Union and Liberty: An American TL
- Thread starter wilcoxchar
- Start date
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
I'm still on vacation right now, but will be back home on the 6th or 7th, depending on how the international date line works, I can't remember.
Hopefully I'll get an update in before I head back to school on the 10th.
It's great to see the discussion going on, and I've had a lot of thoughts that I've written some notes about. I will say that Vosem has my pick for the 1864 Republican nominee on his list, and one and possibly more future presidents. Also, there should be a few more world-oriented updates coming soon after this darn war's over with.
Happy Holidays, and I'll see you all again soon!
PS: Right now I'm typing this from an internet cafe in a beach town in Thailand.
I'm still on vacation right now, but will be back home on the 6th or 7th, depending on how the international date line works, I can't remember.
Hopefully I'll get an update in before I head back to school on the 10th.It's great to see the discussion going on, and I've had a lot of thoughts that I've written some notes about. I will say that Vosem has my pick for the 1864 Republican nominee on his list, and one and possibly more future presidents.
Also, there should be a few more world-oriented updates coming soon after this darn war's over with. Happy Holidays, and I'll see you all again soon!
PS: Right now I'm typing this from an internet cafe in a beach town in Thailand.
Part Thirty-Six: The Turning Point
Alright, I have the first half of the update finished. This'll be another edit-as-I-write updates.
Part Thirty-Six: The Turning Point
The Virginia Campaign:
After the advances by the Union into Virginia and Arkansaw, the Confederate army went into a defensive position in the following spring. The Army of the Mississippi took back the Arkansaw capital from Seguín in April and restored the transportation link between Calhoun and the remainder of the Confederacy. The Army of the Carolinas retreated slightly from the Ohio River toward the hills of the Appalachians but maintained its presence in Kentucky. Seeing the ease with which the Provisional Army of Texas had moved into Arkansaw and Louisiana, the Confederate military also moved some corps from the eastern theatre to strengthen their position in the western theatre.
For the majority of the spring, there was a lull in Union movements and offensives. The only major action was an attempted landing and raid in Cuba, which was spotted early by a Confederate naval patrol. The Union was attempting to land at Daiquirí, east of Santiago on the southeastern end of the island. The cavalry corps stationed in Santiago was alerted and under Colonel Joesph Wheeler the landing party was driven back and forced to retreat[1]. Unfortunately, this small victory in the spring would not be much consolation for the Confederacy by the end of the year.
In early June, the Union began another offensive to capture Richmond and bring Virginia out of the war. This offensive, unlike previous attempts by the Union, was a two-pronged assault aimed with taking both Richmond in the east and the city of Charleston in the west. The Army of the Ohio captured Charleston on June 20th and the Wheeling Legislature moved to Charleston on the 24th. The state of Vandalia was proclaimed and by the end of the year, Vandalia became an official state of the United States. However, at the time of admission to the United States, not all the state had come under Union control.
After the fall of Charleston, the Confederacy dispatched Forrest to the west once again to take back the city. However, this proved to be a regretful decision by the Confederacy. Forrest was in control of a larger force than the one which he accompanied in the raid on Cincinnati and this left a smaller garrison in Richmond and the surrounding area. The weaker force at Williamsburg allowed McClellan to break through the Confederate defense line while Burnside advanced south from Fredericksburg. Continuing along the northern bank of the James River, McClellan was able to take Petersburg on July 15th cutting off the main rail link going south from Richmond. As McClellan was moving toward Petersburg, Burnside, now commanding the larger force in the Army of the Potomac, began the offensive south from Fredericksburg and reached Ashland on July 19th. The two parts of the Army closed in on Richmond and the city surrendered after a four day siege on July 27th. With Richmond and Charleston in Union hands, Virginia was for the most part knocked out of the war and Robert E. Lee was made military governor of the state.
The Confluence Campaign:
With the Union gaining ground in the eastern theatre, the Confederacy became desperate and in the summer of 1864 launched a large offensive in the western theatre up the Mississippi. With the Confederate purchase of a few small armored ships from the British navy, they had an advantage and sailed up the Mississippi from Memphis. Accompanied by the Army of Mississippi, the Confederates took many towns in western Tennessee and helped Chickasaw officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy on July 2. Ten days later, the Confederacy defeated a contingent of Union gunboats in the Battle of the Confluence near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers near Cairo, Illinois. Admiral Gustavus T. Beauregard, leader of the Mississippi Squadron, claimed victory at the battle[2].
After the victory at the Battle of the Confluence, the Army of the Mississippi divided, with one corps led by Edmund Kirby Smith moving up the west bank of the Mississippi and the rest of the army now led by Braxton Bragg moving east along the south bank of the Ohio. Smith's corps was joined by Claiborne Fox Jackson's Ozark Militia as they marched toward Saint Louis. The newly formed Ozark Corps went up the river and entered Cape Girardeau on July 15th, and continued north on the west bank of the Mississippi to Sainte Genevieve. As the Ozark Corps left Sainte Genevieve on July 20th heading for Saint Louis, the Union Army of Missouri crossed the river near Kaskaskia, Illinois using converted steamers provided by Cornelius Vanderbilt at the beginning of the war. The Army of Missouri cut off the supply lines to the Ozark Corps and began march toward Saint Louis following the Ozark Corps. Claiborne Jackson pushed the Ozark Corps north, and through a series of exceptionally hot days starting two days after leaving Sainte Genevieve. The corps was weakened through a wave of hyperthermia, and when the Army of the Missouri caught up with the Ozark Corps just south of Herculaneum, the Army of the Missouri easily routed the Ozark Corps. The ships that were sent with the Ozark Corps ran into trouble when the ironclad CSS Pensacola wrecked and ran aground on a sandbar in the middle of the river. The remainder of the naval contingent was forced back downriver by the Army of Missouri and Vanderbilt's steamers, and the CSS Pensacola was captured by Union forces.
In the east, Bragg and the remainder of the Army of the Mississippi reached Paducah, Kentucky by July 15th and found support there from the local population, who were sympathetic to the Confederate cause and had joined Chickasaw in its secession. Bragg attempted to push on from Paducah but were frequently stopped by the series of forts the Union had built on the edges of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers. Bragg finally managed to force the Army of the Mississippi across the Tennessee River fifteen miles upriver from Paducah on the 24th of July. Two days later the Army of the Mississippi took Cadiz, Kentucky and set up fortresses on the left bank of the Tennessee River. Afterward, Bragg focused his offensives on smaller raids further east and north. The higher scale raids took place on Hopkinsville and Smithland in Kentucky, and Cairo and Metropolis in Illinois. Cairo and Smithland were held for a few months by the Confederates, and one long-term raid in October reached Evansville, Indiana, over hundred miles into the Union. These may seem like great victories for Bragg and the Army of the Mississippi but the overall goal of reaching Lousiville, Kentucky shows how poor the offensive turned out to be from a strategic perspective.
The year of 1864 can be seen as the turning point of the war in military terms. The Union achieved their first major tactical victory capturing Richmond and bringing all of Virginia back to the United States, and the Confederacy became desperate in their offensives to the north. The failure to capture either Saint Louis or Louisville shows that the United States began adapting to southern war strategies and showed how cautious General Bragg was during the war. In addition, the inability of the Confederacy to push far up the Mississippi River or hold the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for long exemplified the end of the naval advantage that the Confederacy had at the start of the war.
[1] There's a subtle reference here. See if you can figure out what it is.
[2] We know him by the name P. G. T. Beauregard, but he didn't use Pierre in his correspondences in the OTL Civil War.
Part Thirty-Six: The Turning Point
The Virginia Campaign:
After the advances by the Union into Virginia and Arkansaw, the Confederate army went into a defensive position in the following spring. The Army of the Mississippi took back the Arkansaw capital from Seguín in April and restored the transportation link between Calhoun and the remainder of the Confederacy. The Army of the Carolinas retreated slightly from the Ohio River toward the hills of the Appalachians but maintained its presence in Kentucky. Seeing the ease with which the Provisional Army of Texas had moved into Arkansaw and Louisiana, the Confederate military also moved some corps from the eastern theatre to strengthen their position in the western theatre.
For the majority of the spring, there was a lull in Union movements and offensives. The only major action was an attempted landing and raid in Cuba, which was spotted early by a Confederate naval patrol. The Union was attempting to land at Daiquirí, east of Santiago on the southeastern end of the island. The cavalry corps stationed in Santiago was alerted and under Colonel Joesph Wheeler the landing party was driven back and forced to retreat[1]. Unfortunately, this small victory in the spring would not be much consolation for the Confederacy by the end of the year.
In early June, the Union began another offensive to capture Richmond and bring Virginia out of the war. This offensive, unlike previous attempts by the Union, was a two-pronged assault aimed with taking both Richmond in the east and the city of Charleston in the west. The Army of the Ohio captured Charleston on June 20th and the Wheeling Legislature moved to Charleston on the 24th. The state of Vandalia was proclaimed and by the end of the year, Vandalia became an official state of the United States. However, at the time of admission to the United States, not all the state had come under Union control.
After the fall of Charleston, the Confederacy dispatched Forrest to the west once again to take back the city. However, this proved to be a regretful decision by the Confederacy. Forrest was in control of a larger force than the one which he accompanied in the raid on Cincinnati and this left a smaller garrison in Richmond and the surrounding area. The weaker force at Williamsburg allowed McClellan to break through the Confederate defense line while Burnside advanced south from Fredericksburg. Continuing along the northern bank of the James River, McClellan was able to take Petersburg on July 15th cutting off the main rail link going south from Richmond. As McClellan was moving toward Petersburg, Burnside, now commanding the larger force in the Army of the Potomac, began the offensive south from Fredericksburg and reached Ashland on July 19th. The two parts of the Army closed in on Richmond and the city surrendered after a four day siege on July 27th. With Richmond and Charleston in Union hands, Virginia was for the most part knocked out of the war and Robert E. Lee was made military governor of the state.
The Confluence Campaign:
With the Union gaining ground in the eastern theatre, the Confederacy became desperate and in the summer of 1864 launched a large offensive in the western theatre up the Mississippi. With the Confederate purchase of a few small armored ships from the British navy, they had an advantage and sailed up the Mississippi from Memphis. Accompanied by the Army of Mississippi, the Confederates took many towns in western Tennessee and helped Chickasaw officially secede from the Union and join the Confederacy on July 2. Ten days later, the Confederacy defeated a contingent of Union gunboats in the Battle of the Confluence near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers near Cairo, Illinois. Admiral Gustavus T. Beauregard, leader of the Mississippi Squadron, claimed victory at the battle[2].
After the victory at the Battle of the Confluence, the Army of the Mississippi divided, with one corps led by Edmund Kirby Smith moving up the west bank of the Mississippi and the rest of the army now led by Braxton Bragg moving east along the south bank of the Ohio. Smith's corps was joined by Claiborne Fox Jackson's Ozark Militia as they marched toward Saint Louis. The newly formed Ozark Corps went up the river and entered Cape Girardeau on July 15th, and continued north on the west bank of the Mississippi to Sainte Genevieve. As the Ozark Corps left Sainte Genevieve on July 20th heading for Saint Louis, the Union Army of Missouri crossed the river near Kaskaskia, Illinois using converted steamers provided by Cornelius Vanderbilt at the beginning of the war. The Army of Missouri cut off the supply lines to the Ozark Corps and began march toward Saint Louis following the Ozark Corps. Claiborne Jackson pushed the Ozark Corps north, and through a series of exceptionally hot days starting two days after leaving Sainte Genevieve. The corps was weakened through a wave of hyperthermia, and when the Army of the Missouri caught up with the Ozark Corps just south of Herculaneum, the Army of the Missouri easily routed the Ozark Corps. The ships that were sent with the Ozark Corps ran into trouble when the ironclad CSS Pensacola wrecked and ran aground on a sandbar in the middle of the river. The remainder of the naval contingent was forced back downriver by the Army of Missouri and Vanderbilt's steamers, and the CSS Pensacola was captured by Union forces.
In the east, Bragg and the remainder of the Army of the Mississippi reached Paducah, Kentucky by July 15th and found support there from the local population, who were sympathetic to the Confederate cause and had joined Chickasaw in its secession. Bragg attempted to push on from Paducah but were frequently stopped by the series of forts the Union had built on the edges of the Tennessee and Ohio rivers. Bragg finally managed to force the Army of the Mississippi across the Tennessee River fifteen miles upriver from Paducah on the 24th of July. Two days later the Army of the Mississippi took Cadiz, Kentucky and set up fortresses on the left bank of the Tennessee River. Afterward, Bragg focused his offensives on smaller raids further east and north. The higher scale raids took place on Hopkinsville and Smithland in Kentucky, and Cairo and Metropolis in Illinois. Cairo and Smithland were held for a few months by the Confederates, and one long-term raid in October reached Evansville, Indiana, over hundred miles into the Union. These may seem like great victories for Bragg and the Army of the Mississippi but the overall goal of reaching Lousiville, Kentucky shows how poor the offensive turned out to be from a strategic perspective.
The year of 1864 can be seen as the turning point of the war in military terms. The Union achieved their first major tactical victory capturing Richmond and bringing all of Virginia back to the United States, and the Confederacy became desperate in their offensives to the north. The failure to capture either Saint Louis or Louisville shows that the United States began adapting to southern war strategies and showed how cautious General Bragg was during the war. In addition, the inability of the Confederacy to push far up the Mississippi River or hold the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for long exemplified the end of the naval advantage that the Confederacy had at the start of the war.
[1] There's a subtle reference here. See if you can figure out what it is.
[2] We know him by the name P. G. T. Beauregard, but he didn't use Pierre in his correspondences in the OTL Civil War.
Last edited:
That's part of the reference.
The other part being the General Wheeler reference? Didn't he have something to do with the OTL Spanish-American War invasion of Cuba? Like being in charge?... I don't know, but something like that?
Also, keep up the good work Wilcox. This is a great TL, very original POD with some great butterflies thrown in. Can't wait to see how the USCW pans out.
Kind regards,
Kineticbots
Yep, that's the rest of it. Wheeler was in charge of the cavalry division including the Rough Riders, and was essentially second-in-command of the V Corps.The other part being the General Wheeler reference? Didn't he have something to do with the OTL Spanish-American War invasion of Cuba? Like being in charge?... I don't know, but something like that?
Also, keep up the good work Wilcox. This is a great TL, very original POD with some great butterflies thrown in. Can't wait to see how the USCW pans out.
Kind regards,
Kineticbots
And thanks for reading.
great update I have been missing this. Sounds like McClellan will be a real hero? I liked the Wheeler drop in
Thanks.great update I have been missing this. Sounds like McClellan will be a real hero? I liked the Wheeler drop in
Not sure what McClellan's reputation will be but right now he's doing pretty well.Also, updated Part 36.
Last edited:
Part Thirty-Seven: The Elections of 1864
Special election update! And it's interactive. I now beseech you, my readers, to select the presidents of the United States and the Confederate States of America!
The Poll
Part Thirty-Seven: The Elections of 1864
For Union:
The year 1864 was an election year for both sides of the War Between the States. In the Union, Andrew Johnson stood for reelection alongside New York senator Walt Whitman[1]. Johnson's platform involved the continuation of the war until the Confederacy surrendered. Johnson also stated that while he did oppose slavery on a personal level, he would not support bringing up the question of abolition until the Confederate rebellion had been put down and the Union was preserved. His appointment of New York senator Walt Whitman, a moderate abolitionist and eloquent speaker, gained Johnson approval among many citizens in the north. Johnson and Whitman also supported a quick transition of the Confederate states back into the Union should they surrender, which garnered support from the Texas region and the Appalachian states.
The Republicans renominated John C. Fremont and continued their staunch abolitionist platform and renominated John C. Fremont for president. Along with Fremont, the Republicans put David Wilmot of Pennsylvania as their vice presidential candidate. Wilmot had made a name for himself in the 1830s when he was elected to the House of Representatives and spoke out against president Calhoun's admittance of Tejas and Houston into the Union as slave states. Over the next decades, Wilmot had gained support from many abolitionists in Philadelphia and served over a decade as a Senator before the War Between the States broke out. Fremont and Wilmot called for harsh punishment of the Confederate states for their secession and the immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States and the Confederacy.
A small splinter group of both Republicans and Democrats formed the Perfect Union Party, which advocated for reconciliation with the Confederacy and a cessation of hostilities between the two sides. Led by Charles P. Bush of Michigan and Oren Cheney of Maine, the Perfect Union Party did not gain much traction but served as a reminder that support for the war was not completely universal in the north. The general election in November of 1864 was heated, with both major parties struggling for the position to decide not just the fate of the Union, but the fate of the Confederacy and the people within.
For Liberty:
In the Confederacy, fully fledged parties had not been formed yet in the first two years in the country's existence. However, separate factions of the Liberty Party vied for control over the state legislatures and the Confederate Congress. The incumbent president, Howell Cobb, led the movement to continue the war and fight for the country's right to be independent. While the military offensives by the Confederacy were not seeing much success, Cobb felt that the Confederacy was slowly gaining ground on the Union and that with enough pushing, they could capture and hold a few important Union cities and force the Union to come to the negotiation table.
In opposition to Cobb in the Liberty Party was Judah P. Benjamin. Benjamin argued that the Confederacy was slowly losing its edge against the Union and that if the state and its ideals wished to survive, it should seek a peaceful solution to the war as soon as possible. Benjamin could see the fractious nature of the structure of the Confederacy with the great autonomy given to the individual states and was concerned that once the Union began gaining major victories, the individual states would attempt to break away and reconcile on their own. With the Confederacy choosing its president in March of 1864, the Union victory in Virginia later that year would serve as a strong vindication for Benjamin's warnings.
[1] Walt Whitman is only 9 at the time of the POD. ITTL, he goes into politics instead of becoming a writer and poet.
The Poll
Part Thirty-Seven: The Elections of 1864
For Union:
The year 1864 was an election year for both sides of the War Between the States. In the Union, Andrew Johnson stood for reelection alongside New York senator Walt Whitman[1]. Johnson's platform involved the continuation of the war until the Confederacy surrendered. Johnson also stated that while he did oppose slavery on a personal level, he would not support bringing up the question of abolition until the Confederate rebellion had been put down and the Union was preserved. His appointment of New York senator Walt Whitman, a moderate abolitionist and eloquent speaker, gained Johnson approval among many citizens in the north. Johnson and Whitman also supported a quick transition of the Confederate states back into the Union should they surrender, which garnered support from the Texas region and the Appalachian states.
The Republicans renominated John C. Fremont and continued their staunch abolitionist platform and renominated John C. Fremont for president. Along with Fremont, the Republicans put David Wilmot of Pennsylvania as their vice presidential candidate. Wilmot had made a name for himself in the 1830s when he was elected to the House of Representatives and spoke out against president Calhoun's admittance of Tejas and Houston into the Union as slave states. Over the next decades, Wilmot had gained support from many abolitionists in Philadelphia and served over a decade as a Senator before the War Between the States broke out. Fremont and Wilmot called for harsh punishment of the Confederate states for their secession and the immediate emancipation of all slaves in the United States and the Confederacy.
A small splinter group of both Republicans and Democrats formed the Perfect Union Party, which advocated for reconciliation with the Confederacy and a cessation of hostilities between the two sides. Led by Charles P. Bush of Michigan and Oren Cheney of Maine, the Perfect Union Party did not gain much traction but served as a reminder that support for the war was not completely universal in the north. The general election in November of 1864 was heated, with both major parties struggling for the position to decide not just the fate of the Union, but the fate of the Confederacy and the people within.
For Liberty:
In the Confederacy, fully fledged parties had not been formed yet in the first two years in the country's existence. However, separate factions of the Liberty Party vied for control over the state legislatures and the Confederate Congress. The incumbent president, Howell Cobb, led the movement to continue the war and fight for the country's right to be independent. While the military offensives by the Confederacy were not seeing much success, Cobb felt that the Confederacy was slowly gaining ground on the Union and that with enough pushing, they could capture and hold a few important Union cities and force the Union to come to the negotiation table.
In opposition to Cobb in the Liberty Party was Judah P. Benjamin. Benjamin argued that the Confederacy was slowly losing its edge against the Union and that if the state and its ideals wished to survive, it should seek a peaceful solution to the war as soon as possible. Benjamin could see the fractious nature of the structure of the Confederacy with the great autonomy given to the individual states and was concerned that once the Union began gaining major victories, the individual states would attempt to break away and reconcile on their own. With the Confederacy choosing its president in March of 1864, the Union victory in Virginia later that year would serve as a strong vindication for Benjamin's warnings.
[1] Walt Whitman is only 9 at the time of the POD. ITTL, he goes into politics instead of becoming a writer and poet.
Wow! There is a reason why this TL is the best! All four possibilities are really interesting. It was quite hard to choose but I voted for Johnson and Benjamin. It seems that in that case there is the possibility of the states figuring out their issues in a civilized fashion. It leaves the possibility of the CSA becoming independent but both with countries having good relations with one another, which is especially good for the Calhounian Dutch who would otherwise be rather isolated. Maybe relations are good enough that reunification becomes a possibility in the future.
However the opposite Fremont and Cobb is also interesting. Fremont would pull an Emancipation Proclamation and fight until the CSA burns while Cobb (who by now appears to be only a power hungry ass and probably will go down in history as such) will fight till the death, maybe even literally. In such a scenario the US would undergo a very tough reconstruction period and might be hindered economically for decades.
The other two possibilities are somewhat in-betweens with peculiarities of their own. I feel that in these cases the war might go on for much longer than in the other two.
However the opposite Fremont and Cobb is also interesting. Fremont would pull an Emancipation Proclamation and fight until the CSA burns while Cobb (who by now appears to be only a power hungry ass and probably will go down in history as such) will fight till the death, maybe even literally. In such a scenario the US would undergo a very tough reconstruction period and might be hindered economically for decades.
The other two possibilities are somewhat in-betweens with peculiarities of their own. I feel that in these cases the war might go on for much longer than in the other two.
I went the same way, but voted as I saw likely rather than what might prove most "interesting". I think with the Union advancing Johnson would have momentum and Fremont will alienate a lot of the moderate voters and all the southern/border ones.
In the CSA I can see disillusionment spreading, particularly if Johnson's not overtly pushing forced emancipation.
Now, had the Union election come first (instead of vice-versa) and elected Fremont you'd see reactionary reelection of Cobb and the circling of wagons against the assumptive "Yankee Tyrant".
There are many ways to play this one. I for one thought this would be the most interesting, since you'd have a Union bent on conquest and radical reconstruction and a CSA trying to make peace, at any cost that preserves independence. FWIW, I could see Fremont's election sparking Benjamin's: that is, the CSA may realize that bargaining for peace early is better than fighting to the death, which Fremont will be all to happy to deliver with Cobb in office.
Very interesting situation.