The Chairmen: A History of Pennsylvania Through its Leaders

I wonder if Vermont would join British North America in this TL. I've read it was talked about in the 1780s-90s and it might come up as an option to halt any New York or New Hampshire encroachment.

Also, will the independent nations be able to hold all of the Old Northwest? The British still held many forts there after the Revolutionary War OTL, and here there is no longer a unified government to force them out. So will New York actually get the chance to colonize its lands on Lake Michigan?

This is a great time line and I look forward to more.
 
Both issues will be explored soon. I haven't decided what to do with Vermont exactly yet, it will actually take center stage twice, the first time before the next election. Fairly certain on what is going to happen that time around. Indeed, though, the reason it comes back is tied in directly with British North America and meddling elsewhere. Unfortunately, that'll be upwards of 10 updates away.

I have the next chapter all planned out, I just haven't found the motivation to type it up. See, I used to write on Tuesdays and Thursdays, the same days I had my "History of American Music" class. We were on the music of the late 1700s early 1800s, and it was great to set the mood for writing tis, but now we've moved past it, to country music no less, yuck!
 
Just saying this isn't dead, an update will be along within a week or so I think. Also want to ask, been working on some maps, if I posted it in the map thread, warning of spoilers, would anyone have a problem. (It's from 1825, so a good 30 years ahead of where we are)
 
Chapter Four: The Ohio War (Part I)

Fortunately for the statesmen of Pennsylvania, as frequently happens, all was not as bad as it first appeared. While the bickering continued in Philadelphia, General Harmar's force finished assembling, some 400 men were ready to march upon Fort St. Clair. The fort was still occupied by a small band of natives, about 50. For the most part the main attacking party had moved on, dispersing back into the territory. While they were heading home to the villages further North, they took the opportunity to harass any the came upon, though how it was handled varied from encounter to encounter. Most soldiers and settlers West of the Sieoto River at the very least had one close call of some sort. The places that had regular contact with the fort noticed something was wrong, and usually sent messengers, both to the fort, and later back East when the messengers were not heard from again.


Around noon on August 21, one week after the attack, Harmar's force approached the fort. A small battle ensued, leading to roughly 30 casualties for the Pennsylvanians in exchange for a third as many natives injured. The garrison knew they were so vastly outnumbered they had no chance of holding, and thus conducted a fighting withdrawl. Their purpose was only to bloody up the arriving troops anyway. After only twenty minutes the fight was over.


The soldiers held in place while setting up expanded defenses in the area and surrounding settlements. Cincinnati had been relatively overlooked by the small force at the fort, and ignored by the victorious men marching North, though the residents were quite shaken. Communication and organization among the various Western units were restored to workable levels and General Harmar consolidated his forces, sending a second message to Philadelphia soon after the battle assuring the politicians that the situation was under control, for now.


The National Assembly had calmed somewhat by the time Harmar's message arrived. On August 22 they had decided upon Bradford's replacement, Albert Gallatin. Gallatin was a Swiss immigrant banker who was a staunch supporter of the Confederalists. In the time of crisis it was decided that Pennsylvania needed someone who had some serious organizational skills, and Gallatin looked to be the right man for the job. His political leanings were but an added bonus, some Confederalists wondered why he had been passed up for consideration in the first place. He was quickly confirmed Minister of the Executive, the process having set several precedents, such as the Assembly's lack of weekend breaks unless voted upon by the members, something that would never be voted for in the face of an emergency.


The delay also allowed the debate on the appropriate response to attack time to settle down. Unfortunately, the Assembly could still not decide. In the end, a sort of compromise was chosen, though it was not seen as such. Both diplomats and soldiers would be sent, marching North along the rivers. It would be up to the chiefs of the villages they encounters to decide what to do. The Pennsylvanians hoped if they mustered a large enough force, the natives would believe it was futile to attack. Many still wanted to attack out of retribution, but cooler heads recognized that Pennsylvania was in no shape to fight major engagements at the moment. Minister of War Hartley almost resigned during the debates out of embarrassment when the state of the military was fully exposed, but was convinced to stay on, as the situation would be even worse without him. Still, in the near future a major reorganization would be needed.


Extra forces are drawn from the populated areas of Pennsylvania, adding to what Harmar already had at his disposal. After rallying at Fort St. Clair, the party sets out up the Miami River, not counting the non-combatants, they total a few men shy of 1000. All of this had taken some time, time enough for the Western Confederacy's scouts to notice the build up. Around 1500 warriors were able to assemble to match the Pennsylvanian advance. They moved quickly, unlike the slow units under Harmar's command that were unused to marching, and to fighting, on such landscapes.


At the Easternmost point of the Miami River the Confederacy lay in ambush. The first formation to enter the ambush was utterly annihilated. However, the units behind them reacted quickly, regrouping and forming a makeshift battle line amongst the trees. Then, slowly advancing, they engaged the opposing force as best they could. The natives still had a superior position, though, and thus were able to inflict significant casualties before falling back with minimal losses of their own. They had not lost by any means, but now was not the time for up close fighting. The chiefs had decided it was best to repeat this tactic until the Pennsylvanians bogged down.


General Harmar did indeed pause. Taking stock of his forces after the battle, more then one fifth of his force was now unusable for upcoming battles, he decided to fall back to the relative safety of Fort St. Clair. The weather was getting colder, and there was a real possibility of being caught out in the wilderness during the winter, there would have to be a second attempt come spring.​

(I broke this into two sections, despite being smaller then the others, sections, for a few reason. If this was all together, the chapter would have been much bigger then the others, though.)
 
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