Stonewall Jackson's Way: An Alternate Confederacy Timeline

What Timeline Should I Do Next?

  • Abandon the Alamo!

    Votes: 44 43.1%
  • We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists

    Votes: 48 47.1%
  • Old Cump and Pap

    Votes: 10 9.8%

  • Total voters
    102
  • Poll closed .
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well I guess it can't be all good news for the Confederates. I do think that an independent CSA is going to be receiving increasing international pressure from Britain and other European trade partners to abolish or at least begin to phase out slavery. Slavery being one of the biggest reasons the UK did not recognize the CSA in OTL.

I'm wondering if there is still an underground railroad of sorts and how gringo colonization of the new Mexican territories is going along.
 
Also, the CSA will possibly be better poised to grab Hawaii than the U.S. in this timeline if they can act fast and get a Pacific fleet in action.
 
[1] The following people served as the pallbearers as the joint Lee-Thomas funeral: Politicians: former President Jefferson Davis, former Vice-President Alexander Stephens, President John Breckinridge, Vice-President Benjamin Hill, President Pro Tempore Robert MT Hunter, Speaker of the House Zebulon Vance, Secretary of State Howell Cobb, and Secretary of the Treasury James M. Mason Generals: General Joseph E. Johnston, General P.G.T. Beauregard, Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Lieutenant General William J. Hardee, Lieutenant General D.H. Hill, Lieutenant General Edmund Kirby Smith, and Lieutenant General Richard S. Ewell.

No Braxton Bragg?
Or is this similar to Ty Cobb in Field of Dreams? :)
 
Loved the update! Two things, you mention that only two states matter yet then go on to mention three states that mattered. Also, did you ever explain why George H. Thomas was loyal to Virginia rather than the United States? Love the TL btw! Great work!
 
Loved the update! Two things, you mention that only two states matter yet then go on to mention three states that mattered. Also, did you ever explain why George H. Thomas was loyal to Virginia rather than the United States? Love the TL btw! Great work!
In chapter seventeen, it mentions Thomas' wife dying a month after their marriage, and his family helping him get through it. In OTL, Thomas' wife was a Northerner who many believed had a major role in convincing him to stay loyal to the Union. Her much more premature death, plus Thomas growing much closer to both his home state and family as a result of it being where he recovered and who helped him recover from the pain in the reason why he ultimately decides to side with the CSA. Also thanking you for pointing out that error.
 
The Confederates have not abolished slavery yet, but it will happen. It will also end in quite the dramatic fashion.
It will be interesting how independence will shape the outlook of the abolishing slavery debate in the CSA, in our TL the South always used the North as a scapegoat to politically blame the end of slavery, segregation and any other practice that the North forced upon them after the war. But with the South's independence their is no one but themselves to blame on any policy they create that doesn't turn out alright furthermore while confederate nationalism is now a thing, it should be noted that means lost causism is dead as we know it, as the confederacy has no real reason to deny the war was fought to deny slavery it's more plausisble that they downplay it's importance in future history books rather than deny it altogether.

"The Confederacy left the union over fears that the Union would soon use it's growing anti-slavery majority to deny the South's it state's rights to determine it's own future and institute a federal ban on slavery regardless of the economic devastation and political upheaval it loose upon the region, as like it or not, the entire economic system of the South was as tied to the slave then as our society is to gasoline today.- Unknown Confederate Historian (1962)

The above would probably be what you would expect from future historians in this TL, they probably wouldn't deny slavery was the reason for war but would give a more economic argument that doesn't deny the evils of slavery but excuses it as something that was simply to hard to get rid of in the 1860's without industrial farming technology that just didn't exist yet...
 
I would imagine that future CSA popular opposition to slavery would involve middle class and working class whites beginning to realize that the big slave owners are depriving them of jobs and economic opportunities. Perhaps some kind of Huey Long style populism?
 
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Gordon Presidency Part One
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Gordon Presidency
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President John B. Gordon
Like the Liberty Party had hoped, John B. Gordon continued in the precedent of Breckinridge. Under his term, the Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia were furthered industrialized, and several factories were founded in South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas, starting those states down the path of industry. The New York Times even claimed that the South had two "robber barons" of its own, applying to title to the presidents of the CSA's two rgest railroad companies, Joseph R. Anderson of Confederate Pacific and William R. Cox of Confederate International. This would precipitate an attack on Gordon and the Liberty Party by the Democratic Party, who claimed they were leading the South down the path down of the United States, becoming a greedy nation, and losing what made the South great in their opinion. Nonetheless, the public supported the industrialization, as it was bringing in more money to the lower non-plantation owner class then the plantation system ever did. There was even a rumor, which ultimately proved untrue, that the famous railroader Cornelius Vanderbilt was planning to relocate to the CSA to corner the entire country's railroad industry, as he viewed it as a blossoming industry full of potent.
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The South's two railroad barrons: Joseph R. Anderson and William R. Cox
Gordon, however, would differ from Breckinridge in his dealings with the navy. While Breckinridge left most naval affairs in the capable hands of Stephen Mallory, President Gordon would take much more interest in them. He would be the first CSA president ever to order his naval to do a show of force. Gordon would organize a eight ship flotilla to tour Spain's holdings in the Caribbean. While this mission had the purpose of showing off some of the CSA's naval strength to the world, it had a particularly focus on Spain. Since their independence, the CSA had made both formal and informal approaches to the Spanish government concerning purchasing their colonies in the Caribbean, with each being rebuffed by a Spain clinging to the remnants of their once vast colonial empire. Gordon hoped to show Spain with this display that the CSA wanted these colonies, and while it might not be under his presidency, they were going to get them, and if not diplomatically, then by their ever expanding force. The ships Gordon would send would bear the names of the states whose electoral votes he had won in the election, plus a ship named after a territory he acquired. The flagship, the CSS Virginia, was under the command of the CSA's senior naval officer, recently promoted Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes, who was one of the several naval officers promoted to a higher rank in preparation for the mission. Then there were the CSS North Carolina under Captain Thomas J. Page, the CSS Tennessee under Captain John R. Tucker, the CSS Georgia under Captain Samuel Barron, the CSS South Carolina under Captain John M. Brooke, the CSS Louisiana under Captain Catesby ap Roger Jones, the CSS Texas under Captain James I. Waddell, and the CSS Baja California, newly created for the tour, under Captain Richard L. Page. Speaking with Captain Irvine Bulloch, second-in-command of the CSS Virginia, Gordon would comment "While our navy might not be able to compare with that of the British, or even that of our northern neighbor, we certainly have a fleet worthy of note." The tour would go as plan, and Spain realized that its hold on its colonies was ever loosening.
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A photograph of Rear Admiral Raphael Semmes aboard the CSS Virginia during the tour
Gordon also dealt with foreign policy with Mexico. The Mexican President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada demanded from Gordon the return of the four Mexican provinces sold to the CSA during the reign of Maximilian, as he claimed Maximilian was an impostor, and had no right to sell Mexican lands to the CSA. Gordon had no intent of returning the land, which already had many Confederates who had moved there. Instead of handing the land over, Gordon would send the Nathan B. Forrest and his Cavalry Corps to the territory to secure it in case of war. Seeing this, Tejada would stand down, and would withdraw his request. Despite this, the general Mexican populace retained its grudge against the South for not returning the land.
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President Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
Gordon's most important presidential achievements, however, would be with the successor to Daniel Sickles in the presidential election of 1876.

Gordon and his cabinet:
President: John B. Gordon
Vice-President: Zebulon Vance
Secretary of State: Robert M.T. Hunter
Secretary of the Treasury: Wade Hampton III
Secretary of War: John C. Brown
Secretary of the Navy: Albert G. Brown
Attorney General: Herschel Johnson
Postmaster General: Francis R.T. Nicholls
 
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I would imagine that future CSA popular opposition to slavery would involve middle class and working class whites beginning to realize that the big slave owners are depriving them of jobs and economic opportunities. Perhaps some kind of Huey Long style populism?
Maybe, although slavery probably couldn't survive that long, it probably would definitely be on it's way out in the South by 1890's international pressure would at that point turn slavery and the CSA into a pariah, this coupled with the fact that cotton will be established and grown in India and Egypt means that cotton value should decline in favor of industrialization by that time.

Hey, RockofChickamauga I have a question? Are their any laws that prohibit slaves from being used in factories to prevent factory owners from closing poor whites off from the job market? that could be a step in the right direction.
 
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Maybe, although slavery could survive that long, it probably would definitely be on it's way out in the South by 1890's international pressure would at that point turn slavery and the CSA into a pariah, this coupled with the fact that cotton will be established and grown in India and Egypt means that cotton value should decline in favor of industrialization by that time.
Hey, RockofChickamauga I have a question? Are their any laws that prohibit slaves from being used in factories to prevent factory owners from closing poor whites off from the job market? that could be a step in the right direction.
No factories in the CSA are using slaves as employees, both because of how much money it would cost to purchase the necessary amount and maintain the force, and because social pressure is making it so only whites can have that role. The Liberty Party is all to happy to continue this trend, as it causing many people to join their party as a result of the economic prosperity they are causing.
 
Chapter Twenty-Five: The U.S. Election of 1876
Chapter Twenty-Five: The U.S. Election of 1876
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A Republican political cartoon attacking Secretary of the Interior William "Boss" Tweed, Sickles' most notorious and hated cabinet member
With the election of 1876, the country's political favor seemed to have turned again. Due to the corruption of Sickles and the Democratic Party, many were switching to the Republican Party, which they viewed as more the less corrupt of the two. When the Democratic convention came, Sickles tried to angle for nomination to a third term. By now, however, the man who was once so popular as to overturn a incumbent president from the nomination was now ignored by his party. Hoping to avoid being associated with corruption, the Democrats nominated two men who were known to be in favor of reform, Samuel J. Tilden of New York for their presidential nomination, and Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware for the vice-presidential nomination.
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Samuel Tilden and Thomas Bayard

With the country now seemingly in their favor, the Republicans seemed ready and excited about the campaign. At first it seemed like Republican big-names like Maine Senator James G. Blaine, Vermont Senator George F. Edmunds, Illinois Senator John A. Logan, or Massachusetts Senator Henry L. Dawes were going to receive the nomination. But these men had spoken before the convention, and realized the importance of bringing the Midwest into their camp for the election, and realized a Midwesterner being their presidential nomination would be the best way to do this. This would leave Logan as seemingly the best candidate, but he stated that his previous association with the Democratic Party might hurt the campaign. With this in mind, the Republicans looked for a Midwesterner to receive their presidential nomination. Ultimately, former general and Ohio representative William B. Hazen would be chosen for their presidential nomination, with New York representative William A. Wheeler, a man known as the most uncorrupt American politician currently in congress, as his running mate.
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William B. Hazen and William A. Wheeler
The campaigning for this election seemed to be focused on proving or disproving the Democratic Party as a corrupt party, which forced the Democrats into fighting the campaign defensively, in a fairly weak position too. The Democratic attacks against the Republicans were weak, as they could not attack Hazen and Wheeler on corruption, as Hazen was rather new into the political field, and Wheeler had a stellar reputation. And while Tilden and Bayard might have personally been uncorrupt, it was almost undeniable at this point that the Democratic Party was extremely corrupt. The Republicans also attacked Democrats for the rise of political violence under their time in office, and their inept handling of western expansion. The power base which had brought the Democrats into power, the Midwest, also seemed to have shifted back into Republican hands over their general lack of Democratic attention to them, and how many a Midwesterner's desire to move west was dashed by Democratic rule.
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"The typical Democrat" a political cartoon created for and made famous by the election

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Another Republican political cartoon, this time attacking the increase of political violence under Sickles, with it depicting a Democratic declaration implying that if Tilden is not elected, more political violence will occur as retribution. A desperate Democratic hand reaches for a revolver to enforce this proclamation and commit more violence, but a Republican hand is stopping it from being cared out.
When the results came in, the three term streak of Republican losses was broken. William B. Hazen had been elected president with 167 electoral votes, while Tilden only managed to garner 95. Hazen would win Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, California, Nevada, Oregon, Minnesota, and Iowa. Tilden would carry New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Almost the entirety of the Midwest had gone for Hazen, with the exceptions of Michigan and Wisconsin, which had both narrowly gone to Tilden. Hazen's rise would see a resurgence of the Republican party, and would be about one of the greatest cross-nation duos of the 19th century.
 
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This Gordon guy sounds like a southern version of Teddy Roosevelt
He pretty much was, in OTL he was a famous for leading the 6th Alabama at Antitam at the 'Bloody Lane' (He was shot four times in that battle) and furthermore had the same type of charisma Teddy had in the terms of being larger than life, he also lived out the war to become the Govenor of Georgia and was elected to the U.S. senate twice.

His statue still stands in front of the state capitol.

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All in all he is someone who based on both OTL's political and military records I could easily see reaching the Confederate presidency.
 
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American Civil War Table
The American Civil War
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Clockwise from top: The Battle of Chickamauga, Union soldiers in their Philadelphia encampment ca. 1863, Confederate soldiers, ca. 1861, Union and Confederate casualties near Dunker Church from the Battle of Antietam ca. 1862, the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln ca. 1861, the Confederate assault on Washington D.C., the Confederate flag flying within Fort Sumter ca. 1861

Date: April 12, 1861 - May 9, 1865
Location: Southern United States, Northeastern United States, Western United States, Atlantic Ocean
Result: Confederate victory
  • United States recognizes the independence and sovereignty of the 12 states of their former union that declared independence and formed the Confederate States
  • United States capital moves to Philadelphia, PA
  • Confederate States are given the Indian and Arizona Territory
Belligerents
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United States
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Confederates States
Abraham Lincoln (Commander-in-Chief)
George H. Pendleton (Commander-in-Chief)
Winfield Scott
George B. McClellan
Henry Halleck
Ulysses S. Grant
George G. Meade †
William S. Rosecrans
Daniel Sickles
and others...
Jefferson Davis (Commander-in-Chief)
Robert E. Lee
Joseph E. Johnston
P.G.T. Beauregard
Albert S. Johnston †
Braxton Bragg †
George H. Thomas
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson
Edmund Kirby Smith

and others...
 
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Odan-Urr

Banned
Just finished reading this thread. Very plausible and somewhat unique PoD for a CSA victory. Looking forward to more.
 
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