Galloway and the Plan of Union: A Saga of a British America
- Thread starter PGSBHurricane
- Start date
I'm glad you're enjoying this. There's more coming soon, probably next week.
I got it done earlier than I anticipated, so here is the next part to this. No, I have not neglected my CSA Victory timeline, I just wanted to get this off the ground. And off the ground it shall get.
Chapter Two: Revolutionary Resistance
Chapter Two: Revolutionary Resistance
The First Continental Congress adjourned with a boycott declared against British goods was also declared. The day before, the Petition to the King was ratified and signed by delegates from all twelve colonies represented at the meeting. The document was sent to London from Philadephia on November 6, with its arrival confirmed the next week. In the meantime, the colonies not at the Congress (East and West Florida, Georgia, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and St. John’s) were pondering a plan of action. Representatives from Georgia met on January 18, 1775, to discuss joining the Union. On May 9, It was confirmed that Georgia would have delegates at the Second Continental Congress set to arrive by July 4. Nova Scotia wanted to join the Union, but only after its formation to ensure its stability. The Floridas and St. John’s cited that they weren’t populated nor developed enough to partake in the Congress but would be open to joining the Union in the future. Only Quebec refused to join the Union, primarily sighting major religious and linguistic differences.
Word about the Plan of Union spread throughout British North America. Most colonies, while not necessarily enthused, at least gave approval to the idea. Among the colonies represented at the First Congress, the only one where the majority disapproved of it was Massachusetts, believing that this did not go far enough. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress became the de facto government of Massachusetts outside of British-controlled Boston. It initially met on October 7, 1774, at Salem, with John Hancock as its president, after royal governor Thomas Gage refused to allow the Massachusetts legislature to convene. Eventually, on March 24, 1775, a resolution, signed by Hancock, called for the colony to take up arms and raise a militia. In the South, divisions heightened between Unionists and anti-Unionists, and most who raised their arms did so against each other, engaging in particularly intense skirmishes in South Carolina and Virginia (the latter where there was a peacefully resolved incident directly involving the British).
On January 19, 1775, Lord Frederick North presented the Petition to the King to the House of Commons. However, it was mixed in with a bunch of other documents that Parliament ultimately never had a chance to take another look at the petition. King George III also never gave any reaction to it. Even if he had, the reaction would likely have been negative to do his eccentrically stubborn and egocentric personality. Later that year, the Second Continental Congress convened, doing so again in Philadelphia but at the Pennsylvania State House. Joseph Galloway was once again chosen to be a delegate to represent Pennsylvania. The ultimate purpose of the Second Continental Congress was to act in the event that the London-based government did not budge about the Intolerable Acts, which was the case here. The delegates knew that they had to create yet another petition and revive conversations of the already-approved Plan of Union.
While all this was going on, tensions had heated in Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts. On April 18, 1775, Joseph Warren of the Sons of Liberty dispatched Paul Revere and William Dawes, to alert residents that the British were set to march into Concord. Revere went to Charlestown across the Charles River to deliver the signal while Dawes traveled along the Boston Neck before meeting up with Revere in Lexington. Neither Revere nor Dawes made it to Concord, though. The next morning, 700 British troops came upon 77 rebels at the Lexington town green, with the rebels dispersing as the British unleashed several volleys. Eight rebels died and nine were injured. The army proceeded to Concord, meeting the rebels at Concord's Noth Bridge. The Brits shot first and the colonists then shot back. After four hours of searching for arms, the British began to retreat back to Boston, with the rebels right on their tail. Fighting broke out once more in Lexington before the British army made it back to safety at Charlestown Neck. The Continental Congress condemned the rebels, later known as the Minutemen, on June 14. At the same time, Congress hatched up a plan of their own, with their eyes up North.
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Had I not been caught up with my proper CSA TL I probably wouldn't have abandoned it. It just borrowed too much from the original CSA Victory concept in my opinion as I continued working on it. It was fun at first but all good things have to come to an end. Thank you for appreciating it though.
Or is it just a ripple effect from the main POD? To be determined...
One of the major reasons why the British did not agree to Galloway otl was that the plan created a precedent for other colonies. How has that perception changed? Also Britain would not agree to uniting all the colonies. Uniting and consolidating a few? Yes. But uniting all of them was out of the question. They explicitly stopped any mention of the idea for 80 years straight.
The British never had a chance to reject the Galloway Plan IOTL because the colonies themselves rejected it at the First Continental Congress. I also acknowledge that not all the colonies will be part of the Union, at least right away. I’m basing it on the plan of OTL. In order to get the Plan of Union to succeed, you need to put the American colonies in a position where they have more leverage over the British. That’s the only way the King gets on bored: the Americans force him in a position to compromise. That moment in time will come soon. The plan hasn’t even been sent over to Britain yet.
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Alright, corrected some spelling errors and made a slight retcon at the end (eliminating the ordering of the cancellation of Bunker Hill) because I thought it made little sense. Will keep you all posted.
"But we want peace and union!"
"Then stop shooting at us!"
"...Some of us want peace and union."
To be fair, there isn't much fighting outside of Massachusetts here and the rest of the fighting that does exist is mostly among the colonists themselves in the South.
I'm not sure how strong this is but here is my next update shortly. Any constructive input will be greatly appreciated.
Chapter Three: The Siege of Boston
Chapter Three: The Siege of Boston
The hot spot for rebellion in North America in 1775 was none other than Boston. The colony of Massachusetts itself was practically up in arms after the passage of the Intolerable Acts. Fierce resistance culminated in the formation of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, with John Hancock as its president. April 19, 1775, after reaching the safety of Boston, nearly 6,000 American militiamen encircled the city. That militia later became known as the New England Army of Massachusetts, under the command of General Artemis Ward. It was not until June 12 that a British escape plan from Boston was finalized. The British were to reoccupy and fortify Bunker Hill and Dorchester Heights by June 18. Upon learning about this from the Massachusetts Congress, Ward was instructed to fortify Bunker Hill and Charlestown. On June 15, the day after the Congress condemned the Minutemen (the New England Army of Massachusetts), George Washington was appointed to travel to Boston from Philadelphia that this rebellion would not be tolerated, leaving on June 21.
Upon reaching New York City, he heard the news of the Siege in Boston. He thought of this as an opportunity to exercise leverage against the Royal British Army. He wrote of the situation to Congress and asked for the creation of a temporary Continental Army. Philadelphia would grant his wish on July 16 as they approved troops from other colonies to be sent into Boston in August and September. Back on the battlefield, the Massachusetts militiamen chose to fortify Breed’s Hill due to its closer geographic proximity instead of Bunker Hill. This ended on June 17 as British troops led by Major General William Howe and Brigadier General Robert Pigot attacked at Breed’s Hill, causing Charlestown to fall under British control. While that went down, the Continental Congress adopted the Olive Branch Petition on July 5. Written by John Dickinson, it expressed the desire for reconciliation between Britain and her colonies. This was especially important to himself and Joseph Galloway who desperately tried to avoid the remote possibility of a break with Britain at all costs, about as much as Joseph Galloway. Signed on July 8, it was soon sent over to London alongside a copy of the Galloway Plan of Union.
On August 23, the hot-headed, vain, and flamboyant King George III gave his response. He declared the colony of Massachusetts to be in open rebellion and called for its suppression at all costs. This meant that the Olive Branch Petition and Gallwaoy’s plan of Union would have to be put on the back-burner for the time being. Across the Atlantic, this caused plans to invade Quebec, which had been conceived in the summer, to be indefinitely shelved by September. Even if not the case, an invasion of Quebec, according to the stronger Loyalists, would have looked bad in front of the British for an invasion of Quebec to force them to join the Union. All focus shifted to Boston. Some members of Congress, such as Galloway, supported the suppression of the Siege while others like John Samuel Adams supported George Washington's efforts. There was no subsequent official stance on the matter. In August, about 1,200 men were sent to Charlestown Neck to successfully dig trenches on the hills. Later that month, after an attempted breakout from Boston, 300 Americans killed several British troops and captured 23 others. In September, around 1,000-1,100 troops originally scheduled to invade Quebec were instead part of an ultimately-rejected assault on Boston. This would be handy for later, though. In November, the Americans captured the valuable HMS Nancy which provided a heft supply of military weapons.
The Minutemen had spent much of the winter trying to gather weapons. It was not until February 28, 1776, that military activity revived, with a proposal made to take Dorchester Heights while a bombardment of the town from other directions was to take place. Fighting broke out again on March 2 as Americans under Colonel Henry Knox bombarded Boston with cannons. Cannons were placed at Dorchester Heights on March 4 and their positions were fortified overnight. By March 5, General William Howe knew he could not defend Boston and simply decided to have his troops evacuate instead. For the next few days, there were small skirmishes between the British and the Americans while the former tried to unsuccessfully evacuate. It was not until March 17 that the winds at Boston were favorable for the British to evacuate from Boston. That allowed enough time for Washington and Knox to develop a surprise of their own. Using Dorchester Heights to their advantage, the Minutemen used a number of barracks, cannon spikes, and iron sea mortars to bombard the British fleet which was expected to carry over 11,000 people (7,000 of them being British troops) to Halifax, Nova Scotia. This left Howe no choice but to surrender to the Americans in Boston on March 20, leaving the entire British government, including King George himself, in a pickle.
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Up next, the moment of truth.
I also gave an additional explanation as to why the invasion of Quebec was canceled.
Heads up. After the next update I will probably be alternating back and forth between this and my CSA Victory TL for a while so don't expect much for a bit after next week.
New poll. This is about the fate of OTL Vermont. What should happen? You get to decide since I am not sure. The first option should say “It remains part of New York” but I didn’t type it correctly.
www.strawpoll.me
What should happen to Vermont?
Vote Now! [It becomes part of New York.] [It becomes its own province in the Union.] [It becomes its own republic/country.]
www.strawpoll.me
Oh, it is definitely the least viable of the three options. Even in OTL when they declared independence, said independence only lasted for 14 years so it would not be for long ITTL either. It would be temporary at best. Also, if anyone has any other options in mind other than those in t poll, feel free to say so.
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