This TL was inspired by the threats arguing whether the US could have won the ACW even if a European nation intervened on the CSA's behalf. Some have said essentially...No way!! Britain was all powerful!! The Union didn't stand a chance!!
Well to that I say hoooiee! It all depends on when the intervention took place. This TL may not be entirely plausable, but even real history seems to laugh at plausability.
So here it is
PART I
October 19, 1864: 22 Confederate agents enter the Vermont town of St Albans from Canada. They rob several banks, kill a person, and burn the town (in OTL they only managed to burn down a wooden shed) leaving another five people dead including three young children.
They flee to Canada with about $200,000.
[Some accounts (in OTL) say that an American posse pursued the raiders into Canada, caught them, but turned them over to Canadian authorities when pressured to do so. If this is the case one only needs to say that the Americans refused to hand them over and a gunfight ensued. Also the dates that follow are best guesses given actual eventsand as the tL goes on total AH.]
October 22: Canadian authorities apprehend several of the raiders but refuse requests to extradite them.
October 27: Acting on tips from sympathetic Canadians, two American marshals and ten volunteers enter Canada intent on arresting the remaining raiders and returning them to the US for trial.
October 31: The American posse catches up to the raiders in Montreal and a gun fight ensues leaving three Americans, six Confederates, two Canadian constables, and four innocent bystanders dead.
Despite witness testimony that the Confederates shot first cross-border tensions increase.
November: New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Michigan call up additional militia forces to patrol the border with Canada. Canada reciprocates by calling up local militia companies.
Seeing possible success on the “northern front,” Davis authorizes further raids out of Canada and the capture of Union shipping on the Great Lakes. Politicians in Washington are outraged and Union newspapers demand compensation from Canadian authorities.
Confederate agents successfully burn portions of NYC, and although they did not come from Canada, the level of tension increases.
December: Confederate sympathizers enter Detroit from Canada with the aim of “…making it [the city of Detroit] the northern Atlanta.” The “Detroit Twelve” are discovered and run towards Canada before any real damage can be done, but the Michigan Militia enters Canada in pursuit touching off a skirmish in Windsor.
The British Parliament condemns these actions, but when the US government asks for the return of all Confederate raiders in Canadian custody and a crack down on further “breaches of neutrality” it is met with silence. Calls for war increase in the Union.
January 1865: The new years sees an increase in border incidents as emboldened Confederates agents strike into Maine, Vermont, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. The raids into Maine, Vermont, and Michigan are small affairs aimed at looting and robbery. The Minnesota adventure is an attempt to incite another Sioux uprising and arm native warriors. This is largely unsuccessful as General Grant sends his trusted aid and Seneca, Ely Parker, to meet with Sioux leaders.
The Buffalo Raid is a stunning success and the city is nearly razed by a series of gunpowder and creosote fueled fires. 348 people are killed in the fire. Despite aid from many Canadian citizens in fighting the fire the American public demands revenge…aimed largely at Canada.
February: Parliament worried about possible war with the United States sends a special envoy to Washington. This is seen as a cynical ploy as it is learned that a further 10,000 troops are being sent to Canada in addition to the ones already there.
Lincoln is pressured to confront Britain on the matter. He has Seward demand that Canada end all raids from its soil, hand over all Confederate agents, pay compensation for damages caused by said raiders, and remove militia forces from close to the border. Britain is ordered to cease all aid to the Confederacy and its supporters, pay reparations for damages caused by Confederate raiders built in British yards, and hand over all agents of the Confederacy currently residing in the British Isles. The British government is given 30 days to comply, but Seward at Lincoln’s request lets it be known that further negotiations are still possible if any moves are made towards a suitable outcome to the crisis.
Many members of Parliament are infuriated by these demands as is the Queen. Lord Palmerston goes before Parliament and demands “…that the US be held accountable for its rash actions against British subjects.” Parliament narrowly passes a resolution calling for an end to all hostilities in North America (Lord Russell had hoped to achieve only a demand for an end to hostilities along the Canadian border) and the formation of an international conference aimed at settling the matter. France, Spain, and Austria quickly agree to this while Russia, Prussia, and Sweden refuse to take part.
March: France sends additional troops to Mexico to assist the Empire of Maxemillian. They are soon joined by Spanish troops and a small contingent of Austrians. Britain is not pleased with these turn of events but can do little. The governments of France, Spain, and Austria see war between the US and Britain as only a matter of time.
The 30 day deadline passes and with a heavy heart Lincoln authorizes the formation of the Army of the Hudson under George H. Thomas and the Army of the St. Clair under Winfield S. Hancock. The Union also moves 10,000 troops under James Steedman to southern California to counter the French in Mexico. France and Spain begin sending arms to Confederate forces still fighting in Texas.
Hoping to take pressure off Canada the British force open the port of Wilmington, North Carolina. British Marines and Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg retake Fort Fisher and open Wilmington to foreign ships. Union commander Jacob Cox is captured. Britain tries to cover-up its involvement in the affair but ensuing naval clashes reveal the truth.
April: Sherman moves south to encircle Wilmington. The Confederate government, seeing the possibility of foreign aid, orders Lee southward to engage Sherman. Longstreet is told to keep a force to delay Grant’s advance and give Lee time to attack Sherman. Davis also orders Johnston to take all available men to retake Charleston. On April 5, Lee and Longstreet confer and come to the conclusion that the War is effectively over. They send word to Grant that the wish to negotiate a cease-fire and an end to hostilities.
April 6: The United States declares war on Great Britain. Lincoln makes one final attempt to reach an agreement, but Lord Lyons has already left the country.
April 10: Lee surrenders his army to Grant. He asks his men to return home and be good citizens and many do, but a large number escape southward to where Johnston is forming a new army.
April 14: General Lee is murdered and Longstreet wounded by pro-secessionist radicals.
April 15: A force of six monitors including an improved USS Dictator and the two Monadnok class ironclads defeat a British squadron off the coast of Virginia. The British ironclad HMS Warrior is one of seven ships the British lose.
April 18: Union forces go on the offensive into Canada.
May: Anti-war demonstrations begin in Great Britain and parts of Canada. The protests are particularly bold in Quebec and Ireland. Lincoln orders Thomas and Hancock to be “…of light hand and sensitive to the welfare of the proud people of Canada.”
Sherman defeats Bragg’s attempt to escape the Wilmington pocket, but he is mortally wounded by a Confederate sniper. The Confederate government, now residing in Montgomery, Alabama, begins to arm black soldiers but few agree to fight for the doomed Confederacy. By the end of the month the Union counters with a plan to give free land to black settlers.
French and Spanish naval forces open the port of Mobile after defeating the small US squadron there. France lands 5,000 troops and Spain 2,000 to assist Confederate forces in clearing the coast. They plan on moving towards New Orleans and retaking the lower Mississippi.
Well to that I say hoooiee! It all depends on when the intervention took place. This TL may not be entirely plausable, but even real history seems to laugh at plausability.
So here it is
PART I
October 19, 1864: 22 Confederate agents enter the Vermont town of St Albans from Canada. They rob several banks, kill a person, and burn the town (in OTL they only managed to burn down a wooden shed) leaving another five people dead including three young children.
They flee to Canada with about $200,000.
[Some accounts (in OTL) say that an American posse pursued the raiders into Canada, caught them, but turned them over to Canadian authorities when pressured to do so. If this is the case one only needs to say that the Americans refused to hand them over and a gunfight ensued. Also the dates that follow are best guesses given actual eventsand as the tL goes on total AH.]
October 22: Canadian authorities apprehend several of the raiders but refuse requests to extradite them.
October 27: Acting on tips from sympathetic Canadians, two American marshals and ten volunteers enter Canada intent on arresting the remaining raiders and returning them to the US for trial.
October 31: The American posse catches up to the raiders in Montreal and a gun fight ensues leaving three Americans, six Confederates, two Canadian constables, and four innocent bystanders dead.
Despite witness testimony that the Confederates shot first cross-border tensions increase.
November: New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Michigan call up additional militia forces to patrol the border with Canada. Canada reciprocates by calling up local militia companies.
Seeing possible success on the “northern front,” Davis authorizes further raids out of Canada and the capture of Union shipping on the Great Lakes. Politicians in Washington are outraged and Union newspapers demand compensation from Canadian authorities.
Confederate agents successfully burn portions of NYC, and although they did not come from Canada, the level of tension increases.
December: Confederate sympathizers enter Detroit from Canada with the aim of “…making it [the city of Detroit] the northern Atlanta.” The “Detroit Twelve” are discovered and run towards Canada before any real damage can be done, but the Michigan Militia enters Canada in pursuit touching off a skirmish in Windsor.
The British Parliament condemns these actions, but when the US government asks for the return of all Confederate raiders in Canadian custody and a crack down on further “breaches of neutrality” it is met with silence. Calls for war increase in the Union.
January 1865: The new years sees an increase in border incidents as emboldened Confederates agents strike into Maine, Vermont, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. The raids into Maine, Vermont, and Michigan are small affairs aimed at looting and robbery. The Minnesota adventure is an attempt to incite another Sioux uprising and arm native warriors. This is largely unsuccessful as General Grant sends his trusted aid and Seneca, Ely Parker, to meet with Sioux leaders.
The Buffalo Raid is a stunning success and the city is nearly razed by a series of gunpowder and creosote fueled fires. 348 people are killed in the fire. Despite aid from many Canadian citizens in fighting the fire the American public demands revenge…aimed largely at Canada.
February: Parliament worried about possible war with the United States sends a special envoy to Washington. This is seen as a cynical ploy as it is learned that a further 10,000 troops are being sent to Canada in addition to the ones already there.
Lincoln is pressured to confront Britain on the matter. He has Seward demand that Canada end all raids from its soil, hand over all Confederate agents, pay compensation for damages caused by said raiders, and remove militia forces from close to the border. Britain is ordered to cease all aid to the Confederacy and its supporters, pay reparations for damages caused by Confederate raiders built in British yards, and hand over all agents of the Confederacy currently residing in the British Isles. The British government is given 30 days to comply, but Seward at Lincoln’s request lets it be known that further negotiations are still possible if any moves are made towards a suitable outcome to the crisis.
Many members of Parliament are infuriated by these demands as is the Queen. Lord Palmerston goes before Parliament and demands “…that the US be held accountable for its rash actions against British subjects.” Parliament narrowly passes a resolution calling for an end to all hostilities in North America (Lord Russell had hoped to achieve only a demand for an end to hostilities along the Canadian border) and the formation of an international conference aimed at settling the matter. France, Spain, and Austria quickly agree to this while Russia, Prussia, and Sweden refuse to take part.
March: France sends additional troops to Mexico to assist the Empire of Maxemillian. They are soon joined by Spanish troops and a small contingent of Austrians. Britain is not pleased with these turn of events but can do little. The governments of France, Spain, and Austria see war between the US and Britain as only a matter of time.
The 30 day deadline passes and with a heavy heart Lincoln authorizes the formation of the Army of the Hudson under George H. Thomas and the Army of the St. Clair under Winfield S. Hancock. The Union also moves 10,000 troops under James Steedman to southern California to counter the French in Mexico. France and Spain begin sending arms to Confederate forces still fighting in Texas.
Hoping to take pressure off Canada the British force open the port of Wilmington, North Carolina. British Marines and Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg retake Fort Fisher and open Wilmington to foreign ships. Union commander Jacob Cox is captured. Britain tries to cover-up its involvement in the affair but ensuing naval clashes reveal the truth.
April: Sherman moves south to encircle Wilmington. The Confederate government, seeing the possibility of foreign aid, orders Lee southward to engage Sherman. Longstreet is told to keep a force to delay Grant’s advance and give Lee time to attack Sherman. Davis also orders Johnston to take all available men to retake Charleston. On April 5, Lee and Longstreet confer and come to the conclusion that the War is effectively over. They send word to Grant that the wish to negotiate a cease-fire and an end to hostilities.
April 6: The United States declares war on Great Britain. Lincoln makes one final attempt to reach an agreement, but Lord Lyons has already left the country.
April 10: Lee surrenders his army to Grant. He asks his men to return home and be good citizens and many do, but a large number escape southward to where Johnston is forming a new army.
April 14: General Lee is murdered and Longstreet wounded by pro-secessionist radicals.
April 15: A force of six monitors including an improved USS Dictator and the two Monadnok class ironclads defeat a British squadron off the coast of Virginia. The British ironclad HMS Warrior is one of seven ships the British lose.
April 18: Union forces go on the offensive into Canada.
May: Anti-war demonstrations begin in Great Britain and parts of Canada. The protests are particularly bold in Quebec and Ireland. Lincoln orders Thomas and Hancock to be “…of light hand and sensitive to the welfare of the proud people of Canada.”
Sherman defeats Bragg’s attempt to escape the Wilmington pocket, but he is mortally wounded by a Confederate sniper. The Confederate government, now residing in Montgomery, Alabama, begins to arm black soldiers but few agree to fight for the doomed Confederacy. By the end of the month the Union counters with a plan to give free land to black settlers.
French and Spanish naval forces open the port of Mobile after defeating the small US squadron there. France lands 5,000 troops and Spain 2,000 to assist Confederate forces in clearing the coast. They plan on moving towards New Orleans and retaking the lower Mississippi.