alternatehistory.com

Here is a little project I've been working on. Still in development so looking for complaints/suggestions/ASB warnings.

Westward, Ho!

1776: Battle of Nassau-American Patriots successfully raids the Bahamas. Several states formally renounce allegiance to Great Britain. Washington manages to evacuate form Long Island, although it is bloody. The Battle of Trenton is a bloody brawl, with no clear victory. James Monroe is killed by enemy fire and Washington is lightly wounded by grapeshot.

1777: Second Battle of Trenton- More skirmish then battle, due to losses previously. Both sides gain bloody noses and retreat Vermont declares independence as the Vermont Republic. In mid-summer the Battle of Chadd’s Ford, a major British victory. Patriot troops are forced across the Brandywine River with major losses. The three Battles of Saratoga are inconclusive sieges. The Articles of Confederation barely passes debate and is submitted to the states.

1778: A proposed French-American alliance falls through, mostly due to the lack of any major American victories. Anthony Wayne manages to scrape a victory at Monmouth, but Washington is again wounded, this time more severely. It is hidden from the troops until he is well. The Congress fails to pass a budget due to infighting. Lord North manages to establish a peace treaty with Spain, which he hopes to cut off any hope of support for the colonists. Late in the year Benedict Arnold manages to surrender West point to British soldiers. It is a massive morale blow to an already desperate army.

1779: The British destroy many American ships during the Penobscot Expedition. John Paul Jones is captured by the British authorities and held. Charleston falls to British forces and many Patriot stores after the Battle of Camden. Other Loyalists successes in the South change the tone of the war. Washington grows ill and despondent due to his injuries. The Battle of Richmond is a severe Patriot defeat, many say due to Washington’s’ lack of leadership. Vermont enters talks to become part of Canada.

1780: Is marked by a rash of Loyalists victories in the South, and Georgia, South Carolina and most of North Carolina are reconquered under the British crown. Patriots are captured or flee. The Battle of Newton in New York is a dismal failure and the British capture General John Sullivan. Another French alliance effort fails. British peace talks are rumored to be occurring throughout the colonies from general talks to state by state treaties to proposals to Congress (meeting in Annapolis since Philadelphia is held). The Articles of Confederation fail ratification. Late in the year, Rhode Island falls to a British naval assault, and is forcibly re-integrated into the British Empire.

1781: The Patriot war effort falls apart. The Battle of Crofton is a disaster and British troops siege Annapolis, where (most of) Congress is in session. Washington withdrawals to siege lines. Unpaid troops mutiny and riot in PA, and Virginia is formally conquered after some minor battles. Anthony Wayne is killed in battle in Maryland, as British troops surge. The Netherlands declares war on Great Britain over shipping taxes. The war diverts some British attention but not enough. New York is overrun, and the city has been held for years. Lord North gains support as it appears the war is nearly over despite the war with the Dutch. Vermont re-attaches to the British Empire, as a distinct part of Canada.

1782: PA, NY, and most of New England is overrun. The two battles of Annapolis merely bleed the Patriot lines. The British, under Cornwallis, send a peace treaty to the trapped Congressional members (many of those not in the city have long since been captured in their states). Urged by Washington (who was very ill with lingering complications) and others, Congress accepts the treaty in May. The treaty is simple at this point, with only one clause. That the Patriots give themselves up without violence and renounce any claims to sovereignty.

In October, the negations take place in London to official end the American War, as it is called. The American negotiators are John Jay, John Adams (fresh from the Netherlands) and William Short (in a sense filling in for Jefferson). The fact that the Americans were allowed to negotiate at all was an issue of some discontent. North however, just managed to ride opinion and hammer through some basic terms. The Treaty of London was a very generous ones (again, many thought it was too generous). Of the main terms, the American Patriots were to give up all claims to sovereignty and acknowledge British rule. The Americans managed to succeed in their main point of ‘no hangings’. Even John Paul Jones, languishing in prison not far away was merely sentenced to a year in prison. The treaty left many issues such as Indian lands and trade issues fairly open ended. Many issues were to be decided ‘at the state level’, which was seen as fitting. The Americans go home, partially in despair at defeat.
Many British lords see the treaty as a sell out to the Americans and North’s government only just hangs on. Battle of Curacao is a success as the British take the Dutch fort. This helps stabilize the North government.

1783: The Treaty is ratified one by one by the states, and a few new clauses of the Treaty come into effect. One is the State Congresses, which give at least a semblance of power to the states. While this is far less then they held during the war (and Parliament could still override them) it gave an outlet for colonial grievances, and also was a proving ground for would be native agitators. Several revolutionaries leave the nation, including Sam Adams and Thomas Paine, both fleeing to France. Others, less famous simply move to Kentucky or Ohio.
Indian affairs are slowly hammered out on a state by state basis. Attempts on the British to reward loyal natives generally went poorly and proved to be a sticking point. Open fighting re-flared throughout New York and the South.
The Fourth Anglo-Dutch War ends with victory for Great Britain, including several Caribbean islands.
Ben Franklin dies in Philadelphia, after a long illness and trying to help re-build the shattered city. His funeral is a massive affair with thousands visiting, and some called it the Third Continental Congress due to the sheer number of ex-Patriots. Washington retires out of public life and goes home to a long illness and injury.

1784: John Adams is elected as part of the Massachusetts Congress. Thomas Jefferson is a well-respected writer/politician in Virginia, one of the more radical members of its Congress. Kentucky continues to fill with settlers, many of them ex-Patriots. Indeed several British tax collectors are shot and killed, causing a major crisis. Timothy Pickering becomes a traveling commissioner for the British , and goes from state to state to oversee problems and smooth tensions.
Chickamauga 'War' breaks into open fighting. The British attempt to broker peace but their pro-Indian attitude sparks more violence. They back off, allowing settlers to resume the violence. A young Andrew Jackson establishes himself here as an Indian fighter.

1785: Miami Conflict boils over, as white settlers start to pour into Ohio. Claimed by Conn., settlers from all over the colonies began fighting with the Miami tribes (among others). British troops took the side of the Indians and actually fired on whites several times. The image of redcoats killing Americans is burned into the American mind. Unlike in the South the British troops make it stick, and the Miami are saved for a time.
Lord North’s government falls due to unpopularity. Shelburne becomes Prime Minster, and soon is grappling with American problems.

1786: Whispers of abolition cause outrage in America. Southern plantations owners speak through several ‘bought’ members of Parliament, along with West Indies planters. Northern tradesmen also lament any change to the lucrative slave trade, and general racism through America cause the loyalist cause to sink.
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