Wrapped in Flames: The Great American War and Beyond

[Ficboy]

Well I can say for certain it deals with

Spoiler

REDACTED

If Washington falls which may or may not happen in the next chapter then it will be a major turning point in the Great American War and not only serve as a devastating defeat to the Union but a glorious triumph for the Confederacy and Britain. Having the enemy's capital in their hands gives the Anglo-Canadians and Confederates a strong hand in peace negotiations against the Americans.

 

[Icedaemon]

Eh, I really dislike the narrative of the US developing a 'stab in the back' myth from this scenario. It just doesn't make sense since the UK was not their ally nor did it have any kind of binding treaty that would keep it from interfering. A 'stab in the back' would need something domestic.

That's rather what I meant. The Union Army, with far more manpower at hand and technological parity with the secessionists even after the latter got British supplies to bring them up to said parity, is being let down by politicians. If McCellan's removal and house arrest or the chaos which ensued from this change in leadership contributes strongly to the loss of the capitol and the army on the Potomac, then there would be a real sense that the Union lost because of politicians screwing over the generals, no?

 

[Ficboy]

That's rather what I meant. The Union Army, with far more manpower at hand and technological parity with the secessionists even after the latter got British supplies to bring them up to said parity, is being let down by politicians. If McCellan's removal and house arrest or the chaos which ensued from this change in leadership contributes strongly to the loss of the capitol and the army on the Potomac, then there would be a real sense that the Union lost because of politicians screwing over the generals, no?

Perhaps. Then again the Union could pull something unexpected like miraculously beating back the Confederacy at Washington DC which might happen in the next chapter by EnglishCanuck. Any American victory in their own home turf might be able to at least score up a few victories but given how powerful the British are not to mention having to fight a war on two fronts its has short term beneficial effects. Long term not so much.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

That's rather what I meant. The Union Army, with far more manpower at hand and technological parity with the secessionists even after the latter got British supplies to bring them up to said parity, is being let down by politicians. If McCellan's removal and house arrest or the chaos which ensued from this change in leadership contributes strongly to the loss of the capitol and the army on the Potomac, then there would be a real sense that the Union lost because of politicians screwing over the generals, no?

McClellan would certainly say so! Though he's hardly unbiased...

But you're going to find that the politicians of many stripes are going to all be mad at each other about something as the war winds down. Let's just say that unlike after the War of 1812, there's won't be an Era of Good Feelings, much the opposite in fact. The election of 1864 won't be pretty, and man the election of 1868 is really going to resemble one from 8 years previous...

 

[Ficboy]

McClellan would certainly say so! Though he's hardly unbiased...

But you're going to find that the politicians of many stripes are going to all be mad at each other about something as the war winds down. Let's just say that unlike after the War of 1812, there's won't be an Era of Good Feelings, much the opposite in fact. The election of 1864 won't be pretty, and man the election of 1868 is really going to resemble one from 8 years previous...

The elections of 1864 will likely result in the demise and fall of the Republican Party from American politics given that they would be seen as responsible for their nation's defeat in the Great American War which is likely going to happen anyway given the difficulties of fighting a two-front war between a full-blown insurrection and the world's premier superpower of the 19th century. The American people will start blaming the Confederates and Anglo-Canadians a lot though it won't be an eternal grudge based on what we've seen in the late 18th century and early 19th century in the previous conflicts. Since it will be the Era of Bad Feelings as you pointed out my guess is that once the next chapter deals with the Siege of Washington ending in a Confederate victory war-weariness and panic will effect the North and not in a good way.

 

[ReconGuy02]

I certainly can see stab-in-back myth going over with officer corps and veterans of War later, in late 1860's and 1870's
Of course, provided that Union loses war

 

[Herodotus]

Hi there, I'm all caught up and just want to say that this is a fantastic timeline and i'm greatly enjoying it. As much as I'm thoroughly enjoying reading about the great american war, can't wait to see also how the post war world will look like, particularly the evolution of the US minus the South (assuming Confederate independence) and Canada/British Empire

 

[Ficboy]

I can't wait to see how EnglishCanuck gives us an overview of the Siege of Washington, the end of the Great American War, the 1864 elections, the Era of Bad Feelings, post-war Canadian and Confederate politics and events in Mexico and Europe.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Chapter 69: An Army of Relief​

In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect; - Henry V, Act-III, Scene-I

“The Roosevelt family is perhaps one of the most spectacular in American political history. Giving the nation three presidents, generals and numerous educators, governors and cabinet officers it has had an influence through both branches far beyond its humble New England origins…

Though Thee Roosevelt was an avid supporter of the Union war effort, turning his not inconsiderable funds to raising men and material in his home state and city, his overt support in 1861 was marred by family crisis. His wife was an open Southern sympathizer. Her two brothers James and Irvine Bulloch, had joined the Confederate States, and so during the war she was terrified for them. Though James was thought to be relatively safe in England, Irvine was often on the front lines with the Confederate Navy, and so Martha was eternally scared for him. The death of her brother Daniel in 1861 merely added to her distress. This had prompted Thee to remain at home, even in early 1862 as war with the British opened.

At one event in March of 1862 Martha was overheard to make an “impolitic” comment to Sarah Hoadly that she “hoped English intervention might bring this beastly war to a conclusion so all the men may go home, Union or no Union,” which Thee had to work very hard to suppress. However, rumours of a ‘thorn in the rose bush’ would haunt Thee for the remainder of his days. The row between the two apparently extended well into the spring, especially as the blockade began to take hold and Martha apparently refused to speak to her husband outside of social occasions for an entire month after the event.

It would appear that Thee however, struck back at his wife when he joined the ‘Urban Brigade’ a unit of infantry which was detailed to protect New York from a British landing. Having been raised to defend the city against a prospective British landing, his wife could not openly object to his service, and her husband increased his social standing by serving and advocating against the Democratic State government of Milliard Fillmore and it’s stance on the war…

Thee’s unit was activated as part of the X Corps under Sanford’s division in response to Lee’s invasion. Thee joined his unit and prepared to march into Maryland. His wife did not see him off from New York, unlike so many others…” American Dynasty: The Roosevelts, Amelia McCulloch, Princeton University, 2012

Thee and Mittie Roosevelt​

“When Thomas took command of the putative “Army of the Chesapeake” it was a supremely disorganized, and demoralized force.

Consisting as it did of the XII Corps (now derisively known to many as the “Flying Dutchman”) the single division of New York Volunteers under Charles W. Sandford and Thomas’s own two divisions under Robert McCook and Thomas L. Crittenden, he had only some 35,000 men to function as an army of relief for Washington. Though some regiments were peeled off from the defences of other cities, and fresh, green, regiments were fed into his own force, it was hardly a force as powerful as the unified Army of the Potomac which had fought Lee in the desperate fighting of April and May.

Arriving at Baltimore Thomas had found a city largely in a state of panic. Streams of refugees had clogged the roads out of the city, heading north towards perceived safety. Meanwhile, inside the city Confederate sympathizers had taken opportunities to commit acts of sabotage, arson and try to rally one another to ‘cast the Federals out’ as though that were a practical strategy. Some confused riots did occur on the 27th of May, though how much of that was caused by actual Confederate sympathizers rather than civilians reacting to the general panic in the region after the near destruction of the naval squadron is open to debate, but it was a bloody day. The final tally from the ‘Baltimore Insurrection’ as the papers would call it, was four Federal troops dead and sixteen rioters killed and four more suspected rebel arsonists hung with over one hundred wounded on both sides.

Lockwood’s harsh methods of restoring order, and the worrying presence of British ships off North Point, meant he could sacrifice no soldiers for Thomas’s army. There were constant alarms of a British landing, and their ships traded shot and shell with the city's fortifications almost daily. Thomas, recognizing he needed Baltimore secure in his rear, agreed that he would need to protect the city.

Lockwood would gain infamy and acclaim for putting down the "insurrection"​

This however put Thomas in a quandary. With the British squadron in his rear, he had to reasonably fear that they might make a landing and further disrupt his ability to drive off Lee’s army. That his own army was still outnumbered by Lee to a startling degree (it was said he possessed some 120,000 men still) made him ever more anxious.

Some positive news was received at the start of July as Pennsylvania had managed to shake free some 4,000 militiamen to augment his forces, while another 5,000 were on duty across the frontier with Maryland to ill effect as Confederate raiders and foragers came liberally across the states borders to carry off supplies to the Confederate army. Thomas however, found the Pennsylvania recruits next to useless as they were mainly armed with shotguns, fowling rifles, and the occasional musket. The New Yorkers he had received were, thanks to that city's priority for blockade runners, much better armed. Though the extra men were welcome, he did not see what use he might make of them other than to protect his supply lines…” To Arms!: The Great American War, Sheldon Foote, University of Boston 1999.

“With the “Army of the Chesapeake” assembling in and around Baltimore, Thomas’s first act was to make contact with the Army of the Potomac in Washington. This was no easy feat. Stuart’s cavalry effectively controlled the countryside and ranged far and wide, carrying off property and any unfortunate negroes who were found at large. Though there had been limited skirmishing, Thomas’s own cavalry screens, consisting as they did of the stragglers from the Army of the Potomac’s cavalry division and some of Thomas’s own, were hardly up to the task of breaching Stuart’s cavalry screen.

What he needed then was a spy, someone who could make contact with the besieged city, and return with information. Two Maryland loyalists who attempted to infiltrate the lines failed, with one being hung as a spy. The only information Thomas learned was that the army still held out, but for how much longer, none could say.

It was only then that he received the services of Corporal Frank Thompson. The corporal of the 2nd Michigan had a glowing report from his superiors, and had been assigned to the staff of General Kearny, but had been separated from her own men in the retreat from Washington and cut off from returning. Instead he had been assigned to the mass of officers and men coalescing around Baltimore. When he was discovered, he made the offer to run the lines, claiming he had done so before. Thomas, with nothing to lose, asked Thompson to do what others had failed to do.

Thankfully, he had stumbled upon, not Frank Thompson, but Sarah Edmonds. Though New Brunswick born, Edmonds was New Englander by assimilation, having fled the land of her birth to seek a better life. Having found it easier to travel as a man and find work, she had adopted the “Frank Thompson” persona as a necessity. Enlisting with the 2nd Michigan, originally as a male nurse but then being appointed to the staff, she had played a part in Rappahannock Campaign and the battles of Mannassas. Having snuck across the lines more than once, she was confident she could do so again.

Adopting the guise of “Bridget O’Shea”, an Irish peddler woman, she easily infiltrated the Confederate lines trading trinkets and gossip. Sneaking across bearing a letter from General Thomas, she was accepted into Union lines. There she would gather the news of events in the city, the condition of the army, and take it back to Baltimore.” - The Siege of Washington, Jeremiah Dutton, University of Philadelphia, 1993

Sarah Edmonds​

“With the startling news of General Rosecrans elevation to commanding the Army of the Potomac, Thomas had to make a hard choice. To try and attack now, with whatever coordination the Army in Washington could provide, or wait and see whether more reinforcements could arrive. With the news from Philadelphia dispiriting, and the news on other fronts hardly any better, Thomas was forced to make the only decision he could have possibly made. He attacked…” To Arms!: The Great American War, Sheldon Foote, University of Boston 1999.

 

[Kurd Gossemer]

This is where the fun begins.

 

[generalurist]

Huh, so Washington may not be entirely doomed after all.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Huh, so Washington may not be entirely doomed after all.

Well at the very least, Lee is about to find himself between a Rock and a hard place...

 

[generalurist]

Well at the very least, Lee is about to find himself between a Rock and a hard place...

Robert E Lee vs the Rock of Chickamauga! This battle will be legendary! I am QUITE curious how those two generals would do in a face-off. Thomas was known for being a little slow to act, but here Lee still has Washington in his rear.

 

[Ironshark]

and so the the virginians face off !

the chad patriotic thomas vs the virgin traitor Lee.
..i bet washington is crying from the afterlife right now

 

[The Gunslinger]

That's a tough call for Thomas, and I can't say I envy him. If it goes poorly he probably bears the brunt of it and nearly all the blame (regardless of whether it's warranted).

Probably be the zenith of the war... and the biggest "what if" with McClellan still being in charge as opposed to Rosencrans.

You've done a great job of setting up so much drama with the lead up to the battle. Very well done.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Robert E Lee vs the Rock of Chickamauga! This battle will be legendary! I am QUITE curious how those two generals would do in a face-off. Thomas was known for being a little slow to act, but here Lee still has Washington in his rear.

That's a tough call for Thomas, and I can't say I envy him. If it goes poorly he probably bears the brunt of it and nearly all the blame (regardless of whether it's warranted).

Probably be the zenith of the war... and the biggest "what if" with McClellan still being in charge as opposed to Rosencrans.

You've done a great job of setting up so much drama with the lead up to the battle. Very well done.

Thank you very much! Took a lot of work to get to this point!

Now I'm really trying to write the battle to be as good as it can be! Gotta really try and get inside the heads of Lee, Rosecrans, and Thomas, with some substantial supporting characters to pad things out...

 

[SenatorChickpea]

Come on, Thomas! Give Virginia a general it should actually be proud of.

 

[HMS St.Lawrence]

I'm curious to see how this Great Virginian Rumble will unfold. Thomas of course is outnumbered (although not as much as he thinks), but he's a good commander and Lee has its back against Washigton's Walls, his room for manoeuvre might be limited… Yes that will be an interesting battle.

On a related note, does anyone knows if Thomas and Lee met after the war in OTL? I'm pretty sure in TTL after this one they would have a lot to talk about!

 

[Icedaemon]

Winning with quickly trained, inexperienced and badly equipped troops is a tall order, no matter the general's reputation. Add to that, the chaos, reorganisation and infighting in the veteran army they need to be able to coordinate with. Either the Army of the Chesapeake has the element of surprise in a major way, or this has all the ingredients of a major dixie victory.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Come on, Thomas! Give Virginia a general it should actually be proud of.

I'm curious to see how this Great Virginian Rumble will unfold. Thomas of course is outnumbered (although not as much as he thinks), but he's a good commander and Lee has its back against Washigton's Walls, his room for manoeuvre might be limited… Yes that will be an interesting battle.

On a related note, does anyone knows if Thomas and Lee met after the war in OTL? I'm pretty sure in TTL after this one they would have a lot to talk about!

Winning with quickly trained, inexperienced and badly equipped troops is a tall order, no matter the general's reputation. Add to that, the chaos, reorganisation and infighting in the veteran army they need to be able to coordinate with. Either the Army of the Chesapeake has the element of surprise in a major way, or this has all the ingredients of a major dixie victory.

The biggest thing I've been going over is the ground in question, Lee's dispositions against Washington, and trying to game how fast he could be alerted to an attack by Thomas. Meanwhile, I'm attempting to tease out Thomas's command style and see what he would end up doing to get ahead of Lee. It's proving to be some interesting reading! There should be a few surprises for people!