Old Ways; A Confederated States of America TL

Slow Unionist advance into Virginian Peninsula began on April 1862 when George B. McClellan in the strenght of 121,500 thousands of men besieged John G. Magruder's 30,000 soldiers in the Yorktown area. After long siege McClellan planned massive bombardment on 5 May but Confederate force slipped from city and escaped.

The first land battle between two sides was fought near Williamsburg when one third Unionist force attacked Joseph Johnston and fought bloody, inconclusive battle as retreating Confederate forces tried to inflict as many casualties as possible to enemy's forces along with use of partisan warfare in order to weaken Northeners morale. Major General James Longstreet's counterattacks overwhelmed Unionist left flank but he was unable to use his forces further during battle into destruction or crippling this part of Army of the Potomac. McClellan lost more than five thousands of soldiers but many more lost faith in quick victory as they saw bitter fighting against "fanatic and vicious Rebel forces" [quote from History of the Civil War by General Dwight David Eisenhower; 1948].

Battle of Williamsburg raised morale in Southern states as President Jefferson Davis announced that Southern army fought a great victory and caused five times more casualties than received from enemy. Abraham Lincoln made similar statement that Unionist Army caused Confederate retreat but big numbers of killed men effectively discouraged many people from fighting.

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Next battle was fought between William B. Franklin's Division against G.W. Smith's two brigades on Etham's Landing (near West Point). Sent by McClellan Unionist soldiers had to cut off Confederate retreating forces and establish strongpoint on the way to rebel's capital city Richmond. Johnson sent two brigades under command of Smith and Whiting to attack them and repulse from Confederate lands.

Despite their orders Unionist forces didn't expected Confederates so early and Smith's forces march was met with great surprise probably due to weak military intelligence just after disembarking from ships. Brigadier General John Bell Hood's Texan brigade regarded as the best Confederate shock troops daring charge on well-defended Unionist forces worked well as green men from Franklin's forces were frightened by their brutality and fierceness. After heavy fighting in which Hood lost two hundred men Unionist forces retreated from battlefield leaving 600 soldiers to be captured.

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On May 31 Joseph E. Johnston attempted to overwhelm two Federal corps that appeared to be isolated south of Chickahominy River. Well-coordinated Confederate assaults inflicted great casualties on these forces and succeeded in driving back IV Corps. When Johnston was wounded during battle Robert E. Lee succeeded him as commander of Army of the Northern Virginia and renewed fighting on 1 July inflicting serious casualties of Northern side and forcing them to withdraw from Seven Pines.

During battle J.E.B Stuart distinguished himself as excellent cavarly commander when he launched series of brutal charges against Federal forces. His revolutionary method of fighting (mobile strikes into the weakest point in enemy's lines followed by infantry) became precusor to the Confederate Mobile Warfare Mobile during World War I and World War II gaining him fame as Father of the Modern Warfare. One of his the most famous charges during battle was attack from Confederate right flank into Keyes' left flank thus creation of panic within Casey troops and their withdrawal.

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1. Lee's objective in the Antietam Campaign was to support a rising of Maryland against the US government. He expected thousands of volunteers to join him. He got hundreds, because the western part of the State of Maryland was Unionist. The Southern sympathizers were concentrated in the eastern part of the state and were outnumber 3 to 1. The Maryland militia responded to the government in Annapolis and mobilized to defend the State against Lee.
2. Lee's army suffered from straggling. On the day of battle, over 20% of his men were missing from the ranks of his regiments. Any movement of Jackson beyond South Mountain would result in further straggling and loss of effectives. This was the result of logistics failures on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia with men falling out to forage for food, due to indiscipline in the regiments and the loss of morale of men who had volunteered to defend their states and the Confederacy, not invade the US and because the evident apathy and hostility of the local population. Lee was already set to fall back into the Valley and return to Virginia when McClellan forced the passes at South Mountain and pressed Lee at Sharpsburg.
3. The Army of the Potomac was concentrated to the east of Frederick just north of Washington. It had no outlying elements to which orders would have had to have been sent and which could be captured. It was the Army of Virginia that was dispersed from Front Royal to the Pennsylvania border and which was using couriers from which orders could be captured.
4. McClellan was not incompetent, just not aggressive enough and he took council of his fears. But Lee was overly aggressive and dispersed his army too such an extent he deserved defeat in detail. McClellan might not have gained victory, but he would have avoided defeat. And the "retreat" of Lee from Maryland was just that, an admission of failure to accomplish his mission. The Antietam Campaign was a failure for the Confederacy and allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and turn the war into a moral as well as political crusade. Lee avoided defeat, not gained a victory.
5. Recognition did imply intervention. Queen Victoria had already granted the Confederacy "belligerent rights", but that still meant Britain was neutral. Intervention was not easily accomplished as both Britain and France were committed elsewhere in the world and preparations for such an intervention would take six months to a year before it could begin. In the meantime, any British declaration of war or intention to intervene would turn the war from suppression of an armed insurrection to defense of the nation against foreign invasion. It would re-energize the Union war effort. US economic power along the Lakes would insure the quick defeat of British forces and the occupation of Canada, which is what the British feared and one of the brakes against their intervention into our civil war.
 
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Kentucky Problem - the most undecided state inside Confederacy.

Year before American Civil War erupted slaves composed 19 percent of whole Kentucky population and even Northern Kentuckians saw nothing wrong with this peculiar institution (euphemism created by Southern politicians to describe slavery in their states) that was present in the Commonwealth since its beginning. Many prominent US politicians hailed from this state - famous Whig Henry Clay, 9th Secreatary of State represented Kentucky in both House of Representatives and Senate while 17th Governor John J. Crittenden served as US Attorney General twice. Both President of the United States Abraham Lincoln and President of the Confederated States were born here as wel as Vice-Presidents Richard Mentor Johnson and John C. Breckinridge. It was no surprise that state dependent economically on both South (bound by the Missisippi River and its tributaries) and North (through railroad connections) during Solid South states' secession was divided into three groups of people: loyalists who demanded joining Union in their fight, Southeners who advocated joining of at least supporting Confederacy and neutrals led by Governor Beriah Moggoffin who announced that Kentucky shall not join either side unless attacked by one of them and proposed peace conference between two sides of conflict. When it became clear that there will be war he secretly negotiated with Confederacy and streghtened Kentucky State Guard placing it under Breckinridge's command - man who gained all 12 electoral votes during election in Kentucky and 111 all across United States.

One of the actions that led to Kentucky involvement in Civil War was seizure of St. Louis Arsenal by group of soldiers from Kentucky State Guard who while wearing Unionist blue uniforms managed to sneak inside and forced surrender of the Captain Nathaniel Lyon on 21 April 1861. More than 30,000 rifles were distributed to Missouri and Kentucky pro-Confederate militias - the fact that led to Missouri secession from the Union and Federal condemnation of Moggoffin's actions few months later. First hostilities began on May 19, when Colonel Hiram McCaduh tried to enter Paducah with 300 men and 2 canons but was repulsed by killed during battle along with 10 other Federal soldiers. One hundred of them of them hailed from northern Kentucky and quickly joined Buckner's forces.

On 26th May 1861 Missouri state legistators announced state secession and joining Confederated States of America.

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* So, we have a PoD - all states which were won by Bell OTL, IITL was gained by Southern Democrats. It is plausible, i.e. in the largest difference in popular votes between these two was 13 thousands of votes in Kentucky and the smallest 156 in Virginia. Worse performance by Constitutionalists could make situation more interesting ;)
 
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