Jacksonian World: A History of a World (1777-present)

Major Tom

Banned
This timeline came from a small "what if?" moment after thinking about the fact that Mexico and Haiti were originally empires. I somewhat wondered how the world would change if the American Revolution failed and was soon afterwards Andrew Jackson would rise up to become one of the towering, if not the towering, figure of the late 18th and early 19th century, making himself Emperor Andrew I of America. I am relatively new to this thing so please forgive any errors. So without further ado, here is:

The Jacksonian Empire, A History of a World (1777-present)

Chapter 1: The Blunder of Our Country

From the Wikipedia Article "George Washington"

Washington sent General Horatio Gates and state militias to deal with Burgoyne while he moved the main Continental army south to block Howe's march on Philadelphia. However, Washington's flank was turned at the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, enabling Howe to march into Philadelphia unopposed. While they occupied the American capital, British forces had become increasingly spread out at this point in the war and Washington saw an opportunity to strike after months of feigned retreats. Thus, Washington's army led a massive attack on the British garrison at the Battle of Germantown in early October. While unsuccessful, the battle left the British army badly scarred and marked the beginning of several offensively-minded moves by Washington. Meanwhile Burgoyne, out of reach from help from Howe, was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga. The British had gained the empty prize of Philadelphia, while losing one of their two armies. The victory caused France to enter the war as an open ally (followed by Spain and the Netherlands as allies of France), turning the Revolution into a major world-wide war in which Britain was no longer the dominant military force.
Washington's army encamped at Valley Forge in December 1777, where it stayed for the next six months. Over the winter, 2,500 men (out of 10,000) died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a full-scale training program supervised by Baron Von Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff.
Washington, however, did not survive the winter. On December 12, 1777, Washington caught a very severe cold and a throat infection that on the next day turned into pneumonia. On December 14, Brigaidier General Thomas Conway came to his bedside, with the news that Gates had won at Saratoga. Washington responded, " 'Tis well, Gates will be my successor.", and died. He was only 45.


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From The American Pageant


An Incompetent Leader
Before dying, General Washington named General Horatio Gates as the leader of the Army, thinking that it was his decisions that made Americans victorious in Saratoga. But he got the facts wrong. Although Gates was the command officer during the battle, and Burgoyne surrendered to him, the credit of the victory went to his officers, especially the brilliant Benedict Arnold. Gates, however, was sort of a coward when it came to battle, bad enough to give him the moniker "Granny Gates" by none other than Arnold himself. However, Washington's wishes was respected, and by Feberuary, 1778, the Continental Congress made Gates Commander in Chief.​
 
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Looks interesting, even if my knowledge of the American Revolution is very limited. I would, on a totally aesthetic point, advise you to format this a bit differently, it would make it easier to read.

Other than that, please post more! This is very good for a new poster.

:)
 

Major Tom

Banned
I have made some aethsetic formatting and titled the chapter. Also, I am now thinking of ways to put General Gates into predicaments as embarassing his OTL Battle of Camden, in which he retreated over 170 miles on horseback!!!!
 

Major Tom

Banned
But before we get into Emperor Andrew I, we have to get into the interesting scenario of Gates leading the American troops in Yorktown.
 
But before we get into Emperor Andrew I, we have to get into the interesting scenario of Gates leading the American troops in Yorktown.


Sweet sufferin' succotash... :(

You've spent a good chunk of nearly every post in two threads pointing out how "Granny" Gates is no George Washington and yet you're blithely assuming the course of the war is still going to lead to Yorktown?

Allow me to introduce you to the alternate history concept of "butterflies".

There was a hell of a lot of war between 1778, your death date for Washington, and the 1781 siege of Yorktown that led to the OTL's surrender of Cornwallis.

Aside from the entire campaign in the Carolinas, which was why Cornwallis was in Virginia to begin with, there are so many events which require Washington's personal example, military decisions, "people skills", and constant advice to Congress. We've the British withdrawal from Philadelphia, the Monmouth battle, sending Greene south, Wayne taking Stony Point, the campaign against the Iroquois, and so many others.

For example, while Valley Forge gets all the press, the winter of 1779-80, which was the harshest of the 18th Century and which the Continental Army spent in Morristown, NJ, nearly saw the dissolution of the army except for Washington's personal example. Gates will not hold the army together through that winter, so there will be no Yorktown.

So, Washington's death in 1778 means there will be no "Yorktown" in which Cornwallis defeats the Continentals and French. Washington's death in 1778 means the course of the Revolution is going to be very different from the OTL course, whether or not it ends in failure or succeeds.

In fact, merely saying the Revolution failed after Washington's death is not nearly enough of a change.


Bill
 

Major Tom

Banned
Ooops, sorry Bill. In my preliminary research, I almost skipped all of 1779!!! However, the year will be crucial, and especially Morristown, in my second part, which I am carefully writing right now.
 
If the Traitors are losing ITTL by 1779, Spain will NOT join the war in 1780 -
This means the British hold the Fort at Baton Rouge, as well as all of British Florida.

Without free access up River, Spain will not invest as much into rebuilding New Orleans. Post war Baton Rouge will be the Main British town on the Mississippi.
And there will be more British expansion of Forts Biloxi & Gulfport as well as North and East of Lake Ponchartrain.

Depending on How long it takes before the next Anglo/Franco-Spanish war whe could see the British take Spanish New Orleans/Louisiana, in the 1790's like they did French Montreal/Quebec in 1763.

There isn't going to be a Kentucky Militia to fight in the Georgia/Creek Wars to allow Jackson to gain his Experience and Fame
 

Major Tom

Banned
Chapter 2: The Hardest Winter

"My eleven year old son can command an army better than your Gates." - Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican representative at Versailles, to American Ambassador Benjamin Franklin in 1780, not knowing how prophetic those words would be [1].

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From "Nasty, Brutal, and Short: General 'Granny' Gates' Time as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army (New Jersey Historical Magazine, October 1985)

In June 1778, news that the British Army under General Henry Clinton had evacuated Philadelphia had come to Valley Forge, and soon afterward, Gates' army went into pursuit. On June 28, 1778, General Gates decided to attack the rear of the British column in Monmouth Court House, New Jersey. After an embarassing opening attack by the even more incompetent Major General Charles Lee, Gates made a semi-inspired charged before falling down his horse due to a heat stroke. He spent the rest of the battle recovering and drinking water given to him by Mary Ludwig Hays, a soldier's wife rememembered by schoolchildren throughout America as the beloved "Nurse Molly"[2]. In spite of this setback, the quick thinking of "Mad Anthony" Wayne, Nathaniel Greene, and the Marquis de Lafayette led to an American strategic victory. In spite of this, the battle turned out to be the last of Charles Lee, who was soon to be court-martialed and later hung.
However, for Greene and Lafayette, the battle of Monmouth was a godsend. Soon afterwards, Gates sent them both to Rhode Island[3], in order to help Admiral Charles d'Estaing and General John Sullivan retake Newport. However, as d'Estaing's fleet came, a storm broke out, damaging the fleet, forcing d'Estaing to go to Boston for repairs. Lafayette, fearing anti-French riots, joined d'Estaing in order to ease the Bostonians' fears. However, on August 29, Greene and Sullivan went on and made an unsuccesful attempt to recapture Rhode Island. Dejected, Lafayette returned to France to attempt to convince King Louis that the American cause was still worth supporting.
However, it was not until 1779 that the fruits of Monmouth came into existence. In May, General Gates reluctantly gave General Sullivan command of a scorched-earth campaign against the Iroquois (his other candidates were being court-martialed). To Gates' surprise, the campaign was successful. Also making Gates content was the Battle of Stony Point, in which General Wayne took a British fortification near West Point, New York in less than 30 minutes. By the time General Gates camped his men at Jockey Hollow, near Morristown, New Jersey, it seemed that an American Victory was imminent.
However it was not meant to be, as the soldiers faced the worst winter ever to hit New Jersey. Desertions were commonplace, and the Pennsylvania contigent made a successful mutiny. The troubles came to a height in February 19, 1780, in which news of the February 17 hangings of Charles Lee, Philip Schuyler, and Israel Putnam[4] in New York for treason. Enraged by the news, 200 New Jersey soldiers went out to raid the house of Theodosia Ford, where General Gates had his quarters. The raid killed Gates, Ford, and everyone who stayed in the house with the exception of Gates' senior aide-de-camp, Alexander Hamilton, who, after dramatically escaping the soldiers, rode straight to Philadelphia to bring the news to the Continental Congress. The Congress immediately made General Anthony Wayne as Gates' successor, but when Hamilton returned to Jockey Hollow to bring the news to the soldiers, he saw a ghost town. After the death of General Gates, all the troops were on their own.
The United States was in trouble. This was the second time in three winters that the commander in chief of their army had died. But not only that, the army was in shambles, Continental money was becoming useless by the passing day, King George III, after hearing the news of the Ford Mansion Raid, passed a law ordering all the rebel soldiers to be executed, and the British Army, led by General Charles Cornwallis, were making serious inroads in the southern colonies. As General Nathaniel Greene wrote before the Battle of Camden, in August 15, 1780, "only a miracle can save us from a certain death". And in places even more south than Greene, the seeds of a miracle were planted at that very moment.




[1] Good old Charlie Bone never said anything similar to that in OTL, before you ask.
[2] In OTL, the legendary "Molly Pitcher".
[3] The island where Newport is located, not the state.
[4] In OTL, these generals got into trouble but were never executed. In this TL, the overconfidence of General Gates gets to an extent that he makes many enemies and accuses them of treason.​
 

Major Tom

Banned
It seems that my timeline is suffering from unnecessary neglect. However, there is a method to my madness. I'll give you one hint: I intentionally neglected one real-life 1779 victory (which is also a victory in my TL) in my account. If you look carefully at both threads, you might figure out which one it is. Plus, I have a European POD already. All I can say is that it takes place in 1791, but it does not get revealed until 1792.
 

Major Tom

Banned
Oh, and before anyone asks, the War of the Bavarian Succession occurs as is, so no Habsburgwank, unfortunately (unless the Habsburg in question is Marie Antoinette).
 
So General Winter routes the rebels. The cain reaction of this successful mass desertion and mutiny will cost the Colonials dearly. Also without Washington won't the Continental Congress have an even harder time getting their armies to pay attention to them? After all are they even paying the soldiers in that ass wipe scip of their at this point?
 
neat:):)
Emperor Jackson
I like it. I am subscribed.
One question how are you going to handle Jackson's sterility? He caught Smallpox in a British POW camp and that is why he never had any kids who weren't adopted. I have to say Emperor Andrew Jackson Donelson I is scary. :eek:
Keep it up. :D
 

Major Tom

Banned
That is easy. Andrew Jackson does not join his brothers in fighting the British during the Southern Campaign, thus butterflying away him contacting the smallpox and his meeting Rachel. I already know the identity of the empress, and, yes, he will duel over her at least once. Also, Andrew Jackson Donelson might figure out later in the timeline, but definitely not as emperor.
While we are on the subject, one of my pet peeves in AH is that in post-Roman Kingdoms, a ruler's adopted son becomes his successor, especially in cases in which George Washington becomes King. Remember that Napoleon could have made Eugene de Beauharnais his successor, but he did not.
 
That is easy. Andrew Jackson does not join his brothers in fighting the British during the Southern Campaign, thus butterflying away him contacting the smallpox and his meeting Rachel. I already know the identity of the empress, and, yes, he will duel over her at least once. Also, Andrew Jackson Donelson might figure out later in the timeline, but definitely not as emperor.
While we are on the subject, one of my pet peeves in AH is that in post-Roman Kingdoms, a ruler's adopted son becomes his successor, especially in cases in which George Washington becomes King. Remember that Napoleon could have made Eugene de Beauharnais his successor, but he did not.

However, by erasing 13 year old Andrew Jackson's participation in the revolutionary war you are erasing one of the more formative events in his life; perhaps even creating a more loyalist (to King and Country) A.J. Why not have him get involved in the cause, but not contract small pox.
 

Count Omar

Banned
For those wondering what happened to this timeline, it seems that my friend Major Tom got lynched by the Mungquisition. If you are bold enough, here is the continuation.

For those of you who do not have the heart go there, here is his new installment of his timeline:


Chapter 3: Dios De Una Maquina

From The Spanish Miracle: Bernardo de Galvez' Campaign West Florida Campaign by Miguel Perez (New York, Simon and Schuster, 2001):​

In 1779, Spain declared war on England. When news came to New Orleans, Galvez, Governor of Louisiana, immediately was made in command. On August 27, he started up his campaign towards Baton Rouge, which was captured on September 21, thus taking British's rights to the Mississippi River away. Within a month, Captain William Pickles [1] Lake Ponchartrain was made clear of British ships. Soon afterwards, Galvez was made a Brigadier General and began his plans to attack Mobile and Pensacola, the capital of West Florida. As soon as aid came from Havana, Galvez and Pickles set out to capture Fort Charlotte in Mobile, which they did on March 1780.
However, Galvez was not done, as he had to capture Pensacola. Due to British reinforcements, he did not plan to go to Pensacola (by way of getting even more troops from Havana) until October 1780, but after a hurricane dispersed the Spanish Fleet, Galvez decided to spend the winter in Havana[2]. By February, Galvez and Jose Calbo de Irazabal, leader of the Spanish Fleet, had left Havana for Galveston. From March to May, the Spanish Army was camped around Pensacola, while Calbo's fleet left. However, in April 19, a Spanish fleet from Havana captained by Jose Solano y Bote, joined with a fleet supplied by the French, who had just decided to support the war again, came to the rescue, complete with a with more troops, and so the siege was on, and on May 8, one of the Spanish cannons hit the Pensacola fort's magazine, thus destroying the fort. And thus Pensacola was theirs.
The French were about as enthusiastic about the win, and on August, Admiral Francois De Grasse went to Havana, under orders of Rochambeau, to raise at least 1,200,000 livres to help General Wayne defeat the British. However, in the course of several hours, a group of ladies came forward and ended up donating the equivalent of 5,000,000 to the cause [3].
Galvez repeated his victory in Pensacola with an invasion of the island New Providence in 1782 and and a siege in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1783, which was quickly given back its original name, which it retains to this day, Villa de La Vega.[4] The Spanish now had control over the Gulf of Mexico, but diplomacy would soon let them gain even more...

[1] Yes, there really was a guy in OTL with this name doing the same actions. In fact the difference between what is written here and OTL is that the conditions of the past two chapters makes this chapter a Hispanowank.
[2] Oh, if Gates had been that lucky!
[3] Believe it or not, this thing really did happen in OTL!!!!!!!
[4] In OTL, it is still called Spanish Town.
 
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