WI: British Captured James and Dolly Madison

We all know how the British sacked Washington and burned the White House. But what if they were just a bit faster and found the President and First Lady? Does that change anything?
 
Would have to say that would have been a major piece of bad luck for the British. Far better they ran away than they were captured. I would think far more downsides than there would be upsides in that situation.
 
well the good news is the US still has a Vice President (who dies Nov 23, 1814). The bad news is that the word 'gerrymandering' is named in honor (?) of him

luckily James Monroe is Secretary of State and at that time is next in line after the VP
 
Would have to say that would have been a major piece of bad luck for the British. Far better they ran away than they were captured. I would think far more downsides than there would be upsides in that situation.

Dolly probably gets released. But capturing a president would be a huge prestige blow to America, morale is probably is shaken in the militia.

Perhaps Prevost pushes on at Plattsburgh.
 
It would be a tremendous blow to the US, compounding the burning of D.C. The real question is how would this affect the war effort. How does Congress and the VP deal with the President being hostage? Would the US decide to begin negotiations? Would the British try to negotiate a treaty with their captive? Would public outrage lead to a renewed offensive against say Canada?
 

TFSmith121

Banned
The Marylanders still kill Ross at North Point

It would be a tremendous blow to the US, compounding the burning of D.C. The real question is how would this affect the war effort. How does Congress and the VP deal with the President being hostage? Would the US decide to begin negotiations? Would the British try to negotiate a treaty with their captive? Would public outrage lead to a renewed offensive against say Canada?

The Marylanders still kill Ross at North Point and repel the British at Hampstead Hill, Fort McHenry, and Ferry Branch; MacDonough and Macomb still destroy Downie's squadron and repel Prevost at Plattsburgh; the treaty of Ghent is still signed in December, 1814; Pakenham and Gibbs et al still take a shot at New Orleans in January and still get killed; the treaty still gets ratified in February, the war ends, and Napoleon escapes from Elba in February.

Best,
 
well the good news is the US still has a Vice President (who dies Nov 23, 1814). The bad news is that the word 'gerrymandering' is named in honor (?) of him

luckily James Monroe is Secretary of State and at that time is next in line after the VP

If the VP dies and the President is captured there might be a succession crisis. IIRC doesn't it go president pro tempore of the senate? And Galliard (South Carolina) wasn't elected to that position until after Gerry's death OTL. If he isn't, then it goes to the Speaker of the House (Langdon Cheves, South Carolina), and he was only elected to that position since Henry Clay was part of the delegation to Ghent. If Galliard does get elected, Clay's supporters in the house might rally against him and attempt to make his position sound illegitimate.

After there that, due to many political shenanigans and ambitions a lot could happen.
 
If the VP dies and the President is captured there might be a succession crisis. IIRC doesn't it go president pro tempore of the senate? And Galliard (South Carolina) wasn't elected to that position until after Gerry's death OTL. If he isn't, then it goes to the Speaker of the House (Langdon Cheves, South Carolina), and he was only elected to that position since Henry Clay was part of the delegation to Ghent. If Galliard does get elected, Clay's supporters in the house might rally against him and attempt to make his position sound illegitimate.

After there that, due to many political shenanigans and ambitions a lot could happen.

Of course, Acting President Gerry could call Congress into Session (perhaps in Philadelphia if Washington still seemed unsafe) and allowed a new President Pro-tempore to be chosen - or even an Act of Congress adding Cabinet officers to the line of succession.
 
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The Marylanders still kill Ross at North Point and repel the British at Hampstead Hill, Fort McHenry, and Ferry Branch; MacDonough and Macomb still destroy Downie's squadron and repel Prevost at Plattsburgh; the treaty of Ghent is still signed in December, 1814; Pakenham and Gibbs et al still take a shot at New Orleans in January and still get killed; the treaty still gets ratified in February, the war ends, and Napoleon escapes from Elba in February.

Best,

This is a parody, right?
 
Of course, Acting President Gerry could call Congress into Session (perhaps in Philadelphia if Washington still seemed unsafe) and allowed a new President Pro-tempore to be chosen - or even an Act of Congress adding Cabinet officers tot he line of succession.

That probably does happen, but it isn't nearly as exciting as a succession crisis during a war.
 
This might fan the flames of the Hartford Convention sufficiently that secession of New England becomes a reality. That section of the nation opposed the war and was closer to Great Britain generally, so it's not too farfetched to imagine that New Englanders decided to save themselves by secession.

On the British side, a nation in North America clearly friendly would probably be welcome. I could see Great Britain backing a move wherein what we know now as the Canadian Maritime provinces become part of this new nation (call it the Commonwealth of New England to give it a name). That yields a friendly nation at the mouth of the St. Lawrence with several serviceable harbors for naval bases (Halifax; Portsmouth; Boston; Newport) and over time a possible safety valve for emigration (i.e., some of those sent to Australia might be allowed to opt for New England instead, especially what we know now as Newfoundland).

However, don't expect an entirely smooth transition. Adams pére et fils won't go along with this. I'd expect them to emigrate, if that's the right word, to what's left of the US, perhaps settling in the greater Philadelphia area. Same holds true for Daniel Webster: if I recall correctly he was a War Hawk. Expect him to decamp also (imagine Daniel Webster representing Delaware, let's say, in the Senate).

Assuming a diaspora of talent from New England, it's not all that farfetched to imagine Delaware becoming a free state rather soon (it almost did IOTL), and perhaps Maryland right behind it. But for the short term the slave states have a death grip on the balance of power unless there's a way found to admit more states (say, a divided Michigan for starters; Wisconsin; Iowa) quickly to restore the balance. That's going to be tricky.
 
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