The Hero of Arlington

And sad it is that so many others will be joining those in Valhalla as the was continues.
 
And sad it is that so many others will be joining those in Valhalla as the was continues.

Indeed many others will go to Valhalla, but the world they help shape will be one where their descendants can be proud to live under the Stars and Stripes.
 
Indeed many others will go to Valhalla, but the world they help shape will be one where their descendants can be proud to live under the Stars and Stripes.

One can hope.

The road to paradise is made of the blood of martyrs and the bones of heroes, and its a very long road.
 
One can hope.

The road to paradise is made of the blood of martyrs and the bones of heroes, and its a very long road.

Very true. A long, lonely, and a battered and bloody road indeed.

Well I look forward to the next update when you are able.
 
Here is a sneak peak at a future update

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Chapter 4


1862: A Look Back at the War


As of today, January 1st, 1862, the Civil War is at a stalemate. In only a year, the war had switched between favoring both sides. Even though it looked like the South will win, the tide will most likely turn to our favor and then back again until another nation intervenes. I mean look at Missouri. By the end of November, our entire army had caused that sly Fox Jackson to flee Jefferson City. And now a few weeks ago, Iron Man Beauregard had taken back the southern portion of the state. That battle was absolute Hell. I lost my good friend C.F. Adams [1] that day. I can still remember that bullet hitting him in the throat. However, it was because of him I went into battle and killed Polk. That gave me my recent promotion to Captain for my courageous actions. In Virginia, things are just the same. After kicking out Bragg’s army, he came back and is heading back for Seven Hills. May the lord have mercy by making sure this war does not stay a stalemate. If it does, I predict that this war of brothers will go on forever. Happy New Year Thomas.


- George Armstrong Custer.
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From The Union Forever
Santorum Printing, Vancouver, Cascadia, 1947
Chapter 6: The Confederacy Falls Apart


At the beginning of 1862, the Civil War was beginning to look like as if it were to go on forever, as stated in a letter of George A. Custer at the time. The outcome had swapped so many times in the first year alone that many people had given up the hope of victory. However, 1862 would end with the Confederacy in a state of disarray as the Confederacy starved to death.

The first major blow that year was the Second Battle of Seven Hills. As James Longstreet’s army was on the march to Lynchburg, Generals Lee, Sherman, and Jackson were planning on how to win the battle. Their plans were made, and on 10 January, 1862, the Army of Appalachia entered Lynchburg to find it abandoned. However, they were wrong and quickly ambushed by Lee’s army. From all sides they came and obliterated Longstreet’s forces, causing an average of 7 out of 10 of Longstreet and Bragg’s troops to perish. Longstreet retreated at his earliest opportunity while Bragg was captured by Iron Fist Jackson himself. Braxton Bragg was held for two weeks before he was exchanged for another Union General, W.H.L. Wallace, who was sent to Ohio to meet up with General John. C. Frémont to plan for another front in the war.


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W.H.L. Wallace


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Second Battle of Seven Hills
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From The American Story: A History of the United States
McDonald Publishing, 2011
Chapter 7: The Civil War

After the Second Battle of Seven Hills, the morale of the Confederates staggered. That was the moment when another front opened up. On 1 February, 1862, General George Meade and W.H.L. Wallace began the invasion of Kentucky with the Battle of Louisville. On the receiving end was former Vice President turned General John Brekinridge. This battle lasted for three days. On the first, General Meade was killed after his failed Burnside’s Charge that started the battle. After only an hour storming Louisville, Meade was shot by Major General James J. Pettigrew[2]. Meade was replaced with General John Reynolds, who ordered an artillery bombardment on the Confederate forces in the city. On the second day, forces under General Wallace crossed the Ohio and approached the city from the East while forces under Major General John. C. Frémont also crossed the Ohio and approached from the west. Finally, on 3 February, the Union struck the city, killing most of the Confederate troops in the city along with Breckinridge. As the sun set that day, the Stars and Stripes flew over the ruins of Louisville City Hall. The death toll to get that goal accomplished was brutal. A total of 40,120 troops perished that day with 70 percent of it being on the Union side. Several months later, President Lincoln visited the bombed out city and delivered his famous Louisville Address on Independence Day, 1862.

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Abraham Lincoln delivering his Louisville Address
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From The Guns of the South by T. J. Whitman
University of Illinois Press, 1963
Chapter 3: Major Setbacks


As the news of defeat at Seven Hills and the opening of a new front in Kentucky, President Davis started to crack under pressure and stress caused by his cabinet. His first proclamation of the year, the Southern Proclamation, claimed that through the hard work and determination of the Anglo-Saxon man, that the South would prevail. It was meant to be a morale booster, but Davis knew that it would take a miracle to get there. Once again, he called back Iron Man Beauregard and began to demand that they start to go after high profile generals such as Grant and Lee. After that, Beauregard was dismissed and sent back to the Western front. On 3 March, Beauregard went into battle at Jefferson and personally shot the now crippled Grant in the head, killing him instantly. Confused, the Confederates took the advantage until Major General William T. Sherman, having been reassigned to St. Louis to oversee fresh recruits, took over and stormed Beauregard’s forces. Beauregard quickly ordered a retreat to Tennessee. By 6 March, the Union had taken control of Missouri and were planning an attack on Arkansas and Tennessee.
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From The Iron Fist, a Biography by Robert L. Jones III
Wilson Publications, Richmond, VA, 1962



In 1862, Iron Fist Jackson had been promoted to Major General, and was not finished yet. After the Second Battle of Seven Hills, Lee took the offensive once again. By 15 March, the last Confederate stronghold, Danville, had fallen. Now, Iron Fist was on the move. On 1 April, the Army of Chesapeake Bay invaded North Carolina, quickly capturing Greensboro. From there, Jackson came up with a new idea - use the railroads to cut off communications with each other, causing the South to fall apart. On 14 April, Iron Fist Jackson began his Tennessee Campaign, quickly destroying the railroads as he went to battle. It all went smooth until he reached Greeneville on 23 April. There Iron Fist found an army under Lieutenant General D.H. Hill [3] waiting for him. The Battle of Greeneville lasted for fifteen hours and ended in a Union victory. Once Greeneville was secure in Union hands, the locals seceded from the state of Tennessee and reformed the State of Franklin. President Lincoln and most of Congress approved it and on 1 May, 1862, Franklin was admitted to the Union as the 35th state with Andrew Johnson set up as governor.

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State of Franklin Highlighted in Red


With the South on the down turn, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation one month after the Battle of Greeneville. Stating that all slaves were now free, it announced to the world that the Union’s goal was to end slavery and reunite the continent. At this same time, President Lincoln approved Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan, a blockade of the South. Beginning on 9 May, the South was now cut off from outside imports, crippling the economy, beginning the “Withering of the South.” This along with the pillaging the army was doing would decimate the South with disease and starvation.
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From “The American Republic”
Littel Hill Publishing, Greeneville, Franklin, 1962


As victory was occurring in the East, tragedy had struck the West with the sudden death of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. Now under the command of William T. Sherman, the Army of Missouri began its march South beginning in the Summer. The first of June saw the invasion of Arkansas. Just like the other invasions, the border quickly fell. However, General Sherman ordered raids and pillaging on farms to destroy the morale of the Southern people, a method that would become popular amongst other Generals such as Iron Fist Jackson and Meade.

In Arkansas, there was not much resistance met until the Battle of Little Rock [4] on 21 June. Once again facing off against the Army of the Mississippi, the battle destroyed most of the city, but ended in Union victory and the death of Albert Sidney Johnston. Beauregard’s forces fled to Memphis and regrouped.


In North Carolina, General Lee was making significant progress with invading the Carolinas, having captured the cities of Raleigh and Charlotte by 1 July, crippling the Confederacy’s industrial capacity. This, along with the troops' pillaging of infrastructure and crops would decimate the South with disease. When the Confederacy surrendered in 1863, the population had dropped from 9 million in 1860 to 8.05 million people from outbreaks of cholera, smallpox, and starvation.


[1] Charles Francis Adams II, Great-grandson of John Adams


[2] Parallel of Gettysburg, except with Meade getting killed in TTL by Pettigrew, and replaced by John Reynolds, who died at Gettysburg in OTL


[3] Daniel Harvey Hill, a lesser known Confederate General


[4] Parallel to Battle of Shiloh
 
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Just caught up,. Forgot to subscribe the first time, sorry.

Would Pickett still go for the Confederacy even though he was a Virginian?

Things are looking a lot bleaker for the Confederacy compared to OTL. Not sure how well they will hold on without outside help. The figures of the die off may not hold up to a faster Reconstruction post war.
 
Just caught up,. Forgot to subscribe the first time, sorry.

Would Pickett still go for the Confederacy even though he was a Virginian?

Things are looking a lot bleaker for the Confederacy compared to OTL. Not sure how well they will hold on without outside help. The figures of the die off may not hold up to a faster Reconstruction post war.

Thanks for catching me there on Pickett. I changed him out with J. Johnston Pettigrew. Go back and check. As for the Confederacy in TTL, expect a combination of OTL's CSA and Germany at the end of World War II when they finally surrender
 
Thanks for catching me there on Pickett. I changed him out with J. Johnston Pettigrew. Go back and check. As for the Confederacy in TTL, expect a combination of OTL's CSA and Germany at the end of World War II when they finally surrender

Glad to be of help. It will makes things interesting in the Chinese sense with what may happen post war and the repercussions of the occupation.

Might we see the CSA states broken up to or parts awarded to the victors?
 
Glad to be of help. It will makes things interesting in the Chinese sense with what may happen post war and the repercussions of the occupation.

Might we see the CSA states broken up to or parts awarded to the victors?

I have something along that that line in mind
 
Despite the fact that it means that Robert E Lee is on the side of the victors (probably) in this history, I still have to say: poor Lee.

Given the South's many strategic/tactical errors even with Lee+Jackson, I cannot see how the US Civil War can last beyond 1863, assuming the Western campaign goes as planned. And Lee would have definitely made better use of the Union army than what McDowell, McClellan etc. did OTL.

And that would mean that for Lee+Jackson, their chance at eternal fame will pass them by. Sure, their names wouldn't be obscure, but they'd probably be at a level of recognition equal to Winfield Scott-definitely not the larger-than-life heroes that they are today.

Of course we also have to note that a faster Union victory would mean no Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's goal was to unite the USA, with abolition of slavery a distant second in his priorities. A quick victory may well have stayed his hand, as he would see the need to avoid antagonizing the South further.
 
Despite the fact that it means that Robert E Lee is on the side of the victors (probably) in this history, I still have to say: poor Lee.

Given the South's many strategic/tactical errors even with Lee+Jackson, I cannot see how the US Civil War can last beyond 1863, assuming the Western campaign goes as planned. And Lee would have definitely made better use of the Union army than what McDowell, McClellan etc. did OTL.

And that would mean that for Lee+Jackson, their chance at eternal fame will pass them by. Sure, their names wouldn't be obscure, but they'd probably be at a level of recognition equal to Winfield Scott-definitely not the larger-than-life heroes that they are today.

Of course we also have to note that a faster Union victory would mean no Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln's goal was to unite the USA, with abolition of slavery a distant second in his priorities. A quick victory may well have stayed his hand, as he would see the need to avoid antagonizing the South further.

Lincoln did announce an Emancipation Proclamation back in Chapter 4. Go check it out.
 
Oops, my mistake. Sorry.

I still think the point stands. In OTL the Emancipation Proclamation was announced after Antietam and the clear failure of the Peninsula Campaign to produce the quick defeat of the CSA everybody was hoping for. In that sense it was a strategic document, designed to sap away Southern power so shorten a war that still seemed very far away from being won.

But here... the Union has crushed the Confederates all along the line. Everybody expects the war to be over soon (obviously whether it actually does is another question). Given this, I really can't see how the Emancipation Proclamation would work. Lincoln in his 1861 Inaugural Address stated clearly that he had no intention of interfering with slavery. I can only imagine the number of Democrats pouncing on him should he renege on this promise a mere year later, saying that Lincoln's trying to 'prolong the war by scapegoating the South' or something. It wouldn't have been politically possible, just as slavery wouldn't have been abolished had the South collapsed in the crucial year of 1862.

But then again, your timeline, so whatever you want I guess. I'll still be reading :D
 
Chapter 5


From The Union Forever
Santorum Printing, Vancouver, Cascadia, 1947


In the summer of 1862, the Confederacy was losing the war and it was apparent that by this time next year, the Confederacy and slavery would be no more. In Kentucky, General James J. Pettigrew was holding out in Frankfort, and Wallace’s army was on the march. On 4 July, Independence Day, Union forces attacked Frankfort. The Confederates fought bravely to defend the city, throwing everything they had at the invaders. In the end, it paid off and the Union forces retreated after the death of 1,500 troops and Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston. From there, General Pettigrew marched to Paducah to intercept Wallace’s army once again. On 10 July, the Battle of Paducah began. However, this battle would end in a Union victory. General Pettigrew was badly wounded in his left arm, leading to its amputation. Without a proper commanded and starving from the Anaconda Plan, Bragg’s forces surrendered. 10,00 troops were taken prisoner that day, but a loyal group of 20 soldiers took an injured Pettigrew to Jackson, Tennessee. Beaten, Pettigrew was a broken, depressed man after Paducah. After taking on heavy drinking, he died on 21 July, 1862, from what can be possibly be connected to liver failure.

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James Pettigrew 10 Days before the Battle of Paducah


In the Western Front, General William T. Sherman had conquered all of Arkansas North of the Arkansas River. On 14 July, the one year anniversary of the First Battle of Seven Hills, Sherman announced his “March to the Sea.”


“Today we shall begin our long march. I declare that on Christmas Day, the Stars and Stripes will fly over New Orleans. At the end of this year, our long stride of triumph will split the rebels into two. From our March, we will help to end the war between brothers once and for all!”
- William T. Sherman 14 July, 1862
At the end of his speech, the crowds of soldiers were cheering his name, anxious to start, hoping that it would be easy. They were wrong. By Christmas Day, 1862, only 20,000 out of the 75,000 troops that began the March to the Sea would be alive.


In the east, General Lee had secured western North Carolina and was on the march to Wilmington to destroy one of the last major industrial bases in the South. Lee attacked the port on 21 July, where General James Longstreet was waiting to strike. The two forces clashed on the outskirts of the city for one day until Lee decimated the defenses. However, Lee did not rush to capture Longstreet, who fled to Montgomery with 500 of his remaining troops.
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The Death of Jefferson Davis
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Once Longstreet had retreated to Montgomery, the Anaconda plan was in full effect. The lack of available food had caused mass starvation, leading people to turn to desperate actions such as eating rats, which led to an outbreak of cholera and smallpox in the Deep South. On 1 August, 1862, James Longstreet and his troops entered what looked like a decimated hellhole. Riots over food along with disease had taken out a chunk of the population of the capital, and left a majority of the building in town abandoned and looted. Things like this were happening all over the coastal cities, which was only worsened by the occasional bombardment from Union ships. By Christmas 1862, about 25% of the coastal population had fled inland to cities such as Atlanta and Birmingham.


The General and his troops had entered the Capital Building only to find President Davis passed out in his office, ridden with smallpox. Longstreet took the President to a nearby hotel and sat by as Davis withered away. Finally, on 4 August, 1862, President Jefferson Davis passed away at the age of 54. Vice President Alexander Stephens was inaugurated the next day as the Second President of the Confederate States. President Stephens needed a Secretary of War, a position which was given to Longstreet as his predecessor, Judah P. Benjamin, ascended to the Vice Presidency. Stephens vowed to fight on until his death, publicly sending a telegram to his troops on his second day as President.

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Alexander Stephens, 2nd President of the Confederate States
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From The Iron Fist, a Biography by Robert L. Jones III
Wilson Publications, Richmond, VA, 1962


In Tennessee, Iron Fist Jackson was on the march. By 4 July, 1862, Chattanooga and Nashville had fallen and had met up with Wallace’s troops. There they decided to invade Mississippi to make sure the Confederates would be completely surrounded. On 1 August, they invaded Tupelo, Mississippi after capturing Memphis. They quickly captured it, but were met with fierce resistance from Iron Man Beauregard in Chickasaw County exactly two weeks after invading the state. The Battle of Chickasaw was a decisive Confederate victory. However, this was not to be the end of the battles in Mississippi When the Union army was pushed back to Corinth, Iron Fist decided to strike. On 2 September, the Battle of Corinth began. The four day siege became the longest battle in the Civil War. From the rubble, the Union victory rose as the Iron Fist broke Iron Man Beauregard’s lines into two. Fighting to the last thousand, Beauregard fled to New Orleans for a final stand against Sherman. By the end of November, the Iron Fist Army, as Jackson’s army had been known as, sieged Jackson, the state capital.


In December, Sherman’s army had reached the city of Alexandria, which fell on 5 December. Iron Man Beauregard and General Braxton Bragg threw everything they had at Sherman’s army. On 10 December, the two armies clashed at Baton Rouge. Starvation, along with a lack of supplies lead to the quick demise of the Confederate Army. Two weeks later on Christmas Eve, New Orleans had been surrounded and assaulted. The Battle of New Orleans went through the night. As the sun rose on Christmas Day, 1862, the white flag of surrender was flying over the city. Sherman had met his deadline of splitting the Confederacy into two on Christmas Day 1862. Entering the city, Sherman and his second in command, General Jeb Stuart captured the remaining thousand troops, but they found Iron Man Beauregard dead on Bourbon Street and Bragg was missing. However, Bragg had fled to Montgomery during the night. At the end of the day, Sherman sent a telegram to Lincoln, stating “For Christmas, I present to you the city of New Orleans.” Cut off from the rest of the Confederacy, Texas Governor Francis Lubbock surrendered his state to the Union army. On New Years Day, 1863, troops under Brigadier General George A. Custer entered Texas and arrested Lubbock, along with installing Sam Houston as the military Governor. With the West gone, President Stephens and his cabinet knew that it was only a matter of time until Lee and Iron Fist were at the doorsteps of the Capitol Building. The end was near...

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The Siege of New Orleans

 
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If you're killing off U.S. Grant, I hope to god you find something to do with Thomas. Even if there's not much room for him to make a name for himself, give him one really memorable performance and/or mind-bogglingly crushing victory.
EDIT: Thomas being George Henry Thomas.
 
Just caught up with Chapter 5. Lots of action, death, and changes have come to the South. Once things calm down will begin ths drawn out events to what may happen to those that served in the CSA.
 
Chapter 6
The Fall of the Confederate States


1863 was the last year of the Civil War. On New Years Day, only the Deep South remained in rebel hands. However, that was not to last. Forces under Major General George H. Thomas and Colonel George Custer set off to capture the Gulf Coast. There, another last stand was to be found from Major General Earl Van Dorn. The Seven Days Battle started on 4 January. From Gulfport to Pensacola, Florida they fought. The only major battle the Confederates won was the Battle of Mobile, but retreated the next day when the people rioted and Union ships were bombarding Confederate encampments. Finally, on 11 January, 1863, Van Dorn surrendered to George H. Thomas in Pensacola, Florida.


With the Gulf Coast under Union control, Alexander Stephens and his cabinet that surrender was within one month. Most, such as Stephens and Longstreet, accepted that they were going to be captured and were going to hold out until the city burned. One man, Vice President Judah P. Benjamin, decided to flee through Mexico. On 12 January, Benjamin fled to Mexico through Texas. However, he was caught in the city of El Paso ten days after he fled. He was then sent to Fort Moultrie in Charleston, SC, which had fallen to Lee on 2 January.


Back in the West, Iron Fist Jackson had taken Atlanta a week after Charleston fell. With the war drawing to a close, Stephens decided to take drastic actions. On 14 January, he issued an executive order to all his troops stating that all slaves were to be conscripted and plantation owners’ properties seized for materials. Confederate troops under Bragg began clearing out the nearby area around Montgomery. By March, 40 percent of all plantations in Alabama, Mississippi, and southern Georgia had been seized and most of their slaves conscripted into his army. Unfortunately, they were to be used as front line shields, leading to the death of 40 percent of the blacks in Bragg’s army.


On 12 March, 1863, the second to final battle took place at Smiths Station, Alabama. The battle lasted for twelve hours until Bragg surrendered to Lee. Bragg was taken prisoner and incarcerated at Fort Moultrie, where the rest of the Confederate government would be held until a trial could be held. On 7 April, 1863, Montgomery was surrounded. Vowing to fight to the end, General John C. Brekinridge and James Longstreet threw everything at Sherman and Jackson’s armies, but due to low morale and rations, the troops rebelled, killing Breckinridge in the process. Angered, Alexander Stephens went on an insane rampage, shooting his Cabinet for the troops rebelling. until he was killed by Longstreet, who declared himself President and officially surrendered to the United States on 8 April, 1863. With that, Longstreet and the remaining cabinet members, Stephen Mallory and Thomas Bragg, were taken to Charleston to await their future


The Future
The Civil War had ended with between 800,000 and 1 million dead (civilian and military), along with the South decimated. During the war, new laws were made as Lincoln passed through the Transcontinental Railroad Act, something that could not have been done with the South. On 1 May, Abraham Lincoln pardoned everyone held in Fort Moultrie. Some, such as Thomas and Braxton Bragg, went into retirement from the public scene. Others, such as Judah P. Benjamin and James Longstreet, were active in helping rebuild. Benjamin became military governor of the newly created state of West Florida [1], and Longstreet became the military governor of Florida. The next few months after that would also see the creation of the Arizona, Shoshone [2], Deseret [3], Jefferson [4], and Nebraska territories.



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Map of the World circa 1863. Light blue = states. Dark blue = occupied/territories.


[1] Gulf coast of Alabama and Mississippi, plus western Florida and Louisiana up to the Mississippi, minus Baton Rouge

[2] Southern half of Idaho

[3 & 4] Desired names for the territories. In TTL, Lincoln decided to go by the people’s will.
 
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