Lee at the Alamo

Has anyone read the short story Lee at the Alamo by Harry Turtldove?
I would like to turn it into a time line but I'm unsure where to start.
the story can be found on Tor.com
 
As an aside, is this in the right forum? I have a feeling it should be moved to the AH Books and Media section.


*SPOILER ALERT*

The Link


I have and I quite liked it, even if having both Lee and Thomas in Texas at the time is a bit of a stretch.

As for some thoughts on how the war would progress in such a scenario

-Thomas' presence at the Alamo is going to cause his star to rise tremendously. As one of the war's first heroes for the Union I'd imagine that he'll be treated much better and be given a fairly major command sooner rather than later. He might even end up staying in Virginia as after TTL's actions at the Alamo his loyalty won't be suspect. I can't see a whole lot of downsides to this save for that Thomas' caution could get him blacklisted by Lincoln.

-Lee taking a command in the West will be interesting depending on where he ends up. His movement over there could very well precipitate a major reorganization of the theater. One interesting possibility could be that Lee succeeds Anderson in the Department of the Ohio and launches an offensive down into Eastern Tennessee to relieve the Unionists there...How effective that would be is anyone's guess. Perhaps Thomas comes along for the ride?

Another possibility is that Lee prompts a much earlier reorganization of the West. Lee could be given responsibility for the entire Western Theater while Halleck becomes General in Chief in Washington (he was Scott's preferred candidate not McClellan) while Lil' Mac is limited to command of the Army of the Potomac. In such a scenario I could see Thomas being put in charge of an offensive to relieve Unionists in Western Tennessee.

Lee's absence from the Confederate cause would also have ramifications. Not all of which would be horrible.

-For example, Lee was assigned to command the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida in late 1861 in OTL. During his tenure he ordered Tybee island to be abandoned which the Federals later used to bombard Fort Pulaski into submission. Perhaps in TTL his replacement (perhaps Beauregard? He did a pretty good job earlier...)doesn't make the same mistake thereby keeping Savannah GA open as a port for longer.

-Lee also convinced Davis to transfer Ewell's brigade to Jackson in the Shenandoah instead of honoring Joe Johnston's request for troops. In TTL his successor might not. Without Ewell Jackson is probably going to be overwhelmed by superior Union numbers in the Shenandoah.

As you progress further into 1862 the butterfly effect begins to change things and the results of 1861 begin to stack up.

One interesting possibility in TTL could be the war ending earlier, prior to November 1864. Lincoln in an effort to unify the country picks Lee (who perhaps has freed his slaves in TTL) as his running mate instead of Andrew Johnson.
 
Thank you fearless leader for your comments. yes this is prehaps the wrong forum but I was curious to see anyones thoughts on the story.

Also can anyone tell me how to move a thread or request one moved,I'm still new here.
 
Oh, dear, Lee in the Union Army will be a disaster for the Union. That man's aggression and inability to accept that there can be such a thing as too many dead soldiers for your side is a guarantee that when, not if, he pulls off a Malvern Hill on the Union side his career is dead. Lee, it should be remembered, killed a whole quarter of the Confederate dead of the ACW all by his little old self, now give that man the Union manpower pool.....:eek::eek:

Georgi Zhukov and Luigi Cadorna would be defended in a conveniently butterfly-limited ATL by saying "Well, Lee, so STFU."
 
Oh, dear, Lee in the Union Army will be a disaster for the Union. That man's aggression and inability to accept that there can be such a thing as too many dead soldiers for your side is a guarantee that when, not if, he pulls off a Malvern Hill on the Union side his career is dead. Lee, it should be remembered, killed a whole quarter of the Confederate dead of the ACW all by his little old self, now give that man the Union manpower pool.....:eek::eek:
Wait, wernt you the guy that praised Grant for the same traits? Or am i thinking of a different ACW expert? :confused:
 
Wait, wernt you the guy that praised Grant for the same traits? Or am i thinking of a different ACW expert? :confused:

Nope, I'm the guy that points out that Grant had less casualties than Lee did, from the side more able to afford them, despite relying on siege warfare, and despite a focus on the enemy army as opposed to enemy major cities/logistical nodes. Let me repeat that: Grant had less casualties than Lee did in terms of troops who served under him. I don't praise squandering human life in any general's record, as it's a sign of wastefulness that is ultimately self-destructive from a military sense in the long term. Casualties should be accepted only where the results are equal to them. Driving the USA to Seoul with nothing but leg-power and mortars with heavy casualties is one thing. Slamming your army headlong into a prepared defensive position due to being "lavish with blood" is a completely different thing.
 
Oh, dear, Lee in the Union Army will be a disaster for the Union. That man's aggression and inability to accept that there can be such a thing as too many dead soldiers for your side is a guarantee that when, not if, he pulls off a Malvern Hill on the Union side his career is dead. Lee, it should be remembered, killed a whole quarter of the Confederate dead of the ACW all by his little old self, now give that man the Union manpower pool.....:eek::eek:

Georgi Zhukov and Luigi Cadorna would be defended in a conveniently butterfly-limited ATL by saying "Well, Lee, so STFU."

Though I agree there's some truth to that, his aggressiveness might prove useful in the west at least in the short term, especially in the early part of the war. For example, had he been given the Department of the Ohio instead of Anderson he could've very well broken the tenuous string of Confederate defenses by pushing through the Cumberland gap into pro-Union East Tennessee.
 
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