God Save These American States

[Virginia Liberal]

Thomas Jefferson(April 13, 1743 -September 4, 1797) and Martha Skelton Jefferson (October 19 or 30, 1748 – November 16, 1783*)
Martha "Patsy" Jefferson[2] (September 27, 1772 – October 10, 1836)
Jane Randolph Jefferson (April 3, 1774 – September 1775)
unnamed son (May 28 – June 14, 1777), lived for 17 days
Mary "Maria or Polly" Jefferson[2] (August 1, 1778 – April 17, 1804)
Lucy Elizabeth Jefferson (November 3, 1780 – April 15, 1781/April 15, 1782)
Thomas Peter Jefferson (October 12,1783-November 11,1850)

Thomas Peter Jefferson was the sole surviving son of Thomas Jefferson at the age of fourteen he would inherit his father’s estate following the death of Thomas Jefferson on the CWS Dogwood on September 4, 1797. As his father’s will states Thomas Peter would grant Sally Hemmings** and her son Benedict Hemmings there freedom as well as a 5 acre plot of land in Bedford county cut off of Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Plantation

Thomas Peter Jefferson would follow in his father’s footsteps for a little while; serving as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates for six years between 1812 to 1822 after which he would leave political life and retire to Monticello. In 1832 he would help found and be the CEO of the Alexandria Lynchburg and Danville Railroad who’s main offices were located in Charlottesville, Va. An avid lover of the Railroad he would remain in control of the Railroad until his death on November 11,1850 at the age of sixty seven years old.

Thomas Peter Jefferson would marry Ashley Alexander the daughter of a professor of history at the University of Virginia on May 1,1801. Dubbed the Bell of Charlottesville Ashley Alexander Jefferson was a true beauty, and was also being incredibly intelligent it was no surprise that the only son of the late Thomas Jefferson would have found himself married to such a woman. Thomas Peter and Ashley Jefferson would have six children two of which would die before reaching adulthood. These children were Thomas Jefferson III Born November 12, 1802, Annabel Jefferson born May 17, 1804, Elizabeth Jefferson born July 4,1805- died July 8,1805, Richard Jefferson Born August 12,1807, Henry Jefferson Born January 11,1809, and Robert Jefferson born October 3,1811-died November 17,1811.

The Bell of Charlottesville Ashley Alexander Jefferson wife of Thomas Peter Jefferson

Randolph Jefferson and Anna Jefferson Lewis Jefferson would have the same children as they did in OTL: Anna Scott Jefferson (born ~1782- died October 5-1830), Thomas Jefferson Jr (born ~1782), Robert Lewis Jefferson (Born March 8, 1786, Peter Field Jefferson (Born May 7, 1789), Isham Randolph Jefferson (Born August 2, 1791), James Lilburne Jefferson (born July 7, 1795), John Randolph Jefferson (Born July 12, 1800).

Randolph Jefferson would pass away from a snake bite on October 17,1800; and Anna Jefferson Lewis Jefferson lives until August 18,1815. His estate is given to his eldest Son Isham Randolph Jefferson, while Thomas Peter Jefferson gifts his cousin Thomas Jefferson Jr the plantation at Poplar Forest in Bedford Virginia. Robert Lewis Jefferson would rebuild the old Jefferson family estate at Shadwell. Little is known of Field Jefferson's life after he left Virginia to explore the Jungle of the Congo River basin in May of 1820. Isham Jefferson would graduate from the Virginia Military Institute in 1807 and would eventually rise to the rank of Major General on the Vermont Front in the Anglo -American War of 1844. James Jefferson would marry Charlotte Evergrest of Danville, Va and have eight children. While John Randolph Jefferson would Marry Elizabeth Henry and would have just three children . Both James and John would also both serve in the various wars of the 1840s. James Jefferson would command a Division on Mexican Front, while John Randolph Jefferson would command the Defenses of Norfolk Harbor.

Anna Scott Jefferson would marry Henry Lee IV on May 1, 1803, together they would have six children only one of which would die before reaching adulthood. Henry Lee V (Born March 7, 1804), Savanna Elizabeth Lee (Born May 12, 1805), Rebecca Anna Lee (Born October 12,1807) Author Edward Lee (Born June 12,1809- died May 18,1811), Charles Albert Lee (Born November 11, 1811) and Laura Lynn Lee (Born September 12,1815). Sadly Anna would fall ill with Smallpox in 1830 and die later that year.

1. small pod here Martha Jefferson lives one more year and has one more child before dying
2. Historically only one child was born to Thomas Jefferson by Sally Hemmings before 1797 a daughter in 1795 who died in 1797, TTL it is a boy who lived to adulthood.
3. Jefferson's two daughters Mary Jefferson Eppes and Martha Jefferson Randolph both survive till adulthood and live out their lives pretty much as OTL exception is that Mary Jefferson Eppes lives until 1820, instead of dying in 1804.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Early years of the Van Buren Administration 1840-1843

Van Buren’s cabinet
Secretary of State::Benjamin Bernard Bassett (Fed-Del)
Secretary of War: Thomas G. Garfield (Fed-Ny)
The Secretary of the Treasury Osmand Vedat Tansel (Fed-Ms)
The Secretary of Industry: Ebenezer J. Pettus (American Whig-Pa)
The Consul of the Senate: Richard S. Sherman (Fed-Oh)

The First Term of Martin Van Buren had been a success for the Federalist party; they had managed to almost completely reverse the policies of the previous Baker administration. In doing so they had restored the Federal Industrial Subsidies, bulsering the FRA’s native industrial base. To pay for these a subsidies the Sherman Tariff (named for the Consul of the Senate Richard Sherman of Ohio) was put in place in the fall of 1841 which placed high taxes on good imported from Europe, Canada, and any that might for some reason come from the Crown Republic of New England, the two countries not hit with high import taxes was the Commonwealth of American States and Republic of Vermont as the American Defense Pact that all three nations were part of limited the amount of tariffs that they could place on each other.

On the domestic from the Federalist rolled back the anti immigrant laws that the American Democratic Party had put in place, back in the 1830s. Under the Van Buren Immigration Act Imigration was opened to all people regardless of their place of origin or native religion. The Federal Citizenship Act of 1840 would make every person born on the soil of the Federal Republic of America an FRA citizen regardless of his or her parents citizenship status. Any person immigrating to the Federal Republic of America would be granted residency status, could apply for citizenship at any post office in the Republic, the citizenship application was free of charge. To be granted citizenship all the applicant had to prove was that the either had employment within the FRA, were married to an FRA Citizen, or had had a child born with FRA Citizenship. Men were expected to register with the Federal Military Impresment Service to be added to the role of their local defense militia or and to be willing to serve in the Federal Army or the State Guard if called upon to serve. The Van Buren administration would add the first new seat to the presidential cabinet with the creation of the Ministry of Industrial development and Regulation and making its head the Secretary of Industry part of the cabinet. He would also name the first non federalist to his administration to fill this new position naming Ebenezer J. Pettus one of the owners of the Pettus and Wollard Ironworks in Harrisburg Pa and a member of the Whig party to fill the office.

Van Buren and the Federalist would also increase the Federal Army by passing the Army Act of 1842 done in response to the information about the ongoing wars in South America and Europe and the sheer size of armies involved. The Army Act of 1842 would expand the Federal Army so that each of its four armies would go from 30,000 men to 70,000 men with the needed artillery support. This would more than double the size of the Federal Army but almost no one voted against the massive spending increase, for the first time ever a universal 5% income tax to help fund the military expansion.

Meanwhile the Federal Navy would see even more drastic changes. As of 1840 the Federal Navy possessed 9 ships of the line ranging from 120 to 52 guns all of which were sail powered. It had 28 frigates in the Atlantic ranging from 44 to 30 guns and 12 frigates on the Great lakes all of which were 44 guns. Of these 10 of the Atlantic frigates were steam powered 6 paddlewheeler ranging from 30-34 guns and 4 screw frigates ranging from 34-38 guns. On the Great lakes all were sail powered. Then there were the Sloops which made up the bulk of the fleet the Atlantic fleet had 72 sloops mounting 24 guns each the Great Lakes fleet had 28 sloops mounting 24 guns each. The Federal Navy liked sloops because they could transit the Erie Canal and move between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. Of all of these sloops an impressive number were steam powered 58 of the 72 Sloops in the Atlantic fleet were steampowered 34 were paddlewheeler and 24 were screw. On the Great lakes all 24 were steam powered 14 paddlewheeler and 10 were screw ships.

Yet, the Admiralty had to admit that in the event of another war with Britain and its empire the Federal Navy outside of the Great Lakes would be forced to act as commerce raiders and support for the Commonwealth Navy. So when Fleet Admiral William Upshar assumed the role of Admiral of the Fleet on March 14,1840 he proposed a major shift in thinking for the Federal Navy. Upshar had long advocated for Ironships and as head of the Federal Navy officer of Research development and ship design and construction had driven the Federal navy in the refining of Iron plates to avoid the brittleness problems that ships built of Iron tended to suffer from; in doing so he had made the FRA the second leading nation in Iron (and soon steel) development only behind Britain who of course was number one. Admiral Upshar had in his mind was a fleet that really didn’t need to venture out into the open oceans. In his mind the Federal navy would become a coastal force capable of preventing any future blockade easily. This fleet would be made of Iron ships whose sides were armored against any ball or shell that could be fired against it. To help convince Van Buren and Secretary of War: Thomas G. Garfield, Upshar could point to the FNS Holder and the FNS Ranger to brand new all Iron hulled sloops of war that had just finished construction and were fitting out. But Upshar had another design he wanted to push: it was a sloop with three steam engines and three mast for sails. The ship was armed with 20 guns and the thing that made it special it had, three inch armored plate covering the ship. It had a wide beam and a shallow flat draft. He called the ship Ironsides Class Armored Sloop. Upshaw asked the Senate for a build order for sixteen ships of the Ironsides class ten ships for the Atlantic 3 on lake Erie and 3 on lake Ontario in exchange for canceling the 9 ships of the line In the 1836 naval build. The senate agreed and passed the Naval Bill of 1842, in which the ships of the line were canceled, however the frigates were kept. Of those ships of the line 4 were far enough to be finished within the year it was decided to sell those four once completed. In their place an order for 16 Ironsides class armored Sloops would be placed, 10 with Atlantic coast yards, 3 in yards on Lake Erie and 3 on yards on Lake Ontario. In addition an order would be placed for an order of 4 smaller eight gun ironclads to be built on Lake Champlain.

plans for the FNS Ironsides

With his legislative and policy victory was won, Admiral Upshaw reorganized the Ships in the Federal Navy. His nine Ships of the line and twelve sailing frigates were organized into the Federal Navy Battle Squadron and concentrated at New York Harbor. The sixteen steam powered Frigates and the 58 steam powered sloops of war would be organized in to raiding squadrons consisting of 8 ships each and scattered down the Coast of the FRA some squadrons were even based in the CAS Caribbean states of Cuba and Dominica as well as one squadron based in Falkland, and South Carolina’s East Carolina Colony.

The other parties viewed the Federalist Party’s agenda very differently. The American Whig Party (1) with their pro industry platform favored the repeal of the anti immigrant laws and the tariff but they disagreed with government interference in business and believed that the market would have balanced out if it had been given time. The American Whigs would nominate Alexander Pinkerton of New Jersey one of their most popular state governors to challenge Van Buren in the fall.The American Party (2) has no love for Van Buren and the Federalist, as they have completely undone their legacy under the Baker administration. The American Party would nominate Theodore Greeville the Mayor of Fort McCoy, Ohio as their candidate for the Presidency in the fall. When it came to the various wars going on around the work all three parties agreed that as long as the Federal Republic of America was attacked or their allies attacked by a European enemy the FRA had no business going to war, any time soon.

President Martin Van Buren Federalist of New York

Governor Alexander Pinkerton American Whig of New Jersey

Mayor Theodore Greeville American of Ohio

October 2, 1842 was a bright colorful fall day under a warm autumn sun despite the cool breezes that marked the coming of winter in the not too distant future as the people would go to the poles to elect not just new senators but also to judge weather or not Van Buren had earned a second term as President of the Federal Republic of America. The Votes would be finally all totaled up on December 15,1843 Martin Van Buren had won the election by a landslide; and the Federalist Majority in the Senate remained solid.

1843 election Senate

State	Federalist	American Whig	American Party
New York	3	0	0
New Jersey	1	1	1
Pennsylvania	0	2	1
Delaware	2	1	0
Erie	2	1	0
Ohio	2	1	0
Mississippi	1	1	1

Totals Federalist 11 seats; American Whig Party 7 seats; American Party 3

Presidential Election
Martin Van Buren(Fed-Ny) 60% of the vote
Alexander Pinkerton(AW-Nj) 38% of the vote
Theodore Greeville(AP-Oh) 2% of the vote

1. The Whigs in the FRA added American to the front of their party name to make it different from the Whigs in the Crown Republic of New England.
2. The American Democratic Party became just the American Party to emphasise their focus on Nativism

 

[Virginia Liberal]

FRA Cities and States

FRA Railroads

Commonwealth of American States (Continental) Cities and States

Commonwealth of American States (Continental) Railways and cities

The island states and South carolina's African Holdings are still in progress

British North America Cities

British North America Railroads

Blow up of the Crown Republic of New England in the Works

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Second Battle of Villa de Curra

The Second Battle of Villa de Qurra would begin on April 7,1843. Major General Vanguard’s Southern Army of South America (Southern Army) was stronger than it had ever been after receiving the bulk of the 80,000 reinforcements, it was comprised of 110, 000 Infantry, 18,000 Cavalry, 15 batteries of Field guns and 8 batteries of Horse Artillery.

To the west Major General Fernandez’s 22nd Field army had also been reinforced it now contained 75,000 Infantry, 12,000 Cavalry/Dragoons supported by 12 batteries of field guns, 2 batteries of horse artillery and 6 batteries of heavy 68 pounder naval guns. His men were deployed in a entrench line running north to south across the valley ancored on the mountains to the north and south. This line was a series of trenches, breastworks and earthen forts. The strongest of these forts sat atop of a 900 feet high hill in the center of the valley; it had been cleared of trees and turned into one big earth and timber fort, in which 2 of the 6 batteries of 68 pounder guns had been placed where they had a commanding field of fire into the valley. This fort the Colombians had named La Dominadora (the Dominatrix).

Upon the discovery of the Colombian fortified line was a shock to the Commonwealth soldiers who had been expecting another stand up engagement. Vanguard would take his time assembling his army before he began his attack, he aimed at trying to turn the Colombians’s left flank which looked to be open on the northern side of a large hill at the northern edge of the valley, quietly his staff wondered if it was a bad sign that the Colombian guns had been quiet till now.

Colombian Trenches in front of Villa de Curra

As soon as the attack began that all changed the Colombian guns that could bare on the Commonwealth troops erupted including the heavy cannons on the heights. Vanguard’s attack was beaten back before it even reached the Colombian lines. Seeing what he was up against now he had his reserve divisions begin entrenching to provide themselves with some cover from the Colombian guns. Under the cover of darkness the men of the Southern Army entrenched and by the break of dawn on April 8th they had decent if shallow earth works and trenches in place. For the next five weeks the two armies traded artillery fire and sniped at each other, they would probe the other’s line trying to find a weak spot only to be repulsed, each time. Then on the Morning of May 12th Major General Ambrose Patton commander of the Cavalry Division came to Vanguard’s headquarters with a local Bolivian citizen. The man said that he knew a route though the mountains to the south that would allow them to get behind the Colomiban lines. Patton urged his commander to allow him to take his division and flank the Colombians. Vanguard agreed but told Patton to leave 2,500 troopers here with the army just in case, he also sent three red signal rockets with Patton. Patton was to fire them off before he attacked so that Vanguard could coordinate an assault with the beginning of Patton’s.



It would take Patton and his troopers five days before they came out of the steep and narrow mountain trails that lead them to the rear of the Colombian line however in the predawn hours of May 19th Patton launched his three red signal rockets and readied his men for a charge.
To the East both the Colombians and the Commonwealthers saw the rockets for the Colombians there was a moment of wonder as to why signal rockets were going up from their rear, when every piece of artillery that Vanguard had opened up on the Colombian’s lines. The Colombian Artillery returned fire but they had the rising sun in their eyes. Then waves of Infantry started pouring out of the trenches; at the same time Patton’s Cavalry some 15,000 men came charging up out of the west. Major General Fernandez and his staff were quickly captured when Patton and his staff arrived at the Colombian General’s headquarters in person. Faced with attacks from the front and rear many of the Colombian infantry began to panic in the trenches many men threw down their rifles and surrendered however the forts continued to fight. Slowly over the next three days the forts would fall one by one until only La Dominadora was left in the fight. When many of his men wounded and powder and shot starting to run low Colonel Luis Aranda ordered his guns spiked and surrendered on the evening of May 22, 1843. Finally the guns were silent and the Second Battle of Villa de Cura or the Six Weeks Battle as it came to be called was over.

Patton's Charge

Major General Ambrose Patton

The Next Morning Major General Vanguard and three of his battered divisions would march north and occupy the Cities of Maracay,La Victoria, and Magdaleno and begin fortifying them. While the rest of the army tended to the wounded and the prisoners. Of the 75,000 Infantry, 12,000 Cavalry/Dragoons supported by 12 batteries of field guns, 2 batteries of horse artillery and 6 batteries of heavy 68 pounder naval guns that the Colombians started off with 5,000 had been killed another 16,000 wounded all of the artillery was either destroyed or captured and 60,000 men had been captured including Major General Fernandez, and his staff, the Entire 22nd Field army had been erased from the face of the earth.

The Commonwealth Southern Army did not escape unscathed; they lost 12,000 men Killed and 20,000 wounded as well as 3 batteries worth of field guns destroyed. (although a battery's worth would be replaced with captured Colombian guns.). Yet the Objective had been met the Colombian’s overland supply route had been cut; and the destruction of the 22nd Field Army meant that it would take time for the Colombians to challenge the Commonwealth’s positions. Major General William Vanguard was hailed as a hero despite the butcher's bill that had been paid for the victory.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Throughout the 1820’s and the better part of the 1830’s the political world of the Republic of Vermont was dominated by the Green Mountain Party (GMP). with several smaller parties forming the minority in the Assembly. The GMP’s political platform centered around a hands off business economy and the forgien policy centered around turning Vermont into an unassailable fortress “the Switzerland of North America ''. This all started to change in 1831 when the Repulbican Reconquista Party (RRP) was formed in New Haven, and took over the politics of Western Connecticut. The RRP as its name might give away focused its platform around the idea that Vermont should be the base from which the Republican forces would liberate the rest of New England from the Clutches of the Royalist in the Crown Republic of New England. The rest of their platform was extremely similar to that of the GMP. In the 1831 election the RRP would take 20 of West Connecticut’s 49 seats in the Assembly, and 16 of the State of Vermont’s 68 house seats for a total of 36 out of 117 seats, making them the largest opposition party to the GMP. That same year a rising star in the RRP Abraham Wynne would win the race for the Mayor of the City New Haven, West Connecticut the largest port in the Republic.

President Arron Hunt 1832-1841

In 1832 President Baker would announce he was retiring, setting up a new election for the Presidency in the fall. The GMP would skip over Vice President Gilford Viceman and run Secretary of War Arron Hunt, while the RRP would run Mayor Wynne as their candidate for president. Hunt would win the election of 1832 with a sizable margin, however the RRP would make more gains in the house gaining enough for 45 seats. Making them second only to the GMP’s 61 seats with smaller parties taking the remaining 11 seats. This trend would continue throughout the 1830’s capping out with the election of the RRP’s Vice Presidential candidate George Gildcrest in 1838, with Hunt winning reelection for the third time. Then Finally in 1841 Hunt would retire and the GMP would run his Secretary of State William Renstind while the RRP would run Abraham Wynne for president, keeping Gildcrest in the Vice President Race. Wynne would win a close contest however ending the GMP’s control of the Presidency; Wynne would win reelection in 1844 as Vermont plunged into War with the Crown Republic of New England and the British Empire.

Vice President George Gildcrest 1838-1850

In 1835 the RRP got one of its major objectives completed with the Army Equipment Acquisition Act being passed. This act would see the Army of the Republic of Vermont adopt the Colt Revolving Rifle, and the Colt Revolver Pistol as the official long and small arms of the Army of Vermont. The Pistol would be the standard ACP. 45 brass cartridge while the rifle would be chambered in colt ACR .45 cartridge(1). This would have issues later as they were the only one of the American Republics who didn’t use the McKnight .45-70 cartridge and had to maintain their own supply of ammunition.

President Abraham Wynne President 1841-1850

Infrastructure wise the 1830’s would see the expansion of the Railroad industry in the Republic of Vermont. The largest of these Railroads was the New Haven and Northern which would come to dominate the Republic’s Railroad industry and by 1844 it owned 80% of the track and rolling stock in the Republic and had controlling interest in the other 20%. Making it North America’s first monopoly.

1. This happens before the Federal Army looks at the rifle and requires it be chambered in the McKnight .45-75. The Colt ACR .45 cartridge is more akin to the Spencer .56-50 rifle form the ACW

 

[Virginia Liberal]

By Mid April the British and Prrussian Armies had been fully assembled at Seville The British had supplied 90,0000 Infantry 20,000 cavalry 25 batteries of field guns and 9 batteries of horse guns under the command of General Christopher Henry Howard Duke of Norfolk. The Prussians had sent 80.000 Infantry 10,000 cavalry, 18 batteries of field guns and 6 batteries of horse guns under the command of General der Infanterie Wolfe von Richthofen. The two commanders had agreed to a joint campaign but not to a joint command, while keeping in touch with each other they would campaign on their own, towards a joint objective that was the breaking of the Siege of Valencia. The British would take an inland route breaking the French rail line that connected their forward Supply depots to the large supply dump at Madrid. While the Prussians would secure the city of Murcia and protect the british right flank.

General Christopher Henry Howard Duke of Norfolk

At the start of the Spring campaign the French Iberaian Army had just over 275,000 men 250,000 Infantry, 25,000 Cavalry supported by 60 batteries of field guns and 15 batteries of horse guns. In addition to the 90,000 man Army of Arragon 80,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, 10 batteries of field guns and 5 batteries of horse guns. However the Duke of Normandy’s confidence in the Aragonese was shaken after Marius and his Spanish/Italian force had defeated them the previous fall.

The Army of Iberia was divided into four commands: The 1st Iberian Army 130,000 Infantry, 5,000 cavalry, 30 batteries of field guns, 1 battery of horse guns and 15 batteries of heavy siege guns. The 1st Iberian Army was tasked with besieging the city of Valencia and was commanded by Louis de Bourbon the Duke of Normany himself.

The 2nd Iberian Army consisted of 100,000 infantry 5,000 Cavalry 12 batteries of field guns and 3 batteries of horse artillery The 2nd Iberian Army was commanded by Lieutenant General Henri Gilbert Marquis de Lafayette was based in Toledo. General Lafayette’s objective was to tie up the English and Prussian armies as much as possible so that they didn’t interfere with the siege of Valencia before it was completed.

The Madrid Garrison was the third part of the Army of Iberia with 20,000 Infantry 1,000 cavalry, 33 batteries of field guns and 4 batteries of heavy guns it was commanded by Lieutenant General Francos O'Reilly, and was tasked with the defense of Madrid and the massive supply depot that had been created there.

The last part of the Army of Iberia was the Cavalry Division and independent command of 15,000 cavalry and 11 batteries of horse guns. Commanded by Général de division Adolphe Michaud. This command was tasked two work in conjunction with the 2nd Iberian Army in defending against the English and Prussian threat as well as protecting the railway that the french had constructed between Madrid and Valencia to support the French siege of the city.

The events that would lead to the battle Bailén April 25,1843 began days earlier when General Lafayette received word from the French Cavalry that the English and some Granadans were on the march, a day later word that the Prussians were also on the march reached Lafayette. With this information he decided that he would deal with the English then the Prussians. Lafayette sent orders to Michaud that he should use his men to “harass and delay” the Prussian advance along the coast. The two armies would collide at the town of Bailén.

In the morning of April 25th the French cavalry attached to the 2nd Iberian Army ran into its British counterpart where the road crossed the Rio Rumblar. Colonel Albert Maçon sent word back to Lafayette that they had “encountered the English” he and his men would meet the British scout force of about 3,500 as they crossed the Rio Rumblar which was shallow and easily forded. As the two mounted forces charged, meleed broke off and charged each other again after an hour of combat and the arrival of more english cavalry, the French disengaged, falling back toward Bailén. The delay Colonel Maçon and his men gave the british may have been small but it was enough to allow the lead French Division to take up positions on the hills that surrounded the town of Bailén, had they not done this the British Cavalry could have most likely occupied the town and allowed the British to occupy the high ground not the other way around.

Undaunted by the small fight put up by the French cavalry the British Cavalry Commander Major General Alexander Cromwell had his men push on toward the town. However, he and his men were surprised to find a division of French Infantry supported by artillery deploying on the hills around the town. Hoping to catch the French off guard Cromwell split up his command he sent 8,000 men under Brigadier Oswald Meldcraft toward the line of French Infantry occupying that he correctly guessed was right around 10,000 men. He then took his other 9,000 men on a flanking move to the south of town where he hoped to be able to swing around the French flank and encircle them. At 1300 hours Brigadier Meldcraft charged at the French on the hills while Cromwell found a nastly surprise in the form of Colonel Macon’s cavalry dismounted on a hill to the south side of the town. In both cases the British had every reason to believe that their cavalry charge would be effective however they had failed to account for the progression of technology. And Meldcraft must have been shocked when the first French volley erupted when they were still over 400 yards away or at the accuracy. Despite this French rifles were still muskets and the British Charge would hit the French line like a wave however the arrival of a second division of French Infantry would drive them back. To the South Cromwell found that the 5,000 dismounted french cavalry was proving just as hard to deal with. The arrival of a third french Infantry division sealed the French control of the high ground around the town. By the end of the first day both armies had arrived on the field for the most part the French had three divisions still a day's march away, and the British had two divisions about a day’s march away.

The Second day would begin with the British mounting an attack on the French Right flank to the north of town. Their attack began at 0800h and would last until 1330h when it was called off due to little progress seen for the effort. With their efforts expended the British settled down to repel a french counter attack however aside from an artillery bombardment no attack came. This was because Lafayette had ordered his three divisions who were still west of the battle to engage on a long flanking march from La Carolina to Mengibar. This march would not be completed until 10 am on the third day of the battle and would force the British to countermarch their two divisions that had just arrived at the battle field back east to counter the french flanking attack. It was at 1300h on April 28th that the french counter attack at Bailén. Faced with being engaged on their Flank as well as center the Duke of Norfolk ordered his men to fall back and regroup. The Well Practiced Red Coats would manage to pull his off without falling into a route and this most likely saved the army. Regardless The British were forced to fall back to Cordoba after dark fell on the battlefield.
The British had been beaten back but as Lafayette enjoyed his victory word reached him that the Prussians had taken Murica and he was forced to fall back to the north or risk the Prussians attacking him from his rear. So even in defeat the British Prussian Campaign suffered no set back. However in London it was recognized the not upgrading the Royal Army’s long and small arms back in the 1830’s was an oversight

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Spring in the Channel

As soon as the British Empire entered the war the Royal Navy put to sea in force. Its first action moving the British Army of Iberia to Cadiz went without a hitch as the French were still shifting resources to deal with the new British threat. The task for the Royal Navy was simple drive their French Counterpart the la Marine Royale (la Royale) out of the English Channel so that the Duke of Mann’s bold strategy of retaking Normandy or at least part of it for Britain could proceed. To do this Britain split its home fleet up in to 3 commands The Irish Squadron consisting of 21 ships of the line, 28 frigates, 18 Corvettes, and 22 sloops plus smaller ships, commanded by Rear Admiral Sammuel H. Nelson (1). Channel Squadron consisting of 23 ships of the line, 24 Frigates, 14 Corvettes, 16 Sloops and various smaller ships commanded by Rear Admiral Thomas C. Hobb and lastly North Sea Fleet 26 ships of the line, 18 frigates, 19 Corvettes, 17 sloops and various smaller ships commanded by Admiral Patrick G. Newfield.

The French on the southern shore of the Channel spilt their ships up into just two commands The Celtic Squadron consisting of 19 ships of the line, 26 frigates, 19 corvettes, 16 sloops and various other small ships, Commanded by Contre-Amiral Henri Christophe ; the French Channel Squadron consisting of 20 ships of the line,. 22 frigates, 18 corvettes, 21 sloops and various smaller ships, commanded by Contre-Amiral Constantin Villeneuve, there was also the Biscay Squadron comprised of 17 ships of the line, 24 frigates, 18 corvettes, 14 Sloops and various other ships, commanded by Contre-Amiral Aurèle Belrose.

The First clash between these two forces would take place on May 24,1843 when the British Irisn Squadron and the French Celtic Squadron, these fleets would meet about thirteen miles west of the small Island of St. Anges. The Battle of St. Anges would be a traditional sort of naval battle for the age of sail, as both forces were primarily sail powered with each side having a speckling of steam powered. It lasted close to 8 hours before both sides were forced to break off. The French would lose 3 ships of the line, 4 frigates, 3 corvettes and 6 sloops sunk with 2 more ships of the line, 3 Frigates 2 Corvettes and 9 sloops receiving heavy damage. The British didn’t come out free and clear either They would lose 5 ships of the line, 6 frigates, 4 corvettes, and 10 sloops sunk and many others heavily damaged, However the french had been forced back to port, and on a personal note Admiral Nelson had managed to show that he could win and improve over the battle record of his father, who had never lived down his loss to the Americans in the War of 1805.

The Second naval battle of the Spring took place off of the Isle of Portland on May 30,1843. It would pit the French Channel Squadron against the British Channel Squadron. The British didn’t have as much luck as they had at St. Agnes. As the two fleets closed on each other Contre-Amiral Constantin Villeneuve was able to position the french Channel Squadron so that he managed to cross the T on the Royal Navy. Faced with this Rear Admiral Hobb decided to try and have his ships break the French Line and engage them in a close quarters melee (2) Hobb places his steam ships in front of his sailing ships hoping that their increased speed would protect them from the French guns , he also hope that the French were going to be bad shots and fail to concentrate fire(3). However, the French gunnery was extremely well placed and they were able to blow the Charging British out of the water with two of the Steamer HMS Swiftshire and HMS Ajax taking hits to their boilers and exploding in spectacular fashion. The wrecks at the front of the formation caused the British to evade them which opened up more British ships to the murderous French fire. By the time the sun went down the British had been forced to q to Portsmouth after taking heavy losses They would lose 6 ships of the line, 4 frigates, 3 corvettes, and 8 sloops sunk and many others heavily damaged. Yet the battle was not over, a spring storm blew into the channel and scattered much of the French squadron out into the North Sea where many ships would be hunted down by the North Sea Fleet and the survivors being forced to go the long way around the British Isles before finally arriving at Brest. By the time it was said and done the French Channel Squadron had lost 11 ships of the line 14 frigates, 4 Corvettes, and 9 Sloops.

So it was that on April 3,1843 an army of 180,000 men (165,000 Infantry, 15,000 Cavalry and 30 batteries of field guns and 10 batteries of Horse Artillery) Commanded by Henry Hanover Duke of Mann began to cross from Portsmouth to Cherbourg. The first action would take place on Peel Island at 0730 when under the cover of a Royal navy bombardment two Regiments of Royal Marines attacked the Fortress that protected Cherbourg Harbor, the battle would last for 5 hours with the fort not surrendering until noon. Once the Fort fell the landings went on with out issue the Local Militia and National Guard units were easily driven back an by the time dusk fell the city and the area around it were under British (English) Control for the first time since the year 1450.

1. The Son of Horiato Nelson OTL Victor at Trafalgar TTL moderately decent Admiral who got his teeth kicked in by the Americans n 1805
2. a mavover that worked for Admiral Horatio Nelson at OTL Trafalgar
3. this also happened at OTL Trafalgar

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Church of the Last Saintly Dominion (LSD).

The Church of the Last Saintly Dominion was founded by Joseph and Edith Jones in the Spring of 1820, in a small town in Northern New Hampshire. The story of the Church’s founding goes one spring day while Joseph and Edith were out exploring the woods around their farm and a bright light caught their attention. The light led them to a cave where they found the Archangel Micheal holding two golden disks with strange pictographs on them. Michael told Joseph and Edith that they had been chosen by God to reintroduce the world to the last teachings of Jesus Christ. Michael went on to tell them that After Christ was resurrected he came to the Americas and preached the word of his life, death and resurrection to the people of the New World. He then touched their heads and gave them the ability to translate the golden disk. He said that the mushrooms that grew in the cave were the same as the Manna that god gave the Hebrews as they fled Egypt and that the mushrooms would sustain them, and they must not leave the cave until they have finished their task.

For the next two months Joseph and Edith Jones lived in the cave eating the mushrooms and translating the two discs. Which told the story of the Last Saintly Dominion. After Christ arrived among the people of the New World and began to preach his gospel to them his first disciple was a man named Tepeu who translated Christ teaching into the written records of the Mayan culture. Tepeu would work to spread the word of Christ and become the Paul of the New World Church. However like in the old world the Christians here were plagued by oppression and Christ had Tepeu gather up all of his followers and led them far to the north away from the desert and into a rainy land of massive pines there at the base of a great snow capped mountain that they called the White Peak they built the City of Fava Aethel (Father’s City) and the Last Saintly Dominion was born.

Over the next 100 years the Last Saintly Dominion expanded and grew however as they found success and converted the local people they grew arrogant and strayed away from the teachings of Christ and the Lover of God. After a Century God grew displeased with the people of the Last Saintly Dominion and showed his anger as the Great White Peak erupted in flame, lava and ash destroying the Last Saintly Domain and erasing all traces of them from the history of man. Until mankind was ready once more ready to hear the last and true teachings of Christ.

After they finished translating the disc they melted away and Micheal left them to spread the word of Christ's true teachings to the world once more. However the Mushrooms had among other things increased the sexual drive of the couple and Edith found herself pregnant a few weeks after leaving the cave. She and Joseph would establish the Church of the Last Saintly Dominion (The LSD Church) on the ground near the cave and soon began recruiting people to the religion. Each Saturday Joseph would preach the gospel of the LSD and they would partake in the manna mushrooms then as the service wound down the children were taken to a building behind the church for sweets and cakes and drinks while the adults celebrated gods love by having orgies in the church.
The principles of the Church of the Last Saintly Dominion As were established in the Book of Jones. Both men and women had roles to play in society Men were the providers, protectors and leaders of the church, community, and family unit. Women were tasked to have and raise children to take care of their husbands needs. Women were expected to be pregnant as often as possible, an example that Edith Jones set personally. Polygamy was encouraged in LSD society “ Each man shall take at least one wife in this lifetime and should take a second, third, fourth and so on as long as he has the means to provide and care for them and her children. But no man should take so many wives that he deprives other men of their first wife.” Jones 14:2-
10. All people of the LSD were to share with their fellow Brothers and sisters of faith if they lacked anything. “Let no member go without if a family is hungry, feed them; if a man cannot give his wife children then take her and give him a child of your seed.” Jones 18:5-6

As the Church of LSD spread and it gathered more followers all across New England and Vermont however as it grew the Church gathered enemies and by 1830 life in the North East was becoming extremely uncomfortable for the members of the Church of LSD which by now numbered in the 10's of thousands. Then one night in the summer of 1831 the Angel Michael reappeared to Edith (who was pregnant with her thirteenth child.) and Joseph and told them to take their followers to the land of the LSD and rebuild Fava Aethel. So over the next few months this new mission from god was spread throughout the LSD community and they sold off everything they couldn’t carry on the trek to Oregon Country. In late 1834 the LSD church would arrive in OTL Washington State and would establish New Zion (1) at the base of Mount Rainier. They also established the Theocratic Republic of Cascadia. As a means to keep the peace between Russia and Britain the Theocratic Republic of Cascadia would be recognized in the Treaty of Geneva of 1849 that ended the Second War of Spanish Succession and the War of 1844.

1. OTL Tacoma Wa
2. Giving a Nod to @Napoleon53 whose AFC Inspired this update.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

A Louisiana Sunrise The battle of Edgerly Station March 16,1843


March 15,1843 Quelqueshue, La. Major General Jubal Randolph and his Army of the Transmississippi had been forced back to where they had started their campaign had begun, the town of Quelqueshue, Louisiana. It was no fault of his men or himself they had just been outnumbered by their Mexican Counterparts, however that was had changed Major General Thomas O'Keefe and the recently renamed Commonwealth Western Army had arrived from Georgia and now the numbers were on their side for the first time since the campaign the war even had started. Their scouts had Santa Anna’s army 30 miles away crossing the Sabine River this morning General O’Keefe had assumed overall command of the campaign and had decided to march west and meet the Mexicans on the road.

30 miles to the west General Santa Anna watched from his horse as his army filed across on to the ferries that crossed the Sabine River. In doing so his army was officially leaving the old Tejas Province that had been part of New Spain before everything fell apart. In crossing this river he was taking a major risk, his army was down to 65,000 Infantry 2,500 cavalry and and 24 batteries of field guns. This was the result of the constant skirmishing with the Commonwealth Army of the Transmississippi and he need to guard his supply train from raiders. He had to give it to the General Randolph the man had done an excellent job retarding his advance, and blunting his spear head. His Supply train was starting to seriously concern him; it stretched all the way back to San Antonio. He hoped that one more battle would be enough to drive the Americans back into New Orleans so he could came and wait for General Manuel Rojo and his 110,000 men who according to the last dispatch he received had already cross the Rio Grande and should be approaching San Antonio by now.

The two Armies would run into each other near a small siding on the Louisiana State Railway known as Edgerly Station just about 8 miles north of the town of Vinton La. When the Battle began at least to Santa Anna nothing had really changed the Commonwealth line was marked by the familiar banners of the regiments of the Army of the Trans Mississippi and Randolph’s personal standard fluttered at the Station house just behind the fighting. There some new ones but reinforcements had been expected the closer to the Mississippi River they got. Things started to take an odd turn around 1500 hours Santa Anna had just sent in two of his reserve divisions on a flanking attack that should unseat the Americans line and force them to withdraw when his cavalry reported a large body of Infantry with a heavy cavalry screen coming down from the North. It didn’t take him long to figure out that his attack had ended, he sent the recall order out to his two flanking divisions and orders his last reserve division to take up positions to the north of his left flank to act as a breakwater and give him time to redeploy his army to counter this move.

General O’Keefe was thrilled; his men and engaged a Mexican Division that had been deployed to the North of their main line at 1630h the Mexicans had put up a stiff fight but they hadn’t known the sheer weight of that was coming down on their heads. They had held out for an hour and a half before finally being forced to withdraw and to their credit did so in an orderly manner. They had held out long enough for two more divisions to take up positions guarding the Mexican’s Left Flank. Looking at the Warm spring sun O’Keefe doubted that he would be able to envelope the Mexican Army at this rate they simply had too much fight in them but his men were ready for a fight and he was gonna do his best to try.

Santa Anna Looked at his golden Pocket Watch with the Mexican Eagle emblazoned on its front. It was just now 1830 still and hour till the sun was down. His men were fighting bravely as any he had ever served with or commanded but the sheer weight of the American’s Numbers was telling, the three divisions he had deployed to extend his Left flank either had been chewed to shreds or were kiin the process of being chewed to shreds. He was quietly pulling brigades form the Center and Right Flank to form a hodgepodge reserve if the Left flank finally gave way before the darkness fell; he had also issued ordered for his men to be ready to pull back to the Western bank of the Sabine once darkness fell, and had issued orders to the unlucky division in Center of the Line that would form the Rear guard (aka be sacrificed ) so the Army could escape. Once he had the River between him and the Americans he could rest his men and link up with Rojo and try again. Finally at 1915h the sun dipped below the western horizon and the fighting died down. He waited until 2100h before he began to withdraw his army from the battle, with the last units not pulling back till almost 0400h on March 17,1843.

When Dawn broke The Commonwealth would send out the cavalry to chase down the Mexicans and the rearguard led by General Juan Desantos. Despite the best efforts of Major General Hubert Knox to try and delay the Mexican retreat, Desantos would only turn a regiment or two around to stall the pursuit. Allowing the bulk of his men to reach the safety of the west bank of the Sabine River and managed to blow the ferries after he crossed. Against all odds Santa Anna had escaped to fight again another day. However he had bled to do so losing 1,500 men killed 3,000 wounded and 4000 captured.

Following the battle O'Keefe and Randolph decided to reorganize their armies. O'Keefe detached three divisions to the Army of the Trans Mississippi bringing it back up to 95,000 infantry. And devised a new plan. He and his larger command would move north to Possum Bluff to cross at the ferry there. While Randolph would wait here for the River steamboats that the navy was moving here from New Orleans. To allow his men to cross. They were gonna keep the pressure on the Mexicans as much as possible.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Spring in the Shadow of the Alps: When The Hammer Blow Falls.

As April warmed up the Piedmont in Northern Italy Marshal Sacco struck on a bold almost insane plan. Over the winter he had reinforced his Army of Northern Italy to 230,000 Infantry, 50,000 Cavalry and 40 Batteries of field guns and 20 batteries of Horse guns. He had also gain a new fire brand of a Cavalry General Cosimo Siciliano. It was Siciliano who helped Sacco plan the spring offensive. Marshall Sacco would break the Army of Northern Italy into two again He would take the Bulk of the Army and March Southeast so that it looked like they were heading to reinforce the Siege of Genoa, this would force the French to intercept Saccos before he and the Army could get to Genoa. Meanwhile Siciliano and the Bulk of the Army’s cavalry would move west then south along the foothills of the Alps. While Lonbardi’s Army would move south at a slower pace just west of Sacco’s Line of March. When the French intercepted Sacco and engaged in battle Lombardi would swing south then attack their rear. Meanwhile Sicilino and the Cavalry would attack the French forward supply base at Cuneo.

April 18,1843 was a warm spring morning when Major General Léonard Roux was enjoying his breakfast when he started receiving reports that The Italians were marching south by south east in force. Given that the war was not nover the only reason that Sacco would march that direction was he intended to Crush the Genoa Pocket, where Major General Bava, the one Sardinian Commander worth a damn in Roux's mind, was bottled up. This was worrying as it would free up more Italian troops for him to have to deal with later. But there was also opportunity Here If He moved fast enough he might be able to catch them Crossing the Po and destroy the biggest chunk of the Italian Army. This would delight Paris who were rightly very worried about an English Army encamped at Cherbourg. So without finishing his breakfast he started drafting orders. He wanted his Army minus the Cuneo Garrison 210,000 Infantry, 7,000 Cavalry, 52 batteries of field guns and 8 batteries of horse guns. Ready to march within the hour. By 1100 hours the French were marching toward destiny. Because King Chalres Felix was insistent that he use what was left of the Army of Piedoment he assigned it commanded by Major General Giacomo Consoli the task of Screening the Left (northern) Flank of the French Advance. The Army of Piedmont consisted of 50,000 Infantry, 3,000 Cavalry and 14 batteries of field guns, after the beating it took in 1842 the men’s morale was low and faith in the officers was nonexistent.

Roux and his French army would catch up with Sacco at the town of Pollentia just east of Bra. However when his men arrived at the field they found not a moving army but an Italian army that was deployed for a battle along a one mile wide front just east of the town. Roux deployed his men, it meant little to him the Italians were out in the open and in front of his army he would crush them all the same. At 1300h on April 19,1843 the Battle of Pollentia began in earnest.

Meanwhile three hours earlier at 1000h at the old battle field of Savigliano Lombardi’s Column ran into the Sardinian Army of Piedmont out numbered over two to one the Lonbardi was able to use his numbers to overwhelm the Sardinians flanks and by 1200h he had encircled the demoralized Sardinian troops. The most dedicated and loyal parts of the Army namely the Piedmont Guards Division would hold out for almost four more hours before finally overwhelmed by the Italian’s numbers, but this was the exception most of the Sardinian Army surrendered en mass once they realized there was no escape this time. In some instances whole divisions would throw down their rifles and walk to the nearest Italian unit and surrender peacefully. When one such event started to take place with a Brigade that was in line next to the Piedmont Guards they turned their fire on the men attempting to surrender, mowing down hundreds of men from behind. The fact that the Piedmont guards and one or two other hold out divisions kepted Lombardi’s men occupied meant that they wouldn’t be able to march on the main battle till the morning. The Second battle of Savigliano while not as big or bloody as the previous one was a decisive victory for Lombardi and would prove to be a turning point.

Back at Pollentia the first day of fighting had ended in stalemate the battle field was too narrow for either side to use their numbers effectively. Not hearing from Consoli was beginning to worry Roux so that night he sent his cavalry out on a night recon and the report he got back confirmed his worst fears. The Italians had set a trap and he had walked into it not only that but the acurseid Sardinias had allowed themselves to be encircled and crushed without trying to get word out to him. He wanted to let his men sleep tonight but now the reserve would have to be woken up so they could redeploy before he lost his entire army. He would send the better part of his reserve 70,000 Infantry west to Cappellazzo to block the Itailians at Savigliano he had to extract his army but he couldn’t just pull out or it would be Lombardi infront of him and Sacco behind. And he would be no better off than he was now.

April 20, 1843 would see heavy fighting as the Battle of Cappellazzo began at 0900h when Lombardi’s army found the French Reserve deployed and waiting for them with 70,000 Infantry 6,000 Cavalry and 21 batteries of field guns commanded by General de Division Émilien Petit. Lombardi deployed his 90,000 Infantry, 2,500 Cavalry and 15 batteries of field guns and the battle commenced. Both sides were exhausted and determined. The Itailians to finish off the french and put an end to the Kingdom of Sardinia once and for all. The French not to be encircled and end up like the Sardinians. So that the battle ended up as a hard fought stalemate by the time the sun fell below the horizon.

Back at Pollentia the battle continued as a stalemate until Sacco pulled one of this trademarked sleight of hands. He dispatched two divisions on a 10 mile march around the mountain to the North of the battle; these two divisions would reappear at 1700h behind the French Left Flank. With the bulk of his reserve fighting at Cappellazzo Roux had little he could deploy to meet this and instead had to have his left flank do a series of Left Wheels so that they turned to meet the new flank this also shortened this line. However in doing so he had made his position untenable and when Sacco started a fresh assault on the Left and center trying to Drive the French army into the River the well disciplined french soldiers broke. Maybe Roux could have salvaged something from the battle at that point, however he never got the chance as an Italian sharpshooter managed to put a bullet in his left ear and out of his right. At 1805h Major General Léonard Roux fell from his horse dead. And the french army broke. Roux’s aide de camp Colonel Juste Robert was able to get most of the Artillery mustered and retreating protected by the Cavalry and as many units in good order as he could find. He also managed to along with General de Division Aimeric Durand throw together a rear guard that bought time for at least some of the Army to escape the battle however they had to sacrifice themselves to accomplish this.

When the smoke Cleared the French Army was gone over 70,000 Frenchmen had been taken prisoner another 4,500 were dead and 8,600 were wounded; the Italians had not had any men captured but had suffered 3,000 killed and 9,000 wounded. When all three battles were added up Italy had lost just over 10,000 killed and 25,000 wounded. France’s grand total for all three battles would be 75,000 captured, 13,500 killed and 22,600 wounded. The Sardinians had been wiped off the map, losing all of their last field army. General de Division Émilien Petit would reform at Cumeo which they returned to find battered but not broken, as the Garrison had been more than enough to ward off Siciliano Cavalry raid. That is not to say everything was fine, the Rail Line that had been painfully run though the mountains had been destroyed in several places and over 300 supply wagons had been burned.

April 23, 1843 Naples

When Word of the battle first reached Naples just hours after the guns had fallen silent Napoleon II had ordered the bells rung in celebration of the victory over the French however as time passed and the Full report came in from Marshall Sacco it became clear that the war against the French was not over. Sardinia was another story as King Charles Felix had been overthrown by what subjects he had left under the government of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and its new Leaders Chancellor Fonsie Arcuri and Queen Esmeralda had sent word that they would like to discuss terms to Naples. When he was informed of this in his room where he was held captive Crown Prince Ferdinand Emanuele complained that his sister had no right to the throne only for Napoleon II to remind him that first he was a captive here and second his father was not dead but in route to Paris after being overthrown and he should be glad that the Sardinian Monarch survived at all “After all that is the way Republics are born.” Napoleon instructed Sacco to offer the following terms.

1. The Kingdom of Sardinia surrenders to the Italian Empire All Sardinian troops on the ground and Ships at sea shall cease all combat operations against the Italian Empire and its Allies.
2. The Kingdom of Sardinia will order the French to abandon their position at Cumeo and leave all Sardinian Territory and ports.
3. On May 1,1843 the Kingdom of Sardinia will cease to exist and integrate itself into the Italian Empire. If all the terms of the treaty are met then on that Day Queen Esmeralda would become the Duchess of Piedmont if Not another governmental structure will be created.

On April 24,1843 the Sardinian Government would sign the treaty and orders were sent to Bava to stand down in Genoa; which he would do on the next day having his men stack their arms and march out of the city to Albenga where they would encamp on April 28,1843 before being disbanded. It was the Sardinian Navy that threw a wrench in things by refusing to accept the orders or recognize the new Government they would sail to Toulon and join up with the French Royal Navy. In response Queen Esmerarlda was forced to exile the officers and men of the Fleet that kept fighting after the signing of the Treaty of Albenga. The French would be the other thorn as they refused to abandon Cumeo which they had fortified, Louis XVII decided that making the Italians fight on the Eastern side of the mountains was better than letting them descend into southern France as the Romans once had Gaul. As the deadline approached Napoleon II and Marshall Sacco would agree that Esmeralda had done her utmost to honor the treaty and grant her the title of Duchess of Piedmont when she abdicated the throne of Sardinia on May 1, 1843.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Buffalo soldiers.

When the Commonwealth-Colombian war erupted Virginia Military started looking for additional manpower so that it could meet its requirements to supply troops to the South American expedition, the Vermont Defense Army, and the Ozarks Defence Command, and maintain its minimal standing requirements, without out calling up the reserves. To do this the Commander General of the Virginian Army Thomas Clark asked the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate to amend the Service for Citizenship Act of 1839.

This law established paths for freed to gain citizenship one of which was military service however it didn't take effect until July 1,1855. Clark asked the state government to amend that law so that slaves could enlist effective immediately serve there 10 years and be freed upon completion of service. After a lot of back and forth in both chambers the Clark Amendment to the Service for Citizenship Act of 1839 was passed. This amendment allowed the Army of Virginia to enlist 2 divisions worth of slaves into the Old Dominion Colored Troops of the Army of Virginia. These slaves would be granted immediate freedom and citizenship after 10 years of service.

Starting in the fall of 1841 fliers were posted in the state work crews barracks calling for "20,000 Strong Intelligent Negros to enlist in the Old Dominion Colored Troops.Ten Years of service leads to immediate freedom and full citizenship." The Recruitment officers were flooded with black men eger to enlist. By October of 1841 General Clark had his 20,000 men enlisted; their training would take place at Camp William Lee(1) located just off the James River and Kanawha Railroad line(2) from Richmond to Danville at Drakes Branch in Charlotte County Va. Clark decided that it would be best if the Old Dominion Colored Troops were a separate branch of the Army of Virginia and appointed Major General Irvine McKinney of Halifax County Commandant of the ODCT. The Clark amendment specified that the ODCT have white officers. Together Clark and McKinney would hand pick the officers for the ODCT.

Men of Company A 1st Virginia Colored Regiment muster for inspection at Camp William Lee

By the Summer of 1842 the ODCT were two of the better trained divisions of the Army of Virginia. They were offered when the muster call was given for a second Army to head to South America However Commander General Smith head of the Commonwealth Army, and Major General O'Keefe rejected the offer. The South Carolinian officers wanted little to do with Clark's mad idea of training Slaves to fight. It was looking like the ODCT would end up garrisoning Norfolk Harbor. Then it came time for Virginia to commit troops to the Ozark Territory Defense Command. After a minor debate Virginia Chose to send the Old Dominion Colored Troops to meet both its and Maryland’s requirement Maryland having agreed to take on some of the supply burden instead of sending troops.

General McKinney and the Old Dominion Colored Troops would arrive in the Ozark Territory on August 17,1842. The two divisions would be split between Fort Henry Lee (3) in the Southwest Corner and Fort Andrew Jackson 130 miles to the north. The following months the Major General McKinney and the ODCT would engage the Comanche Chief Iron Jacket in three engagements, Sadlers Farm on September 11,1842 and Lone Pine Bluff on October 1,1843 however the largest of these battles was the Battle of Swifttrout Creek on November 4,1842 in which Iron Jacket brought over 1,500 Comanche together and engaged the 3rd Virginia Colored Cavalry Regiment. Even with the Comanche having a slight advantage in numbers the Black troopers were able to not only soundly defeat the Comanche but also capture Iron Jacket, and his chief lieutenants Bison Runs and Silver Axe alive. They would be brought back to Fort Henry Lee, Tried and hanged for the killing, rape and kidnapping of Commonwealth settlers in the Ozarks Territory.

Two soldiers of the 3rd Virginia Colored Regiment defend a homestead from Indian Attack fall of 1842

The 2nd Virginia Colored Dragoons chase after Comanche raiders

By the Time the Meixan War broke out in February of 1843 the Comanche military activity had been suppressed at least for the time being. Their battles with the Comanche earned the ODCT their nickname the Buffalo Soldiers and the Comanche believed that they were the reincarnation of slain Bull Buffalo of the past due to their hair and the way they fought. (5)

1. Name of Washington’s slave servant that accompanied him during his Revolutionary War Campaigns.
2. The former Richmond and Southern Railroad bought by the JR&K RR in 1837
3. OTL CromwellTx
4. OTL Woodward Ok
5. This is pretty much the myth of how the USTC got this nickname in OTL.
6. This is my homage to the Men who served in the United States Colored Troops the buffalo soldiers have always been a favorite part of American history. The Old Dominion Colored Troops have not made their last appearance in this story.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Our flag is proudly floating on the land and on the main,
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!
Beneath it oft we've conquered, and we'll conquer oft again!
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

(Chorus)
Our Republic forever! She's never at a loss!
Tear down with those crosses and raise our egale high,
While we rally 'round the Grand Old flag, we'll rally once again,
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

Our gallant boys have marched to the rolling of the drums.
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!
And the leaders in charge cry out, "Come, boys, come!"
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

(Chorus)

We fight now to reclaim the land, that was taken so very long ago,
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!
Freedom is our armor, and Liberty is our sword!
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

(Chorus)

They have laid down their lives on the bloody battle field.
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!
Their motto is resistance – "To the tyrants never yield!"
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

(Chorus)

Though ten thousand men may fall, we’ll send ten thousand men more.
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!
To the forces of the King, our Freedoms we’ll not yield.
Shout, shout the battle cry of Freedom!

(Chorus)

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Ghost Fleet

February 19,1843 Admiral of the Fleet Jacob McVey had issued the orders to the fleet basically stripping the Atlantic Fleet of 98% of his ships who were now steam or sailing their way toward New Orleans where he had ordered the new expanded Gulf Fleet to muster. Admiral David Schaefer would have the largest fleet the Commonwealth could muster at the current time, it would still be smaller than the Mexican Imperial Gulf Armada if they brought everything they had to the fight but it could not be helped. Now he was walking along the banks of the James River just outside of Richmond. Here either anchored along the River banks or on stocks on shore was the James River Ghost Fleet. The James River Ghost Fleet like the other three of the Commonwealth Navy’s Ghost fleets was made up of ships that were basically done but not fitted out that had been towed here and put on stocks or older ships that had been replaced in activer service by new ships, these ships had been anchored here in the shelter of the river just incase. He was Activated both the Jame River Ghost Fleet and the Savannah River Ghost Fleet together the two fleets consisted of twenty eight Ships of the Line, twenty six frigates, twenty eight corvettes, and thirty two sloops all of which were sailing vessels. These ships would be used to fill the now vacant slots in the Atlantic Fleet.

May 25,1843 in the Gulf

Admiral David Schaefer had both squadrons of the Gulf Fleet all 42 ships of the Line(20 of which were steam powered*), 20 frigates all steam powered, 10 Corvettes all steam powered, 21 sloops all steam powered and 20 brigs and cutters that were acting as scouts and communication ships. He had another 15 brigs and cutters patrolling along the Louisiana Coast . Scheafer’s objective was to try and pull the Mexicans out of port so that he could engage part of their Gulf Armada and cut down his disadvantage some. To do this he had sent 10 raiding parties head of the fleet to attack Mexican shipping and fishing boats. Each raiding party consisted of a Sloop and two brigs and 1 cutter. Even if the Mexicans didn’t take the bait they would still take some prizes and hurt the mexican merchant fleet. To the south in Central America was the Caribbean Fleet based at Bluefields it consisted of 7 ships of the line, 10 frigates, 16 corvettes, 22 Sloops and 75 Brigs Cutters and smaller vessels, however this fleet was more geared toward anti privacy than actual fleet to fleet combat.

May 30, 1843 Veracruz Mexico

Almirante Juan Manuel Lagos commander of the Imperial Armada of the Gulf was tired of just sitting in port while the Americans were at sea he could feel it. His Fleet was divided into two squadrons the North Squadron was based at Port Isabel in the Province of Rio Grande. The most northern part of the Armada consisted of 5 ships of the line, 15 Frigates, 12 Corvettes, 9 sloops and 20 Briggs, Cutters and smaller vessels. Next was the Central Squadron which was the main punching power of the Gulf Armada with 43 ships of the line, 22 frigates, 14 corvettes, 15 Sloops and 45 Brigs, Cutters and smaller vessels. Of the ships in the Armada about half were steampowered and half were sail.
Almirante’s plan was for the Northern Squadron of the Gulf Armada and the Carribean Armada where to engage in Commerce Raiding. However the Carribean Armada was not of much use to him as it was trapped in port by the Central American Rebels who were besieging Bluefield. This meant that the Northern Squadron of the Gulf Armada was sent out alone. When the Commonwealth Navy sailed to get rid of the Northern’s squadrons raiding he would use the powerful Center Squadron and engage them.

June 7-10,1843

In June Admiral Schaefer was tired of sitting in port while the Mexican picked Commonwealth shipping apart in the Gulf of Mexico. So On June 7,1843 The Commonwealth Gulf Fleet set sail his objective was simple he knew the Mexican Gulf Armada’s Northern Squadron was based at Port Isabel, he would sail their and blockade the Port’s entrench he had wanted to land a Brigade of Infantry to attack the port from the ground but he couldn’t convince the army to detach any troops.

Mexican picket ships stationed in the Gulf noticed and came racing back to Veracruz with word that the Commonwealth Navy was out in force. By Dawn on June 9,1843 the Mexican Armada had left port with the tide and was sailing north. The Two fleets would meet 62 miles northeast of Isla de Lobos. The battle would run northeast to southwest. The battle would begin at 1152h on June 10,1843. Each admiral would try and cross the opposite’s T. This would make the battle a twisted snake like scene in which damaged ships that couldn’t keep up with the line were left behind to be swarmed by the Brigs and Clippers that were tailing the main line of battle It would last till 2108h when both sides would depart towards their respective ports. The Commonwealth navy would lose 6 ships of the line, 9 frigates, 4 corvettes, 7 sloops and 13 smaller vessels. The Mexicans would lose 7 ships of the line 10 frigates. Both sides would claim victory over the Mexicans because they had driven back the Commonwealth Navy’s first outing into the Gulf of Mexico since the start of the war. And the Commonwealth because they had forced the Mexicans to pull back before they could lift the blockade of Port Isabel. To the Foreign observers like the RMS Swansong and the French merchantman Merchant of Lyon the battle was clearly a draw as neither side clearly gained an advantage.

*steam powered means:Steam Aulerally so has sails and steam

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Central Europe

From the outside the Prussian Empire looked like the most stable and powerful German State. However, under the surface this was not the case. These statements were true for the actual Kingdom of Prussia; centrally organized with a decent parliamentary system and an army that was well equipped and well trained from the officers down to the lowest conscript.Then there were the co-kingdoms Poland and Jutland and here was where the troubles began. In Poland the Imperialist faction was the minority in terms of the population numbers; however due to the plural voting for ethinc Germans they held the majority of the Polish seats in the Imperial House of Representatives (the lower house of the Imperial Prussian Landtag). Meanwhile outside of Warsaw an underground Polish Independence movement was being fosted by the Polish Nationals and the Polish Republicans. These groups had been receiving smuggled weapons from Bavaria and Sweden for the last five years at this point, while the weapons were old they still meant that the Polish Rebellion would be armed.

Shifting to the North was the Grand Duchy of Jutland. Much like in Poland thanks to plural voting the ethinic Germans controlled the Duchy’s seats in theImperial House of Representatives. The actually danish people living in Jutland were even more uneasy about living inside the Prussian Empire than the Poles. And Like in Poland the Danes were well organized by the Scandanivan Reunion Party and armed by the Swedish Empire. In short unknown to Berlin the Prussian Empire was not a stable nation it was a powder keg waiting to go off. The War in Spain had primed the keg then on June 17, 1843 Bavarian Agents arrived with word that on June 21,1843 the summer solstice Bavaria would declare war on Prussia and in doing do set the stage for one of the most shocking events of the Bloody Decade the Collapse of the Prussian Empire.

On June 20,1843 King Karl I of Bavaria announced to the Bavarian Parliament that Bavaria could no longer sit by and watch the poor catholics of Poland be trodden upon by the Prussians Jack Boots. It was time that Bavaria rose to her place as the Dominant German state and toppled Prussia's oppressive regime. Stating that "At no time shall Bavaria seek to annex any Polish lands into our kingdom."

At Dawn on June 21,1843; 260,000 Bavarian troops divided into two armies of 130,000 men each crossed the border with Prussia. The 1st Army under General Jakob von Hartmann marched north towards Leipzig. The Prussian border units were easily brushed aside with only minor skirmishes. The German campaign had just begun.

Berlin June 21, 1843

Kaiser Frederick III was beside himself. The Bavarians were invading from the south, to the east the Polish had launched a major rebellion and to top it all off the Danes in Jutland were also joining in the rebellion. Now he hand his generals were looking at the early reports. There were 75,000 men gathering at Dresden under the command of General Albrecht Theodor Emil Graf von Roon another 90,000 at Leipzig under General Helmuth von Moltke, mostly Saxons. Reports from the border said that they were both out numbered 2 to 1. There were 175,000 men mustering in Berlin under Field Marshall,
Karl Friedrich von Steinmetz. In the north we have 59,000 men in Hamburger under the command of General Frederick von Bismark, and lastly we have 25,000 men of the Polish Army still loyal in Warsaw.

The Twin Battles of Dresden and Leipzig.

On June 22,1843 the Bavarians and Prussian met in battle at Dresden and Leipzig. For the Prussians both were a delaying action meant to slow down the Bavarian advance. Both General Roon and Motlke played their hands very well the battle of Dresden was drawn out for two days before Roon was forced to withdraw, while at Leipzig Motlke was able thanks to a slight number of reinforcements to hold out till June 26th before having to withdraw.

The Jutland Campaign

To the North Bismarck has his Army march north from Hamburg to crush the Danish rebels. His army meets the first Rebel force at Flensburg where a Rebel division is dug in just south of the town. Bismarck easily drives the rebels out of the town. By July 1st Bismarck had pushed north to Aarthus and had the main Rebel Army of 40,000 men pinned inside the city. Jutland was the most successful campaign that the Prussians had going into july.

If Jutland marked Prussia's success,to the west in Poland marked its greatest failure. On July 1,1843 the Rebels had attacked the Loyalist army at Warsaw and defeated it in detail. What was left of it had retreated to Konigsberg.

Then on July 3,1843 the European world was shocked again as The Swedish Empire declared war on Prussia citing violence toward Danish citizens in Jutland. Prussia's summer had gotten worse.

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Month of July would see more woes for the Prussian Empire. On July 2, 1843 a Swedish Army of 75,000 men under Generallöjtnant Björn Nordin crossed from Odense to Fredericia on the Jutland peninsula. He would detach a division to form his rear guard and march north with the remaining 65,000 men which he divided into two columns a Western Column and an Eastern Column. He gave command of the western Column to Generalmajor Noah Marcussen; while he kept command of the Eastern Column. The plan was that when either column encountered the Prussian forces they would engage them and hold them in place till the other column could reinforce them.

Battle of Drantum

Bismarck Leads the Charge

Bismarck meanwhile had disengaged his siege of the rebels at Aarhus and began moving his army to the South and west seeking to circle around the Swedish troops coming from the Duchy of Denmark He would make it to the town of Brande when he ran into Marcussen’s western column. The battle would take place on the rolling hills of the small village of Drantum With the Swedish Army occupying the hill line. Bismarck saw that he had the number advantage at least for the time being and quickly organized an attack. At 1300h he launched a faint at the Swedish Right flank with a division of Infantry supported by two batteries of artillery at 1345 when he was sure that the Swedes were looking right he struck left with three divisions. The attack on the left flank was an unparalleled success Marcussen had bought the feint on his right hook line and sinker. By 1600h he had completely rolled up Marcussen’s Left flank and the Swedish general was forced to withdraw to the east or risk losing his column. For Bismarck there was little time to celebrate. By 1800h he had gathered up as many wounded as possible and started his Army marching south once more. For now at least he had escaped.

Battle of Cottbus

Roon's Defenders at Cottbus

Meanwhile to the south Things were not going so well Roon would engage the Bavarian second army under GeneralEckehard Schiele at the city of Cottbus Roon had bed the Kaiser to send him more troops but The Kaiser feared to leave Berlin undefined and refused. The battle began on July 12,1843 and would last until July 16,1843 Roon and his men put up and outstanding defensive fight but after four days of battle The Bavarian’s numbers won the day Roon and his battered army were forced to withdraw during the night of the 16th and 17th leaving a good part of their wounded behind. Roon had lost over 5,000 men killed and another 9,000 wounded or missing, the Bavarians had lost 7,500 killed and 10,000 wounded. Most importantly Roon’s stubborn defense had made Schiele pause at Cottbus and wait for three weeks before he advanced north toward Berlin.

Battle of Thiendorf

To the west Molke was not willing to be forced on to the defensive and battered back toward Berlin one strong point at a time. He chose to attack the Bavarian First Army’s rear at Thiendorf. Attacking out of the west from Schonfeld He forced. This forced the Bavarians to turn around and counter march in order to protect their supply lines. The battle of Thiendorf would last just two days starting on July 4th and ending on the 5th and while not as bloody as Cottbus it likewise made the Bavarians pause for a month to secure their supply lines before continuing to advance.

Blue July

The battles of July from Bismarck’s unlikely escape from Jutland, Roon’s tireless defense at Cottbus and lastly but not leastly Molke’s daring attack at Thiendorf had served to make Prussia’s enemy’s pause and buy Prussia some time to catch its breath and regroup. The only place were the news continued to be Grim was Poland were on July 17,1843 the Polish Rebels declared the creation of the Crown Republic of Poland with the signing of the Charter of 1843 They invited Archduke Karl Peter von Habsburg of Croatia to become King of the new Crown Republic of Poland and offered Hungary-Croatia preferred nation status and full alliance in exchange for recognition and military aid. On July 30,1843 King Joseph I and the Federal Government of Hungary-Croatia accepted the polish offer and Karl was dispatched to Warsaw at the head of an army of 65,000 Hungarians and 40,000 Croats, along with official letters recognizing the Crown Republic of Poland as a sovereign nation of Europe.

Archduke Karl Peter von Hapsburg of Croatia Soon to be King Karol I of Poland

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Bloody Days

The Murica Massacre

The events of July of 1843 threw a monkey wrench into the War plans of the British. With the rebellions and the Invasion of their homelands the Prusian Army in Iberia became more and more demoralized and even saw infighting breakout between Prussian Polish and Danish troops within the Prussian Army of Iberia. This would come to a head on August 2,1843 when the Polish and Danish troops united and attacked their Prussian comrades the Murica Massacre as it became known world see almost all of the 50,000 Prussians in the Army of Iberia killed, those who escaped fled into the Spanish countryside about 8,000 of which would eventually turn up at the British Army’s encampment. The Polish and Danish troops knowing that they would receive only death if they British caught them defected to the French, who would arrange for them to be given passage to Bavaria and eventually their respective Homelands.

The Sack of Valencia

The Murica Massacre would give the Duke of Normandy the breathing space he needed to hopefully end this ever growing bloody conflict. During the early weeks of August he shifted his forces to the Siege of Valencia in preparation for what he hoped would be the climactic battle of the war.
The Assault on Valencia began on August 31,1843. The Duke of Normandy had over 200,000 men encircling the city compared to the 98,600 Italian and Spanish defenders inside the entrenchments defending the besieged capital of the Kingdom of Spain. The First wave would begin its attack at 0700h, unlike other assaults the defenses would be attacked from all sides uniformly. By doing this the Duke of Normandy hoped that the defenders would be overwhelmed and forced to surrender without too much bloodshed by either side. In this he was mistaken. As soon as the French and Aragonese troops left their trenches they started falling victim to Spanish rifle and artillery fire. The British and Italians had managed to get over 600 heavy naval guns to reinforce the defenses of the city. When the French reached the Spanish trenches and earth works the whole battle devolved into hand to hand battle. As the Spanish soldier had already determined to die before giving up their capital and their maimed king.

By 1200h The French numbers had allowed them to press on though the outer ring of earthen forts and trenches into the inner ring. The Spanish still fighting tooth and nail for every foot of ground given. This determined defense was having a negative effect on the French Infantry who had grown embittered at the Spanish refusal to accept the facts presented to them. Finally by 1500h the French had broken though the last ring of defenses and were still having to fight for every foot of ground gained. With no more defenses to fight in, the Spanish soldiers had taken to fighting house to house. This fighting would go on for two more days before finally at Noon on September 2,1843 The french entered the Royal Palace and the Spanish spent their last blood with King Marius himself killing 12 French soldiers with his McKnight Revolver before he was finally killed by no less than 28 french Mini Balls hitting his body. With the king dead What was left of the Defenders tried to flee some would make it to the harbor where one last stubborn defense would allow some 9,000 soldiers to make it on to boats heading for the Joint Italian British Fleet off of the coast. By 1900h on September 2,1843 the battle of Valencia ended. But the Bloodshed had not. The enraged french soldiers wold rape loot and pillage the city of Valencia despite the Duke of Normandy’s attempts to stop it with a french soldier even killing his horse out from under the Duke as the tried to stop the Rape of a Spanish girl. The carnage would not end until Noon on September 3rd, leaving the City of Valencia a burning broken wreck. Duke Louis would hold tribunals for the next three days and execute over 15,000 of his own officers and men in response to the Sack of Valencia. The Battle of Valencia Cost the French over 20,000 dead (not counting the men Louis executed.) and 40,000 wounded. The Spanish lost 35,000 men killed, 40,000 men wounded, and with the exception of the 9,000 men that escaped to the ships all the survivors were captured. Over 18,000 civilians were killed in the sack of the city and countless women were raped; on top of that the city was almost entirely destroyed in the fighting. The Second War of Spanish Succession still had over three years left before the it would end; six years before the Bloody Decade would finally end; however, for the Kingdom of Spain the world would never be the same.

Aftermath

Following the end of the Battle Louis would wire his brother about the battle as he closed his report he dictated a professional line. “The actions Conducted by the Army of Iberia under my command may have eliminated the chief need for this war but it has also eliminated any hope that either of my nephews residing in Paris will ever peacefully sit on the Spanish throne. For this I offer my sincerest apology and regrets brother if you would have me retire to the countryside I shall not argue with you.” In the end Louis XVII would forgive his younger brother in a way that Louis Duke of Normandy would never forgive himself. However the press around the world would be less forgiving naming him the Butcher Duke. The events of the Fall of Valencia would weigh on the Soul of Louis Duke of Normandy for the rest of his life finally leading him to end his life in the Fall of 1855.

Marius Bonaparte had never married but he had had an illegitimate son named Gilberto with an actress back in 1825. When he had become King of Spain he had asked the Pope to Legitimize Gilberto; this had taken place on June 11,1842. However for his safety Gilberto would remain in Naples until the conflict was over. However the death of his father changed that on October 1,1843 Gilberto was crowned King of Spain in the Cathedral of Seville. His claim to the throne was tenuous at best. The Spanish Royal Army was reduced to just 12,000 men and the bulk of the forces under his command came from the Christian Republic of Granada which still considered its treaty with the Kingdom of Spain valid, at least for now.

Marius (I) Napoleon Bonaparte King of Spain

Gilberto (I) Emanuel Facile Bonaparte .

 

[Virginia Liberal]

Violate United Portuguese Empire
Light Blue Christian Republic of Granada
Mustard Yellow Kingdom of Spain
Dark Purple French Protectorate of Aragon
Purple Kingdom of France
Green Gold Italian Empire
Red British Empire

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Tejas/Louisiana Campaign

General O’Keefe had a plan to drive the Mexicans out of the State of Louisiana before the end of summer. This plan had three elements to it. Randolph would take the newly minted Army of the Gulf Due west along the Western Road that followed the Louisiana State Railway towards San Antonio, It was roughly known that Santa Anna’s battered army was encamped near the settlement of Buffle (1). Randolph was to engage him and push his army South and Southeast towards the coast keeping him away from the Mexican Army under Rojo that reports placed in San Antonio. Meanwhile O’Keefe would move his force parallel to Randolphs on a more northern Route He would attack the Forts at Bastrop and San Marco drawing Rojo North away from Santa Anna. Providing Randolph the chance to destroy Santa Anna’s Army in Detail. Lastly wanting to pull the Mexican’s attention away from Western Louisiana or Tejas as they called it. He approached Major General Orlando Tiberius Hampton, Commander of the Ozark Territory Defence Command, if he could organize a Raid on the upper Rio Grande Valley. Major General McKinney Volunteered the Old Dominion Colored Troops for this mission, and Hampton would approve the Raid on Albuquerque in the Hopes that he would never see McKinney and his men again.

The Battle of Rancho del Gato

The Campaign in Western Louisiana took off at a snail's pace in the South Randolph had to wait for the Steamboats to be assembled to move his army and to ensure a steady flow of supplies. To the west Santa Anna was waiting for some Reinforcements to replace soldiers he had lost on the campaign to date. It would not be till mid June that Randolph was ready to march west. Santa Anna would begin moving his army east when his scouts reported that the Americans were across the Buffalo Bayou.

The two armies would meet at a large Rance on the Eastern side of the Colorado River called Rancho del Gato. (2). Santa Anna would deploy his 75,000 in a defensive formation with six divisions in the line two on the Right, two on the left and two in the center and one division in reserve. Major General Juan Desantos would command the Mexican Left Flank in the north and Major General Juan Manuel Abasto would command the Right flank in the South., While Brigadier General Miguel Ángel Pozo commanded the 5,000 man Cavalry Brigade.

On the other side Randolph would deploy seven divisions in his line, three on his Right, two in the center and two on the left. Randolph gave command of the Left wing to Major General Orlando Parrish and the Right wing to Major General Isaac Irvine, while he commanded the Center.

The battle was joined at 1300h on June 17,1843 With the Commonwealth army attacking the Mexican center and left flank. Randolph chose a dual attack hoping to keep the Mexicans from shifting troops and to hopefully shorten the battle to one day as the two armies had joined late in the day. Like most battles in the Louisiana campaigns so far would see high volumes of lead fly down field with the Mexicans armed with their version of the Springfield Sharps breech loading rifle and the Commonwealth army armed with its McKnight Revolving Rifles. However, like in South America the Commonwealth had developed new thinner battlelines to negate some of the casualties that faster firing rifles. The Mexicans haven’t had their breech loading rifles as long and were still using traditional battlelines. The Mexican lines would hold till darkness fell however, they had taken a beating at the hands of the American rapid firing revolving Rifles. Santa Anna knew that he could not afford to take a full day’s work of pounding like he had received in the afternoon today. He is thinking of falling back under the cover of darkness when his Cavalry Commander Brigadier General Pozo makes the argument that he could mount a flanking attack in the morning. However Santa Anna points out that the Americans have double the cavalry as Pozo does. He chooses to collect his wounded and withdraw. It is now that one of Pozo’s scouts comes barging in stating that the American cavalry which had only been lightly engaged in the battle was behind them at Buffle. Santa Anna orders his men two withdraw to the Southwest toward the Port town of Beauregard, Pozo in disgrace for the moment quietly goes about setting up a rear guard.

The morning finds the Mexicans gone moving toward the southwest, as this is exactly where Randolph wants them to go he instructs Major General Jonathan Archer. To use his cavalry division to keep Santa Anna from turning towards San Antonio. While he used the main army to keep the pressure on Santa Anna. So far the plan was working.

The Battles of Bastrop and of San Marco

To the North General O’Keefe was not having such good luck. He had moved his men hard hoping to catch the mexican forts before the relief column had arrived. The Commonwealth Army of the West arrived at Bastrop on May 22, 1843 and found the fort manned by just 1500 men lead by Colonel Juan Carlos Fitzpatrick. The Garrison gave an hours worth of battle before spiking their guns and surrendering.

O’Keefe would leave a garrison at Bastrop He marched southwest to San Marco. However here he found Rojo’s Army encamped around the small settlement and the springs that fed the San Marco River.

The Battle would begin on June 1, 1843. The Mexicans held a slight advantage over the Americans despite Rojo having sent men south to reinforce Santa Anna. The battle would go back and five days not ending until June 6,1843. Once more the improved tactics of the Commonwealth men meant that they suffered less casualties. However Rojo’s men were fresh and in good spirits unlike Santa Anna’s. By the end of the second day’s battle O’Keefe’s men were on the defensive. And by the final day of battle O’Keefe was forced to fall back to Bastrop and regroup his men and figure out a new plan of attack. The Battle of San Marcos gave the Mexican Empire a much needed Victory, and would stop the Commonwealth advance on San Antonio. For the rest of summer till reinforcements arrived, in September.

1. OTL Hallettsville.
2. OTL Altair Tx

 

[Virginia Liberal]

 

[Virginia Liberal]

The Albuquerque Raid
To the North Major General Isaac McKinney was busy requisitioning as many horses that he could get his hands on. His plan was to mount all 20,000 men of the ODCT to speed up is March on the way to Albuquerque. He had already dropped off all of his field gun batteries for the lighter Horse Guns Batteries. For this Raid General Hampton had insisted that two additional cavalry brigades, the 31st North Carolina Dragoons Brigade and the 78th Georgian Cavalry Brigade be attached to the 1st Virginia Colored Corps (VCC) as the Old Dominion Colored Troops were known in the theater. This brought the total order of battle for the raid as followers

It would not be until the end of July that they were ready to march. McKinney had managed to secure a mixture of horses and mules for his infantry (90% mules 10% horses) for his command to all be mounted. The Infantry did not make the best horsemen but it was faster than them walking. The march west would begin on July 20,1843, with the fully assembled command leaving Fort Henry Lee at dawn. It would take them three days to arrive at the village of San Miguel (1) where the road split with a western road heading toward Albuquerque and a northern road heading toward Santa Fe. Here McKinney detached Major General Alexander Henry’s 1st Division along with the 1st and 4th Virginia Colored Cavalry Regiments to head north to Santa Fe where they were to do as much disruption as possible. The two columns would reach the edges of their respective objectives on July 24,1843 however due to the heat both McKinney and Henry would rest their men that day. At Albuquerque scouting parties brought back reports of a Brigade sized force of Infantry with a battery of Field guns manning a small adobe fortress just east of the town center (2). At Santa Fe the Scouts reported that the Capital was defended by a Brigade of Infantry with a regiment of Cavalry and a battery of Field guns. All of which were stationed in a fortress made up of a mixture of Adobe and wooden palisades located on the hill just to the Northwest of the city. On the Mexican side their scouts reported that they were facing at least a division of enemy soldiers Brigadier General MAnuel Rodriguez commander of the Albuquerque garrison would send runners out during the night north to Santa Fe and south to Las Cruces seeking reinforcements.

July 25,1843 would see two battles take place; the battle of Santa Fe and the Battle of Albuquerque. At Albuquerque Brigadier General Manuel Rodriguez and his 5,000 infantry and 6 field guns chose to hold out in their fort, the fort was only and poorly maintained but some cover was better than nothing when they were outnumbered. The Fort itself was shaped like a triangle with two guns at each point and rifle holes along the walls in between. At 1030h the Georgians occupied the town with little resistance from the locals while the ODCT Cavalry and the North Carolinian Cavalry swung wide around the Fort Encircling it from the north and south while the infantry no longer mounted on their mules and artillery approached from the east; by 1130h the fort was encircled, and General McKinney send his Mexican counterpart an offer up parole upon surrender of the fort. Rodriquez replied that if the Americans wanted to take his fort they would have to bleed for it. At 1200h the 20 light horse guns that McKinney had brought with them opened up on the fort, with solid shot and exploding shells. The design of the carriages for the American Horse guns allowed them to fire over the walls of the fort sending exploding shells inside the walls. (Ames 3 pounder). At 1230h after a half hour of bombardment the Infantry began to advance on the fort’s eastern and southern walls. Inside the fort the Mexicans began to open up with rifle and cannon fire but the thin spaced out lines of the Virginian Infantry limited the damage; The Blue clad ex slaves thundered over the walls of the fort at 1245h despite fierce resistance by the defenders by 1300h the Flag of Imperial Mexico was torn down and the Flag of Virginia and the Commonwealth National Flag were run up over the fort as the remaining Mexicans surrendered.

While the Americans settled into their new homes at Albuquerque and Santa Fe to the South Major General Jose Hernandez was leaving Las Cruces was heading north at the head of a column of 25,000 men the core of his column was his three brigades of Lancers. The Lancers were some of the best trained most professional units in the Mexican Imperial Army, his remaining 10,000 men were a mix of infantry; he had 4,000 Regular soldiers of the 41st Imperial New Mexican Rifles, however the larger part were the 6,000 New Mexican Militia that he had gathered to him and sporting him were a battery of field guns and a battery of horse artillery.

The Second battle of Albuquerque would begin on July 29,1843 at 1000h when the Mexican scouts came upon a line of Commonwealth Infantry deployed across the Road south of Albuquerque at the village of Isleta Pueblo. The Battle would take place on the Western bank of the river across from the town itself. McKinney had his men on the ridge that came close to the river, he hadn’t had the time to dig in but had deployed his Infantry to take advantage of the terrain as much as possible. The River anchored his right flank and he had his Cavalry securing his left. With his artillery deployed to support the infantry. At 1030h Hernandez had his two batteries of artillery open fire on the Commonwealth men on the ridge. He moved his infantry forward being just about equal in number to the Americans, while he used one brigade of his lancers to occupy the Commonwealth Cavalry.

The Infantry push forward didn’t last long as the disciplined and rapid fire took a toll on the mostly militia formations of Mexican Infantry. Frustrated, Hernandez ordered his infantry to pull back and move the bulk of his Lancer forward. To Increase his number he pulled a couple of Regiments out of the Screen on his right and into the center. This gave him 12,500 men for his charge. The Lancers struck an impressive sight in their green uniforms with red tips their chest were covered by a polished bronze breastplate and helmet. Hernandez had to admit that just the sight of them was martial sight to behold.

On the ridge McKinney and his men had managed to drive the Mexican infantry back well before they had gotten close to their line. With the way that most of them were armed it was safe to assume that they were militia. It was about 1400h when they heard bugles sound over in the Mexican lines. Then the ground began to shake as 12,500 Mexican Horsemen started charging toward his lines. The Sun gleamed off of their helmets and breastplates as they thundered across the fields in front of his men; who displayed nerves of steel as they awaited the order to fire. Fix Bayonets was the first command that sounded down the line as the artillery opened up on the charging horde. Then at six hundred yards the order was given rapid fire and the commonwealth line opened up in a wall of orange flame and smoke. The Riflemen now showed once more how deadly their rifles could be as they rained down a round of death on the charging Mexicans letting lose all nine shots in under a minute as the thundering mass of horse flesh and sharpened steel lances drew ever nearer. The last order to be heard above the dim of the battle was “Lower Barrel '' echoed by every officer and non commissioned officer in the commonwealth line as the men switched their hammers to fire the single 20 gauge shotgun shell full of double ought buckshot. Then the Mexicans were upon them.

Colonel Enrique Manuel’s Horse was out ahead of his regiment of lancers as they thundered across the dry ground toward the invading Commonwealth soldiers. He had lost a lot of men to them and their rifles from the devil but now they were finally out of bullets it seemed then right as his men crashed into the their line and he felt his lance strike home into a soldier’s chest their damned rifles opened up once more catching his horse square in the chest and him the shin now these weren’t rifle bullets it was a shotgun blast. Thrown from his horse he struggled to his feet drawing his single shot pistol and his saber he fended off an enemy soldier who was trying to run him through with his bayonet. He killed the man with his pistol then ran another through with his saber. Finally he was surrounded by a group of the dark skinned soldiers dropping his saber and pistol he holds his hands up in surrender.

Across the field Hernandez watched as the Lancers limped back from across the field. It was not a disaster but it was a defeat,already he would bet he had lost at least 3,000 men killed, wounded or missing. Off to his right the Flanking Lancers had stopped an attempt by the Commonwealth Cavalry element to descend on the retreating lancers in the center. That action was still going on even now. When his horsemen had regrouped he would send some reinforcements to the right. This battle was over true he still had his infantry but they had already been shown to be out matched by the Commonwealth’s firepower. No he would withdraw his force to act as a deterrent against a further push south, until reinforcements could arrive. The next day after a few rounds of artillery fire exchange the Mexicans pulled back, towards the south.

1. OT:L Clines Corners Tx
2. OTL Tiguex Park, Alburquerque