No Ghent: The Other Incursion

One ATL which has been done to death on these boards has been any kind of variation on the successful treating of American and British forces at Ghent during the War of 1812. This usually involves ramifications for The Battle of New Orleans; the options are countless. You could have the British win, the Americans win but have Jackson get killed, the British try again with no treaty to stop them, etc. One thing I recently read about, though, really intrigues me. Apparently there was a small (and deservedly scantly documented) British occupation of St. Marys, Georgia, which had held off numerous American attempts to recapture it, whose primary goal was to remain there and consolidate its hold on the coast and await reinforcements from a British general named Nicolls, who was to be approaching from south-central Alabama with Native American allies, freed blacks, and British regulars. Their objective? Savannah. The enormous reinforcing regiment sputtered out, though, leaving the British commander at St. Marys little to do except withdraw to outlying Cumberland Island and hold on to the outpost until news of Ghent came in February. Now, the Treaty of Ghent stymies a lot of interesting what ifs, so, let's say the negotiations get bogged down. Maybe they even break down completely (I'm not sure of the likelihood of either-both countries, especially Britain are war-weary by this point). With no news of a treaty forthcoming, some interesting things can happen. Obviously, a lot can happen to New Orleans, but I want to focus on the expedition to St Marys. What if, somehow the expedition under Nicolls materializes, and he reinforces the garrison at St. Marys for an assault on Savannah. What would the consequences be if the British somehow take Savannah? Would it affect all that much? What if they succeed in taking Savannah and New Orleans--would the war be doomed to drag on? Cheers!
 
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