The Union Forever: A TL

[DuQuense]

One problem will be enforceing emanicpation in the Backwoods.
Without the Union Army running around controlling the States, there will be local powers that try to maintain Slavery dispute the law.

This is a problem even today in some 3rd world countries without a strong central Government [Mali, Senegal etc]

 

[Workable Goblin]

One problem will be enforceing emanicpation in the Backwoods.
Without the Union Army running around controlling the States, there will be local powers that try to maintain Slavery dispute the law.

This is a problem even today in some 3rd world countries without a strong central Government [Mali, Senegal etc]

Well, this was a problem IOTL, too. It's not like blacks in most Southern states could be counted as really free until the 1960s, and sharecropping didn't die until mechanization rendered it pointless (the 1930s and '40s). Most likely, as per OTL, we end up with quasi-slavery and limited rights for freedmen, but legal emancipation. Much less moral opprobrium until later.

 

[Nicomacheus]

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

Firstly, I quite like how things are going so far. Kudos on that accomplishment.

Next, it's hard to speculate too much on consequences until we see exactly how the war ends. I'm wondering whether there might be more a "to the hills" mentality TTL. The stress of the war in 1863-5 did a lot to so weaken economic and social conditions of the South that resistance after the surrender was hard to countenance. TTL hasn't seen the same kind of strain nor for as long. Continued resistance could take a number of forms: a slow and steady retreat to the Deep South, with some last stand at Atlanta ending in a bloody siege. Afterward, numerous cavalry groups continue to operate in the hills, as bandits. There could be a stronger impression that parts of the South might rebel again into the 1870s.

I'm intrigued by the idea of Virginia returning to the South. Full emancipation by 1866 seems very fast; I'd think 1870 would be the moderate proposal. I'd imagine the question of what to do with slaves is a big question. This could lead to Liberia-like options, perhaps an association with Haiti? These are often tried in AH, and I always doubt they'd work. They'd be a putative psychological solution (they'd give whites the notion that there was a place for blacks to go) but they wouldn't solve the problem of integration.

Most importantly, Virginia has just preserved for itself a ton of capital that was wiped out OTL. While planters will lose their slaves, they will gain some compensation. Compared to OTL, whatever parts of TTL's South that are admitted via the PERU will be much better off economically as this native capital gives them a better base from which to expand. In Virginia in particular this could mean industrialization. Keeping West Virginia (and its coal deposits) means that over the course of the late 19th century, Virgina will evolve as a forefront of the industrial revolution as coal mines expand. The unified political borders create some very interesting potential: where the division OTL created two distinct political cultures, TTL's continued unity means that VA will be a dynamic part of national politics. This could do interesting things in terms of labor politics and its relation to farmer movements in the 1890s.

The politics of Reconstruction will be very different TTL. Indeed, I'd imagine it would be called "Reconciliation" rather than "Reconstruction." Lincoln resisted moving to emancipation OTL because he was try to court Southern unionists. TTL he has succeeded in doing so by the readmission of Virginia (yes there's TN and LA, but VA is more important symbolically). This means the Republicans do not have the same need to support black civil rights in order to create a vested support network in the South. Indeed, they may have the opposite need to cultivate moderates and poor whites. If the Republicans can take hold amongst these folks, they will have transformed the political culture of the South.

This politics though has huge impacts: something like OTL's 14th Amendment has not passed and does not seem likely. This makes later civil rights movements more difficult. It also may provide an alt-Progressive or Populist movement more fodder, as expansions of Federal power would be more difficult (though not impossible) to justify.

Without the campaigns on 1864, TTL's Civil War has not become as destructive as OTL. There's no descent into quasi-trench warfare as during the Wilderness Campaign and so probably fewer casualties. The politics of Reconciliation may push for a greater desire to forget the Civil War, rather than OTL's conflict of the "Bloody Shirt" and the Lost Cause.

 

[Mac Gregor]

The Trans-Mississippi Theater

Major General William T. Sherman on horseback in Arkansas
May, 1863
​

Sherman’s March through Arkansas

After the fall of Vicksburg on the February 22, 1863 Major General Grant, as planned divided his forces. Two corps totaling roughly 34,000 men under the command of Major General William T. Sherman headed northwest into Confederate held Arkansas. Sherman entered Arkansas months after the P.E.R.U. had legally freed all the slaves in the state. As Sherman advanced towards the state capital of Little Rock, his troops, now designated as the Army of the Mississippi, freed thousands of slaves many of whom tried to follow his army for protection.

Sherman’s march through Arkansas is also noteworthy in the way he managed his logistics. Instead of maintaining a long and precarious supply train from the Mississippi River, Sherman decided that his forces could “live off the fat of the land” on the unspoiled Arkansas countryside. This was a dangerous move to conduct so early in the spring, and the Union forces procurement of local food and fodder angered many Southerners. Although Sherman became a reviled figure to many Arkansans the actual damage done by his army was minimal and mostly fell on wealthy slave holders.

In order to defend the state capital, Confederate Major General Sterling Price began amassing his forces in Little Rock. Sherman’s rapid advance through the state however gave Price little time to properly fortify the city or train his new recruits, many of which had been harshly pressed into service. On May 2, 1863 Sherman’s Army of the Mississippi engaged Price’s troops in the Battle of Little Rock. Major General Price was mortally wounded by Union artillery early in the battle, and chaos reigned as Confederate troops fled their still unfinished trenches. The next morning, Sherman triumphantly entered the city. The raising of the Stars and Stripes over the statehouse was accompanied by the singing of the Battle Cry of Freedom by local Unionists, who had remained dormant since the start of the war but were now cropping up in ever greater numbers.

Butler’s Defeat

Following the capture of Port Hudson, Major General Benjamin Butler and his Army of the Gulf launched Lincoln’s long awaited invasion of Texas. Unfortunately for the North the campaign would end in one of the worst Union defeats of the war. Beginning on April 29, 1863 the two day Battle of Carthage, Texas saw Butler’s forces soundly defeated by the numerically inferior Army of Western Louisiana under Major General Richard Taylor. Butler was forced to retreat back into Louisiana, where Lincoln promptly relieved him of command, replacing him with Major General Nathaniel P. Banks. Back in Louisiana, Banks waited on Sherman to complete his campaign so they could combine forces and make a second attempt at invading Texas. This defeat was a serious setback for pro-Union elements in Texas and a major factor in Texas remaining in the Confederacy.

Major General Nathaniel P. Banks
Army of the Gulf, Commander

 

[Workable Goblin]

Another political general...well, supposedly he was the best of them (not that that's saying much), so hopefully round 2 will go better for the Union. That leads me to ask about "Juneteenth" again. Will there be some holiday like that in the last state to be freed from Confederate control? (looking to be Florida or some other Deep South state this time, though)

 

[The Sandman]

One big idea: make "40 Acres and a Mule" a more general land reform instead of just dedicated to the freedmen. Giving the poor whites reason to identify with the poor blacks, splitting them from their dependency on the wealthy plantation owners, and generally putting the huge plantations to more productive use would be an excellent move both politically and economically. It also works as an effective way to punish the aristocratic slaveholders responsible for the rebellion without making it a general punishment of the states themselves.

And this should be easier to implement ITTL than it would have been in OTL, given that the pre-war ruling class are going to have discredited themselves by keeping the war going long after defeat was a foregone conclusion and bleeding the ordinary citizens to do it.

I'd also think that the Confederate government isn't going to stay in North Carolina for very long. There was a considerable degree of Unionist sentiment in the state to begin with, and with the fall of Tennessee and Virginia it's pretty much guaranteed to be next on the list of Southern states to be reconquered. Either Atlanta or Montgomery seems a likely choice for the next (and probably final) home of the Confederate government.

I also hope that Lincoln isn't going to be assassinated ITTL. The consequences of his remaining alive should be interesting, especially after the Presidency when he would assume more of an elder statesman role.

 

[Nytram01]

A Confederate Victory at last. That's noteworthy. At this rate it looks like Richard Taylor's going to be remembered as the best Confederate General of the war.

I'm interested to find out what's happening in Tennessee with Joe Johnston's army. Haven't read much of that recently.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Firstly, I quite like how things are going so far. Kudos on that accomplishment.

Next, it's hard to speculate too much on consequences until we see exactly how the war ends. I'm wondering whether there might be more a "to the hills" mentality TTL. The stress of the war in 1863-5 did a lot to so weaken economic and social conditions of the South that resistance after the surrender was hard to countenance. TTL hasn't seen the same kind of strain nor for as long. Continued resistance could take a number of forms: a slow and steady retreat to the Deep South, with some last stand at Atlanta ending in a bloody siege. Afterward, numerous cavalry groups continue to operate in the hills, as bandits. There could be a stronger impression that parts of the South might rebel again into the 1870s.

I understand the logic behind your comments about a "take to the hills" mentality but I think it will actually be the opposite. In this Timeline the Confederate cause is almost devoid of heroes, either military or political. Indeed, Jefferson Davis (as will be explained later) will be considered an arch villain in many parts of the south. In future years the south won't lionize its confederate defenders but view the Confederacy as a bad and hopeless idea that shouldn't of happened instead of the “Lost Cause”. (i.e. a lot fewer Rebel flags on pickup trucks) Also many in the south will identify with the Union loyalists who due to the TL's course have had a bigger role to play.

 

[Mac Gregor]

The politics of Reconstruction will be very different TTL. Indeed, I'd imagine it would be called "Reconciliation" rather than "Reconstruction." Lincoln resisted moving to emancipation OTL because he was try to court Southern unionists. TTL he has succeeded in doing so by the readmission of Virginia (yes there's TN and LA, but VA is more important symbolically). This means the Republicans do not have the same need to support black civil rights in order to create a vested support network in the South. Indeed, they may have the opposite need to cultivate moderates and poor whites. If the Republicans can take hold amongst these folks, they will have transformed the political culture of the South.

"Reconciliation" sounds great. Mind if I use it for the TL?

 

[John Fredrick Parker]

Wondering how freedmen will fare under "reconcilliation"?

 

[Mac Gregor]

Another political general...well, supposedly he was the best of them (not that that's saying much), so hopefully round 2 will go better for the Union. That leads me to ask about "Juneteenth" again. Will there be some holiday like that in the last state to be freed from Confederate control? (looking to be Florida or some other Deep South state this time, though)

Don't worry there will be a Juneteenth like holiday in this TL.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Tennessee and Mississippi

Chatanooga, Tennessee
March, 1863
​

Changing of the Guard

In March, the General in Chief of the Union Armies, Major General Edwin V. Sumner died of a heart attack at his headquarters in Washington D.C. After some lengthy deliberation President Lincoln and Secretary of War Stanton appointed Major General Henry Halleck to fill the position. Some have argued that Halleck's selection had more to do with relieving tensions in the western theater caused by Halleck's divisive and jealous temperament. Major General Don Carlos Buell was transferred to become head of the Department of the Missouri. Major General George Henry Thomas, a Virginian who had sided with the Union, became the new commander for the Army of the Ohio.

The Siege of Chattanooga

Major General George Henry Thomas
Army of the Ohio, Commander

On April 1, 1863 Major General Thomas with his 47,000 strong Army of the Ohio moved against Edmund Kirby Smith, now a full general, and his 28,000 man Army of Tennessee which had spent the winter fortifying the city of Chattanooga. Smith’s army had been severely weakened due to President Jefferson Davis siphoning troops away from the army to be sent to General Lee in Virginia or to Van Dorn's Army of Mississippi, which was being formed to defend Jackson, Mississippi from Grant. In the ensuing campaign, Smith proved to be a master of defense. However, as the Confederacy was being pressed in all theaters by superior Union numbers and internally by the ever widening schisms in the Southern political establishment Smith was never able to concentrate enough forces to repel Thomas’s advancing army.

The Siege of Chattanooga began on April 16, 1863 when the Army of the Ohio bombarded Smith’s outer defenses. General Smith was able to stall Thomas’s assaults through a series of well organize counterattacks that always seemed to shore up Confederate lines just as they were about to break. However, when news of Lee’s surrender at Lynchburg reached Smith's command post he knew that his days in Chattanooga were numbered as vast Union reinforcements would soon be on their way to encircle his dwindling army. On June 2, 1863 Smith withdrew from Chattanooga towards Georgia. Smith’s plan was to take advantage of the hilly north Georgia countryside and fight a series of defensive battles as he fell back towards Atlanta along the Chattanooga-Atlanta railway.

Chattanooga after being set on fire by retreating Confederates
June 2, 1863

Before the Confederates left however, they set fire to many of the militarily important buildings in the city. Unfortunately for the citizens of Chattanooga the fire quickly spread and soon ravaged the majority of the already battered city. The burning of Chattanooga was significant as it was one of the few cities to be so utterly destroyed during the course of the war. Furthermore the city's apparent destruction at the hands of Confederate troops sent shockwaves throughout the South that the Confederacy would now do anything to prevent its cities from falling into Yankee hands. This strengthened the already growing peace faction in the Confederate government who saw quickly ending the war as their only chance for survival.

Battle of Jackson

Major General Earl Van Dorn
Army of Mississippi, Commander

As Sherman was advancing on Little Rock and Butler was blundering into Texas, Major General Ulysses S. Grant was pushing east towards Jackson, Mississippi with his 40,000 man Army of the Tennessee. Jackson, the state capital, was defended by Mississippi native, Major General Earl Van Dorn who could muster less than 25,000 troops, many of which were state militia. Now, with Mississippi threatened, President Davis was rushing troops from other theaters to defend his native state.

The Battle of Jackson took place on April 19, 1863. During the battle Grant decisively defeated Van Dorn’s army which was still in the process of forming. To his credit, when it became clear that the more numerous and better equipped Union army was going to emerge victorious, Van Dorn withdrew his troops in good order and headed east towards Alabama. Grant, as was his fashion, followed closely on the Confederates' heels. Grant’s pursuit of Van Dorn became known as the “Great Dixie Derby”. Jefferson Davis would soon relieve Van Dorn, and replace him with General John Bell Hood of Kentucky.

 

[Nicomacheus]

I understand the logic behind your comments about a "take to the hills" mentality but I think it will actually be the opposite. In this Timeline the Confederate cause is almost devoid of heroes, either military or political. Indeed, Jefferson Davis (as will be explained later) will be considered an arch villain in many parts of the south. In future years the south won't lionize its confederate defenders but view the Confederacy as a bad and hopeless idea that shouldn't of happened instead of the “Lost Cause”. (i.e. a lot fewer Rebel flags on pickup trucks) Also many in the south will identify with the Union loyalists who due to the TL's course have had a bigger role to play.

Very interesting. As I wrote that point, I struggled with how appropriate it was. Things got pretty "take-to-the-hills" OTL afterall. It'll be even more interesting if the Civil War has the effect on the South that you suggest. That may mean that there's not a single, solid anti-federal voting bloc (as the South has been, more or less, before 1860 and was for much of the time thereafter).

"Reconciliation" sounds great. Mind if I use it for the TL?

Sure!

 

[Mac Gregor]

Wondering how freedmen will fare under "reconcilliation"?

We will just have to wait and find out. Any thoughts?

 

[Mac Gregor]

Southern Collapse

An artist's stylized depiction of the Confederate capital's return to Montgomery, Alabama in June, 1863​

War in the Carolinas

General Richard H. Anderson
Army of the Carolinas, Commander

After Lee’s surrender at Lynchburg, Major General Sedgwick wasted no time in heading south to capture the remnants of the Army of Northern Virginia, now referred to as the Army of the Carolinas. President Jefferson Davis realized that Richard H. Anderson, who was quickly promoted to full general, and his Army of the Carolinas was in no condition to face Sedgwick. With only 21,000 men, Anderson planned on flanking Sedgwick’s Army of the Potomac and wreaking havoc in the Union’s rear, possibly even reinvading Virginia. However, General Sedgwick’s superior numbers allowed him to block Anderson at every turn forcing him to fall back further south.

On May 24, 1863 a Union Army-Navy taskforce under Admiral David Farragut and Major General Ambrose Burnside landed on James Island near the entrance of Charleston Harbor. The Charleston defenses were under the command of the Confederate hero of Fort Sumter, General P.G.T. Beauregard. Burnside laid siege to Battery Wagner with the ultimate goal of taking the largest remaining city in the Confederacy.

Southern capital moves back to Montgomery

Having already fled Lynchburg before it fell, Jefferson Davis's government needed to establish a new capital. However unlike earlier in the war, many Southern governors now saw harboring the Confederate Government as more of a liability than an asset. Atlanta or a city in North Carolina were ruled out due to the hostility of the state governments. Governor of Georgia Joseph E. Brown even stated that the central government should “find another place to end its days.” Davis suggested that the capital be moved to either Charleston or Columbia, South Carolina until news came that Union forces had landed on James Island near the Charleston Harbor. Therefore the remaining members of the Confederate Congress decided to return the capital to Montgomery, Alabama.

The Confederate Civil War

What some Civil War historians call “The Confederate Civil War” began in earnest on June 15, 1863 when in a surprising move Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens confronted President Davis in his makeshift office in Montgomery. Stephens claimed that the war was lost and that Davis should either sue for peace with Lincoln or resign as President. Jefferson Davis, whose relationship with Stephens was already severely strained, was deeply troubled at what he took to be treasonous comments from his Vice President. Davis stated that he had sworn to uphold the Confederate constitution and would do so for as long as he was able. Stephens then replied that if that was Davis’s answer he would be left with no choice but to urge Congress to impeach Davis.

The legality of impeaching Davis, presumably because of his abysmal conduct in running the war, was and has been hotly debated to this day. The constitution of the Confederate States of America maintains that the president may be impeached for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Davis believed that the impeachment charges that he was brought up on were, at the very least baseless and more likely open treason against the Commander and Chief during wartime. For the next four days the so-called “Battle of Montgomery” raged as the Confederate capital became the scene of passionate debates, street battles, as both Davis and Stephens’s supporters clamored for votes. Some leaders even moved troops into the city to support their respective causes. However on June 19, Jefferson Davis received barely enough votes to stop from being removed as President of the Confederacy.

News of the “Battle of Montgomery” did much to discredit the Confederate government else wear in the South. As the Army of the Potomac was chasing Anderson’s forces across the state, Governor of North Carolina Zebulon Vance, a long time critic of Jefferson Davis, asked the state legislature to secede from the Confederacy. This was do to the central government’s apparent inability to defend the state and in an effort to stave off further destruction. On June 23, 1863 the state narrowly passed its second ordinance of secession in three years. Georgia followed North Carolina out of the Confederacy three days later. As such, Georgia and North Carolina troops started leaving the Confederate armies in droves.

The Surrender of Smith and Anderson

With North Carolina and Georgia now technically out of the Confederacy, the Confederate armies' positions within those states became untenable. Through a double envelopment Major General Sedgwick was able to trap Anderson’s army outside of Salisbury, North Carolina on June 27. Anderson was forced to surrender his battered and starving forces two days later.

Meanwhile in Georgia, Thomas’s Army of the Ohio inflicted a crippling defeat on Smith’s dwindling Army of Tennessee at Resaca on June 29. The devastating news of Anderson’s surrender in North Carolina reached Johnston the next day. This information along with the fact that the Georgia government would no longer supply his forces made Smith surrender his disintegrating army on July 1, 1863.

The Impeachment of Jefferson Davis

Alexander Stephens of Georgia
2nd President of the Confederacy
3-4 July, 1863

The succession of North Carolina and Georgia, coupled by the twin capitulations of the Confederate Armies of the Carolinas and Tennessee was the last straw for the Davis administration. Unlike the effort to remove Davis two weeks earlier, this result was never in doubt. On July 3, 1863 the Confederate Congress formally impeached and removed Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy. Vice President Alexander Stephens was sworn in as the second and last Confederate President at noon in a somber ceremony.

Battle of Selma

General John Bell Hood
Army of Mississippi, Commander

On the same afternoon news reached President Stephens that Major General Grant had finally caught up with General John Bell Hood's Army of Mississippi only 50 miles west of Montgomery at Selma. During the brief but costly battle, General Hood tried in vain to stem the relentless Yankee tide. Cutoff and surrounded, Hood was forced to surrender around noon after a few hours of desperate fighting.

Dissolution of the Confederate States of America

In light on the disastrous developments of the past weeks, President Alexander Stephens and the remaining members of Congress officially dissolved the Confederate States of America in a tearful cession at 10:00am on July 4, 1863 as the Star and Bars was lowered for the last time from over the city. When news reached the North later that day, it sparked off the greatest Independence Day celebrations that the nation had ever seen. In a torch light speech delivered to an audience on the White House lawn President Abraham Lincoln stated that “the Almighty God has seen fit to bless us with victory in this great civil war, but it will be up to us to win the peace.”

Confederate States of America
February 8, 1861 - July 4, 1863​

 

[John Farson]

This still leaves the Confederate forces in Texas (and other isolated spots), but once they receive word that their own government has surrendered, they'll be quick to follow like in OTL.

OTL the Civil War cost the lives of over 600,000 people. With the war here ending almost two years earlier, I take it the death toll is significantly lower here.

Looking forward to how Lincoln manages Reconciliation. Unless John Wilkes Booth or someone else decides to avenge the fallen Confederacy... Although here Hannibal Hamlin is still Vice President, so at least there's no danger of Andrew Johnson taking over and screwing things up.

 

[Mac Gregor]

This still leaves the Confederate forces in Texas (and other isolated spots), but once they receive word that their own government has surrendered, they'll be quick to follow like in OTL.

OTL the Civil War cost the lives of over 600,000 people. With the war here ending almost two years earlier, I take it the death toll is significantly lower here.

Looking forward to how Lincoln manages Reconciliation. Unless John Wilkes Booth or someone else decides to avenge the fallen Confederacy... Although here Hannibal Hamlin is still Vice President, so at least there's no danger of Andrew Johnson taking over and screwing things up.

My thoughts exactly about the Confederate forces in Texas. Indeed the casaulties, and property damage will be significantly lower.

What do you think the final death toll would be?

 

[Workable Goblin]

We will just have to wait and find out. Any thoughts?

Poorly, most likely. In a "reconciliation" approach, the North is attempting not to confront the South, and the Radical Republicans will be marginalized. You might see a realignment of the party system soon, where moderate Republicans and Democrats merge and isolate the Radicals and the extremist Democrats. Such a thing happening would not be unprecedented, and the shorter course of this CW might make passions not quite inflamed enough to prevent that from happening.

It's unlikely that most of the civil rights legislation passed OTL will be passed ITTL in any case, though at least the 13th Amendment likely will be given that most ex-Confederate and slaveholding states are taking care of that on their own initiative. Certain elements of the 14th and 15th Amendments may be passed, though possibly as straight legislation. Lynching is likely to pick up and won't stop until civil rights gets going. Sharecropping will probably start shortly. Frederick Douglass and other prominent activists will start complaining, of course, and rightfully so, but they will be ignored. All in all, it won't be as good for the freedmen as it was OTL, hard as that is to believe.

EDIT: One other thing is that Lincoln will not be viewed as positively ITTL once the civil rights movement gets started. He will be looked upon favorably, without a doubt, but with him presiding over "Reconciliation" and the limiting of black civil rights that is extremely likely to happen he will be viewed as significantly flawed, and will probably be seen as someone who didn't go far enough. Benefit of hindsight, of course, but it will affect feelings once even Southerners admit a black man's as good as white one.

 

[Mac Gregor]

Start of Reconciliation
July-September, 1863​

Artist depiction of Confederate forces surrendering their colors​

Following the dissolution of the Confederacy in early July the rest of the South not already subjugated fell to the North in rapid succession. The advancing Union armies wasted no time occupying the state capitals not already under their control. On their way Federal forces enforced the P.E.R.U, freeing hundreds of thousands of slaves in a matter of weeks. The State of Texas, which had remained basically free of Union troops during the war, was the last Southern state to be occupied. When Major General Sherman’s army arrived in the state capital of Austin at the end of July Sherman proclaimed that under the P.E.R.U all slaves in Texas were now and forever free. For this reason July 29th is often celebrated as Emancipation Day in many parts of the United States.

Throughout the South, the defeated Confederate forces were almost invariable paroled after their military munitions had been confiscated. The few exceptions were top military and political leaders such as Jefferson Davis who was arrested by Ulysses S. Grant’s forces as the former Confederate president was making his way through Mississippi. Davis would spend several months in prison before eventually being pardoned by President Lincoln. Davis, who was still immensely unpopular in the South for his conduct in managing the war, went into exile in Europe for the rest of his life. Jefferson Davis would die in London in 1873 of phenomena never having returned to the United States. Other former Confederate generals and politicians, such as Alexander Stephens, would spend short stints in prison before being released. Many of these leaders would be banned from voting or holding elected office for the rest of their lives.

In what would become known as Reconciliation, Lincoln outlined his top priorities for the post-war United States. First, the return of all Southern states still outside of the Union under his 10 percent plan. Second,ensure that the P.E.R.U is enforced in the Deep South. Third, complete the compensated emancipation of slaves in the Border States, Virginia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Lastly, establish a new Homestead Act that would provide land grants to settlers, including freed slaves, in the western territories. It is also worth noting that with the war now over Lincoln began the movement of troops to the Rio Grande under Major General Sherman to send a message to the French forces, who had recently captured the Mexican capital, that their presence was not welcomed.

A Union victory parade in Washington D.C.
July, 1863

In the end, the American Civil War proved to be the costliest war in American history up to that time, resulting in an estimated 315,000 deaths both North and South. Property damage although significant was relatively light considering the scope of the war. Indeed of all Southern cities, Chattanooga stands out as the most damaged, while other major urban centers such as Richmond, Atlanta, and New Orleans emerged from the conflict relatively intact. Slavery was virtually destroyed by the war. The "peculiar institution" remained only in a strip of states in the center of the country, all of which had plans for complete emancipation within a few years.

 

[DuQuense]

So with the War Ending in 1863, [and the end being seen in Europe long before that] Maximilian will probably not accept the french offer [he was ambivalent OTL].
?So what will Happen to Him ITTL, can He keep Italy part of Austria?