Wrapped in Flames: The Great American War and Beyond

[galileo-034]

but he did show a very adventurist streak, begging to go fight in the Zulu War is not something one does if they aren't adventurous. That leaves room for him to grow and interpret the way an emperor should act as he sees fit.

Which is to put into the context of the trauma of 1870 as well. How much of it influenced his decision making?

I need to check, but I vaguely remember reading about the Prince stubbornly holding onto his father's old saddle, allegedly the same upon which he sat at Sedan while "somewhat" seeking a glorious death and redemption on the battlefield and then surrendered. A saddle that broke at the moment the Prince needed to make an escape. Again, that's so long ago and vague in my memory that I need to check that, but in the context of a trauma from 1870, I think that story believable. A prince on a desperate mission to redeem his father's legacy and failures, and 1870 was the biggest one, and wash that stain from his name. He was pretty much duty bound to seek a risky military adventure and prove himself.

From accounts prior to 1870 though, he was a curious, energetic child, spoiled with affection by his father and his motheg as well.
A father who at the same time cheated on his mother quite often, a devout mother that was probably overbearing more out of a very strong maternal instinct, and to cope with her husband's infidelities, than hunger for power, all while maintaining a facade of dignity.
Napoléon III had calmed down in his later years and become a better husband, but I'm of the mind the British exile largely contributed to papering over this dysfunctional marriage.

Then, the question becomes, from this family dynamic, without the defeat and exile of 1870, how different might Napoléon IV be from his OTL self?

 

[EnglishCanuck]

"a competent but unremarkable commander."

It is interesting to put it this way. Breckinridge's true measure as a commander was, I think, somewhere between this gloss and the "New Stonewall" accolades he was collecting from Southern newspapers after New Market and Second Kernstown. He was one of the best politicians that tried their hand at military command, but not the best - certainly, not on the level of Richard Taylor. New Market was a badly needed strategic restoration and morale boost at just the right moment, but it wasn't exactly marked by tactical brilliance; rather, just capable handling of men and a lot of aggression, against a Union commander (Sigel) who had little of either. Elizabethtown sounds like closer to Breckinridge's (temporary) Baton Rouge triumph. Maybe what we could say if nothing else is that Breckinridge checked off a military service box that will be a notable advantage for this coming generation of Southern politics; his real advantage is going to be his demonstrated political chops and extensive relationships with the Confederacy's political class.

He was, I think, a fairly talented commander at the brigade to division level, but he probably couldn't have been a corps commander. He did well against somewhat unassuming Union leaders - here he believes he beat George Thomas (he didn't, but that's how he spins it) - but he did well tactically and performed to expectations at Bardstown and other lesser battles afterwards. However, his promotion to Secretary of War is what really allowed him to shine as an organizer and the man who let the army fight on. That, and having a true reputation with the troops, is what will make him something of a military hero rather than any real military victories to his name.

But maybe something more, too. Kentucky is in a fragile state, yes? It's still got significant Unionist sentiment, and recovering from its share of wartime depredations. Having a Kentuckian (esp. of Breck's stature!) in the Confederate White House might be seen by many as a highly desirable tonic for these dangers.

Kentucky is a somewhat willing member of the Confederacy. The most die-hard Unionists have left the state, but there's plenty still in the Confederacy now who weren't exactly eager to join as the 12th Confederate state. But that does give Breckenridge an edge here now as a known quality, a favourite son, and a man who probably has the state's best interests in mind. That really can't be underestimated as a force for propelling Breckenridge to the halls of power.

That aside, the idea of Richard Taylor jumping into politics is an intriguing one. I don't know if he is in a position yet to take the presidency, but he could become a very potent force before long.

With some research, I'll say he's not quite ready to campaign for president, but he's definitely going to be a man who will emerge onto the political scene before long!

 

[EnglishCanuck]

I wonder how Lincoln would feel about people invoking him to fight against a republican rags to riches lawyer.probably disappointed and would make some sort of funny analogy about the situation. something about a dead husband's will perhaps?

but it does hint at Lincoln becoming a sort of "Northern lost cause "figure with peopleadmiring him but conflicted over what he means to the point his personal beliefs become obscured. heck I can even see future Confederate and even British leaders taking his image and using it for populist labor reasons.much to the norths confusion.

Well Lincoln has room to grow, and his ideas in later life, before he died even, were trending pretty radical (in many senses), so his legacy is going to be complex to say the least! He's going to go through a revolution in thinking, and from a high point in the 1870s to a bit of a low point in the 1910s, and then more reconsiderations thereafter. A man who the US will have a complex history with!

max was genuinely a kind good man.but its hard for a good man to be an emperor.and especially a occupying foreign emperor.

All tragically true. He did seem to genuinely care for the Mexican people and those around him, but power is an awful burden and he was burdened with a very hidebound tradition learned at the Hofburg. That said, TTL he has not been convinced to sign the infamous "Black Decree" which is a point in his favor. He was not enthusiastic about it OTL, and I can't see him wanting to sign it here.

interesting to see an example of 19th century racial thinking.on one hand the officers general Kerany[probably misspelled sorry]is complaining about would be mostly white and the soldiers he's praising mezitos but he does call the officer halfbreeds because in that time peroid nationally and race were the same thing.Mexicans literally cannot be white in his viewpoint.

Tragically so. The history of whiteness is... complex. For most you had to be an "Anglo-Saxon" which for a long time meant people from the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, Greece and the Balkans were 'insufficiently white' by the prevailing standards of the day. Ditto for those from Eastern Europe. Canada OTL rather intentionally handicapped itself with its decision to only try and encourage immigrants from northern Europe in the late 19th century...

Kearny is a product of his time, but so would most Americans and Europeans around him be. Then again, he's also being a bit class conscious, seeing the Mexican aristos and elites as self serving scoundrels who are only out for themselves and their parochial power bases. The peasantry of Mexico at least, were mostly looking out for their villages and homes.

so now it seems it's the brits turn to deal with a seccesionist rebellion while fighting a neighboring power .
of course the Irish are far more justified .
interesting to how see how it goes

Well, it will be a bit of a ride, but the Fenians are still the Fenians, which means not exceedingly good at organizing or keeping secrets...

hopefully they figure out the guerilla warfare trick .probably not but it'd be cool

They never had the problem about getting the trick, it was more that most people didn't believe in a slogging guerrilla war for no reasonable prospect of success. There was always a diehard revolutionary core, but many in the period were tired of death and dying as well. Took another 150 years and a lot of other British outrages before people were really ready to split from Britain altogether.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Thinking of it, it's like William IV praying to live long enough to pass the crown to Victoria without a regency in between.

I would say that's not a bad comparison!

Which is to put into the context of the trauma of 1870 as well. How much of it influenced his decision making?

I need to check, but I vaguely remember reading about the Prince stubbornly holding onto his father's old saddle, allegedly the same upon which he sat at Sedan while "somewhat" seeking a glorious death and redemption on the battlefield and then surrendered. A saddle that broke at the moment the Prince needed to make an escape. Again, that's so long ago and vague in my memory that I need to check that, but in the context of a trauma from 1870, I think that story believable. A prince on a desperate mission to redeem his father's legacy and failures, and 1870 was the biggest one, and wash that stain from his name. He was pretty much duty bound to seek a risky military adventure and prove himself.

Considering that many Bonapartes after also sought military success, I can believe he probably would have done so anyway! But yes, how much he suffered from the trauma of 1870 is indeed an open question! I think that he would probably still walk, somewhat, in his father's shadow as the man who established the Empire, and needing to live up to the glory of things like Solferino and taking part in the Crimean War (plus some empire building his father engaged in). So while he may have less to try and redeem his father's legacy TTL, he will still be looking towards the future of the empire.

In the same vein, Wilhelm will also be in his father's shadow as his father acting as "the anti-Bismarck" in TTL will have a bit of a difficult legacy in Prussia.

From accounts prior to 1870 though, he was a curious, energetic child, spoiled with affection by his father and his motheg as well.
A father who at the same time cheated on his mother quite often, a devout mother that was probably overbearing more out of a very strong maternal instinct, and to cope with her husband's infidelities, than hunger for power, all while maintaining a facade of dignity.
Napoléon III had calmed down in his later years and become a better husband, but I'm of the mind the British exile largely contributed to papering over this dysfunctional marriage.

Hmm, interesting perspectives. I admit my own understanding of Euegenie is probably colored by both then propaganda from the period and the ways that some of what I've read paints her as the hand behind the throne for some of her husbands decisions. The role she played in the Mexican adventure was less than delicate, and she did work hard to have her own way in things. This was sometimes useful, but other times not.

Then, the question becomes, from this family dynamic, without the defeat and exile of 1870, how different might Napoléon IV be from his OTL self?

Indeed it does! I aim to explore that

 

[galileo-034]

Hmm, interesting perspectives. I admit my own understanding of Euegenie is probably colored by both then propaganda from the period and the ways that some of what I've read paints her as the hand behind the throne for some of her husbands decisions. The role she played in the Mexican adventure was less than delicate, and she did work hard to have her own way in things. This was sometimes useful, but other times not.

At first glance, you're right it does not give a good impression. But to give her due, she married a man eighteen years her senior, a notorious womanizer whom she had not been the first choice. That the young and pious woman developed in reaction to it an assertive personality is not surprising. She was in this way, very much old school, traditionalist in her view of what power was. Such things as constitutional or parliamentarian government were new, and one would say 'alien' to her Spanish worldview, I think; as you may know, France and Spain back then had quite different, diverging political traditions, and these clashed in the person of Eugénie. A comparison with Marie-Antoinette might not be unwarranted here.
That's only my personal interpretation of her character though.

As for Napoléon III, I'd say fatherhood really changed him (he was 48 when his only legitimate child, his heir, was born, which was quite an "advanced" age). And as he grew ever older and more sick, he listened her advice more and more, up to the point that cost him the throne, but I'd say he listened his son's mother more than he listened his wife. He was obsessed in securing his succession, and must have been aware that Eugénie would survive him, so he had to include her.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Chapter 132: A Want of Preparation​

April 30th, 1867
Buffalo, United States of America

The warehouse on the Buffalo waterfront proudly proclaimed “O’Day’s Dry Goods” which was, for the most part, an accurate assessment of its contents. Patrick O’Day was a fat, fussy auctioneer, but the influential leader of the local Fenian circle. The surly looking watchmen who O’Day had recently hired patrolled the exterior elicited little comment from the people of the city, and the late night shipments in and almost daily shipments out spoke of an industry that was good for the little border city, still recovering its economy from the war years. It was all weapons of course, but ones that could be easily accounted for as the incoming shipment from the evening was even legitimate, all the papers of sale stamped and approved. It was all for an upcoming auction O’Day assured the public. Very reasonable prices.

John O’Neill nodded appreciatively as he inspected the barrel of the Springfield 1861 rifle purchased from the War Department at a very reasonable price indeed. This particular wagon today had offloaded 2,000 rifles, but no ammunition. They already had 200,000 rounds safely squared away inside the warehouse, he was not afraid of using it up quickly. No, the need for rifles, and men to use them, was quite pressing for him. Thankfully, there were no defects in this batch. He was pleased, many of the rifles sold by the department were inferior weapons or defective. His men had been making a tally of what weapons worked and which had to be sold cheap on the market to unsuspecting buyers. Preferably some ignorant Englishman.

“Up to snuff, John?” His companion asked. Captain William J. Hynes hadn’t served in the United States Army, but he was a full blown Fenian and a friend of O’Neill. They had worked together after the close of the war, and been sucked into the same Fenian circle. The organization of their own regiment, and the purchase of weapons, had been a partnership almost two years in the making. As such, he was the Adjutant in the Fenian regiment that O’Neill commanded.

“It’s all passable. Far preferable to the cast off Austrian rifles. I’ll take an American made rifle any day.”

“I’ll take whoever is selling,” Hynes said. “General Sweeney wants enough to arm 50,000 men.”

“Then I dare say the General will be happy! We have probably helped put 20,000 rifles here alone. I haven’t counted them yet, but its enough to arm a small army. Which we will hopefully have soon!”

He knew Hynes couldn’t agree more. In Buffalo itself, roughly seven hundred men under John Hoye, another veteran of the late war. Now O’Neill expected he would be able to join him with another 400 of his own fighting men. With only two regiments he had helped raise, there was 1,200 fighters ready for Irish independence! He’d dreamed of this day since he’d been a child, weaned on Irish patriotism from his grandfather telling him of his namesakes from the O’Neil lineage like Hugh O’Neil and Owen Roe O’Neill, who had all led in great battles against English rule. Now he would get his chance to do the same.

“Do you think we will actually invade this time?” Hynes asked.

The debacle along the old Maine border last year had either invigorated the Fenian volunteers, who now believed action was imminent, or else made them second guess the movement. However, with the news that the British in Ireland were cracking down on American citizens and arresting people on faulty premises, public opinion against the British, and by extension, sympathy for the Irish, was at an all time high.

“People are mad Billy, damned mad,” O’Neill put the rifle away and moved to inspect another crate. “You’ve got the papers, Republican and Democrat, all calling for Britain to be held accountable. There’s still people angered at the injustice of the treaty at Rotterdam back in ‘64 and that includes people in the army.” He waved his hands at the hidden rifles. “We would hardly be getting away with this if we didn’t have some powerful friends in Washington.”

“True, and I’m almost surprised we can get away with it. Not the most auspicious thing for a government that wants peace to be doing.”

O’Neill smirked. “I don’t care for McClellan as a general, but he needs the Irish vote! The President swept to power in states where the Irish are the voters! New York would burn if he flouted the Fenians! We command some real power at the ballot box Billy, and we won’t let Washington forget it this time!”

“With all that political clout maybe we could use it to get the United States to lean on the British for Ireland. There’s so much bad blood, and help we might get, that perhaps the whole invasion of Canada is a waste. If Washington adds its voice to Irish calls for freedom,” he trailed off at O’Neill’s look.

“If speeches could give liberty to a people, than all the words farted out by the Fenian Senate would long ago have made Ireland the freest nation on the globe. No, I’m a firm believer in steel as the cure for Irish grievances. I was attracted to the Brotherhood for no other reason than it proposed such a remedy.”

“Well, if you believe it will work,” Hynes said.

“Dammit Billy, this invasion doesn’t have to work. I’ll gladly throw my life away for the cause. My wife knows I’m here, and she damn well expects I might die. You might die too for all that it matters. We are coming together to cause calamity, not sip tea and talk out our grievances.”

“I didn’t think we were,” Hynes said, more steel in his voice. O’Neill grinned.

“Now you’re talking. Don’t worry, I didn’t think you were yellow. Just needed to see it.”

“Damn you John, I’ll be the first one stepping off the boat with you.”

O’Neill slapped him on the shoulder. “Not necessary lad, but I appreciate it. You’ll be there with me through the thick of it, I know you will. I need a good numbers man, and I think you’ll do.” Looking around he grinned. “Speaking of numbers, let’s get counting the inventory. I don’t think the buggers short changed us, but it never hurts to be sure.”

The two men wound one another up and joked as they counted, unbeknownst to them overheard by the bookkeeper of O’Day’s establishment making his evening ledgers. Alexander McLeod sniffed in contempt, safely out of view, but well able to hear the treasonous talk the two Irishmen put forward. Dutifully he wrote down as much of their conversation as he could in order to send it north to Canada and his paymaster there. Those Fenians thought they were too smart by half, but they would be in for a rude surprise, he would see to it!


May 5th, 1867
Russell House Hotel, Ottawa

It was cold and wet in Ottawa. The streets were turning to muck in the spring rainfall, and then they would turn to dusty spits in only a few weeks. Blackflies were already making an appearance feasting on the blood of soldiers, laborers, lawyers and politicians alike. Already the saloon was crawling with them, despite the best efforts of the staff. The city crawled with the other insects associated with a national capital, petitioners, officer seekers, lobbyists, and in John A. Macdonald’s assessment the worst, politicians.

Despite being in that particular class of animal himself, Macdonald often held a dim view of many of his fellow operators in Ottawa. Though currently he was far too irritated with men looking for excuses to parade in uniform while they were supposed to be meeting here in Ottawa to discuss political matters. Worse, they were still lobbying for guns. The economy was slowly recovering, and the last thing he needed was for his new Kingdom to press for artillery they did not need.

The aide de camp to the Queen for Ontario, Colonel Sir George Denison II stood in front of him looking appreciatively severe. He was, unfortunately, reinforced by his colleagues in the other military districts and members of the Ministry. That made for a cramped room in the hotel, and not nearly enough wine. Though Macdonald knew Agnes would hound him mercilessly if he came back from another meeting drunk.

Truth be told, he did like the clarity that came from not drinking, but by God these soldiers would give him an ulcer one of these days.

“I know, sir,” Denison said carefully, “that you believe that in the absence of an attack by the Fenians this March means we have nothing to worry about this year.”

“That is correct, Colonel Denison,” Macdonald replied. “We have not heard a whisper of the Fenians since this time last year, and there has been no indication that some Kentucky column is mobilizing in Toronto or Montreal to spontaneously topple the government from within. Isn’t that right McGee?”

“Too true! That rabble is whipped by God!” D’Arcey McGee, Macdonald’s trusted confident and Irishman extraordinaire who had stumped for Crown and Canada for almost a decade now, declared far too loudly. Unfortunately, he was clearly already somewhat tipsy. The colonel gave a look of mild reproach.

“Be that as it may, there has been word that Fenians are organizing in the United States.”

Gilbert McMicken, the intelligence master for Ontario nodded with Denison.

“That’s right colonel, my detectives have been picking up disturbing rumours that the Fenians are arming and organizing in plain sight, and more than a few men have told us they’re planning an all out assault on Canada sometime this year.”

“And have these men been forthcoming with specifics?” Macdonald asked crossly.

“No, nothing firm in their planning,” McMicken admitted.

“So I thought,” Macdonald muttered. It was alarmism plain and simple, he had concluded. That or opportunistic soldiers looking for reasons to flex their muscles both militarily and politically. More funding to their military districts would naturally translate into some form of largess that they could use to build a political constituency. That he would not have.

“I urge you sir, please don’t take the Fenians for granted,” Denison implored. “Yes, that fiasco last year was little more than a bandit incursion, but sources have told us that thousands of Fenians are organizing and gathering. They do plan to strike. We must be prepared!”

“Gentlemen,” Étienne-Paschal Taché, the aide de camp to the Queen in Quebec and Minister of Militia interrupted. The august warrior turned politician commanded the respect of so many in Canada and the Maritimes, but particularly in Quebec, that his appointment had been preordained.

“I understand there is some considerable doubts as to the intentions of the Fenian marauders,” he gave Macdonald a meaningful look. “However, we are the appointed defenders of Her Majesty’s Domains in Canada. It would behoove us to take these things seriously. I assume we have brought this to the attention of General Russell?”

“Yes of course,” Denison said. “General Russell has been informed of our findings.”

“Then we may wish to allow Her Majesty’s soldiers to do their duty. The militia may be called out in an emergency, as we did in March, but there may be no need to put them out on a permanent basis at this moment.”

“And General Russell will complain about deserters and what not,” Macdonald waved a hand. “Let him, and we have nothing to fear about this Fenian business.”

“Perhaps not, sir, but as the Good Lord said ‘The simple believe anything, but the prudent give thought to their steps’ and perhaps we should give this more thought.”

Stung by the slight rebuke Macdonald nodded for him to continue.

“It may not be politically or economically expedient to call out the militia without an imminent crisis, but we may put one or two companies on alert at the frontier. General Russell will have no cause to complain, and only the enthusiastic would be sent out, solving any problems. Perhaps a company at places like Chippewa or Sandwich, Prescott and the like. Enough to sound the alarm and wait for reinforcements, but not a small standing army.”

Macdonald mulled it over. Only the most enthusiastic would turn out for such an unclear duty. They wouldn’t need to be paid too much, a small force never did, and then the British generals wouldn’t complain about deserters or other such trouble. It was an elegant solution to the ongoing problem. If anything cropped up they called on the soldiers and militia, and then it didn’t look as though the government had done nothing if the Fenians really did lose their minds and invade Canada.

“Very well, you’ve convinced me. Call out a company from each district and send them to the most likely point along the frontier where the Fenians can make trouble. If something goes wrong we can call out the militia, but until then these men stay at their jobs. We will have no cause for unnecessary alarm here.”


May 18th 1867
Centreville (Fort Lyon), District of Columbia

Swaying slightly in the breeze, the balloon and attendant basket bobbed, but were stable enough for the observers inside to have a completely unrestricted view of the surrounding countryside, almost all the way to the new border. The airship, the grandly named Enterprise II, hung in the air. President McClellan looked on over the side as his pilot, Captain of the United States Balloon Corps, stood beside him. Thaddeus Lowe had been an innovator during the war, with his balloons, allowing men to see farther and reports reach him with intelligence his scouts could never dream of gathering. Though Lowe was more a scientist than a soldier, with a generous subsidy for his work he had agreed to stay on with a dozen aeronauts and a small flotilla of craft, the Intrepid, Enterprise II, and the Eagle which gave the new garrison at Centreville an edge over their Confederate counterparts to the south.

Well, he mused, it was not Centreville anymore. Since his halcyon days of that rather bloodless triumph against the Confederacy he had used it as a base of operations. Since then its few inhabitants who hadn’t fled south or further north had been compensated for the loss of their land when the government simply took it over as a new fortification taking shape to protect the frontier.

Fort Lyon, named for a brave commander who had saved Missouri for the Union back in 1861, was taking the place of the old town. Built high on the hillock that had made Centreville secure, it was incorporating all that he had learned at Sevastopol and from European soldiers over the last few years to guard the way Washington. Though as ever his enemies in the capital railed against his spending, he knew that this, as much as any fiscal policy, railroad or other piece of legislature would be his legacy. His determination to defend the new borders. In the north Fort Montgomery, burned to her foundations by the British in the war, was getting a similar treatment. The whole of the coast and borders would be a strong fence to keep the neighbors well behaved, and from across those battlements he would reach out the hand of friendship to the world, reminding them that the United States was still strong.

“As ever Lowe, I must congratulate you on your work. I can only thank you for accepting my offer of commission as I get the Balloon Corps prepared as a military unit.”

“You are helping finance my scientific endeavours sir, that is to me worth a little military discipline, and occasionally ride alongs by presidents,” Lowe smiled. McClellan did chuckle.

“I hear you’ve been keeping touch with that Prussian fellow who wouldn’t stop bothering me for a ride in these balloons during the war. What was his name, Zefflin?”

“Count Zeppelin, sir, and we have! He has crossed the Atlantic to see me since. Came over in late ‘65 to finally ride the balloon and exchange theories. He helped for the design of the Enterprise II, here. He’s made the basket more comfortable, and helped with some tinkering on the balloon itself. In time I may be able to expand upon the design.”

“I heard Captain Comstock was less than thrilled by the ride along.”

Lowe frowned a little.

“Well, Captain Comstock is an able engineer and an enthusiastic learner, but I think he may be a touch paranoid. I rather doubt there would ever be a circumstance where these United States had to go to war with Prussia!”

“Yes, a bit of a ridiculous thought isn’t it?” He shook his head. Imagine, a war with American soldiers on the European continent not as observers! And against Prussia of all things!

He continued on. “Though on the subject of Europeans, could we perhaps detach the Eagle up to Rouses Point? The business on the Canadian border is quite distressing, and I’d rather see trouble coming before I need to hear about it.”

“It can be done, sir,” Lowe said emphatically.

“Worried, Mr. President?” Samuel Barlow asked. McClellan waved the formalities aside.

“Sam I’m besieged by critics of this administration, and some of the only ones who aren’t dumping trouble on my doorstep are the Irish who say they will vote for the Democrats wholeheartedly next election.”

“If they get something of course,” Barlow said. He knew exactly what that was.

“Exactly,” McClellan slapped the side of the basket slightly, causing it to wiggle much to Barlow’s alarm. McClellan had ridden before in smaller baskets so was hardly worried. On the ground some of the immaculately uniformed Capital Guardsmen seemed alarmed as it lurched. His escort hardly needed to worry, it was perfectly safe.

“Well, even with the British ambassador complaining, we can hardly prevent them from saying their peace in the papers or parading about screaming death to the Queen,” Barlow said.

“And we dispersed that mess last year! I daresay we are policing our own backyard, let John Bull police his! For all that I hate to say it, even that snake Butler agrees.”

“Well George, Butler is only keen to turn a blind eye.”

“And so are most voters. I don’t want another war with Britain Sam, but I’ll be damned if they, or anybody else, get me to launch some ill conceived head clubbing like the British are doing in Ireland.”

“Secretary Seymour seems convinced that this is all accepted by the Irish ginning up sympathy for the Fenians at home. He even thinks…”

McClellan interrupted him. “I’m sorry Sam, but I know what Horatio Seymour thinks. He’s convinced that there’s some vast conspiracy by the Fenians to drag us kicking and screaming into another war. Butler says it's hogwash, and for once he may be right. Especially with John Bull getting things so wrong in Ireland. How many petitions is the State Department getting for us to intercede because someone with a Jersey accent has been thrown in the Tower by redcoats?”

“At least several hundred.”

“Precisely! Britain is making a mistake of her own doing and I have no need to dance to their tune. We can watch the borders, but I won’t lift a finger until the Fenians break the law. We will observe, but do nothing otherwise.”

Barlow nodded. McClellan knew he was walking a tightrope. The British ambassador was dropping by every other day to the State Department to lodge a new complaint about Irish rebels. Seymour was even getting tired of popping in to remind the ambassador that he needed Americans to be released from British prisons if he expected anything done. So far it seemed like they were talking past one another. It was so much like politics. McClellan was loath to do anything because he understood he needed the Irish vote, but also because his enemies were sure to make political hay if he did any favors for Britain. His hands were tied on the Fenian question, he would let the British sort it out.

Meanwhile, he looked south. He couldn’t see the smaller Confederate camps where their little detachment kept an eye on his larger force, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of it.

“No more complaining from Richmond?”

“It seems President Davis is as tired of the back and forth as you are.” Barlow said.

“Good, it was a fool’s errand to think I could keep the abolitionists from ruining things. As we said at Havana, we won’t police their negroes. But we will do our best to keep ours on this side of the border.”

Though the great battles of 1866 that had nearly all stopped, there were still bands of armed blacks who slipped across to cause mischief. More proof, in his opinion, that arming blacks in the war had been a mistake. The border was too long to stop them completely, and as another consequence more slaves managed to escape up north. That meant more complaints to Washington. There too he would do nothing, the abolitionists looked for anything to tar him as a Confederate sympathizer.

“Seymour makes that point too, sir. I have had some conversations with eminent businessmen from the South. They are inclined to complain less so long as the trade keeps flowing and we have no designs to raise tariffs on the Mississippi.”

“My party doesn’t have any, do they?” McClellan asked. He did need Barlow to keep him in the loop after the disaster at Louisville.

“No, sir,” Barlow assured him. “I’m not getting any talk of such. Though men from the Republican party have expressed some sympathy for the Radicals talk of doing so.”

“Bah, then there’s nothing to worry about,” McClellan said, dismissing the Radicals. He was convinced they’d ruin the nation if given the chance. That was the last thing these United States needed. Another reason for a stupid divide brought about by men with a desire for power cloaked in principles.

Eyeing the now invisible border between North and South, United States and Confederacy, a line he had desperately wanted to erase. But here he was. Now he had to live with it. He decided he had had enough for one day.

“Bring us down Lowe, I suppose I should get back to Washington today. Ellen will want me for dinner.”

 

[EnglishCanuck]

At first glance, you're right it does not give a good impression. But to give her due, she married a man eighteen years her senior, a notorious womanizer whom she had not been the first choice. That the young and pious woman developed in reaction to it an assertive personality is not surprising. She was in this way, very much old school, traditionalist in her view of what power was. Such things as constitutional or parliamentarian government were new, and one would say 'alien' to her Spanish worldview, I think; as you may know, France and Spain back then had quite different, diverging political traditions, and these clashed in the person of Eugénie. A comparison with Marie-Antoinette might not be unwarranted here.
That's only my personal interpretation of her character though.

That is a fair assessment I think. She's someone I'm digging into more for later in WiF and though it won't be as detailed as Cindo de Mayo she's one of those people who will cast a long shadow across the late 19th and early 20th century.

Much like a certain Canadian who we will be meeting again in the next chapter!

As for Napoléon III, I'd say fatherhood really changed him (he was 48 when his only legitimate child, his heir, was born, which was quite an "advanced" age). And as he grew ever older and more sick, he listened her advice more and more, up to the point that cost him the throne, but I'd say he listened his son's mother more than he listened his wife. He was obsessed in securing his succession, and must have been aware that Eugénie would survive him, so he had to include her.

Yes that is true. Whether he liked it or not, Eugenie would be the one principally guiding Napoleon IV through his early reign and well into the future. Eugenie would play a large role in shaping his marriage too as I understand it.

 

[Icedaemon]

It looks like the Fenian confict will be quite bloody. I don't see them winning, not without Britain embroiled in another war at the same time, but I can see this taking a while. Any potential reproachment between Britain and the US is going to be scuppered in the process.

 

[PaulJones202718]

It looks like the Fenian confict will be quite bloody. I don't see them winning, not without Britain embroiled in another war at the same time, but I can see this taking a while. Any potential reproachment between Britain and the US is going to be scuppered in the process.

Which appears to be the point.

 

[Athelstane]

As for Napoléon III, I'd say fatherhood really changed him (he was 48 when his only legitimate child, his heir, was born, which was quite an "advanced" age). And as he grew ever older and more sick, he listened her advice more and more, up to the point that cost him the throne, but I'd say he listened his son's mother more than he listened his wife. He was obsessed in securing his succession, and must have been aware that Eugénie would survive him, so he had to include her.

Yes that is true. Whether he liked it or not, Eugenie would be the one principally guiding Napoleon IV through his early reign and well into the future. Eugenie would play a large role in shaping his marriage too as I understand it.

We all recall Jacques Godechot's famous aphorism that the Bourbon dynasty and the émigrés who returned to France in their baggage train in 1814-15 had 'learnt nothing and forgotten nothing." And it was this disability that had brought down French monarchs in 1830 and 1848. All of which was well within living memory in the 1870's!

The evidence is that Napoleon III, at least, had absorbed that aphorism, and showed some signs of learning from it. The question is whether Eugenie and Napoleon IV could show a similar adaptability after he's gone from the scene. It could also be the case, too, that Eugenie's role in mentoring her son could have a limited shelf life. There's an abundance of historical precedents for such a development!

But I think Napoleon IV is not going to have as much maneuvering room as his father had had in 1870, let alone in 1852. Whoever is running his actual government is going to have a role in shaping his political evolution, too.

I cannot say that it is *impossible* for the France of the late 19th century to find itself under an autocracy or even a dictatorship. I do say that the broad trajectory of the French at this point was toward a constitutional democracy of *some* kind, and it would take an event of enormous power to disrupt that trajectory, and even then for only a limited time. It can be a constitutional democracy of a more conservative bent (I.e., a Bonapartist one), or an increasingly radical, anti-clericalist one (I.e., the post-1881 Third Republic of OTL), and maybe even pathways in between. This could become a very interesting timeline if @EnglishCanuck can find a compelling way to explore what the former could have looked like.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

It looks like the Fenian confict will be quite bloody. I don't see them winning, not without Britain embroiled in another war at the same time, but I can see this taking a while. Any potential reproachment between Britain and the US is going to be scuppered in the process.

It's going to be deeply unpleasant that's for certain. Britain is going to be very unhappy, the United States just as much. It's going to sincerely sour diplomatic relations even more than they were already!

Which appears to be the point.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Chapter 133: Alarms Ignored​

“In retrospect, I can hardly call the year 1867 anything other than an abundant embarrassment, both for the political establishment and the military arm of our new country. The sense of arrogance that dwelt in the hearts of the people of Canada, but also amongst the Volunteers cannot be overstated. Truly we had defeated the Yankee, but we had forgotten that in his bosom lay the treacherous mob of Irish who were appalled by all civilized principles of proper governance, the power of England, and were driven by a demagoguery of the worst sort in the heartland of Yankeedom. Far too many believed that there was no way the United States could ever be complicit in yet another invasion of our country. How naive we were!

I have found in my correspondence, a copy of a pamphlet I wrote before the War of 1862 in November 1861, just before those unhappy years began. In it I must say that presciently I wrote: “When peace is proclaimed between the Southern and Northern States a large body of armed and drilled men will be thrown out of employment, and may in some instances be induced to make filibustering expeditions into our territory for the sake of plunder.”[1] In light of later events, I must say that I was unfortunately correct.

The laxity of our government in preparing for any disturbance after the fizzle on the new Maine border, and a quiet passage of St. Patrick's Day did little to prepare us for the events of June…” - Soldiering In Canada, Recollections and Experiences of Brigadier General George T. Denison III, Toronto Press 1900

“By the end of May, Sweeney’s plans had been formalized and approved by the Fenian Senate, meeting at its Moffat Mansion. Sweeney believed he had written a plan that was, while remarkably similar to the multiple plans drawn up in both prior conflicts and the recent War of 1862, one which had the novelty of forcing British forces to be even more spread out. As Sweeney realized, he did not necessarily need to stretch out and conquer all of Canada. His advantage was that he merely needed to seize and hold territory, tie down British forces, and hopefully draw the United States into the conflict.

To that end he chose a number of diverse targets, all aimed at different sections of the new Canadian provinces. The goal was to confuse and frustrate British forces, all while causing the most damage possible.

The attack plan was divided into four main groupings. The Fenian West Wing would be commanded by Brigadier General Charles C. Tevis, a stormy soldier of fortune who had fought for the French, Turks and Egyptians before returning to the United States to fight in the Great American War. He would attack from Cleveland and Detroit, sallying across the frontier like Hull in 1812 or Palmer in 1862. However, he was also to have a number of ships sail up the lakes to land at Goderich, Ontario and march overland to assault London in conjunction with the forces on the Detroit frontier, placing the Anglo-Canadian forces in confusion.

A Center Wing would be commanded by William F. Lynch, a confidant of Sweeney. His task would be to take 5,000 men and cross Lake Erie from Cleveland, as well as invasion across the Niagara River, just like in 1812 and 1862 once again. From there they would seize the Welland Canal and join with Tevis’s forces to march on Toronto, forcing Britain to send more soldiers from Quebec to defend the most important city in Ontario.

The main thrust was to be accomplished by the Fenian East Wing, which Sweeney had allocated most of the troops he predicted he would have. Estimating he would get 15,000 men, he ordered Samuel P. Spear, a comrade in arms with a long service history in the United States Army, to assemble his forces in Vermont, well away from the budding US Army presence at Fort Montgomery. From there he would follow the well trodden path of Montgomery in 1775, Dearborn in 1812 and then Sumner in 1862 along the Richelieu River[2]. The one change would be that the army would initially march up the right bank of the right bank before forcing a crossing from the more difficult terrain there. Then two contingents, one under Spear and another under Micheal Murphy, would continue along the right bank and converge on Montreal. A third force would move west to cross the St. Lawrence, capture Prescott, Ontario, and then march to the new capital at Ottawa.

Finally a smaller force of 2,000 men under Bernard F. Mullen would assemble on the Maine border to attack the St. Andrews and Quebec Railroad to prevent British forces from utilizing it to rush reinforcements into Canada.

For his plans, Sweeney anticipated he would need initially 26,000 soldiers. Followed up by another 25,000 to reinforce them and hold their gains. Orders were sent out in the last weeks of May ordering all known Fenian circles and regiments to prepare themselves for action ‘imminently’ in order to bring the invasion forward. However, ‘imminently’ was a vague term, and while many Fenians began to quietly make preparations to head to their rally points, just as many seemed more perplexed about precisely when that would be. They were loath to abandon families and jobs without a firm plan of attack, as most of them only knew where they would be going rather than what they were doing. The rumors swirled, and indeed the rough plan of attack was almost public knowledge, but very few were utterly convinced the attack would go off…

Fenian invasion plan 1867[3]
​

In Ireland itself, the plans were much simpler. The strength of the Fenian attack would depend, almost utterly, on an initial rising in Dublin to seize the Castle and the Magazine. The seizure of Athlone, and thus the major crossing of the Shannon, would let the rebels control the geographic center of the country and important communications. Plans were in place to take Limerick and Wexford, controlling the communication hubs and port infrastructure to prevent Britain from sending reinforcements.

The overall commander, Thomas Kelly, had appointed men to lead each attack. The rising in Dublin was of the most importance, and so a great number of fighters and their supplies had been secreted in and around Dublin. Overall command for the Rising had been given to Edward Duffy, a major leader in the Fenian circles in Dublin and a man who had escaped the plethora of arrests launched by British forces. His second in command was the experienced soldier of fortune Gustave Cluseret, come from America to support the forces fighting for Irish liberty. They would be supported by forces raised in the countryside by John Devoy that would march on Dublin as the rising began. It was expected that 10,000 men, including mutinous Irish soldiers from the garrisons in Dublin, would join them.

With Dublin seized, the expectation was that a general rising across Ireland would begin. To help that process along however, some 3,000 men were organized under Thomas Bourke to seize Cork and then arm the people of the region. A further 5,000 had been readied in Leinster under William G. Halpin, a close confidant of Stephens, was to rise and seize vital points around the region. With the many American volunteers and their caches of arms secreted about the country, it was expected that, like in the Canadian plan, the British forces in Ireland would be too distracted trying to put out numerous fires which would allow the rebels to seize Dublin and from there fight for Irish independence.

However, even here, serious flaws were apparent. Though plans had been laid for risings in Leinster and Munster, no concrete plans were drawn for Connacht or Ulster, leaving the beating heart of British loyalism in Ireland unchallenged. Worse, there was a general knowledge that the plan was set for June 1st, waiting only on a shipment of arms from the putative Fenian Navy in the form of the St. Patrick, set to arrive on May 30th. Even worse, the British, though lacking all the information on the Fenian plans, were aware of this date.

Indeed, on both sides of the Atlantic, there was a general understanding of the plans for a rising. The ranks of the Fenian Brotherhood were riven with informants, with one Fenian quipping “wherever there are three Fenians, there are two informers” to a newspaper in the US. So lax was most of the Fenian operational security that both Strathnairn in Ireland and Russell in Canada, had a fairly good idea of what the Fenians planned to do, but the greatest question was whether they would follow through. On both counts, neither commander was certain. Strathnairn planned to stop the impending Fenian arms shipment, hoping it would stall the rising. Russell merely placed his troops on alert. Both men waited on their civilian superiors for further orders.

However, there were holes in the British knowledge. For instance, none knew of the full extent of the planned rising in Leinster. The attack on the Maine - New Brunswick border was dismissed as bluster, and no one realized the Fenians had purchased three ships for their navy, not two. So it was that two ships, the former CSS Japan, and the former USS Chenango, now christened the Republic of Ireland Naval Ships (RINS) Erin and Shannon respectively. Taking on cannon and munitions illicitly bought, they would form the core of a squadron that aimed to liberate Ireland. Erin was set to sail up to the Canadian coast to cause mischief, while Shannon would aide in the liberation of Cork. Each ship set the stage for an international incident…” - The Emergency of 1867, Howard Senior, 1986

“Of all the players in the drama that was the 1867 Crisis, McClellan and the United States seemed to be the ones least prepared. Though he had ordered soldiers in the Department of the Atlantic on alert, he had not sent any reinforcements to General Grant which would help police the frontier. McClellan largely seemed to believe that the problem would solve itself, thinking the Fenians were all bluster, and unwilling to crack down on them. It would be far too much pandering to London, McClellan believed.

Only Seymour, in his capacity as Secretary of State, seemed to believe otherwise. Having a finger on the pulse of New York politics, he was aware that the state was violently agitating for the Fenians, and all too many officials were looking the other way at their organizing. Seymour believed that there was no way the Fenians could be so confident, or so well armed, without some level of collaboration from inside the government. Though McClellan had met with Fenian leaders only once in 1866, Seymour and Barlow had met with them informally since that time and across 1867. When Barlow was bluntly asked whether the McClellan administration would support a Fenian invasion, he had said that the United States would not interfere in the matters of other nations.

Seymour learned of this conversation, and the vagueness of who was to be ‘invaded’ (it seems Barlow had thought the matters being discussed were a Fenian action in Ireland and not Canada) and desperately sent messages to his operatives in New York to warn the Fenian leaders against “rash action” in the near future. Such warnings fell on deaf ears, and Seymour instead focused his energies on finding those who were complicit in arming the Fenians.

McClellan, instead of supporting Seymour, merely relied on the word of Secretary of War Butler for what was going on. Butler insisted that there was no collusion with Fenians by the army, but as Seymour would discover, Butler had approved extensive leave for officers with known Fenian connections. For instance, at the beginning of March, six months leave was approved for Thomas Sweeney, known to act as the “Secretary of War” for the Fenian organization. He was then seen going to the Fenian headquarters at Moffat’s Mansion in New York.

Despite his pleas for urgency, even after March passed, McClellan seemed convinced the Fenians would “fizzle” in his words. In fairness to McClellan then, he was ordering massive constructions projects across the continent, finalizing treaties with the Indian tribes on the plains, and dealing with an economic panic. The plight of the Fenians was the last thing on his mind. In retrospect however, Seymour proved to have the right of it…” - I Can Do It All: The Trials of George B. McClellan, Alfred White, 1992, Aurora Publishing

-----

1] His own true words. Denison was not an unintelligent man when it came to soldiering and assessing threats.

2] It's endlessly amusing to me that you can basically just trace this line and say "invade Canada here" which was commented almost ad nauseum on by military planners of the day.

3] All credit to the map by Peter Vronsky. He's written the best single volume book about the Battle of Ridgeway in my opinion and I heartily endorse anyone wanting to know more about that historic event to read his work!

 

[Nenshou Yuuki]

Seems once Britain beats down the Fenians and if they trace back anything, to avoid war McClellan or which ever president is in charge depending on how long it take may throw some people to the wolves to prevent all out war.

 

[DAv]

Do have to wonder what'll happen to Butler after all this, considering he's, at best, turning a blind eye to what's going on in New York. Like, damn, the sheer amount of negligence on both sides is dwarfed only by the wishful thinking of the Fenians at this point.

 

[PaulJones202718]

It's a train wreck made of garbage fires that can only really benefit the CSA.

 

[McAuslan_in_the_Rough]

Despite his pleas for urgency, even after March passed, McClellan seemed convinced the Fenians would “fizzle” in his words.

Apparently it does not occur to McClellan that there exist people who are not only capable of conceiving a plan, but also capable of acting on it with speed.

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Butler insisted that there was no collusion with Fenians by the army, but as Seymour would discover, Butler had approved extensive leave for officers with known Fenian connections.

Butler is like a Romulan.
so Deceptively Treacherous.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Seems once Britain beats down the Fenians and if they trace back anything, to avoid war McClellan or which ever president is in charge depending on how long it take may throw some people to the wolves to prevent all out war.

There's going to be lots of unfortunate questions regarding who bears responsibility. It's going to leave plenty of politicians sharpening their long knives thinking of 1868 that much I can assure you.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Do have to wonder what'll happen to Butler after all this, considering he's, at best, turning a blind eye to what's going on in New York. Like, damn, the sheer amount of negligence on both sides is dwarfed only by the wishful thinking of the Fenians at this point.

At the very least he's going to undergo a Federal investigation of his conduct.

Both sides are indeed being very willfully ignorant. McClellan especially so because he's hoping it doesn't become his problem (and the Fenians can command a significant voting bloc) while Macdonald is very anti-military because he doesn't want the expenses piling up and views the defense of Canada as a British obligation rather than a purely colonial responsibility.

Butler is like a Romulan.
so Deceptively Treacherous.

The man turned his coat so much in real life its kind of astounding anyone worked for him. He was all in with the Democrats prior to the Civil War, then seemed to turn coat the second it became expedient to do so. After the war he shifted between the wings of the party before returning to the Democratic fold once more. About the only admirable qualities he had was that he did oppose slavery, and he worked hard to help defeat the KKK and advance civil rights.

 

[EnglishCanuck]

Apparently it does not occur to McClellan that there exist people who are not only capable of conceiving a plan, but also capable of acting on it with speed.

This is George McClellan we are talking about, a man who chronically forgot one of the most important lessons of warfare, that the enemy gets a say in war. He seems to have made plans that often assumed the enemy would either act in exactly the way he anticipated, or otherwise agonized over having a lack of crushing superiority. His war record was never impressive, and I do think that his political record would be even worse.