Guy Fawkes tried to kill king James I of England and VI of Scotland
"What Madness Is This?" Volume I: The Union Forever
- Thread starter Napoleon53
- Start date
I mainly meant they would celebrate it as the death of a filthy Papist who tried to overthrow the government. The kids in costumes thing would just be meant as ironic mockery of Fawkes. The pogroms would be just a bit of fun for the adults.
Yes but Americans don't get irony, there end up killing the kids in the pogroms and besides, I don't see the AFC bring at all comfortable with cultural events center around the death of a Protestant sovereign.
The Union is anti-monarchist for one thing, and humiliating their percieved enemies is exactly something they'd do.
The only difference from the above is that the third judge would be a black man and she'd get an unbroken row of tens.
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They could focus more on the Parliament aspect of the Fawks plot instead of the monarchy.
“And thus the Papist plot to plunder Parliament was prevented! The Ancient seat of the English Protestants, the first house of the Betters of Society, was saved!”
i mean like sure, the AFC will spin it however, it'll just be interesting to see how catholicism is associated with tyranny and monarchy way more ITTL considering how catholic France runs europe.
https://www.irishpost.com/news/iris...medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark
I could see Halloween first being celebrated in the immigrant neighborhoods and then being appropriated by the 'Betters' as a night to play pranks, raise hell and let off steam. With the masks and costumes to hide identities it could be a form of The Purge also.
I could see Halloween first being celebrated in the immigrant neighborhoods and then being appropriated by the 'Betters' as a night to play pranks, raise hell and let off steam. With the masks and costumes to hide identities it could be a form of The Purge also.
I'm alive guys! Last week of overttime and then back to normal! I already have a backlog of stuff I'm working on!
In honor of Election Day...
"Folks, the final tally for the 1920 elections are in. The winner is.... First Chief Consul and Hero of the Union George Armstrong Custer with an astonishing 95% of the vote! Our Anglo-Saxon hero will serve our great nation for another term as First Chief Consul! ALL HAIL CUSTER!"
"Folks, the final tally for the 1920 elections are in. The winner is.... First Chief Consul and Hero of the Union George Armstrong Custer with an astonishing 95% of the vote! Our Anglo-Saxon hero will serve our great nation for another term as First Chief Consul! ALL HAIL CUSTER!"
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 31
A MEETING IN PHILADELPHIA
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President Lincoln inspecting the officer corps circa 1855 (Wyatt Jenkins can be seen directly behind Lincoln)
A MEETING IN PHILADELPHIA
President Lincoln inspecting the officer corps circa 1855 (Wyatt Jenkins can be seen directly behind Lincoln)
The day was August 29, 1855. As four Carolinian diplomats walked down the hall of the Republican Union Capitol Building, their heels echoed off the red-and-gold papered walls and the heavily-polished oak floors. Union officers saluted as they passed. Ahead of them down the hall was the Union War Room, heart of the Union Army. An officer in a gold coat with blue trim, a soldier of the Republican Guard that staffed the Capitol, opened the door and bowed slightly to his Southron counterparts. Well-trained, he hid own personal disgust at the Southron boots trampling on his hallowed halls.
Leading the Southron diplomats was Wade Hampton III, a bushy-bearded 32 year-old Lieutenant General in the Carolinian Army and bear of a man. Behind him was Brigadier General Gabriel J. Rains, a man known for his resplendent mustache and impeccable dress as well as his bravery as a young soldier in the Cuba War. Also in their group was Brigadier General Lucius Worth II, a balding and rather uninteresting son of a soldier's soldier son, and Wendell P. Ambrose, a civilian and leading member of the Confederation of the Carolinas' House of Citizens. Ambrose's gaunt face and gray hair was framed by his impossibly high and stiff white collar. They were all here to negotiate with the Union hierarchy and secure the Confederation's future on the continent. Hampton III just hoped it would go smoothly and that none of these men would cause a scene.
The Union officer that had been sent to deal with the Confederation diplomats, Field Marshal Wyatt Jenkins, a wiry fellow with a rare combination of cold green eyes and sandy blonde hair, sat at a massive desk carved out of the finest mahogany. Jenkins lit up a cigar and then stood up and saluted the diplomats as they stood before him on a massive red rug covering the marble floor below. "Gentlemen, all hail our Christian friends in the Confederation! It is an honor to meet you all. I am Field Marshal Wyatt Jenkins, Supreme Commander of the Union Army Group I and serving at the pleasure of our President Lincoln and the People of the Republican Union as ambassador to you gentlemen today. What matters of import may we discuss today? I trust your travel was pleasant?"
Hampton III nodded and saluted back, clicking the heels of his boots together snappily. "Lieutenant General Wade Hampton III, at your service. These fine fellows with are Brigadier General Rains, Hero of the War of Virginian Aggression, Brigadier General Lucius Worth II, and House Citizen Wendell Payton Ambrose, an orator of great renown. Our travels were pleasant, yes, and your infrastructure is impressive. Upon behalf of my nation, I salute your people's handiwork. We have come to discuss the situation in Virginia and the imminent demise of Potentate Taylor."
Jenkins took a slow drag from his cigar as he sat back down in his leather chair behind the desk. He propped his boots up and looked off to the corner of the room and motioned for his butler to bring drinks. The Irish butler, a red-haired fellow with a scar across his face, quickly rolled a brass cart over and began pouring drinks for everyone present. "Thank you, O'Hara, that will be all," Jenkins said, a tad over-politely to the Inferior servant. The servant hurried away with the empty cart, leaving the bottle of brandy on the desk. "Oh, I know what you all are thinking," Jenkins said slyly with a hint of a smile forming from his thin lips. "O'Hara knows his place. And he gets paid. Don't get me started on your darkies down southaways."
The Confederation delegation just stared at Jenkins until Hampton III finally spoke again. He took a sip from his drink and said, "Back on topic, Zachary Taylor doesn't have long to live. Our reports are saying he has fallen very ill after eating contaminated food. They give him two weeks tops."
Jenkins grew more thoughtful and took another drag from his cigar, replying, "So we've heard. Son of a bitch needs to hurry up and die. No one outside of Virginia can stand his guts. We just wonder who the replacement will be."
Ambrose spoke up now in an unpleasant tone. "We have received reports he is ordering Field Marshal Early to be the next Potentate of the Republic."
Jenkins gasped and snuffed out his cigar as he leaned forward, wanting to know more. "Early? Jubal Early? That man makes us look like pacifists. The nutter has been saying eventually he'll unite the South under the Star and Bars. He's a madman."
Hampton III replied, "Yes. Virginia's economy has been in a rough patch ever since Caesar abolished slavery internationally. Their economic aid from Paris has ceased, even to my country. The Confederation fears he may attempt to build up the Virginian military and invade the Confederation and destroy us to grow his Republic and eventually unite with Georgia into a grand Confederacy of the South. This cannot stand. We are willing to step outside of our usual comfort zones with the Union and draw up plans for a mutual defense from our enemies."
"General Hampton," Jenkins said, shrugging his shoulders, "Early is a far graver threat to the Confederation than to the Union. If war came, without French help the Virginians would be crushed by my fair Union. We have no doubts. The War Department has run exercise after exercise, and every situation we could think of we still come out on top."
"Ah! But!" exclaimed Hampton, now raising a finger up, ready to prove a point and shock Jenkins. Smiling slightly in an almost evil way, he said, "The Union has a long-standing problem with Georgia not following the terms of the Louisiana Accords. Many say it is only a matter of time before armed conflict breaks out in the area between your country and Georgia."
Jenkins nodded and said, "This is true. If I had an silver eagle for every Yankee ship the Georgian dogs have harassed, I would be a wealthy man indeed. But anyway, what does this have to do with Virginia?"
Brigadier General Rains stood up and unfurled a map on the desk. Excitedly, he said, "The people of the Confederation feel fenced in by Virginia and its allies. This encirclement stretches from Maryland to Texas. Since the War of Virginian Aggression, what y'all Yankees would call the 'Cuba War,' our people and our culture have been worked into a damn corner. The Vulture of the Confederation needs to spread its wings once more, and it may take help from the Union Eagle." He pointed a finger on the map to the Province of Boone. "This is West Carolina, and I don't give a damn in hell what the Virginian sumbitches call it. It ain't Boone anymore than New York is France. This is rightfully Confederation soil. We fought a war against Virginian imperialism and our defeat spelled Virginian control over over West Carolina and our link to the Mississippi, caused the death of our beloved Chancellor Jackson, and was and still is a disgrace to our glorious nation. If an event should trigger war between the Republican Union and Georgia, Virginia would likely come to its aid. Almost certainly, in fact. Now, if the Confederation is given weapons and supplies, we can restore our armed forces and we shall retake West Carolina if a war breaks out in North America."
Jenkins scratched at his cleft chin and his eyes gazed at the map. "So what you are proposing is we shall give you equipment and materiel to your nation for free?"
Hampton III spoke back up, "No, sir. We would be happy to compensate your country after a glorious victory. You would be paid back every penny and you could name a tax on Confederation goods traversing the Mississippi. We want West Carolina back and we want our neighbors humiliated. The balance needs to be restored. The Confederation can't restore the balance on its own. We need help. Even if it means turning to the Union. We only ask for weapons, some supplies you can spare, and a promise of non-aggression. You may consider this a formal offer from the Confederation government and from our Chancellor Alexander Peterson."
The Union commander asked another good question, "But what of Maryland?"
Hampton III shrugged and said, "It is but a small nation-state, almost entirely reliant on Virginia for its continued existence. Since the souring of relations with the Bonapartes and Caesar's ongoing hijinks in Africa and the Holy Land, Virginia is Maryland's only hope. My suggestion would be to worry about Virginia first and foremost. If you can break Virginia, I would say an amiable end to this future war would be the Confederation flag flying over West Carolina and the Union taking the rest of Louisiana and possibly Westsylvania. The Georgian and Virginian dogs would pay dearly indeed. If you agree to this strategy, we can promise you we will be victorious in the South. Can the Union be victorious in the North?"
Jenkins stood up and raised a glass of brandy, saying, "Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure. I shall look forward to seeing where this meeting shall take us. Salutations!" They all took a drink."
Lucius Worth sat his drink on the desk and pointed to a portrait of a man who looked almost exactly like a young version of Jenkins, but some features were different. "Who is that young lad in the painting, Field Marshal Jenkins?"
The Union General took a slow sip from his brandy and then sat it down gently. "That... that is my dear departed big brother Elroy, Martyr of the Union. First soldier to die during the Invasion of Vermont. I do my job, I chose this career, all because of him. I wanted to be just like him as a lad and decided I wanted to be a soldier. Now here I am, a General of the Army and I still feel as if he is a better man than me. You know, gentlemen, sometimes I question everything. Some days I wish to hug my brother once more. Some days I wish I sold shoes. But then I remember what this is all about. God and Country. God and Country, gentlemen. This isn't about me, or you, or my brother Elroy, this is about a divine destiny. This is about fate. For all our bluster and bravado and sword-waving, it is God who controls events. I know you Southrons don't believe as we do, but there's a shared heritage. If you got rid of your slaves there would hardly be differences at all. At any rate, before you leave, please join me for a minute of silent prayer if you would."
The Carolinians were rather shocked at how cordial and respectful Jenkins seemed. Nodding, they all bowed their heads and said their prayers. While it would take hours more of planning and paperwork, the Union-Confederation Non-Aggression Pact would be signed in secret a week later. The stage was set and the barrel of the cannon was loaded. All that was left was the spark which would set off the fuse. That spark would come in 1858, when Georgian patrol boats would seize an Old Kinderhook trade ship and create an international incident that would escalate into the Great American War....
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Nice to see that the Union aren’t the only ones who can hold a grudge. Maryland is in a truely unenviable position. Maybe they make themselves the Switzerland of North America, neutral broker in all matters and handy place to hide your money
The unbelievable has happened! Although I have doubts the Union will uphold their side of the deal.