WI: The US arms slaves in 1885 after an unsuccessful Civil War

What happens if the United States decides the best way to retake the South is a slave revolt and starts smuggling guns to slaves starting in 1885?
 
This sounds ASB. But before this question can be properly answered, how about a little background, about how the war ended, and what states are still slave owning?
 
This sounds ASB. But before this question can be properly answered, how about a little background, about how the war ended, and what states are still slave owning?

A long shot I know. The war peters out when Sherman fails to take Atlanta and Little Mac is elected. Basically all the Confederate States except Tennesee (Which fell into Union hands in 1863) are still slave owning.
 
The USA would not arm slaves. They would accept runaway slaves for pure propaganda advantage and essentially daring the CSA to "come and get 'em". Which would put the CSA in a damned if you, damned if you don't situation.
 
OK, so then, about 1868, the slave states that didn't seccede, plus TN, which was captured, free their slaves. What about other areas of the confederacy which are held by union forces? If the war peters out in '64, won't much of MS and LA be union held? Not sure about AR. So slavery continues in a rump confederacy, with only FL not having any union forces on its soil. But no, I think the Yanks held Jacksonville.
I just don't see this state of affairs lasting long. Perhaps the two sides come to some sort of agreement, where the union withdraws its forces, in exchange for the upper south rejoining the union, and the confederacy shrinks to its original 7 states, with the capital retuning to Montgomery. This doesn't really sound too plausible, either, but it was the best I can think of. I can guarrantee you, the abolitionists in the north will be seething with fury that slavery can still exist, even though a total of 8 states have now done away with it. BTW, even with this scenario, I don't see any possible reconcilliation between VA and WV. I think they remain separate.
 
A long shot I know. The war peters out when Sherman fails to take Atlanta and Little Mac is elected. Basically all the Confederate States except Tennesee (Which fell into Union hands in 1863) are still slave owning.

The big problem I see with that PoD is that by late 1864 the Confederacy's slave system was already so broken it would be almost impossible to fix. 3+ years of war had done so much damage that putting everything back to the way it had been in 1860 would have been a long, difficult, and bloody process.

Of course, having more-or-less the entire slave population of the CSA either in open revolt or one push away from it is exactly the sort of situation that would encourage revanchist and abolitionist elements in the North to start running guns to the slaves, so that could work. They wouldn't wait until 1885 to do it, though.
 
The big problem I see with that PoD is that by late 1864 the Confederacy's slave system was already so broken it would be almost impossible to fix. 3+ years of war had done so much damage that putting everything back to the way it had been in 1860 would have been a long, difficult, and bloody process.

Of course, having more-or-less the entire slave population of the CSA either in open revolt or one push away from it is exactly the sort of situation that would encourage revanchist and abolitionist elements in the North to start running guns to the slaves, so that could work. They wouldn't wait until 1885 to do it, though.

OK, make it 1869 then.
 
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