I'm back with a new timeline!
I know this TL is rather ambitious (it’s only my second), but I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I know that American Civil War timelines have been done, done, and done to death, but I think mine is unique. I don’t think a Hamlin presidency been done before on this site, but I could be wrong (the only Hamlin Presidency timeline I could find anywhere is Turtledove’s Must and Shall, in which Hamlin’s presidency begins in 1864).
It begins with the little-known Baltimore Plot in February 1861, which was an attempt to assassinate Lincoln before he became President. If Lincoln were killed, the Presidency would go to Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln’s VP at the time (or I should say most likely it would, there’s some debate as to what would happen if Lincoln died before his first inauguration). Hamlin was an enigmatic figure and had little influence in Lincoln’s administration. Hamlin once called himself “The Fifth Wheel on a Coach”, hence the name of the timeline.
I find that Hamlin’s obscurity was sort of a double-edged sword when I was making this TL. It allowed me a lot of freedom, but I also felt like I had little to go on, so I had to make guesses about what Hamlin would do. I don’t like “infodumps”, but for some things, I feel the need to ‘show my work’ to any potential skeptics. I want to show exactly what was said in the original sources so that you don’t have to look them up. I’m no Civil War historian either, so cut me some slack if I make a slight error. The ascendancy of Hamlin means that the war will play out differently in a way that forces me to make a lot of guesses. But if there’s anything outright ASB, then I welcome constructive criticism.
I plan to take this up to about 1870 or so. If there’s a call for it, I might take this beyond that.
Here is the Table of Contents (no spoilers, I hope):
Part 1: Preface
Part 2: The Presidency of Hannibal Hamlin
Part 3: The War of the Rebellion Begins
Part 4: A Fateful Decision
Part 5: Great Battles of 1862 (Both Military And Political)
Part 6: Bloody ‘63
Part 7: A Nation Still Divided
Part 8: The Election of ‘64
Part 9: The War of the Rebellion Ends
Part 10: Conclusion
Parts 1 and 2 will be posted shortly.