Enemy brothers: tales of divided country

This is a reboot of my previous electoral TLs: CS presidential elections: 1867 - ... and Meanwhile, in the USA: 1864 - ...
In my first attempt, there was many criticism as to the too vague background scenario I gave. I had some ideas but they were mostly notes and I wanted doing more research to have a more credible independent CSA scenario that is in fact to be part of another TL, one more different as for the foreign developments.
This time, I will give you a more complete outline of the civil war, although somewhat condensated, that I could precise further into the detail with interludes throughout the TL.
The POD of this is that the Baltimore riots turned into an insurrection. There is little justification but I think that I could later find in my research some more solid explanation to the background as the POD of the other TL is about five years prior to the ACW.
Also, I'm seeking informations about political orientation of Solomon Foot, president Pro Tempore of Senate during most of Lincoln's term, to know if he was closer to the Radicals or the Conservative Republicans; at the end of the update, you will find why I ask that. Thanks and enjoy reading.



Chapter I
American Civil War, part 1 : 1861 - 1862


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In late April of 1861, the town of Baltimore rose up after some riots against Union troops transit spiraled out of control. General Butler quickly retook control of eastern Maryland and by early May stormed Baltimore barricades, causing a bloodbath. The bloodbath achieved to convince most of the border states such as Tennesee, Arkansas and North Carolina to secede. In Virginia, the referendum on the Ordinance of Secession was ratified with a greater majority even than IOTL. The shockwave caused by the Baltimore had more distinct consequences on Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri than historically.
A rump government in exile made up of Maryland secessionists declared secession and was admitted into the CSA.

In Missouri, Governor Jackson precipitated his plans of coup and the State Militia supported by Southerner paramilitaries overwhelmed the local Union garrison, but couldn't avoid Captain Lyon to empty the Federal Arsenal, sacrifying his own life. In northern Missouri however, local Unionists assisted by Unionists of Kansas rose up under Sigel leadership. Frémont assaulted Saint-Louis in June and with support of Sigel, took control of the Missouri River valley and central Missouri, but the State Militia kept control of the Ozark Plateau. As the situation in Kentucky worsened and made necessary vast redeployments, Union troops in Missouri now under Grant command conquered the Ozarks only during the late winter.
In Kentucky, the Baltimore bloodbath further enraged secessionist sympathisers and caused a gridlock in the works of the Committee of Arbitration set up to specify Kentucky stance, giving de facto Governor Magoffin the last word, enabling to unilaterally proclaiming armed neutrality. With the State Militia under Buckner full of sympathisers of the CSA, incidents with Union troops which built up in Illinois to invade Missouri were unavoidable and incidentally led Kentucky Unionists to enter in armed dissidence, plunging the state into a mini civil war, prompting Union invasion in June.
McClellan advanced down the Louisville and Nashville Railroad but preferred to bypass Confederate entrenchments set up by Buckner at Munfordville and invade East Tennesee in July, and went up to Chattanooga before making a logistical pause during which he was called to Washington DC. His successor, Rosecrans, was besieged for some weeks by Bragg and had to withdraw during August as he didn't receive enough reinforcements, troops being needed in West Virginia, central Kentucky and Missouri, retreating further north into East Tennessee, but keeping the Confederates at bay and allowing establishment of a provisional Unionist government of Tennessee in Knoxville.

In East, the claimed secession of Maryland put pressure onto Confederate generals to take action and free Maryland: Potomac would be crossed. In June, Johnston and Beauregard crossed the river with plans aiming to capture of Baltimore which would force the Federal Government to evacuate Washington DC and force Lincoln to negociate peace, but Beauregard's liberal interpretation of his orders caused him to engage McDowell near the federal capital. Johnston was forced to deviate from his original way to save Beauregard from disaster and both finally came to attack Washington DC but failed and finally retreated beyind the Monocacy River after having routed a pursuing Union Army of the Shenandoah as it leader, Patterson, had been killed in the fight.
As President Lincoln called McClellan to take command of the Union forces in Maryland and relieved McDowell in July, the campaigning season ended. McClellan didn't undertake any offensive action, only reorganising the Union troops and creating the Army of the Potomac. In August, Johnston withdrew most of his troops from Maryland, too exposed, to the safety of Manassas Junction, leaving behind General Jackson with some troops to keep the Federals at bay and protect the Confederate government of Maryland which had returned to the state. The autumn and winter did see some fighting between Jackson and the Union Army of the Shenandoah, first under the command of General George Thomas who had taken the temporary command after Patterson death, then under Banks, and against Butler's Army of Eastern Maryland. Confronted to a pincer maneuver, north from Pennsylvania towards Hagerstown and east from Maryland towards Frederick, both armies being only separated by the South Mountain. Jakson managed to hold them off for the autumn but by early winter had to withdraw into Virginia to avoid being trapped in Maryland.

As the autumn 1861 began, McClellan, replacing Scott as Commander in chief, appointed Halleck in overall command of West, relieving the too much radical Frémont. The offensive was launched against the Quadrilatere, or rather Triangle as Colombus had already been taken by Union navy during summer. The winter was past to attack, besiege and capture Paducah, Fort Henry and Fort Donelson. Meanwhile, Bragg had left Zollicoffer at Chattanooga to keep Rosecrans' Army of East Tennessee at bay and took most of his troops to rescue Buckner and Polk. In early spring 1862, the Union Army of the Tennessee under Sherman was surprised and routed by Bragg at Pittsburg Landing with Sherman mortally wounded in the battle. With the reinforcements of the Army of the Ohio under Buell, Halleck personally assumed command of an offensive against Corinth but he showed excessive caution and was lured into believing most of Confederates were near Corinth while Bragg headed to Nashville after crossing the Tennessee river further east near Decatur. The time Halleck realized, it was too late and Bragg won the race to Nashville where he defeated the Federals and then pursued them up to Paducah he burnt before withdrawing. The fights then moved to central Kentucky after Rosecrans, abandonning the siege of Chattanooga he had set up in late spring, came to rescue the Armies of the Ohio and Tennessee, finding Bragg having marched to encounter him to prevent junction of the armies. Finally, this junction took place during autumn, after Frémont was returned to overall command of the Western theatre and McPherson was appointed to command the Army of the Tennessee.

Further south, New Orleans welcomed in the midst of autumn 1861 General Beauregard as commander of the city's defenses, a result of his behaviour during the Maryland Campaign that many in Richmond claimed to the reason for the failure of the campaign and that made him a scapegoat. During the remainder of autumn and winter, he significatively reinforced the defenses of the town, especially after the Union Navy took control of the mouth of the Mississippi river. In early spring, the fortifications he set up at Chalmette Plantation were essential in repulsing the Union warships which had bypassed the besieged Fort Jackson and St Philipps. Although the forts finally fell, the way between them and New Orleans became a deathtrap for the Union warships as Beauregard had increased number of redoubts and artillery positions. By the summer, the attempts against New Orleans were abandonned after an ultimate failure at crossing into Lake Ponchartrain and the Union occupation was reduced to Fort Jackson and St-Philips which were to be the headway for eventual future offensives. This was a clear setback for the Anaconda Plan that General Scott had envisioned but not a total one as in North, General Grant continued his way south. After conquering the Ozarks during the winter, Grant descended in the valley to support the Union riverine fleet, allowing the capture of New Madrid and Island Number Ten, Fort Pillow and Memphis which could very well have been retaken by Confederates had it not been for Bragg decision to attack north into Kentucky. Grant then moved into eastern Arkansas and took Little Rock, but by late summer, his progression stalled before Vicksburg where General AS Johnston, entrusted with stopping Grant conquest of the Mississippi valley, had set up impressive fortifications. After several attempts at crossing the bayoux, digging canals, Grant attempted in late autumn to gamble on a crossing south of Vicksburg but it ended in a defeat and the river had to be crossed back. The riverine fleet attempted to make its way back to north but suffered huge losses to Vicksburg's guns. Thereafter, Grant was relieved and replaced by one of his seconds, General McClernand, who had successfully intrigued to have Grant blamed although himself had a great part of the responsibility for the failure against Vicksburg.

In Far West, the Confederates under Colonel Baylor took control of Arizona but had to face the California Column, hired in California to retake the region. Meanwhile, the Confederates under General Sibley began in late 1861 a campaign aimed at Colorado to eventually cut Federals from the West Coast. Sibley, not misled by fake guns, quickly stormed Fort Craig and won the battle of Glorietta Pass in spring 1862. By summer 1862, the Confederate progression went as far north as the San Luis Valley in Colorado, a saliant formed in the north of the Rio Grande Rift by the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains. However, the stiffening resistance of Coloradoans and the increasing threat of the California Column on Arizona forced Sibley to abandon his offensive on Denver and come to the defense of the Mesilla river valley. Although the San Luis Valley was reconquered by Union forces during autumn, the Confederates continued to hold as far as Tucson and Santa Fe. Meanwhile, most of the Indian Territory had fallen by late 1861 under control of Confederates and their Native allies and their domination remained relatively undisputed throughout 1862.

In East, under pressure of President Lincoln to take action, General McClellan launched his offensive against Richmond during spring. He landed at Urbanna but the time lost at besieging West Point on the York River allowed General Johnston to get the Confederate Army of the Potomac between Federals and Richmond in time. Struck between Chicahominy and Pamunkey River by the Confederates, McClellan decided to withdraw beyond the Pamunkey river. In June, President Lincoln attempted to send reinforcements under Butler, but they were intercepted at Bowling Green by General Lee, previously military adviser to President Davis, and General Jackson who had brought with him the Army of the Shenandoah after having inflicted significative setbacks to Banks in the Valley Campaign. These reinforcements nevertheless managed to make their way to the camp of the Army of the Potomac through another way, along the Rappahannock.
McClellan resumed his efforts against Richmond the following month. By a quick move, he transported the Army of the Potomac to Gloucester from where he crossed the York river to Yorktown. which was quickly captured along Willimasburg. Although the overcautious behaviour of McClellan allowed Johnston to take defensive positions ahead of Richmond and Petersburg, he failed to check McClellan who had learned from his previous errors at the Second Battle of the Chicahominy. Effective earthworks set up by Johnston protected Richmond and Petersburg that McClellan attempted to outflank during August and September but failed. The fightings then calmed down while the siege continued, largely because of Lee's northern expedition.

As the siege of Richmond and Petersburg stalemated, General JE Johnston agreed to an offensive on Washington DC proposed by General Lee and supported by President Davis. Lee and 35,000 soldiers of the newly formed Army of Northern Virginia, including Jackson and Longstreet as corps commanders, marched in late september to the Shenandoah Valley, surprising Banks. The Union Army of the Shenandoah nevertheless managed to win by a stand at Monocacy Junction the time to rally the defensive perimeter of the federal capital. McClellan dispatched Generals Hooker and Kearny but they couldn't prevent the tragedy: in mid October, while Lee attacked Washington DC's outer ring of fortifications, a shell mortally wounded President Lincoln who was visiting the frontline during a seeming lull. Lee ended the attack on the federal capital and withdrew to western Maryland once he learned of Hooker and Kearny were near Fredericksburg and was marching north. President Hamlin entrusted the command of a new Army of Virginia to General Hooker with the addition of a third corps made up of the former Army of the Shenandoah now back under General Thomas command, making this army almost twice as big as Lee's forces. The pursuit began as soon Hooker arrived in Maryland. He prevented a flanking maneuver of Jackson at South Mountain but failed to prevent Lee from crossing into Virginia near Sharpsburg in late October. In the Shenandoah valley, Confederates regained the upper hand at Woodstock, striking the divided Federals who nonetheless managed to escape after Kearny's stand at Front Royal allowed the Army of Virginia to go through the Manassas Gap.

Lee's offensive on Washington DC and death of Lincoln had a catastrophic effect on the Republican Party at the midterm elections where the Democrats won control of the House. Hamlin, despite being close to Radicals was forced by pragmatism to make compromise with conservative Republicans and War democrats. The news of Grant failure last attack on Vicksburg added to defeatism but Hamlin was able to convince his allies of convenience that nothing was lost despite what he presented as a raid of Lee: McClellan was threatening the confederate capital, Frémont had pushed Bragg out of Kentucky, Rosecrans still threatened Chattanooga and the Army of the Missouri now under McClernand was still deep into Confederate territory, threatening to cut the CSA in two halves, the blockade was still effective and foreign powers hadn't reacted or offered help to the Confederates. Still, the Potomac Campaign of Lee had severly weakened the pro-war sentiment in northern public opinion and the pro-war coalition in the House was a fragile one as the calls for peace negociations were growing even among War Democrats and conservative Republicans, whom many subjected their support to results, but 1863 was going to be a bloody year.

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A rough map of frontlines as of late 1862

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Addendum 1-01

I - DARK SPRING​


The attack on Fort Sumter made atmosphere very tense in the border states, and the first to explode was Maryland. In Baltimore, transit of Union regiments heading to the federal capital trigerred riots which quickly spiraled out of control and degenerated into open insurrection. Rail bridges were blown by Southern sympathisers and even Annapolis fell to their hands. President Lincoln immediatly decreed martial law while panick was spreading inside of Washington DC. General Butler was tasked with supressing the insurrection in eastern Maryland and quickly retook Annapolis, while the Navy blockaded the Chesapeake Bay to prevent any relief or even escape. While Unionist militias were organised in northern and western Maryland, the secessionist militias in Baltimore were preparing for the oncoming assault and barricaded the town. Meanwhile, the Maryland legislature convened at the initiative of secessionist representatives which proclaimed the secession of Maryland and forced the reluctant Governor Hicks to resign, but it quickly dispersed as Unionist militias were coming after them.


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Separatist militias ambushing Union troops in Baltimore


After an initial attempt, on April 23rd, at storming the town which ended by a bloodbath in a series of street battles, Butler established the blockade of the town and shelled it for two weeks while waiting reinforcements. On May 3rd, the final assault was ordered and succeeded in capturing Baltimore, but the conquered town had been ravaged by fires that shells caused and the bodies of civilians were covering streets as the Union soldiers had often difficulties to make difference between them and Southern militiamen, earning to General Butler the nickname of Baltimore Butcher, or Ben Butcher in southern newspapapers. Needless to say, the Confederate government and Congress in Montgomery quickly validated adhesion of Maryland despite lack of legitimacy and legality of the Maryland secessionist convention.

The federal reaction to Fort Sumter attack and Baltimore Uprising decisively convinced North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee to secede but the more immediate and brutal consequence was seen in Missouri and Kentucky.
On May 5th, as news of the ''Butchery of Baltimore'' came to be known in Missouri, enraged secessionist mobs formed, prompting Governor Jackson to advance his plans and assault the federal arsenal. Volunteer militiamen under General Frost, accompanied by mobs began began to attack the arsenal in the afternoon and overwhelmed it, but not before its commander, Captain Nathaniel Lyon, did evacuate much of the weapons to Illinois and died in the last fights.
General Harney, Lyon's superior, who was considered too complacent with the local secessionists and responsible for letting things going out of control in Missouri was replaced soon afterwards by General Frémont as head of the Department of the West. Tasked with pacifying Missouri for the Union, Frémont began gathering a force to assault Saint-Louis while a gunboat flotilla was built up in Cairo in order to take control of the upper reaches of Mississippi river as instructed by General Scott according to Plan Anaconda. Thus, while the Confederates were focused on Saint-Louis and the Unionist uprising in northern Missouri, Belmont was stormed on May 21st.

Incidentally, this had the effect of worsening the latent civil war in alledged neutral Kentucky. As the Star and Stripes was raised over Belmont, the southern sympathisers raised the Star and Bars over Colombus, right across the Mississippi, as in many other cities in pro-confederate western Kentucky. On May 23rd, a gunboat which watched over them faced some damages and got too close to the riverside where it came under fire from pro-Confederate militiamen. General Frémont immediatly dispatched a cavalry detachment to ''enquire'' about the origin of the attack but soon faced detachment of State militia near Colombus and made it way back to the river. However, as the sun set down, a confused skirmish broke out between Union horsemen and militiamen, leading to the crossing being cancelled and General Frémont ordering infantry reinforcements. The day after, when General Frémont reported the incident, he wrote of deliberate attack by Kentucky militia even if the real origin of the attackers during the night was still undetermined. Governor Magoffin made an official protest before sending a detachment of State Militia to disloge the federal troops and enforce Kentucky's neutrality, but this decision was immediatly contested by Unionists throughout the state and almost everywhere, riots broke out between Unionists and secessionists, while Unionist walked out of the Convention called by the Governor.


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Key men to decide the fate of West, from left to right:
Governor Claiborne F Jackson of Missouri, Union General John C Frémont, Governor Beriah Magoffin of Kentucky


As Union hold over the Border states was severly shaked, that the pro-southern State Militia under General Buckner was close to attack the Union outpost near Colombus, President Lincoln came to see the disaster in waiting: Kentucky was being lost; something had to be done.​
 
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Addendum 1-02



II - DOUBLE OR QUITS​


In early June, General Beauregard arrived in Virginia, hailed as a hero after Fort Sumter, to command th newly raised Confederate Army of the Potomac at Manassas Junction. During the past month, pressure on the confederate government had risen to take action to free Maryland from northern occupation. After the failure of Baltimore uprising, many secessionist politicians of the state had fled to Virginia and set up a government in exile recognized by the Confederates as the legitimate representative of Maryland and member of the Confederation. General Beauregard thus quickly sorted a plan but it was aimed at the federal capital as he claimed that such a prize would force the Union to come to terms. This plan was however modified by President Davis' military adviser, General Robert E Lee, to have the offensive aimed at Baltimore instead. It was hoped that local sympathisers could help to take the town whose defenses were surely weaker than Washington DC's ones, and the capture of Baltimore would cut the federal capital from the rest of the Union and would, at worst, force its evacuation and, at best, bring North to peace table.
The Confederates to achieve these objectives had at their disposal around 20,000 men at Manassas Junction under Beauregard and 10,000 under Joseph E Johnston which under political pressure had renounced to evacuate his base of Harpers Ferry. Opposing them were around 30,000 Union soldiers under General McDowell at Washington DC and 5,000 men under General Butler near Baltimore. Another Union army was gathering in Pennsylvania under General Patterson.


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Union commanders, from left to right:
General Irvin McDowell, General Robert Patterson, General Ben Butler



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Confederate commanders, from left to right:
General Joseph E Johnston, General Pierre-Gustave T Beauregard, General Thomas J Jackson



The first actions of the campaign occured in western Maryland. Johnston crossed the Potomac on June 16th into Frederick County which he occupied almost without opposition. The following day, after a feint near Alexandria, the Confederate Army of the Potomac left Manassas Junction screened by cavalry and crossed the Potomac at Dam no 2. The first battle of the campaign took place at Offuts Crossroads, along the Rock Run, when McDowell vanguard was surprised by the entire Confederate army and quicky withdrew. Lured into a false sense of security, Beauregard continued on his advance, and interpreting rather liberally the campaign orders, planned to follow his success by an attack on Washington DC. But on June 21st, he was seriously threatened near Old Stone Tavern by McDowell which had then mustered the whole Army of Northeastern Virginia after the Confederate plans were become evident. The Army of the Potomac was only saved by the timely arrival of Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah, and prevented the Federals to pursue. As General Johnston took command, he had to comply with the fait accompli that Beauregard created and pursued the attack on Washington DC. The Confederates advanced northeast towards Silver Spring and began the battle of the Rock Creek, in fact a series of engagements and skirmishs along the said creek beginning on June 24th, culminating from June 29th onwards with the heavy fights around Fort Massachussets and Fort Slocum. An attempt was made at cutting the railroad linking the federals to Baltimore by a cavalry raid but it was defeated at the Battle of Bladensburgh on July 2nd, the first major cavalry battle of the war. The day after, Butler's Army of Eastern Maryland had completed its deployment near Washington DC and launched a flanking move against the Confederates. Although it was checked, the Confederates had to suspend their efforts against Fort Massachussets and Fort Slocum. On July 4th, General Johnston finally ordered the retreat towards western Maryland.

In this region, Johnston had left General Jackson's First Virginia Brigade, around 2,000 men, to slow down the Union Army of the Shenandoah of Patterson. It wasn't really an uneasy task as the Confederates were as much served by the relative passivity of an aged Patterson as by the aggressiveness of the recently promoted Brigadier General Jackson. Thus, the Federals had to suffer several setbacks, being ambushed at the first battle of South Mountain on June 21st then at the Monocacy near Libertytown on June 30th where Jakcson and his brigade received the nickname of Stonewall after having sustained a frontal assault and turned it into debacle, but the Federal tide was in the end unstoppable and Jackson had to retreat into Montgomery County, a decisive factor in deciding Johnston to end the offensive on Washington DC. Beauregard troops being at the forefront of Confederate retreat they were the first to arrive to help Jackson, leading to the battle of Nealsville along the banks of the Seneca Creek on July 7th. Both sides were roughly 20,000 men strong but again, the cautious Patterson was overmatched by Jackson and Beauregard and was mortally shot. The disoriented Federals retreated beyond the Patuxent River while the whole Confederate army set camp in Frederick, beyond the protection offered by the Monocacy River and at the end of a safe supply line which used the railroad from the Shenandoah Valley through Harpers Ferry. As the Confederates seemed to abandon fight and didn't threaten the capital anymore, McDowell decided not to attempt a crossing of the Monocacy as his forces had already been bloodied enough by the previous fights. The Maryland Campaign thus ended after three weeks of moves.


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Battle of the Rock Creek
June 24th - July 4th of 1861​


A great relief was felt across North and within the Federal Capital which had been saved. Congressmen which had fled the town for Philadelphia and New York while the Confederates had invaded Maryland now returned. The conclusion of this campaign was that despite the failure to decisively defeat the Confederates, Maryland or at least its central and eastern parts were firmly under Union control. The local support that the Confederates hoped never came as they did only move through western and central Maryland, notable Unionist strongholds, while Eastern Maryland had remained under the firm grip of General Butler who had supressed any kind of resistance by the time of the invasion. Nevertheless for the Confederates, there was still some success to claim. Western Maryland, even hostile, was still under Southern control and the Maryland government in exile under self-proclaimed Governor Enoch L Lowe had moved to Frederick under protection of Confederate troops, but it was only temporary.


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Addendum 1-03



III - A WHISKER AWAY FROM CHATTANOOGA


As Kentucky State Militia under General Buckner attacked the Union outpost of Columbia on June 1st, President Lincoln authorized General Frémont to counterattack while ordering General McClellan, commander of the Department of the Ohio, to prepare for invasion of Kentucky which was seemingly being lost to Confederates. As a result of the attack on Colombus, the Unionist delegates of the State Legislature walked out, allowing the remainder, mostly southerners, to vote a secession ordinance on June 4th. As the telegram announcing it arrived in Washington DC, President Luncoln telegraphied as soon to General McClellan the order to invade.


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Union commanders during 1861 Chattanooga Campaign, from left to right :
General George B McClellan, General William S Rosecrans, General William Nelson



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Confederates commanders during 1861 Chattanooga Campaig, from left to right:
General Simon B Buckner, General Felix Zollicoffer, General Braxton Bragg


On June 5th, Louisville was occupied and McClellan prepared for a march down the Louisville & Nahsville railroad, but as he found two week later the entrenched position of Buckner at Munfordville, he decided to bypass them. Meanwhile, with the help of Unionist militias raised by Lieutnant Commander Nelson of the US Navy, detachments of the Army of the Ohio took control of eastern Kentucky. Governor Magoffin and his staff were forced to flee to Munfordville where he found protection of the State Militia and could officialize entry of Kentucky in the Confederacy.
On June 23rd, McClellan and 25,000 men crossed the Cumberland river near Mill Springs without much opposition, having managed to lure Buckner about his intents, while letting 15,000 soldiers supported by Nelson's loyalist militia to fix Buckner. A week later, the Army of the Ohio had crossed into East Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap and dispersed Confederate vanguard forces of General Zollicoffer who was completely taken by surprise, leaving the way to Knoxville open. After the town was occupied on July 3rd without resistance and amidst acclamation of local Unionists
Meanwhile, Zollicoffer entrenched at Chattanooga where he waited reinforcements for a counter-attack. On July 19th, after having lured the Confederates as to his axis of attack on Chattanooga, McClellan took Lookout Mountain in a surprise assault and compelled Zollicoffer to evacuate. The Army of the Ohio then did a halt to resupply and secure its supply lines. On July 23rd, General Rosecrans replaced McClellan who had been transfered to Maryland.


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Capture of Lookout Mountain opened the gates of Chattanooga to Union army


It was around this time that problems began to appear. In the rear, Confederate raiding parties launched from eastern Kentucky or even Virginia harassed the supply lines. William Nelson, who had been recently transferred from the Navy to the Army with rank of Brigadier General for Volunteers to command local Union troops, was just able to hold the ground and prevent Buckner from going further into Kentucky than Munfordville. Meanwhile, 10,000 Confederates under General Bragg were advancing from southern Alabama towards Chattanooga. As Rosecrans saw his effectives falling to 18,000 men because of transferts to Kentucky and West Virginia, he had only strength to hold Eastern Kentucky, not to launch further offensives. As Bragg arrived near Chattanooga, he took command of Zollicoffer's 10,000 soldiers and proceeded to surround Chattanooga. Federals and Confederates fought for two weeks in what was called the First Siege of Chattanooga. For two weeks, each day saw engagements, often more skirmishes than real battles, sometimes full scale battles. Although Rosecrans had the advantage of interior lines, his position at Chattanooga was exposed on three directions, west from Tennessee, south and east from Georgia. What's more, the reinforcement that the Confederates brought from Georgia during the battle were more considerable than what Rosecrans could be sent, Union ressources being stretched by the needs of campaigns in Missouri and West Virginia and by the build up in southern Illinois to assault the mouth of the Tennessee and launch the conquest of the Mississippi valley, an objective strongly defended and judged more valuable than Chattanooga by General Winfield Scott. Thus, on August 18th, when the fall of Lookout Mountain to the Confederates appeared unavoidable as the position had been badly weakened by fights and that reinforcing it again would leave the road to Knoxville exposed, Rosecrans ordered the evacuation of the city. The Federals withdrew north into East Tennessee where the flanks were protected by mountains. There was some attempts of poursuits by the confederates but Rosecrans managed to hold them off throughout the end of summer and autumn until Union forces finally attacked the Quadrilatere in western Kentucky, recquiring Bragg to move to help Buckner and Polk and abandonning efforts in eastern Tennessee. Only Zollicoffer was left with 15,000 men to keep Rosecrans at bay.


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Addendum 1-04



IV - WELCOME BACK TO HOME


Despite all the setbacks suffered by the Union during spring in the border states, there was still here some loyalist holdings. When their states seceded, local Unionists of Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia rose up in suppport of the Union. They can be separated in two situations according to the way their counter-secession was realized at the beginning, Union army having still intervened at some stage: either because of violent uprisings by Unionist militias or at the initiative, merely political, of some conventions. Eastern Kentucky and northern Missouri fit the former scenario while East Tennessee and West Virginia fit the latter.


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The Unionist Governors of nominally Confederate states, from left to right:
Thomas C Fletcher of Missouri, Thomas E Bramlette of Kentucky, Thomas A R Nelson of Tennessee, Francis H Pierpont of Virginia


In Missouri, Colonel Franz Sigel, German immigrant, abolitionnist and veteran of the 1848 revolutions in Europe, immediatly rose up in support of the Union as soon as he heard of the Coup of Saint-Louis and was followed by most of the counties north of the Missouri river. He also had Thomas C Fletcher appointed provisional Governor by an hastily convened convention of Unionist politicians; Fletcher, a Missourian born lawyer, was an ardent abolitionnist and Republican and had been among the first to join Sigel's uprising. Sigel moves was independent of Washington DC or even from Frémont and were done so to put Union authorities before the fait accompli, move that was especially supported by Radical Republicans as the major actors of the uprising were mostly abolitionnists, even if the later recruits were motivated more by loyalties to the Union only. Until late June, Sigel waged a guerilla war against State Militia commanded by General Price, but he wasn't able to launch offensives without direct Union support. Frémont, while preparing his assault on Saint-Louis, did just supply weapons and ammunitions to the rebels in order to maintain them as a credible threat and distraction to Price's Army of Missouri.

In Kentucky, the situation had began by political struggle before going up to war. Being populated with a sizable Unionist population but also by a not less important and vocal secessionist faction, Kentucky political process was gridlocked by division. The General Assembly was unable to decide on the secession and the events in Maryland and Missouri made things only more volatile with mobs of Unionists and Secessionist both rioting throughout the state. The commission appointed to arbitrate the orientation of Kentucky stance was as much unable to issue a resolution. This deadlock had allowed Governor Magoffin to take emergency measures without much legislative approval, such as adopting an armed neutrality status, a stance which would lead to the Colombus incident. This only further propelled disorder, making the pro-southern State Militia of Buckner unable to maintain the appearance of neutrality as the eastern counties, hotbed of Unionist loyalism, slipped out of control, ignoring or even disobeying the directives of Frankfort. This civil disobedience became an uprising after the Colombus Union outpost was attacked on June 1st. In these areas, if government office employees had not pledged loyalty to the Union as President Lincoln declared Kentucky was in state of rebellion, their offices were stormed by mobs and they were dragged into the streets. Even if the insurrection was, like in Missouri, not a massive popular uprising, it did receive passive support of the population. State Militia garrisons in the region were litteraly besieged by armed mobs which erected barricades. Quickly, the unorganized insurrection was taken over by Lieutnant Commander William Nelson of the US Navy who gave it effective command structure and organization. When the Union Army entered Kentucky on June 5th, the State Militia quickly retreated to west, and the Unionist insurgents quickly captured Lexington and Frankfort where the Unionist judge Thomas E Bramlette was appointed as provisionnal governor of Kentucky. With help of detachments from the Army of the Ohio, the Unionist compelled to surrender many State Militia garrisons which had not managed to flee west.


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Key men in pro-Union uprisings which occured in western border states:
Colonel Franz Sigel (left) for Missouri, General William Nelson (right) for Kentucky


In East Tennessee, there was no men like Franz Sigel in Missouri or William Nelson in Kentucky to set up Unionist militias and invective nor ways to provide them with weapons and money as it was often done further north, making the region relatively more peaceful, but there were anyway rising tensions. After a first failure in February, Governor Harris called for another referendum on a Secession Ordinance on May 20th, hoping to take advantage of the massive uproar in south caused by the bloody repression of Baltimore uprising. on the said day, the result was a clear approval of secession, and the Governor wasted no time to make Tennessee entering the Confederacy. However, if the overall vote was positive, the counties of East Tennessee had overwhelmingly voted against. On May 27th, delegates from these counties met at Knoxville to debate the Ordinance of Secession. The Convention was not slow in dennouncing the referendum as fraudulent, illegal. There were more debates as to what to do, and finally, a Declaration of Grievances was to be presented to the Tennessee General Assembly calling for a separation of East Tennessee from the state, but it was utterly refused. Shortly after, Governor Harris dispatched Confederate army under General Zollicoffer to supress the dissent as he watched the situation of Kentucky deteriorating by the day. Eventually, the members of executive committee appointed by the Convention before its dispersal managed to flee to Kentucky and came back a month later along the Army of the Ohio to set up a Restored Government of Tennessee after the example of West Virginia, and called a new Convention. Convened on August 1st, the Second Convention of Knoxville elected Thomas A R Nelson as Governor with Union approval and protection.

West Virginia was more lucky than East Tennessee as it wasn't as isolated and could receive direct Union support. After Virginia legislature adopted an Ordinance of Secession, most of the counties of Virginia west of the Allegheny mountains, representing a third of Virginia population, which were overwhelmingly against convened a Convention at Wheeling to discuss but any decision was postponed to wait the result of the May 23rd referendum on the Ordinance. Meanwhile, Virginia militia under Colonel Porterfield attempted to restore control over the restive region and occupied Grafton on May 25th. Although Union forces were distracted by Missouri and Kentucky, Colonel Porterfield elected not to advance on Wheeling as Union presence here was still too strong for his forces and his position was isolated in a hostile country. Union forces didn't move until two weeks later when General Thomas A Morris moved to attack Confederate advanced positions at Grafton, forced their retreat, pursued them and catched them on June 10th at Philippi where the surprised Confederates were routed and Porterfield killed. In both engagements, although both contingents were roughly equal in number, Union soldiers were better equipped and had higher morale. These victories anchored Unionist sentiment in West Virginia and were quickly followed by the vote by a new convention in Wheeling of a resolution rejecting the Ordinance of Secession of Virginia, proclaiming a Restored Government of Virginia and electing Francis H Pierpont as Governor.


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Battle of Philippi
June 11th of 1861​
 
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When I had the idea the idea of this thread, I had already many TLs on ACW, but most of them were about quicklier victories and those with CSA victory were often bordering ASB in my opinion, so it looked hard for me to do that. Then, I decided to exploit one thing that makes strength but also weakness of democracies: public opinion. The idea I follow for the scenario of CSA independence is to have the war bloody and without significative progress to have the public opinion turning against war. My first step was bringing war further north and sooner than IOTL with the Maryland Campaign of summer 1861. My second step as you've seen it in the Chapter 1 is that New Orleans doesn't fall to Union forces, making Confederate hold over the Mississippi valley more solid and reducing considerably threat of having the CSA cut in two halves. Then, the Potomac Campaign of autumn 1862. I took inspiration from the raid of Early in 1864. Why the death of Lincoln? It could appear as an event important enough to make public opinion turning against war and worsen the position of Republicans in the ongoing midterm elections, and it works for this purpose, but my true motivation was to prevent having Lincoln being blamed for having destroyed the Union with the civil war. I love too much this great historic figure to do that, so Lee's raid of Washington DC was the perfect occasion to have him becoming a martyr and get the blame on Radicals instead.
If I want info on Solomon Foot who was President Pro Tempore of the Senate, you surely have find that it is because as Hamlin becomes President, Foot becomes the next in the succession line, a succession I could precipitate with an impeachment trial in late 1863/early 1864. If the House is likely to vote the impeachment, the Senate is still controlled by Republicans but the attitude of Conservative Republicans will depend on how Solomon Foot is likely to behave: it would be useless to give the presidency to another Radical as the presidential election would anyway still happen on the schedule with a trial led after november 1863. I would be thankful if anyone has some infos on him.
 
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