Reform and Liberty

A much bloodier fiasco with John Brown is probably going to radicalize both sides even more, and it looks like a border war with Mexico is in the cards as well.

The changes to John Brown's raid are just butterflies. It could have easily been that John Brown died after returning to Kansas and raiding Missouri. I flipped a mental coin and decided to go with worse Harpers Ferry incident instead of a better one.

You are indeed correct. I didn't really think it through because as I mentioned before this is my quick TL that I'm writing directly into the reply box. So it's a bit off the cuff. It's OK though as it may help a year or two down the line when the sectional crisis heats comes to head.

You're completely correct. This is planned as it leads to the purpose of this TL, which of course is...finding a way to merge Mexico's Reform War with the American Civil War. I figured to merge the two wars the US would need to be the primary mover towards this end as Mexico was in no position to intervene in American affairs. I also have a bit of surprise coming up. Hint: Read some really old NY Times circa late 1860.

Thanks for reading.

Benjamin
 
Major George Thomas dispatched Captain Stuart and thirty troopers to follow Cortina's band the very day that he arrived in Brownsville. Despite having a large head start, Cortina's band was slowed down by the large number of townsfolk that were accompanying him. Stuart's cavalry skirmished with the rear elements of Cortina's force deep into Mexico. Finally on the day before Christmas eve, and once the civilians were in the relative safety behind the San Fernando River, Cortina turned his 300 strong force to meet the persistent American. Stuart's force had grown to nearly fifty with the addition of Indian scouts and a small group of Texas Rangers.

Noticing a small cluster of men on Cortina's right and a gap in his lines, Stuart ordered a charge that dispersed the group forcing man of them to flee into the river. Thinking that Cortina's right flank was now exposed Stuart pressed his men westward along the northern bank of the San Fernando. Unfortunately, he ran into a thicket of brambles and underbrush that slowed his advance to a crawl. Cortina's men soon noticed the frustrated cavalry men and refused their right. They Tejanos then poured rifle fire into the thicket.

Just after noon on the 23rd of December the a series of small fires began in the dry underbrush in which Stuarts men were pinned. The small fires soon joined to form a raging brush fire. The screams of them men and horses joined with the roar of the fire to create a howling roar that the Tejanos claimed sounded..."as though the Devil himself had screamed forth a portion of hell from his very maw."

Only nine Americans would make it back to Brownsville. They told Major Thomas, now joined by newly promoted Brig-Gen. Garland, of the horrible brush fire (very true), the brave death of Captain Stuart (mostly true; though he burned to death in agony), and further atrocities perpetrated by Cortina (not true as Cortina had gone out of his way to prevent an escalating cycle of brutality). Gen. Garland quickly sent a telegram to Washington requesting an additional 2,500 soldiers and permission to launch an expedition into Mexico. Both of these requests were granted but Garland was forced to wait nearly two months before the expedition was ready to cross the Rio Grande.

Benjamin
 
Hoped to get a post in tonight but my daughter had a special extracurricular project at a friend's house and my wife is out of town. Perhaps tomorrow morning.

Benjamin
 
Hoped to get a post in tonight but my daughter had a special extracurricular project at a friend's house and my wife is out of town. Perhaps tomorrow morning.

Benjamin


I think we can all support your projects, just so long as they involve bourbon and black powder musketry
 
While the crisis along the Mexican-American border worsened, Mexico's Reform War continued unabated. In mid-November substitute President of Mexico, Miguel Miramon, offered to meet with Liberal Generals Degollado, Artega and Doblado. Miramon, having failed at taking Vera Cruz the previous February, was growing fearful that his Conservative base of support was eroding. Miramon's true intentions are not known, but based on surviving letters to Degollado he seems to have hoped to entice them into defecting by offering the three Liberal generals positions within a new moderate-Conservative government.

Regardless of his intentions it came to naught. On November 14, 1859 the discussions broke down and the three Liberal generals left the Calera Hacienda, where the meeting had been taking place. The next day Miramon's 4,000 man army found itself facing a Liberal army over 7,000 strong. The fighting on the 15th proved inconclusive, but Miramon was forced to retreat back into nearby Queretaro. The 16th saw the Liberals establish a siege around the town and Miramon was asked to surrender. Realizing that doing so would almost certainly lead to his execution, Miramon refused all offers for negotiation. The siege continued a for three more days when word came that Leonardo Marquez, a Conservative general and political rival to Miramon, was marching from Guadalajara with 3,000 men to relieve Queretaro. Having already taken heavy casualties Degollado lifted the siege and began to withdraw from Queretaro.

On November 23rd Marquez's column caught up to the Liberal army and attacked while it was in marching formation. Artega escaped, Doblado was injured but also escaped, but Degollado was captured by Marquez. Marquez sent his captive back to Queretaro but refused to subordinate his troops to Miramon. Degollado was executed on November 28th along with seven other Liberal officers. After resting and gathering reinforcements Miramon marched on Guadalajara with the intent of arresting Marquez, but Marquez was not in that city.

Realizing that Miramon, further embarrassed by Marquez's continued successes, now viewed him as an enemy; Marquez chose to march north to San Luis Potosi. His column reached San Luis Potosi on December 8th and spent the next two weeks there gathering supplies and pressing locals into his growing army. Initially, he contemplated confronting Miramon, and on December 25th he departed San Luis Potosi with 6,500 men having the intention of occupying Guadalajara and declaring himself Interim President. But on December 27th, a rider caught up with his column. The man carried a letter from Santiago Vitaurri that described the situation caused by Cortina's raids and in it Vitaurri pleaded for military help.

Although the letter was meant to be read by a Liberal General, Marquez saw an opportunity. A victory of an American invasion would solidify his reputation and propel him into the leadership role of the Conservatives. The stain of Santa Anna would be wiped clean and all of Mexico would rally around him. On December 28th Marquez turned his column north and marched to Ciudad Victoria. He reached the city on January 2, 1860 and declared himself military governor of Tamaulipas. On January 13th he met with Vitaurri in the small town of Montemorelas. Vitaurri agreed to subordinate his militia to Marquez but wished to focus on the capture of Cortina in order to assuage American anger. Marquez had other plans.

Benjamin

NOTES: The battle near Queretaro is where this Reform War begins to really differ from OTL Reform War. In reality Miramon wins the battle without help, but all three Liberal generals escape relatively unharmed. Miramon then marches on Guadalajara and arrests Marquez. Marquez is then sent back to Mexico City as a prisoner. That obviously does not happen here.
 
Unlike in Mexico, the United States quickly encountered difficulties in planning for the upcoming intervention. Garland was breveted to Major-General but Buchanan prevented him from having complete say over the composition of force. Buchanan realized that he needed support from at least some of the free states so he demanded that the expeditions second in command be from a free state. As Garland's plan necessitated that his force be split into two independent forces it was unavoidable that the second in command would have a high level of autonomy. Initially, several free state senators demanded that John Fremont be appointed as Garland's subordinate but Southern congressmen, backed by Secretary of War, Jefferson Davis, quickly nixed that idea.

After much debate the elderly Newman S. Clarke from Connecticut was assigned to the expedition. Unfortunately, the old Brigadier-General became gravely ill on the journey from San Francisco to San Antonio. By the time Clarke reached San Antonio he could no longer walk or ride a horse. Clarke's illness sparked yet another debate in Washington. Some wanted Winfield Scott himself to travel to Texas and take personal command of Garland's growing force. This suited many in both the North and the South, but Scott refused and the Texans demanded that a Texan be in command. Shortly before the 36th US met a deal was brokered. Departing Senator, and Mexican-American War veteran, James Shields accepted the assignment and word of his appointment reached San Antonio on March 3rd by way of the newly inaugurated Pony Express. A further bonus was that Brig-Gen. Shields was Irish and it was hoped that this would prevent the Irish desertions that occurred during the Mexican-American War. Shields reached San Antonio on March 20th. Much to Garland's dismay Shields was accompanied by his own rather large general staff, as well as 1,850 volunteers entirely from Northern states. Clarke though would die two days after Shields' arrival.

By March 29th Garland's force was ready to cross the Rio Grande. Overall Garland's force had grown to about 4,800. Shields crossed the border at Brownsville on April 5th and easily occupied Matamores the following day. After securing the city Shields began his march northwest ward along the Rio Grande River. Garland crossed into Mexico five days later but met heavy resistance in Nuevo Laredo where the population had no desire to be ruled by Americans. Almost immediately Garland's plan of being the anvil to Shields' hammer began to fall apart.

Benjamin

NOTES
Wow...two different TLs updated in one night. You lucky bastards!

The Pony Express is founded a year early with a side branch running mail from Marshall, TX which had Texas' first telegraph to San Antonio and beyond. And yes, this time it does get the coveted military mail contract as well as establishing a route to California by May of 1859 that takes only 10 days.

Brig.-Gen. Clarke died in late 1860 (OTL) but I've decided to prematurely decline his health. Consider me an evil, soul-sucking, jackass butterfly.

As I'm doing this TL on the cheap; I've foregone the usual visuals. If you must...picture some stuffy looking guys wearing old fashioned military uniforms, some of whom have olive skin but all of which have silly hairdos, staring stone faced at you in black and white (with perhaps a few sepia tones thrown in for good measure). If you're an "all action, all the time!" sort of person, picture said silly hairdo people amongst some adobe style buildings trying real hard to kill each other. There now, isn't history exciting?
 
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