Well, I was more about the "provisional governor" part than the "Democrat" part. Not that that ever stopped anyone in the past...
The Union Forever: A TL
- Thread starter Mac Gregor
- Start date
Well, I was more about the "provisional governor" part than the "Democrat" part. Not that that ever stopped anyone in the past...
The Fall of Vicksburg
The Fall of Vicksburg
After besting the Van Dorn's Confederates at Grenada, Major General Ulysses S Grant with the main body of the Army of the Tennessee joined Sherman's XV Corp in the siege works around Vicksburg, swelling Union numbers to over 80,000. Sherman had been pounding away at the Confederate defenses for over a month. Confederate Lieutenant General Permberton’s troop strength had been reduced to a mere 27,000 and his men were running dangerously low of artillery shells.
From February 14 to 16, the Union army blasted the Confederate works with over 200 pieces of artillery. This barrage was supplemented from the river by Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter’s gunboats. On the morning of February 17, Grant ordered an assault against the northern Vicksburg defenses which were easily repulsed. Undeterred, Grant ordered two more attacks on the 18 and 20 which meet with similar defeat.
Following these failures, Grant began to prepare for a new assault to be led by Sherman's XV Corps. This assault was to be preceded by a feint in the south by Major General John Parke’s IX Corps. While Confederate attentions were distracted to the south, Sherman’s forces attacked after a ferocious but short artillery barrage. The XV Corps advanced in loose formation, taking advantage of all possible cover, and seized a section of the Confederate northern defenses. By the time the assault ended on the evening of February 20, a gaping hole existed in the Confederate lines.
The next day, Grant offered terms to the battered Confederates. If they surrendered their arms and swore never to fight against the government of the United States they would be paroled. With the breach in the Confederate lines and the near depletion of their ammunition Pemberton was forced to agree. The city and defenses of Vicksburg surrendered the following day on February 22, 1863. Port Hudson, Vicksburg’s Louisianan counterpart would surrender to Major General Butler’s Army of the Gulf a few days later after news of Vicksburg fall reached the poorly supplied Confederate garrison. Together, the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson in February 1863 finally returned control of the continent’s greatest river to the United States.
Louisiana Rejoins the Union
With the capture of Vicksburg and Port Hudson, Unionist politicians in Louisiana decided the time was finally right to restore the state to the Union. Meeting in Baton Rouge, a new constitution abolishing slavery was adopted. The relatively conservative Republican James Madison Wells was soon elected as the state's new governor. Congress officially recognized Well's government on March 1, 1863. The Confederate state government in Shreveport continued to control a third of the state but could do little to oppose the Federals. The only sizable Confederate formation in the region was the Army of Western Louisiana now command by Major General Richard Taylor under General Joseph E. Johnston's Trans-Mississippi Department but could only harass the more numerous Yankees.
Flag of the State of Louisiana
Adopted in 1905
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And the Confederacy is now cut into two. This will have to be last straw for several states I would think.
I would think once the news happens the most likely would be Virginia, and then Texas. Virginia is almost completely occupied by the Union, is being offered a chance to come back with slavery (even if with gradual emancipation), and with the fall of Vicksburg the obvious noose on the Confederacy is there. Now whether the whole state gets readmitted as one or as two (Virginia and West Virginia) I don't know. But if Virginia yields and rejoins the Union under PERU many of the remaining states in the Confederacy are going to be wondering if they should bolt back too.
As for Texas they are now completely surrounded as Louisiana is occupied, the fall of Vicksburg has cut them off from the rest of the Confederacy (sans Arkansas which might be invaded very soon and is small potatoes anyways), and is blockaded by a powerful Union navy. With news of how badly the rest of the Confederacy is doing I just don't see them hanging in their for long. Granted I don't know much about their internal politics during the time, but the situation is grim and they are not stupid people.
Just my two cents of course.
Oh and I could have sworn I read somewhere that North Carolina had a large pro-union populace (at least in the western part of the state) are their any rumblings there against the Confederacy with the Union armies so close?
What of Richard Taylor's Army of Western Louisiana. A formidable little army that delivered one of the most crushing defeats of the war against its enemy in the Red River Campaign. That army continued to function as a threat in Louisiana until Simon Bolivar Buckner surrendered it in May of 1865 along with the rest of the Trans-Mississippi department. There has been nothing in this timeline that would effect that army any more than the events of OTL effected it.
And you also have to factor in Walker's Greyhounds. 10,000 men from Texas able to march vast distances in quick time and fight as well as any of the elite brigades and divisions east of the Mississippi. John George Walker was active throughout 1863 fighting in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. There has been nothing in this timeline that would effect the formation of the group - whether Walker commands them is another matter entirely.
And what became the Army of Missouri under Sterling Price. Three divisions under the respective commands of Joseph O. Shelby, John S. Marmaduke and Jame F. Fagan. Originally formed in 1864 with a total of 12,000 men but clearly showing that there is still some strength to be found west of the Mississippi after Vicksburg's fall.
Add to that the fact that the Missiourian General Sterling Price and the Louisiana General Richard Taylor were stubborn men who fought tooth and nail for their states and what they believed was in their states best interests. As long as they are active in the Trans-Mississippi department the Union will not conquer it completely.
Not to mention Stand Watie.
Of course, unless Edmund Kirby Smith is in charge I doubt that the Confederate would be able to coordinate their operations in each state all that well but the would still be resistance to Federal occupation.
I think I had read somewhere that actually a pretty large percent of Texas was pro-union, of course a minority, but maybe still enough to force the state to reconsider its course under the Confederacy. I would think after Vicksburg the smart thing for Texas to do would be to negotiate.
I'm not denying the fact the Confederacy has field armies still in place, nor are they sad ramnents either. What I'm saying is that the political realities given the overwhelming Union advantages at this moment in time, alongside a not too bad a deal in PERU, should lead them to really considering to get out while the getting is good.
Good points on the Trans-Mississippi theater. They will come into play soon enough.
We will have to wait and see, but needless to say his administration's legitimacy seems to be disintegrating.
Just as Davis began to seriously consider fleeing to Europe he was met by a mysterious figure with a peculiar accent offering Davis the services of the so-called Rivington men and a new rifle...
The Fall of Virginia
The Fall of Virginia
Confederate earthworks protecting Lynchburg
Confederate earthworks protecting Lynchburg
Second Lynchburg Campaign
Since November of 1862, the Armies of the Potomac and of Northern Virginia had done little more than skirmish with each other. Lee’s forces had turned the countryside around Lynchburg into a proverbial fortress with a series of forts, redoubts, and defensive positions ringing the city and protecting the railway which served as the city's lifeline to the rest of the Confederacy. Sedgwick’s army had been preoccupied for most of the winter with suppressing guerrilla bands and occupying the rest of Virginia.
Major General John Sedgwick
Army of the Potomac, Commander
On the Ides of March, components of the Army of the Potomac started making their way west from Petersburg. Unlike Sumner's push towards Lynchburg the previous year, Sedgwick kept his forces consolidated. Altogether, these forces totaled 120,000 men. However, tens of thousands of these were used for logistical support and securing the army’s lines of communications. Behind the formidable Lynchburg trenches laid Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Despite repeated pleas for support, by the dawn of spring Lee's Army consisted of only 45,000 men under arms.
The first battle of this second campaign against Lynchburg occurred when forward Confederate elements ambushed a reconnaissance detachment of Union cavalry on March 23, 1863. As would be the story for most of the campaign, Southern forces performed well until superior Union numbers forced their withdrawal due to fear of encirclement. In a similar fashion on April 1 at the Second Battle of Appomattox Courthouse, Confederates under the immediate command of Lieutenant General James Longstreet held up nearly twice their number for two days until Union cavalry threatened to cut off their line of retreat. On April 13, Union forces south of Lynchburg at the Battle of Campbell Courthouse were able to evict the Confederate garrison only after a costly assault.
The Surrender of General Lee
By April 20, 1863 Major General John Sedgwick’s Army of the Potomac had encircled nearly 75% of the Lynchburg defenses. The remaining open portion included the railroad to the west which served as the city’s lifeline to the rest Confederacy. The Confederates were doing their utmost to keep the railway open through a series of counterattacks and flanking movements by Southern cavalry to draw off Union forces. For the next 30 days Federal forces continued to close the vise of Lynchburg. By the first of May, the Confederate Virginia politicians who had taken refuge in the city during the winter had all fled into North Carolina, as had most other Confederate officials. The notable exception being President Jefferson Davis, who, much to the annoyance of General Lee, was determined to remain in the city as long as possible. On May 20, 1863 General Lee informed President Davis that he must leave the city as the window for escape was closing fast. Lee informed Davis that he and many of his fellow Virginians would stay behind and perform a rearguard action as he and units from other states escaped towards safety. Davis seeing the writing on the wall reluctantly accepted.
On May 21, Davis and a sizeable number of the remaining Confederate soldiers under Major General Richard H. Anderson of South Carolina managed to leave Lynchburg and slip into the relative safety of western North Carolina. On May 23, the Tennessee-Virginia Railway was cut by Union troops and the city completely surrounded. Two days later on May 25, and only hours before the Union was to launch a massive assault against the city, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Major General Sedgwick at his headquarters in a local farmhouse. Thus, nearly the entirety of the Commonwealth of Virginia was now back in the control of the United States.
The roughly 18,000 troops that were captured in Lynchburg were disarmed and paroled. This number included Lieutenant General James Longstreet who was still recovering from serious wounds suffered at Campbell Courthouse, and General Lee who was surprised and deeply touched by Sedgwick’s benevolence. This started a close friendship between Sedgwick and Lee that would last until Lee’s death several years later. Sedgwick would serve as one of Lee’s pallbearers at his funeral in 1871.
Virginia Returns to the Union
Meanwhile, Virginia politicians had been meeting in Richmond for much of the campaign and were hotly debating whether Virginia should return to the Union as one or two states. News of Lee’s surrender did much to break the legislative deadlock. By a three vote margin Virginia voted to return to the Union as a single state. The portions of Virginia exempt form the P.E.R.U.’s provisions on slavery, opted for compensated gradual emancipation in much the same way as Delaware and Tennessee. Virginia set January 1, 1866 as its date for complete emancipation. Virginia’s proposal for readmission was narrowly accepted by Congress on June 5. Arthur Ingram Boreman, a Republican politician from Tyler County in western Virginia, was elected governor.
Flag of Virginia
Adopted in 1899
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Just as Davis began to seriously consider fleeing to Europe he was met by a mysterious figure with a peculiar accent offering Davis the services of the so-called Rivington men and a new rifle...
lol, not sure that's going to happen in this timeline
Good post! The above quote intrigues me, because it means that there won't be an Arlington National Cemetery. I see two possibilities: either (1) the United States National Cemeteries will all be considered equal not only in law but also in custom, or else (2) you'll have to find a new location for the first-among-equals cemetery. If you go with #2, I would suggest something at the Bull Run Battlefield in Manassas.
Awesome post! It seems that the campaign went as I imagined it would. I am a little surprised that Davis isnt seriously considering surrendering and hoping that the Union has mercy. Without Virginia, Lee, and no control whatsoever over the interior, there is no no hope for the Confederacy.
If Davis was smart he would ask for terms. However, remember in OTL Davis fought on to the bitter end until he was captured in GA.
Post Civil War World
Hey everyone,
I would just like to say thanks for the superb feedback that I have received on this thread. As one can tell from reading the TL the Civil War is entering its final stages and I would like to start receiving some speculations on where this timeline might go. I am especially interested in developments during the late 1860s through 1880's, but I would love to see even longer term speculation. Thanks for all the help.
MacGregor
Hey everyone,
I would just like to say thanks for the superb feedback that I have received on this thread. As one can tell from reading the TL the Civil War is entering its final stages and I would like to start receiving some speculations on where this timeline might go. I am especially interested in developments during the late 1860s through 1880's, but I would love to see even longer term speculation. Thanks for all the help.
MacGregor
John Fredrick Parker
Donor
Well, it's looking like the war will be over by the end of the year.
If I'm right, that could make the Election of 1864... interesting.
If I'm right, that could make the Election of 1864... interesting.
Yes, it won't be a referendum on whether to fight the war (and is most unlikely to see some of the...interesting pro-war activities carried out IOTL), but will be a referendum on how to carry out the peace...as you say, much more interesting. I foresee a political schism, where moderate Republicans and Democrats ally against Radical Republicans. It could lead to a wholly different party system moving into the future.