I: Who IS This Man!?
Edward Bradley
President of the 2nd Continental Congress
As the American Revolution, or Insurrection in some quarters, passed the point of no return the Continental Congress elected Edward Bradley
(see Note 1) as president. Bradley was born in Philadelphia in 1741. He'd participated as a junior member in the Stamp Act Congress. Parliament's coercive attempts to reassert control convinced him independence was America's only option.
He ordered George Washington, as commander of the Continental Army, to prepare plans to repel the expected Canadian invasion. He replied with Operation: Spider Web
Setting Fire to the Web
Spider Web called for a five-pronged attack on British holdings. The brilliant Prussian, Baron Friedrich von Steuben, would taken an all cavalry force into Indian territory and seize all British holdings he could find. Major General Charles Lee would do much the same in Canada.
General Nathaniel Greene struck northwest into Niagara. Once successful he'd either strike into Shawnee territory or, if needed, help with the attack on Quebec. Horatio Gates struck up through the Hudson River valley to attack Fort Ticonderoga, and so on to Montreal.
Washington himself would wait for General James Murray, the first British governor of Quebec who'd won prominence during the Seven Years War.
On January 27, 1773 the first battle of the Revolution was fought in the Adirondacks of northern New York. The British had similar ideas to their American counterparts: small armies to quickly seize the unfortified areas. Lee's cavalry surprised one thousand infantry. Learning from prisoners of a general advance against New York, he held position and waited for Gates.
General Gates met him in mid-February, and together they advanced on Fort Ticonderoga. There they met Major General James Inglis Hamilton. on March 5th. Gates outnumbered him two to one, but the Scotsman's defenses easily nullified the American advantage.
Far to the south, von Steuben encountered a small group of British raiders in the Appalachian Mountains. The harsh, rocky terrain of western Virginia defeated American cavalry, and in a series of running battles through March and April the Prussian retreated towards North Carolina.
The greatest battle would come on the shores of the northern Massachusetts
(Maine) territory. There General Washington, with twelve thousand infantry and fifteen hundred cavalry, met General Murray with twelve thousand mixed and twenty cannon on February 21.
Washington anchored his men between Penobscot Bay and Lake Megunticook, interspersing his cavalry. Murray replied with a general advance along the bay, while setting up artillery near Lake Megunticook protected by his cavalry. The cannon raked a murderous fire across the American line, and Washington's cavalry, led by Benjamin Lincoln, couldn't reform without disrupting the infantry currently fighting for its life against Murray's attack..
Around ten a.m. a detachment of infantry went after the cannon, only to run into the English cavalry. This attempt broke the American left flank, and cavalry poured into the gap rolling up the line.
By the end of the day, the Americans lost four thousand and Murray sent nine thousand prisoners, mostly wounded, to Halifax including General Washington.
(Army annihilated!)
On April 8, General Greene crushed one thousand defenders near Fort Niagara in Canada. However, Washington's destruction resulted in a change of plan. Murray already seized all of New Hampshire and now advanced into eastern New York
(Vermont.) Greene left behind a detachment of infantry under Colonel Fairfield to hold Niagara, then sent cavalry Colonel Sandwich north into Canada. Greene then retreated towards the Albany, New York where Gates was licking his wounds.
Two weeks later, General Hamilton caught up with him. The Battle of Albany promised to be a bloody draw, dirty street to street fighting, when suddenly General Murray appeared on the American flank.
Gates fled to Connecticut, ordering Greene and General Bridgewater, in charge of fresh recruits from New York and New Jersey, to meet him there. Upon arriving in Hartford he turned out the colony's cannon and hastily trained men in their use.
(10K infantry in NY, 30 cannon in CT).
Perhaps what happens next is owed to Colonel Sandwich's ride. In late April he advanced into Oshawa, and after fighting British allied Huron Indians took the city. The English west flank was as bare as the American east, and he had a free run to Hudson Bay.
Or perhaps it was the London and Bristol merchants furious over the American trade embargo levied in April. At any rate, having seized Albany General Murray gathered his forces and prepared to destroy Gates at Hartford. In reply, Gates prepared to abandon the city and instead make his stand at New York. As the two armies maneuvered through western Connecticut, President Bradley met with British ambassadors. The terms, while harsh, were better than the Americans had a right to expect.
At the price of New Hampshire and eastern New York, the Americans won their freedom.
Preparations
Congress had its fair share of fools, but most realized the British respite was but an attempt to lull them into a sense of false security, and sooner or later they'd want the rest of their colonies back. Though part of the treaty lifted the trade embargo against British merchants, Bradley actively encouraged American companies to compete with them in every city of the former colonies. The state sponsored American, National and Southern Trading Companies (based in Boston, Philadelphia and Charleston respectively) won their charters in '73, and monopolized colonial trade as early as August 1774. They then proceeded to push the Londoners out.
In July, the Netherlands became the first country to formally recognize American independence, signing an extensive (if short lived) non-aggression pact.
(RM) Three months later, US ambassador to France Benjamin Franklin announced he'd arranged to join their offensive/defensive alliance, consisting of France, Spain, the Palatinate, Helvetia and Parma.
The Spanish first resisted these upstarts, worried an American independence movement to lead to similar problems in New Spain. Bradley assured the Spanish ambassador America had no interest in causing trouble for their allies. The Spaniard demanded, as a sign of faith, access to American (meaning British) maps. Congress agreed.
(Spain asks to trade, May 1774)
America slowly recovered from her violent spat with Britain, however Army morale remained understandably low. Horatio Gates emerged as commander in chief when it became clear General Washington's injuries would keep him off the battlefield. He proposed the easiest way to restore the fledgling Army was a quick, easy, near bloodless war. Where could they find such a foe though?
Indian Wars
Colonel Sandwich, and later Colonel Fairfield as well fought Hurons near Fort Niagara. Suspicious the Iroquois might join any future attacks on American sovereignty, Congress opted for a preemptive strike. The fact this meant more land for New York and Pennsylvania, while opening up border areas for Virginia played well with the delegates from those powerful states. Through the spring of 1774, Gates moved his armies into position. On July 1, Congress authorized a general advance.
This wasn't a declared war: One did not bother with formalities against the native tribes populating America, and as such the French alliance wasn't only not asked to help, but didn't know about the fighting until mid-September.
On July 20, newly appointed General Sandwich arrived in Tuscarora and easily defeated the defenders. One week later Gates and Greene did the same. Total American losses for all three battles numbered less than three hundred. For the next month the three armies cleared out the last braves foolish enough to fight, and on August 21, 1784 the Iroquois Confederation ceased to exist as a land holding entity.
Aftermath
General Gates' crowning achievement also became his downfall. He'd won America's second war in under two months, and before that rallied the northern armies after Washington's capture. Over the fall of '74 he grew more prolific, openly sharing opinions with the American people in newspapers and approaching state assemblies. What he wanted is unclear: The Presidency perhaps, or a knighthood maybe. Certainly he expected recognition, and Congress was indeed guilty of the lack.
Horatio Gates said:
You send your tax money to Philadelphia, and for what? Protection? They are merchants and politicians. When have they ever protected anything but their purse and their backs? It is the Army that fights your enemies, the Army that keeps you safe. Do you really think our enemies would abide by our borders, nothing more than lines on a map, if the Army wasn't there to keep them in line?
What Gates received instead was a number of powerful enemies. In retrospect, few were surprised when Congress retaliated in January 1775, appointing General Benedict Arnold, the hero of the raid on Saratoga in 72, Commander in Chief.
Through 1775 American relations with her three friends - France, Spain and the Netherlands continued to improve. Once more they engaged in trading maps. Still, Congress understood Gates' point well enough: A strong army would be needed to secure the peace. Depending on your friends too much only led to another type of bondage, so in June they authorized General Arnold to raise twenty thousand infantry to replace losses from the wars.
20K Infantry
As Congress broke for Winter in November 1775, President Bradley announced his intent to retire. In closed session, Congress appointed Ambassador Benjamin Franklin as his successor pending appointment by the Pennsylvania legislature.
November also saw England and allies declare war on the Netherlands and their particular friend, Austria. America watched sadly, but there wasn't much they could do. Then on December 9, 1775 America received a shock: France declared war on Austria. The Netherlands honored their commitment, so now the United States was technically at war with one of their greatest friends.
(Nov: ENGLAND, Hannover, Portugal, Persia(?), Savoy vs. NETHERLANDS, Austria) (Dec: FRANCE, Spain, Palatinate, Helvetia, Parma, US vs AUSTRIA, Netherlands, Naples)
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Note 1: I THINK I've figured it out. The American monarch file doesn't begin until 1776 with Franklin. I suspect the game gave me a random name from my leadership file.
Incidentally, if President Bradley looks suspiciously like a US newscaster for CBS ... you're right. He's THAT cool. Rumors of his being born in 1941 are just that, and his 'death' in November was a necessary fraud. Like King Arthur, he'll return during our darkest hour to lead us into...
...hey, there he is now!