Boomstick's Ted's Excellent Adventure, Pt. 1:
On the recommendation of former President James G. Blaine, and current President James Garfield, Boomstick Ted was made president of the board of New York City Police Commissioners. Ted agreed, and pursued his job with vigor. His tireless fight against corruption meant that in no time at all, he had made enemies of every law enforcement official in New York. Of course, with the rigorously physical standards he implemented, some of the fatter officers began to hate him too. Ted, who did not sleep very much, spent many nights personally walking the beat of night patrol officers, punishing those he found slacking off. Ted also spent a great deal of time personally enforcing the laws of the city. Being a superb marksman, many criminals (1) met their end at his hand. Many residents of New York began to speak of Ted in hushed whispers of awe. Ted encouraged and extended this view by personally appointing trusted officers to help apprehend violent suspects. America's first Special Weapons Assault Team (2) was formed in 1891. At first, the unit was a well kept secret. Why asked why the unit existed, Ted replied with:
"Speak softly and carry a big stick."
Ted spoke very softly. The police department during his time as commissioner became a brutal, highly secretive organization which depended a great deal on spies and police informers to intrude upon the personal lives of criminal and citizen alike. The police disappeared from the streets, moving into the shadows. Criminals lived in fear of being taken away by police in the middle of the night. And so, the more influential crooks began turning towards Tammany Hall for help. Tammany Boss Charles Sullivan considered his options. Boomstick Ted was a popular hero amongst the voting populace and the press, due to his ability to fight crime and clean out corruption in the police force. At Sullivan's signal, officers of the Special Weapons Attack Team burst into the meeting hall and arrested all the criminals present. Crime in New York fell to record lows. And Ted knew this because he had hired statisticians to keep track of crime rates.
Meanwhile, President James Garfield was replaced by President William Jennings. However, before stepping out of office, Garlfield engineered a false flag operation to complicate the incoming president's life. He ordered that his Foreign Service agents blow up the USS Baltimore moored in Havanna, and blame the Spanish government for the incident. When the powder stores of the Baltimore exploded, all 598 sailors onboard were killed, and the United States found itself in a war with Spain. Boomstick Ted, jumping at the chance, immediately quit his job as New York City police commissioner and raised a volunteer ranger regiment of former pirate hunters, policemen, cowboys, woodsmen and sailors. Boomstick Ted somehow managed to wrangle the rank of Colonel out of his political patrons, and his unit, known as the Swamp Rats, were shipped off to the Philippines.
The Spanish, fearing a Chinese takeover of the islands, had provided a great deal weapons to the locals, and had been posting pro-Spanish propaganda on the islands since the 1860s, while at the same time, relaxing many racial restrictions, in order to pacify the populace. However, Spain was not a wealthy nation, and could not afford to expand its fleet much. The US Pacific Fleet under Admiral George Dewey blew the Spanish Pacific Fleet out of the water at the Battle of Manila Bay, losing only one man (3). However, the 8 batteries of coastal guns defending the harbor made a landing impossible. Complicating the matter were the hundreds of naval mines in the harbor itself. However, the Swamp Rats had been inserted at Cavite south of the city several days beforehand, overwhelming a small local garrison. This gave the United States Marines a beach to land on and secure. Also, Colonel Roosevelt had mapped out the forts defending Manila, which were guarded by machine guns, barbed wire and heavy artillery. Initially, General William McKinley, commanding officer of the ground forces for the Philippines Campaign felt that he lacked the forces necessary to take Manila, however, Ted disagreed.
Previous to Ted's deployment to the Philippines, Ted had been contacted by Andrew Carnegie, his patron and mentor. In a letter, Carnegie revealed the dissatisfaction of the local ethnic Chinese community, who wished to establish an indepedent nation (4). A fluent speaker of Chinese, Ted made contacts with multiple elements of the Filipino colonial military, including one Captain Emilio Aguinaldo, who controlled a key fort in Manila's defenses. Captain Aguilnaldo and his men agreed not to mount resistance when Ted's Swamp Rats attacked that night. Soon, Ted was able to get behind the Spanish lines and take two more forts. American forces surged through the breaches in the lines, taking the city. For his actions, Ted was awarded the Medal of Honor, his first (5). But whatever understanding Ted had with Captain Aguilnaldo was not to last. American troops rushed to the area in order to garrison it.
What came next was the most brutal counter-insurgency campaign ever conducted by American forces, and the Swamp Rats would be at its forefront.
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(1): And some innocent people. Boomstick Ted shot first and left the questions for the medical examiner.
(2): SWAT. They were also the first to use the radio to communicate with one another.
(3): To heatstroke.
(4): Carnegie himself was working for the Chinese government.
(5): He would earn his second 20 years later.