"The Footsteps of Illustrious Men"- USA GC AAR

stynlan: Indeed, but a failed center often breeds radical politics.

RGB: Me too

Anarcho Liberal: Socialism,or at least a pseudo-socialism will come into play within the next 40 year.

Ayeshteni: Yeah, i do love Vic. Rev, especially the new industrialization system. The US became the most industrial nation in the world, but I didn't have to build a single factory myself.

Rensslaer: The West has the advantage of not being the North or the South, which makes it slightly less evil to both.

Away Down South
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Thrust into power by the majority vote of the people, the American party set to work. Given the slim numbers of American Party loyalists in the upper echelons of American political power, President Conrad was forced to cross party lines to form his cabinet. The seemingly betrayed Washington Hunt was named Secretary of State, but only with the concession that Democratic Party loyalist Thomas Hart Benton was named Secretary of the Treasury and Virginia Whig Thomas Walker Gilmer was named Secretary of War. John J. Crittenden, a highly qualified lawyer and public servant, was named Attorney General and George Bancroft was named Secretary of the Navy.

With his cabinet secured, Conrad turned his attention to the plans he had established many years ago. As Governor of Louisiana, Conrad had watched his militia march to war in Mexico and come back in a shambles. Thirty percent of the casualties from the first Mexican American war had been from Louisiana. Now Conrad would have his chance for revenge. The Mexicans had been building troops all across the US border, ostensibly for defense. However when Mexican troops once again marched on the Free City of Austin, President Conrad had reason to enact his revenge. Antonio López de Santa Anna, President for the 4th time, led the Army of Mexico straight for the Texan city, and the US was ready.


The 2nd Mexican-American War

Conrad allowed his Vice President to enact a plan he had devised, in part with General Scott, to march. There was to be a four pronged attack. One strike was to swing through California, ‘liberating’ the lands that rightfully belonged to America. Another was to drive south from Colorado into the lands to the North-West of Mexico. The other two attacks would drive through the lands formerly of Texas and meet up to drive deep into Mexico. The attack would use America’s technical and numerical superiority to outmaneuver the Mexican forces and drive them back in disarray. One decisive battle in Texas would decide the fate, or so thought President Conrad. In the words of Secretary Benton of Missouri, a staunch expansionist, this was to be a war of “American liberation, not conquest.”

General Anthony Hopkinson was the first to act, marching the Dragoons south. He was accompanied by the regiment’s former commander, Vice President Heinz, and on August 19th, 1850 he moved south from the rail station in Junction, Oregon, a town of 400, towards a small town called Eureka in California. Charles D. Craven commanded four regiments in Louisiana and led the assault into south Texas, with his final objective being the bloodied grounds of San Antonio. General Douglas Farr, a daring young cavalier from Virginia, led another force south from Colorado towards North Texas in October. Finally young General Ambrose Burnsides led the main thrust under the supervision and command of General Scott into Dallas to drive the main Mexican force away from the Free City of Austin.


The Battle of Dallas

By the time Burnsides, known for his caution, arrived, the Mexicans had mostly fled and the city was easily encircled and ‘liberated’. Shortly thereafter, San Antonio fell to Craven and Farr arrived to reinforce the main push. Burnsides, Farr and Craven then crossed the Rio Grande and took the war to the Mexicans, all the while facing only minor resistance from the defending forces. By 1852, the Mexicans had been driven out of California, and the combined US Armies had reached San Juan del Rio in central Mexico. It seemed that the war would be over in a matter of months.

However, in March the Mexicans struck back. Even as General Craven marched towards Vera Cruz, the Mexicans deployed men to drive the Americans out of California. Heinz and Hopkinson suddenly found themselves attacked from all sides by over three times their number. General Ampudia, a Mexican general, organized a defense of the center of Mexico, catching the over confident Americans by surprise, while Admiral Canedo ordered his fleet to put to sail, hoping to damage the American fleet off the coast of Mexico. Canedo’s decision was brave, but foolish, as the American fleet far outnumbered the Mexicans and soon the fleet limped its way back into the harbor. This victory was overshadowed the sudden arrival of the Mexican Army from Mexico City. War was about to begin in earnest.


General Ambrose Burnsides

RGB: Why ever would you think that Mexico is hurt, but certainly not down and out yet.

stnylan: A correct assumption

Vincent Julien: Thanks!

~~

The Cost of War
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The Mexican forces were seemingly scattered, but the Americans were far less stable. In a matter of months they had drive all the way to the heart of Mexico, without ensuring the proper channels of supply and communication. Suddenly the Mexicans were upon them. Scott, who was commanding from the rear at the head of a cavalry regiment, was driven back by twice as many Mexicans led by General Ampudia. By May of 1852, the long supply line of US troops was threatened by Mexican forces. General Craven split his forces, sending Burnsides north with half his army to ensure the Mexicans did not trap the American army.

This began what was known as ‘The Long Retreat’. American troops made a slow march back up the coast of Mexico, battling small Mexican forces the entire way. It was a long, slow and expensive march under heavy harassment. By June of 1853, the Mexicans had pushed the Americans all the way back to the Rio Grande. President Conrad was infuriated. He recalled Vice President Hienz, and replaced General Craven with General G.W. Getty. Getty called upon the young generals Farr, Burnsides and Hopkinson to reorganize the defenses of Texas. Hopkinson was replaced in California by Colonel Francis Engle Patterson, who was tasked by Getty to “secure the West Coast of America” with an extra twenty thousand men.


Col. Patterson

General Burnsides was ordered to delay the Mexicans on the far bank of the Rio Grande. Monclova was to serve as his headquarters. Even as General Farr and Colonel Patterson were able to isolate small portions of the Mexican army (Farr in East Texas, Patterson in southern California), Burnsides was faced with twelve divisions of Mexicans under General Juan Nepomuceno Almonte. The two day long battle ended with an American withdrawal under heavy fire across the Rio Grande. General Jose Orozco took a large number of Almonte’s force and cross over the river to capture the city of San Antonio, and the Americans were unable to hold them off.

The US Army was in a shambles all across the Southern border. Blame was quickly turning from the troops to the government. It was the American Party that had so loudly called for war, and it was this American war that was costing the lives of so many Americans. As the troops settled in for the winter, and the American people settled in for the election of 1854, a 32 year old American Party loyalist was to give the war a reborn life. Colonel Don Carlos Buell petitioned President Conrad to send him to the front. With the failure of Burnsides, Conrad agreed and sent Buell to Louisiana with 4 divisions of men, ready to march into Texas and into war.


An older Don Carols Buell

RGB: Not so hot, no. This was the third or fourth time I'd ever played the US, and the Mexican American war always seemed tougher than it should have been. But thats in part because im not very good at these games

Ayeshteni: Indeed I will, in part because I have my own version of the Alamo up coming. its never fun to be on the recieving end of defeat like that.

stnylan: Its certainly not the impact the American Party hoped to have, but the first four years will pale in comparison to what comes next.

Vincent Julien:What an amusing expression , don't worry. The true might of the US War machine will soon be unleashed.

Director: Shoring up the defense is #1, the driving the Mexicans back by sheer strength. Scott's loyalties to the Whigs, in my universe, have been slightly tested by the abject failure of the Whigs over the last 15 years or so. Besides, the American Party knows that Scott is still a powerful man, ousting him would be a bold move for a party already hurting.

Update soon

~~

Manifest Destiny and the Election of 1854
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As Colonel Patterson marched his army east from California to cut off the Baja Peninsula and drive into central Mexico; the Mexicans slowly halted their advance. Texas was too wide and to full of antagonists for the Mexican army to find success. Only General Alphonso Canedo (Brother to the failed Admiral) found success. Canedo swept into South Texas and seized the town of Corpus Christi, trapping Douglas Farr in the nearby town of Kingsville. Farr had been transferred south to hold the coast, but with the fierce fighting further north, Farr was given only a remnant of an army. Thus trapped, he had no choice but to fight his way out.

Canedo was caught unprepared as Farr exited his small fort and drove his army North-East, hoping to reach the shore and contact the fleet. Under heavy artillery fire and dangerous weather, Farr led his bold charge. At the head of 16 thousand men, Farr blitzed through the Mexican lines and drove towards the coast. He managed to drive the Mexicans out of Corpus Christi and send word to the Navy. However, the tides denied naval access to the town and its fort. Thus, Farr had traded one prison for another. The Mexicans surrounded the town, and this time there was to be no escape. Farr was killed in the first moments of the assault, as he led a counter charge with his cavalry. The daring Virginian was but the first of thousands, as all the US troops were killed by the Mexicans once the fort was taken.


Defeat in Texas

It was a galvanizing defeat. Pictures of General Douglas Farr sprouted all over the US. Suddenly, Farr, Texas and Kingsville became American Party rallying cries. Whenever President Conrad would give a speech, he would end with a call to “Remember Farr, Remember Kingsville!” It was a massacre that sparked a new furor of anti-Mexican feelings. The American Party was proud to remind people that these Mexicans were Catholics, and rebels and traitors. They were trying to inflict the Pope on America, or so many American Party loyalists said. The United States wanted vengeance.

General Burnsides and the newly appointed Colonel Don Carlos Buell, took the initiative. Bolstered by 6 divisions of reserves, the two commanders devised a plan to drive the Mexicans back. Burnsides, in stark contrast to his usual caution, charged south towards the coast, all the while staying on the far bank of the Rio Grande. Perhaps under orders from General Scott, Burnsides marched without waiting for supplies or reinforcements, he knew he had to reach the coast quickly. Buell meanwhile took over command of American troops fighting near San Antonio, and successfully drove off general Almonte. With Almonte reeling, Buell drove south, his men in perfect order, to meet General Canedo on the field where Farr lay slain. Canedo, seeing this threat, turned to flee, but was trapped by Burnsides on the far bank. Surrendering his army, Canedo left the field in disgrace. Only General Joseph Morales stood to fight the Americans, and was summarily destroyed.


Texas turns

It is at this point that the Election of 1854 should be examined. As 53 gave way to 54, the American Party was reeling. Few domestic changes had been made, and all the energy and focus of the nation was being expelled in a fruitless war in the South. Charles Magill Conrad, how had ridden disunion into power, was now faced with some of his own. Many within the party wondered aloud of Conrad was worthy of his position. This changed when he took the death of Farr in stride. The constant questions and ripping editorials turned into praise for his determination to defeat the vile enemy of the South and liberate the lands that are rightfully American.

The Whigs were all but destroyed. Only in New England did they exist in any good number. In Virginia and the South they had been driven into the waiting hands of the Democrats, with some rare exceptions. In the West they had taken to a new party, born in opposition to the American Party’s racial and economic policies. These ‘Republicans’ took hold of many lower elections in the Ohio Valley states. Therefore it was not surprising that Daniel Webster, the aged Whig politician, was able to garner a lot of support. The failed experiment of Josiah Quincy Jr was cast aside in favor of a traditional politician. Webster was able to court one of the last true Southern Whigs, William Alexander Bell (who had run against Quincy) to act as his running mate.


Benjamin Fitzpatrick

The Democrats still sat staunchly in the South. Many Old Southerners felt betrayed by the swing of Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee and Louisiana to the American Party. These new Southerners had defeated the Democrats in 1850, and now the Democrats wanted to return the favor. So, to achieve that end, they chose a staunch Democratic candidate. Benjamin Fitzpatrick, of Alabama, carried the nomination over the head of John Tyler. For his Vice President he selected a dark horse candidate, William Dunn Moseley, the first governor of Florida, was chosen as his running mate.

The Republicans, being a so newly minted party, decided against running a candidate for fear that a loss would stain their party. They did run many gubernatorial candidates in the West and Tennessee. Instead they held back their support for a President, hoping to influence the election in the way they saw fit. This plan backfired with the death of Douglas Farr and the loss of Corpus Christi. Thousands of former Whigs were outraged over what they saw as a massacre. Suddenly it was the duty of American to win this war, despite politics. So, thanks to the lack of action on the part of the Republicans, the Mid-West went American once again. The true coup came in Virginia, where Douglas Farr became a hero. The Cavalier was a Virginia Military Institute graduate who became a symbol of the struggle. Suddenly the plantation owners found themselves out muscled by the regular men of Virginia. The Old Dominion was dangerously close to going for Conrad.


Daniel Webster and William Alexander Bell- 85
Benjamin Fitzpatrick and William Dunn Moseley- 57
Charles M. Conrad and Martin Hienz- 143

RGB: Wars always help the incumbant, unless you are loosing that is.

stnylan: And you wont see any more of them I do believe. The era of 3 parties may soon come to an end.

Vincent Julien: Closest election in history? May well be.

~~

Struggles at Home
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In August of 1855, three events would send shockwaves through the country. First, a train wreck in Victoria; second, the collapse of a gold mine, and finally a murder in Washington. Each event sent tidal waves through the nation, at a time when the leading party in the nation balanced on the edge of a knife. The first was a train wreck in the province of Columbia, formerly run by the British in Canada. A train en route to the west coast city of Vancouver, which acted as the westernmost end of the transcontinental railroad, crashed in a small Métis village on the track. Ten Métis civilians were killed in the crash. When the Métis mobilized and called upon the provincial government for reform. The provincial governor, William M. Evarts, reacted sharply. He ordered the small military presence mobilized and sent to the village to suppress the Métis revolt.

His plan backfired, and violence erupted. The Métis drove the military force back without casualties. When the Métis returned, they knew it meant war. Joseph Brousse, who moved to Columbia with his family to escape the British, sent emissaries to British and Métis communities throughout the North-West. Soon British colonists who had been forgotten when the lands went American were contacted by the Métis, and they joined in the revolt. Soon the entire North-West region was in flames. The American government now had to risk the loss of all West coast rail lines. The final boot landed when a group of religious leaders on the island of Victoria rose up and began calling for a Columbian nation. Troops would have to be recalled from Mexico and sent to the region to deal with the revolts.


William M. Evarts, Colonial-Governor of Victoria

The second incident came in Tennessee. In the coalmines of Southern Tennessee, a large number of whites had left for war. In their place went slaves owned by many of the wealthier plantation owners. The use of slaves in the coal mines sent profits through the roof, as safety became even less of a concern. However, a collapse in one of the largest mines led to the death of over 300 slaves. When Andrew Johnson, Governor of Tennessee failed to react in time, the slaves throughout the state revolted. Over 7 thousand slaves in southern Kentucky refused to go into the mines to work. This non violent protest was met with guns, and when the slaves fled, the whites celebrated. In their haze, the slaves broke into an armory and relieved the city of thousands of weapons. Before long the slaves were driving their masters out of the city. War had arrived in Tennessee.

This act was sensationalized in the national media, rightfully so. It was the first great slave revolt in the US since Nat Turner. Soon the revolt spread to South Carolina. State militias were called out all across the South. The only city in the South that did not order out troops was the capital itself. However, when a prominent free black was lynched in down town Washington, only a few hundred yards from the White House, it was too much. Blacks took to the streets of Alexandria and Washington. The White House was put under siege. President Conrad was not in D.C. at the time, nevertheless the nation was shocked. All that was supposed to be safe was at risk. With all the troops deployed, it would take days before order could be restored to the capital and to Kentucky and South Carolina, where state militias were struggling against the slave insurgencies.


Isham Harris

It was at this time that Tennessee politician Isham Harris, and South Carolina representative William Henry Gist began to speak of the succession of Southern states. Though few believed or supported these ideas publicly, many staunch Southern Democrats began to wonder if the North and the West weren’t leading the country astray. This upheaval in Slave-Master relations was deemed a direct result of the meddling by northern Abolitionists. While the violence was a massive blow to the confidence of American Party loyalists, especially those in the West, no one openly supported Harris and Gists’ calls for separation from the Union.