The Revenge of the Crown : An Alternate 1812 and Beyond.

[Sarthak]

The Revenge of the Crown : An Alternate 1812 and Beyond.

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Chapter 1: History Made at Queenston Heights.

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“This is the first time I’ve ever seen the 49th turn their backs! Surely the heroes of Egmont will not tarnish their record!” – Sir Isaac Brock.

“The War of 1812, or as it is known in British North America, as the War of American Aggression, or as it is known in the United States, the War of National Humiliation, is a peculiar war. Why it started is itself subject to multiple debates. The American claim that the British were conscripting and impressing Americans into the Royal Navy was without a doubt, true. However the British claim that the Americans used this as an excuse to invade and conquer the Crown Colonies of Upper and Lower Canada are also valid in their argument, as even the moderates in the American government, such as James Monroe and Henry Clay wished to atleast gain Upper Canada in the aftermath of the war.

Nonetheless, war was declared on 18th June, 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. However, the vast majority of British resources were then, being funneled into Europe, with the sole intention of bringing French domination of the European continent to heel, along with their emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. The majority of the veteran, and professional British troops were fighting in Iberia against the French invasion of Spain and Portugal under the command of the Iron Duke, the future Duke of Wellington. The Royal Navy was undertaking a feat that had never been seen before; the blockade of an entire continent. Under the Duke of Wellington, the British Army continued to advance in Iberia, and under famous admirals, the Royal Navy affirmed British naval dominance in the Atlantic and the North Sea. Because of this, Britain had precious little to spare to fight against their once colony. Nonetheless, the American attacks against British North America were nothing more than embarrassments to the American nation. They initially gained a foothold in Upper Canada and managed to create a fear of absorption into the United States among the people of the Canadian populace, many of whom were descendants of the loyalist American population who had fled from America into Canada after America won their independence with the aid of France, Netherlands and Spain.

Sir Isaac Brock. ​

During the early stages of the War of 1812, one Sir Isaac Brock received a lot of attention. Major General Isaac Brock was both civil administrator of Upper Canada, and the commander of the military forces stationed there. He was an aggressive commander, and his successful capture of Detroit through deception had won him praise, the reputation as the ‘Savior of Upper Canada’ and a knighthood that he would find out he received after the Battle of Queenston Heights. However his superior at Quebec, General Sir George Prevost was of a more cautious bent, and two clashed with each other over strategy frequently.

Sir George Prevost. ​

Brock had hastened back from Detroit, intending to cross into the Niagara, defeat Van Rensselaer before he would be reinforced and occupy Upper New York State. Prevost vetoed this plan, ordering Brock to behave more defensively. Not only was Prevost concerned with Brock’s apparently rash actions, but he was also aware that the British government had revoked several orders in council which affected American merchant ships, and thus removed some of the stated causes of the war. He believed that peace negotiations might result and did not wish to prejudice any talks by taking offensive action. He opened negotiations with General Dearborn, and arranged local armistices. The US government rejected Prevost’s approach, and ordered Dearborn ‘to proceed with utmost rigor in your operations’ after giving Prevost notice of the resumption of hostilities.

While Brock had been at Detroit, Major General Sheaffe had been in command of the troops on the Niagara. Acting under Prevost’s orders, Sheaffe had concluded an armistice with Colonel Van Rensselaer on 20th August, and had gone even further than Prevost’s orders by voluntarily restricting the movement of British troops and supplies. Brock returned to the Niagara on the 22nd, to find the armistice in effect. The terms of the armistice allowed the use of the river by both powers as a common waterway and Brock could only watch as American reinforcements and supplies were moved to Van Rensselaer’s army, without being able to take action to prevent it. The armistice ended on September 8, by which time, Van Rensselaer’s army was considerably better supplied than before. On October 9th, Van Rensselaer’s army tried to cross the Niagara in coordination with the troops of Alexander Smyth who was ordered to strike at Fort Erie. Nonetheless, this crossing failed as Smyth did not attack Fort Erie, and the small crossing attempt was repulsed handily by the Redcoats and Van Rensselaer stopped the crossings immediately after he heard the failure of Smyth to attack Fort Erie.

Alexander Smyth. ​

Brock was made aware of the failed attempt at a crossing on 11th October, but he was not certain whether this was mere distraction. On 12th October, Major Thomas Evans crossed the Niagara River under a flag of truce to exchange prisoners with the American forces. He attempted to see Colonel Van Rensselaer but was told that the Colonel was sick. Instead he was met by a man named Toock, who claimed to be the Colonel’s secretary. It was later discerned that Toock was Major John Lovett in disguise, and he repeatedly told Evans that no exchange could arranged until the ‘day after tomorrow’. Evans caught this repetition of the phrase, and spotted several boats hidden under bushes along the shore. He deduced that a crossing was planned for the 13th of October, however when he returned to the Canadian side of the river, found himself ridiculed with mockery and laughter. However Brock, took Evans aside, and after a meeting, was convinced of the possibility of a crossing. That evening he dispatched several orders to the militia to assemble. On 13th October, Brock was at his headquarters in Niagara, Major General Sheaffe was at Fort George nearby with the main British force. There were other British detachments at Queenston, Chippawa and Fort Erie……” A Biography of Sir Isaac Brock, Oxford University, 2002.

“The village of Queenston consisted of a stone barrack and 20 houses each surrounded by a garden and peach orchards. Several farmhouses were scattered through the neighboring fields and pastures. The village lay at the mouth of the gorge of the River Niagara. Immediately south of the village, the ground rose 300 feet to Queenston Heights. The slope from the heights to the river bank was very steep but overgrown with shrubs and trees making it fairly easy to climb. Lewiston was on the American side of the river with the ground to its south rising to Lewiston Heights. The river was fast flowing and 200 yards wide, but was described as being little trouble to even the indifferent oarsman. The British detachment at Queenston consisted of the grenadier company of the 49th Regiment of the Foot under Captain James Dennis, a flank company of the 2nd Regiment of the York Militia under Captain George Chrisholm, and a detachment of the 41st Regiment of the Foot with a 3 pounder grasshopper cannon. The light company of the 49th under Captain John Williams was posted in huts on top of the hill. Meanwhile, an 18 pounder gun and a mortar were placed in a redan halfway up the heights that would be able to cover the riverline and a 24 pounder gun and a carronade were placed in a barbette in Vrooman’s Point, about a mile north of the village, guarded by companies of the 5th Regiment of the Lincoln Militia under Colonel Samuel Hatt. 2 more companies of the York Militia under Captain’s Cameroon and Heward were stationed three miles to the north covering the British flanks. The remaining local militia of the 5th Lincoln Militia were not on duty but were positioned in a manner that could be assembled in a very short notice.

Battle of Queenston Heights. ​

Meanwhile the American forces involved were the 6th, 13th and 23rd US regiments of infantry with detachments of the US Artillery serving as infantry. The 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Regiments of the New York Militia and a volunteer battalion of 900 regulars and 2650 militia were also present. Because of the fact that the US Army was being rapidly expanded, most of the regulars at Lewiston were recent recruits, and Van Rensselaer considered the miltiamen’s drill and doctrine to be superior to that of the regulars. The Americans also had 14 boats, 12 of which could hold 30 men each and 2 of which could hold 80 men each. A last minute squabble over seniority and precedence led to the command of the first landing party being split as well. Colonel Van Rensselaer led the militia contingent and Lieutenant Colonel John Chrystie of the 13th US Infantry led the regulars.

At about 4 a.m. the Americans began crossing the Niagara River on 13th October. 3 boats, including Chrystie’s boats were swept downstream by the current. One landed downstream and the other two, including Chrystie’s landed on the American side of the river. About a few minutes later, the remaining 10 boats under Colonel Van Rensselaer began landing at the village. A British sentry noticed them, and instead of shooting his musket to inform the Americans that they had been spotted, the sentry ran to Dennis’s headquarters to inform the Captain about the crossing. After waiting and observing the American crossing for a few minutes, Dennis’s troops began firing rolling accurate volleys into the Americans in the midst of them coming ashore, firing low so as to inflict debilitating wounds. Colonel Van Rensselaer was hit in the thigh by a musket ball as soon as he stepped out of his boat on the Canadian shore. As he tried to form up his troops and rally them, he was promptly hit 5 more times in the thigh, heel and calf, and though he survived he spent the rest of the battle out of action, weak from his wounds and blood loss. Captain John E. Wool of the 13th US Infantry took over command to retain the American foothold on the Canadian shore.

As this was going on, the British guns opened fire in the direction of the American landing stage at Lewiston and the American guns opened fire at Queenston village. Dennis’s troops were then driven back into the village but kept firing from the shelter of the houses inflicting losses on the American side. As the light grew, the British guns became more and more accurate. As a second wave of 6 American boats began to cross the river, 3 of these boats, including one which carried Lieutenant Colonel Chrystie, panicked as they came under fire. The crews promptly turned the boats around and made a break for the American shore, despite Chrystie’s attempts to stop the crews from doing so. This later caused controversy when Captain Lawrence, commanding one of the boats that did not turn around, asserted that Chrystie had ordered him to turn around and retreat leading to accusations of cowardice being throw at the Lieutenant Colonel. One of the four remaining boats was sunk by fire from the 3 pounder grasshopper and a trio of others, carrying Lieutenant Colonel John Fenwick and 80 men, drifted downstream and landed in Hamilton Cove, around 800 yards downriver, where a detachment of the York and Lincoln Militia quickly surrounded Fenwick’s men. A blistering fire was opened upon the US infantry; Fenwick was grievously wounded in the face of a pistol shot, also receiving musket balls into his right side and thigh. Their boats being destroyed by musket fire, their comrades dying, killed or wounded, the American troops under Fenwick quickly surrendered. The last of the four boats drifted to easy range of the gun at Vrooman’s point and it’s occupants surrendered….” A Military History of the War of 1812, University of Cambridge, 2015.

“At Fort George, Brock had been awakened by the noise of the artillery at Queenston. As he considered that the attack might be a diversion, he ordered only a few detachments to move to Queenston, but galloped there himself alongside some aides, one of whom advised Brock to leave the sash given to him by Tecumseh at the Fort stating that the sash made him susceptible to sharpshooters. Brock followed this advice. Brock passed into the village as dawn broke, being cheered by the men of the 49th, who knew him well, and moved up to the redan to get a better view.

Atop the redan, Brock backtracked immediately as he saw the amount of American troops at Lewiston. He immediately dispatched a messenger back to Fort George asking Major General Sheaffe to come with the main British forces to Queenston immediately. Seeing the sheer amount of American troops and logistical columns, Brock became sure that the attack was not diversionary in nature. The 18 pounder gun and the howitzer were causing great damage amongst the American boats. Since coming ashore, an hour and a half earlier, the US Forces were pinned down along the river. Prompted by Lieutenant Ganesvoot of the US Artillery who knew the area well, the wounded Colonel Van Rensselaer ordered captains Wool and Ogilvie to take a detachment upstream and ‘ascend the heights by the point of the rock and storm the battery.’ The redan had very troops guarding it, the light company of the 49th having been ordered from the heights into the village in support of Dennis and the grenadier company. Wool’s troops attacked about after half an hour after Brock arrived, forcing his small party to flee into the village after quickly spiking the guns rendering them unable to be used.

Colonel MacDonell leading the attack at the heights. ​

Carefully assessing his situation, Brock ordered the elements of Dennis’s company to move up the hill and recapture the redan, or at least try to do so. Despite being a lawyer by trade and experience, Lieutenant-Colonel MacDonell led the attempt to retake the redan, together with Captain Williams whilst Brock led the rest of the militia on a diversionary attack on the flanks of the hill to pin the Americans on the hill down. MacDonell and Williams commanded around 80 to 90 men and advanced towards the redan. American Captain Wool had been reinforced by more troops who had made it across the plains and the hill, and MacDonell faced around 400 troops in total. Despite the daunting numerical difference, as well as attacking a fixed position, William’s and MacDonell’s small force drove Wool’s forces towards the gorge, aided by Brock’s pincer and pinning movement. As the Americans tried to regroup, Brock ordered his militiamen and some regulars to start sharpshooting into the midst of Wool’s troops, which disrupted their reorganization attempts, and the battle’s momentum turned when MacDonell took advantage of Brock’s diversion and recaptured the redan forcing Wool to retreat halfway downhill from where he continued to try and retake the redan.

By 9 a. m. Wool had been shot in the chest by a musketball and had instantly died. By this point, the Americans, whilst they had lost the redan, did hold a portion of Queenston Heights. Colonel Van Rensselaer ordered the American portion of the heights to be fortified. Lieutenant Joseph Gilbert Totten of the US Engineers traced out the positions of the proposed fortifications. Van Rensselaer appointed Lieutenant Colonel Winfield Scott of the 2nd US Artillery to take command of the regulars on the American captured part of Queenston Heights.

Meanwhile at around 11 a. m. British reinforcements under Major General Sheaffe arrived in earnest. Sheaffe had received Brock’s orders to come from Fort George, however had had a hard time managing the troops in good order, which held him up for a good amount of time. Along with him, he brought three 2 pounder guns under Captain William Holcroft supported by the 41st under Captain Derenzy. At 11 a. m. Winfield Scott’s position on the left side of the heights became precarious as the British redan and Holcroft’s guns bared down on him. Both guns fired and after a brief firefight, Winfield Scott of the 12th Artillery had been killed in the firefight and the rest of the remaining American troops withdrew to the plains next to the shore of the Niagara river in the face of overwhelming firepower. Next the 3 six pounder guns alongside the redan began firing at the American shipping on the Niagara river again, making American crossings on the river hazardous once again.

At the same time, 300 Mohawk troops under Captain John Norton and Captain John Brant arrived at Queenston alongside Sheaffe. Both Sheaffe and the Mohawk force grouped up with Brock who had been waiting impatiently for the troops to arrive. The 300 Mohawk troops were ordered to fall upon the defensive line formed by the Americans under Chrystie at the foot of the heights. The Mohawk troops fell upon Chrystie’s men, and were repulsed, but nonetheless, Brock knew about the irrational fear of natives that many American harbored, and indeed, due to the skirmish, the Americans were heavily disgruntled. The warcries of the natives made many American troops at Lewiston too scared to cross the river.

Brock then ordered Sheaffe to conduct frontal diversionary attacks with his reinforcements, whilst Brock took command of the extra troops and took his troops behind the Heights hiding his troops from the American artillery. He led his men to a detour as men from the Chippawa of the 41st Regiment under Captain Richard Bullock joined up with Brock.

Major General Sheaffe. ​

When Van Rensselaer saw Sheaffe’s troops attacking frontally, he determined this moment to cross the river from Lewiston again. He However he found the troops in Lewiston disorganized and a mass of disorderly crowds. He was unable to cajole the troops into crossing the river, and he then tried to convince the civilian oarsmen to ferry the troops back and fro from the river, which they refused to do. The Colonel later expressed his total disbelief. ‘….to my utter astonishment, I found that at the very moment when I could strike and provide victory, the ardor of the unengaged troops had entirely subsided. I rode in all directions, cajoling them to fight, but in vain.’ He sent a message to Brigadier General Wadsworth and Chrystie which let them have the decision on to whether or not the Americans would have to withdraw from the battle or not, and promised to send boats if Wadsworth and Chrystie decided to withdraw.

As Sheaffe continued to pin the Americans at the heights, Brock and his forces emerged from the flanks of Wadsworth’s and Chrystie’s force. Wadsworth immediately threw up haphazard earthworks and asked Chrystie to withdraw alongside him as he saw the flanking forces of Brock. Chrystie initially had wished to stay on the Canadian side of the shore, however after he realized the gravity of the situation, with Brock and Sheaffe commanding huge amounts of reinforcements he agreed. Brock attacked at 1 p. m. with the riflemen and musketmen of the British troops leading a bayonet charge at Wadsworth’s men alongside native American troops. The war cries of the Native Americans, made the American militiamen feel themselves doomed, and they retreated en masse without orders. Chrystie managed to flee the battle at the Canadian shore managing to retreat with 70 troops under his command. However by the next half hour, Wadsworth found himself completely surrounded and he surrendered alongside the 350 troops under his command. The rest of the American militia on the Canadian side of the shore fought however, and the Native Americans, angered at the deaths of two of their chiefs, massacred the rest of the American militia who did not wish to surrender, and promptly, the smart and fearful American militias surrendered as well.

The aftermath of the Battle of Queenston Heights had widespread impacts. The British side had lost 23 men killed, 89 men wounded, and 22 captured along with 3 missing in action. Around 80 to 90 Americans died in the battle, and around 950 troops, including 110 officers were captured by the British army. Around 7 Americans were also missing in action after the battle.

After the battle, Brock immediately proposed a small armistice for 4 days, which Van Rensselaer accepted, as both exchanged dead bodies with one another. After this, Van Rensselaer immediately resigned, and was succeeded by Alexander Smyth, the officer who had failed to attack Fort Erie. Soon after the armistice ended, Brock would pursue the American troops into Upper New York and continued the War of the 1812 from there…..” The War of Isaac Brock, Penguin Publishers, 1998.

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[Sarthak]

Chapter 2: Smyth bungles up. ​

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“I hear that many representatives in the Yankee congress believed that all of Upper Canada would be theirs to hold within a month of the declaration of war. I hadn’t heard such a great joke since I had the drinks with the lads in 1799 when we failed to invade Holland!” – Sir Isaac Brock.

“When Alexander Smyth took over command of the Niagara frontier, he was perhaps, the worst man for the job during that time. Born in Ireland, and a lawyer and politician by trade, he was completely inept at military matters. Something that America could have ill-afforded at a stage when their shore of the Niagara frontier was under threat from the forces that Sir Isaac Brock was starting to gather.

The 3rd and 4th Regiments of the York Militia had arrived from York to reinforce Brock’s men, and the stash of weapons seized from the American militias when they surrendered aided Brock’s progress in planning an invasion of Upper New York State. Smyth also glossed over the clandestine facts of war. Many American militia were devoid of shoes, proper food and proper sanitation works, even for that era, and it was no surprise to any physician or doctor that a small epidemic spread through his men early on after he took command of the Niagara frontier. The American Regulars, half trained, and more eager than experienced, lacked winter clothing and shivered in the cold. These facts which Smyth glossed over, or perhaps simply ignored, led to a good amount of deserters as well, from whom Brock would learn of the dismal condition of the American camp at Lewiston.

An Illustration of a well-equipped American Militia, a rarity during the War of 1812. ​

On October 19th, Brock called a meeting between himself, the commanders of the regiments, and Major General Sheaffe as well. Brock had decided that with the American militiamen mutinous, and morale of the American troops low, it would be a great time to strike and go on the offensive and take the fight to the Americans. Brock’s plan was also aided by the fact that he was acutely aware about the political polarization of American officers. The 1812 Presidential Elections were about to come, and deserters and Mohawk spies that Brock had used had given Brock definitive proof that the Federalist Officers and Republican Officers were squabbling with one another over the presidential election, rather than actually trying to fight with the British Canadian forces. Together with all of these factors combined, Brock knew that this was the moment to strike.

He proposed a two pronged attack into the American shore of the Niagara River. Sheaffe would take command of half of the troops and cross into Buffalo and secure the town, whilst Brock and his half of the troops would cross into Lewiston and seize the town. Then the two would open up the road between Lewiston and Buffalo and give the British and Canadians a definitive foothold onto America. Sheaffe was very reluctant with this plan. For all purposes, Sheaffe was the anti-thesis of Brock. Whilst Brock was assertive and strong in his position, Sheaffe was calculating and sly in his. Brock liked to hit the enemy where it hurt and quickly rout the enemy whilst Sheaffe liked playing his cards to his chest and attacking when he had the definitive advantage. Nonetheless, Sheaffe was convinced by Brock, and around 2200 troops were given to Brock to command, and around 2700 troops were given to Sheaffe to command.

On October 26th, just when Smyth had been trying to convince General Henry Dearborn to spare 4000 troops for him over their letters, the British launched their attack at Lewiston and Buffalo…..” The Plans of 1812, University of Quebec, 2020.

“The Battle of the Niagara was perhaps one of the greatest masterpieces of Sir Isaac Brock. The man, knew his weakness of being brash and acting brashly in the field, and yet he knew Sheaffe’s calculating method to fighting, and he utilized both personalities of himself and his subordinate commander to his utmost advantage.

On 3 a. m. in October 26th, the Indian allies of the British, mainly Mohawks, swam quietly over the river from Hamilton’s cove and entered the American side of the shore. From there, the British commanders that had come alongside them managed to quietly move around 20 of these Indians into the outskirts of Lewiston from the north from where they started to set the granaries and ammunition stores of the town alight. The result was that The American troops and militia had to be diverted to putting the fires away. The Americans were already facing acute shortages of food and weapons, and losing the ones that they had would have been ruinous, and even the rash Smyth knew this. However as American sentries came forward, the Mohawk warriors withdrew from the town and instead wreaked havoc on the countryside next to the Niagara River and Lake Ontario as the British officers let them go ordering them to disrupt the line of communications between American regiments in the east and Smyth’s forces.

As communication lines were hit, and the granaries and ammunition stores were on fire, around half an hour after 3 a.m. the British redan opened fire at Lewiston and the guns from Fort Erie opened fire at the fortifications at Buffalo.

Under the cover of the chaos, and the cover given by the British guns, both Brock and Sheaffe embarked from the Canadian shore. Brock had 7 ships under him all of which would hold around forty to fifty troops. Sheaffe had 9 ships under him which could hold approximately the same amount of troops. The first landing on the American side was made Colonel MacDonell and Captain Dennis as they immediately went on the offensive utilizing their advantage. The American troops in Lewiston were forced to go on the defensive as Smyth’s subordinate, Colonel Totten barely managed to reorganize the militia under his command into a defensive position on Lewiston Heights.

In the South, Sheaffe was opposed by Smyth’s personal forces. Smyth had around 2500 troops under his command, of which 700 were regular troops, mainly detachments and companies of the US 13th Regiment, and the rest were New York Militia troops. Sheaffe whilst very much a cautious general knew how to act aggressively as well. And this time, he coordinated his attacks with Brock. As soon as news came that MacDonnel, Dennis and Brock had begun their attack Lewiston arrived to Sheaffe, Sheaffe moved forward and attacked the American troops under Smyth, just as said commander of the American troops had been trying to establish a secure line of communications with Lewiston.

The attack took him by surprise it seems. Smyth after the initial reports came in about a fire in Lewiston had believed that the main attack would come from Lewiston and thus had sent much of his militiamen towards the north where they would reinforce Totten against Brock. This played right into the hands of Sheaffe, as he would gain numerical superiority over the American troops based at Buffalo. By 5 a.m, Sheaffe’s troops had managed to storm the heights of Black Rock and completely blocked the route towards Lewiston. The heights also granted Sheaffe a lot of strategic mobility and was able to utilize the heights to his advantage as British pounder guns were floated across the river and then pulled in Black Rock from where they started to pound Smyth’s positions as well. This in turn started to limit Smyth’s area of mobility and capabilities against Sheaffe, as he didn’t have a good amount of troops, rapidly dwindling stores of supplies, men dying from disease and his line of communications and reinforcements cut off.

Up in the north, Brock was having a tougher fight than what Sheaffe was experiencing towards the south. Totten was no great commander like Brock, however he was competent enough to be able to defend Lewiston properly unlike his superior at Buffalo who was being pushed back by Sheaffe. Far to the north, where the Niagara River fell into Lake Ontario, Fort George and Fort Niagara were exchanging blows with one another with their long distance guns, however even Fort Niagara was in a bad shape. It was undermanned with only 120 men, and the native Americans had cut off their logistical lines as well, forcing them to start rationing their goods as well. Nevertheless, Brock did not really have a plan to attack Fort Niagara during the Battle of the Niagara. He intended to take Buffalo and Lewiston first and then let Fort Niagara starve itself to submission, knowing the futility of trying to waste time with the Fort.

By dawn break, Brock’s men had also landed a second wave at Devil’s Hole, and under the order’s of their commander, swerved up north to hit Totten at his flanks. Half of their detachment also swerved south and besieged Fort Schlosser. Fort Schlosser by 1812 was already more than 50 years old, and by that point obsolete in its defense, with only two warehouses and four cannons being available during the battle to protect the fort. The companies of the 41st Regiment of the Foot besieged the Fort, and by 8 a.m, the fort had been stormed by the 41st Regiment and set alight by the men of the 41st Regiment.

The remains of Fort Schlosser in the 1840s. ​

By dawn break, Sheaffe had also managed to push Smyth steadily down towards the Buffalo River. Smyth had sent orders of reinforcements down south towards Rochester, however the road to Rochester was a muddy one, and full of undergrowth and forest and would most importantly take up too much time. Smyth was then forced to confront the horrible possibility that he would have to surrender Buffalo to Sheaffe. Nonetheless, to his credit, Smyth continued to fight on, however it was much in vain. Smyth’s militiamen slinked off the battle, with their morale breaking every step they took behind, and the regulars of the US Army were inexperienced and unable to stop the accurate rolling fire from the British redcoats. They put up a strong fight, however Smyth’s own ignorance came to bite him during the battle. His negligence of his ammunition stores, shoes, clothes of his troops made sure that basic equipment for his troops had begun to dwindle rapidly and by 9 a.m., it had begun to become abundantly clear to Smyth that he would not be able to hold Buffalo for any longer. He tried to escape, with the forces that he had, however Sheaffe had anticipated the move. He had sent the Mohawk forces under his command, some 300 of them, towards the east of Black Rock, and when Smyth tried to retreat by clinging to the shoreline of Buffalo river, he found himself facing the 300 Mohawk troops as well. And by that point, the battle in Buffalo was over. Smyth refused to surrender for a good amount of time, but by 11 a.m., he surrendered himself and the 700 troops under his command to Sheaffe, who then stopped his troops and consolidated his hold over Buffalo.

Alexander Smyth, whose extreme negligence of logistics, and his disease ridden troops led to the American defeat at the Niagara Front. ​

Up north, Brock had been having trouble. Whilst detachments of the 41st had hit Totten’s flanks, Totten had been able to utilize the small fishing creeks south of Lewiston to his advantage and stall the 41st Regiment in the series of creeks south of Lewiston. This forced Brock, after hours of pinning and pincer movements to backtrack and stick to an older but acknowledged strategy…….” The War of Isaac Brock, Penguin Publishers, 1998.

“Brock had been unable to outsmart Totten for about 6 hours, and even though the American losses in face of Brock’s own losses were far more, Totten and the Americans had been able to hold the line. By 9 a.m, Brock knew that it was time to change strategy. He stopped his offensive action against Totten in Lewiston and instead started to engage the Americans in pinning fire, and waited for reinforcements from Queenston to arrive. The reinforcements of Queenston under Captain John Norton and Captain John Brant. Brant and Norton arrived ashore with their companies about half an hour after 9, when Brock gave them their others. Brock would put heavy pressure on Totten and continue the pinning maneuvers against Totten, however the 300 men under Norton and Brant were ordered to move into Tuscarora village, from where they would be able to hit the backside of Totten’s forces and force Totten to surrender.

Norton and Brant quickly took their orders and implemented them. They only encountered the odd American militia messenger on their way to Tuscarora village and by a quarter past 10, they reached the village before they swung west and then hit the backside of Totten’s troops and Lewiston itself.

By that point, it had become abundantly clear to Totten that he was being surrounded from virtually all sides, and that the only way to retreat was upwards. He pulled his forces towards northern Lewiston, and from there, by 11 abandoned Lewiston Brock and his forces as Brock’s forces, the 41st, and Norton and Brant’s men entered the town and secured it. Meanwhile the detachments that had taken Fort Schlosser and some detachments from the militia under Sheaffe had also moved north and connected with one another at Oak Bluff, joining the frontlines together.

Colonel Totten, the only competent American officer present in the Battle of the Niagara. ​

Totten withdrew his forces and fled north towards Fort Niagara. In the middle of the way, he found bands of Native American troops operating as British allies. He managed to quickly ambush the Native American troops and continue his retreat upward. By midday he had managed to enter Fort Niagara. Brock did not initially pursue the Colonel into the fort.

However Fort Niagara was already starting to become heavily strained by the dwindling ammunition available to them. Smyth’s negligence of all things related to logistics made it impossible for the Fort and its store sustain its own defense and supply Totten’s men. Totten took overall command of the fort and decided instead to hold the fort until reinforcements from Rochester could arrive and relieve them.

However Brock was no fool. By the time that he had finished consolidating his hold over Lewiston by 1, he and his forces pursued Totten’s men and then surrounded Fort Niagara by 2 with Fort George supporting Brock’s men in besieging Fort Niagara. Fort Niagara was held by courageous American troops, however even American troops fighting dysentery and lack of clothes could not put up under the pressure.

Despite this, the Americans continued to fight. Perhaps one of the greatest follies of the War of 1812 on part of the American government was that they didn’t put much stock into medical supplies, and medicine as a whole, which meant that even under kind conditions, medicine was scarce in the American army and navy. Under the conditions that Totten and Fort Niagara was under, medicine was nowhere to be found in the Fort. Totten had growing cases of dysentery, wounds and bloodloss but had no medicines to provide aid with.

By afternoon, Brock had managed to move his 6 pounder guns from Queenston and Lewiston up north to Fort Niagara, which with the aid of the guns from Fort George were starting to pound the fortress. By later afternoon and early evening, the Red Barracks of Niagara Fortress fell to Brock’s repeated attempts to take the fort, and the major resistance to the British attacks now only came from the Northern and Southern Redoubts as they tried to repel the British attacks. The Northern Redoubt was commanded by Totten and the Southern Redoubt was commanded by Captain Nathaniel Leonard. The Southern Redoubt was the first to fall as by 4 p.m, the 4th Militia Regiment of York managed to seize the redoubt and half an hour after 4, Totten surrendered the fort to Brock’s forces as well.

Fort Niagara. ​

The Battle of Niagara was a disastrous battle for the Americans, right after their disastrous defeat at the Battle of Queenston Heights. This battle not only reaffirmed the strategic mobility of the British troops under Sir Isaac Brock, and to many extent, Major General Sheaffe, but it also in hindsight, exposed many failings with the American manner in which they pursued the war. The Battle of Niagara saw 78 dead British troops, around 311 wounded and 40 captured by the Americans. However, the Americans themselves faced 183 troops killed, around 400 wounded, 900 captured, with a Colonel and Brigadier General under hostage.

The Battle of the Niagara also saw the British troops gain a strong foothold on the American side of the Niagara River, and this exposed all of Upper New York to an invasion from Brock’s forces. This had huge implications for the future, as General Henry Dearborn was forced to withdraw troops from Plattsburgh, and the West to reinforce Upper New York. This would have highly disastrous results when Tecumseh would strike in the West after American troops had been withdrawn to reinforce Upper New York. And when Tecumseh struck, he struck hard......." The Military History of The War of 1812, University of Cambridge, 2015.

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Map of the Niagara Front, red denotes the British lines, and blue denotes the US lines.

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[Sarthak]

Chapter 3: Some Relief.

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“Respect everyone. But bow to no one.” – Tecumseh, of the Shawnee Tribe

“The Battle of the Niagara was a devastating blow to the United States of America. It opened up the northern frontier of the United States of America, particularly, Upper New York State completely to a British invasion led by Brock and aided by Sheaffe, aided also by Prevost’s actions in the New England border. Nonetheless, Brock was also a realist, and within a day he had secured the American side of the Niagara River, and had taken two key forts, Fort Niagara and Fort Schlosser with relatively low casualties. However the reinforcements from Rochester had begun to arrive by the end of the day, and Brock was in no hurry to overextend himself.

Brock had around 5,000 troops under his command by the end of the Battle of the Niagara, and despite securing the east of the Niagara, he needed to be able to hold it, which in military terms a very important object of war. Nonetheless, Brock stopped his advance after the Battle of the Niagara and instead settled down re-fortifying Fort Niagara and establishing a line of communication from Fort Niagara to Lewiston to Buffalo, where Sheaffe was based at. From there, Brock requested reinforcements of 2,000 to 3,000 troops from Prevost from either York or Kingston. Brock requested this order as winter started to settle in. The road situation in British North America was absolutely horrible. However some seasonal roads froze over and allowed easy travelling using these ‘ice’ roads. As said roads started to become seen, it would make it easier for Prevost to reinforce Brock with troops. Prevost accepted Brock’s offer, thankful that the man had been cautious enough to pause to consolidate his victory in the eastern side of the Niagara.

General Prevost. ​

However, Brock stopping his advance meant nothing but trouble for America in the long run. As Brock began shoring up his position on the eastern side of the river, he did something that had cost Smyth the Battle of the Niagara. Brock focused on his logistics. He began the construction of supply boats over the Niagara river, and sent all captured schooners in the river to York, where they would aid the British fleet being assembled there. Speaking about the British fleet, Brock also began planning for a plan of attack that would cement British naval dominance of Lake Ontario.

Brock knew that if he could dominate Lake Ontario and join up with Prevost’s forces that would turn south from Kingston, then the entirety of the American side of the lake would be occupied, and provide a dagger right into the heart of America. It would also further disrupt the trade of the New Englanders and increase the anti-war agitation being conducted by the Federalists in New England, which Brock knew about. However there was no proper admiral in Lake Ontario at the moment. Brock knew from Prevost that an admiral was being recalled from the Bahamas however. And that admiral would be Sir James Yeo. Yeo had reached Halifax harbor by the time Brock settled in Fort Niagara.

Captain Yeo. ​

Brock by this point realized that he would not be able to pursue the American forces without the reinforcements and Yeo arriving in York. And both would only happen in December or January of the next year. Accepting this fact, Brock however settled in on the American side of the river to winter the rest of the year. He ordered the construction of multiple bridges over the Niagara river, and especially on Grand Island which served as a major depot for the British forces on both sides of the river.

Nonetheless, Brock wasn’t going to stay inactive all winter long. He began contracting private merchants in British North America who would be able construct ships. Brock knew that the Americans wouldn’t even try to contest the British superiority in Sloops of War in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, however would try to do so in the manner of schooners. He contracted several merchants and private shipbuilders using the coffers of Upper Canada and the loot taken from the Americans to gain a contract with these private shipbuilders. After the contract was completed, these merchants returned to the British side of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and started the construction of schooners. Schooners which would become the war winners in the lakes……” Isaac Brock At War, University of Quebec, 1972.

“Meanwhile the security of the British forces in York, and the capture of Detroit and Niagara meant that the British forces in the area experienced a lot of free mobility. One Lieutenant Colonel William McKay of loyalist background, who was a fur trader of some fame, had been on the way to Quebec to raise Canadian voyageurs for the war. However with the Niagara and Detroit secure, the need to have a large force of voyageurs evaporated, and when news arrived to him in his inn in York, he took account of the voyageurs he had with him. He had around 180 voyageur corps from all around from Rupert’s Land and Upper Canada. He had been trying to go to Montreal and Quebec to raise more, however with the new developments, found his numbers adequate enough. He and the Corps of Canadian Voyageurs were ordered by Prevost to secure the waterways of the Western Front of the War of 1812, where despite the lull in the fighting in the Niagara, was raging on in full might.

William McKay. ​

The British victory at Niagara meant that Brock had started to stockpile weapons, however without an active engagement to fight in, British ammunition supplies were diverted towards the west, where Tecumseh, and the British forces under Colonel Henry Proctor. Colonel Henry Proctor can be summarized by the following quote by Isaac Brock after the War of 1812:-

‘To some he remains a monster. To some he remains a coward. He is neither – merely the victim of consequences and events, a brave officer but weak in will, capable enough except in times of stress, a man of modest pretensions. The prisoner of events beyond his control.’

Nonetheless, Proctor’s quite racist handling of his Native Indian allies made many in the British higher ups in British North America turn at him with the inquisitive eye. In this war with America, Britain needed absolute cohesion between their native indian allies and the british forces, and they could not accept such misconduct which would lead to lack of cohesion between the allies. Proctor was recalled by Prevost on the onset of November, after a heavy fight had broken out between Tecumseh and Proctor on the subject of strategy of invading the American Northwest. In Proctor’s place, William McKay was sent to Detroit to command the British forces there. And whilst Tecumseh would never get along with any British soldier as he did with Isaac Brock, he found McKay to be a suitable replacement. Tecumseh would later go on to state:

‘Brock and I got along well. He understood my plight and the plight of my people. And despite both of our tries, Proctor and I could not understand one another, and he had to be withdrawn. Nonetheless, in McKay I found a kindred spirit and a friend as well. Both of us would go on to reclaim our lands. For that I am thankful to both McKay and Brock.’

But, for the winter, even Tecumseh did not engage the Americans in direct confrontation, knowing the hardships of nature more than anyone else. Instead he used the free time he had to shore up his people. He contacted more and more tribes all over the old American Northwest, and as his influence grew, more and more Indian warriors, enthralled by the prospect of fighting against their American foes, and their confidence strengthened by Brock’s advance came to Tecumseh in the droves, and McKay later tabulated around 700 to 900 Indian warriors who joined up with Tecumseh over the course of the winter. These Indian Warriors also provided Britain with a unique set of events. On their way north, these Warriors raided American depots, storage's, and ambushed American patrols, which led to the American government placing multiple amounts of patrols in the West as well, which would remain a manpower drain on America for the rest of the war.

However like his friend in Fort Niagara, Tecumseh wasn’t simply sitting idle writing to his Indian allies either. Throughout the winter, he used his Indian troops to construct better lines into British North America, which helped him and McKay shore up their supply lines from Canada. He also began training much of his troops in Detroit through the winter, and equipped the new warriors with raided weapons from American camps. When the winter would end, Tecumseh’s warriors would be a force to be reckoned with……” Tecumseh’s Warriors, Imperial Publishing, 1946.

“Meanwhile as Brock shored up his supplies and wintered the cold winter, one John Norton of the British Army also began to shore up support for the war among the Iroquois population of America. John Norton is a very unique case in the history of Native Americans. He would rise to become extremely respected and become the second High Chief of the Karahkwa Confederacy. He was born in the 1770s to a Cherokee father and a Scottish mother. He was raised in Scotland and followed his Cherokee father into the British army. His Cherokee father is said to have fought the Americans during the American Revolutionary War alongside the British forces. At the age of 16 he found himself stationed in Quebec alongside the rest of his regiment. During this time he deserted the army and it is during this time that he became involved with the Six Grand Nations of the Grand River. For a time, Norton taught at the Bay of Quinte, an Iroquois village west of Kingston. He also began the first of many of his rambles throughout North America, travelling through the Ohio region as a trader and establishing many contacts. The call of the Grand River settlement proved to be stronger however. Norton was especially inspired by the local Mohawk chief, Thayendanega (Joseph Brant). Norton acquired Mohawk language and culture, and was adopted into the community as Thayendanega’s nephew. He acquired the status of chief from his adopted uncle and was given the name ‘Tyoninhokarawen’, which is Mohawk for open door. The name suggests to us that Norton had a strong dual nature; he was a chief for peace and a chief for war. Norton, like Tecumseh came to believe that the best hope for the First Nations lay in native solidarity. The multi-ethnic nature of the Grand River community simply reinforced this vision. Embarking on a year-long journey in 1809, Norton traveled south to learn about his Cherokee history and ancestry where he became acquainted with the conditions of other First Nations within the United States of America.

John Norton of the Mohawks, or Tyoninhokarawen of the Mohawks. ​

As the Anglo-American conflict approached in 1812, Norton was considered an obvious ally by the British Administration. He had retained aspects of his white heritage (he was a devout Anglican) and had maintained close contact with the British while living on the Grand River. Norton famously distrusted politicians, an irony considering he would become one on the future. He preferred dealing with military leaders and it was through a military alliance that Norton hoped to make gains for the First Nations. Despite Norton’s influence, many of the Iroquois were wary of an alliance with either of the Americans or British. But Norton had the support of a young hereditary chief of the Grand River Community, Brant’s son Ah’You’wa’eghs. Together they secured a sizeable force with which to fight with General Sir Isaac Brock. Norton and his warriors were present at Detroit, Queenston Heights and the Battle of the Niagara.

Nonetheless, the solid British victory at Niagara managed to gain the confidence of the majority of the Iroquois nations. Under Norton, the Mohawk tribe had already committed themselves to the fight, and with the British restoring confidence among the natives towards Britain and possible British victory in the war, the Oneida Tribe, Onondaga, Tuscarora, and the Cayuga tribes all decided to aid the British during the War of 1812. In late November, 1812, the warriors of these tribes would embark to meet Isaac Brock and reach the Niagara where the 4 tribes, with warriors totaling 1400 swore alliance with the British crown until the end of the war with America, until when Brock promised to get the best deal for the native americans of the Iroquois tribe. Most notably Seneca tribe did not take part in this, however promised to stay neutral as their sister first nations went to war. Nonetheless, the Iroquois would play a massive role in the War of 1812, and they would be rewarded for it at Ghent in 1814…….” The First Nations At War, University of Kathmandu, Nepal, 1908.

Presidential Nominee DeWitt Clinton. ​

“After the end of the Battle of the Niagara, the news of the failed battle came only hours after the electoral ballot had been counted by the government and the electoral commission. The War of 1812 heavily overshadowed the campaign for the 1812 Presidential Election, much to Madison’s favor. Clinton continued his regional campaigning, adopting an anti-war stance in the Northeast which was the most adversely affected and a pro-stance in the South and West. The election ultimately hinged upon New York and Pennsylvania and while Clinton took his home state of New York, he failed to take Pennsylvania and thus lost the election. Though Clinton lost, the election was the best showing of the Federalists since that of Adams, as the party made gains in Congress and kept the presidential election reasonably close. Clintonite Democratic-Republicans in many states refused to work with their Federalist counterparts, notably in Pennsylvania and Clinton was generally regarded by most as the Federalist candidate, though he was not formally nominated by them. Madison was the first president in the history of the US history, to win re-election with a lower percentage of the electoral vote than in their prior elections, as Madison won 69.3% of the electoral vote in 1808, but only won 58.7% of the electoral votes in 1812. Additionally, Madison was the first president to win re-election with a smaller percentage of the popular vote than in prior elections, although in 1812, only 6 of the 18 states chose electors by popular vote.

Electoral Map of the election of 1812. ​

After the re-election of Madison, the news of the British victory at Niagara arrived to the rest of New York and the rest of the Northeast and America. Particularly in Washington, no one among the Democratic-Republicans had any time to celebrate their victory as defeatism permeated through the air. William Eustis resigned as Secretary of War and was filled in temporarily by James Monroe. One aide de camp of the president would later write ‘the atmosphere is most frightened. The president had been re-elected but right after news arrived about the defeat at the Niagara. The redcoats were in position to attack and now no one knew what to do.’

Monroe immediately ordered troops from the West to be diverted to the Niagara Front, however only found the regular troops willing to be transferred, as the militia refused to cross over into other states and aid them. The states backed their militia citing states right. Because of this Monroe found only 600 to 800 troops available to be transferred to the Niagara front instead of the 2000 like he wanted. This would be a problem throughout the entirety of the war. Nonetheless, the loss of 600 regular troops from the Western Front would make Tecumseh’s work even easier in the future.

Prominent Federalist John Lowell Jr. ​

As the end of the Battle of the Niagara was left to circulate in the public, the public mood immediately after the elections erupted into classic political polarization. The Federalists blamed the Democratic-Republicans for dragging them into this war, and the Democratic-Republicans blamed the Federalists for not working or cooperating with them for the war effort. Famed member of the Federalist Party, and lawyer by trade, John Lowell Jr, a man from Massachusetts would lambast the Democratic-Republicans with fiery and eloquent speeches for dragging them into this war. He would also write two prominent articles. One was named Mr. Madison’s War, and the other was named Why New England Should Put Her Priorities First……” A Political History of the War of 1812, Imperial Tejas University, 1994.

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[Sarthak]

Chapter 4: Respite and then the Invasion; Rumblings of Succession.

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Why good sir! Capturing Washington was as easy as walking right in. – Sir Isaac Brock.

“During the winter, except for small skirmishes that didn’t change the frontlines, both sides did not fight each other in direct confrontation. The British did not because of the fact that they were finally being supplied from the Home Islands with proper ammunition and proper logistics and said logistics was being distributed evenly. The Americans did not either due to the fact that they needed time to recover from the devastating blows Sir Isaac Brock had managed to hit on America.

However despite this, the war at sea continued to rage on. HMS Java would be sunk by the USS Constitution on December 29th, 1812. A token victory perhaps, as the Java was an expensive ship to maintain for the Royal Navy and had actually been captured from the French, who during the Napoleonic Wars were known for building heavy ships that were hard to maintain. Nonetheless, whilst this token victory did manage to uplift the morale of some of the troops, it did not help at all in the Northern States that consisted of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. And to many extents the British preparations on the Niagara also kept the New Yorkers an unease as well, for their troubles did not lie in the sea, but the New Yorkers were acutely aware of the danger posed by Brock. By the New Year, Madison had around 1500 Regular troops, mainly from the US 13th Infantry and around 7000 New York Militia ready to face any invasion from Brock. To fail ultimately, however they would put up a good fight.

The attack on HMS Java. ​

During the three to four months of dull waiting, neither the British nor the Americans had been twiddling their thumbs however. After Yeo had arrived at York, he had been in close contact with Brock over Navy and Army coordination to eliminate the American threat in Lake Ontario. With the aid of the private shipbuilders that Brock had contracted before Yeo had arrived to York, the Royal Navy had the following ships in Lake Ontario as the ice started to slowly give away on the lake in early 1813:-

• HMS Wolfe (Sloop of War)
• HMS Royal George (Sloop of War)
• HMS King George III (Sloop of War)
• HMS Lord Melville (Brig)
• HMS Earl of Moira (Brig)
• HMS Duke of Gloucester (Brig)
• HMS Beresford (Schooner)
• HMS Sir Sydney Smith (Schooner)
• HMS Duke of Thurso (Schooner)
• HMS Limerick (Schooner)

The Americans hadn’t been sitting and doing nothing either. By the time the ice started to melt in mid-February, the ships that they had collected in Lake Ontario, mainly Sacket’s Harbor were:-

• USS General Pike (Sloop of War)
• USS Madison (Corvette)
• USS Oneida (Brig)
• USS Sylph (Schooner)
• USS Hamilton (Schooner)
• USS Scourge (Schooner)
• USS Conquest (Schooner)
• USS Tompkins (Schooner)
• USS Julia (Schooner)
• USS Growler (Schooner)
• USS Ontario (Schooner)
• USS Fair American (Schooner)
• USS Pert (Schooner)
• USS Asp (Schooner)
• USS Lady of the Lake (Schooner)

As listed above, the Americans had invested a lot more into the construction of the ships, fearful of complete British domination of Lake Ontario. Nonetheless, the American investment into the shipbuilding program in Lake Ontario came at costs. They had more ships than the Royal Navy in Lake Ontario. However their firepower was heavily lacking in comparison to the Royal Navy. For example, the Royal Navy’s Sloop of War Wolfe had 1 24-pdr gun, 8 18-pdr guns, and 4 68-pdr carronades. Whilst on the other hand, the American sloop of war, General Pike only had 28 24-pdr guns. Formidable in their own right, but still heavily outgunned by the British sloops of war. The disparity between the gun power of the Schooners itself cannot be understated either. For example, the quintessential Royal Navy schooner, for example Beresford had 2 12-pdr guns and 10 32-pdr carronades. American schooners on the other hands only one gun, be they be 9-pdr, 24-pdr or 6-pdr. Very few schooner’s had two guns. This made the American fleet in Lake Ontario heavily outgunned. This would give Yeo the opening he needed when he attacked Sacket’s Harbor on February 27th, 1813…..” Naval History of North America, University of Boston, 2009.

“Meanwhile, as John Armstrong became the Secretary of War in Washington D.C, Brock began planning his attack. He had in total 9800 troops under his command, of which exactly 1900 were Indians, mostly Iroquois under the command of Captain John Norton, and 3200 regular redcoats. The rest 4700 were Canadian militia troops. Despite this relatively low number of troops in comparison to what invasions counted for on the European Continent during the Napoleonic Era, Brock felt that he was ready to attack and invade Upper New York State. His primary goal was to take Rochester, which despite being a small village at the time, was a key communications line for the Americans. Taking it would blindside the Americans completely and allow the British to take the initiative. To do this, Brock assigned around 1500 to 2000 men under command of Major General Sheaffe who was ordered to watch the flanks of Brock’s troops, and by February 5th, Brock renewed the War of 1812 on the Niagara Front.

John Armstrong Jr, the new Secretary of War. ​

During the 5th of February, Brock and his 7000 to men invaded Upper New York and poured in fighting heavy skirmishes with the American troops. The first engagement the Americans and British would have in the renewed hostilities would be the Battle of Twelvemile Creek. The forces of Captain Wilson of the 7th New York Militia opposed the 104th New Brunswick Regiment of the British regulars. Brock was not there at the battle as he was with the 49th Regiment behind shoring up the new supply lines being formed by the invasion. The 700 Regular troops of the 104th Regiment of the Foot fought against the militia in front of them defending the creek. The 104th Regiment, commanded by Colonel Rogers managed to cross the creek and take the positions of the American troops whilst losing very few men. The Battle of Twelvemile Creek saw the British take 12 casualties, of which 4 were killed in the battle, and the Americans took 19 casualties which saw 6 killed in the battle. Captain Wilson of the 7th New York Militia was forced to withdraw from the Creek and instead retreat to the small village of Wilson where he would be available to be reinforced by the American troops.

Twelvemile creek today. ​

In the west, Brock arrived at Twelvemile Creek about an hour after the battle ended, after which Brock gave heaps of praise to Colonel Rogers for securing the other side of the creek. Nonetheless, the hard part of the invasion of Upper New York was just beginning as the New York Troops started to become concentrated the further Brock advanced.

Down South as Brock advanced, Sheaffe advanced as well, thought at a more sedate pace. Sheaffe had no intentions of leaving Brock’s flanks open to attack, and knew that it would be his responsibility to ensure that no American would be able to attack Brock at the flanks. He and his troops would have their first engagement on the 9th of February during the Battle of Sanborn which had around 3000 American militias guarding the path ahead. Sheaffe himself only had 2000 troops with him, of which over half were militias themselves. However Sheaffe could see the operational level that the Battle of Sanborn would provide him and Brock with. Should Sheaffe had withdrawn, that would give, around 3000 American troops, and their probable extra 2000 reinforcements ample time to encircle Brock and send Upper Canada into panic, which was something that Sheaffe could not allow.

He took the initiative against the 3000 Americans of the 8th and 9th New York Militias. The Americans were caught by surprise as Sheaffe opened up his 8-pounder guns at the positions of the American troops. The flat terrain made the Americans believe that Sheaffe wouldn’t unleash his artillery guns, as it would have been counter-productive on many levels with the ridges and small hills in the area in ample numbers to shield troops from artillery fire, however Sheaffe took a gamble, and his gamble paid off. The cannon balls tore through the cavalry of the militia and the militia taken by surprise weren’t able to fight properly when Sheaffe sent his troops forward to take Sanborn village. The Battle of Sanborn ended by the end of the 9th as the British troops took control of the village and the American troops were expelled from their forward position which would have been advantageous to them, had Sheaffe been attacked properly by the Americans. The Battle of Sanborn saw 18 British casualties (3 Dead) and 78 American casualties (19 Dead). Sheaffe stopped briefly to keep his lines intact before he began to advance as well, though in his usual sedate pace.

In the East, Prevost hadn’t been quiet either. He knew about Brock’s planned invasion of Upper New York, and despite his misgivings about the invasion took full part in it to aid his subordinate’s invasion. He needed to first be able to secure British supply lines to Upper Canada and remove the American threat to the supply lines. On February 17th, he ordered Colonel George MacDonnell to attack Ogdensburg and take the city to remove the American threat to the supply line to Upper Canada. Thankfully MacDonnell had been planning an attack on the small American border town for multiple days already and he gave his assent on the next day. He planned his attack on Ogdensburg on the 22nd.

Colonel George MacDonnell. ​

On February 22nd, the British troops of the Glengarry Light Infantry, 8th King’s Regiment, Royal Newfoundland Fencible’s and 300 Militias crossed the riverine border in front of them to attack the American town. The Americans were used to seeing British troops drilling on the frozen Saint Lawrence and were taken by surprise when they suddenly charged. The riflemen in the fort held out against the frontal attack, mainly because of the British guns were stuck in the snow drifts, and the American arillery under Adjutant Daniel W. Church of Colonel Benedict’s regiment and Lieutenant Baird of Forsyth’s company fired on the British with mixed results. As the British main body threatened to surround them, they retreated and abandoned the town. The militia retreated back into the civilian population of the town as well. The artillery under Church and Baird managed to put up a tough resistance until both Church and Baird were wounded. The British then took control of the town. The British then looted the military stores of the town and then captured the boats and schooners in the small harbor of the town. MacDonnell then ordered his troops to dig into the town, knowing that it would be able to become a focal point in his planned invasion of New England, which he believed alongside an invasion of New York with Brock would be able to break the American back. The Americans lost 20 killed, 6 wounded and 70 captured during the battle and the British faced 6 killed and 44 wounded during the battle, with most of the wounded coming from the brave artillery resistance put up by Church and Baird.

Battle of Ogdensburg. ​

On February 28th about a week after the final ice broke allowing for safe passage of the British warships, Yeo would give the Americans their final defeat in the month. The Raid at Sacket’s Harbor was an audacious move planned in conjunction between Brock and Yeo. Utilizing the Canadian Voyageurs and the ample sailing in the cold experience that they gave Yeo, Yeo and 150 Royal Marines, mainly consisting of the Grenadiers of the 100th Regiment took off from York Harbor with the Royal Navy Fleet of Lake Ontario.

The Canadian Voyageurs in the War of 1812. ​

The Raid at Sacket’s Harbor began on 7 a.m., when the British Sloop of War, and Yeo’s flagship on Lake Ontario, HMS King George III attacked from the mist hiding them from the shore batteries of the americans. The carronades burst into Sacket’s Harbor and managed to disable a good amount of the smaller shore batteries as the rest of the Sloops of War, HS Wolfe and HMS Royal George appeared and fired as well.

The Beresford was heavily damaged during the bombardment of the harbor by the main American shore battery, however having three heavy sloops of war fire at you was a death sentence during that era, and the shore battery exploded into heaps of flames as three sloops of war concentrated their fire at the battery whilst the small schooners behind these sloops began to pick up some of the drowned sailors from the Beresford. On land, the militia and some of the regulars planted there were under the command of Brigadier General Jacob Brown. With him, he had the 1st US Light Dragoons, 1st US Artillery Detachment, 9th US Infantry and 23rd US Infantry alongside the Albany volunteers under the command of Colonel John Mills.

Brigadier General Jacob Brown​

The Royal Marines were given the strict order of committing themselves to a hit and run attack on the harbor, knowing that in a drawn out affair, the better numbers of Brown would win over. The Royal Marines landed ashore by quarter past 7 and started setting the schooner’s and ships in the harbor alight. This provided cover for most of the Royal Marines as the smoke and mist combined gave a smokescreen for the Marines as they moved forward and picked off isolated American groups in the harbor one by one giving heavy casualties. By 7:45 a.m., as the American militia and regulars started to concentrate and counterattack, the Royal Marines retreated backwards where they boarded the Royal Navy once again and left the harbor. Then Yeo ordered his fleet to move back into British controlled waters. The Raid of Sacket’s Harbor was a hard defeat for the Americans. Around half of their fleet on Lake Ontario was burned to the ground, and a good portion of the fleet damaged with extra time needed to repair them. They only had the USS Lady of the Lake, USS Madison, USS Oneida and USS Tompkins in the water capable of proper service with the USS General Pike and USS Fair American in need of heavy repairs. The Royal Marines faced a 38 casualties of which 7 were killed, around 4 were wounded and the rest were captured by the Americans. However the American sides also faced around 297 casualties, of which 44 Americans were killed (the majority were killed atop burning ships), and the majority of the rest were wounded in the fires of the raid.

Aftermath of the Raid at Sacket's Harbor. ​

These four attacks during the month of February, 1813 gave a hefty defeat onto the hands of the Americans, and by this point panic was the rule of the streets in the young republic……” A Military History of the War of 1812. University of Cambridge, 1998.

“In Early march, the atmosphere permeating throughout North and North-Central United States was one full of panic. Yeo’s raid at Sacket’s Harbor basically put a lid on America’s intentions of winning naval dominance on Lake Ontario and pushing Brock back. This also posed a heavy question on the Invasion of New York as well. Since before with the naval dominance on the lake being a constant struggle between the USN and the RN, it was possible that Brock’s supply lines could be hampered, however the naval dominance on the Ontario completely in the hands of the Royal Navy, the supply lines of Brock was fully consolidated and wasn’t in any remote danger of being cut off.

By this point however with MacDonnell and Prevost poised to invade New England, and Brock and Sheaffe poised to attack New York, the situation was tense enough, and the morale of the American public only held up by the fact that in the Atlantic one on one battles in the open seas seemed to be favoring the Americans. That all changed however, when Britain extended their Naval Blockade of the United States of America on March 1, 1813. At first, the naval blockade put by the Royal Navy only extended itself to Chesapeake Bay and the Delaware, and New England had been exempt from the blockade till that point; partly because the Royal Navy needed coordination from the army, because the British government wished to ferment anti-war feelings in New England whilst simultaneously feeding Wellington’s army in Iberia. However by the turn of the year, the British merchants had begun turning to Egypt and India for the grain needed by Wellington’s army in Iberia and the successes of the British troops made the admiralty rethink their plan and on 1st March 1813, the Naval Blockade of the United States of America was extended to New England as well.

The Blockade of the United States of America. ​

This had an immediate effect on New England’s economy, which was already smarting from the war. From the declaration of war to 1st March, 1813, New England’s trade fell from an estimated $114 million to $78 million, however by the first week of the blockade, the value of the trade dropped right down to somewhere between $45 to $55 Million. This halving of trade on the sole sector that controlled the economy of the New England states led to a brutal blow to the New English economy, and with the British poised to attack, real calls on what to do began to start throughout the American Northeast.

Timothy Pickering. ​

One Timothy Pickering, a federalist leader and a representative of Massachusetts in the House of Representatives, he blasted President Madison and the entire Democratic-Republican Party for the failures of the American government and military during the current war with the United Kingdom. He called the war ‘A dastardly act. If Albion were not focused on France and the European continent, then Washington DC wouldn’t have ever attacked the British possessions in Canada, knowing and perhaps even fearing that Britain would be able to bring her full might against the Union. This war is an act of cowardice in its full. If even now with the majority of their attention at Bonaparte they can defeat us, then what would you expect in a one on one fight? The government is only thinking for itself and not for the states either. New England has been hurt to the point that unemployment runs rampant, banks fail in the streets and our customs barriers are useless. If the government cannot hold itself responsible and act accordingly, then the states will have to work themselves out, with or without the government.’

By this point, with the coffers of New England drying up fast the New English states were by this point openly howling at Madison to end the war. However Madison already angry at the ‘unpatriotic’ manners of the New English did not listen to their demands other than sending a token 250 Regular troops to Massachusetts. This infuriated the population of New England.

And a crisis started to brew as prominent New English politicians began to whisper conspiratorially with one another.

Nonetheless a victory for the young republic was coming, though not in the way they thought it would…..” New England During 1812, The Commonwealth Institute of History, 1936.

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[Sarthak]

Chapter 5: The Battle of Rochester

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“In the West, the war hadn’t started as fast as Tecumseh would’ve liked, but nonetheless, Colonel McKay, with the 900 Natives, and 1300 troops under his control, finally gave the order for the go ahead for Tecumseh and the British troops to renew the fighting on the Michigan Frontier on March 1st.

At the time, Fort Meigs was the only block for McKay and Tecumseh in the west, and the fall of said fort would have allowed the British and their native allies to conduct their operations with unrestrained impunity. Both Tecumseh and McKay could see the value in taking the fort. The First Siege of Fort Meigs was an eye-opener for the young colonel and the overconfident Shawnee chief however. Fort Meigs, for all its deficiencies was a heavily defended fort. McKay and his troops only had 3 six pounder artillery guns with him which would not be sufficient to break the walls and redoubts of the fort.

Fort Meigs. ​

On March 3rd, the First Siege of Fort Meigs took place as Tecumseh and McKay’s forces attacked the fort and laid siege to the fort. The fort under the command of Major General Henry Harrison was also well defended. The fort itself consisted of the largest detachment of American engineers in the west under Captain Eleazer D. Wood. The 2nd US Dragoons had also sent a detachment under Major Ball, and the 1st US Artillery under Major Amos Stoddard consisted of a good amount of heavy guns. The 17th and 19th US Infantry detachments under Colonel James Miller also constituted the largest amount of US regulars in the west. The rest of the American troops consisted of Kentucky and Ohio Militia, whose contribution to the siege was negligible at best. Under McKay, He had the Western Rangers, 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Essex Militia and the 1st Regiment of Kent Militia alongside the Royal Newfoundland Regiment of Fencible Infantry and detachments of the 41st Regiment of the Foot. Tecumseh had divided his forces into two, with the Shawnee warriors directly under his command, and he Wyandot warriors were given to Roundhead to command.

Major General Henry Harrison. ​

The Siege started when the Newfoundland Fencibles started assault after assault on Fort Meigs and suffered a good amount of casualties. Under the command of Tecumseh, and pincer movements from the Indian troops, the Newfoundland troops almost breached the Fort on March 11th, by reaching its frontal redoubt and capturing it for a brief amount of time, however by then McKay ordered the troops to withdraw. The casualties he had found in the week and a half long siege was too high for him to commit himself to, and McKay’s inexperience worked around his later stellar record. Tecumseh was enraged at McKay’s withdrawal, and initially fought by himself intending to take the fort by himself, however Roundhead and Black Hawk, Tecumseh’s advisors and Lieutenants managed to calm the hothead Shawnee and force him to see reason and Tecumseh withdrew as well a day later from McKay. They regrouped in Detroit as the First Siege of Fort Meigs had been an utter defeat for the British troops. The American casualties during the short siege is unknown, however the British faced 14 killed, 47 wounded, and 41 captured alongside 19 Indian casualties.

Nonetheless, a good amount of British captains were sniped by American marksmen during the retreat, and the organizational disorder that McKay had to deal with made the First Siege of Fort Meig’s a well-earned victory for the American troops…….” America, or How Not To Start Nation Building, Penguin Publishing, 2009.

“The American victory at Fort Meigs did a good amount of morale boosting in the American troops, however this was soon going to be dampened down almost immediately. On March 27th, after a good six weeks of slight cautious marching, Sheaffe’s and Brock’s forces reached the outskirts of Rochester in Upper New York. Taking said village would give the British massive initiative into the War of 1812.

Brock’s forces had been moving forward for weeks by this point, supplied by Yeo through Lake Ontario where the British Royal Navy moved with impunity. The American troops had in the event of fighting with Brock withdrawn to Rochester and had prepared redoubts, and small fortifications all over the small town to protect it, and the commander of the American troops at Rochester, Major General Zebulon Pike called it “The last line of defense of New York.”

Zebulon Pike. ​

Rochester itself was a small town of around 900 peoples. And the citizens there weren’t enthused that their village was about to become the scene of a battle. Unknown to them, it would become the deadliest battle fought in the War of 1812, and also the final turning point.

The Battle of Rochester would take place in and around Rochester and the places surrounding said place. Brock determined that the three entrances into Rochester from Hilton, Spencerport and Churchville would be the best option for the British advance from. He assigned the 8th Regiment of the Foot alongside Meritt’s Volunteer Cavalry Militia to attack from Hilton. At Spencerport, the place where Brock estimated would be the main attacking line, he placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, Royal Newfoundland Fencibles, and the Glengarry Light Infantry alongside the Royal Artillery as well. Down south in Churchville, the 104th Regiment of the Foot, 1st Lincoln Militia and the 1st Iroquois Regiment was placed. The 1st Iroquois Regiment was commanded by John Norton and included the Iroquois volunteers for the British. As such, the forces at Churchville was commanded by John Norton, the forces at Spencerport was commanded by Brock himself directly, and the northern troops at Hilton was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Harvey.

On the American side, the town of Rochester was protected at the north by the 21st US Infantry, and the US 1st Rifle Regiment. The 5th, 8th and 3rd New York Militia had been placed south to protect the southern flank of Rochester. The middle and easiest way into Rochester was protected by the 6th and 15th US Infantry. The 16th US Infantry was kept in Rochester in reserve alongside the 3rd US Artillery. The American forces were commanded by Brigadier General Zebulon Pike and under him, were Colonels Isaac Chauncey and Henry Dearborne. Pike commanded the town and the central pathway himself, and the northern route was commanded by Chauncey whilst the southern flank was commanded by Dearborne.

All in all, Brock had around 6,500 troops under his command, and Pike had 7500 troops under his command.

At around 7 a.m. in the morning of March 27th, the 49th Regiment of the Foot’s companies were ordered to attack the positions of the 15th US Infantry at Elmgrove, where Pike had created the first lane of redoubts. The 49th Regiment was supported by the 7th Royal Artillery which blasted the redoubts with cannon balls and attacks. However nonetheless, despite attacks by the British 49th Regiment of the Foot, the 15th US Infantry managed to resist the attack. In the north, the 8th Regiment of the Foot under Harvey was then ordered to attack Braddock Bay where the 21st US Infantry had made their home and base. The 8th Regiment, supplemented by the volunteer cavalry under Meritt attacked the positions taken by the 21st US Infantry.

It was at this time, that Yeo and Brock revealed their trump card. Yeo as he was in command of the Lake Operations, and Brock as he was in command of the land troops, they had collaborated with each other at a level that probably hadn’t ever been seen in North America till that time. Yeo’s warships appeared in front of Braddock’s Bay and started a general bombardment of the fortifications present in the bay and the subsequent barrage of carronades alongside the attack of the 8th Regiment was too much for the 21st US Infantry to bare. The 21st US Infantry retreated back to Charlotte, where the second line of defenses, not available to attack from the waters lay. However Harvey did not attack Charlotte as he had to consolidate his position in Braddock’s Bay first. As this was going on, Yeo’s transport ships began unloading heavy 24 pounder guns on Braddock’s Bay which formed the 3rd Royal Artillery in North America. Approximately 4 24 pounder heavy guns were unloaded onto the bay alongside two right pounder guns, which would be extremely consequential to the British attack that was coming.

Down south, Norton began using the American fear of native Americans to his utmost advantage. Norton whipped the Native Americans into a frenzy and made them cry at a high pitched voice, with their war cries carrying all the way to Black Creek where the New York Militia were based and supposed to protect the southern flank to Rochester. Unfortunately for Norton, only around a quarter of the militia fled unlike the half or two thirds that he thought would flee. However Norton not giving up, struck at the Militias at around quarter past 11 during midday as the Native Americans started to conduct hit and run tactics against the New York Militia. When faced with the Native Indians however, the Militia started to slink off. The Iroquois then started to surround Black Creek, providing a huge scare to the 8th New York Militia. By exactly midday, the Iroquois started to push their advantage and started to make the encirclement smaller and smaller. The 8th New York Militia around half an hour past 12 surrendered to John Norton, who managed to thankfully stop any sort of massacres that may have come to pass.

At the center, Brock ordered the 49th, and the 104th Regiments started to harry and attack the redoubts made by Pike facing Spencerport. Brock then ordered the 104th to harry south to Manitou and start an encirclement of the redoubts at Elmgrove. However Pike who anticipated this move, sent the 16th US Infantry which had been kept in reserve to protect the flanks of Elmgrove. The 104th Regiment and the 16th US Infantry then started to fight in a bitter struggle to gain dominance in Manitou as the two fought. Slightly up north, the 8th Regiment and the militia cavalry of the Canadians assaulted Charlotte, however were unable to break through.

Brock leading from the front managed to keep the morale of the troops high enough as he commanded the 49th Regiment by himself and took charge in many of the assaults on the redoubts at Elmgrove. However around quarter before 2, a musketball hit his thigh, and he was forced to go back to Spencerport from where he continued to direct the battle and the troops, even though he couldn’t fight on physically by himself. Egged on by their commander, the 49th Regiment finally overran the redoubts at Elmgrove and this put the 16th US Infantry now caught between the 104th Regiment of the Foot and the 49th Regiment of the Foot almost encircled. However after a series of desperate delaying actions, and long range artillery support from the 3rd US Artillery, the 16th US Infantry managed to break out from Manitou and entered Lyell from where the retreated back with the rest of the American troops at the center into the Trolley Creeks and ponds where Pike had managed to disguise many redoubts as barriers blended into the swampy environment around there. At around 3 in the late afternoon, the heavy artillery that had been unloaded by Yeo’s transport ships reached Brock’s position, and Brock ordered the guns to fire at will in Trolley Creek and destroy the redoubts enough so that the 104th and the 49th could take the redoubts and assault the town of Rochester itself.

Whilst the bombardment did soften the defenses, and many forward redoubts fell to the 104th and 49th, the inner and middle redoubts however held, mostly due to the fact that the heavy gun’s range did not extend so far, and the cannons were disrupted by the heavy foliage around the area.

However by the evening Norton and his Iroquois troops were starting to advance and managed to link up with Brock’s center forces and faced the redoubts themselves as night started to fall.

As the night started to befall the battleground, fighting largely ceased except for small potshots here and there. Nonetheless, Pike started to reorganize his men to create a better defensive position around Rochester, whilst Brock, utilizing the excellent trackers from the Iroquois kept a keen eye at the troop movements that Pike was conducting. In this manner, Brock knew the positions that Pike’s men were positioning themselves into, and by extension, Brock knew what kind of moves that Pike would probably conduct himself into. That night, Pike sent an urgent message to Washington pleading for more men and requesting around 2000 regulars and 3000 militia. However as dawn broke out, Brock immediately used his intelligence gathered from the Iroquois trackers to his advantage and pushed just as dawn broke, as the artillery blared and fired.

By 8, the middle redoubts had been seized and by that point the 15th and 16th US Infantry had retreated back into Rochester Proper. In the north, Harvey learning about Brock’s attack pushed at Charlotte as well, utilizing his smaller artillery guns to pound the redoubts around the area. This did not manage to break the American lines, however with the heavy artillery fire, it forced the major components of the 3rd US Artillery to move north to Charlotte to protect the redoubts and fortifications there. And this was when Brock made his move. Limping forward with his injured leg, where he had been shot with a musketball, Brock allegedly raised his sword and shouted attack. The 49th and the 104th attacked immediately with the Iroquois warriors not far behind them.

By early 10 a.m. on March 28th, Pike decided that the battle was lost, especially as with each quarter of an hour, another block fell to the British troops. He ordered a general retreat immediately. A good portion of the American troops managed to escape, however the 3rd New York Militia was surrounded by Norton’s forces in the southern sector of the town, and in the north of the 1st US Rifle Regiment was forced to capitulate as the 8th Regiment of the Foot managed to encircle them. By midday the retreat was complete and Pike was retreating towards to Onondaga.

A Depiction of the Battle of Rochester. ​

By 1 the Battle of Rochester was over. The Battle of Rochester was perhaps the bloodiest battle fought on North American soil during the War of 1812. It saw around 15,000 troops in total fight it out with another. The British casualty figures were high as well, despite having won the battle. 92 British troops were killed, around 583 wounded in the fights, and around 180 troops were captured and 30 troops went missing for a total casualty rate of around 800 troops. The Americans also faced horrendous casualties. Around 187 American troops had perished, and 621 troops were wounded. What was alarming however was the 1600 captured troops and the 27 missing troops. Whilst the British took high casualties as well, the Americans took the most horrendous casualties they had ever taken in near remembrance.

Brock realized that he couldn’t advance for about a few days as well because of the fact he had to rest his troops as well and attend to the wounded. The 1600 Americans that were captured were transferred to York through Rochester Harbor with Yeo’s transport ships. Yeo’s ships also restocked the ammunitions that Brock had, and by the next week, Brock would be on the offensive once again…..” Isaac Brock At War, Osprey Publishing, 2009.

“In the north, Colonel George MacDonnell hit south from Ogdensburg and captured Redwood without much resistance to his troops. After regrouping his troops, MacDonnell laid siege to Fort Drum.

Fort Drum today. ​

Down south, Rear Admiral George Cockburn also decided to get inside the action as his squadron sailed down to Chesapeake Bay for raid against the American troops and important ammunition stores around the area on April 2nd.

Cockburn’s fleet was anchored off Turkey Point, separated from Havre de Grace by an area of shoal water to shallow for large ships to navigate. Cockburn therefore sent Commander John Lawrence at the head of a flotilla of sixteen light schooners to cross the shoals beginning at midnight on 2nd April. Despite or because of intelligence of an impending attack somewhere north and not Havre De Grace, most of the militia had departed before the raid and fewer than 40 militia remained at Concord Point Battery when the flotilla attacked at dawn. These troops briefly returned fire until a group of Congreve rockets used by the flotilla managed to kill one civilian and 3 militia forcing them to withdraw. Lieutenant George Augustus Westphal then stormed and captured the Concord Point Battery.

American Second Lieutenant John O’Neil manage to man another batter, the so called ‘Potato Battery’ until his cannon’s recoil struck him dislocating some of his muscle. O’Neil retreated to fire on the British with a musket while he unsuccessfully tried to signal to the Militia to return. The townspeople and the remaining militia retreated as Westphal and his troops drove them further from the tow. The British then looted the ammunition stores of the town, a vital portion of America’s ammunition disposition around the Chesapeake. Around 45 of the 60 houses in the area were burned down, and Westphal burned the crops in the fields, and looted the granaries of the town and carted them off to the Royal Navy to transport to the Maritime colonies.

After the Raid on Havre De Grace, Cockburn sent his troops up the Susquehanna River where he destroyed the ammunition stores and depots there as well before the troops retreated backwards. Principio Furnace, a major ironwork and cannon foundry, responsible for around a fifth of the cannons being used in the New York Front was destroyed by the attack before Cockburn and his fleet retreated as well…..” The Royal Navy During the War of 1812, Osprey Publishing, 1976.

“In British Occupied Upper New York, an old regiment, an old loyalist regiment, named the New York Volunteers or the 1st Dutchess County Company was reactivated for service as the old loyalist and defectors from America were used to form the regiment to fight. They soon joined Sheaffe and his troops by Mid-April.” The Regiments of the War of 1812, University of Havana, 1998.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 6: The Month of Three Battles

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“The Battle of Rochester shook the very foundations of Washington when news arrived two weeks later to President Madison and the rest of the administration in Washington. In April 13th, when the news arrived, Madison ordered every single regular troops in the West to be returned to the East Coast, from where they would be diverted north to fight Brock and MacDonnell’s forces. This was protested heavily by Secretary of War Armstrong and Madison’s close ally James Monroe, and after some deliberation, and still much to Monroe’s disappointment, Madison recalled around 2/3 of the regular forces from the West, keeping the rest of them in the Creek Area where the Creek War was raging on.

Depiction of the Creek War. ​

Nonetheless, this decision made on panic and fear would be something that Tecumseh and McKay would prey upon later on.

The news of the Battle of Rochester also let out an outspoken rage in New England. Already angry over being dragged into a war, and with multiple slights from Washington and the President, and with the economy of New England and its subsequent states in a perpetual state of freefalling, the state governments of New England decided that enough was enough. They all decided to convene at Boston for the Boston Conference, where Governor Caleb Strong would host them.

The representatives for the Boston Conference consisted of:-

Massachusetts:-

• George Cabot
• Harrison Gray Otis
• Nathan Dane
• William Prescott Jr.
• Timothy Bigelow
• Samuel Sumner Wilde
• Joseph S. Lyman
• Stephen Longfellow Jr.
• Daniel Waldo
• Hodijah Baylies
• George Bliss
• Josiah Quincy III
• Timothy Pickering
• John Lowell Jr.

New Hampshire

• Benjamin West
• Mills Olcott

Vermont

• William Hall Jr.

Rhode Island

• Daniel Lyman
• Samuel Ward Jr.
• Edward Manton
• Benjamin Hazard

Connecticut

• Chauncey Goodrich
• John Treadwell
• James Hillhouse
• Zephaniah Swift
• Nathaniel Swift
• Calvin Goddard
• Roger Minott Sherman

The Boston Conference took place on April 29th, 1813 in Boston with Governor Strong in attendance from time to time as well. Initially, the convention led to nowhere as the radicals and the moderates clashed with one another over what should or should not be done. Timothy Bigelow, Timothy Pickerings, Quincy III and Lowell Jr, formed the ‘Secessionist Bloc’ which were by this point already pointing out that Succession was the only way to save the sinking New English economy. The others were the moderates, even though by this point almost every moderate had entertained the thought of succession as Maryland and Washington continued slight after slight and the continued military failures of the US Army.

However after some time, both the radicals and the moderates reached a compromise by midday. Even the radicals knew that succession amidst a war would look bad on them, like traitors, and giving a chance for reconciliation would be a good choice for the moment.

A popular depiction of the Boston Convention/Conference. ​

The convention ended with a report and resolution, signed by all delegates present, and adopted on the hour before final adjournment. The report stated that New England had a ‘duty’ to assert its authority over unconstitutional infringements on its sovereignty, a doctrine that echoed the policy of Jefferson and Madison in 1798 during the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, and which would later appear in a different context that would be called as nullification. The Boston Conference’s final report proposed several amendments to the US Constitutions. These attempted to combat the policies of the ruling Democratic Republicans by:-

• Prohibiting any trade embargo lasting over 45 days.
• Requiring a two thirds congressional majority for the declaration of an offensive war, admission of a state, or interdiction of foreign commerce.
• Removing the three-fifths representative advantage of the South
• Limiting future presidents to only one term.
• The repeal of the Enemy Trade Act of July 6th, 1812.
• Requiring each president to be from a different state than his predecessor (this was aimed directly against the so called Virginia Dynasty of ruling US presidents).

As the month of April ended, the delegates from the Boston Conference left the city to hand over their demands to Washington……” A Political History of the Commonwealth of New England, University of Boston, 1897.

“The Battle of Lake Erie was the single most largest naval battle in Lake Erie during the War of 1812. Admiral Barclay was eager to copy Yeo’s dominance on Lake Ontario in Lake Erie, and provide a springboard for McKay and Tecumseh to better supply them.

Over the winter, the Royal Navy had constructed a good amount of ships in the lake. So had the US Navy for that matter. The Royal Navy had the following ships in Lake Erie before the Battle of Lake Erie:-

• HMS Chippeway (Schooner)
• HMS Ares (Sloop of War)
• HMS Detroit
• HMS General Hunter (Brig)
• HMS Queen Charlotte
• HMS Lady Prevost (Schooner)
• HMS Little Belt (Sloop)
• HMS Minerva (Schooner)

The US Navy on the other hand had the following ships in the lake just before the Battle of Lake Erie:-

• USN Scorpion (Schooner)
• USN Ariel (Schooner)
• USN Lawrence (Brig)
• USN Caledonia (Brig)
• USN Niagara (Brig)
• USN Somers (Schooner)
• USN Porcupine (Schooner)
• USN Tigress (Schooner)
• USN Trippe (Sloop)

On the morning of 9th April, the Americans saw Barclay’s vessel’s heading for them, and got under way from their anchorage at Put-in-Bay. The wind was light, and Barclay initially held the weather gauge, but the wind shifted and allowed Perry to close and attack. Both squadrons were in a line of battle, with their heaviest vessels in the center of the line of battle.

The first shot was fired from the Ares at around 11:45. Perry hopped to get his two largest brigs, the Lawrence which was his flagship and the Niagara into carronade range quickly, but in the light wind, his vessels made very little speed and Lawrence was battered by the guns atop the Ares and Detroit for at least 20 minutes until one carronade from the Ares managed to break the frontal hull of the Lawrence. The breakage of the hull let water into the interior part of the brig, and Perry and most of the officers quickly bailed out and managed to row over onto the Niagara as the Lawrence slowly slipped below the waves by 12:50.

A depiction of Perry rowing over to the Niagara. ​

The Niagara, under Elliot was slow to come into action and remained far from carronade range. Later it was found out that Elliot had ordered his guns to fire upon his opposite number the Queen Charlotte, however the guns of his ship clogged up due to disrepair and bad maintenance before the battle, and he was forced to disengage out of fear of being fired upon, and his ship largely sat the battle out taking the American sailors who had drowned.

In the side, the Caledonia managed to fire massive amounts of carronades into the British Brig, General Hunter, and by 1, the brig started to tip over into the water, and the sailors started to bail out. The sailors were collected by the Queen Charlotte as she passed through the line where General Hunter had been in the beginning.

After that, the American gunboats and the British ships continued to pound each other shooting their guns from a good amount of distance. The battle was not easy. Both fleet’s surgeon’s were sick with Lake Fever, or Malaria, so the wounded were taken care off by the less competent aides and assistants.

After half an hour of pounding each other, the northern British line under the Little Minerva and Lady Prevost broke and was starting to feel the pressure, but around the same time the southern American line under the Porcupine and Tigress broke apart as well, and with both British and American lines in disarray, Perry and Barclay both tried to make one desperate move. Aboard the Niagara Perry ordered the ship to move onto the middle of the line and open her broadsides to fire. Aboard the Ares, Barclay ordered a similar move, and soon the Ares and Niagara found their broadsides firing at each other. Both ships had powerful hulls, and the carronades could not finish the each other off. With both American and British lines then in disarray, both sides started to slowly disengage from the battle, and by 3:30, the Battle of Lake Erie was over.

The Battle of Lake Erie saw Britain take 32 Killed, 99 wounded, and 2 missing casualties whilst America took 27 killed, 98 wounded and 4 missing. The battle was for the most part a stalemate and an indecisive battle. However on the tactical level it was a British victory. Because whilst it didn’t give the British total control of the lake, it continued to hold superiority in their part of the lake, and it continued to facilitate the supply of weapons and ammunitions and basic supplies over into Tecumseh’s and McKay’s forces. Perry had failed to force McKay and Tecumseh back into British territory due to the stalemate achieved during the Battle of Lake Erie. Small engagements in the lake would continue to take place throughout the entirety of the war from here on out, however a major engagement like the Battle of Lake Erie would never take place again.” The Naval History of the War of 1812. University of Quebec, 2019.

“Meanwhile, after reorganizing his troops again, and filling out his dead officers, and managing to come to a new bargain with Tecumseh, and after managing to recruit a good amount of Creek Native Indians around in the area, McKay decided that it was time to strike at Fort Meigs, and avenge his slightly embarrassing defeat at the fort once again. However first he decided that he needed to destroy a good portion of the garrison troops at Fort Meigs before actually laying siege to the fort itself. McKay’s reasoning, which was a good one, was that a depleted garrison meant a quick siege in any fort. Thus, before he made his move, and whilst he and Tecumseh’s men had been recuperating, McKay had sent multiple probes into the areas around Fort Meigs, and had started to spy on the fort, with spies detailing every single act the garrison did under General Henry Dearborn who commanded the fort.

By the time McKay decided to move, he knew the daily routine of the garrison extremely well, and he also knew about the new order that had come from Madison to withdraw the majority of the engineer troops and regular troops from the area after the Battle of Rochester. The Engineers under Captain Eleazer D. Wood and the 19th US Infantry under Colonel James Miller had already departed the fort to go to the East Coast alongside half of the companies of the 2nd US Dragoons under Captain Major Ball.

During his espionage on the area, McKay had discerned that in the morning at around dusk, the garrison usually conducted ammunition supplies from Woodville, a small village around 6 miles east from Fort Meigs. The forest was full of Native Indians, and the Militiamen usually guarded the ammunition restocking group. And McKay knew that he would have to strike then. He asked Tecumseh to be the one to fight, whilst he distracted Major General Dearborn.

Tecumseh accepted the offer. Both of them lay in wait in April 17th, and to their surprise, the garrison did not go about their usual routine. However Tecumseh and McKay both knew the virtue of patience, and so they waited once again, and on the next day, the garrison went about their usual routine.

That was when Tecumseh and McKay struck. Using the British regulars and militiamen that he had, McKay, after making sure that the majority of the garrison were patrolling the road to Woodville, laid siege to Fort Meigs much to the utter surprise of General Dearborn who had believed that the damage he done to McKay’s men would have sent him into decommission for far longer. He immediately dispatched an order for the troops patrolling the road to return, however Tecumseh’s men had already put themselves in the middle of the fort and the road, and the message was intercepted. Then, Tecumseh went for the battle. His 1500 warriors had formed the 1st and 2nd Regiment of the Lake Native Indian Warriors, and they were gearing to fight. They attacked the Militiamen patrolling the roads, mostly consisting of the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Brigadier General Green Clay, and the Pennsylvania militia battalion under Major John B. Alexander and finally the 1st Ohio Militia under Colonel James Mill.

Tecumseh during the Battle of Stony Ridge. ​

The militiamen were scattered, and disorganized, and not in a condition to fight properly. However Tecumseh forced them to fight. The Battle of Stony Ridge had begun. Tecumseh’s men struck the 1st Ohio Militia immediately around the small ridge around Stony Ridge, and dislodged them. The fear of natives, especially properly armed and trained natives was something that almost every militiaman feared, and the whopping cries made several leave the battle whilst fleeing immediately. The rest of the militiamen continued to fight, however Tecumseh’s lieutenant Black Hawk, who was in command of the 1st Regiment of Natives, managed to encircle the 1st Ohio Militia and gave a message to Colonel James Mill to surrender. Mill refused the offer. And Black Hawk struck as the encirclement tightened, and after Mill was killed in a bayonet charge from some of the Shawnee warriors, the rest of the militia laid their arms down and surrendered. Some men were unfortunately massacred by the natives, however Black Hawk quickly intervened and put a stop to it, leading the prisoners through a safe route back to Detroit. At Lemyone, Tecumseh was in direct command of the 2nd Regiment, and he started to harass and attack the Kentucky Militia Brigade under Green Clay. Clay was quickly taken out of the fight as he had not been even aware of the engagement before a group of native warriors slipped past the main attack, and attacked from the rear, and Clay ended up with a tomahawk in a split skull. The command of the Kentucky militia brigade then went over to Colonel William E. Boswell, and he was unable to take command of the current situation properly as he too had been taken by complete surprise, and Tecumseh had put his men in arrays that encircled the positions of the Kentucky Militia Brigade. By 10, the Kentucky Militia Brigade had been gutted with William E. Boswell himself killed in the fighting and the Colonel William Dudley forced to surrender his troops of the militiamen.

Only the Pennsylvania Militia Battalion under Major John B. Alexander managed to escape the slaughter that was the Battle of Stony Ridge, and that was because he withdrew to Woodville and then into Fremont soon after.

Then Tecumseh swung around and Tecumseh’s men alongside the troops under Black Hawk also aided the siege that McKay had made at Fort Meigs, and Fort Meigs came under siege from both sides of the River Maumee….” The Western Front of 1812, University of Havana, 1981.

“Brock advanced, and as he advanced Zebulon Pike did not attack either, instead he withdrew to the small settlement on Lake Onondaga. Whilst he was doing this, Colonel MacDonnell managed to siege the small forts in and around Pinewood (modern day Fort Drum) and then started to advance south to said Lake Onondaga as well. MacDonnell was intent on joining up with Brock’s forces.

In Lake Onondaga, Pike made his defense. He had around 6000 troops with him, faced with the same number of troops that was under the command of Brock. Pike had the 5th New York Militia, 3rd US Artillery, 15th US Infantry, 21st US Infantry and the 16th US Infantry alongside him, and decided that he would make a stand at Lake Onondaga. Some reinforcements from New York Militiamen managed to stall MacDonnell in the north as he was bogged down in Militiamen skirmishes in and around Watertown.

Brock on the other hand, had the 1st Iroquois Regiment, the 7th Royal Artillery, 49th Regiment of the Foot, 8th Regiment of the Foot, 104th Regiment of the Foot and the Glengarry Light Infantry alongside him. He knew that the closer he was getting into the interior of New York, the more the advantage Pike would receive, and Brock intended to take care of Pike once and for all.

At Jack’s Reef, he placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, and at Marcellus Falls, he placed the 104th Regiment of the Foot. At Elbridge, the 8th Regiment of the Foot, and the Glengarry Light Infantry was kept. The 7th Royal Artillery was dispersed along the entire line.

Pike had basically formed a wall with his troops in temporary redoubts facing Brock from Lakeland to Solvay and into Split Rock and Onondaga Hill.

The Battle of the Onondaga began on April 29th, when Brock ordered the 8th Regiment to attack the forward positions of the 21st US Infantry.

After multiple attacks however the 21st US Infantry could not be dislodged. After several attempts to do so, the 8th Regiment withdrew battered. Nonetheless, the 104th Regiment of the Foot was ordered from the south to take the 21st US Infantry, but before it could do as such, the 18th New York Militia arrived south of the 104th Regiment, and the 104th soon became engaged with said militia regiment. Finding this out, Brock found his position untenable. Without the 104th Regiment and the 8th Regiment to bring at full force, he didn’t have a chance at breaking Pike’s formation at Lake Onondaga and now his flanks were right out in the open for the New York Militias down south to attack upon. Somewhat hesitantly by the afternoon, Brock ordered all British troops attacking Lake Onondaga to retreat to Weedsport.

While the Battle of Lake Onondaga had been a victory for the Americans, and while it did bring the morale of the troops up by a good margin, it failed to break Brock. Brock had been humbled from his rashness, however the battle had inflicted light casualties on the British forces under Brock, a mere 19 had been killed, and some 31 wounded and some 12 captured. The Americans faced casualties of 15 killed, 34 wounded and 18 captured and the casualty ratio was even during the Battle of Lake Onondaga. However Brock would strike back five days later at the Second Battle of Lake Onondaga.” Isaac Brock At War.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 7: Raise the Union Jack!

***

“Five days after the First Battle of Lake Onondaga, Brock resumed his fight into New York. On May 3rd, he would attack once again. This time he had a trick up his sleeves. He placed his troops in the same manner that he had during the First Battle of Onondaga.

Pike who had no time to be reinforced, only had the 5th New York Militia, 18th New York Militia, 15th US Infantry, 16th US Infantry, 21st US Infantry and the 3rd US Artillery with him. He kept his troops in a wide line defending the lake and the small settlement all the way from Seneca Knolls in the North to Onondaga Hill in the south. The 18th New York Militia and the 5th New York Militia was kept at Onondaga Hill, and the 15th US Infantry was kept in the north at Seneca Knolls.

Brock on the other had the exact same formation as the First Battle of Lake Onondaga. At Jack’s Reef, he placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, and at Marcellus Falls, he placed the 104th Regiment of the Foot. At Elbridge, the 8th Regiment of the Foot and the Glengarry Light Infantry was kept. The 7th Royal Artillery was dispersed along the entire line.

a typical member of the glengarry light infantry. ​

The battle began in the morning at 5 a.m., when Brock’s guns starting to shell Onondaga Hill and the Militia based there. The 104th Regiment of the Foot moved to the hill from Marcellus’s Falls and started to assault the hill trying to attack.

The 104th Regiment attacked and assaulted the hill with all the strength that was characteristic of a regular regiment. The Militiamen who had gotten the better of the 104th Regiment five days before had only done so because they had caught the British by surprise, and the 104th Regiment was hungry for revenge. They attacked with ferocity and the militiamen of the New York Militias, which were already haphazard in their structure, equipment and capability started to become pushed back by the end of the hour. The continued artillery bombardment meant that the Hill was starting to become put under heavy pressure for the militiamen as well.

By 6:30, the position on Onondaga Hill for the militiamen from the two regiments became increasingly impossible to maintain in front of the assault that the 104th Regiment and the royal artillery and they abandoned it and in a somewhat haphazard, but much more organized than normal manner retreated to Jamesville. Pike ordered the 18th and the 5th New York Militia in Jamesville after they had retreated to go south and towards Otisco Lake. From there, Pike ordered the Militiamen to strike at the flanks of the 104th Regiment, where he believed could be pushed back again.

In the North, the 21st US Infantry was fighting a gruesome battle in the woods with the 8th Regiment of the Foot. The 8th Regiment of the Foot was utilizing all of the Iroquois knowledge of these woods to their utmost advantage. US positions were becoming increasingly volatile and unsustainable when the 21st US Infantry withdrew from Fair Mount to Solvay. However this was the move that Brock had been waiting for. The 8th Regiment and the 49th Regiment alongside the Glengarry Light Infantry started to push at the 21st, 16th and 15th US Infantry almost immediately after the 21st US Infantry withdrew to Solvay, and by 8, the 8th Regiment had broken the lines, and reached Lake Onondaga. Pike was now cut off from the southern sector of Upper New York.

He knew then that his only chance was the militiamen he had sent to Jamesville to attack at the flanks and create a breakout opportunity. However Brock pulled out his trump card. Major General Sheaffe had been moving forward at a sedate pace, however the day before the battle he had reached Seneca Falls, and when his troops saw the Militiamen move towards Otisco Valley, he attacked immediately and the Militiamen were put under heavy fire from the 2500 troops under the command of Sheaffe. And the militiamen were battered, and their position grew extremely more untenable as the 104th Regiment swung south after the 8th reached Lake Onondaga and attacked the militiamen from the rear. Faced with a chance of being encircled by Sheaffe and the 104th Regiment, the Militiamen slinked off from the battle moving south through the wilderness.

In the North Pike started to come under heavy pressure, and by midday, the 21st US Infantry had been extremely battered and unable to fight even properly. The men were tired, and the entire regiment was deficient of ammunition to fight with. Only the 16th US Infantry had proper ammunition to fight with, and by that point Pike knew that no breakout attempt would be possible. Further bad news came when a messenger he had sent north returned bringing news that Colonel MacDonnell had broken through the skirmishes of the militiamen and had started to advance down south as well, which was basically the death knell for any breakout attempt. With MacDonnell moving south, Pike’s men were well and truly encircled, and with no hope of moving out.

At 1, Pike surrendered to Brock, and Lake Onondaga along with Lake Oneida fell to the British forces under Brock, Sheaffe and MacDonnell. The Second Battle of Lake Onondaga came to an end with a crushing victory for the British troops. The British faced 41 killed in battle, 89 wounded, and around 4 missing in action. The Americans faced 69 killed in battle, 127 wounded, and 300 captured. Pike himself was captured in the battle, from where he would be transferred to York, where he would stay under house arrest under supervision of the British authorities and house arrest. Brock had reclaimed a slight shame of having lost the First Battle of Lake Onondaga.” Isaac Brock At War.

“In New York, the atmosphere was quickly starting to mirror that of its New English cousins. The initial enthusiasm for war with Britain was starting to ebb away, and fear of British reprisals against the ‘upstart colonials’ started to seep inside the population. After the American Revolutionary War, New York was one of the few places were the Loyalists hadn’t left in all entirety. Around half of the loyalists had left for Canada, and around a quarter to Britain itself. However the remaining quarter had remained in America, not wanting to leave their own lands, despite being against the American government. These loyalists tended not to vote or take part in governmental affairs, however even in their early to late fifties, these men started to welcome the prospect of returning to British authority. Few loyalists who were still in fighting condition defected to the British lines, and many children and descendants of loyalists defected to the British side as well. All in all, over the months of April and May, around 600 to 800 Americans, almost all of whom had some ties to loyalists defected to Brock and Sheaffe. Sheaffe, ever the cold man, and one for ironies, used these defectors to reform the King’s Royal Regiment of New York. They were equipped and had begun training by the end of the month.

Symbol of the King's Royal Regiment of New York. ​

Meanwhile in the city of New York itself, Daniel D. Tompkins, the Governor of New York was having a hard time controlling the explosive defeatism. He was all in all a competent Governor, which was quickly becoming a rarity in America during the War of 1812, and he had managed to somewhat sustain the New York Economy, and had managed to administer the Militia system effectively. However the total destruction and capture of around 4 militia regiments whilst fighting against Brock also let out a feeling of fear. Many men refused to volunteer for the militia because of fear and becoming afraid of fighting ‘New York Killer Brock’ as the press called him during those days. The conscription system put in place by Tompkins managed to alleviate some of the manpower shortage, however it wasn’t enough. By the end of May, the refusal of many to volunteer, and the blockade of New York by the Royal Navy started to show. A small British raid on New York took place on the 19th of May as well, which saw some armories and ammunition depots burnt to the ground before retreating. By that point Tompkins wrote a pessimistic letter to James Monroe.

Daniel D. Tompkins. ​

“This War is driving former loyalists and pessimistic loyalists right into the arms of the British. This war needs to stop. Our economy is plunging, our stock and exchange markets are being floated only by hauling gold across the Appalachian mountains, and the men refuse to fight due to an irrational fear of the British commander. We must stop now, or this war will be the end of the United States of America.”

Unfortunately for him, his words would be prophetic.” The Short Life of the Republic 1783-1827, Osprey Publishing, 1998.

“On May 17th, the delegates of the Boston Conference reached Washington, just as news of the Second Battle of the Lake Onondaga became known to the Presidential Palace. The mood was somber once again, and the delegates pushed their advantage and pushed the proposal in front of President Madison.

President Madison wasn’t an unreasonable man, however he was just that, a man. And he was prone to mistakes. Historians believe that had Madison accepted the Boston Conference and it’s demands, then the tragedy that struck his nation wouldn’t have happened, however one can only speculate. Madison was open to the 1 term limit, and the different states per president demand, and even ticked on them during the meeting between him and the delegates. He was also hesitant to call of the Enemy Act of 1812, however was willing to let it go and ticked on it as well. He also accepted the demand for any trade embargo not going over 45 days. However he could not and would not accept a two third congressional majority to declare an offensive war, and remove the three-fifths representative advantage of the south. The first, was because it would mean that Madison would have to accept that he had made a major error in declaring an offensive war, and put his decision making into question. The second, was because his major backers were the Southerners, and doing so would make him lose his support base, and much of his backers as well. Out of the entire demands that were made by the Federalists of New England, the two most crucial demands were not met by Madison. The delegates left Washington DC with anger burning through their veins. One of the delegates reputedly threw his hat onto the floor and stated that “Mr. President. This is the end of negotiations then.”

And as such, a new nation dawned.” A Political History of the Commonwealth of New England, University of Boston, 1897.

“In the West, the Second Siege of Fort Meigs ended on May 20th after a good month of the siege. General Henry Dearborn surrendered the fort after having found his position untenable and impossible to maintain as McKay and Tecumseh attacked from both sides of the River Maumee.

With the end of the threat that was posed by Fort Meigs, Tecumseh and McKay turned towards the south. They needed to be able to take Fort Wayne next. Taking Fort Wayne would end the threat to the West for the British during the entirety of the War. The Fort was also lightly defended, which was definitely ad advantage that Tecumseh and McKay was willing to exploit. With reinforcements from Upper and Lower Canada, amounting to around 500 regulars and 1500 Militiamen arriving, the invasion of the Indiana Territory began as McKay and Tecumseh, with their 4200 men starting to march towards Fort Wayne. By the 29th of May Fort Wayne came under siege as the Siege of Fort Wayne began.” The Life of Tecumseh, Penguin Publishing, 1999.

Fort Wayne. ​

“With the victories that Brock had brought onto the table, Prevost needed to make sure that he be seen doing something about the current situation as well. And he hadn’t been sitting idly however. For the past winter, he had managed to recruit two regiments worth of Quebecois men, around 2000 men, and throughout the winter they were trained to become proficient in battle, which Prevost later called a pseudo-regular training program. It had good results, and the 2000 Quebecois men were divided into the 107th (Quebec) Regiment of the Foot and the 110th (Montreal) Regiment of the Foot at end of the winter. Along with the other 800 Regulars that Prevost had, along with 3000 Militiamen, The Commander in Chief of British North America had assembled a formidable force indeed.

In May 26th, 1813, Prevost struck and he struck hard. The cautious and severely paranoid general was in good time able to go on the offensive as well, when it was needed. The British held naval superiority in Lake Champlain and utilizing that, few British schooners started the Battle of Plattsburg when they opened fire at the fortifications at Plattsburg. The Americans believed that the attack would be coming from the sea as a marine invasion, and the guns of the fortifications turned towards the lake, where seeing the guns, the British schooners immediately retreated back into Canadian waters.

However this distracted cost the Americans costly amount of time, as Major General Benjamin Mooers had posted his militiamen and the riflemen facing the lake, however the 107th Regiment of the Foot attacked from the north. The 110 riflemen under Major Daniel Appling tried to resist the attack from the 107th Regiment of the Foot, however when Prevost brought out the eight 6 pounder guns, Appling thought it best to retreat back into Plattsburg, and he abandoned the positions next to Point Au Roche, and retreated back to Cumberland Head, where the shore batteries would be able to give him an advantage. The Novo Scotian Fencibles then attacked on orders from Prevost. They entered Alburg and then and moved south intending to capture Grand Isle if they could, however their major objective was to keep the American troops there tied down. The Americans faced even more challenges however. The deep divides between New England and the rest of the Union had seeped inside the normal fighting troops, and during this time, most of the men identified with their state rather than the country itself in America. Many Vermont Militia did not even fight and instead sat in reserve whilst the Novo Scotians battered the New York Militia fighting in Grand Isle.

The American rearguards then retired across the Saranac, tearing up planks from the bridges, however in doing so they made their own opportunity of attacking and counterattacking slim. The 110th Regiment was also made up of French Canadians who knew the area well, as some were traders and had traded with the Americans during the time of peace. They attacked from Harrietstown, right at the flanks of the American Rearguard as they tried to cross the Sentinel Range Wilderness. The 110th Regiment and the American rearguard consisting of the 3rd US Rifle Regiment fought all across the Saranac Lake area, however the detachments of the rifle regiment were already inside the Sentinel Range, and without proper support and being outnumbered heavily the 3rd US Rifle Regiment fell quickly and by the evening of the May 26th, the Sentinel Range had fallen to the British 110th Regiment as well with the French Canadians singing Vive La Canadienne. In the north, the 107th Regiment began hammering the Riflemen under Tippling, however by dusk, the battle withdrew to a halt as the men started to rest for the next day.

On the 27th, the Battle of Plattsburg renewed as the Novo Scotians moved south and started to attack the New York Militia again. By that point, overnight, the Americans had resupplied Grand Isle, and the Novo Scotians were unfortunately pushed out from Grand Isle. Nonetheless, the New York Militiamen and the Americans were unable to dislodge the Novo Scotians in North Hero as the Novo Scotians broke the bridge connecting the two islands together, and the Americans did not hold naval advantage in the lake. What was worse for the Americans however was that the Novo Scotians had two 12 pounder guns, and these were used with impunity by the Novo Scotians to bombard Grand Isle from the distance, keeping the New York Militiamen on their toes, and unable to reinforce Plattsburgh properly.

However there would be no need. The city of Plattsburgh fell quickly however. The bombardment of the city hit an ammunition stores next to one of the fortresses in the city, and the store blew up in a cascade of fire and death. Now, having his position totally exposed to Prevost’s men, the American troops retreated south, and Plattsburgh fell to Prevost as the 107th Regiment entered the town victorious, as they raised the Union Jack and the British Quebecois flag. Ironically, it was the French Canadians who sang the Elevez L’Union Jack as the Union Jack was raised over the town. And as the month of May ended, the United States of America was getting closer and closer to becoming fully embroiled in a crisis.” British North America in 1812, University of Avalon, 1896.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 8: Succession of the States

***

“By June 6th, the news had arrived to Boston, that Madison had not accepted the points laid out by the Boston Conference. By the evening, news arrived of Brock’s invasion, and Prevost’s invasion as well. By that point, tensions were high and were coming to a boiling point. Israel Thorndike, a prominent Federalist in Boston stated:

‘This war is not one we asked, nor was opinion asked about it. Three central banks have collapsed due to our loss of trade, and our gold reserves flounder. The central and federal government has no answer to give, and the British continue to advance! I say we withdraw! We said no a radical solution before, however as the situation turns radical, so must our solutions for it!’

Israel Thorndike. ​

Thorndike was welcomed with a thunderous applause. By that point, even the rich aristocrats of the north who wished to stay in the Union found themselves getting the cold feet. The Blockade of New England had already made customs barriers fall down and the money in New England was quickly becoming useless as inflation sky rocketed, and the situation became dire. Brock’s invasion coupled with Prevost’s invasion also made things even worse, as investor confidence rocketed downwards, and it made the economical situation even harder for the people to comprehend. The militiamen from New England were also starting to desert en masse. A few Vermont Militia started crying out ‘We are the Green Mountain Boys! We don’t want no man in Virginia asking us to fight for something we don’t want!’

Slogans and phrases as such became common place in the militiamen of the New England states, and the situation came to a head. The Second Boston Conference was held and this time all the governors of the states were present as well. The governors were there of their own will, knowing that something needed to be done as well. The gathering of the delegates, and the statesmen and the governors started in the Second Boston Conference on June 10th. For two days, the governors and the statesmen debated with one day going back and forth again, and tempers were frayed. By the end of the first day of the conference no one knew what to do, and governor Strong later stated that:

‘We didn’t know what to do. We had absolutely no idea what to do.’

Finally on the next day, eloquent as ever, one George Cabot, an influential man, and senator of the United States for the state of Massachusetts stepped forward. He had in the beginning stopped short of calling for succession, however by now, he was backing the cause of succession. He called out for a vote among the governors, and the delegates present in the conference about succession. However before it happened, he laid out the pros and cons about succession. He stated that if they declared independence, it would make many in America delegate them as traitors, and their economic trade with the rest of the United States may become challenged due to this. On the other hand, if they declared independence, he also stated that it would restore the economic stability of New England, and the loss of US markets could be compensated by the massive British Empire. The case was strong.

George Cabot. ​

On July 12th, the vote was held. The first votes were held between the Governors. Governor Strong of Massachusetts voted yes for succession. Governor John Taylor Gilman of New Hampshire, a new governor appointee, voted no for succession, Governor John Cotton Smith of Connecticut voted yes for succession, Governor Jonas Galusha of Vermont voted no for succession, and finally Governor William Jones of Rhode Island voted yes for succession.

The voting assembly then devolved into a slight uproar before order was maintained again, and the delegates present in the Conference voted amongst themselves on the topic of succession. Out of the 53 delegates present in the Conference barring the Governors themselves, 38 voted for succession whilst the rest either abstained or voted to remain in the Union.

The vote was done by midday and the atmosphere was said to be grim. Governor Strong abruptly stood up apparently, and shouted that they now needed to vote whether their states would join as one nation or would be separate nations. The next vote was done quietly, and unanimously the decision was passed for the states to form the ‘Commonwealth of New England’.

Then by the evening, the Declaration of New Englander Independence was signed by all of the delegates present in the conference. The Declaration is too long list. However the main points that have been abrogated are:-

• The unanimous declaration of the 5 States of New England. When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one person to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature entitle them with, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
• Such has been the patient and impatient sufferance of these states; and such is now the necessity that constrains them to alter their former system of Government. The history of the present President of the United States is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states.
• We must therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them as we have held the rest of mankind, Enemies in Times of War, and Friends in Times of Peace.
• We, therefore, the representatives of the New Englanders, assembled here in Boston, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the rectitude and the scale of our intentions, do in the name and by authority vested in us by the good people, solemnly publish and declare, that these United States of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the United States of America, and that all political connection between them and America, is and ought to be totally dissolved. We mutually pledge to each other out lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

To add insult to injury, the tone and language of the declaration was exactly in the manner of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of America. The declaration was made public on June 14th, and on June 15th, the states of New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont all declared succession from the United States of America. On June 16th, they all declared the union of the five states and declared the Commonwealth of New England as an independent nation.

New Flag of the Commonwealth of New England: credits to @The Professor ​

Back in Washington, when the news arrived about the New Englander succession on June 28th, President Madison declared the succession illegal, and declared the five New Englander succession to be a simple ‘rebellion’ against the ‘union’. War was now likely between the US and the Commonwealth of New England.” How a Nation is Formed, University of Hartford, 1992.

“In terms of military maneuvers, the month of June was comparatively small except for three key events. On June 12th, the British government announced the extension of the blockade of the United States of America into the Southern States and all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. The port of New Orleans, which basically survived on trade with New Spain through the Gulf of Spain started to flounder economically as well. General Andrew Jackson, who was in command of the local militias wrote a letter stating that the Francophone population was increasingly angered by the war, however they were nowhere near as restless as the New Englanders, still unaware of the New Englander succession.

Andrew Jackson ​

However what waited for Sir Isaac Brock and the Americans on June 23rd, was the singlemost largest battle fought in the War of 1812. Under Brock, and Sheaffe, the combined British Army of the Niagara had 9,500 troops under the command, of which 4,000 were regular troops, 1,500 were Native Indian troops under Captain John Norton, and the rest were militiamen and loyalist defectors from America. Over the past two months, America had been stripping their forces from the west dry and some of them had already reached the eastern sea board. The Americans had exactly around 10,000 troops under the command of Major General Jacob Brown. Brown had been partially disgraced by his defeat at the Raid at Sacket’s Harbor, however he was still recognized as a capable of commander, and the astonishing lack of senior officers made him one of the only commanders available, and thus he was put in command of the American Army of the North as it was called. The American Army of the North consisted of 3000 regulars, and around 7000 militiamen.

These two armies would clash with each other in the Battle of Johnstown. This battle decided the fate of Albany as well, because if the Americans were defeated in battle, Albany lay right open for occupation, and the Americans knew it.

Under Brock, he had the 8th Regiment of the Foot, the 104th Regiment of the Foot, the 49th Regiment of the Foot, the 1st Regiment of the Iroquois, the 2nd Regiment of the Iroquois, the 5th Regiment of the Foot, the Newfoundland Fencibles, the King’s Royal Regiment of New York, the 7th Royal Artillery and the 10th Royal Artillery, the Glengarry Light Infantry and finally the 3rd and 2nd York Militias. The Iroquois were under the command of Captain John Norton and the 5th Regiment of the Foot, the 10th Royal Artillery, the 2nd York Militia and the King’s Royal Regiment of New York were under command of Major General Sheaffe.

Under Brown, he had the 25th US Infantry, the 11th US Infantry, the 9th US Infantry, the 9th US Artillery, the 5th US Artillery, the 5th, 7th, 15th and the 19th New York Militia, the 1st New York Cavalry and the 6th US Cavalry as well.

Brock placed the 49th Regiment of the Foot, aided by the 7th Royal Artillery at Rockwood. The 104th Regiment of the Foot and the 8th Regiment of the Foot aided by the 10th Royal Artillery made up the center force of Brock which was stationed at Ephratah. The 5th Regiment of the Foot and the King’s Royal Regiment of New York were kept in Fort Plain. The Iroquois Regiments and the Militia regiments were kept by Brock in hidden positions. The 2nd and 3rd York Militias were kept at Caroga Lake putting a position for encirclement and the Iroquois militia were kept further south in Sharon Springs.

Brown to his acknowledgement, had known that Brock may try to encircle him like Brock had done with Zebulon Pike, however in trying to protect his flanks, he made his flanks too strong, and instead his center was weak. From Mayfield to West Bush, the 11th US Infantry and the 6th US Cavalry and the 5th US Artillery was kept in position at the northern flanks. Down south at Fonda and Tribeshill, the 5th, 7th and the 19th New York Militia was kept alongside the 1st New York Cavalry. In the middle facing Brock’s center was now the horribly small center of the 25th and 9th US Infantry.

The Battle of Johnstown began on June 24th when the 49th Regiment of the Foot began to assault the positions of the 9th US Infantry at Meco. The 9th US Infantry used the remains of the old Fort Johnstown to their advantage and rebuffed the attacks by the 49th Regiment. The 49th Regiment retreated slightly after three assaults at 8 am, and the 7th Royal Artillery began firing at the positions of the 9th US Infantry instead, which forced the 9th US Infantry to abandon their positions by 8:30 am, due to their lack of friendly artillery cover. The 49th Regiment entered Meco and began to assault Gloversville, however the 9th US Infantry put up dogged resistance in this area un accessible by the 7th Royal Artillery and both sides dug down to shooting pot shots at one another and unable to fight each other properly.

At Ephratah, 8th Regiment of the Foot began to move forward and attacked the 25h US Infantry’s positions at Sammonsville. The attack at Sammonsville was then complemented by the 104th Regiment of the Foot as both regular regiments attacked from both west and north forcing the 25th US Infantry back into the interior of the Johnstown.

These early defeats forced Brown to think again. He reasoned that his southern flank was better defended due to the American forces being attached to the south and in control of the territories there. Thus, he 7th and the 19th New York Militia was taken from Tribeshill and transferred north. This was observed by Norton from the distance and Norton took his chance right there and then, utilizing the independent command that Brock had given him. The 1st and the 2nd Regiment of the Iroquois struck immediately at Fonda and the militiamen there, now at a numerical disadvantage and extremely afraid of the natives in front of them. By midday, Fonda was overrun by the Iroquois troops and warriors, forcing the Militiamen to take cover in Tribeshill.

In the north seeing the battle, Sheaffe ordered the York Militia to attack Mayfield and pin the US 11th US Infantry in place. The militiamen would not be able to attack and win over the regulars from America no doubt, however that wasn’t Sheaffe’s motive anyways. Sheaffe’s job was to simply pin the Americans down. With the southern flank crumbling, and unaware that his northern flank was being attacked, Brown ordered his reinforced troops in the center to conduct a counter attack against the 8th Regiment, and the 104th Regiment and the 49th Regiment.

The area under Johnstown continued to exchange hands for a long time during the rest of the day, however by the end of the day, when the soldiers settled down for the night, the British troops had captured the northern part of the town, however the southern part of the town stubbornly held out under Brown and had thrown the 104th Regiment out.

The next day, at 5 am, Brock attacked again and by that point, the center of Brock was extremely dangerous and by 11 am, Mayfield had been captured and the northern troops were encircled, and Brown was on the verge of being encircled. By 11:30 he ordered a retreat and around half his troops managed to retreat properly. The rest including the 11th US Infantry in the north were captured and forced to surrender.

A Depiction of the Battle of Johnstown. ​

The Battle of Johnstown led to 112 British deaths, and 412 wounded with 4 missing in action. It also led to 237 American deaths, and 468 wounded with 1600 captured. This battle was the death knell for American ambitions for a counter attack in New York. By June 31st, Brock entered Albany unopposed as he raised the Union Jack in Albany for the first time in over three decades.” Isaac Brock At War.

“Meanwhile in the west, Fort Wayne had been cut off from the Eastern Seaboard. With all of America’s war plans in massive disarray, the commander of Fort Wayne surrendered to Tecumseh and McKay on the condition that the militia troops, the only troops kept in the west by this point, be given safe shelter as prisoners of war. McKay and Tecumseh accepted this offer, and the 80 man garrison of Fort Wayne surrendered to McKay and Tecumseh.

Tecumseh and McKay then had two options. They could either continue south and attack St. Louis, or swing north and cut off the Michgan Peninsula from America entirely. Going south exposed a good amount of McKay’s flanks to the American militias, and Tecumseh even though he was from the south as a Shawnee agreed that the best course of action would be to attack and isolate the Michigan Peninsula from the rest of America entirely. Throughout Michigan around 500 to 1000 Militiamen were scattered throughout the area, and were wreaking a good amount of havoc into british lines. On june 30th, both McKay and Tecumseh swung north with their sole aim being Lake Michigan.” Tecumseh and McKay; the Duo of the West, Osprey Publishing, 1922.

“In the north, small skirmishes between Connecticut Militia and New Yorkers began on the Connecticut-New York border by the end of the month.” New England at War, Osprey Publishing, 1998.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 9: Near Collapse.

***

“Burning Washington………That was the Last Straw that broke the camel’s back……”- James Monroe.

“In Novo Scotia, British reinforcements from Ireland, and even some Portuguese volunteers from the Iberian War had started to filter onto the Maritimes as the British forces in the area geared up for something that hadn’t been seen before. The multiple British raids into the Chesapeake Bay had made Rear-Admiral Cockburn know about the severe defensive deficiencies in the region. British raiders raided with impunity much of the time, and these raids led to much destruction and hampered a lot of the war making capability of the United States of America. However in the north at Halifax, Cockburn advocated for humiliating America to the final degree, and by early March, the plan to burn Washington to the ground had already started. With the American defense collapsing like a seam of cards, Admiral Cockburn gave the go to ahead for the Burning of Washington.

Rear Admiral Cockburn. ​

On June 31st, around 3,000 troops of the Royal Marines, including 100 volunteers from Portugal left Halifax aboard the strongest fleet the British Royal Navy had sent to Chesapeake Bay throughout the War of 1812 with Admiral Cockburn at it’s head. A prominent British general from the War in Iberia had been assigned to the task, and that general’s name was Robert Ross. A prominent general, and capable in his own right, he would lead the land portion of the attack.

General Robert Ross. ​

In the wake of Brock’s devastating victories up north, much of the American militias had been moved up north to the border between Virginia and Philadelphia, and the stores were moved inland, which made some raids inconsequential, and as a result, Secretary of War, Armstrong Jr, refused to even think about a possibility that the British would attack Washington DC. However on July 7th, Robert Ross and his 3,000 men stepped afoot at Mason Neck from the Potomac river, with the might of the entire British West Indies and British North American Fleets beside him.

One American civilian, Howard Jackson, who was present at Mason Neck when Ross set afoot ashore, would later on write

It was like in the fairy tales, and legends and myths. I saw an armada of ships glistening in the morning sunlight throughout the river, with even a single speck of water being covered by massive broadsides. An army landing in front of me. I couldn’t help myself. I had self preservation to think about. I surrendered.

The British were met with little resistance. Armstrong had kept his troops towards the north, and one cannot fault him, as all American intelligence regarding the subject had him believe that an attack from Baltimore would be the one coming, and not an attack from the Potomac River. However what can be faulted on Armstrong is that even by 10 am, when he learned of the British invasion, he did not reinforce the area, believing it to be a ploy and diversion.

Ross advanced and smashed through the surprised 6th Virginia Militia Regiment, and advanced into Mt. Vernon where he met little to no resistance. Then he entered Washington DC with 3000 troops. Both President Madison and Vice President Elbridge Gerry were captured in the attack while they were packing to escape. Madison’s wife managed to escape along with Secretary of State James Monroe. Of the Madison Cabinet, the President, Vice-President, and the Attorney General (William Pinkney) were captured by Ross. Monroe and George Campbell managed to escape the attack to Baltimore in the nick of time.

The Burning of Washington ​

Ross then, as did Cockburn order the sacking and burning of Washington DC. At 11:30 am, the capital city of the United States of America went up in flames as the civilians were evacuated and were subjected to seeing their homes go up in flames. All the while, Ross, for a part in irony has the Union Jack, and ‘God Save the King’ play all the while the city burned to the ground. By 3 pm, Armstrong had managed to turn south and come forward with 3 regiments of militiamen, however by then the damage had been done. The city was burned to the ground, and the minute Ross received the notice that Armstrong was turning south, he scooped up the American cabinet members that he had captured and they were all sent aboard the British fleet. From there, the Royal Marines looted anything that would be of use in a war and then retreated aboard the Royal Navy.

This massive loss of half of the cabinet to the enemy, as well as the Vice President and the President shook the very core of the American governance. In Baltimore, James Monroe formed a new government with the remaining members of the cabinet, with himself as interim leader before things could go out of hand. He ordered a contact to John Gaillard, the President of the Pro Tempore of the Senate to come to Baltimore so that he could become the president of the United States of America as per the constitution of the United States of America. Monroe desperately wanted to make sure that a constitutional crisis did not erupt, and ordered his dispatches to be sent as fast as possible, utilizing every resources to deliver the news immediately.

John Gaillard, unfortunately for him, the next President of the US. ​

Aboard the Royal Navy, the President of the United States and the Vice President were ordered to be sent to London, where they would be held under House Arrest, as was normal for capturing enemy head of states for the time. Cockburn allegedly asked Madison whether or not that the United States would surrender or not, and if they did surrender, then they would release Madison, Elbridge, and Madison’s captured family.

Madison refused to surrender, stating that he hadn’t joined the revolution just to surrender later on. Allegedly, Cockburn shrugged and said ‘your choice’ and they were boarded onto a merchant ship from where they would begin their journey to the United Kingdom.

Meanwhile, as the news of the Burning of Washington, and the capture of the highest members of the American government became public, the population of the United States of America exploded into a plethora of fear.” The Government in Crisis, How the Republic Fell, Osprey Publishing, 2009.

“In the north, due to Monroe’s efforts, the news of the burning of Washington and the capture of Madison and Elbridge became public news, and in New York, Governor Tompkins signed a statute of surrender and proposed to meet with Brock. On July 16th, Tompkins and Brock met with each other, in which Tompkins surrendered the state of New York to Sir Isaac Brock and British North America. All throughout the state, the state militias were ordered to stand down, and the regular troops were to be transported safely back to Philadelphia.

The fall of New York, and these tremendous losses made the morale in the American nation plummet, and in the newly formed New English one, rise up. Speaking about New England, the nation was now going to choose their new leader. Among the prominent candidates for the title of President of New England were Timothy Pickering, Timothy Bigelow, George Cabot, Israel Thorndike and John Lowell Jr.

Many of the candidates argued that choosing a war leader to be their president was why the American nation had been so ‘belligerent’ and that a civilian leader who knew the limits of the economy and could confer with his military leaders would be the best leader as the first President of the United States of America. George Cabot, who was charismatic, and a businessman of great success was chosen to become the first President of the Commonwealth of New England. This was meant to be a temporary one until their independence was recognized, by the end of which a formal election would take place. Cabot was able to get the endorsement of Timothy Pickering, Timothy Bigelow, and Governor Strong, extremely influential people to become chosen as the President of the Commonwealth of New England.

George Cabot, the first President of New England, and one of it's very best. ​

Cabot’s speech of Boston was held in public to the population of Boston where he promised liberty, freedom and economic prosperity to the people. His first act was to make sure that the Militiamen and the Regulars in the new New English Army to be balanced, stating that the invasion of New York had made it pretty clear that having balance between Militiamen and Regulars would work the best, and this was agreed upon, as the government of New England drew up a plan to have 10,000 Regulars in the field alongside the current 19,000 Militiamen by the end of August.

In Plattsburgh, Prevost as the Commander in Chief of British North America also recognized the Commonwealth of New England as an independent nation.

On July 27th, Gaillard was made the President of the United States of America under the supervision of the remaining members of the Congress and the cabinet.

However much to their dismay, on June 27th, Sir Isaac Brock, after managing the occupied New York, went on the offensive once again, this time with his numbers being filled in with defectors and loyalists.” New England’s War of Independence, University of Hartford, 1879.

“With 5,000 men recovered, rested and fed, Isaac Brock now wished to hit the final blow against the Americans. This opportunity came on the 27th when he sighted the 26th US Infantry and the 17th US Infantry aided by the 5th US Rifle Regiment try to defend the road to Philadelphia at Princeton.

Putting the 104th Regiment, the 8th Regiment and the 49th Regiment at Rocky Hill he attacked at 10 am, where the 104th Regiment and the 49th Regiment attacked together. Hardened by battle, the 17th US Infantry managed to throw back the attacks from the 104th Regiment, however by that point, it allowed the 8th Regiment attacked it from the rear, and it’s defense quickly collapsed. Seeing the small battle turn decisively against the US Forces, the 5th Us Rifle Regiment and the 26th US Infantry withdrew from battle. The small Battle of Princeton gave Brock a springboard for an attack on Philadelphia and by this point, President Gaillard assume session in the Congress, where he asked for the United States of America to surrender to the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Now we stand at the precipice of the greatest defeat the United States has ever suffered. Our armies are in shambles, and our economy non-existent. Unless we surrender now, we will face the consequences of which we shall never be able to recover from. – President Gaillard.

The Congress refused to surrender, stating that the only way they would surrender would be with the entirety of the United States under occupation. However the vote that decided it was fractious with tension, as the decision not to surrender passed only with 1 vote. The anti-war faction of the Democratic-Republicans left the Congress Meeting after the vote with one stating that this vote would ‘destroy the United States’.

Far in the south, the succession of the New English states and the Burning of Washington reached New Orleans by August 8th. The Francophone population, already who had not been enthused to join an Anglophone nation started to rumble with discontent. On August 11th, The mayor of New Orleans, Nicholas Girod, who was protestant in faith, and avid Union supporter was assassinated by the Francophone population, and led by one Jean Baptiste Plauche. Plauche stated that the Americans were weak, and that their nation was falling apart, and that the Francophones of New Orleans would have to protect themselves along with the Francophones of Louisiana from the reviled British. 6,000 Louisianan Francophones rose up in the famed ‘Louisianan Revolt’. Major General Andrew Jackson who was based in New Orleans met the Rebels in battle outside of New Orleans in what became known as the Battle of Maurepas. The Battle of Maurepas was a one sided affair. Despite having the guts to revolt, and having the will to do so, the Louisianan rebels were extremely poorly armed. They were using muskets from the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War to fight and they were disorganized barely held together.

Jean Baptiste Plauche, the man who wished for an independent Louisiana and died for it. ​

Jackson defeated the Louisianan Rebels with ease at the Battle of Maurepas. However what he did afterward inflamed the tensions and anger of the population. Surrendered officers from the rebels were all massacred under the orders of Jackson in what became known as the Maurepas Massacre. In New Orleans, the news caused an uproar, and the Francophone population bristled with rage, however with no weapons to fight, they looked on desperately as Andrew Jackson entered the city and then declared martial law, and the relatives of the massacred officers were taken away to be judged. In the Judgments of New Orleans, which was under Martial Law conducted by Andrew Jackson himself, around 12 relatives of the officers were determined ‘guilty’ of treason and then killed.

The Louisianan Revolt petered out in a day or two and the situation returned to as it was before the revolt, however with martial law hanging on them, and with Andrew Jackson’s actions having angered the population, many Louisianan Francophones would defect to the British side.

In Congress, a new vote was held on August 17th, as New English troops started to reinforce Brock for his invasion of Philadelphia. Finally, Congress finally declared its intentions to surrender. President Gaillard sent a note of ceasefire to the British lines which reached Brock by August 29th. Brock accepted the offer of a bilateral ceasefire on the condition that President Gaillard meet him at Philadelphia where an armistice would be signed. Gaillard accepted and on September 19th, the Armistice of Philadelphia was signed in which the American government formally surrendered to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, just as Madison and Elbridge were shunted off to House Arrest in London.

The armistice of Philadelphia. ​

The Terms of the Armistice of Philadelphia were:-

• A Termination of hostilities all across the front within 24 hours of the signature.
• Immediate repatriation of all British subjects held in America.
• Surrender of the material: 40,000 muskets, 9,000 rifles, 400 guns.
• Evacuation of all American troops in New York back to the Frontlines.
• The current frontlines to be maintained until a final treaty was written down.
• All means of communication, including roads, canals, bridges were to be left intact as well as everything needed for agriculture and industry.
• Immediate cessation of all hostilities at sea and surrender of all intact American Ship of the Lines by the end of the month.
• Listed American naval ships to be disarmed by the end of October.
• Immediate release of all prisoners of war.
• Surrender of all assets that were frozen by the US government before the war against the United Kingdom.

These terms were extremely harsh, however with the economy exactly according to economists, three weeks from bankruptcy and destruction, President Gaillard signed the armistice.

Fighting ceased on all front except for the North West when some of the companies of the 30th US Infantry clashed with Tecumseh in the Battle of Three Oaks, in which the 30th US Infantry was pushed back and McKay and Tecumseh encircled the entirety of the Michigan Peninsula on September 30th. On October 14th, the news of the armistice reached the west, in which Tecumseh and McKay celebrated and the Americans returned home downtrodden by their obvious defeat in the war.

As the war grounded to a halt, the negotiators from America set sail for Europe, hopeful that the British negotiators would be kind. The British negotiators were in a mood for anything but.” A History of North America, University of Havana, 2009.

***

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 10: The Treaty of Ghent and Aftermath.

***

“The Treaty of Ghent is probably one of the most influential treaties in history. It shaped North American history for the next two centuries till today, and has shaped how countries in the area have maneuvered. Certainly, the War of 1812 was a great victory for the British troops, and with Napoleon’s disaster of war in Russia and Central Europe, as Swedish, Austrian, Prussian, and Russian forces continued to smash him, the morale of the British public began to grow as well.

The first American negotiators landed in London in December 1813, and as Britain was still at war with Napoleonic France, the negotiations at first were held in London. There, the former President of the United States, James Madison, who was being held under house arrest, was allowed to watch the proceedings of the negotiations.

The Americans, had sent a five man team for the negotiations, which in hindsight may have not been the best choice, as two among the five were despondent about their loss in the war, and the other two were useless in the negotiations, and their leader was left alone to manage the negotiations. The negotiating team consisted of John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, James A. Bayard Senior, Jonathan Russel and Albert Gallatin. The British on the other hand sent minor officials, who kept in close touch with their superiors. The British government’s main diplomatic focus in 1813 and 1814 was not to end the war in North America, but to end the War in Europe and maintain the balance of power on the European Continent.

John Quincy Adams. ​

However despite the minor diplomats being sent to the negotiations, the mood in Britain, particularly among the British public wasn’t forgiving. One American representative in London told US Secretary of State James Monroe in a letter:

There are so many who delight in this war that I have less to hope than ever of our being able to make a favorable peace. You will perceive by newspapers that a very great force is to be written down in the treaty and the order of the day is division of the States and of conquest. The more moderate think that our Seaboard should be laid to waste and we are made to agree into a line in which shall exclude us from the lake, to give up a part of our claim to Louisiana and the privilege of fishing on the banks, etc, then, peace may be made with us.

Indeed, and much of his words would prove to become prophetic. In May 1814, the negotiations moved to Ghent, Netherlands as it was a neutral power in the conflict between the United States of America, and the United Kingdom. As peace talks opened, the American diplomats fought tooth and nail to get as much of a favorable treaty as they could. The British opened their part of the negotiations with their demands, and their most important of which was the creation of an Indian Barrier State in the former Canadian Midwest Territory. It was understood that the British government would sponsor the Indian state. For decades, the British strategy had been to create a buffer state to block American expansionism. At first, Adams, refused to consider a buffer state or to include Natives directly into the treaty in any fashion. Adams argued that there was no precedent for including native allies in Euro-American peace treaties and to do would be for the United States to abandon its sovereign claims over Native Homelands. The British negotiators simply handed Adams a map of the occupied United States of America and told him that America was in no place to make such a demand, and that Britain was making the demands at that moment.

Lord Liverpool, the head of government of the United Kingdom summed up his position and the position of the United Kingdom quite nicely in this quote that he told to Elbridge during his house arrest.

Peace will reign in the Americas once again. However on our terms. It is American lands that have been occupied, and it is the American capital that has been sacked, along with America who started the war in the first place. We will ensure that America shall remain a sovereign nation, but one that will not remain a threat to British security in the region forever. – Lord Liverpool.

By the end of negotiations, Adams could only maneuver himself into a position that the British negotiators agreed to recognize the Louisiana Purchase as legitimate. However even this came as a double edged sword, as if Britain had maintained that the Louisiana Purchase was illegal, then they wouldn’t have been able to take land of it. However with them recognizing the Louisiana Purchase, they were free to take land away from the Louisiana Purchased lands as well. On August 3rd, the British and American negotiating teams signed and affixed their individual seals to the document of the agreement. The terms of the Treaty of Ghent were harsh. The major points of the Treaty of Ghent were:-

• The Recognition of the Commonwealth of New England as an independent and sovereign nation. The British negotiators were adamant on this point, and stated that should it not be done, then war would resume. The negotiators reluctantly accepted it and the Commonwealth of New England was accepted as an independent nation.
• Upper New York state would be annexed completely into British North America from the Buffalo-Syracuse Line and the Syracuse to Watertown Line and finally the Watertown to Fort Covington line. This cut the United States of America from Lake Ontario completely.
• The Lake Oneida to Glens Falls Line from Upper New York to be annexed into New England.
• The Louisiana Purchased Lands of the Minnesota Territory, Wisconsin Territory, Illinois Territory using the River Illinois as the border, and Michigan Territory would be ceded to the Crown Protectorate of Mishigama, which was a Crown Protectorate of the British Empire, however would be Tecumseh’s Indian Barrier State and Confederacy. These demands cut off America from Lake Michigan, Superior and Huron completely. The only lake America had access to was Lake Erie.
• The Canadian Border in Rupert’s Land to be pushed down to the Missouri River and Red River in the Montana and Dakota Territory.
• The handing over of all the 1st Rate, 2nd Rate Ship of the Lines from the US Navy, along with all frigates.
• The USA to pay US $10,000,000 to the United Kingdom as war reparations over a course of five years, till said time, border forts would be occupied by Britain until all reparations would be paid.
• America to demobilize its borders with New England and British North America for ten years.

These terms were extremely harsh for the United States of America, but not as harsh as they were expecting. Many had believed that the entirety of the Louisiana Purchase would be carved off of America, and whilst they did lose around two fifths of the purchased lands, they maintained the majority of it, and the government had been expecting around $15,000,000 in war reparations, and having to pay only two-thirds the amount was a breather as well.

Yellow - New Spain, Blue - USA, Pink - BNA, Green - New England, Orange - Mishigama please forgive my horrible mapping skills. ​

The British House of Commons ratified the treaty on August 29th. As the negotiators left for America, President Madison and Vice President Elbridge joined them in their journey back home.

They reached America on December 1814. The Treaty was ratified by the senate 16-10 with the 10 New English Senators in absentia. And thus, the war of 1812 officially ended in December 23rd, 1814, with a resounding American defeat…” Essay on the Treaty of Ghent, A levels History Exam, 2015.

“Meanwhile in America, as the war ended, blame was thrown all around on why the war started, why the American show in the war was dismal, and why America lost. The blame was carried all around. However it was the Federalists who were not in league with the New English secessionists that were blamed first and foremost, as the government heaped and shifted blame to the, denouncing them as traitors. The War of 1812 essentially destroyed the remaining Federalists in America not from New England.

Meanwhile, the Democratic-Republicans also splintered. Their abysmal handling of the economy, which was so poor that even the poorest regions of Europe would be laughing at them made them bitter, and the party soon split, mainly into the ‘Whigs’ which was led by Henry Clay. Clay stated that the war had been lost due to imperfect administration, and the main basis of the Whig Party was the advocacy of administrative reform, economic reform, and geopolitical reform as well. The other splinter group of the Democratic Republicans were the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party was led by James Monroe. Monroe believed that the war shouldn’t have happened in the first place, and that the government should follow a conciliatory path with the Europeans diplomatically but stay untangled with their affairs, stating that America had been a co-belligerent of the Empire of France. He also stated the need for not a focus on agrarian economics, nor urban economics, but a mix of both with a rich trading culture. Monroe’s Democratic Party was decisively the smaller part of the two splinter groups that had formed.

Meanwhile a new party formed as well. General Andrew Jackson had become mildly popular due to his actions in putting down the New Orleans Revolt, despite having used brutal tactics for it. He and many other former Democratic-Republicans who didn’t agree with the Whigs or the Democratic Party formed their own on February 17th, 1816, as the first convention of the American National Party (ANP) took place. The ANP’s first head was John C. Calhoun. Calhoun had been one of the War Hawks, and one of the best proponents of the war with Great Britain. Calhoun had blamed their loss in the War of 1812 to the former Democratic Republicans and had stated that it was he who had managed to save the Americans from a more grave peace, and that his efforts to provide funds, raise troops, logistics, and regulation of commerce aided the Americans to at least win some token victories. His ‘second-in-command’ was General Andrew Jackson. Prominent members of the American National Party during it’s first convention were William H. Crawford, Charles Tait, Francis Locke Junior, William Branch Giles, George Troup etc.

Logo of the American National Party. ​

The American National Party mostly favored three things. It was embittered through their loss with Britain, however recognized that the Americans trying to challenge Britain was too much generations way, and for the moment they advocated having neutral relations with their former colonial overlord. It advocated for instead utilizing the ‘god-given right to America’ to expand into the unclaimed territories in the west and in the crumbling New Spain. It also focused mainly on Jeffersonian ideals of an agrarian republic, and was a major proponent of slavery, though with a twist. Calhoun stated that much of American military power was diverted due to militiamen having to watch their slaves, and instead stated that a moderate slavocratic agrarian economy would be the best, as it would limit the number of slaves, yet keep the economic benefits coming. The American National Party found immense support in the Deep South.” A History of How Democracy Uprooted Democracy, Penguin Publishing, 2009.

“In the newly independent Commonwealth of New England, the government was still deciding on what form it should take. It had an interim President and head of state and for the moment it was functioning as a Presidential Republic, however that decision was going to quickly change. The New Englanders argued that having a single man in charge of multiple affairs, the position of a President, no matter how trustworthy was a difficult proposition, as it was one that had led to the War of 1812 in the first place. Cabot himself agreed on this issue.

However there were many who opposed a parliamentary republic as well. Nonetheless, what kind of system would the Commonwealth follow, ended up with the Parliamentary System. The Constitution of the Commonwealth of New England was declared on March 12th, 1815, and the constitution laid out the basic provisions of the government. For much of the document, it was basically a pasted version of the British Magna Carter, and the American Constitution amalgamated into one, however with New English characteristics. The head of the government was made to be the ‘Lord Chancellor’, which was the New English version of the Prime Minister, who would be elected through a ballot system in the Parliament of New England, who would be directly elected by the people. The capital city was also affirmed to be Boston.

Cabot, was then designated not as the President, but as the Chancellor of New England. The first parliamentary elections took place on July 1815, and all of the representatives who stood up were federalists, and the first Parliament was fully unanimously a federalist parliament. The First President of the New English Parliament was Timothy Pickering, who was also the Attorney General of New England.

Cabot’s first point of business was to create a properly functioning economy. New England’s economy was basically running on British subsidies and American reparations. Cabot stated that New England had the capability to become maritime trading heavyweight in North America, as they controlled the key areas of maritime interest, and the economic and demographic capability of the Commonwealth would make it increasingly possible for New England to pursue this. Utilizing British contractors, the New English people started to lay down massive amounts of ships, as the ports started construction of multiple merchant ships. Cabot also discarded Militia System entirely, stating his intentions clear of making a professional regular force in the Commonwealth following the United Kingdom.

A New English merchant ship in the 1820s. ​

By the end of 1815, the first new political party on the scene in New England, was the New England Tories. The New English Tories were basically based off on the British Tories, and their major ideologies were conservatism, Famillism, Solidarity and making a center-right position on the political spectrum. Like the Federalists by this point, they also encouraged New English Nationalism.

Throughout the rest of the year, the major problems that came into New England’s way was the situation of the Maine Lands and the New English Upper New York. The Maine territory issue remained unresolved, however by the end of the year, a draft was being made in the parliament which would make New English Upper New York into an equal state in New England, with the name ‘Saranac State’ being given to them based on the Saranac Lake and the Saranac Wetlands, where most of the population in the area was based in.” Early History of New England, University of Hartford, 1879.

“The Crown Protectorate of Mishigama on paper swore allegiance to the British Crown, however in reality, Mishigama quickly became a semi-independent nation, and with the government only really following the British in foreign policy and nothing much else. Mishigama had been named for the old native American name for the Michigan Peninsula, and Tecumseh was intent on reforming the place so that it would survive.

Flag of the Crown Protectorate of Mishigama, please forgive my bad flag making skills. ​

He followed a new system, and his prestige was such that the people would follow him and his decisions, whatever they may be. On April 7th, 1815 he proposed the Mishigama Accords, which transformed the old Native American system into a modern governing one. It laid out the basic outline of the new governmental system. These outlines were:-

• The Head of Executive would be the ‘High Chief’, and his second in command would be the ‘Vice Chief’.
• The government of Mishigama was to adopt a system of bicameral structure, in their own manner. This included the ‘Council of Tribes’ in which each tribe in the protectorate would have two representatives. The lower house was called the ‘Great Clan Council’ and was based on proportion of population from each tribe. The Council of Tribes functioned much like the British House of Lords, and the Great Clan Council functioned much like the British and American House of Commons and House of Representatives.
• Each tribe would be designated a land to settle in with set borders. The borders could be changed in the Council of Tribes and the Great Clan Council upon popular vote on the subject.
• The capital city, which was named Shikaawa (OTL Chicago) would be exempt from the land and tribe laws, with anyone from any clans be to be able to settle down in capital city.

These accords laid out the basic governmental duties and the Tribes which made up the Mishigaman Confederacy, the Chippewa, Odawa, Huron, Shawnee, Potawatomi, Miami, Wabash, Lenapi, Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and the Tuscaroras, or all collectively known as the First Tribes of Mishigama agreed to the accords. Tecumseh was chosen as the Great Chief, and John Norton was chosen as the Vice Chief.” A History of Mishigama: Survival to Protectorate to Independence, Penguin Publishing.

“Meanwhile for Isaac Brock, the one who had turned the tides, he was ennobled in London on June 3rd, 1815 as the Duke of Auckland. The Duke of Auckland would soon retire from army service in 1818 and live out a quiet life without much fanfare in his estate in Guernsey, however he along with the Duke of Wellington and Lord Horatio Nelson would become the defining commanders of the British during the Napoleonic Era.” A Short Biography of Isaac Brock.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 11: The 1816 Elections and the Rise of Gerrymandering

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“The 1816 US Presidential Elections were the eighth quadrennial presidential election. It was held from November 1 to December 4, 1816. In the first election following the disastrous War of 1812, the new political parties of the Whigs, Democrats and the American Nationalists campaigned against each other.

As President Madison had been utterly humiliated by the War of 1812, he hadn’t taken up the presidency after returning from his house arrest in England, instead letting President Gaillard take care of the affairs. Gaillard had tried to do his best, however his character, which was described as ‘democratic but as stiff as cardboard’ made his legislations all the harder to commit to. The blame game that was being thrown out in America in the aftermath of the War of 1812 also made his attempts at rapprochement between the political divides almost impossible to become successful. The fact that states had seceded had also reared tensions, however that matter was kicked down the road as no politician was willing to talk about that in the political arena during these tiresome times in the American nation.

The Whigs were firmly behind their leader Henry Clay. However Clay also faced stiff opposition from the northern states, who were by this point fed up of having southern presidents. The remaining rump New York State backed their governor Daniel Tompkins. However Tompkins had been disgraced by the war of 1812 as well, and only New Yorkers held him in high regard. They believed that their governor had saved them from needless fighting after the fall of Albany and had saved countless lives, which he had, and his policies had saved the economical structure of New York, however these weren’t appreciated out of New York. To the rest of America, he was a coward who bowed before the British. Clay, being from the South, was more or less was also a target from the northern states and they weren’t really enthused about voting for him. Clay chose Nathan Sanford as his running mate for the elections.

Nathan Sanford. ​

The Democrats under Monroe were also backing their leader. Monroe knew that his party was probably the weakest of the big three that were fighting in the elections. He campaigned heavily, and decided to appoint James Barbour, the famous and popular governor of Virginia for his running mate. Nonetheless, both candidates having been from Virginia, he also faced a good amount of opposition from the north.

In the American National Party, initially many people were conflicted on whom to choose as their nominations, and in the end a ballot vote was held. The Presidential Candidates were John C. Calhoun, and William H. Crawford. The Vice Presidential Candidates were Andrew Jackson and Charles Tait.

The ballot elections ended in favor of Calhoun and Jackson. Calhoun received around 65 of the ballot votes against Crawford’s 54 ballot votes for the presidential position. For the Vice Presidential balloting, Andrew Jackson won 80 of the ballots, and Charles Tait won 30 of the ballot votes.

The campaign from all three sides were bitter and very much bitter. All three parties blamed each other for their loss in the War of 1812, and all three sides tried to project themselves as the better candidates to regain American honor.

Monroe campaigned on the premise of a new national bank and creation of proper protective tariffs to allow the growth of native industries in the United States of America. This premise was favored by Federalist sympathizers, however those were very few by the point of the elections, and Monroe struggled. He was credited with saving the government during the chaos that had followed the Burning of Washington, however he was still unpopular anywhere south of Virginia, and the initial votes swung around between the multiple candidates of Virginia.

Clay and Sanford also worked hard during their campaign for the 1816 elections. Clay and Sanford led their campaigned on a premise of a mixture of mercantilist policies and free trade policies trying to gain votes from both the north and south. They promised mild protective tariffs and also promised agricultural and plantation incentives in the south, where they did manage to gain some amount of rapport and followers. However Clay’s abysmal handling of the Treaty of Ghent still haunted him, as many looked at him suspiciously for it. Clay also antagonized Andrew Jackson at one point of time stating:

‘Killing multiple New Orleanists doesn’t give that man the right to suddenly take over administration.’

Calhoun and Jackson ran on a platform that favored the south. They favored an agrarian society, and making America ‘self-sufficient’ economically, and remaining detached from European affairs whilst becoming the leading power in North America and South America and keeping the bare minimum of tariffs.. Calhoun also directly participated in the use of political cartoons, and publishing through his participation in the publishing of the newspaper, The Patriot as a member of the Editorial staff. This was a sure way to promote his own political agendas and campaign. Jackson also riled up the veterans who had once been under his command and stated that the army had been humiliated in the War of 1812, and he would revive their ‘lost honor’. In the south Calhoun and Jackson also rode on a platform of keeping the three-fifths compromise and keeping the Plantation system flourishing.

The 1816 Elections were a total dismal affair, as all sides couldn’t seem to find a common ground, and the political scene in America quickly started to mirror the polarization of federalists and the democratic-republicans of before. There was also a dispute regarding the electoral votes delegated to the state of New York. Some stated that the former number of 29 should be kept, and or it should be reduced to 19, 25, 23 or something along those lines. With the aid of the Congress and the Senate however, President Gaillard laid rule that the Electoral vote of the state of New York would be 19, based on the population that was lost to New England and the British North American holdings. The total electoral vote was also reduced to 147 with 74 needed for majority due to the fact a huge number of electoral votes were lost when New England declared independence.

Nonetheless the election results came in by early December. The results were pretty embarrassing for Monroe. He hadn’t been able to hold onto his state of Virginia as well.

With a turnout of 19%, of 132,300 people for the elections, such low turnouts were pretty common during this era, Calhoun won 60,872 popular votes or 46% of the total electorate and won 62 electoral votes which he had carried from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, and Virginia. Clay and Sanford won 44,992 popular votes or around 34% of the total votes carrying the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and New York for a total of 49 electoral votes. Monroe won 26,466 of the total votes, or around a fifth of the total percentage, and carried the states of Philadelphia, Delaware and New Jersey for a total electoral vote of 36.

an example of Gerrymandering. ​

The election saw massive amounts of gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries, which is most commonly used in first past the post electoral systems. The term is named after Elbridge Gerry, who as Governor of Massachusetts in 1812, signed a bill that created a partisan district in the Boston area that was compared to the shape of a mythological salamander. All sides in the 1816 elections took part in Gerrymandering, and new constituent districts or partisan districts cropped up multiple times throughout the entire election. It is hard to understand how much gerrymandering influenced the elections, however nonetheless, what we do know is that it influenced the result quite a bit.

Henry Clay, the next president. ​

However Calhoun had only won a plurality of the electoral college and hadn’t won 74 electoral college votes. Therefore a contingent elections were called between the states on December 15th, 1816. The United States currently had 13 states, and the one which won the most states would become president of the United States. Having been utterly defeated in the elections, Monroe dropped out of the running and instead the Contingent vote was divided between Calhoun and Clay. Monroe instead supported Clay, stating that his American System Economics would be the best for the United States of America, and stated that he endorsed Clay for the presidency. The states of Philadelphia, Delaware, New Jersey, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and New York voted for Clay and the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and Virginia voted for Calhoun. Clay and Sanford thus won the presidency. Calhoun protested massively, stating that by the bylaws of democracy he had won the elections, however the constitution was clear, and Clay would now become the next President of the US, along with Sanford becoming the next Vice President.” A Political History of North America, University of Montreal, 1998.

“The New English Commonwealth was also in slight political crisis during the year of 1816. Following a Parliamentary Republican system meant that the Commonwealth needed a ceremonial head of state. Many advocated for a ‘personal union’ with Great Britain in the same manner that Hannover was in a personal union with Great Britain, that is to say, foreign policy and monarch managed by Britain, whilst all internal affairs and economy managed by the state. Of course, whilst this did have many a supporters, it wasn’t in the majority, as much of the population wasn’t about to loose their republican system. Therefore, a purely ceremonial head of state, a president, was required. A Presidential ballot was held in the New English Parliament, where the 120 member parliament voted on who would become their ceremonial head of state.

(1)Timothy Pickering (2) Israel Thorndike. ​

The two candidates for the position were Timothy Pickering and Israel Thorndike, both of whom had been extremely involved in the process that had given New England independence. The end ballot results were 67 in favor of Timothy Pickering and 53 in favor of Israel Thorndike. The parliamentary session also put in every general election term to be of 5 years, and delegated the year of 1821 to be the next parliamentary/general election for the state.

In mid-1816, the State of Saranac, or what was once Upper New York was brought into the Commonwealth of New England as well. By this point, Maine Territory which was under Massachusetts was agitating for itself to become a new state within the Commonwealth as well. The Maine Question had come up a lot even during when New England had been a part of the United States, and the rest of the states were becoming restless with the political instability it brought, and in a parliamentary session, it was decided that Maine would become a new state in 1817. This was heavily criticized by many in Massachusetts, however the state found itself incredibly un-backed in this crisis.

Nonetheless, despite these parliamentary and political shenanigans which were being conducted in New England, the country’s economy flourished. The construction of the merchant marine by Cabot aided the economy, and European trade into North America flowed directly into New England, with it’s capital Boston quickly becoming a massive state of trade and commerce. Cabot also sought to bring in immigration. However in this regards, the Anglo-saxon friendly and nativism nature of New England reared its head. The immigration that New England would soon start to encourage would be from Britain and from Northern Germany and the Scandinavian countries, and overly catholic nations from Southern Europe were often shunned and not welcomed. Nonetheless, New England would become home to massive amounts of immigration throughout the 19th century with their prosperous economy.

Whilst New England did support immigration, it was also subject to emigration. Many unionist supporters, especially from Saranac fled across the border into the rump New York State. The former President of the United States, John Adams sold his estate and whilst he was very sad to leave his home state he was a firm believer in the Union, and he and his family left New England and settled down in Maryland, including his son John Quincy Adams. Quincy Adams had hoped to create a proper political legacy and career for himself, however he found himself attacked verbally by many Americans for not being able to negotiate the Treaty of Ghent ‘properly’, and as such his political career was in ruins.

In Early 1817, the New English government passed the ‘Free Trade Act’ which was aimed at converting New England from a mercantilist country and economy into a free trading one by the end of the 1820s. The government wished to use the massive trading potential of New England to their advantage, and this move is mostly seen as a good move. However this also precipitated a small crisis, on what the currency of New England should be. By the end of it, and by mid-1817 however, the government of New England starting converting US Dollars which they had been using to the New English Pound which was pegged to the British pound, partially as a way to foster better relations as well.” A Political and Economic History of New England, Osprey Publishing, New England.

“Mishigama was a probably a very successful country when we look at it. At first many believed that it would fall the moment Tecumseh died, for many believed that he was the only one holding it all together, and whilst this is partially true, at the time, many in the British government believed that they would have to annex the Crown Protectorate outright to make it stable after Tecumseh died.

They found themselves wrong in the manner. In 1816 the British government appointed George Murray to become the Governor-General of Mishigama, and by the end of the year Tecumseh had died. He had been a warrior for life, and had precious little time to stop, and in the long run, he had not been a healthy man. A heart disease ate at him, and by the end of the year, Tecumseh, the first High Chief passed away. Murray had immediately sent his troops into alert in case of a crisis in Mishigama. However whilst many mourned the loss of their great leader, the passing of leadership was peaceful. John Norton became the High Chief and the Blackhawk became the Vice Chief on the popular vote of the Council of Tribes, in which he received 16-12 votes against the former brother of Tecumseh. Tecumseh’s brother, Tenskwatawa accepted his defeat in the vote handily, even though he didn’t particularly like it. In his autobiography, the Life of the Prophet, he writes,

I did not like the results of the vote, and I was angry, however contesting it would mean that the cause for which my brother had given his entire life would have been lost in minutes. I could not get the energy to contest the votes the moment I realized that fact.

It was a pleasant surprise and Mishigama went on. Norton, whilst he detested being a politician, now found himself as one. As an Iroquois, his ascension to power assuaged the fear in many of the Iroquois that the Shawnee and Lenapi would become the ‘Virginia Dynasty’ of Mishigama wasn’t going to happen. Under Norton, the government officially started to reach out to the American government for the immigration of Native Americans in American lands into Mishigama. The American people who looked at the Native Americans as British sympathizers at best and traitors and barbarians at worst after the war quickly snapped the offer up under Gaillard, who signed a treaty of immigration services in July 1816 with Mishigama. This treaty of immigration gave the Fox, Choctaw, Chikasaw and Creek tribes full mobility to immigrate into Mishigama, where the Lands would be distributed accordingly.

Norton, as a military leader also knew that to stave off any revanchist president of the United States would have to keep a standing army. With a population that was somewhere between 70,000 to 100,000 having a large army was pretty hard. And what was worse was that many inter-tribal conflicts made it hard for warriors of different tribes to be kept in a single regiment. Therefore in February 1817, Norton managed to pass the ‘Mishigaman Military Acts of 1817’. These acts were comprehensive, and very well thought out on part of Norton. The subjects that were included in the Mishigaman Military Acts of 1817 were:-

• The Mishigaman Military to consist of 7500 standing regulars for the current population of 82,000. Future military standing numbers would be based on this proportion.
• The 7500 men would be divided into 5 regiments each of 1500 strength. 4 of these regiments would be based on the tribes of the men, with related tribes such as the Iroquois, Mohawks, Creeks etc being lumped into one regiment. The last and fifth regiment would be a regiment consisting of all warriors from all tribes.
• All troops to become a heavily professional troop with a minimum of 1 month training time every year, with the basic doctrine of the military being quality over quantity.
• The creation of a proper ordnance and modern military equipment centers, with aid from Britain and the Crown.

These acts would stave off any incursion, and the Mishigaman Military would quickly become one of the most professional forces of their time. The old ‘barbarity’ of native American warfare would quickly be delegated to the history books.

The fur trade was extremely lucrative. ​

The economy of Mishigama was also driven by Norton’s fishing schemes and fur trade schemes, and for a country with such a low population, such was enough for the time. However soon enough, industrialization from the colonial overlord of Great Britain would soon filter into Mishigama as well even though it would never entertain the Mishigaman people as it did with the Canadians and New English.” A Brief History into Early Mishigama, University of Shikaawa, Shikaawa Publications, 1998.

“From 1810 to late 1815, Agustin de Iturbide had been a royalist and pro-Spaniard fighter in the ongoing Mexican War of Independence. He had solidly aligned with the Criollos. However events in Spain and America caused problems, as the monarchy for which that class was fighting was in serious trouble, as even the mainland Spanish rose up in unrest over Ferdinand VII’s reneged promises and the renege of the Constitution. The growing support of the American National Party in the United States also made a lot men wary stating the need for the Mexicans to get their independence fast because the threat of America was very clear.

Agustin de Iturbide​

Iturbide was convinced that only independence for Mexico was the way to protect the country from a republican and American tide. He decided to become the leader of the Criollo Independence Movement in September 1815. However, to succeed, he would need to put together a very unlikely coalition of Mexican Liberal insurgents, landed nobility, and the Church. Therefore, the penned the Plan of Iguala, which held itself up on three guarantees; independence from Spain, Religion, and Union. In the plan, a monarchy was ensured, thus assuring the support of the insurgents, clergy, Spaniards and even the royalists due to the last clause. After several attempts of negotiations, Guerroro and Iturbide agreed to implement the plan of iguala.

Guerroro and Iturbide ​

With the support of all sectors of Mexican society, Iturbide and Guerroro continued their war against Spain with renewed vigor. The War of 1812 had left aplenty weapons left around in America, and individual merchants sold the weapons to the Mexicans pretty fast and with the aid of the insurgents and the Royalists, the Spanish Armies were smashed outside of Mexico City in the Battle of Toluca which saw Iturbide’s 15,000 strong army destroy the Spaniard army under Juan Ruiz. The city of Mexico City fell and with it Spanish rule over Mexico came to an end after three and a half centuries.

Nonetheless this absolute defeat in Mexico wasn’t acknowledged by Ferdinand VII or the Spanish government until 1818, when the Treaty of Havana was signed between the Kingdom of Spain and the Mexican independence movement. The utter humiliation that Spain had suffered in Mexico meant that Ferdinand had accepted the loss of Mexico, however he would not accept the loss of other lands. The Treaty of Havana included the following clauses:-

• The recognition of the independence of the Mexican Empire by the Spanish kingdom.
• The peaceful transport of Spanish citizens and military personnel from Mexico into Spain.
• The Mexican government now formed under Iturbide to pay 3 million pounds to the Spanish government by 1825 as reparations of Spanish property lost and damaged in the war of independence.
• Spain to allow a foreign catholic monarch to sit on the Mexican throne, however a Spaniard on the throne of Mexico would not be accepted.

Instead by this point having seen the effectiveness of the wars of independence in the Americas literally bitten through his skull Ferdinand VII was in favor of retaining New Granada and Venezuela, and all of the Spanish royalist forces were instead sent to reinforce the area, with the extra troops from Mexico arriving, the defense of New Granada was ultimately successful.

The crossing of the Andes would be disastrous for the dream of an independent New Granada. ​

Bolivar had made his camp at the Orinoco region in Southern Venezuela where the Spanish who had nearly reconquered the entire area could not oust him properly. There he engaged in troop recruitment and whilst he did that Jose Maria Barreiro, the leader of the Spanish forces in New Granada did the same. With the reinforced troops from the rest of the Spanish colonies, and the loyalists in the area, Barreiro counted 7,000 troops under his command. With a huge amount of troops for the area, Barreiro was confident enough to attack Bolivar’s ragtag army of 2200 even though he was doubtful that Bolivar would emerge from the Andes Mountains. The Battle of Boyaca ended in utter defeat for Bolivar who was taken by surprise of Barreiro’s confidence, and in the ensuing chaos of the battle, Bolivar himself was killed. With that the rebellion and revolt in Nueva Granada died out, and New Granada would not gain independence until much later in the latter portion of the 19th century.” A Brief History of Latin America, Penguin Publishing, 1976.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 12: Clay Presidency and the Rise of An Alliance.

***

“The Clay Presidency for all intents and purposes was a disaster of such epic proportions that some and many would like to call Clay the man who ended the republic instead of the cahoots who did it in 1827, however, to say such a thing would be slightly and very wrong in many contexts. He was simply a symptom of the many problems that were underlying in America.

When he took power in early 1817, the man was very active in trying to do what he saw as ‘bring our honor back’. Clay promoted his American System as both an economic program and a means for unifying the country. His American system rejected strict constructionism in favor of an activist government that would help ensure a fairer and more efficient distribution of the economic gains. The American System had four key tenets; High Tariffs, A Stable Financial System, Federal Investment and a Public Land Sale Policy designed to raise revenue and provide for a carefully managed expansion into the American frontier. Through High Tariffs, Clay wished to free the United States from dependence on foreign imports, especially Britain. Clay sought to ensure a stable financial system through the support for the national bank, which would regulate the country’s banking system and helped ensure a consistent supply of credit. Clay’s support for a federally financed internal improvements stemmed from his belief that only the federal government had the transportation system necessary for uniting the country commercially and culturally. His land policy focused on using revenue from land sales to fund money to the states, which could then invest that money into education, infrastructure projects and other priorities.

All of this of course sounds great on paper, however came out abysmally in reality. In mid 1817 he received the clarification from Congress and the Senate which allowed him to pass the National Bank Acts which brought the Second Federal Bank of the United States of America into establishment. It was located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was a Hamiltonian national bank, with a charter ranging to a time period of 25 years, meaning that the bank would last until 1842 without proper renewal. The bank’s formal name under the section 9 of its charter passed by Congress was ‘The President, Directors, and Company of the Bank of the United States’. It was a private corporation with public duties, and the bank handled all fiscal transactions for the US government, and was accountable to the Congress and the US Treasury. Twenty percent of its capital was owned by the Federal government, the bank’s single largest stockholder. Four thousand private investors held 80% of the bank’s capital, including 3000 europeans, much to Clay’s utmost displeasure. The bulk of the stocks were however held by a few hundred wealthy Americans. In its height, the bank was the largest monied corporation in the world. However the few hundred rich americans who held stake in the bank were almost all southern plantation owners, which would become a massive problem later on.

Second National Bank of America. ​

At first, the national bank scheme was successful, and money flowed into the federal coffers, and the government was able to speed up their payment of the debts they owed to the United Kingdom, Mishigama and New England. Nonetheless, this in itself, the bank, created more problems. Clay pushed on ahead with multiple speeches, asking the Congress to pass high tariffs that would enable protectionism which would make America free of dependence on European countries. This was protested heavily, in the south. The Southern states ran on an economy that exported their cotton, grain and agricultural exports to Europe, and such protective tariffs would ruin their entire economy and their export base in the long run, and the Southern States, which made up a majority by this point consistently pushed Clay’s requests for high tariffs backwards and instead started to adopt a more mercantilist policy and free trading one with the Europeans, which simply encouraged their agrarian economic beliefs.

Whilst this battle of economics was unfolding in the nation, the foul institution of slavery reared its head. The Indiana- Mississippi Compromise would be known as one of the moments that reared a great amount of tensions in the United States of America. It was a federal legislation that admitted Indiana into the United States of America as a free state, simultaneously with Mississippi as a slave state, trying to appease the abolitionist north of America, and the slavocratic south of America at once. When free soil Indiana petitioned for its statehood after taking in all of the white settlers who had fled from Mishigama, the Senate quickly linked the Indiana and the Mississippi bills, and the northern states quickly made the admission of Indiana as a state a condition for Mississippi to be admitted as a state. At first the Southerners were unwilling to negotiate on this, and pushed back on this demanding that Mississippi be brought in as a slave state and there be no compromises. Clay and his pro-compromise allies succeeded however in pressuring half of the anti-restrictionist House Southerners to submit to the passage of the proviso and maneuvered a number of the northerners to acquiesce in supporting Mississippi as a slave state. The question was finally answered and the US Congress passed the legislation in March 3rd, 1818 and president Clay signed it on March 6th, 1818 which brought in Indiana as a free state and Mississippi as a slave state. (1)

Nonetheless, the Indiana-Mississippi Compromise had widespread implications. The South was deepening in its anger. First, a president for whom they had voted for hadn’t been elected, and then even with majority of the states being southerners, they had to kowtow to what the Northerners wanted to the point of being compromising. The North was still deeply anxious that their numerical disadvantage only continued to grow, as even with Indiana amongst their ranks, they still were overwhelmingly disproportionate against the South.

Nonetheless Clay continued on. He sought a conciliatory tone between the North and South and proclaimed multiple times that he wouldn’t detract the states rights of whatever the States did regarding their own institutions as long as it was within their borders. In the international arena, Clay and High Chief John Norton of Mishigama signed the Treaty of Erie in May 1818, which again allowed for more free passage of Native Americans into Mishigama from the United States of America. Clay held the belief that a multicultural society was doomed to failure, and that pushing native americans to Mishigama would do a world of good for both sides, and that racial tensions would at least be minimized somewhat and that the Native Americans wouldn’t become a burden on the American economy. On that level, Clay must be praised, because hate acts against Native Americans had been increasing in the United States, and the passage he gave them to Mishigama did aid a lot of families of Native Americans to flee into Mishigama in what became known as the Indiana Trail. In Shikaawa, the capital of Mishigama, there exists a statute of Clay named the Trailer Statue which praises Clay for allowing the efficient immigration of Native Americans into Mishigama.

However even during this, his subtle support for the immigration of Native Americans was extremely controversial. This was because of the fact that many people believed that Clay was ‘supporting’ the Native Americans even though he wasn’t and this invoked widespread anti-Clay and anti-Whig feelings throughout the nation. It certainly didn’t help that Clay went forward with his American Economic System without having his plan for High Tariffs first. Clay demanded a steady supply of credit into the United States of America, through the national bank, and this cause the efficiency of the bank to seep down. Clay extended his compromising attitude with the North and South to the bank as well, and the bank was forced to act with high tariffs in the north, and with low tariffs in the south, which basically ruined any efficiency that the bank had, and the bank seemingly started to become a drain more than an investment, and the debt expenditure of America to Britain, Mishigama and New England only started to grow due to his production and credit inefficiency. His lowered revenues from this disjointed economic system was not able to funneled into the states as the revenues the government received was needed to grow and maintain federal systems, and this again created a whole lot more tensions between the states and the federal government.

A Poster advertising the American Colonization Society. ​

In November 1818, Clay also helped found the American Colonization Society, a group that wanted to establish a colony for Free American Blacks in Africa. This group was largely made up of abolitionists who wanted to end slavery and slaveholders who wanted to deport free blacks. Clay was throughout his career, extremely concerned about abolitionism remarking that ‘the ultraism of the south on the one hand, and the ultraism of abolition on the other…..’ and this statement when it went out caused a small scandal again. The south wasn’t exactly fond of Clay and had made it clear, and this further heightened their fears, and the North too became increasingly angry that Clay would seek such a tone with slavery.

By the year 1819 rolled around, his erratic economic policies which were intended to become a compromise between the north and south was in tatters for no one supported it, and his support base was waning everyday and hate against him started to grow. He took a very compromising tone between the North and South, however was himself uncompromising on the fact that he couldn’t be uncompromising in a few things. The government was increasingly starting to flounder, and with the economy of the nation behaving as erratically as their president due to his policies, the economy suffered, and as such so did the people. As such this led to massive corruption in the country. Poverty too started to grow, though not noticeably at least. The Slavery Question still loomed and came up every single time once in a while to inflame tensions, and Clay’s stance only made it worse.

Things came to a head in August 1819 after a renegotiation of the debts owed by America to New England led to a dispute, and the people became increasingly fed up with their economic situation, an assassin managed to shoot Clay during a speech of his in Maryland, and managed to escape. The president managed to survive a few minutes before succumbing to his wounds.

The assassination of President Henry Clay. ​

Nathan Sanford, the Vice President, became the next President of the United States, and he was a man caught in a hard place. The economy wasn’t functioning well, and the North and South were becoming increasingly polarized, and the issue of slavery was rearing its head time and again. Sanford, who was a foreign policy maker and statesman of good rapport, however an economist he was not. He utterly failed to lift the economic problems that Clay had left him with, and in some cases his addition of mercantilist policies in the north only exacerbated the economic crisis. This culminated into the Economic Recession and Panic of 1820.

A Cartoon depicting the Panic of 1820. ​

Though in reality, the economic downturn was a result of the final global economic adjustments to the fall of the Napoleonic Era, its severity was compounded by the excessive problems of the American economy, such as excessive speculation in public lands, fueled by unrestrained issue of paper money from banks and extreme business and investor concerns. The Second Bank of the United States of America itself deeply enmeshed in these inflationary practices, sought to compensate for its laxness in regulating the state bank credit market, and deep inefficiency by initiating a sharp curtailment in loans by its western branches, beginning in late 1819 after the assassination of Clay. Failing to provide gold specie from their reserves presented with their own banknotes for redemption by the bank, the state chartered banks began foreclosing on heavily mortgaged farms and business properties that they had financed. The ensuing financial panic, in conjunction with a sudden recovery of the European economy after the Napoleonic Wars, led to widespread bankruptcies, and mass unemployment.

The Economic Crisis also had its roots in the War of 1812. In the crucible of the War of 1812, the Treasury of the US had been compelled to offer $16 million in government war bonds in order to stave off bankruptcy due to military costs and wartime loss of revenue. This provided exchangeable stock in the banks, which slowly over the course of the unstable American economy provided more than enough incentive for inflation to grow faster.

This panic also increased public sympathy for protectionist tariffs. Vocal men like Philadelphia Printer, Mathew Carey, blamed free trade for the depression and argued that tariffs would protect America prosperity. As unemployment sky rocketed, support for tariffs started to grow, enough to reach a slight majority and a tariff act was passed by government which allowed the government to put a tariff rate of 25%. This was successful in limiting the effects of the depression in the north, however the tariffs simply exacerbated the depression in the south, whose economy reacted negatively to the high tariff rate. As such, Sanford’s term came to an end with an economic crisis ready to implode.” A Political and Economic History of America, University of Georgia, 1998.

“Calhoun himself blamed that the crisis happened due to expansionary monetary policy. This theory was put in place with the theory of the business cycle. The Us government borrowed heavily to finance the War of 1812 and the debts of the post war period, and this also caused tremendous strain on the bank’s reserves of specie, which led to a suspension of payments, violating contractual rights of depositors. The suspension of the obligation to redeem and this inflation of money encouraged unsustainable investments to take place. It soon became clear that the monetary situation was threatening, and Calhoun called for a contraction of monetary redemptions. There was a wave of bankruptcies, bank failures, and bank runs, and Calhoun continued to call for monetary policy change, as urban unemployment exploded.” An Economic History of John C. Calhoun, Essay, University of Ontario.

“British North America was in a period of massive commerce and population boom after the War of 1812. They had taken considerable lands from the Americans, including now around 65,000 American subjects who were now subjects of the British Crown. Nonetheless, the expanded territories necessitated a need for responsible government, and the government of the United Kingdom had passed the Lower Legislature and Responsible Governmental Act of North America which allowed the lower legislatures of British North America to be handled by the local colonials, and while the higher legislatures were still appointed from Great Britain, it allowed the Canadians to address one of their chief problems with Great Britain, and with it addressed, life went on as usual.

​

With both sides of the St. Lawrence river under British or Friendly rule after the war, the government of Britain and the Colonial governments of British North America also took a keen interest in the development of a ‘St. Lawrence Canal’ and by 1818 construction had started to link Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence river into the St. Lawrence Bay which would allow population to boom. The Province of Quebec itself saw a good amount of immigration. Irish folk who didn’t like Britain actively were encouraged to go to the British North American Colonies, and they formed a sizeable minority, which also relieved many in the British government back home as the increased Irish migration into North Canada increased agricultural growth in Ireland allowing for more dispersion of crops rather than simply potato and the bread and carrot sectors in Ireland grew due to the immigration of Irishmen into British North America. The Colonies also found a trading and export boom as the newly formed commercial nation of New England formed a friendly rivalry with Britain over exports into British North America which encouraged investor confidence in British North America, and this allowed the personal wealth of the colonies to grow. Due to the annexations in the west, and the realization of Mishigama, and the annexations in Rupert’s Land also increased incentives for the development of transportation in the area. Small scale transportation works started to commence, and this in return also encouraged small scale immigration to the area. Canada also took in a lot of immigration from protestant nations, much like New England. Speaking of the state, Canada also took in a good amount of New English émigrés, who weren’t enthused about New England or the United States of America, and provided them with a good economic future.

​

All of these factors combined gave Canada a huge population increase, and the spread of industrialization from the Mother Country of Britain to the colonies also created massive fertility rates, and the population of Canada reached 900,000 in 1820, and would cut the 1 million mark by 1825.” A Brief History of the Dominion of Canada, University of Alberta, 1967.

“By the start of 1818, New England was quickly becoming the center of Industrialization in the New World. Technological developments and achievements from the manufactories that were built in the region led to the development of other more advanced mills, and machines, especially textile mills. Towns became famed as centers of the textile industry such as Lawrence, Lowell, in Massachusetts, Woonsocket in Rhode Island and Lewiston in Maine. The increase in manufacturing also created a shortage of labor in many cases, and the government slowly started to advocate for young women and children from the countryside to immigrate to the urban area to work in factories.

Under Prime Minister Cabot, the country also grew to have a large merchant marine fleet that allowed the government to start trading in earnest and the large merchant marine crossed the entire seas of the continents. The New English Trade quickly became extremely lucrative in the Guinea region where the tribes and the New English traders traded each other with textiles for gold and precious metal, and other resources that continued to enrich the New English country. This also made the New English people gain a naval tradition that mirrored closely that of the Dutch naval tradition of trade and commerce.

The New English Navy which was dubbed the Commonwealth Navy also took part with the Royal Navy in multiple operations to free slaves from the Slave Trade which had been outlawed. Cabot himself was an abolitionist and under him, the Slave trade had been fully abolished and the people caught smuggling in slaves were often punished severely. The agricultural economy of the nation was also starting to grow. New England wasn’t fully food independent, however that was quickly resolved through British, European and Canadian trade, however the nation was slowly starting to commercialize their agriculture as well, and many commercialized New English agricultural industries started to crop up.

With the economy flourishing, and the nation doing well, in response to the crisis unfolding in America, and not wanting to find a crisis right at its borders that could spill over into an unready New England, finally formalized the military of New England. With a population of 1.6 million the nation had no need for a state militia based military. The State Militia were kept, however each state got to keep a state militia of a maximum of 10,000 men, whilst a formal regular army was formed named the Commonwealth Army which would at peacetime have 35,000 regulars, professional in their conduct and training and equipment at all times. During war times, the number could be expanded to 100,000 regulars through reserves perhaps. This gave New England a proper army and with the New English government contracting the British government for supplies and training, the New English military itself would soon become a small, but formidable force, especially its regular forces, which were sometimes in small numbers sent to fight in Britain’s multiple colonial wars to gain experience.” The Armed Forces of the Commonwealth, Osprey Publishing, 1988.

“The question of who would become the Emperor of the Mexicans was a difficult one. Ferdinand VII had closed off any Spanish candidate, and Portugal was quickly becoming mired in crisis with Brazil, and the small Italian states and their princes weren’t exactly what people would call prestigious.

Many in the Mexican Congress balked at the prospect of having to get a Protestant or Orthodox prince, and tried to maneuver around it ferociously. However as things seemed dark in the search for a prince, in 1818, a light bulb went off in the minds of the Congress. Iturbide himself as well. Iturbide proposed that Joseph Bonaparte, who was living out a life of exile in New England be offered the Crown of Mexico. After all the man had been popular in Naples, knew how to speak Spanish, and hadn’t condoned the massacre of Spanish people in the Peninsular War. He was a good diplomat and a man of honor, and even his enemies from the Coalition wars had given him respect grudgingly. The Congress agreed, and a delegation aboard a transit ship was sent to New England.

In his small mansion in Massachusetts, one Joseph Bonaparte was surprised to meet official Mexican statesmen and was even more surprised when they offered him the Mexican throne.” A History of the Mexican Empire, Imperial University of Tejas, 1995.

***

Joseph Bonaparte was gaping as he looked at the Mexican officials in front of him.

“You wish for me to become your emperor.” He spluttered out. The officials looked at each other and nodded.

Joseph sighed and wiped his head before he looked at the officials and said “I am sorry men, however my days as monarch are over I believe. Let me stay in retirement.”

***

“After initial disagreements, the former King of Naples and Spain agreed to take the throne of Mexico. He arrived with his family in Mexico City where he was welcomed as their emperor by the Congress of Mexico. The former King of Spain was sworn in as their Constitutional Monarch as Jose I of Mexico, and as the Emperor of All Mexicans. His daughter, Zenaide Bonaparte became Crown Princess of the Mexican Empire.

Jose I of Mexico. ​

The rise of a new Bonaparte Dynasty somewhere else concerned many Europeans, however since it wasn’t in Europe, it was largely overlooked, and the only country that reacted with a knee jerk reaction would be Spain, who saw their short lived monarch on the throne of Mexico. Nonetheless, Jose I agreed to become constitutional monarch, even though he did have a lot of reserve powers. He opened Congress for the first time in July 18th, 1818 amidst the cheering applause of the people.

After that, he and his family went a tour of the Empire, meeting the people, and finding out the beauty, the good and bad of the Empire. Jose I found the Mexican Empire to be extremely beautiful, however found its widespread poverty and illiteracy extremely worrying. He was also worried about the first Mexican Legislative Elections that were taking place for the Mexican government. The Mexican Legislative Elections were abnormal in the sense they weren’t happening between political parties, as there were none, only independents and their backers.

Jose I himself found backing one Melchor Muzquiz who was known to be quite honest and uncorrupt in his dealings and had been a war hero of the War of Independence. Through Jose I’s funding and backing, which carried a lot of influence with the conservative landed gentry and the Catholic clergy, basically the only people who met the requirements of the voting franchise in the new Mexican Empire, Muzquiz received 31% of the votes, with Guerrero coming close with 29.5% of the votes. The rest of the votes were divided with Manuel Pedraza, Anastasio Bustamante, Igancio Rayon, and Juan Ignacio Godoy. Muzquiz became the First Prime Minister of the Mexican Empire. Iturbide was kept as the Commander of the Military Forces, and Guerrero became President of the Mexican Congress.

Melchor Muzquiz​

As such, the political transition of Mexico was successful, and even though some republicans in Mexico resented Jose I using his influence to insure that Muzquiz got elected, the decision was a good one. Muzquiz was an overall average statesman and economist, however his anti-corruption sentiments did lead to the government becoming increasingly efficient, and as such the government and economy of the nation went forward.

The country however also lived in constant fear of the American threat. The Southerners looked at Tejas with increasing amount of greed, and the Mexican nation was somewhat rightful in its fear that America would snatch Tejas away. As such, the government sent overtures of an alliance with Great Britain. Britain at first wasn’t exactly enthused. However in February 1819, Lord Liverpool died, and the Duke of Wellington was asked to form a new government in London. Wellington found himself more receptive to an Anglo-Mexican Alliance, and the Alliance was signed in the Convention of Veracruz which saw the alliance signed in August 1820, even though there was some awkwardness with Jose I now allying with his former enemy. Nevertheless the Anglo-Mexican Alliance formed the perfect counter balance for America in North America, and with Britain slowly investing into it’s ally in Central America, the economy started to flourish as well, even though there was some discontent in the Central American territories of the Mexican Empire.” A History of Imperial Mexico, Osprey Publishing, 1998.

***

(1) - Mississippi State contains both OTl Mississippi and Alabama, the entirety of the Mississippi Territory.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 13: The Elections of 1820 and the Spanish Reconquista

***

“The Elections of 1820 were perhaps the final nail in the coffin for the democracy of the United States of America, an irony considering Democracy bred a way forward for autocracy in the nation. Nonetheless, the 1820 Presidential Elections were massively contested.

The Democrats put forward young and charismatic John Randolf Roanoke for president of the United States with James Barbour being his running mate once again. The Whigs put forward Nathan Sanford himself with Zachary Taylor being his running mate. For the American Nationalists, they put forth Calhoun himself alongside Andrew Jackson as his running mate.

Calhoun and Jackson enjoyed almost immense popularity in the nation by this point, and the severe depression that the economy was going through was blamed on the Whigs and Democrats who had been allied in the House and Senate in a tentative alliance. Their protectionist behavior meant that the Southern Economy was absolutely wrecked, and that meant that exports of wheat, grain, cotton etc had been curtailed, and this in turn meant that the nation was not able to raise proper credit fight against the depression. Calhoun and Jackson promised to reverse this and create a ‘free-trading’ atmosphere for a predominantly ‘Agrarian Society and Economy’. The Democrats under Roanoke barely even tried. The party had been held on thin lines after the heart attack of James Monroe in 1819, and the party was on the verge being destroyed, as many defected over to the Whigs and American Nationalists or taking part in politics as independents. Nonetheless, Roanoke took part in the elections with a compromising tone, hoping to get sympathy votes at most, and some people did fall for it and vote for him. The Whigs under Sanford and Taylor however faced a massive uphill battle that in the end they wouldn’t win.

Sanford, whilst perhaps one of the worst economists out there, was a competent diplomat, and under him relations with Britain had turned mildly friendly after the war, and relations with Mishigama and New England had become neutral, which was much better than the previously hostile relations. He had also extended good relations with Mexico. Jose I of Mexico would say in late 1819,

I trust the President of the US, he is a good man with capability in diplomacy in spades, however his cahoots and subordinates I do not trust.

Sanford had deferred to economists by this point, and promised a council of economists, both American and foreign to make sure that the depression would go smoothly for the Americans. In Hindsight we can say that this promise had it been implemented would have been best for the United States, nonetheless, his poor performance in the early days of the depression made his popularity diminish and few were willing to accept his promises as anything but wish lists at most.

By November, the election results had come in. With a total electoral vote of 163, a candidate would need 82 for victory. Calhoun and Jackson received 89,692 of the votes, or 52.76% of the popular vote with 86 electoral votes, winning the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Sanford and Taylor came in second claiming 44,846 votes or 26.38% of the popular vote winning the states of New York, Philadelphia, Ohio and Indiana for an electoral vote of 43. Roanoke and Barbour won 27 electoral votes claiming the states of New Jersey, Maryland and the Delaware winning 28,000 votes or 16.56% of the total votes.

The end result was pretty clear. Calhoun would become President, and Andrew Jackson would become Vice President. Sanford took this victory calmly however gave a warning to many fellows later on,

I need not tell anyone what radicalism of the South will bring to us all. – Nathan Sanford.

President James C. Calhoun. ​

In February 1821, Calhoun was inaugurated as the President of the United States of America, and Andrew Jackson became the Vice President of the United States, and the slow tumble began…..” University of Oxford, How Democracy Gave Birth to Autocracy, 1998.

“In Spanish America, the colonies were trembling in fear. In Spain, Ferdinand VII had made peace with the liberals by agreeing to promulgate a constitution that made the country a semi-constitutional Monarchy, however this constitution, which was named the 1818 Constitution still gave a lot of executive powers to Ferdinand VII, who used it with impunity.

In New Granada, the forces of Spain, veterans of the Peninsular War, veterans of the wars in Mexico and Central America were gathering. In 1819 they invaded Peru to back up the forces under Viceroy Jose de la Serna. Peru had been in a state of drift in regards to Spanish loyalty or independence. The Coasts and the north were occupied by the Republicans and the Junta, whilst the rest was controlled by the Spanish Loyalists. The Spanish Army’s invasion was coordinated with the Peruvian loyalists of Serna, and together they invaded the northern portion of Peru under Republican rule.

Viceroy Serna, the 1st Count of Andes. ​

Perhaps one of the most isolated battles in history, the Battle of Iquitos, took place on May 19th, 1819 which saw the power of the Republicans on the eastern side of the Andes broken as the battle hardened peninsular war veterans broke the republicans with ease, even when they worked under limited supplies and smaller numbers. Pacaya Samiria fell under Spanish invasion pretty easily after that. On the coast, Piura was the first major city to fall in July, 1819 as the Spanish starved the city out. Somewhat controversially, the only ones remaining in the city were Republicans, and much of the loyalists had fled to the loyalist controlled lands already, therefore, the Spanish felt no grief in starving the city out, as it was, only ‘enemies of the state and crown’ were being starved out. The Starvation of Piura saw around 2000 people starved to death, and around 3000 more dying of malnutrition after the siege had been lifted. By the end of it, the city opened its gates begging for food with the Spanish. Lightening the atrocity committed by the Spanish somewhat, the Spanish army and government did supply the population with food after it’s surrender.

Then came the double pronged attack at Lima and Arequipa. Both of whom were the two major cities controlling the republican strongholds in Peru. From Cusco, Serna proclaimed than any loyalist who wishes to turn his back on the Republicans would be welcomed with open arms. Seeing where the tables were turning, many did turn and deserted the republicans. Using their reinforced navy, the Spanish blockaded Lima and the Peruvian coast steering clear of Thomas Cochrane and his band of privateers who were fighting for the Chilean cause. In April 1820, the city of Lima fell after a year long march and siege from the loyalists. Outside of Arequipa, the Battle of Canahuas saw the Peruvian Republicans decisively defeated which opened the city for Serna to take over. By May 1820, the entirety of Peru was under Spanish rule once again. By this point, Chile was still under Spanish rule, though holding on somewhat tenuously as San Martin and his Argentinians attacked the Chilean coasts again and again, and Cochrane continued to attack.

By this point, the Spanish troops were on the verge of being overstretched, however nonetheless, the Spanish utilized all of the resources that they had for one final push into Chile, to connect Spanish Peru and Spanish Chile by land. Then Ferdinand VII planned to negotiate leaving Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina as independent states. In August 1820, the invasion of the Atacama Desert took place as the Spanish troops invaded, with aid from the Spanish Navy. The desert of Atacama, the driest place on earth, made it impossible for the Spanish to advance fast and they kept a slow pace to keep their spirits, morale and supplies up, as the Spanish continued to supply them steadily. In the South, the Chilean Loyalists to invaded the Atacama to link up with the Peruvian Loyalists under Serna.

The Battle of Sierra Gorda decided the fate of Chile. The Spanish armies converged from North and South, and crushed the army under San Martin. He was of no match for the veteran Spanish generals of the Peninsular War, like the 1st Duke of Zaragoza who smashed Martin and his armies. Martin was forced to flee to the eastern side of the Andes Mountains where he could be reinforced with Argentinians.

The First Duke of Zaragoza during the Battle of Sierra Gorda. ​

But by that point, Ferdinand VII knew that he couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to continue on. The Spanish armies in the area were holding on a tether, with supplies being so limited, and the problem of the Atacama being the driest place on earth. So finally on November 1820, he opened peace talks with Martin and the independence leaders of Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.

A general ceasefire was announced in February 27th, 1821. The news did not arrive in the Americas until April 15th, the day when Cochrane and his navy defeated the Spanish Navy in the area in the Battle of the Gulf of Corcovado. Nonetheless, receiving the news of the ceasefire, Cochrane immediately defected over to the Argentinians and started to create a proper fleet than what was then a ragtag bunch of East Indiaman ships for the Argentinian Navy. Cochrane held the belief that the peace and ceasefire wouldn’t last and that war would resume once again. He was wrong in his belief. Ferdinand VII had no intentions of overstretching himself and his empire. With Florida, Cuba, Puerto Rico, New Granada, Peru and Chile, Spain would still be the hegemon of South America with the vast amount of it’s riches under command of the Spanish Crown.

Therefore, the Peace of Seville was signed on June 16th, 1821. The Peace of Seville included the following points:-

• The Independence of the Kingdom of Argentina, the Republic of Uruguay, the Republic of Paraguay, and the Republic of Charcas would be recognized by the Kingdom of Spain.
• The aforementioned newly independent states to pay 5 million pounds each to the Spanish government to compensate for property losses incurred.
• Infante Carlos Maria Isidro of Spain would be allowed to take the offer of the Argentinian Crown on the condition that he and his descendants denounce their rights to the Spanish Crown.
• The borders be demobilized between New Spain, and the Spanish Viceroyalties and the new independent states.

This peace was accepted by San Martin and the others. Their troops were on the verge of mutiny, and the independence movement the most weak after the war. He offered Carlos Maria Isidro the throne of Argentina as a constitutional Monarch, and he Carlos agreed. In October 18th, he was proclaimed Carlos I of Argentina and peace returned to the Americas, as the Hispano Wars of Independence came to an end.

Carlos I of Argentina. ​

Spain had lost much territories, in the Rio De La Plata region, and the Bolivian region as well as all of Mexico and Central America barring Panama. Nonetheless, Spain remained the Hegemon of Latin America with their victory in New Granada, Peru and Chile. Ferdinand VII was brutal to the independence leaders in these countries. They were all imprisoned in the Galapagos Islands, which became the ‘prison’ of independence leaders in New Spain.

Nonetheless, a new group of reforms were made by the Spanish government to make sure that the rebellions would not be repeated. The Criollos, and Mestizos were given more freedom and maneuverability, even though they weren’t exactly equal to the Spanish, and the Spanish Hierarchy and its societal influence in the colonies were curtailed by a good amount. The people were also given more economic movement and incentives and opportunities as well. All in all, these reforms did not make the Colonial population equal to the Spanish, however did improve their living standards and did address much of their concerns, and thus, in most part successful in making the idea of independence die down, most importantly of all, Peru would become the loyalist hub of the Spanish Americas. Of course though once a fire is ignited, it doesn’t get extinguished so easily. The Spanish Americas would eventually gain independence, however in 1822, they remained firmly in Spanish hands, both in mind and body.” A History of the Spanish Empire, Osprey Publishing, 2009.

“In New England, in 1819 a party had split from the Federalists, on amicable terms, which is quite a rarity in politics, and this party named themselves the Toryists. The Toryists were a conservative, traditional, and New English Nationalist Ideological politicians. They were allied with the Federalists, but nonetheless, they were also friendly rivals in elections, even though on most terms they agreed with one another. The only serious difference was that the Federalists were more liberal in the outreach and the Toryists were more conservative in their way forward.

The Toryists were led by Israel Thorndike, and the man was competent. Very much so. He advocated for an anti-slavery position, to which the Federalists had been more or less neutral towards and Thorndike also somewhat intriguingly advocated for New English colonialism. Of course this led to the rise of gaffes and jokes like:-

“Thorndike wants us to start colonializing. So what do we call our colonies? New New England?” – George Cabot humorously in 1820 during a lunch session with Timothy Pickerings.

Nonetheless, the man was extremely popular, and the polite manner in which the Federalists and Tories debated with one another whilst campaigning with one another also gave him a lot of points, and during the 1821 General New English Elections, the Tories took the majority of the seats in the New English Senate and the New English House of Commons.

The New English House of Commons had 250 seats whilst the New English Senate had 120. The 1821 General Elections gave the following results, conducted in February – March, 1821 and declared in April 1821.

• Federalist Party (George Cabot): 41% of the popular vote, 103 seats won in the Commons, and 49 seats won in the Senate.
• Toryist Party (Israel Thorndike): 43% of the popular vote, 107 seats won in the Commons, 51 seats won in the Senate.
• Independents: 16% of the vote, 40 seats won in the Commons and 20 seats won in the Senate.

New England House of Commons after 1821, Blue – Tories, Yellow – Federalists, White – Independents.

New England Senate after 1821, Blue – Tories, Yellow – Federalists, White – Independents.

In the ballot elections, John Quincy III was elected to become the second President of the Commonwealth of New England just as Israel Thorndike became the Second Prime Minister of New England.

Thorndike used the foundations made by Cabot extremely well. The mixture of protectionist and free trade policies that Thorndike made during his premiership until his death in 1826, a mere month before the general elections, would also make him one of the best prime ministers of the nascent nation. He was calm and he was collected. Even though in the Commons and Senate, Cabot opposed him as the opposition, the two got along swimmingly well, and agreed with each other in many things and issues.

Thorndike continued the military policies of Cabot, and continued to make the New English Military more of a professional force rather than a militia based one, and under him the number of state militia degraded from 10,000 to 8,000 as well. The New English nation continued to flourish and trade increased.

His ideas for colonization also took off. In late 1823, during the month of October, a small village and naval posting was made by the New English navy in the island of what the Spanish called the Isla de los Estados next to Tierra El Fuego. In paper it looks like a small island with nothing significant to exploit. However in reality the decision to colonize Islas Estados or as the New English called it, New Eire, was a strategic move. It controlled the sealane from the Southern Atlantic next to the Falklands into the Cone of South America, therefore allowing the New English to gain toll fee from the ships passing through. It was a great economic move, and most of the settlers of the island would be New English Irishmen. Quite the mouthful. Nonetheless, this colonization was disputed massively by the Kingdom of Argentina. They had a sizeable navy which had been made under a year’s guidance of Cochrane, however in July 1823, Cochrane had returned to Great Britain, and when Argentina declared war under Prime Minister San Martin on the Commonwealth of New England, all hell let loose.

At first the nearby numerical superiority of the Argentinians managed to wreck the small New English ships in the vicinity. However the Commonwealth ‘Armada’ consisting of 9 ships of the line, 7 2nd Rates, 5 3rd Rates, and 15 Frigates sailed down to the South Atlantic where they fought the Argentinians in naval combat in the Battle of Cape Horn, in which the Commonwealth Navy defeated the Argentinian Navy decisively on August 17th, 1824, cementing New English Naval dominance against Argentina. With their navy under the seas and the snow cap, Argentina sued for peace and recognized the New English colonization of New Eire.

The Argentine Fleet before being decimated. ​

This short colonial war cemented New England’s position in Patagonia and the southern Atlantic for the centuries to come. They would control the fur trade, and the toll fee of the area for centuries and become rich of the back of it.” A Brief History of Early New England, Osprey Publishing, 1911.

“When Napoleon had invaded Portugal in 1807, the royal family had fled to Brazil, their largest colony in the Americas. There, King John VI of Portugal recognized the loyalty of the Brazilians by raising the colony to become a kingdom, thereby united the Kingdom of Portugal and Brazil into the United Kingdoms of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. A mouthful, but most people called it simply Portugal-Brazil.

Nonetheless, severe dysfunction existed in the ‘united’ kingdom. After the end of the Napoleonic Wars, recognizing their increased participation in the Americas as likely due to the loss of America in the War of 1812, the British withdrew from Portugal in 1818. This lifted a good amount of economic problems and the resentful feeling of being a protectorate of their ally, however still liberal elements in the Portuguese nation were unsettled and angry and demanded a liberal kingdom. In 1820, the city of Porto, which had been most affected by the economic strains of the postwar era, erupted into what was is called the ‘Liberal Revolution’. It enjoyed success nowhere outside of Porto, and the Portuguese Army managed to put the revolution down pretty handily.

Nonetheless, John VI of Portugal did not wish for a second rematch of the revolution, which he feared would be greater than before, and therefore agreed to a constitution. The Cortes was founded as the governing house of the Portuguese nation with the constitution ratified by John VI himself. He left his prince and heir, Dom Pedro to rule over the Kingdom of Brazil in his stead as he returned to Portugal. Nonetheless, the constitutionalist feeling in Portugal was shared by the Portuguese in Brazil. The Minister of Finance of Brazil was forced to be banished by General Sousa Tavares, and this humiliated the prince, as the Minister of Finance was a close ally of his.

In Portugal, the government tied the Brazilian subordinate governments directly to Lisbon as their plan for total unification of the Lusophone colonies. However this effectively made Dom Pedro the governor of Rio de Janeiro only instead of the entirety of the Brazilian Kingdom. It also didn’t help that the Portuguese were dissatisfied with their now shared rule over the ‘colonials’ and the Brazilian members of the Cortes were looked down upon, denigrated, and despite King John VI’s best efforts to make sure the Brazilians were proportionately represented, the Brazilian delegations in the Cortes were under-represented according to population.

All of this slowly titled Dom Pedro the Independent Brazilian cause. His wife, Princess Maria Leopoldina of Austria was also very pro-Brazilian and influenced his actions. On 18th, January 1822, Dom Pedro dismissed the Portuguese authorities in Rio De Janeiro and boarded them all in transport ships to go back to Lisbon. A constitutional assembly was called in Rio, and the Brazilian constitution was promulgated, written by both the Brazilian Liberals, Conservatives and Dom Pedro himself. A Popular vote was held in the assembly January 31, 1822 where the assembly unanimously declared Dom Pedro the Emperor of the Brazilians.

This was horrible news for the Portuguese. Nonetheless, it was the southern sector of Brazil that was under Dom Pedro or now Pedro I’s rule. The north was still firmly under the hands of the Portuguese.

And thus war ensued. King John VI took a hardline stance against his son ruling in Brazil, though at a soft level. He ordered the Portuguese generals to defend the lands held by the Portuguese in Brazil but not attack Rio or the Southern territories held by the Brazilians. He tried to reconcile with his son, at least on the political level, as on the familial level, the two were very much attached with one another, even though they were at war with one another.

A letter from Pedro I to John VI in 1823 writes,

Dear Father, this war is dastardly. I hope and wish that I could get your advise on this. I cannot bear to see so many die like this. I fear it and the repercussions it may bring…..please father, I require your advise.

On things like this, the two maintained a familial level of contact with one another, however in the political arena and the diplomatic arena they remained enemies with one another. However in the Battle of Natal in August 27th, 1824, the Brazilians were defeated, however the Portuguese military was not able to take the advantage of the defeat properly as they were exhausted by the war and their stagnant economy. In January 1825, the Portuguese government recognized the independence of the Empire of Brazil. However the Empire of Brazil only extended it’s authority to the states of Paraiba, Pernambuco, Sergipe, Bahia, Plaui, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, Rio De Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Parana, Santa Catarina, Rio Grande De Sul, Mato Grosso Do Sul, Mato Grosso and Rondonia. The Northern part of the nation, mostly in the Amazonian basin remained a part of Portugal. The United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves quickly became the United Kingdom of Portugal, Amazonia and the Algarves after that. Prince Miguel became the Duke of Amazonia and was sent to the region to administer it.” The Independence of Brazil, University of Rio, 1897.

The rough map of South America in 1824.
yellow - spain
pink - uk
grey - mexico
lime green - brazil
dark green - portugal
purple - uruguay
light blue - argentina
violet - charcas
brown - paraguay. ​

“In 1819, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington ascended to the Premiership of the United Kingdom after the death of Lord Liverpool. He was a great military commander, and a controversial politician, nonetheless, he is always ranked amongst the top five Prime Ministers of the UK. As King George III neared his death, Wellington cajoled the parliament, and even the Prince-Regent for catholic emancipation upon King George III’s death. The famous argument against Catholic Emancipation had been the fact that King George III’s coronation oath did not support it, however Wellington argued that upon his death, the coronation oath would be changed for the Prince Regent to allow Catholic Emancipation. The momentum of the War of 1812, which had seen Catholic Quebecois fight alongside the British faithfully and the growing industrialization of Ireland meant that the need for Catholic Emancipation was rising, and by the end of 1819, Wellington had managed to just barely weasel through the Catholic Relief Bill through both the Houses. It used up a significant portion of his vast influence, however he managed to do it. The Catholic Relief Bill concluded that upon the death of George III, all Catholics in the United Kingdom and her colonies would be fully emancipated forever.

​

Sir Arthur Wellesley in 1819 as Prime Minister.

On January 28th, 1820, King George III died of his mental diseases, and upon that announcement, Catholic Emancipation was done once and for all for the United Kingdom. Wellington made a good amount of enemies in the House of Lords, however he considered it worth it.

His alliance with Mexico that he had secured with Jose I also allowed the British government to lighten the military load in British North America, and under Wellington, the economic situation of Britain and her colonies grew rapidly and prospered. As an Anglo-Irishman, Wellington also created new jurisdictions in Ireland that partially removed the Corn Laws, and allowed for greater crop rotation and allowed the people of Ireland more agricultural mobility. The industrialization of Great Britain was exported to Ireland as well, and the population of Ireland, for the first time after the 1798 rebellion prospered as they received money, received full civil rights, and received economic mobility. The lost loyalty to the British Crown in Ireland is said to have been regained by Wellington during his premiership. He is credited with the fact that Ireland still remains a part of Britain to this day, though at times tenuously, due to the three independence referendums already.” The Biography of the Duke of Wellington, Chapter 88, Penguin Publishing, 2020.

“The Presidency of Calhoun is regarded as the death knell alongside the Election of 1820 for democracy in the United States of America. Calhoun immediately removed the tariffs put on trade, and restored free trading with the rest of Europe. In this manner, the trade of the agricultural south started to flow into Europe, Africa and Asia once again and the south prospered. Using this newfound exporting strength, the south started to mitigate the effects of the Great Panic of 1820, however the lifting of tariffs hurt the northern states by a huge margin.

The northern states experienced a massive amount of brain drain, and their industries were made next to useless, and were forced to be subsidized by the Federal and State governments. This agrarian approach of Calhoun made it impossible for the Northern States, who didn’t exactly boast an agricultural background or foundation, almost impossible to recover from the 1820 Panic properly.

Whilst in the south, the economy grew, and the inflation died down, in the north, by the end of the year of 1821, the state governments were issuing bank notes worth $15 dollars for bread, a massive amount at the time, and even today. This made the northern economy untenable, and try as he might to prioritize the south, Calhoun was by the end of the year forced to look at the north as well, as the Whigs and Democrats shouted bloody murder at him for the continued economic depression in the northern states of America.

To give some amount of credit, where credit is due, Calhoun did try to alleviate the situation somewhat. He reviewed the monetary policy and kept more conservative policies securing the Northern Industries in place. However this came too late and its effects were too little. The State of Philadelphia declared itself bankrupt in January, 1822, and was followed by New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and the Delaware soon after. Only Ohio and Indiana in the north did not go bankrupt, mostly due to the fact they were more capably administered and the fact that industrialization hadn’t taken particular root on the level that it had in these two states as it did in the other northern states.

The bankruptcy of the northern states saw the states erupt into riots from the population. They believed that the south was leading them to ruin, and that they should seek a better solution. In early 1822, some radicals even called for secession like New England, however these men were quickly stamped down for the most part. The April Riots in 1822 swept through the north, and Calhoun backed down somewhat and managed to pass some mild protectionist policies that did allow the North to come back on track somewhat however the North was still tethering near bankruptcy and the American nation was quickly becoming divided.

However what was perhaps the most humiliating thing for the northern states was that the new states being entered into the Union were consistently being admitted as Slave States, and without a majority the northern states weren’t able to do much about it.

The State of Missouri alongside Arkansas was admitted into the Union of the United States on August 10th, 1822 after a yearlong debate about it. The Northern States screamed that Missouri or Arkansas, one among the two, would have to become a free state, however the Southern controlled Congress and Senate would not even hear it. And with the backing of Calhoun, who backed the southerners, Missouri and Arkansas were admitted into the Union as a slave state and Calhoun signed the document of accession on August 10th. This created widespread fury in the north, and this in turn created investors in the north losing confidence in the northern economy as the population turned angry once again. This caused the stock exchange of the north to fall by a massive amount of points, and this in turn made the northern states tether on bankruptcy just when they had started to recover properly. As such radicalism grew once again.

Slaves from the south crossed states borders into the north trying to flee their horrible lives and to live freely in obscurity. In the north they found many helpers and they allowed the slaves to escape their lives, where they fled into Mishigama, New England and the British North American Colonies. In Mishigama, most of the escaped slaves were sent to British North America, however a small amount of them would settle down in the capital city of Shikaawa and would lead to the growth of the minority population in Shikaawa which we today call African-Native Americans, which represent around 4% of the population of Shikaawa in 2016.

Nonetheless, this new economic crisis and the admission of Missouri and Arkansas as slave states made the situation in the north and the public opinion even worse. In the south, the agrarian culture and the people flourished, and in the north they suffered. The south was quickly becoming the economically prosperous part of the nation, whilst the north was becoming the poor and backburner portion of the country.

It also didn't help that Calhoun's policy of expelling natives into Mishigama constantly clogged up transportation sector which further complicated things a lot.

A new legislation in October 1823 allowed for slave hunters to be allowed in all states of America to capture escaped slaves, and this caused widespread anger, and this time Calhoun, who had shown himself to be at least slightly compromising, did not compromise. He defended slavery stating that it was a harsh but beautiful reality, much to the disgust of many.

In February 1824, the delegates of the states of Ohio, Indiana, New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey met with one another in the Convention of Albany. And the situation was precarious. The convention discussed led by governor DeWitt Clinton of New York stated that,

The time is now. We shall rest and look for the results of the elections of 1824. Should it not be in our favor, gentlemen, I need not tell you that this means a radical solution is needed.

A former federalist sympathizer who had turned Whig after the War of 1812, the man was correct. In the 1824 Elections, Calhoun and Jackson were re-elected to the position of President and Vice President.

DeWitt Clinton. ​

In March 1st, 1825, the State of New York declared secession from the Union, soon followed by Philadelphia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Ohio and Indiana by March 15th. On March 26th, 1825, all the independent states now proclaimed the Federation of America, and declared themselves severed from America, citing the multiple grievances that the north had with the now largely southern ran United States of America.

On March 29th, Calhoun and Jackson had fled to Richmond, Virginia where they made a ‘Cabinet in Crisis’ and declared the secession to be ‘null, void and illegal and merely states in rebellion.’

The Federation President, DeWitt Clinton rejected this, and War was officially declared on April 2nd, 1825. And the American Civil War thus began.” University of Shikaawa, Mishigama, 1888.

***

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 14: The Starting Moves. Let Us Fight!

***

“Initially, both sides were caught off-guard on how they would approach the war in the first place. Nonetheless, both sides immediately started to prepare for war in the manner that they could. The North was at this time, at a severe disadvantage. The Federal States of America had a total population of 2.7 million and the south, the remnants of the United States of America had a total population of 4.2 million people. However what the Federals could not make up in quantity, they would make up in quality.

During the War of 1812, the vast majority of the troops had been taken from the Northern states, and as such the northern states still had veteran troops in their armies and militias, and they were all brought into service. One commander, Zebulon Pike was recalled from his homestead in New Jersey. Pike had returned to America in 1815 after his house arrest in Canada, after he had been captured by Brock. He had been dishonored by his defeat in battle, however he was still a respected commander, and he held a titular command, even though he had resigned from the army. Clinton called him to take command of the 1st Federal Army.

Zebulon Pike. ​

Pike accepted the offer. The man too disliked slavery with a passion, and the man was an experienced general. Pike may have lost against the British forces, however he would prove himself adept at warfare with the south. Pike was made the Commander of the Federal Army of Maryland. He commanded the 1st Division, 2nd Division and the 3rd Division of the Federal Americans. The 1st Division consisted of the 1st Federal Infantry, 2nd Federal Infantry, 3rd Federal Infantry and the 4th Federal Infantry. The 2nd Division consisted of the 5th Federal Infantry, 6th Federal Infantry, 1st Federal Dragoons, and the 2nd Federal Dragoons. The 3rd Division consisted of the 1st Artillery, 2nd Artillery, 4th Artillery and the 7th Artillery. In total the Federal Army of Maryland had 9,000 men under arms, with more than half of them being veterans of the War of 1812.

In the south, the US Army of Virginia was being assembled under Major General Edmund P. Gaines. The US Army of Virginia consisted of the 1st Division, 2nd Division and the Dragoon Brigade.

The 1st Division was divided into the 1st Brigade and 2nd Brigade. The 1st Brigade had under itself the 2nd Artillery, 3rd Artillery and the Duncan’s Artillery under its command. The 2nd Brigade had the 4th US Infantry, 5th US Infantry, 6th US Infantry and the 8th US Infantry under arms. The 2nd Division as well had two brigades. The 1st Brigade of the 2nd Division had the Mounted Rifles, 3rd US Infantry and Taylor’s Battery under arms, and the 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division had the 2nd US Infantry, 7th US Infantry, and the 3rd US Infantry under arms. The Dragoon Brigade had the 1st US Dragoons, 2nd US Dragoons and the 3rd US Dragoons under arms as well. In total the US Army of Virginia had 12,500 men under arms. Gaines wasn’t a pushover general either, and was a formidable opponent.

Edmund P. Gaines. ​

The first battle of the American Civil War would take place in the town of Leesburg. The Battle of Leesburg took place on May 2nd, 1825. Pike’s men crossed the Potomac River on the morning of the 2nd, with Pike taking the offensive. His general plan was to capture Leesburg, create a proper bridgehead, and then invade Virginia and capture Richmond with the aid of the superior Federal Navy, which was far better than the normal US Navy, as most of its warships fell to the Federates when they declared secession.

Gaines on the other hand had strict orders to defend the south from the base at the Potomac river, and once enough forces could be marshalled, he would have to invade and liberate Washington DC which was under Federal occupation at the moment. Gaines was a little overambitious and a little overconfident. He had the numbers sure, but he didn’t have the quality that he would face. From across the Potomac Pike’s 3rd Division opened total artillery fire at Gaines’s positions in Leesburg. Taken by surprise, the artillery bombardment paved the way for the 1st Division and the 2nd Division under Pike to cross the river relatively unopposed.

And that they did, and by 8 a.m, the 1st Division and the 2nd Division had managed to connect with one another through Harrison Island and Murray Hill and had consolidated their own positions. At Murray Hill, the 1st Division and 2nd Division took a defensive stance against Gaines, as they were now over the range of the artillery guns of the 3rd Division. Pike ordered them to stand until the entirety of the guns could be transported over.

The 1st and 2nd US Dragoons and the Mounted Rifles were ordered by Gaines to retake Murray Hill, and in consequence, the 1st US Dragoons galloped across the field and hills to attack the positions of the 1st and 2nd Divisions, and were consequently mowed down. Pike and his subordinates had used their vantage point in the hill to monitor the movements of Gaines’s men, and this made them acutely aware of what they were doing. As such when the 1st and 2nd US Dragoons led the charge uphill, they were met with a countercharge from the Federals with bayonets ready. Taken by surprise, and unable to properly resist close range shots and bayonet attacks, the Dragoons had to flee backwards downhill. The Mounted Rifles fared a little better than their Dragoon counterparts, however as the Dragoons melted way from Murray hill, they found their positions incredibly untenable to hold, and they soon retreated back downhill, with nothing to show for it. By 10 a.m. around half of the 3rd Division had been transported over the Potomac River.

At this time, Pike decided to go on the offensive. He had learned from his mistakes against Sir Isaac Brock, the 1st Duke of Auckland, and had even adapted to his strategies and made it his own. One of those included Brock’s astonishing offensive spirit. The 2nd Division was ordered to take Red Rock whilst the 1st Division faced the US Army of Virginia and pinned them down. Using the hill to his advantage, Pike managed to make it look like the entire army was moving forward to pin Gaines and his men down. The 1st Division was successful in pinning the Army of Virginia when the 2nd Division reported that they had secured Red Rock.

With this clear in mind, Pike ordered the 2nd Division to fall on the flanks of Gaines’s men. Gaines’s was caught completely off-guard as Pike’s 2nd Division came forward from the wilderness and the creeks and crashed on his flanks. With his entire position exposed like an underbelly he decided prudently to withdraw from Leesburg as he could not hold the flanking action properly unless he wished to lose a massive amount of men. Therefore at 2 p.m. he ordered the US Army of Virginia to withdraw and retreat back to Fredericksburg. By 3 p.m the retreat had ended and the Battle of Leesburg was over.

The Battle of Leesburg saw the US Army of Virginia take 120 killed, 320 wounded and some missing in total amount of casualties. In stark contrast the Federal Army of Maryland had taken casualties of 64 killed, 178 wounded and few missing. It was a small but great victory for the Federals and a good start for what the federals and President DeWitt Clinton hoped would be a new independence war.” A Military History of the American Civil War, University of Baltimore, 1997.

“Whilst war broke out in America between themselves the situation was looked at keenly by the neighboring powers. New England even offered to intervene in the American Civil War sending a missive to Clinton stating that the formidable New English Army and the extremely formidable Commonwealth Navy would be at their disposal. However the New York senators and representatives in the Federal government, who still seethed over the loss of the Saranac vetoed this option. Nonetheless, the New English government under Prime Minister Thorndike continued to look at the American Civil War with unveiled interest.

The New English Navy was a powerful one. ​

In Mishigama, the American Civil War was looked on with agitation. The war would disrupt the animal and herd migratory cycles and behavior which would not be good for the annual yield of the nation, and the small nation had no wish to see Whites pouring across the border as refugees of war. High Chief John Norton immediately ordered the closure of the borders and stated that anyone crossing the border without clearance of the governments would be liable to be ‘shot’ by a musket or rifle, or ‘cut to pieces’ by a tomahawk. Norton had more issues on the table, like his running of the Mishigaman economy, than to look at this silly civil war going on between the powers of the America. Nonetheless, the small 8,000 strong and professional Royal Mishigaman Army was mobilized by the government to make sure that the war would not spill over into their territory and if Britain intervened.

In Britain itself the war was seen with unveiled curiosity. The Duke of Wellington had managed to make the British Kingdom of one that of prosperity and industrialization, and the British Economy was more powerful than ever. The people in Ireland prospered and the reform acts had made the British economy extremely powerful. Economist John Maynard Keynes in his book the History of the British Economy write in Chapter 18…..

The British Economy was in the Napoleonic Wars said to be extremely powerful. They basically funded the entire war for the Portuguese, Spanish, Swedes, Prussians, Russians and Austrians. However if the British Economy was powerful then, then the British Economy at the onset of the American Civil War was even more powerful. Under Wellington, industrialization had been equally divided between the Irish, Scots, Welsh and English, and the industrialization process had been exported to every single colony of the British Crown. From 1819 to 1825, the premiership of Wellington, the economy experienced a growth rate of at minimum 6.5% per annum with the economy growing by over 40% during the 6 years that Wellington ruled over Britain. When Wellington stepped down over political controversy he had left a kingdom that had the capability to outspend the entire world. – John Maynard Keynes, History of the British Economy, Chapter 18, Paragraph 29.

The Duke of Wellington also saw America as a rival to contend with in British North America, and for the security of the British claims and holdings in the New World. Nonetheless, Wellington whilst he may have wanted to intervene couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to get Britain to intervene and for one major problem. The Duke of Wellington after the Catholic Emancipation had lobbied extremely hard with every sector of the British Parliament and the British Gentry to get the Corn Laws implemented in 1815 to be repealed. It would be the last thing that could be a stopper to the current massive economic growth that Britain was experiencing. Wellington somewhat ironically found that his own Tories were not receptive of the idea whilst his opponents, the Whigs were in favor. On June 17th, after multiple years of lobbying Wellington managed to get enough prerogative to call a Parliamentary session to decide the repeal of the Corn Laws. Wellington put forward his plan for the repeal of the Corn Laws. He said that the Corn Laws would be repealed and abolished by 1st January 1828 after years of gradual reductions of tariff, leaving only a shilling duty per quarter.

This opened a massive economic debate in Parliament. The Pro-Repeal MPs argued on a free trade platform and the Anti-Repeal MPs argued on a protectionist platform. Till now the British government had been doing a mix of the two however it now seemed that it would be impossible. Nonetheless, this issue divided the tories, and Wellington managed to use his side of the Tories and the vast majority of the Whigs to pass the Repeal of the Corn Laws through Parliament and eventually through the House of Lords. However despite this, the parliament also passed a small protectionist policy under pressure from the economists of the parliament called the ‘British Agricultural Protection Act’ which gave the internal British agriculture more incentives to grow, and encouraged ‘internal exports’ to keep the British agricultural market running. This would make the British non-reliant on foreign imports of food.

An Anti-Corn Law Cartoon in Ireland. ​

Politically whilst the repeal of the Corn Laws and the advent of the Protection Act did make the economy of Britain much better the divided Tories made it impossible for Wellington to continue his premiership as many in his cabinet resigned in protest. As such Wellington resigned from his post as Prime Minister. He was succeeded as Prime Minister by Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, the 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne, the leader of the Whigs. Despite the fierce Whigs and Tories rivalry Fitzmaurice praised the Duke of Wellington for his dedication to his work and stated,

It takes a different kind of man who would go against his own party to pass a law that would be for the greater good of the nation. For that I praise him. – 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne on the Duke of Wellington’s resignation.

The 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne ​

Nonetheless this economic and political turmoil would make it impossible for the United Kingdom to intervene in the American Civil War.” The Foreign Actors of the American Civil War, University of Havana, 1888.

“Completely opposite to what was happening in the North Americas, or perhaps mirroring it in some manners, Argentina was in turmoil. Carlos I continued to demand more and more executive powers and the loss in the New Ireland War with New England which had seen the Argentine Navy sink into the depths of the seas, the pride of Argentina, had induced massive unrest. It also didn’t help that the Federalists and the Unitarists openly fought in the streets with their respective militias flouting Royal Rule like it was nothing.

Aggravated with all of this, and the perceived weakness and failures of Prime Minister San Martin, Carlos I gathered his supporters in Buenos Aires and launched the Royal Coup in Buenos Aires. The Royal Coup took place on May 23rd, 1825 and saw the Rio De La Plata region fall to the Royalists. In Buenos Aires, Carlos I decreed that the Argentine Constitution was repealed, and abolished, and he took personal command of the nation as an absolutist monarch.

This saw widespread mixed reactions. In the Rio region, where the government’s instability had made the economy go absolutely to the drain, the people supported the royalist and absolutist coup, however in the other regions, the people did not support it and reacted violently. San Martin himself had not managed to flee and he was tried in court in the capital of Argentina where he was found guilty of ‘treason to the state’ and ‘gross miscalculations against the state’ and was banished to Spain where he would sit in house arrest in Seville.

A Depiction of the Argentine Civil War. ​

The rest of the nation seemed to be taking the coup sitting down until one Carlos Maria de Alvear declared the royalist coup in the Rio De La Plata region to be ‘insincere’ and ‘illegal’. He invited republicans of Argentina to the city of Cordoba where The Congress of Cordoba declared that:-

In the light of the coup, which goes against all that Argentina has fought for, this nation shall not recognize the new government in Buenos Aires. We declare the monarchy to be over, and that the Republic of Argentina to be the sole and legitimate government of the Argentine Peoples.

Carlos Maria de Alvear​

The Congress of Cordoba declared the Republic of Argentina. As such both sides started to herald their forces to fight for war. As such as the American Civil War continued in the Northern continent, the Argentinian Civil War erupted in the southern continent.” Half Century of Absolutism, Osprey Publishing, 1965.

“In 1824, the Mexican Government held their second General Elections. Under Muzquiz, a new party named the Liberal Party had emerged. To challenge the Liberals, a new political party named the Conservatives was formed by young and charismatic Pedro Velez. The 1824 Mexican General Elections saw both sides campaign heavily to gain more seats in the Mexican Congress. The results of the Elections were:-

• Liberals (Muzquiz): 33% of the popular vote, or 165 seats won in the Chamber of Deputies and 33 seats won in the Senate.
• Conservatives (Velez): 35% of the popular vote, or 175 seats won in the Chamber of Deputies and 35 seats won in the Senate.
• Independents: 32% of the popular vote, or 160 seats won in the Chamber of Deputies and 32 seats won in the Senate.

Senate of the Mexican Empire, Yellow – Liberals, Blue – Conservatives, Grey – Independents.

Chamber of Deputies of the Mexican Empire, Yellow – Liberals, Blue – Conservatives, Grey – Independents.

Muzquiz accepted his defeat handily, as the non-assuming man that he was and the transition of power to Velez happened smoothly. Symbolically Jose I invited Velez to form a new Mexican government and the new cabinet was given symbolic royal prerogative.

To make the Mexican people to have something to laugh and celebrate as well, Jose I announced that the heiress to the Empire of Mexico, Zenaide Bonaparte would be marrying her cousin, Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Jose I also signed the ‘Pragmatic Sanction’ which made the Mexican Monarchy would remain in the House of Bonaparte with the eldest would take the throne, and should females take the throne, then the King-Spouse would have to take a matrimonial marriage taking on the surname of the Queen. This was accepted unanimously by the Chamber of Deputies and the marriage happened in Mexico City with more than 50,000 spectators from across the capital city looking on and celebrating.

Pedro Velez, Second Prime Minister of Mexico. ​

Velez also had other problems on his hand as he acceded to the premiership. Russia owned Fort Ross in California and what to do with them seemed to be a constant problem that came up in Mexican politics. Nonetheless, a deal was reached between Velez and the company of Russians in Fort Ross. Fort Ross was bought by the Russian Amerika Company was a private land ownership under the name of the company, not Russia, and the issue was solved when the ink on the purchase dried up on December 17th, 1824.

Whilst this was going on, the Mexican government had been following the American crisis with acute eyes. The Mexican military numbered around a mixed professional and unprofessional force that was 40,000 strong. And even though a good amount of the army was unprofessional in their training and discipline, all of them were well-equipped. Under Muzquiz and continued under Velez, the government continued to import the British industrial revolution to the Americas, and the industries concentrated around Mexico City and Veracruz were potent in their output.

When the American Civil War erupted in the United States, the Imperial Mexican Army was mobilized by the Mexican government and was sent to Tejas where they would be stationed just in case the war and fighting spilled over into Mexico, which knowing the American administration, many thought would not be out of the possibility.” A Political History of the Mexican Empire, Imperial University of Mexico City, 1978.

***

A Levels Exam – 2nd Year.​

Course – North American History.​

Name – John MacDonald.​

School – High School of Ottawa, Ottawa, Kingdom of Canada, Commonwealth Realm.​

Question: Write a brief synopsis worth at least 600 words on the political and diplomatic as well as economical developments in Mishigama from 1816 to the start of the American Civil War.​

Answer: The History of Mishigama is very muddled during this period. When John Norton came to power as High Chief he found himself looking at a country that was divided. Divided along the lines of tribes. To alleviate this problem, the man quickly turned his attention to look at the examples of Europe. Despite internal divides in Britain of being Irish (tenuously), Scottish, English and Welsh, the recent Napoleonic Wars had made a solid British identity crop up whilst keeping their individual identities. In Spain, Catalans, Basques, Andalusians, Castilians etc all fought together as Spanish. In France, the Normans, Burgundians, Breton (tenuously), all fought in the name of France. Therefore, Norton started to encourage a pan-Indian identity going above petty tribal identities. Granted he kept the tribal lands system, he still worked with his pan beliefs. He introduced English as the lingua franca of Mishigama, which eventually led to the nation becoming a bilingual nation between English and their respective languages.

When Henry Clay ascended to power, Norton also negotiated treaties with the man to see the southern tribes of the United States to migrate into Mishigama. Seeing their condition which was pitiful after the War of 1812, many natives did migrate into Mishigama, where each tribe was given their allocated land. The Fox clan would be a prominent clan and tribe that would migrate. Some Natives also agitated for a true democratic system with political parties, however this was pushed back by Norton. Whilst he did have pan-Indian beliefs he did not wish to undo the very system that was keeping the tribes together.

Norton was also an avid economist that was peculiar in his own way. He made the Mishigaman economy strong by making a strong case of ecological conservation, like all Natives, and instead sought to reap the benefits of nature in sustainable ways which led to the Norton Laws of Nature Economics to crop up in 1819 which saw the herb industry in Mishigama becoming set up, one day to become the most lucrative herb industry in all of the New World. He also encouraged new fishing stations to crop up all over the Michigan Peninsula and the tribes settled there, which led to the Mishigaman economy having a sizeable portion of their economy become derived from the hunting and game that occurred in the Great Lakes.

Norton was also a great proponent of free trade, and under him mercantilist policies were downgraded whilst free trade policies were encouraged, and the government started to trade extensively with British North America and New England. The Mishigaman government however under Norton did not participate in much economic activity with America, as they were still extremely distrustful of the nation.

As chaos seeped into America in the backdrop that would one day become the American Civil War, the military reforms made in 1816 were sped up as well. The Mishigaman government also recognized that their numbers were just too small to resist properly, and the government as such emphasized their medicinal capacity, one of the major factors that led to the inauguration of the herb industry. In 1823 Norton would manage to convince both Houses of the Mishigaman Government to pass the ‘Mishigaman Medicinal and Health Act’. This act basically made Mishigama the very first welfare state in the modern world. It was a government sponsored program to make sure the population of Mishigama grew at a stable rate, and so that the people of Mishigama were healthy and fit.

By the time the American Civil War began, the Mishigaman nation also saw some industrialization start as the government started to open small scale textile and pottery industries which were good for the nation overall.

***

 

[Sarthak]

I have final exams, so i won't be writing for the next two weeks. As such, consider all my TLs under hiatus for the next two weeks. Thanks for all of your support!

 

[Sarthak]

A small wikibox i was doing in my freetime in the library!

 

[Sarthak]

A small update with the Map of Mishigama just before the American Civil War ATL showing major forts, major settlements/towns/cities and major roads.

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 15: Wisps of Foreign Intervention.

***

“The American Civil War continued on May 4th, 1825 when after two days of rest and regrouping, Pike continued to spearhead his advance into Virginia. This time however Edmund P. Gaines had made a solid defensive line as he had retreated and rearguard actions from Gaines limited the options that Pike had presented to himself.

A small skirmish took place at Manassas in which the US Dragoons led a massive anti-infantry charge against the Federal Army of Maryland to delay them and create an opportunity of time for the US Army of Virginia to retreat into Dumfries and Stafford. Nonetheless, Pike halted his men. He hated to do this, as he knew that if more time was given to the US Army, then they would be able to use their sheer numbers to win out against him, however he had learned from the War of 1812. The supply lines and logistics were of utmost importance to him, and at Dumfries, the Federal Army of Maryland stopped to regroup and the logistical lines and columns started construction from the new Federal Logistic Corps under the highest engineering elite of the Federal States of America.

In the west, another army was gathered up in the Ohio valley, and the two sides would fight one another. In Kentucky the US Army of the Appalachians was being assembled under Major General John Coffee. The US Army of the Appalachians commanded the 3rd Division which consisted of the 10th, 12th, 16th, 11th US Infantry and the 1st and 2nd Kentucky Militia and the 5th and 6th US Dragoons under it. It also commanded the 1st Artillery Division which consisted of Brian’s Artillery, 5th, 6th and 7th US Artillery. In total the US Army of the Appalachians had around 8,750 men in total under arms. On the opposite side of the border in Ohio valley, the Federal Army of Ohio Valley was being assembled under Major General William Henry Ashley.

​

William Henry Ashley had initially been an occupant of Missouri territory, however after the War of 1812 and the subsequent economic shock that it had left the man had immigrated to the north to Indiana where he had managed to gain a lot of military experience in the Great Indian Migrations to Mishigama and the inter tribal conflicts that had broken out. He had been called up by the Federals to command the Federal Army of the Ohio Valley, which he had accepted. The Federal Army of the Ohio valley consisted of the 5th Division and the 6th Division. The 5th Division consisted of the 10th, 12th, 14th and 16th Federal Infantry and the 6th Division consisted of the 2nd Ohio Militia, 4th Federal Dragoons, 5th Federal Artillery and the 18th Federal Infantry. In total, the Federal Army of the Ohio Valley had 7,300 men under arms ready for service.

William Henry Ashley. ​

Like his counterpart in Virginia and Maryland, Ashley was going to take the fight to Coffee. Ashley knew like Pike, that letting the US use its numerical advantage in the war would be disastrous for the federals, and as a result he would have to act with daring and invade first and attack first. Therefore, on May 8th, 1825 from his base in Cincinnati, Ashley and the Federal Army of Ohio Valley advanced across the Indiana-Kentucky border and entered Kentucky invading the northern portion of the state.

The first battle in the area would be the small community known as Dry Ridge. A small community home to scarcely 100 people, the Federal and American armies would meet each other in battle.

Like its name states, the area was a ridge in a relatively hilly area, and Ashely needed to be able to make use of it. At Sherman, the man deployed the 5th Division to overlook Dry Ridge, and at Arnold’s Creek, the man deployed the 6th Division using the light artillery being lugged in the division to his advantage.

Meanwhile Coffee was moving north slowly and had just stopped in Williamstown when he heard news that the Federal Army had moved from the north into south. He didn’t know that Ashley was nearer than he though however, and this would be fatal. On May 13th, he reached the outskirts of Dry Ridge where he deployed his lines just in case of an attack. The 3rd Division faced the road leading to Cincinnati and the 1st Artillery division was based behind Dry Ridge overlooking the small valley inlet area.

At 8 a.m. May 13th, the Battle of Dry Ridge erupted when the 10th Federal Infantry begin sharpshooting over the ridges into US army lines creating havoc in the US lines, and Coffee noticing the damage done immediately ordered a counter attack. The 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division consisting of 10th US Infantry, 12th US Infantry, 16th US Infantry and the 11th US Infantry was ordered to advance and attack the Federal positions. At 9:30 a.m. the lines smashed into each other as the 1st Brigade and the 5th Federal Division clashed with one another at the outskirts of Dry Ridge.

The 12th Federal Infantry led by Colonel Joseph MacDonnell led a brave bayonet charge at the same time against the 1st Brigade in the legendary ‘Attack of the Bayonets’ which led to the 1st Brigade being pushed back the 5th Division.

At this time, Ashley ordered the 6th Division to advance from its position at Arnold’s Creek to create a flanking maneuver. This was thwarted when the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Division consisting of the 1st Kentucky Militia, 2nd Kentucky Militia, 5th US Dragoons, and the 6th US Dragoons counterattacked at the 6th Federal Division. This created a window of opportunity for Ashley to use however and he did use to his utmost advantage unknown to Coffee. The 10th Federal Infantry and the 12th Federal Infantry of the 5th Division was detached from the 5th Division and it veered to the right to hit right at the flanks of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd US Division. This created an encirclement of the 2nd Brigade and the 2nd Brigade surrendered after horrendous casualties by midday. By this point however, Coffee had moved up his artillery into position and had started to bombard some of the positions occupied by Ashley and his troops.

Federal Troops during the Battle of Dry Ridge. ​

However this was for naught. Had Coffee used his artillery earlier, he might have made a difference, however by that point, the armies were too dispersed and too intermingled and by that point in the battle, the ridges and the hills made it impossible for the artillery to accurately fire at the enemy troops. Using the ridges, the 5th and 6th Federal Divisions regrouped and by 2 p.m. Ashley ordered a general advance through the multiple ridges to attack Dry Ridge from the front, left and right.

Recognizing defeat for what it was, Coffee ordered a general retreat back to Lexington at 3 p.m. and the battle was all but over by 4.

The Battle of Dry Ridge was another great victory for the Federals. The Federals had lost 39 men killed, 92 men wounded, and around 10 captured. In contrast the Americans had suffered 78 killed, 156 wounded, and 40 captured.

With their battlefield prowess, both Ashley and Pike would become known as the dual brothers of the Federal North during the American Civil War managing to win many battles against implacable odds.” The American Civil War and its Battles, University of Ontario, 1998.

“Of course the setbacks suffered by the United States at land was mirrored in the seas as well. Most of the major functioning docks and dockyards were all in New York, Philadelphia and Maryland, and as such majority of the US Navy had fallen into the hands of the Federal States of America. The only major dock remaining in US hands was in New Orleans. Nonetheless, the US Navy had a strong numerical amount of ships as well stuck in the American patrols in the Caribbean, and the US Navy was formidable in its own right even though majority of the fleet had fallen into Federal hands.

Commodore John B. Nicolson. ​

On May 17th, the US Navy was ordered under Commodore John B. Nicolson was ordered to move from New Orleans to the Georgian Coast in order to protect the American shipping in the area from where the American merchant ships were moving weapons and equipment north to Virginia.

Commodore Stephen Decatur. ​

At the same time in New York City Harbor, Commodore Stephen Decatur who commanded the Federal Navy was ordered to sally downwards to the southern coast to attack the American shipping in the area to prevent it from reaching Virginia where they could perhaps reinforce the army under Gaines.

The US Navy that was going to meet one another in a naval battle would be as the following:-

US Navy Order of Battle:-

• USS Columbus (Ship of the Line) (Flagship)
• USS Constitution (Frigate 1st Class)
• USS Sunda (Frigates 1st Class)
• USS South Carolina (Frigates 2nd Class)
• USS Onondaga (Corvette)
• USS Spark (Sloop of War)
• USS Gnat (Schooner)
• USS Mosquito (Schooner)

Federal Navy Order of Battle:-

• FNS Delaware (Ship of the Line) (Flagship)
• FNS Ohio (Ship of the Line)
• FNS Potomac (Frigate 1st Class)
• FNS Java (Frigate 1st Class)
• FNS Congress (Frigate 2nd Class)
• FNS Cyan (Corvette)
• FNS Hornet (Sloop of War)
• FNS Ontario (Sloop of War)
• FNS Nosuch (Schooner)
• FNS Purpoise (Schooner)
• FNS Dolphin (Schooner)
• FNS Shark (Schooner)

The place where the battle would take place would be Bull’s Bay on the date of May 27th, 1825. And it would become one of the first of the major naval battles of the American Civil War.” Ships of the Civil War, Naval Institute of Ontario.

“Welcome to our seventh episode of the American Civil War in our channel Kings and Generals. This episode is sponsored by War of Warships, which is a game for your computer in which all realistic physics of wargaming and naval warfare have been articulately adopted into the computer to make your naval war realistic with over 2000 real historical warships, ranging from Ship of the Lines to Dreadnoughts to choose from. So use the premium code in the description below to get 8 days of premium time, 4 extra slots, 1000 gold coins and a legendary tier battleship. Now onto the show.

The American Civil War was the ultimate showdown between the divides of the north and south in the nascent United States of America. Whilst the divides between North and South had their beginnings in the British Colonial Era itself, the War of 1812, which America lost decisively. The War of 1812 sent a chain reaction that led to the downward spiral of the American Nation which led to the American Civil War.

The Battle of Bulls Bay took place in Bulls Bay, which is on the coast of South Carolina. The area was an important facet of American shipping to the north where the Americans were supplying Gaines’s Army of Virginia. In order to counter the threat of American reinforcement of equipment and men to the north in a faster manner, the Federal government under DeWitt Clinton had ordered the Federal Navy under Commodore Stephen Decatur to sally to the south from where the Federal Navy could interdict American merchant and shipping routes.

In the early hours of May 27th, Decatur was notified by his forward schooners of the Dolphin and Shark that the American Navy was spotted in Bull’s Bay, along with the massive 74 gun ship of the line, the USS Columbus which was a major threat to the Federal Navy. Decatur was caught in a hard position. If he didn’t attack, there was a good chance that the Americans could keep supplying up north and perhaps change the tide of war, and if he did attack there was a chance that the 74 guns of the USS Columbus would be able to destroy his naval ships. However Decatur took the chance, as he believed that his greater numbers would be able to gain a victory.

At 10 a.m. in the morning when the fog had finally lifted in its full the American fleet under Commodore John B. Nicolson was extremely surprised to find the Federal Navy blaring their guns at then United States Navy. The battle then started with an exchange of fire from their guns and the battle continued as both the navies turned to form a battle line with their navies.

The 74 gun advantage of the USS Columbus showed as soon as the battle began as the FSN Shark was sunk by the Columbus and the FSN Purpoise was disabled by the fact that the guns had damaged the sails of the ship and the Purpoise was out of the fight as well.

However the Delaware wasn’t exactly something that was a ship that was not tough either, and the Delaware smashed the American lines as well, and the Sunda and the Gnat were quickly taken out of the fight almost immediately.

By 11:30 the battle was definitely not going in favor of Nicolson, as the Spark was also taken out of the fight by being sunk and the Onondaga was also torn apart with their sails being all over the place, in exchange for only the Potomac and Hornet being sunk on the side of the Americans. Knowing that he would have to take a risk, to win all or lose all, Nicolson decided on a daring maneuver. He broke the battle line, or what was left of it, and ordered the warships remaining to attack head on at the Federal Battle line. This was an audacious move, and many of the Captains voiced their absolute dissent, however they followed through with the order, and by 11:50 a.m. the Federal Battle line had been broken by the Columbus, Constitution, South Carolina and Sunda all sitting in between them bringing both sides of their guns to bare. The remaining battle was a massacre for the Federal Navy as Stephen Decatur himself was killed by a grapeshot.

At 12:40 p.m. the remaining Federal Navy began to retreat and by 1 the battle was essentially over. The Battle of Bulls Bay was a decisive American victory for the United States as it gave the Americans free passage to reinforce Virginia through the seas. Whilst the Federal Navy would continue to enjoy Naval superiority within their own waters, the waters of the United States wouldn’t be contested by the Federal Navy after that.” Kings And Generals, Season 17, Episode 7.

“Whilst a war was raging on the North and South American Continent in the form of the Argentinian Civil War and the American Civil War, another conflict was breaking out in the Tokugawa Shogunate in Nihon or popularly known as Japan in Europe. The War Of Restoration was about to take place…” History of the Empire of Nihon, Kyoto Publishing (日本帝国の歴史、京都出版) 1989.

"Meanwhile in the United Kingdom, the Federal defeat at sea stirred up the abolitionist feelings in the United Kingdom. And whispers against their former Colonial possession and its attempt to win its civil war stared to spread anew throughout the population and the nobility." Britannia in the Civil War, Osprey Publishing, 1918.

***

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 16: I Dream of Louisiana.

***
"Français je ne suis plus! Américain, je ne suis pas! Je suis Louisianan! Vive la Louisiane!" - Popular Louisiana slogan.
***

New Orleans, State of Louisiana, United States of America

July 3rd, 1825

The air in the port city was one of calm, yet something tense bubbled underneath the surface as the people looked on with one another and shuffled about. The Anglophone population largely joked about ‘Pardon my French’ and the slaves scurried about, doing what their owners had told them to do. The Hispanic population largely stood aside and kept to themselves whilst the Francophones, still the dominant demographic in the city shuffled about doing their day to day business. Nonetheless, the atmosphere between the Anglophone population and the Francophone population was tense. The massacre conducted by Andrew Jackson at the Maurepas Massacre had created a deep wedge between the Anglophone population and the Francophone. The Francophone population by this point was deeply anti-American, slowly nurturing their hatred that had blossomed from the massacre and the deaths of their relatives. The atmosphere spread, and the same could also be said of St. Louis, however St. Louis’s importance paled in comparison to the port city of New Orleans.

US Troops during the Maurepas Massacre. ​

Jean Baptiste Flauche was a national hero for the New Orlean’s Francophone population and hate was simmering down in the surface. The constant attacks made by Andrew Jackson and Calhoun on the population of the city, obviously the Francophones, only made this hatred stronger.

Bernard de Marigny. ​

One Bernard de Marigny walked down the street of New Orleans, wearing his neat and tidy French coat as he grumbled underneath his voice. His eyes flickered at the pub next to him as he slowly opened the door. The pub owner looked up slightly before noticing that it was de Maringy. The pub owner simply grunted and pointed towards the stairs that led to the private cabins to which de Marigny had an appointment. After shuffling inside one of the private cabins, de Marigny came face to face with one Jacques Dupre, the current Governor of Louisiana and Armand Beauvais. The speaker of the house of representatives of Louisiana, Andre D. Roman was also present as the four men looked at one another apprehensively.

Jacques Dupre. ​

“So how goes the war?” Dupre asked as de Marigny sat down. “Your sources give us more information than what the central government would like to tell me.”

“Ah the war is going on horribly.” De Marigny stated as he folded his hands. “The Federals are pushing and winning on land, and even though in the seas, the navy dealt a blow, the Federals hold naval superiority in their own immediate region.”

“That’s funny. The governmental official letter sent to me stated that the Federal sea going capability had been utterly smashed!” Dupre stated as he stroked his beard.

“Well you are the Governor. You know how the central government likes to exaggerate things. Increasingly under Calhoun and the murderer.” Beauvais spoke up.

“Indeed.” Dupre nodded.

“So what do we do now?” Came de Marigny’s small voice, uncharacteristic of the nobleman and aristocrat.

“What we have been waiting for ever since the war was declared in the first place.” Came Dupre’s clipped answer.

“Are you sure?” Came Beauvais’s voice. “When we start, there will be no going back.”

“I am sure. The Haitian Francophone support us, the Republican exiles from the Metropolitan France support us, and most important of all, the Mexican contacts we have with Emperor Jose state that he would aid us in secret. We can do this.” Came Dupre’s soft answer.

“History will remember you as a traitor.” Roman spoke up.

“History can remember me as it wants. I know what I am fighting for.” Dupre snarled.

“You will break your Governor’s Oath.” Warned Roman. “I need not say what the Church thinks about broken oaths.”

“Church be damned! But even the Church would understand why I am doing this. They will forgive me. God will forgive me.” Dupre answered back with an angry tilt in his tone.

De Marigny let out a soft sigh. “Very well. On notice, the militias we have set up all over the former Louisiana Colony will rise up against the central government. We will rebel against the United States, and create our own Francophone Louisianian state. My money, my influence, all of your influences, it has all led up to this. We will either win and go into history as heroes of a new nation, or fail and fall into the dustbin of traitors, like Flauche.”

“Vive la Louisiane!” The four cried out in unison.

***

“……For about a month, the frontlines of the American Civil War had been largely static with one another. However this would not last. On July 25th, 1825, all over Francophone cities in the former Louisiana Purchased lands now within the United States rose up against the United States. Ever since the Louisiana Uprising during the War of 1812, and the subsequent persecution of the Francophone population in the region, the region had become a hotbed for separatism. Whilst the government had been distracted by the lead up to the civil war, the population of Louisiana continued to suffer the persecution under subsequent US governments, all of whom were pretty suspicious of the state whose people’s had rebelled, but failed unlike New England during the War of 1812.

4 conspirators, Bernard de Marigny, Governor Jacques Dupre, Armand Beauvais and Andre D. Roman, all influential men in Louisiana plotted against the US government. All had grievances against the US. De Marigny had been a part of the US army during the Louisiana Uprising and whilst he had remained loyal he had vehemently opposed the Maurepas Massacre and the subsequent massacres and had resigned from the army in disgust instead utilizing his family wealth to gather influence in the society. The killing of Francophones during the massacre turned the man into a staunch Louisianan Nationalist and he started to call for Louisianan independence as early as 1816. Governor Jacques Dupre was popular with the people, however he had vehemently protested against the heavy handed measures that the US government took to keep the population in check and by 1825 at the outbreak of war, the man had also turned into a vehement Louisianan nationalist. Beauvais and Roman too were Louisianan nationalists who had turned against the American dream.

Picture of the capture of Anglophone politicians in St. Louis. ​

On the morning of July 25th, Francophone militias in New Orleans arrested multiple Anglophone politicians in the city and took influential Anglophones as hostage. The same happened in multiple cities and Parishes such as St. Louis, St. Landry, etc as prominent Francophones had turned against the US government. On July 27th, these Francophone militias came together and named themselves the ‘Louisianan National Liberation Army’ or simply the LNLA. In New Orleans, Dupre declared the Louisiana Purchase null and void and together with prominent Louisianan politicians declared the independence of the ‘French Republic of Louisiana’ with the capital based at New Orleans. The Republic of Louisiana claimed all the lands of the Louisiana Purchase in the USA and kept the territory within the British Empire under ‘negotiated status’ meaning that they would negotiate the territory with the British separately……..” The French of the New World, University of New Orleans, 1998.

Flag of the French Republic of Louisiana​

***

 

[Sarthak]

Chapter 17: Know Thy Enemy.

***

6th August, 1825

Le Flore

One Jean Caron was itching slightly as he and his party waited in the small cabin by Cedar Creek as the river flowed by. He and his men were waiting for three important guests as they tried to keep their nervousness from showing. The Comanche did have a fearsome reputation after all, and one that was well earned as well. Nonetheless, Jean Caron was here on behalf of the Louisianan people, and he would not fail them here.

The cabin where the deal was made in Le Flore today in the modern times. ​

A few minutes later Jean Caron was sitting down on the table, a little irate as he looked at his watch time and again just in case, to see whether or not the time had arrived. A few seconds later one of his junior diplomats came up to him and whispered, “Monsieur, the Comanche of Penateka are here.”

“Ah Oui. Bring them in.” Caron ordered as he stood up and readied himself. His servants and diplomats opened the door to his den as the three chiefs stood tall and proud. The first was of course Old Owl, or known in his tongue as Mupitsukupu, the second was Buffalo Hump, known in his tongue as Potsunakwahipu, and the third and last one was Iron Jacket or known in his tongue as Puhihwitsikwasu. The three had a fearsome reputation in the Wild West and the French population did have a history of dealing with them, so Caron was brought to forefront, as a diplomat and lawyer.

The Commanche Warriors. ​

“Gentlemen. It is an honor to meet you three legendary war chiefs.” Caron began diplomatically and then beckoned them to sit down on the seats in front of Caron. “Please do sit. Fine wood imported from Anatolia they are.”

“Anatolia? Quite the ways away.” Came the dry accented voice of Iron Jacket. The man was wearing his iconic Spanish chain armor and sat down with a slight clunk as he looked at Caron. “It is also quite the ways away that I am together with old Buffalo Hump and Old Owl.”

“Do not patronize me as old.” Came the grumbling answer from Buffalo Hump as the man sat down as well. Old Owl sat down on his chair quietly instead and simply looked at Caron with some trepidation present in his eyes.

Caron broke the small silence that had enveloped them all. “It is an honor to have all of you here. I am Jean Caron. I am a diplomat in New Orleans, as well as a lawyer, and I am here on behalf of the French Republic of Louisiana.”

“Petty little rebellion.” Grumbled Buffalo Hump. “The ruckus between you Whites due to your rebellion has made all the game flee!”

“Ah yes, well we are terribly sorry about that.” Caron nodded and sat down handing some hot water to the men. “Anyways, I am here on behalf of President Dupre. I have been asked to ask you three, for an alliance. An alliance between us and you, war chiefs of the Penateka of Commancheria.”

“An alliance?” Asked Iron Jacket intrigued. He leaned forward and his eyes twinkled.

“Yes an alliance.” Caron affirmed. “Our spirits may be high, but our numbers are low. We are in need of your great warriors.”

“And what do you propose in return?” Buffalo Hump asked in a haughty voice.

“I propose the following. We will provide you with tribute every year or so, in the same manner that the province of New Mexico provides to you folk, and second, we will allow your people full gaming rights in our forests and should you wish it, to settle down in your lands.” Caron listed as he looked at the three war chiefs in front of him.

“I accept.” Came the gruff answer from Old Owl. “The money and gold is something that my war band needs, and for it, I will give my war band as a mercenary group to you should you need it, with my leadership as well. My 1,000 warriors are yours for this rebellion of yours.”

“So quick to answer Old Owl!” Guffawed Iron Jacket. “Nonetheless, the offer is tempting. And full gaming rights? Why the old Spaniards did not give us such a privilege, and I bloody miss them after they left Mexico.”

“Ah, but I must digress.” Iron Jacket murmured. “Very well, my 1,500 warriors are at your disposal. What say you Buffalo Hump?”

“I am wary of this.” Buffalo Hump stated plainly. “I do not wish to get entangled in the affairs of the white men.”

“It is our affair, primarily yes.” Caron acknowledged. “But tell me what do you know about the US government? They have been encroaching on native lands for decades by this point, and they wish to continue that trend, with your bands as their next target after the civil war. Come now, and hit them and strike them down when they are weak, or be preyed upon, when they regain their strength!”

Buffalo Hump sighed and nodded. “Very well. My 1,200 warriors are yours as well. We shall aid you in your……war of freedom is it?”

“Oui.” Caron sighed in relief.

The Commanche Warriors of the Penateka Tribe would be instrumental in the Louisianan War of Independence. ​

***

“…….With the recent developments in America coming to the attention of His Majesty Charles X of France, of the House Bourbon, the government and His Majesty convened in a grand meeting to discuss the state of affairs that we could afford in the New World. We still had significant Caribbean holdings from which we could project power should we need to, however the government was unsure whether or not we wanted to go to war with the United States of America.

France, certainly had the capability to project power into the Americas, and the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, however the fear remained that our neighbors, in particular, the Italian states, the German states, Netherlands, Britain and Spain would remain hostile to a resurgence of French intervening power and power projection. Nonetheless, whilst for the moment, no concrete decision about an intervention was made, the government did indeed plan on aiding our fellow Francophones in Louisiana in their righteous struggle for independence. His Majesty Charles X ordered and decreed that 10,000 rifles along with 350,000 rounds of ammunition be supplied to New Orleans. 5,000 pairs of boots, 1,000 sabers and swords, and 5,000 uniforms were also to be supplied to the port of New Orleans through our secret merchants and contacts in the Caribbean sea. Nonetheless, despite the fact that we would not intervene directly against the USA, the government made its final decision in regards to a military proposition. It was decided that a volunteer group of 7,500 troops would be sent to New Orleans to aid them in their fight. We would not go to war, and these troops would all be ‘volunteer troops’ who would be asked to volunteer from our army. They shall be sent to New Orleans under the command of General Sylvain Charles Valee and General Charles-Marie Denys de Damremont, as both have already shown interest in volunteering for the Brigades de Volontaires Francais en Louisiane (French Volunteer Brigades to Louisiana).

Sylvain Charles Valee

Charles-Marie Denys de Damremont​

The media was also being asked by His Majesty Charles X to write write-ups in favor of the Louisianan nationalists and portray them in the best light possible. Journalists in service of the Kingdom were already being called into duty in doing so.

All in all, for the moment we remain on the sidelines, but still in the shadows working with our fellow Francophones in the New World. As it should be………..” Page 176 of Prince Jules de Polignac’s Diary.

***

9th August 1825

Calcutta

Frederick Lewis Maitland was looking at the orders given to him with some amount of aghast present in his voice. He looked at the letterman again and asked “Is this a valid order?”

Maitland, the admiral who opened Japan. ​

“Yes, you are to take your fleet to Japan and force them to repeal their new edict of Foreign Restriction. The government of His Majesty will not tolerate such un-economical acts in the region, especially as the government seeks to expand its dominance over the Near East and the China station.” The man answered tiredly.

“Fine.” Maitland groused. “To Japan then?”

“Take HMS Wellesley with you.”

***

“From August 1 to August 10, as skirmishes erupted between the LNLA and the American unionists, the Louisianan Provisional Elections took place. The Provisional Elections were largely for all intents and purposes only conducted in Louisiana proper and St. Louis, however it did cement the political processes in Louisiana. Whilst everyone running for the provisional elections during wartime were allies, there were of course factions.

Bernard De Marigny was the face of the Old Guard, and the conservative faction of the Louisianans. He favored conservatism and neutrality in foreign diplomatic affairs, and instead preferred isolationism. In the election, his party would garner 42 seats out of the 150 seats in election and 28% of the total vote.

Andre B. Roman was a young man and preferred progressive policies, and founded the Progressive bloc in Louisiana. The man was a progressive and did of course encourage progressiveness. His party also garnered 28% of the total vote and gained 42 seats.

Dupre himself was the leader of the Louisiana Nationalist bloc. Of course everyone in the election was nationalist but the man himself rode on a platform of heightened nationalism and regionalism and was a determined moderate between conservatism and progressiveness. His party won the majority of the votes at 30% and won 45 seats.

The last bloc was led by George A. Waggaman, who was an Anglophone collaborator with the Louisianan Nationalists and whilst he did support Louisiana, to secure the autonomy of the Anglophone population he founded the Anglophone Group bloc that ostensibly represented the Anglophone population of Louisiana. He gained 11% of the vote and 17 seats. Independents managed to nab 4 seats as well.

​

The council was named the Chamber of Deputies and the voting suffrage for the election was largely in line with the voting suffrage of the old US. Notably Anglophones were also allowed to vote as long as they did not speak up against the Louisiana movement.

The Louisianan Chamber of Deputies. Blue represents the Old guard, the Greens represent the Progressives, the Light Blue represents the Louisianan Nationalists and the Yellow represents the Anglophone group whilst the grey represents independents. ​

After the elections were over, Dupre was elected by the Chamber as their provisional President of the French Republic of Louisiana.” Political History of North America, University of Havana, 1998.

***