The Time of Eagles

William Walker stepped ashore at Colon, a great smile upon his face. It was five years since he had last been here, since his hasty departure before Spanish forces chasing his ill-considered fillibustering expedition from the province. But all was different now

The steam pinnace from the ironclad corvette USS Sonora remained at anchor, its crew off to a tavern, or bordello, or who knew where, determined to make the most of their freedom and blame any delay on tides, or even on him. Walker laughed at that; he doubted that Semmes, let alone Old Iron Pants, would believe such a story, but probably they would go along with it - much easier to maintain morale that way

For his part he headed unerringly from the docks up into the wealthier district, hardly much of a walk in a hole like this. He paused before the house, noting its faded wood, its peeling paint. No, surely his fears were groundless - not Isabel ! He laughed it off and strode onto the porch.

Cristobal was as ugly a bastard as he had been five year ago - Hell, no, he was uglier still. A new scar down the right side of his face, a heavier bloodshot look to his eyes. He sneered up at the newcomer when he worked out who it was,
"She gone, Americano, she gone"
"Where ?", Walker grabbed hold of the man's collar, "I've come a long way, where is she ?"

Cristobal sagged and looked at the ground
"She get in debt" he said at length, "You never come. She sell herself"
"What does that mean ?" Walker demanded
"She Estobal's man now, down in the docks.", he shuddered, "She not my Bella no more, she gone...."
"Gone ?" Walker seemed at a loss, grasping at straws
"She got sick, Americano, that kind of sick"
"The pox ?!" Walker was somewhere between angry and astonished; not his Isabella, surely not !
"She got it" Cristobal seemed to deflate even more

Walker turned and walked away. He should have known things would have changed. You should never go back - not if you care about the past. But here he was in Panama province, and all his promises to the Admiral were as naught. He could even laugh at that, a short sharp bark of laughter. Oh but Fate had played him cruelly, it had played Old Iron Pants no less !

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Arthur Richard Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington looked around him. Calcutta ! How far the British forces had retreated, but what choice had they ? He had raved and ranted, fumed and fought, but he was still an administrator and not a warrior. The men respected him because of his father, they would not follow him

A narrow victory had been thrown away on the Plains of Cawnpor, the French advance had caught them out, had left what forces Britain had unable to make a proper play upon their own. The French were still in it, but Mirza Mughal was hitting back, and even the French were now reported on the defensive

What shame to be defeated by an Indian the greenfeet said. But Wellington knew better, he had heard his father's stories time and time again. He knew never to under-estimate the Indians, but even that knowledge now seemed tainted - he had not under-estimated them, but still he had lost, they had lost, Britain had lost

"Come away from the window", Mary Miller was not his wife, but somehow with the distances involved that had ceased to matter, "Don't spend all day stuck in your own little world - again !"
The admonition got through to him, and he shed his knee-length underwear
"My cannon's ready !" he cried, not altogether convincingly
"Aye - my defences are down !" she tried
They coupled with a reserved frenzy

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Hamilton Brady did not want to be remembered in Limon. Accordingly, he had insisted upon being landed a mile down coast and had crept into the town in the wake of a flatulent donkey. It had not been 'fun', but it had worked, for nobody had batted an eyelid as he had moved amongst the market stalls, and at length peeled off and headed for a cheap lodging house. Now, alone in his room he could think

Limon was in the province of Costa Rica, perhaps the most determinatedly independent of them all. Not only was the provisional capital of San Jose located here, some hundred miles perhaps West of where he was now, but Costa Rican volunteers swelled out the UPCA army

Brady had last been here on what he had termed a mission of support for such independentalists, but those hee had allied with had seen through him, had chased him out of the country, even ahead of the colonial Spaniards who were lumbering imbeciles compared to the local authorities. No, he would not be welcome here, but he had contacts if only he had time enough to find them. Men and women who could be bought for the gold coin in his baggage...if he did not spend it in a tavern first

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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...
Magruder could hardly begrudge him that, but wished that he had been able to maintain an active military command, especially with the situation developing, or deteriorating, down South.

As Governor of Massachusetts, Benjamin Butler had hardly expected to find himself facing the opening salvo of what could be a very damaging split within the Union. But the merger of renegade factions from Whig and Democrats alike into the Progressive Party had left the two husks of the old political system inhabited almost solely by fundamentalists and extremists. Whilst the American Party and the Progressive Party sought to achieve as broad a national coalition as possible, the remnants of the Whigs had set course for an abolitionist utopia, whilst the remnant Democrats took an opposing stance

And as luck would have it, or rather ill luck had it, Massachusetts was an abolitionist heartland, a Whig stronghold, and today the State Legislature was voting on State senator Lydia Francis' proposition. And all the indications were that the Whig majority would pass it, as much for the boost it would give to the Whig name in the press, as from any genuine belief in her sentiments.

...
As it was they did - the other way. The vote to abrogate the Fugitive Slave Act was carried by an overwhelming majority


Best Regards
Grey Wolf

Hi Grey,

How would you define the Progressive political program? Are they like OTL Progressives or they also have rural support (the OTL Western Democrats)?
Which are the differences between the Whigs and the American Party apart from a more radical stance against slavery in the Whig Party?
I'm trying to figure out how those parties would react in case of a civil war over the issue of slavery?
How would you rank the remnant Whigs and Democrats in terms of strength versus the other two parties?

Best Regards,
Archangel
 
Hi Grey,

How would you define the Progressive political program? Are they like OTL Progressives or they also have rural support (the OTL Western Democrats)?
Which are the differences between the Whigs and the American Party apart from a more radical stance against slavery in the Whig Party?
I'm trying to figure out how those parties would react in case of a civil war over the issue of slavery?
How would you rank the remnant Whigs and Democrats in terms of strength versus the other two parties?

Best Regards,
Archangel

The Whigs have basically become a New England sectionist party, with a few outposts in places like Franklin. They are modelling themselves on European Social Democratic type parties

Democrats are now a Southern party, again with the exception of a few outposts.

The American Party is a broader church, all about growing America strong, including keeping the military at a height

The Progressives aim to be a similar broad church, but focused on social and economic issues at home, rather than foreign policy and aggrandizement

This is, necessarily, something of a simplification :)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
"No", Charles Francis Adams sighed deeply and looked across the smoke-filled room to where his son and secretary, Henry, was busily working on a series of documents. He sighed again and shook his head, returning his attention to the half dozen politicals around the table.

"You HAVE to" Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln banged the wood in front of him, "The country is crying out for change"
"It is not crying out for ME" Adams snapped back, "I will put my entire effort and energy behind any candidate that we put forward, but that will not be me !"
Oliver Morton looked piteously at the son of a presidential candidate, the grandson of a president himself,
"No is the answer of a weakling" he spat

Charles Francis Adams stared at him for a moment, then rose to his feet
"I was not certain that we retained our original goal..." he began
"You cannot drop out now !" Jeremy Boyle growled, "We hardly have a unified platform for 64 as it is !"
"And whose fault is that ?!" Adams snapped
"Are you a fucking traitor ?" Morton ground out
Adams hit him

Half an hour later, the remains of the informal meeting met in a tavern a hundred yards down the road. Abraham Lincoln looked from one to the other,
"We are agreed ?" he asked
"Yes, Mr President"
"Then let us see to it..."

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
"War is a disease !" Amelia Bloomer was berating the New York state legislature, met in emergency joint session to consider a motion signed by a large number of the Whig representatives, "War is an addiction !" she thundered, "The First Spanish War...the Second Spanish War...the THIRD Spanish War...the World War ! Would we have another one ?!"
"No !" came the cry from more than a score of throats
"What do we say to 'President' Kearny ?" she spat his title as if it was leaving a foul taste in her mouth

"We say no to war !" the venerable Matthew Vassar spoke up
A proponent of higher education for women, he had found a natural ally in the indomitable Bloomer, and was happy to support her causes in return for co-operation with his.
"This is complete balderdash !" Abner Doubleday rose to his feet, struggling to be heard, "War is a means of promoting the national interest..."
"Belligerent !" spat Bloomer
"Shame !" cried the other Whigs

Doubleday faced them down. A veteran of the World War in which he had seen service with Taylor and Worth in Tejas, he was not an easy man to intimidate.
"A motion to outlaw war is insane", he ground out, closing his ears to the jeering Whigs, "What message would we be giving out to the federal government if we passed this piece of trash ?"
"Shame !" the Whig jeers roared around him

William Henry Vanderbilt got slowly to his feet. Eldest son of the nation's foremost railway magnate, his father had insisted he enter into state politics in order to instill some backbone into himself. With half a dozen of his father's business allies amongst his fellow members, he knew that to remain silent was to invite his father's ultimate wrath.
"New York can no more pass a motion on the federal government, than Washington can order US to act against the Constitution" he ground out
"Why ?" an anonymous Whig jeered
Vanderbilt stared; it was a good question, and he had not prepared an answer

"We move to outlaw war !" Amelia Bloomer was back in control of the chaos
"Vote ! Vote ! Vote !" the Whig chant rang out
The Speaker sighed heavily and waited for the noise to subside
"The motion is put to a vote" he said, at length


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
What WAS France embroiled in ? President Louis August Blanqui read the reports from India with a growing sense of trepidation. Not enough for the Republic to be up to its knees in China, Vietnam, Montevideo, and...however it had happened...Patagonia. No, but the commanders in India had decided to embark upon empire-building as well !

Fifty-eight years of age, Blanqui was a veteran agitator from amongst the urban revolutionaries of the war. After Orleans' demise, and the brief interlude of a "compromise" leader, Blanqui had seized the presidency in the election of 1861. It had been a landslide, the proletariat voting to empower their own, their representaive, a man to sort out the multifarious wrongs of France

And he had been doing so, and would continue to strive in that direction. If only the local politicians and commanders in these far-off places would understand that France had far more important matters to hand than their own petty empire-building. But no, they were a relic of an earlier age, and perhaps he had sadly neglected to replace them all with trusted proletariat men. Whatever the cause, they continued to embroil the republic in unlooked for, and as far as he was concerned, unwanted wars

French troops had routed the Mughals before Delhi ?! What the Hell was this to him ? He had read of Britain's disasters, their falling back upon Calcutta with a certain amusement, but at the same time an "I told you so" feeling that castigated the island nation for its focus on the irrelevancies of Indian politics. But at the same time his own men had been doing the same

Oh, sure, he knew that French armies had advanced, had in fact seen nothing sinister in that - in a time of chaos and civil war, one did not stand around waiting to be attacked. But an unopposed advance was one thing, a pitched battle quite another. If Delhi fell...what the Hell was France supposed to do with it ? It was a nonsense ! The Mughal Emperor belonged in Delhi, France most certainly did not. But who was he to tell the generals this, how was he to, even, with telegraphic traffic still two weeks behind due to the distances between front and stations. Of course there was no station in Delhi - one could hardly expect the Mughals to embrace the telegraph ! But how he wished there was now, and he would tell the fools what he truly thought

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Bangor, Maine was frozen on this Winter's day, but that did not prevent Dorothea Dix from going about her business. A member of the State Senate she was as excited as she had ever been by the news reaching her from New York. A vote against war ! Let that be a lesson to the warrior administration, as New England Whigs spoke of Kearny and his coterie of World War veterans

She hoped this day to add her own footnote to these momentous times. The State Senate was to vote on a motion condemning slavery across the entire Union, and she had little doubt that it would be carried

As she stepped from her carriage onto the icy pavement, a man strode forward from the shadow of a shop, pistol in hand and fired. Dorothea collapsed, blood welling up out of a wound to her shoulder. The man moved closer to deliver the killing blow, but never got the chance

From down the steps of the State Capitol rushed a young Militiaman, Adrian Adams, Adie to his friends, Double-A to his enemies. He wasted no time in thinking, and simply slammed the butt of his rifle into the skull of the would-be assassin. The man fell sideways, unconscious and Adams bent quickly to help the stricken State Senator

An hour later the Senate met, sans Senator Dix who was recuperating in hospital. There was little doubt as to the vote, and it passed with a far more healthy majority than would usually have been the case. Perhaps it was only a symbolic act, but it reinforced the message to Washington. Few in Bangor doubted that now Kearny would have to do something

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Captain Jose Maria Aquino had no orders for this situation and had to make things up as he went along. That was a bad thing - for him, for his crew, for Spain, and for the cause of international peace. As the ironclad frigate Santissima Trinidad edged into the roads at the Isla de Providencia, he ordered her cleared for action, and for a warning shot to be fired across the bow of the alien interloper. His vessel was the most modern in the Spanish Fleet, one of a bare half dozen ironclads that Madrid had managed to find the funds for, and by far the most expensive. The otheres were midway between corvette and frigate, but the Santissima Trinidad had been modelled on the German Frankfurt and no European vessel was supposed to be her superior

Unfortunately, she was no longer in Europe after her long voyage across the North Atlantic, and nobody had conferred with the Americans on the proper standard for modern warships. The USS President was alone in the roads, the admiral's flag flying high from her mainmast, but to Aquino she was just any old American ship, one to teach a lesson to. He did not know that an entire fleet lay scattered in the islands, and considered himself to be merely taking on an isolated American interloper.

The shot across the bows certainly woke them up, but the President made no move to surrender, or to request a parley. Instead she cast anchor and came about. Angry at this presumption, Aquino ordered a second shot be fired, but before it could be the bow cannonade of the American ship hit home, and hit the Trinidad with deadly force, blasting several officers either into pieces, or over the side. Shocked, the Spaniard ordered his men to fire on the American ship itself. Let them destroy the invader

But it was not to be. Two hours later, American steam pinnaces roved amongst the floating wreckage, picking up survivors. Captain Aquino was not amongst them.


Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
1864... King George V did not feel much in the mood for celebration. If anything, a wake seemed more the order of the day. But he had a duty to uphold. He smiled

Across the grand hall, Furst Otto von Bismarck of the Kingdom of Prussia observed him, and felt god. Prussia had retained its independence from the German Empire, had allied with Aleksandr II's Russia and stood off from both Frankfurt and Vienna. As such it was regularly shunned in Western Europe, but Britain could afford to shun nobody, and for all the royal family's intermarriage with the Kasselians of Germany, the SDF government had sought and retained cordial relations with Berlin

With the accelerating Schleswig-Holstein crisis, the aged King Wilhelm I had hastily elevated his ambassador to the Court of St James from the dignity of Count to that of Prince. Bismarck had been gratified at what he had seen as an unduly tardy recognition of his services to the Hohenzollerns, but in practical terms it had served to place him higher in rank than the German representative, a mere count from out of Bavaria

William, Prince of Wales had observed the mood of his father, and the looks that the damned Prussian kept casting about him. A junior lieutenant in the Fusiliers, William was only just starting out in the world, but he had had good tutors, and he believed that he understood how the world had changed throughout the preceding decade. He viewed Prussia as something of a dangerous anomaly, a land apart, as primitive as Russia !

But oh did Bismarck think himself the belle at the ball ! William growled inwardly, then an idea hit him. He replaced his glass upon the tray of a passing butler and weaved his way between various minor notables, a 'Happy New year' here, a 'Pleased to meet you' there. At last he came upon the Prussian prince, not a real prince of course, merely a Furst by writ of the decrepit who ruled in Berlin. He smiled and put out his hand,
"Count Bismarck !" he enthused, "I am glad that you were able to afford the cab fare !"

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Hamilton Brady sat down with the two mercenaries, neither a man he would have trusted with his life, but he had a Colt repeating pistol, and a Neapolitan stiletto and both men respected those.
"I am not certain" Ramon Torres said in studied English, "what it is that you desire of us ?"
Brady nodded, and looked at the other Central American. Luis Valencia nodded at the unspoken question,
"We cannot speak for our men" he said

Brady nodded again,
"I ask only that your orders do not interfere with Admiral Farragut's plans. Explain them any way you wish, but make sure you tell your men not to resist."
"I can tell them" Torres said, "But it will be as of naught"
"How so ?" Brady snapped, wondering if he had made a mistake. All intelligence told him these two captains were the most for sale, the easiest to buy, but what if he were wrong ?
"If Americanos land, they will fight. They well remember you from last time, senor"

Brady silently cursed, then flicked a wrist at the tavern's owner who understood and came quickly with refills for their beer. When he was out of earshot, the Monterrey Captain, as he now styled himself, tried a different tack,
"Where are there isolated garrisons of Spaniards ?"
Torres exchanged a look with Valencia then shrugged,
"In a lot of places, senor, why ask ?"
"You should lead your forces there, so that they are out of the way here"

There was a pause, then Torres grinned,
"I see it, senor, and you will pay ?"
"Half now" Brady confirmed, "Half when the Americans take San Jose"
"I think it is an agreeable bargain"
Brady looked across to Valencia. The grizzled veteran slowly let a smile slide across his face,
"It is good to be doing business with you, senor"

Brady laughed, and the deal was done

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Teaser for Part 23

This session of the Frankfurt Diet was of surpreme importance, and as recognised by the German Constitution, the heads of state of the majority of the member states were present as the debate continued. Emperor Wilhelm looked about him, to King Leopold of Wurzburg, to the Prince-Bishop of Regensburg, to King Georg of Hannover, to King Ludwig I of Bavaria. All were glued to the debate, all had runners and messengers coming and going. If ever a time existed to exercise close control over a delegation this was it.

MORE TO COME !

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
GW,

Don't have much more to say at this juncture than Great Stuff!

I particularly like the Whigs take on being a NE sectionalist party.

Quick question: to what political party do Sen. Lincoln and Charles Adams belong?

Pres. Kearney seems to be playing a very...risky game of roulette by sending Farragut to the UPCA. I hadn't pegged him as that devout an expansionist, particularly given the domestic woes that seem to plaguing the USA.

Looking forward to more.
 
Hi,

Still a very interesting TL.

However, I find I must point out a development I find a bit unlikely.

Specifically, the depth of the fall of France and Uk, given what really how I understand the 1845 war and the lack of real devastation on these countries ( as opposed to what a real war on the country territories would have brought ).

That some people think that the countries have gone down, with respect to their pre-war status is extremely likely. So is a temporary decrease in influance and even industry; However, I find a real long term decrease in industry and capital too implausible ( especially as they seemes to have invested quite heavily in other country industrialisation - e.g. France in the USA -, which should give them quite a financial clout, as the war didn't let them sell these interests - as happened to Uk in WWI -). I think France and Uk should have gone up right now and repassed USA and Germany, given the TL.

Also, I find Blanqui quite unlikely as french president, unless the character is very different from OTL, with a different philosophy and willing to work with the system. OTL, he was an anarchist and couldn't get much of a following, as he was too hardcore and unwilling to compromise, AFAIK. I think Louis Blanc could make a better character for this episode.
 
This session of the Frankfurt Diet was of surpreme importance, and as recognised by the German Constitution, the heads of state of the majority of the member states were present as the debate continued. Emperor Wilhelm looked about him, to King Leopold of Wurzburg, to the Prince-Bishop of Regensburg, to King Georg of Hannover, to King Ludwig I of Bavaria. All were glued to the debate, all had runners and messengers coming and going. If ever a time existed to exercise close control over a delegation this was it.

Away in a room of their own, the delegates from the Schleswig-Holsein-Sondersburg-Augustenburg camp sat, nervous and confused by everything they saw. Titular Duke Christian frowned deeply in concentration, his sons Frederick and Christian following his example. In many ways they were as Danish as the Danes, the only difference was that if they wished to become relevant they would press their legitimate claim to the duchies. To that end, Duke Christian had directed his emissary, a man now captivating the German assembly with his rhetoric

Frederick I, King of Baden watched the unfolding events with a small twitch of his nose. He did not doubt that the Diet would vote in favour of the duchies, for all that certain resplendant monarchs seemed to view it as almost unthinkable - excitably so, it would seem. Married to a princess of Prussia, Frederick often wondered if he was somehow outside the rarified atmosphere of the German Empire, as if he were trying to read its deliberations in an ancient Teutonic tongue of which he may have an inkling, but far from a perfect understanding

There was motion within the chamber now, the delegates were being called to a vote. Suddenly everyone, whether important enough to stand with the Emperor's party, unimportant enough to hover with the S-H-S-A party, or somehow caught in the middle as with Baden, suddenly all of them were on their feet, staring down as the Frankfurt Diet finally made up its mind

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Spring was here at last ! Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln looked around him, then walked into the nauseating crush of the first of what he knew would be many such meetings. By July, August at the latest, the Progressive Party would have a formal candidate for the presidency, but who really doubted it would be him ? Only the backward hicks in the state offices, that was who, but he could hardly tell them that he had the nomination sewn up by dint of an internal party agreement. Where would democracy stand in that ? No he had to go through the motions of fighting for it

San Antonio de Bexar, West Tejas was warm, oddly unpleasantly warm as Spring made an imitation of Summer. Residents assured the Progressive Party delegates that it was not always so, but the Illinois Senator was not sure that he believed them. It certainly looked a God-forsaken place !

There seemed to be so many...Mexicans around ! Lincoln caught himself staring, and managed to get a grip upon it, but he was conscious that most of the others in his party were still goggle-eyed at the dagos. He sat back, rubbing his temples and forced himself to think - religion could not be a qualification for the vote, nor could birth. Property could, of course, and English, the ability to speak fluently in it. So, these were either the local rich guys, or the property qualification was more reasonable, but education had spread its wings aloft. He was not sure quite what he thought of that.

Oliver Morton appeared to have no such qualms. He button-holed a passing Tejano, resplendant in red cape and embroidered shirt,
"Oi, Dago !" he barked, "Why are there so many of your kind ?"
The man froze, blinked and then spat on the floor before resuming his original course
Morton watched him go, one hand on his gunbelt, the other curled into a fist. Nobody treated him like that and got away with it...nobody treated him like that, period

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
"Mr President ?"
Stephen W Kearny jerked himself awake from his reverie and nodded at his Secretary of State,
"Go on" he said, in his once-strong voice
"Yes sir", Robert E Lee was being referred to in much of the press as 'the man Kearny used to be'. He was not at all comfortable with this epithet, but knew that there was nothing he could do about it, "Territory Governor Braxton Bragg has completed his report on potential statehood."
"And ?" Kearny frowned
"He suggests that the California Territory be promised statehood immediately following the election"

Kearny was quiet a while, then at length asked,
"How does he view this working if Sonora and Chihuahua remain as territories ?"
Without those two provinces, any statehood for Baja California would see it sit isolated in its glory on the Westernmost coast, whilst the internal provinces remained in limbo
"San Diego is a naval city" Lee shrugged, "Our presence in the peninsular grows from that - fishermen, merchants, all sea-going. It will look to the Pacific not to the Gulf, and it will view any contact with the main body of the United States as a boon, rather than a promise"

"Perhaps;" Kearny said at length, "we would call it California ?"
"I think South California fits better" Vice President Franklin Pierce spoke languidly, raising his voice for the first time from where he sat close in to the fire, battling an illness he would admit to no one
"Spain..." began the Secretary of War
"Spain knows" Kearny ground out heavily, "Whatever our protestations, even so our actions, Spain knows"
"Yes sir" John B Magruder allowed

"The United States needs always to grow in states" Franklin Pierce opined
President Kearny glanced carefully at him. His long-term friend and ally was clearly suffering, only holding himself together by strength of will. Maybe the time of the new generation had already come; perhaps his insistence on one final term was the mere hubris that his opponents had said it was.
"With Gold Fever in Alta California", Lee used the old Spanish name for the ViceRoyalty, "the South suddenly seems the best place to be to stake a claim in coming events"

Kearny nodded slowly, then turned to Magruder
"What is the status of the Fredonia expedition ?" he asked
"Unknown" Magruder snapped, then added, "That is either nobody knows or it is being kept secret"
"Could they have survived the Winter in such inhospitable country ?" asked Lee
"Maybe" Magruder tried to indicated the absence of any clear idea by pointing to the map of North America upon the far wall, "Observe the lack of data, gentlemen"

Stephen Watts Kearny looked from one face to the next and saw only their ambition, the force of their will. Perhaps he had been like it once, but now it sickened him to see it so blatantly

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
GW,

Don't have much more to say at this juncture than Great Stuff!

I particularly like the Whigs take on being a NE sectionalist party.

Quick question: to what political party do Sen. Lincoln and Charles Adams belong?

Pres. Kearney seems to be playing a very...risky game of roulette by sending Farragut to the UPCA. I hadn't pegged him as that devout an expansionist, particularly given the domestic woes that seem to plaguing the USA.

Looking forward to more.

Lincoln, Adams etc are the emerging leadership of the new Progressive Party - Adams has already been its failed presidential candidate once and didn't want the job again

The UPCA is clearly going to be a complicating factor in Central America, and the US has to take a position on it - if not, it might simply be crushed by Spain (which could be viewed as a lost opportunity) but worse, it might end up being over-run by Mexico which the USA does not want to see rise to the position of a rival

The idea wasn't to go to war with Spain though, simply to claim Miskitia, and force the UPCA to recognise this claim, then if Mexico did try anything the USA would have a position from which to hit them from the South as well

Guess I better explain this better in the actual narrative !

btw Magruder and Lee are the two people vying for the American Party's 1864 nomination. Probably too easy to guess who wins !

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Hi,

Still a very interesting TL.

However, I find I must point out a development I find a bit unlikely.

Specifically, the depth of the fall of France and Uk, given what really how I understand the 1845 war and the lack of real devastation on these countries ( as opposed to what a real war on the country territories would have brought ).

That some people think that the countries have gone down, with respect to their pre-war status is extremely likely. So is a temporary decrease in influance and even industry; However, I find a real long term decrease in industry and capital too implausible ( especially as they seemes to have invested quite heavily in other country industrialisation - e.g. France in the USA -, which should give them quite a financial clout, as the war didn't let them sell these interests - as happened to Uk in WWI -). I think France and Uk should have gone up right now and repassed USA and Germany, given the TL.

Also, I find Blanqui quite unlikely as french president, unless the character is very different from OTL, with a different philosophy and willing to work with the system. OTL, he was an anarchist and couldn't get much of a following, as he was too hardcore and unwilling to compromise, AFAIK. I think Louis Blanc could make a better character for this episode.

Thank you for your comments

I'll try and defend my opinions in detail tonight, and get it posted up on Monday afternoon (the next time after this morning when I will have internet access)

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
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