, was denied to him in favour of protecting the vital supply line at Kingston...

6000???? You realize that OTL's 2000 (which was the max Tecumseh ever pulled together in one place) pulled warriors from all of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and parts of Wisconsin. Getting a few more, that's possible. Maybe 3000 total. But I'm not sure that there ARE 6000 warriors in the area, even if they ALL left their families undefended and without hunters.

Also, how are you going to feed 6000 warriors?
 
OTL the RN knew of the Demologos and were planning to deal with it using red hot shot. Not sure how reliably that would have set it on fire, presumably depending on weather conditions.
My understanding was that the British response to the threat was figured out after the war. (Of course, OTL the Demologos wasn't ready until after the war either...).

I suspect the ship would have had a good period of weeks at least, possibly months, but not years, before the counter was effectively put in place.
 
Top