A House Demolished: A New England AAR

A brief update; I have edited the save game file. USA has released Columbia, California, Deseret, New England, and the Manhattan Commune. CSA has released Texas and Cherokee. No alliances or relations exist between any of these countries, with the exception of the USA/CSA war. I was going to have the USA be at war with all breakaway states, but realized two things: (1) The USA can only be in one war at a time (although I could edit the war in the save game) and (2) New England starts without any troops (and I do want to survive for a bit). So, we assume that the USA is in too much disarray and is too concerned with the CSA to try to retake other breakaway regions - for now.

Initial update (setting the scene) to follow.

V.

A House Demolished - Part the First

The year of our lord 1860 ended poorly for the American Union. On December 20, South Carolina seceded. The election of Abraham Lincoln appeared to ensure that the other southern states would follow. A raft of issues, slavery and economics the most prominent, was splitting the United States down the middle. There was still hope, though; perhaps war could be avoided, or at least would be over quickly. The New Year was bleak, but some fires of hope remained. Yet the dark year 1861 would prove to be far worse than the nightmares of most Americans.

Abraham Lincoln, traveling to his inaugural, was warned of possible assassins lurking in Baltimore. The President-elect disregarded the rumors, saying that no President could sneak through his own country and still be respected by the people. He fell in a hail of bullets near Baltimore harbor. In his pocket was found the draft of his inaugural statement. He was to speak to South Carolina, and to the other firebrands. He was trying to preserve the Union without a war. He was to say:

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."

The better angels began to fall quickly into hell.

The Vice President-elect, Hannibal Hamlin, was not the man that Lincoln was, or would have been. The rest of the Southern states quickly declared their secession, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana. Texas remained aloof, and a surprise Indian uprising in Oklahoma remained unsuppressed due to the larger battles looming. The free state of Cherokee arose in the midst of these fires.

On April 12, troops from South Carolina opened fire on Union troops garrisoning Fort Sumter, in Charleston harbor. President Hamlin declared the seceded states to be in insurrection, instituted a draft (in the hope of securing enough troops to end the war swiftly), and called for support from all loyal states. He would be quickly disappointed.

As Virginia and Arkansas joined the newly declared Confederate States of America, a quiet meeting was taking place in San Francisco. Men who felt little connection to the wars of the East, little love of Hamlin, the cold man from Maine, took positions of power and declared a California Republic in May. Hamlin threatened immediate war. Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, realizing they would bear the brunt of the fighting, and fearful of being caught between Hamlin and California, declared themselves to be Columbia in June (the other Colombia threatened immediate legal action for trademark infringement, but no one could agree on jurisdiction, and the matter was eventually dropped). In the meanwhile, North Carolina had seceded.

Faced with rebels and traitors on all fronts, Hamlin declared martial law. He had not the troops to face Columbia and California and the Confederacy, and so ordered all able-bodied men between 18 and 40, except in those at work in vital industries, to enter the Army. Red flags rose over Manhattan in response, as the workingmen threw down their tools, raised their guns, and declared a Marxist Commune. Both the country and Hamlin were coming apart at the seams.

In quiet Boston, Gideon Welles, Lincoln's choice for Secretary of the Navy and an old Connecticut man, met with the governors of New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and his home state. It was clear the Union was dying, that Hamlin was lost and desperate. With Marxists in New York and Copperheads throughout the Midwest and Illinois, it was also clear that New England boys would do most of the fighting and dying, and that New England gold would pour into the black hole of war.

It was a long and difficult meeting, but the outcome was inevitable and unanimous. On July 4, 1861, the New England states declared themselves independent of the Union. Gideon Welles was appointed interim President. At his inaugural speech on Boston Common, he said: "We cannot remain coupled to a drowning man, lest we be pulled under with him. We bear no malice toward our former countrymen, no matter which flag they now fly."

The American experiment with democracy and Union was dead. It had not survived a century.

First, an update: Since none of the breakaway states had militaries, it was deemed unwise to start them in a state of war with the Union. I also edited the save game to set US relations with the breakaway states at -200 (it was at +200, and on the first day I test ran the scenario, California and Deseret signed alliances with the US - not what I was after).

A couple requests for screenshots: I don't have a host site handy, but if someone has some ideas, let me know.

Events: I've never scripted events; if I think something is warranted, I'll edit the save game.

As for the plans of the Welles administration, I'll probably try to crush the Marxist menace (hopefully an easy and profitable kill) and then bring Vermont into the New England alliance. I'll also court a powerful neighbor (England, anyone) for a defesive alliance. Then we'll see. Expanding against the US, if they survive the Civil War will be tough. New England has always lived on the sea, and maybe overseas adventures are the way to go.

Hopefully I'll get to play the first few years tonight, get an economy going, build a military, etc.

Thanks for the expressions of interest.

V.

Stingray said:

I can syupport you with some limited storage space for your pics, just send them off to me and I'll upload them and give you the adress to link from.

Click to expand...

Mr. Ray, you are the man. After I get home and have a chance to take and scribble on a screenshot, I'll send it out to you.

Excelsior, indeed!

V.

[Edit] Oh, and I enabled private messages. Sorry about that. V.]

[This episode is dedicated to Stingray.]

Part the Second – The Lay of the Land

Welles fell silent, his inaugural address complete. The newly appointed poet laureate of New England, Emerson, stood to read his famous “Concord Hymn,” which some thought could be the new anthem of the Commonwealth (if a composer mad enough to set it to music could be found):

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood
And fired the shot heard round the world.”

The cannon on Boston Common, prepared yesterday to celebrate the birthday of the old union, fired five times to salute the five states of the Commonwealth of New England on its first birthday. Old Glory began its last trip down the flagpole. Welles began to tear up, and noticed through watery eyes that Generals Hooker and Howard and Admiral Foote stiffened and saluted the descending flag. The honor guard folded it into a triangle and carried it away to the sound of muffled drumming.

Then the flag of the Commonwealth leapt into the air, and the assembled crowd roared. Welles stood as tall as he could, the command staff saluted, and the emergency cabinet applauded. The deed was truly done, and there would be no going back.

An hour later, after the receiving line had been survived, Welles, his command staff and his cabinet (made up of the five State Governors) were in the Massachusetts State House (temporarily honored to be the national capitol), sitting around a map.

The Former United States, July 4, 1861

Israel Washburn, the Governor of Maine, whistled quiet through his teeth. “How did it ever come to this? How did we all fail so badly? Where is the Union my grandfather fought for?”

Nathaniel Berry of New Hampshire shook his head sadly. “Too late for those questions, my friend. Now we have to face the future. And the future,” he said, staring straight at the interim President, “includes a long, undefended border with that bastard from Vermont. How could he refuse to join us?”

Welles grimaced. “He told me he was a Union man, through and through, and would fight and die for that Union. What could I do?”

John Andrew of Massachusetts growled. “You should have arrested him while he was in Boston. The Green Mountain Men would have come over quickly without him.”

William Buckingham of Connecticut stood up and almost shouted, “Who cares for the some damn mountains and trees in Vermont! I have communards, or Marxians, or whatever the hell they are, trying to foment revolution in my factories! This god-damned commune must be destroyed before it can infect us!”

William Sprague of Rhode Island just shook his head and muttered quietly, “And for that we’ll need an army.”

Welles felt slightly sick. “Yes, an army. General Howard, General Hooker, what do we have?”

General Joseph Hooker cleared his throat. “We have nothing, sir, just some men with guns scattered across the countryside. It appears the common troops were still somewhat enamored of the Union, sir.”

Welles turned to Admiral Andrew Foote. “And a navy? Have we a navy?”

Foote looked down at his polished boots. “No sir, not as such.”

“Well then, damn it all, what do we have?”, shouted a florid Buckingham.

“We have industry,” said Sprague, “turning out lumber, and rifles, and ships, the latter two much in demand in the world.”

“Not enough,” mused Washburn, “not nearly enough.”

“But New York, under the reds,” Andrew noted, “has much more.”

“I am loathe, gentleman, to plunge us into conflict with our once-countrymen,” said Welles.

“Gideon, my friend,” said Buckingham, putting his meaty hand on Welles’ shoulder, “they claim themselves to be citizens of the working class, not citizens of the dead Union. They are not our countrymen.”

Welles sighed. “General Hooker, raise what troops you can. When they are ready, destroy this Commune in Manhattan.”

Hooker wrote out an order and shouted, “Colonel Sedgwick! If you please!” A younger officer strode into the room, snatched the order from Hooker’s hand, and left.

“And shall be build a navy, sir?” asked Foote anxiously.

“Not yet, not yet. First we need more industry. We need to build our own artillery. Providence has been depressed lately, no, my friend William?”, asked Welles.

“Indeed, Mr. President. As soon as the materials can be purchased, we can break ground for a factory.” Sprague looked pleased for the first time in the meeting.

“One last thing,” said Welles. “We need friends. Let us turn to the old world for a protector against the maddened Union. Governor Andrew, contact the British consul in Boston. We need to speak.”

“Yes, Mr. President.”

“Then may God Bless New England, gentlemen! Let us go to work.”

The room quickly cleared.

Out of Story Analysis

New England starts in a strong position economically, having both a small arms and clipper ship factory. In the first few years, I never went below 30000 in debt, and quickly build up a profitable economy.

My initial goals, as mentioned above, are to take Manhattan (for population), to build up a decent army, and to get England into a defensive alliance.

I have played through to the second election (the first one occuring almost immediately), and have achieved what I wanted to, so far. I've also learned an important lesson: The Union values Vermont a lot, and has a lot of troops to send at you even while fighting the CSA. I admit to one reload, as I did not want this AAR to end in 1864 with Union artillery shelling the Mass. State House.

Part the third, covering the history of New England to its second election, will follow soon.

V.