Chapter LVIII: Lead up to September
The July 20th armistice gave both the British and the American navies a small respite. But this would not be the same for the rest of their militaries. On the island of Cuba the American Marines continued their campaign across the island, looking to take control. They were met with resistance from loyal Spaniards. Their only assistance on the island were African slaves.
The US had abolished slavery just a year before, and although the newly ended institution was causing some social problems in the deep south, it would prove to be most useful in Cuba. The Marines would arrive at a plantation, locate the owner in his home, and tell him that all his slaves were now freed. This would cause much hatred among the local populace. Some would join insurgency groups, others would flee to Puerto Rico or New Spain. The newly freed slaves would be “hired” (given food) by the US military in Cuba to build fortifications. This lead the British to sending agents into Cuba, offering the slaves freedom and property after the war if they rose up against the Americans. Some groups of slaves did this, which made it difficult for the American marines to know which groups of slaves they could trust.
Meanwhile, up in the Pacific North-west, fighting had been going on for the better part of a decade between American and British settlers. During the armistice both sides would begin stationing more forces along the borders between British North America and the United States. In the new Indian territory the British would sent agents as well to speak to the tribes and offer them more land and freedom in exchange for rising up against the United States. Some of the tribes became receptive to this message, while others had actually become quite dogmatically loyal to the US government. Other tribes remained neutral. The saddest stories were of the tribes that broke out into civil war over divided loyalties.
In Upper Massachusetts there were more problems. Upper Massachusetts, known as Maine by most of its residents, were under political control of Massachusetts. Despite having very different economies, the government in Lower Massachusetts would not grant Upper Massachusetts independence. Of the population of Maine, about three quarters of them wanted Maine to be independent. Of that group, about a third wanted to separate from Massachusetts but remain within the United States. Another third wanted complete independence from Massachusetts and the United States, and were willing to side with the British to achieve it. The last third just wanted independence from Massachusetts, and would take it within the union, or without it. Communities in Maine began having debates on whether or not to stay in the Union, or join the British. On August 23rd shots would be fired in Augusta between pro and anti-Union mobs. Upper Massachusetts would erupt into civil war, which the British would take full advantage of.
As the sun rose on September 1st, and the American flag still flew above Havana, everyone knew that the war would go on. But no one was quite sure who would win.
