Wrapped in Flames: The Great American War and Beyond

[EnglishCanuck]

Spoiler: November 1864 Military Lines

To encapsulate, in the West, the stalemate in Arizona continues, while the Comanche are effectively driving the settlers out of swathes of territory and cutting the Santa Fe trail, with no troops to deal with them. The Indian Territory is in Confederate hands for similar reasons. Meanwhile, the Union is in control of Arkansas north of the Arkansas River, while having fortified posts along the shores of the Mississippi, but as we can see are not close to cutting it. The main strength of the Union in the West is fighting in northern Tennessee and central Kentucky. Bragg's efforts to unleash Kirby Smith has put the Confederacy once again back in Bowling Green, as the defeat outside of Knoxville has forced Grant back to find winter quarters for his troops, but also draw off men to try and boot Kirby Smith out.

East into Virginia, the Union controls West Virginia, while the lines have mostly stabilized between the Rappahannock and Centreville for the Union and the Confederacy. Meanwhile, Farragut's expedition controls Port Royal and Beaufort in South Carolina, establishing ground for the (hopefully) new blockade of the Confederacy in 1865. Militarily, this is where things stand at the end of 1864.

And thank you to Bacon's Military Map of the United States, here are the lines for the front come November 1864 as I work furiously away at the election!

 

[SWS]

Bragg, honestly, if he remained at the capacity for which he was physically and mentally best-suited, would have probably ranked among the best corps commanders of the War alongside Thomas and Longstreet. Nonetheless, it was the administration's hatred for and mistrust of Beauregard's competency that resulted in his elevation in the first place.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

he’s definitely not the worst, I just held out hope someone like Jackson, Hardee or Cleburne(who is my dark horse pick for arguably one of the best commanders period)

Jackson would have been an interesting choice in command. One thing that really held me back from promoting Cleburne too high was that his foreign extraction, lack of good political connections, and need for a patron would probably have precluded Richmond from elevating him too high.

Bragg, honestly, if he remained at the capacity for which he was physically and mentally best-suited, would have probably ranked among the best corps commanders of the War alongside Thomas and Longstreet. Nonetheless, it was the administration's hatred for and mistrust of Beauregard's competency that resulted in his elevation in the first place.

Bragg always struck me as someone who, like Hooker, was a good corps commander and might have excelled at an independent command - maybe in the Trans-Mississippi far away from anyone he was feuding with... but his tactical performance was never outright terrible. He did IMO suffer from the flaw of most Confederate generals in only being able to see the battle in front of them rather than a real appreciation for the greater scope of the war.

Ah well, he gets the command here, and instead Beauregard is sent far far away instead!

 

[Icedaemon]

It does seem that Grant knows how to dismantle Bragg's playbook in the battles they have insofar fought. It would not surprise me if Jackson is infuriated enough to cast Bragg as the most incompetent general the confederacy has to anyone willing to listen. Meanwhile, most people with some cursory knowledge of history are likely to agree that Grant is the best the Union has.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Chapter 100: The Election of 1864 Part 1 - The Contentious Conventions​

“No democracy can exist unless each of its citizens is as capable of outrage at injustice to another as he is of outrage at unjustice to himself.” - Aristotle

“The election which would define a nation was entered into in a national moment of soul searching. In the aftermath of the pivotal election of 1860, the two parties were struggling to define themselves in the four years in between…

It was the Democratic Party which had struggled to make an identity in the immediate aftermath of the 1860 Charleston Convention. There the party had schismed on roughly north-south lines, with the vast majority of the Southern delegates walking out of the convention, leaving a confused remainder to rally around Stephen Douglas. This had, over time, coalesced into two factions within Democratic Party ranks.

The Peace Democrats had been a formation of the 1862 campaigning season where the lessons of the Black Month[1]. The cost in blood and treasure, they reasoned, was too high, and the war simply could not be won against two enemies, and even then, the war against the Confederacy was unjust. The War Democrats on the other hand, believed the war could be won, but that Lincoln’s mismanagement was the root of all military problems. A change in leadership might then benefit the military performance of the nation.

Over 1863 and 1864, with the many disasters that unfolded and the terms of the Treaty of Rotterdam, both sides gained adherents, and the two planks did not seem so irreconcilable. The Peace Democrats, Clement Valladingham most vocal among them, insisted that the only way forward to victory was a “negotiated conference of all the states” with no strings attached to an armistice. After three years of bloody war, many in the nation felt that anything which got their sons, brothers and fathers home was worth trying. The War Democrats, while believing that reunion was the only goal of any conflict and so the war could, and must, be won, did not disagree on principle with negotiations. In exchange they demanded that there be stringent terms attached to negotiations. Many in the Peace Democrat wing of the party, deemed Copperheads, were men who believed in “peace at any cost” which was anathema to the War Democrats…

The only resolution seemed to come in the aftermath of the Albany Conference. The Democratic leadership there, it may be assumed, resolved that the goal of the party was to seek a negotiated settlement to the war, but that if one could not be found, then the war must unfortunately continue. Though this is not known for certain, as no Copperheads made any stringent efforts to reign in the peace at any price rhetoric, letters and discussions between the two wings of the party seem to have grown less acrimonious leading up to the Chicago Convention…

Held at The Amphitheater, it hosted the delegates from every state and every ideological stripe. There, the factions of the party would debate on the future of the nation and choose their own candidate…

By August, the Democratic Party had largely settled on the only possible candidate. George B. McClellan…” - The Decision: 1864, Amos Parnell, Boston University, 1994

“After being dismissed from the of the Army of the Potomac, McClellan had first been held in Washington before being brought to Philadelphia to deliver his testimony on matters relating to the siege to the President. From there he had been given a face saving command in the Department of New York with the retirement of General Wool. However, it was a gesture meant to try and mollify the general, and came with no significant responsibilities.

It did however, allow McClellan to mingle with some of the most influential Democrats in the country. There he would remake his acquaintance with men like William Aspinwall and Samuel Barlow whom he had known before the war. Taking his command at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, he hosted soldiers, journalists, and many prominent Democrats. One of the most important, but perhaps ill advised, was New York Governor Milliard Fillmore who who dined with many times in 1863. The most important of these dinners coming hard on the heels of the Albany Conference, it is known that Fillmore approached McClellan on whether he might consider running for president in 1864. In his conversation he demured, but he did write to his father in law after the fact that he “would consider the position most carefully as the war unfolds.”

That shortly thereafter the New York newspapers began printing articles with “McClellan’s Movements” tracking his inspections of the defences of New York, troop parades, grand balls, attendance at the theater and other minutia can hardly be a coincidence. He also met powerful Democratic politicians who courted and flattered him. William Aspinwall, John J. Astor and William B. Duncan all called on him. Seeing as he was employed in command at the time, his later biographic protestations that he was “seeking future employment opportunities” have tended to fall on deaf ears.

…McClellan was not naïve to these implications. He had been corresponding with Barlow and Aspinwall on the army’s movements, and his own distaste for the president, since 1862. Their cause was his cause. He truly did not believe that the nation could be reunited, or the war against Britain or the Confederacy, won under Lincoln and the Republicans. As he had written to Barlow he could not find it in himself to support “a party & policy which I conscientiously believe will bring ruin upon us all.”

His opposition to the radical wing of the party, and the Emancipation Proclamation, was well known in political circles. Though he took pains to never publicly make overtly critical comments to the press, he had no such compunctions in either his private letters or when discussing matters with fellow Democrats. Slavery, in his opinion, should not be an issue decided by the war, and only reunion was the basis for a “just and lasting peace” as he believed. As such, he had no fundamental quarrel with the overall Democratic slogan of “The Constitution as it is, the Union as it was.”

…McClellan had watched the elections in 1863 with interest. The gubernatorial successes of Peace Democrats in Ohio, Connecticut and Pennsylvania made clear to him that there was a rise in peace sentiment. He had added his own words to each, making public comments in the newspapers regarding the desirability of “the Union one and indivisible” but couching that in veiled critique of the “thus far unhappy course of the conflict.” While small, none could miss the obvious criticism of Lincoln’s handling of the war.

Though Stanton itched to remove the general, the great sympathy his embarrassing dismissal during the Siege of Washington had created made Lincoln cautious of creating a political martyr. So he suffered the criticism in silence, but ensured McClellan was far away from an active command…

…While McClellan did not actively pursue the candidacy for the Democratic nomination, he did nothing to dissuade anyone from trumpeting him as the frontrunner. Samuel Cox would write that McClellan’s ascendancy was a “necessity” to fold both factions of the party together. McClellan for his part remained the firm supporter of the War Democrats, and often ignored certain entreaties from the Copperhead faction of the party, once going so far as to put off Clement Valladingham from calling on him. It was a political maneuver which would mark much of his future attitude…

Samuel Barlow served, without title but in all but name, as McClellan’s political manager in the 1864 election cycle. On McClellan’s directives he travelled the country, ran patriotic advertisements endorsing the general in the New York World, and broadly spoke on the General’s behalf, or so the public would come to believe…” - I Can Do It All: The Trials of George B. McClellan, Alfred White, 1992, Aurora Publishing

“At the Chicago Convention McClellan was amply represented by political veterans such as Cox and Tilden. He commanded the delegates from New Jersey and Kentucky firmly, however, as Barlow would discover to his dismay, the Peace Faction was firmly entrenched in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, where Valladingham held all the political power for the party. Some compromise would have to be made.

What further compounded a fundamental error of judgement in planning for the 1864 platform, was the last minute need to defuse the challenge that Thomas Seymour’s desire to run placed before them. McClellan had erred in giving none of his men the ability to make promises on his behalf, and so there was a long series of telegrams and discussions going back and forth between the Fifth Avenue Hotel and the Amphitheater, which left the drafting of the 1864 platform chiefly to Tilden and Horatio Seymour.

Seymour was a peace Democrat of the Copperhead bent, while Tilden was a conservative. Both men were well positioned to iron out a compromise, but it was one which would be shaped without the input of their potential candidate. As such, the platform of 1864 was designed absent any major input of either of the two candidates who were frontrunners. That meant that men like George Pendleton and Clement Valladingham could have a great deal of influence[2]. In doing so, they would bind McClellan to a platform of their choosing.

The debate over the exact wording of the platform was long and arduous. While some of the resolutions were easily adopted, such as condemning the the overreach of the Federal government, the trampling of liberties, and the support for the soldiers, were easily reached, the precise wording on the nature of the Democratic view of the war's outcome was difficult.

Valladingham and the Copperheads desired that a blanket peace platform should be adopted. Their belief was that a Democratic victory should have meant the immediate cessation of hostilities and the opening of negotiations to end the war with no exceptions. The War Democrats were opposed to such a move. The wording needed to be precise, but not so alienating as to split the party. Words such as “immediate cessation” were eventually struck and the more peaceable “immediate cessation of hostilities for the purposes of negotiation” were instead changed to the long winded “efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities with a view of an ultimate convention of the states” intending then to make the potential peace talks a discussion between all states, and not rival governments. However, at the last minute, the Copperheads snuck a concession line in with the wording “or other peaceable means” in exchange for a high handed demand to resist military interference in the electoral process which was desired by all, and concessions regarding the “dispute of territory” plank for the Treaty of Rotterdam[3]

In the end, a semi-solution was adopted with the “peace plank” reading thus:

“Resolved, That this convention does explicitly declare, as the sense of the American people, that after four years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, during which, under the pretense of a military necessity of war-power higher than the Constitution, the Constitution itself has been disregarded in every part, and public liberty and private right alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired with the surrender of honor and prestige; justice, humanity, liberty, and the public welfare demand that all efforts be made for a cessation of hostilities, with a view of an ultimate convention of the States, or other peaceable means, to the end that, at the earliest practicable moment, peace may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States.”[4]

The platform was accepted unanimously. The vote for president, less so.

With McClellan as the obvious frontrunner, Seymour’s intention to run, with the backing of the Connecticut delegation and the threat of the powerful Copperhead lobby backing him, meant that the first vote did not carry enough weight to unanimously select McClellan for the nomination. Backroom dealing saw this eventually solved by the promise of a Copperhead as a vice president, and the second vote saw McClellan carried unanimously as the party’s candidate. His Vice President would be George Pendleton of Ohio, securing the powerful Copperhead vote for McClellan…

McClellan and Pendleton 1864​

The young Republican Party was riven by its own internal debates. That Lincoln was to be the nominee was in serious doubt at the time the party sat, but with no one to take his place, it was soon realized that, as little as some like him, the party would back Lincoln.

Meeting in Philadelphia in June, the convention sat to debate the matter of how they would decide the platform going forward. The easiest concession was a declaration that they would continue the war to maintain the Union.

The most contentious nature was that of slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation, backed to the hilt by Radicals, was divisive. Not only in the party, but to the nation at large. Lincoln faced immense pressure to include a plank declaring the desire to destroy it, but with the real threat of Maryland, Missouri and Kentucky going into the Democratic camp, conservatives believed that the matter should be pursued only after the election had been won. “It is better to present the nation with a fait accompli in the face of an unqualified victory and national resurgence than to trot out such a desperate measure at this stage” Blair would write to Lincoln.

Lincoln himself did not fully agree. He knew the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation as a war time act. Earnestly believing that slavery was evil, he desired that it should be destroyed, but also reasoned that with the war won, it would be functionally destroyed and force the remaining slave states in the Union to acquiesce to its abandonment. Whether they would do so in the face of a war still far from being won, was a different question entirely.

However much Lincoln wished to see the matter pursued, he understood that the nation had an uphill battle in 1865. To begin with, his agents at the Philadelphia Convention tested the mood of the delegates. The party machines from the most embattled states, Maine, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Illinois, were all firmly against both the Emancipation Proclamation, and to a certain extent, how Lincoln had handled the Treaty of Rotterdam. Those in favor of continued war were animated against a plank which would push for the outlawing of slavery, and delegates from California and Oregon were firm in the conservative Republican camp. The dangerous states were Kentucky and Missouri, whose citizens were embattled and embittered over years of war and the very real trampling of civil liberties. Kentucky delegates viewed Lincoln as personally responsible for much of the calamity which had visited their states, and it was their work which pushed for alternate names for the nomination.

In the initial round of balloting, the names of Chase, Seward, and Charles Sumner were all thrown forward as alternatives. Seward and Sumner would publicly refuse the call, but Chase, ever hopeful, declined to do the same. In the first round of ballots Kentucky, Missouri, and New York put forward Chase, but on the second ballot, only the Kentucky protest vote continued, and Lincoln was unanimously chosen as the candidate on the third ballot.

Lincoln’s vacant vice president role had to be filled. There was some discussion of choosing a man from New England, but this was quickly abandoned. A Southernor was suspected as being a better choice, and after rounds of negotiations, Lincoln’s running mate was chosen to be Major General Lovell Rosseau of Kentucky…

The platform the Republican Party would run on in 1864 was not as contentious as that of the Democratic platform, but one which still required a deft handling through the party clashes. The Radicals were disappointed to discover that Lincoln and his agents would not support an outright promise to end slavery, instead the platform adopted a position that it would be “Resolved, to recognize slavery as the chief cause and source of strength to the rebellion and… pursue with vigor the battle against this strength, we uphold and maintain the acts and proclamations by which the Government, in its own defence, has aimed at this gigantic evil within these United States.”

While satisfying the conservative lobby and the more passive Radicals, it infuriated the most hardcore members of the Radical Party…

Lincoln and Rosseau​

The Radical Democracy Party had held its convention in Cleveland, earlier than all the others. It was a gathering of the most Radical abolitionists and uncompromising War Democrats who desired a change of leadership. Many prominent Radicals wrote in, while men like Thaddeus Stephens, Ira Davis and Benjamin Wade directly sat in. Personages such as Frederick Douglass, Martin Delany and Elizabeth Cady Stanton attended as well, alongside many prominent abolitionists who saw the “soft running” of the mainstream Republican message on slavery as not enough to win abolition.

There was little speculation on who the presidential candidate would be. Though once again Chase’s name was considered for the slot, John Fremont, noted soldier and abolitionist commanded the entire ballot for president. As a sop to the War Democrats, they selected John Cochrane as his running mate…

There they had put forward a much more radical platform than either party. They resolved that the war was a war to defeat and extinguish slavery, the unconditional surrender of the Confederate states and return to the Union, a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery, the rigid enforcement of the Monroe Doctrine - even against nations which had colonies in the Americas[5], equal rights for freedmen, and an expansion of the vote to all free black men regardless of property.

This was, naturally, a double edged sword. While it appealed to Radicals, it turned off many War Democrats who might have otherwise looked favorably at this third party, and instead drove them grudgingly into Lincoln or McClellan’s arms. Though the novel platform attracted much attention, especially with reference to the Monroe Doctrine, it was commented on only briefly by Republican leaning newspapers, while receiving outsized attention in the Democratic press.

Lincoln’s agents had observed that, while popular in Radical circles and having vocal support in the House, it did not generate excitement in the public. True, Lincoln would have to fear vote splitting, but Lincoln made the gamble that, were he to approach these men behind the scenes, he might sway many powerful orators to his cause going in to the election in November…” - The Decision: 1864, Amos Parnell, Boston University, 1994

Fremont and Corchane poster for the Radical Democracy Party
​

“The final acts of the conventions would take place in Washington, well away from crowds of delegates and journalists. Lincoln made many overtures to Radicals in his offices, but having only passed a motion to support the existing Emancipation Proclamation, and not endorsing a constitutional amendment to end slavery, he found no ringing endorsement from the Radicals in Washington, who supposed that they now had a chance to wrest the presidency from his grasp.

It was not all lost, as Lincoln would reshuffle his cabinet in an effort to at least mollify some of his critics. Montgomery Blair was replaced by the Ohio man William Dennison in order to use the power of the spoils system to energize the Republicans in that state. In October, just before the election, Lincoln informed Chase that he could not see him running in two conventions, and Chase offered his resignation, which Lincoln duly accepted. He was replaced by the financier Hugh McCulloch, who Lincoln hoped would be able to continue the financial genius Chase had shown in saving the Union economy until then…

…as election day neared, Lincoln could only stare out over the recently occupied Washington and wonder whether he would be in the same office that time next year, ready to continue the war against the Confederacy.” - Snakes and Ladders: The Lincoln Administration and America’s Darkest Hour, Hillary Saunders, Scattershot Publishing, 2003

----
As a general note, more regarding the politicking in 1862 and 1863 can be found in chapters 75, 84 and 91. I also apologize as my lack of photoshop skills means I can't really make a good Republican 1864 poster!

1] See Chapters 28 and 29 for the military disasters of August 1862.

2] One of the problems OTL for the Democratic Party was that Valladingham had almost free reign to write the platform, which meant the original platform was a pure peace document. Here you have two men who are from both sides doing their best to hammer out a compromise solution.

3] "Resolved, the ultimate surrender of land, through no fault of the American people, must be disputed and resisted in full scope by the choice of patriotic and honorable men, with the ultimate end of surrendering as little advantage to the nation as possible, and that proud Americans will remain under the flag of their birth by virtue of negotiation and good surveyance."

4] The biggest change here is the removal of the word “immediate” in exchange for “all efforts” which sounds less peace grabbing as agreed by the delegates. The addition of “surrender of honor and prestige” is an obvious rejoinder to the Treaty of Rotterdam. They have no intention of repudiating the treaty, but they want to dispute the Maine boundary as much as possible.

5] Also true historically! No guesses for who that is aimed against. The Radical Democracy Party also proposed a single term limit on presidents, but they don’t do so here to soften their more radical ideas in the platform. Quite the outlier for the era in terms of what they proposed in fact!

 

[EnglishCanuck]

The campaign of 1864 is being written and should be up by next weekend! Then I'll be breezing through some military odds and sods and the end of 1864 will be upon us and we shall see what the rest of the world has been up to!

 

[TheRockofChickamauga]

So excited when I saw this posted. Interesting ticket you have assembled with Lincoln and Rousseau. Lovell Rousseau is an underutilized alternate history figure, in my mind, so it is good to see him get some spotlight in as quality a TL as this. I'm at the edge of my seat to see if Uncle Abe is returned to office.

 

[Gentleman Johnny]

I honestly hope Lincoln isn't reelected. I think it would be more interesting to see a McClellan presidency & see how he navigates attempted to make peace peace. Would be interesting to see him have to continue the war and see how he pursues the war differently from Lincoln.

Anyway, I have a feeling Lincoln will be reelected & the war will continue.​

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

Anyway, I have a feeling Lincoln will be reelected & the war will continue.​

Hopefully, I have said this already but I don't see many pardons being granted here given Lincoln and his cabinet will say the reason the US lost against the British and French is because of their rebellion, so most likely the top brass of the South will be exterminated and the middle and lower ranks will be the one lefts without TOO many being hanged from the gallows.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

So excited when I saw this posted. Interesting ticket you have assembled with Lincoln and Rousseau. Lovell Rousseau is an underutilized alternate history figure, in my mind, so it is good to see him get some spotlight in as quality a TL as this. I'm at the edge of my seat to see if Uncle Abe is returned to office.

Out of all the possible picks in Wrapped in Flames, I did decide that Rosseau made the most sense. As a Kentuckian he commands respect and signals that, no matter what, Lincoln is not about to forget the border states. He was quite mercurial, but a loyal man to the Union, and may have a place in the post war world of prominence. He does deserve it, as he would have been a boon in the post-war army. It was a shame he died in 1869, but he probably won't here! Thank you for all the praise!

Looking forward to catching up with your work!

I honestly hope Lincoln isn't reelected. I think it would be more interesting to see a McClellan presidency & see how he navigates attempted to make peace peace. Would be interesting to see him have to continue the war and see how he pursues the war differently from Lincoln.

Anyway, I have a feeling Lincoln will be reelected & the war will continue.​

Hopefully, I have said this already but I don't see many pardons being granted here given Lincoln and his cabinet will say the reason the US lost against the British and French is because of their rebellion, so most likely the top brass of the South will be exterminated and the middle and lower ranks will be the one lefts without TOO many being hanged from the gallows.

As ever I keep future events close to the chest

We should be wrapping up 1864 before the end of the year if I keep my current momentum going - with a break around Christmas. Then I intend to dive right into 1865 with a vengeance!

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

Out of all the possible picks in Wrapped in Flames, I did decide that Rosseau made the most sense. As a Kentuckian he commands respect and signals that, no matter what, Lincoln is not about to forget the border states. He was quite mercurial, but a loyal man to the Union, and may have a place in the post war world of prominence. He does deserve it, as he would have been a boon in the post-war army. It was a shame he died in 1869, but he probably won't here! Thank you for all the praise!

Looking forward to catching up with your work!




As ever I keep future events close to the chest

We should be wrapping up 1864 before the end of the year if I keep my current momentum going - with a break around Christmas. Then I intend to dive right into 1865 with a vengeance!

Looking forward to it as always!

 

[The Gunslinger]

It looks me like the Radicals are going to be the most dangerous to Lincoln, I think just by existing they're going to push votes to the Democrats, and they're also going to bleed off the most zealous of the Republicans. Lincoln was very wise to not raise the ire of the remaining slave states with that party stirring the pot.
It's going to be a nail biter of an election.

 

[TheKnightIrish]

I really like Lovell Rousseau! Glad to see he is getting more of an airing.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

It looks me like the Radicals are going to be the most dangerous to Lincoln, I think just by existing they're going to push votes to the Democrats, and they're also going to bleed off the most zealous of the Republicans. Lincoln was very wise to not raise the ire of the remaining slave states with that party stirring the pot.
It's going to be a nail biter of an election.

The danger of a Radical split was always an issue. Historically the Radical Democracy Party was trying to use their mere threat of existing to force Lincoln's hand in a more radical direction. With Lincoln's political capital he used OTL to pass the 13th Amendment having instead been used up to pass the Treaty of Rotterdam, he has to be extra careful with domestic opinion considering how the treaty was received. The Radicals now really want to force Lincoln in that direction, so the party is, while about as popular as OTL, they are getting feeling that they must try and shove things in a direction which is more radical, whether or not that might be better done later in Lincoln's term or not. This of course suits the Copperhead faction just fine.

I really like Lovell Rousseau! Glad to see he is getting more of an airing.

Always glad to bring out more characters that didn't get enough airing to the forefront! Hopefully the others I bring forward will bring just as much excitement!

 

[Young Augustus5598]

I’ve always found the idea of a McClellan victory very interesting when it comes to options for the Civil War to end in Alternate History. The really interesting thing in this timeline though, is if McClellan wins and they aren’t able to secure peace would McClellan really be the guy to lead the Union to victory? He’d certainly target commanders he has issues with so we’d likely see Grant, Hooker, and company all lose their jobs at the earliest opportunity but at the same time Fitzjohn Porter would be an interesting officer to see returned to grace. Ultimately, regardless of who actually wins, I don’t think either side will attain a majority in Congress which will make the next session interesting.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

I’ve always found the idea of a McClellan victory very interesting when it comes to options for the Civil War to end in Alternate History. The really interesting thing in this timeline though, is if McClellan wins and they aren’t able to secure peace would McClellan really be the guy to lead the Union to victory? He’d certainly target commanders he has issues with so we’d likely see Grant, Hooker, and company all lose their jobs at the earliest opportunity but at the same time Fitzjohn Porter would be an interesting officer to see returned to grace. Ultimately, regardless of who actually wins, I don’t think either side will attain a majority in Congress which will make the next session interesting.

I think that a McClellan presidency in any alt-Civil War TL is interesting personally. The very makeup of the Democratic Party in 1864 was one which had a vision that, while not being exactly in line with more conservative Republicans, was one that wanted as much as possible to keep the status quo of 1860 alive. That and, McClellan being the youngest president to ever sit the White House, would be quite interesting. Almost all of McClellan's life was spent in the military or in civilian business, and very little in politics. True he had many political friends, but that did not necessarily make McClellan himself a good politician. In truth, from what I've read, his rather uncompromising attitude and personal sense of honor would mean he would most likely wind up having an issue with being a deal maker or working well with those he disagreed with. He also hated the Radical Republicans, who returned the sentiment. Not the most ideal circumstances.

In Wrapped in Flames, you're right that he'd most likely try and address wrongs done to him during 1863. He'd certainly want to reinstate officers who had supported him, while trying to get one over on those who wronged him. What he and the Radicals think of one another couldn't be printed in the presses I tell you that!

The election will be a bitter one regardless of who wins here.

 

[Ironshark]

seeking future employment opportunities”

not really wrong tho is he?

 

[EnglishCanuck]

not really wrong tho is he?

Technically fair! He doesn't quite specify where (or what house) those employment opportunities are!

 

[Pax_Nihil]

I have no qualms with this update and I have to go look up this Rousseau fellow I know nothing about.....

 

[EnglishCanuck]

I have no qualms with this update and I have to go look up this Rousseau fellow I know nothing about.....

I can cheerfully guarantee many new faces in Washington post-war. Some you'll know, some who died OTL, and some which I hope will pleasantly surprise people. As a hint, don't expect anything resembling our OTL 1868 election!