TL: In varietate concordia: From Fourteen to the American Union

Questions on other Patriot/Patriot-leaning Nova Scotians and other questions.

Liked reading this latest chapter of yours. :) Please keep up the good work. By the way, what of the other Patriot and/or Patriot-leaning Nova Scotians? Will you involve them into your ATL at some point in time? The Nova Scotians I'm referring to (aside from Jonathan Eddy amd John Allan) are:

- Richard John Uniacke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_John_Uniacke) & (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=3180), and his father-in-law Moses Delesdernier, a French Huguenot, (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=2361&PHPSESSID=07ca4ub67cjitq0q1enckoqi67). The former had Patriot sympathies initially, but seemed to have supported the rebels out of fear of Patriot reprisals while the latter initially signed a petition of loyalty to the Crown, but later on was forced to sign an "Assocation" against the king, and due to his son-in-law being captured by the British at the OTL Battle of Fort Cumberland - was financially ruined because of it even though he (Delesdernier) was acquitted of disloyalty. So in your ATL, what roles will Richard John Uniacke and Moses Delesdernier play? Will Delesdernier not be financilaaly ruined in your ATL this time around, and will he become one of the few Loyalists to stay behind and prosper in the USA?

- Alexander McNutt (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2548), an Ulster Scot, former army officer, colonizer, and land agent. Will his house still be robbed by American privateers even though he claimed to have Patriot sympathies in your ATL as it happened in the OTL? Will he be successful in getting his compensation from the Continental Congress as well as successfully getting money the Continental Congress to build a road between the Penobscot River (Maine) and the Saint John (and successfully implementing it) in your ATL? Will he be known in your ATL for succcessfully implementing colonization drives into OTL New Brunswick, Ontario, Maine, and Vermont for the Americans - and successfully later set up an American colony of New Ireland that encompasses part of Massachusetts between the Saco (Maine) and St Croix rivers with himself as its first governor?

- and Malecite chiefs Ambroise Saint-Aubin (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?id_nbr=2158) and Pierre Tomah (http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2188). Will these two chiefs of the Malecite people be more successful in leading their people to the eventual winning side (i.e. the Americans) as well as successfully get more or less the same deals that the Miqmaks and the Acadiens have with the Continental Congress?

Please kindly let me know your answers to each of these questions. Thank you. :)
 
Liked reading this latest chapter of yours. :) Please keep up the good work. By the way, what of the other Patriot and/or Patriot-leaning Nova Scotians? Will you involve them into your ATL at some point in time?

Yes, absolutely. Their roles are not as prominent militarily right now because of the limited operation. Eddy only has his hands in this series of events because of his zeal. As the war drags on, he's less of a factor in the outright fighting. Also, the northern theatre heats up again, and I plan to bring a couple more names in.

Regarding Richard John Uniacke and Moses Delesdernier: Uniacke was only partially on my radar at the beginning, but I did not trust his ability ITTL to be loyal to the Patriot cause, so I left out any details about him. I'm not sure if I should revisit my initial thoughts on this man. He could easily be one of the locals who participated in the Fort Cumberland victory, and this might have sealed his loyalties. This would have put him (likely) in the crosshairs with his father-in-law, who it appears was not really a Patriot sympathizer--those around him were. Delesdernier, however, is definitely someone I'll visit later. Initially, I had planned to have him be part of the United Empire Loyalists and their migration to St. John's Island (PEI). What do you think?

Regarding McNutt: The McNutt scene is butterflied away, in some ways, with the march around the Scotian peninsula. Other raids are not needed. That said, he's an opportunist and willing to fall in line with whoever is winning. He desires his "New Ireland" a little too much for him to do anything different. I have not given much thought to him as a result, but I could definitely play up his schemes in something. The Maine District needs development, and he'd be the man to jump at that opportunity.

Regarding Saint-Aubin and Tomah: Saint-Aubin will definitely make an appearance and play a substantial role in the British offensive into OTL New Brunswick, Maine, and New Hampshire. The Exeter Treaty, because of the Patriot desperation, will become a larger precedent than originally desired. The Lenape in the Ohio Country get this deal, too. I had not given much thought to the role of Tomah, however. I'll broaden my research on this before I get there. (We still have a couple of years ITTL, too.)

Thanks for the suggestions, Silver, and I'm glad you enjoy it! I'm always open to thoughts. Plausibility and creativity are my aims with this.
 
Thanks for replying. :) I really appreciated it. As for your suggestion on whether or not Moses Delesdernier be part of the United Empire Loyalist migration to St. John's Island/P.E.I. - well I think it could go either way (the other being my suggestion on him being one of the few Loyalists to stay behind and prosper in the USA in this ATL)? Either way I would look forward to see how his fate plays out in the end? Also, will the definite American military victory in this ATL be not the Battle of Saratoga, but in some battlefield in Nova Scotia, esepcially if General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne were to initiate his military invasion via Quebec and St. John's Island? Please let me know. Thank again. :)
 
I wonder how the Acadians will fair in this timeline, especially in terms of trying to stir up revolt in Canada. It seems as if they and the Quebecois are different- I wonder how they feel towards each other.
 
To answer some of the previous questions:

1775 Canadian Campaign: The events in the 1775 campaign are either before or ongoing with the TL's PoD. Therefore, I've been assuming no change as a result of those actions. Even if word did reach Halifax, for example, it would not have likely changed anything that was not already being taken into account.

Acadians and Quebecois: While not called quebecois at the time, they are different. Still, I believe some would adhere to the axiom 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' While I don't personally buy into that, there's evidence to suggest that some might. Patriot sympathies in Canada from that time are very hard to judge. Research into this has led to nothing but dead ends on many levels. I'd have to make assumptions on the Canadiens in ways that I'd rather not in order for there to be a major influence. Still, French-speaking peoples have a chance to form some type of connection. There are Patriot sympathizers that have immigrated (see previous posts about Rheims) and others that have simply drifted across the border to help out. Not a lot has changed, but it does become a factor to a point. The biggest change will be when the British launch an offensive through the northern colonies. The role the Canadiens play in that will be minor in nature but major in scope.


I've also created a map to illustrate the 'March to Halifax' more clearly. It hopefully lays it out in a visual way that is acceptable. The movement of the HMS Blonde from coastal Massachusetts to Halifax is not mentioned in the TL yet, but it does happen. I planned to mention it in the next installment... just as the March kind of comes to a screetching halt.

March to Halifax.png
 
Part Six, an Interlude:

Let's fast-forward a few months for a quick post and talk about some of the ramifications of the Exeter Treaty. Not only did it provide some Mi'kmaq warriors and Acadians, it was attempted to be reproduced in the Ohio Country. This post will delve into that a little bit. A few of the most prominent negative events involving Lenape natives in OTL are going to be butterflied away, but--as mentioned above--some native tribes will not fair as well in the process. I'll make reference to it, but there will be a series of crucial events in the future.


Excerpt from “Indian Politics in Early America” by Markus Krueger, (Pittsburgh: Zinzendorfer, 2000)

As expected, the Continental Congress almost immediately conscripted Alphonse Bâtard to accompany the delegation to Fort Pitt. If the Lenape [also known as Delaware] could be offered a favorable treaty, perhaps they could be swayed from their declared neutrality to joining the independence movement. Behind the scenes, the Lenape tribes were split. Half of them had relocated along the Sandusky and Maumee Rivers. The other half lived in the Ohio Country with Moravian missionaries and other German-speaking frontiersmen.

The initial meeting went very well, as the Continental Congress offered a treaty similar to the Exeter Treaty. Hope was developed on the side of the Lenape that a native-led state could be established in the Ohio Country. A few suspected the truth, however: the delegation had stoked this belief with no intention of following through on it. There was no care if the Lenape wanted to assimilate into another white-led state, but an amalgamation of tribes was not going to be given its own entity. Such precedent was dangerous politically and, in the view of the congress, practically. Even so, the new country nearly two years into the war and needed frontier security more than it feared the political backlash over a single group of natives.

Lenape chiefs White Eyes and Killbuck were very optimistic about the prospects of implementing the elements of the Exeter Treaty. One more thing was needed to sweeten the deal for the Continental Congress, however. They wanted citizenship and rule of law to not be optional; instead, the compulsory measure would be put in place with a window of two months for those who wished to not comply to flee the lands. In return the Congress stated that the Lenape could legally purchase additional land that would not count against the twenty-five square mile land claim.

Reaction to the terms of the deal was generally favorable, but some reserves were still held on both sides. The Lenape desired to encourage at least the other tribes friendly to the United States to sign the treaty as well. The Congress stated that this should not be actively pursued, but it would accept any other cosignatories. Chief White Eyes and Bâtard were able to quickly negotiate a peace with other friendly tribes in the Ohio Country, including some previously neutral Pawnee and Shawnee tribes. The majority of the natives there, however, immediately refused. They remained loyal to the British.

Chief Killbuck started to grow very wary and apprehensive the night before the deal was signed. He feared that the new country would quickly betray the Lenape. The compulsory citizenship troubled him, although he was pleased that his people would be hypothetically protected by the American rule-of-law. He made one last request, however. Killbuck demanded that the Americans build a fort near Koschokton [Coshocton] to both protect the new citizens living there from the British and other natives, provide regular caravans of food and supplies, and to be a center of government to protect the new citizens from white settlers. Killbuck was less concerned with the pacifist Moravians, despite his sour feelings toward them; he wanted to make sure that Anglo-American settlers from the east would not cause harm toward the natives.

Phrased in a way that made it seem like adequate compensation, the American delegation agreed to the terms. The formal treaty was drafted and signed at Fort Pitt on the 5th of February 1777. For the most part, this treaty has been upheld without complication.


Excerpt from “American History: Prehistory to the Civil War,” an eighth-grade textbook (Rochester: Alliance, 2000)

The Exeter Treaty was a turning point for Native affairs in the war. It set a model and a precedent for what could be accomplished. A nearly identical treaty was signed with the Lenape at Fort Pitt, called the Treaty with the Delawares. Lenape chiefs White Eyes and Killbuck signed the treaty, and ensuring the end of hostilities from over half of the Lenape tribes. The revolutionaries then focused their attention to the Five Civilized Tribes for assistance.

Even though the Cherokee had allied themselves with the British, the leaders were willing to listen to American proposals. The Treaty of DeWitt's Corner was signed in 1777, granting some of the land to South Carolina but retaining Cherokee sovereignty. The treaty also granted the ability for any Cherokee to attain citizenship for his family by fighting against the British, giving them and their land protected status in the future. In order to achieve American citizenship, however, they were not allowed to be counted as a member of the independent Cherokee nation. This angered some of the Cherokee, leading to raids by southerners
 
This all sounds really cool and a better deal than in OTL. Of course, I'm sure that post-war it's all going to come crashing down on the natives :(
 
I apologize for being so grossly overdue, but a series of events in OTL (on my end) had some surprises for me that prevented another update. Regardless, I present Part Seven, an attempt by the Patriots to start taking action in Halifax. It's not very pretty.

Excerpt from “Patriot Conspiracy: Jonathan Eddy and the American Revolution” by Laurel Massey (Halifax: Scotia University Press, 2002)

The destruction of the Liverpool granaries, the besiegement of the Dartmouth harbor, and the rallying of the Patriot-sympathizers across the colony applied some pressure to the British leadership. In order to better guarantee the security of Halifax, the citadel needed to be refortified for the winter with foodstuffs, supplies, materiel, and personnel. At the same time, the skirmishes in New York and New Jersey were pleading for attention. While the British viewed “Fortress Halifax” as a tremendously daunting endeavor for the Patriot rebels, it was not ignorant to the city’s weaknesses and the changing landscape across the Scotian peninsula. Had more resistance been encountered to thin out the ranks of the surging rebels, the capital might have been safer. Instead, the momentum of the war in the northern theatre was in the favor of the Patriots, and their ranks had been steadily growing with the reinforcements of locals, Acadians, and Mi’kmaq natives.

Even so, two options remained on the table. The most immediate option was to have Admiral Howe return to Nova Scotia before engaging the Patriots in the middle colonies. The downside was the dilution of the British military, potentially giving the Patriots the upper hand in New Jersey and making Philadelphia harder to capture. The erstwhile transit of Admiral Howe back to Nova Scotia meant that the city would still be potentially vulnerable. There was also no guarantee that the admiral would be able to bring back any additional fortification supplies, which were ultimately needed, with his fleet. The second option was to have a British advance attempt to sever Nova Scotia by taking the Penobscot Valley along the Scotian/Masschusetts boundary and even begin to advance back toward Fort Cumberland. By doing this, it was thought, the Patriots would be forced to cover their rear flank be weakened as a result. Nevertheless, this required garrisoned troops from Québec and Montréal to be on advance.

While the quandary was debated in British circles, the HMS Blonde, originally scheduled to depart Massachusetts for Fort Cumberland, had bypassed the Patriot-held locale and arrived early on its scheduled stop in the Halifax harbor. The supplies originally intended for Fort Cumberland were immediately put to use in Halifax. It was not nearly enough for the winter, but it was better than nothing. General Schuyler was well aware of the vessel’s arrival, as he witnessed it from Dartmouth shortly after taking the settlement.

General Schuyler, Eddy, and Allan met near Bedford and conferred on the 25th of September. They agreed that guerilla tactics were the easiest way to begin taking Halifax. While the city center was well-guarded from Citadel Hill, the outskirts on the south side of the town were vulnerable to attack. A small “light force” also had the ability to move through the city and capture key individuals, including Governor Legge and Assemblyman Nesbitt—a condition that Eddy had insisted if Allan agreed to using the little war. Schuyler agreed that an effort should be made to capture Legge and Nesbitt only if Eddy agreed to gather the Patriots of the Scotian Assembly in Windsor to establish a new government. Eddy would then stay at the temporary capital with the assembly and await instructions. Needless to say, Eddy was less than pleased with the bargain and suspected that the general no longer wanted him around. Yet, his desire to secure the Scotian peninsula outweighed his other emotions and he agreed to the plan.

The combined Patriot force between Allan’s encampment five miles east of Saint Margaret’s Bay and Schuyler’s force near Bedford totaled nearly 2500 men. Although most were untrained locals, all were willing to fight. Allan selected twenty-one of the best men to accompany Eddy in Halifax. The plan was to divide the party into two groups of eleven and fan out across southern Halifax. Eddy and a few of the individuals in his raiding party were selected to enter the Assembly Hall and attempt to secure it while the remainder covered the rear. The other raiding party of eleven men was selected to infiltrate the harbor and, if necessary, act as refugees from Liverpool. It was hoped that these men could either spy for the Patriot cause or embark on acts of sabotage. It was a bold, but risky move.

Shortly before daybreak on the 27th, the twenty-two men entered Halifax amidst the heavy downpour of rain. The men quickly found shelter in an abandoned house just inside the city. While waiting for dawn to come, Eddy contemplated the idea of capturing Lord Nesbitt first—a plan, he later acknowledged, that stemmed solely from his personal disdain for the man and not because of any actual strategy. He took a five men from his raiding party and progressed quietly through the streets to the Assembly Hall. The other six trailed behind slowly, but their presence alerted the community. Eddy entered the capitol building with his muscle and verbosely interrupted the session. The zealous congressman declared Nesbitt under arrest and had him taken, without a fight, into custody.

Unfortunately for the Patriot cause, however, Eddy’s raiding party and their action in the Assembly Hall tipped off Governor Legge and the British garrison of their presence. Around seventy troops from the citadel were dispatched to track down the Patriots. A firefight broke out as Eddy was attempting to depart central Halifax, killing seven of his men and Lord Nesbitt. Eddy himself received a broken arm from falling down a short flight of stairs during his tumultuous escape but was otherwise uninjured. He retreated back to Allan’s encampment west of the city. The city descended into near rioting for hours, and Governor Legge retreated to the top of Citadel Hill. He sent an emergency message via courier to the garrisons on Cape Breton Island and Québec City before fleeing to the harbor. The governor then boarded a medium-sized fishing vessel and set off for Charlottetown, Saint John's Island without cover from the naval forces.

The second raiding party worked diligently during these hours, as well. While the firefight near Assembly Hall was occurring, the second team of Patriot raiders secured a safehouse in the harbor proper. Their exact location was never shared, but the eleven men quietly waited out the fight and stayed out-of-sight. As darkness fell over Halifax, the squad began to commandeer uniforms, muskets, and saltpeter from the harbor. One of the men departed the city by cover and reported the situation to Allan, who immediately dispatched another twenty men into the city, one every ten minutes through the southern outskirts. With 31 men now armed and available, they planned to destroy the HMS Blonde, which was docked, and begin a quiet raid on two smaller vessels, hoping to secure them and take them out to sea.

It initially appeared as if the plan was about to work successfully. The thirty-one men easily boarded the HMS Blonde and seized the vessel. They stole two of the guns and the accompanying ammunition before setting the vessel afire in numerous locations. The mere nine guards aboard the ship had been surprised and easily overwhelmed by the raid. As the Patriots attempted to flee with the smaller vessels and the British prisoners, however, the other ship in the Halifax harbor, the HMS Observer, opened fire. One of the small ships was sunk, killing five Patriots and four of the five British prisoners that were aboard. Three of the Patriots swam ashore in Dartmouth and later met up with General Schuyler. In its frantic escape, however, the other vessel traversed inland, through the Narrows and into the Bedford Basin, where it nearly ran aground. The eight Patriots and four British aboard this vessel safely met Schuyler the next morning. The stolen guns were in the possession of the remaining twenty-three raiders as they took shelter in their hideout. The party quietly stayed in the harbor safehouse undetected for two nights, before a British patrol spotted them, sparking another firefight and one Patriot death.

Over the next month, hours of guerrilla-style attacks failed to provide any upper hand to the Patriots. Halifax was turning slowly into a ghost town as people fled the oft-attacked city. Further access to the stronghold, however, remained out of reach. The citadel garrison was forced to begin regular patrols of the city, ultimately allowing for 71 deaths or captures of the 300 garrisoned men. Nonetheless, the citadel was still largely impenetrable, with over 200 men having a secure highground. It became a mentally laborous focal-point of the battle. For a few days, at sundown, Patriots did attempt to raid the base of the hill with small squads. Such maneuvers were suicidal and quickly stopped. Four Patriots died for every Loyalist that was killed in the skirmishes. With the Patriot losses now approaching one hundred and the temperature dropping, a change in tactic was needed. Additionally, a rumor had been going around that another British vessel was en route to fortify the citadel for winter. Time was running out.
 
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