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Well, I say, if they will not meet us on the open sea, we must visit them in their own homes, and teach them that a war with England is not to be engaged in with impunity. (Sir James Graham, First Lord of the Admiralty 1852-1855, HC Deb 29 June 1854 vol 134 cc920-21)


A Trent TL.


Preface


This is a TL intended to look at the state of the US Navy, the Royal Navy and the technology of coastal and naval attack in the early 1860s. It looks at the ships and weapons available to both sides, the tactics and experience the Royal Navy had gained during their time in the Russian War and in experiments afterwards, and - perhaps most importantly - looks at whether the US Navy could meaningfully respond.

I’ve tried to be as fair as possible given the problems with the various forces. In some cases (such as the Armstrong gun) I’ve painted a weapon in a rosier light than would normally be seen because it is facing situations that play to its advantages; in others the opposite has happened. In at least one case I’ve let the Union deploy an entirely new weapons system in a bare month or two, though teething problems exist.


Politically speaking, I take it as read that the war happens (via the agency of a lack of Union climbdown after Trent) and that it continues at least until June. Obviously if peace unexpectedly breaks out events will stall at that point, and I’ve not written a peace conference.


I’ve also not followed the OTL strategies of the commanders, not quite. In some cases that’s because of the concept of the TL (this is a coastal attack TL as much as a blockade TL - though hopefully it also demonstrates that the resources were there to institute a fearsome blockade), in others it’s frankly to give the Union something of a chance (OTL there were conditional war orders; these are not in place TTL.)


The focus is almost exclusively on the actions of the Royal Navy and their repercussions. Partly this is because I feel that the days of wooden ships, iron men, shell guns and steam boilers below decks deserve better examination, and partly because - well, I find that easier to write!
Similarly, I have for the most part not tracked Union vessels below the size of sloop. They are all but meaningless in battles involving ships of the line and ironclads, and there's a lot of them but their combat power (as opposed to blockade power) is not worth the effort of keeping them straight. I have also not counted Mississippi gunboats, though this is because the TL barely enters the Mississippi, and the Lakes are peripheral to say the least.

It would perhaps be best to view this as the what-if that was in part in the minds of the decision makers at the time of Trent, though not in the precise details.



Additional note: the prefix USS does not appear in this TL. This is because it seems it was not used at this time, at least not consistently; as such I have left it off.
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