[BlecchaClodzilla]

(This has really calmed me down. It's long, but enjoy!)


Chapter One - The Congress of Vienna

Every story has its beginnings. Some are clear to men, other are not. In the history of the world there have been many beginnings, indeed by itself everything is but a beginning to something. The history of the twentieth century can be shown to have many beginnings, but one however is more important and visible then any other one. This beginning occurs in 1870. Prussia and France are at war, and in time this conflict - though itself short - will inflame the world and begin the most bloody century of warfare ever seen.

To understand what occurred in 1870 however, a reader must go back even further in time to the end of the Napoleonic Wars. It was at Waterloo that Napoleon - the man who had led France to the very edge of total victory in Europe - was finally defeated in 1815. For the British Empire and those other European nations that were ravaged by Napoleon the dismantlement of French power on the continent was foremost amongst the post war settlement at the Congress of Vienna. The skillful diplomatic maneuvers by such men as Klemens von Metternich were to avoid a general or even large scale European war until the latter half of the nineteenth history. Out of the Congress came several territorial adjustments which would have a large effect in the coming decades. Prussia for example was enlarged by the addition of almost half of Saxony, and Sweden was given control of Norway. To the south Italy, a nation which had been kept divided and asunder since the fall of the Roman Empire was condemned to nearly sixty more years of divided existence. New nations were created including a United Kingdom of the Netherlands under the Prince of Orange, but most surprising was the formal creation of a free Polish state in wake of the Polish-Saxon Crisis.

The results of the Congress were startling to say the least. It achieved the primary goal of reducing the threat of France to the other large nations of Europe - Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia to name the largest - as well as created the possibility for a relatively long lasting peace. The trade-off however was the creation of long standing animosities began by territorial concessions made at the Congress and the stifling of liberal attitudes brought forth by the French Revolution. Coined as a Conservative backlash that event it would lead most prominently to the 1848 revolutions which racked Europe, but otherwise failed to achieve any of their goals. The two most unsavory outcomes of the Congress however were the two leading examples put forth by Metternich and others to create a balanced European order - the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Kingdom of Poland.

The creation of these two new Kingdoms was to quickly become a thorn in the side of a general European peace, and while their dissolution before the end of the century did not bring about a general European war, it did not ultimately bode well for any peace that yet remained. By 1830 the divided loyalties in the Kingdom of the Netherlands had taken on a new and violent role, culminating in a civil war which created the French speaking nation of Belgium under King Leopold I and helped to establish Luxembourg as its own independent entity. Though the fracturing of the Netherlands was to be violent, it was tame in comparison to the tribulations which were to occur between Poland and its neighbors just a decade later as Belgium was starting its history as an independent nation.

The Kingdom of Poland, or as it was more often referred too - the Grand Duchy of Poland - was the second great nation to be constructed at the Congress of Vienna. Initially the question Polish independence was rebuked by the three powers in the area - Prussia, Austria and Russia. As these nations were unable to find an adequate solution, the architect of the whole Congress - Klement von Metternich devised a brilliant yet ultimately flawed solution to the problem. Instead of assigning the territory being disputed to anyone nation or partitioning the land amongst themselves, a new Polish Kingdom was to be set up with the Russian Tsar as its figurehead. Though Alexander I was to be proclaimed the Kingdoms regent and head of state, the real power and authority was to lay in the hands of one notable Polish statesman named Adam Czartoryski. The Kingdom was to compose itself primarily in the area around Warsaw, but with its borders extending as far south as Cracow and Lublin (a notable concession by the Austrians). To the east it was to reach as far as Bug River at Brzesc-Litewski and likewise to the west near Lodz.

The collapse of the Polish Kingdom came rapidly after the death of Adam Czartoryski in 1843. The Russian Czar, no longer content at being a regent with no real powers in Poland marched upon Warsaw in the fall of 1848. After one of the succession of revolutions that year shook the Polish Kingdom to its foundations, eliminating the pro-Czarish fraction in the country and installing a socialist government which proclaimed the head of state not to be the Russian Czar. Nicholas I of course would not abide by this and as previously stated attacked the new Polish government in Warsaw. Prussia and Austria would not stand idily by as this happened however and both jumped upon the chance of annexing their former border provinces while the time was right. In the south Cracow and Lublin returned to Austrian rule and the area around south of Torun was made part of Prussia itself. By the end of the year Czar Nicholas had quashed the dissident Polish government and demolished the formerly independent nation of Poland, making it a formal province of the Russian Empire and condemning Poles to decades of existance under Russian rule.

Therefore by the midway point of the nineteenth century the Congress of Vienna had both succeeded and failed. General peace still reigned throughout Europe, yet the two Kingdoms which had been created out of the ashes of a Europe torn asunder by the Napoleonic Wars had both collapsed under nationalistic and political tensions. Many believed however that a status quo had been reached as Poland was finally partitioned for the last time and that the causes for a general war had now been eliminated. This however was not to last, for great things were afoot.

[Humpty Hump]

So, what's up with your kid and wife, and divorce and all that?

Was that all a prank?

[tkups]

HEY, lets ignore the soothing therapy of mecha and make him feel uncomfortable with questions about his problems in life!

Oh, Dellis beat me to it.

[Humpty Hump]

Originally Posted by The Jedi Penguin

HEY, lets ignore the soothing therapy of mecha and make him feel uncomfortable with questions about his problems in life!

Oh, Dellis beat me to it.

Fuck that, I don't give a shit about his personal life. I just want a better story.

[Welshy]

Mecha should take up tabletop wargaming as his hobby. He'd fit in just right.

He could probably play games over the mail with Cybren or Warhawk, kinda like how guys play chess through the mail

[tkups]

Originally Posted by DellisTantor

Fuck that, I don't give a shit about his personal life. I just want a better story.

IRONY.

Actually, your stories are usually entertaining.


KINF OF IRONY.

[BlecchaClodzilla]

I'll try to add new chapters as fast as I can, but these take hours. [I was up until 4:00 AM with this one ](Researching on Wikipedia takes a while as well) I've also decided to add some pictures/maps as now the situation gets a little confusing.

Chapter Two – The American Civil War

In comparison to Europe, the time after the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo was anything but content and violence free. North America - and to a lesser extent South America – was a land which was beckoning to the downtrodden masses of Europe which wished to make themselves and their families a better life. By the thousands they came – Irish, British, Germans, Slavs, Italians – while these immigrants filtered to any number of destinations, a large percentage of them had a starting point. New York.

Though New York was at the end of the Napoleonic Wars only a city of one hundred and forty-five thousand souls, it was the focal point of all immigration to the United States. Oftentimes a new immigrants memories of their adopted country was that of Ellis Island, a place where hundreds of thousands – if not millions – of new arrivals entered the country. In the few short decades after the Congress of Vienna and before the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, the city burgeoned from the aforementioned one hundred forty-five thousand to well over one million inhabitants. As an example of an expanding United States, New York reigned supreme. More so then the colonization of the west, even greater then the construction of a transcontinental railroad or any number of great works – the expansion of New York City was how the world viewed the growing might of America.


The election of Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth President of the United States in 1860, would set off the American Civil War

Yet, as the decades passed in the United States problems began to emerge in the union over the issue of slavery and states rights. While those issues had been festering for years before 1860, they openly exploded after the presidential election in 1860, when the Republican candidate for office – Abraham Lincoln was elected as the sixteenth President of the United States of America. Within weeks South Carolina succeeded from the Union, followed shortly by a string of other states – Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas. The first shots of the war were shoot unleashed in the Battle of Fort Sumter – initiating a conflict which would last for four years and lead to the total disillusionment of the Union. By the middle of 1861, the original seven succeeding states were joined by Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee. The stage was set, and the sonnet would only cry blood.

Quickly both the Confederate and Union forces galvanized themselves for the conflict which was sure to come, amassing brigades, divisions and entire army corps to press the advantage against the enemy. While local skirmishes had been fought since the initial calls of succession the year before, the first real battle was to begin in July of 1861, coined in passing as the First Battle of Bull Run. Thousands of eager Washington residents had traveled to the Potomac to witness the battle, only to flee from an onrushing Confederate Army. It was a marked reversal of a Union Army on the verge of total victory only a few hours previously. The Confederates however had rallied after Brigadier General Barnard Bee spotted the Virginians under fellow Brig. General Thomas Jackson, uttering those prophetical words - “Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians!” - helped to stabilize the front and in the end routed the Union forces. Only the arrival of George McClellen stopped the rout and saved the capitol.

Within days of the defeat the embattled Congress passed the Crittenden Resolution, stating that while the war was mainly about the salvation of the Union, it also had the recognized goal of ending slavery. In the scope of the conflict it was the act which doomed the Union to failure, only months into the affair. The border slave states of Kentucky and Missouri, up to then loyal to the Union – switched sides and joined with the Confederacy. For Lincoln it was a political embarrassment, his state of origin had sided with the enemy of the Union and more importantly the Confederate Army – soon under the brilliant command of Robert E. Lee was able to cut the Union in half by 1863 after the titanic battle near Springfield. Though Lee was gravely wounded in the battle, his words rung true by the end of the next year - “The Union is split, and it shall fall.”.


Horation Seymour, the Seventeenth President of the United States and the man who presided over the great fracturing of the Union.

The Union was doomed, first by the Crittenden Resolution and then by General Robert E. Lee. Yet, the majority of the population in the Union could not come to terms with this, but their fate was out of Union hands. The tide of the Confederacy swept over the superior Union industry and manpower. President Lincoln hoped in vain to resurrect the situation, but the Federal Election of 1864 saw him loose the Presidency to the Democratic nominee – Horatio Seymour. Seymour had openly criticized the Emancipation Proclamation and later on had tacitly, if not openly backed the Draft Riots in 1863 which had helped lead to the Union defeats in Ohio and Indiana. Now with the power of the Union in his hands, he agreed to the Confederate demands for succession from the Union and full sovereignty. The Union had broken, but it had yet to crumble – in only a few short years, the Presidency of Horatio Seymour was to accomplish even that.

Emboldened by the success of the Confederacy and lacking any real solid ties to Washington before the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1876, the West Coast states – lead by California – also removed themselves from the Union. First California fled in 1867, followed the next year by Oregon and Nevada. While these further acts of succession occurred, a longer lasting and far more symbolic act of American dissolvement occurred as the federal government of the United States abandoned its former capitol of Washington to resettle farther north in Boston.

With Washington, so went the Union – the United States of America was no more. The great experiment had failed.


The Continental United States in 1870. Blue representing the United States of America, Red as the Confederate States, Green as the West Coast League and Gray for states yet to enter any union.

[Blackferne]

*moves infantry and cavalry from Iowa into Missouri*

*makes offensive rolls*

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by Blackferne

*moves infantry and cavalry from Iowa into Missouri*

*makes offensive rolls*

The Union already lost! Viva la Pacifica!

[Chairman Yang]

History is so great, I could just...masturbate.

[Welshy]

Originally Posted by Welshy

Mecha should take up tabletop wargaming as his hobby. He'd fit in just right.

He could probably play games over the mail with Cybren or Warhawk, kinda like how guys play chess through the mail

I wasn't being insulting here, either!

Tabletop wargames are fun

[Kzin]

Minor pick -- except for Nebraska and Kansas, weren't all your grey 'states' actually Territories in 1870?

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by Chairman Yang

History is so great, I could just...masturbate.

Just the man I was looking for! I was hoping to maybe have you as some sort of advisor or something...

Any comments etc?

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by KzinKiller

Minor pick -- except for Nebraska and Kansas, weren't all your grey 'states' actually Territories in 1870?

Well yes they were territories. I'm just using "state" to describe the region on the map.

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Researching and crafting another entry as we speak. Can anyone say Spain, Portugal and South America?

[Welshy]

Spain, Portugal and South Aremica

[Welshy]

ah fuck

[BlecchaClodzilla]

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Three – To The South, A Growing Conflict

If one word can be spoken about the history of South America in the nineteenth century it would be this – revolution. The continent which had been firmly ruled by Spain and Portugal since the days of Christopher Columbus was at last at the threshold of widespread independence and revolution against those two European powers. Throughout the relatively impoverished southern half of the American super continent, men such as Simon Bolivar, Jose de San Martin and Francisco de Paula Santander. While many of these revolutions seemed to be possible, indeed much of the world believed South American independence was only a matter of time. To see this viewpoint, one must view how Spain and Portugal were positioned after the downfall of Napoleon and the Congress of Vienna.

In both Spain and later Portugal, the Napoleonic Wars hit hard. The Peninsular War, known to Spaniards as the War of Independence, sapped the strength of the nation for well over five years. During this time when Spaniard fought Spaniard, and the various powers fought over the Iberian Peninsula, little control was wrought over Spanish colonies in the new world. This measure of self-government while Spain was under the heel of Napoleon was to have harsh consequences even as the Congress of Vienna was in session in the form of several large scale insurrections and revolutions. Furthermore the economy of Spain was crippled in the fighting, although the French occupied large segments of the country for the majority of the Peninsular War it was not them, but the British who systematically dismantled as many industrial and manufacturing centers as could be found in Spain to ease competition on British industry. As the Peninsular War ended when the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley drove the French over the Pyrenees, the damage to Spain had been enormous. The economy and industry of the nation had been destroyed, their once proud navy had been defeated, captured or scuttled at the Battle of Trafalgar and an open air of civil unrest rode across the nation.

Portugal faired little better on the scheme of things, an open ally of Great Britain since the first days of the war, they had been subjected to French invasion by Marshall Jean-Andoche Junot. Lisbon was captured on December 1st 1807, forcing Portuguese royalty (including the Queen and Prince Regent) to flee the country to Brazil. Within a year, a large contingent of British forces, lead by none other then Arthur Wellesley had landed in Portugal and threw out the entrenched French garrisons. Napoleon, outraged over the defeat in Iberia led a force of over two hundred thousand past the Pyrenees and into the country himself, starting a second invasion of the country in 1809. A string of French victories ensued – Sahagun, Benavente, Cacobelos – culminated in the Battle of Corunna, where the British managed to successfully evacuate their beleaguered force by sea. With the way clear Marshall Soult began the Second Invasion of Portugal. The tide was only turned when Wellesley returned to the Continent to command the remaining British troops. Battles continued to rage across the country as each side – British/Portuguese and French – waged a mobile war over the Iberian countryside. Only in 1810 would the war move decisively beyond Portuguese borders. While the Peninsular War effected Portugal nearly as much – one must note that large segments of the Portuguese countryside and large cities such as Oporto and Lisbon were occupied several times – as in Spain, the Portuguese suffered from the effects far less. The successful evacuation of the Queen and Price Regent as the French neared Lisbon n 1807, allowed for control over the colonial possessions to continue (most importantly in Brazil) and unknown at the time, furthered the independence movement within Brazil.


Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington was to lead the British Forces to victory in the Peninsular War, liberating Portugal and Spain from French forces under.

As one can now tell, the experiences put upon the two Iberian countries – Portugal and Spain – was to have far reaching impact on how each nation was to handle national and independence inspirations in South America. The Portuguese, though greatly harmed by the conflict had continued control over Brazil throughout the war. With the return of the Portuguese royalty to Lisbon in 1821, the Brazilian population lost many of the privileges that had been provided to them during the Peninsular War – to the ire of many. When Dom Pedro – soon to be known as Pedro I of Brazil – called for “Independence or death!”, the Portuguese offered terms. The southern half of the country, including most of its industry and population, along with the important cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo were to come under the authority of the new Empire of Brazil. The northern half of the country however, including the Amazon River Basin was to be retained as Portuguese territory under a ninety-nine year lease.

Compared to the relatively peaceful release of Brazil, the portions of South America under Spanish control were to fight a series of revolutions in an attempt to gain their independence from the mother country. Even before the Napoleonic Wars had ended the first great attempts at revolt had begun in Argentina as General Jose de San Martin led rebel forces to victory over the Spanish at the Battle of San Lorenzo de Parana. Turning north the rebel forces began to isolate and destroy the remaining Spanish forces liberating large swaths of land into Upper Peru and Chile. Only as San Martin neared Peru proper did his forces begin to halt. At the Battle of Pisco, the Spanish inflicted a humiliating defeat upon the rebels, forcing San Martin to retreat back into the relative safety of Argentina. The Spanish Viceroy, now seeing his only chance at stemming the tide of popular revolutions attempted to negotiate with San Martin. For San Martin, the offer was too good to refuse in his current situation – most of his trained forces had been scattered or killed at Pisco and news from Europe told of a large Spanish fleet sailing to the Viceroys aid. Quickly San Martin agreed to Spanish terms for the independence of Argentina and Chile, and at the Conference of Buenos Aires the two areas united to be formerly known as Argentina-Chile, and the nation was to be later called the South American version of Austria-Hungary.


General Jose de San Martin, father of Argentina-Chile. He would succeed in the liberation of the southern half of South America, but would fail to crush the Spanish in Peru.

At nearly the same time as San Martin was running wild in the southern portion of the continent, in the north another revolutionary – Simon Bolivar – was rebelling against Spain as well. As Spain was occupied by the French starting in 1808, Bolivar along with many in the northern portions of South America joined in the resistance juntas. Despite the early loss of fellow leader Fransisco de Miranda, Bolivar continued to fight. Within ten years, Spanish grip over the northern areas including Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama had been shattered by Bolivar. In its place rose the Republic of Gran Columbia with revolutionaries such as Bolivar and Francisco de Paul Santander at the helm. Within a decade however the coalition of states began to disintegrate because of bitter infighting and by 1830 Ecuador and the portions of Peru under control of the government in Bogotá left the Union. Despite this and the resignation of Simon Bolivar, the coalition of Colombia, Venezuela and Panama continued throughout the century.


Simon Bolivar, like San Martin would lead revolutionaries to victory over the Spanish and set up Gran Colombia.

To the north of Gran Colombia, was the United States of Central America. Much like Gran Colombia, it was an amalgamation of Central American states into a single Federal Republic, much like that of the United States of America. Together Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica comprised the USCA. Liberals within the USCA had high hopes for the newly established republic, but many conservatives – including members of the Catholic clergy and wealthy landowners – wished an end to the Republic. Civil war began between the states beginning in 1840, and the conflict was to become a dire foreshadowing of the American Civil War which would follow twenty years later. Government forces were quickly forced from the rebellion strongholds in Guatemala, but further advances into the Republic were thwarted. The war began to settle down until the charismatic leader of the rebels – Rafael Carrera – was killed by government soldiers. With the death of their leader the majority of the rebel forces collapsed under government pressure, aided by supplies and weapons from Gran Colombia. Although the remaining rebels would continue to plague the republic for over a decade, the real threat died with Rafael Carrera. Reprisals from the Morazan government against wealthy landowners who supported the rebels followed soon after and in the process the system of latifundia was abolished, leading to widespread support from the downtrodden peasant farmers.


South America after the revolutions of led by San Martin and Simon Bolivar.

Green = Argentina-Chile
Yellow = Brazil + Portuguese Amazon
Blue = Spain
Purple = Ecuador
Orange = Gran Colombia (British have possession of Guyana and the other two small states, but they don't show up + Falklands)
Navy Blue = United States of Central America

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Great writers are never appreciated in their time

[tkups]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Great writers are never appreciated in their time

Yes they are! OSC is alive and he rocks! Tolkien was BELOVED!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by The Jedi Penguin

Yes they are! OSC is alive and he rocks! Tolkien was BELOVED!

By writers I of course meant writers of alternative histroy stories!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Well thank you, Yvgar. : )


I'm putting the finishing touches on the next chapter now.

[Gravy]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

Well thank you, Yvgar. : )


I'm putting the finishing touches on the next chapter now.

I'm a sucker for these.

I think I've read all of the AAR (After Action Reports) on the HoI forums, too.

(Still don't have HoI2 though)

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Four – American Reshuffling

After the American Civil War, North America was a land without a master. On the continent several forces were to emerge to contest for supremacy. In the north lay the British Colonies – Upper and Lower Canada, along with their sister colonies in the Maritimes. The area had been untouched by the civil war that had raged to the south, and after the conflict and the breaking of the Union the colonies received large benefits from the problems to the south. Just like the American Revolution almost a hundred years previous a large exodus of pro-Confederacy or pro-Unionist citizens fled to the British Colonies to escape from the ravages of war. Thousands among them were skilled craftsmen, industrial workers or intellectuals, and with them came the boon of industry as men such as Cornelius Vanderbilt , J.P Morgan and Edward Harriman fled to the northern reaches of the continent to escape from the economic collapse which followed the end of the Union. Bolstered by the industrial and economic exodus from the United States the British Colonies began their headlong struggle towards Confederation. Within several years the country had been united to form the Dominion of Canada and the five initial provinces of Canada – Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Price Edward Island – quickly began to assert their dominance over the rest of the territories above the forty-ninth parralel.


Canadian Confederation would unite the British Colonies to the north of the rump of the United States of America, and allow for a powerful counterweight to the three new nations in the Continental United States

To achieve that aim the first Canadian Prime Minister – Sir John A. MacDonald – negotiated for the purchase of Rupert's Land from the Hudson's Bay company. The cash settlement though large at the time, was to prove to be of immense value in the long run, and as early as 1870 portions of the newly purchased land were granted provincial status with the Manitoba Act. Soon after British Columbia was lured into Confederation with the promise of a transcontinental railway to be built by 1880. By the time the railroad was completed in 1885 - five years behind schedule – Canada had received and was in full economic boom. The explosion of immigrants, not only from Europe but from south of the border as well allowed for rapid expansion of industry and transportation networks. Besides the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, dozens of canals to ferry trade and traffic throughout the vital St. Lawrence seaway were constructed. It was a situation far different from the one occurring south of the Great Lakes.

The United States of America, bankrupted by the war and facing secession by not only the Confederate States led by Virginia, but by the West Coast States, fell into an economic mire. To compound the problem many of the most prominent pillars of the American economy fled the country with most of their assets either north to Canada, or south to the rapidly industrializing South America. The economic downfall, coupled with the loss of so much territory crippled the administration of Horatio Seymour. With open riots in New York and Boston and many in the armed forces having not been paid in months, the President was forced to resign, his Vice President – Francis Preston Blair – was thus thrust into the spotlight. A man from the Confederate state of Missouri, he seemed an unlikely savior of the remaining Union, despite his home states loyalties however he was fully committed to the Union. He had briefly fought during the Civil War, going so far as being wounded by a shot to the left shoulder which left his hand on that side crippled. His Presidency, short as it was however was to save the Union from further degradation. Ruthlessly he put down two separatist movements that had begun to form in northern Maine, which culminated in the Battle of Jacksons Farm where Union forces crushed the separatists for the final time. With the threat of further secession removed President Blair moved to stifle the economic mire which the United States had been thrust into after the end of the Civil War. Tariffs were sharply raised on goods coming from the Confederate States of America and from northern Canada, and in addition businessmen were given significant benefits to keep their assets within the United States of America. Though these measures were to fail to keep Blair in office after 1872, they laid the foundations which would preserve the Union after the disastrous end of the Civil War.


Francis Blair, a Civil War veteran and the man who replaced the resigned Horatio Seymour as President of the United States and would preserve the Union.

The Presidential Election of 1872 was the first review of the progress made by American politicians after the end of the Civil War and for the Democratic Party it was a blow from which it would take thirty years to recover. Despite the reversal of economic misfortunes and the strengthening of the Union by President Blair, the shadow of Horatio Seymour still hung over the party, the public as of then was not ready to forgive the party for the loss of over half of America. The consequence was the election of Abraham Lincoln for a second term – though he had arguably lost the Civil War by himself the public viewed him as a man who had fought for the Union, and though he had lost – he had done a damn better job then the man who replaced him. The Lincoln that entered the White House after the 1872 election however was a far different man then from 1860. Lincoln was now over sixty years old, though he was still capable of running the nation the scars of time, and probably more importantly, that of the Civil War had put their mark upon him. It would be up to Lincoln to continue the work of Francis Blair.


Abraham Lincoln, disgraced by failure but admired for his spirit would return to office in 1872.

[Knight of Ni]

If this alternative history doesn't end up with a Pirate Armada overtaking Britain as ruler of the seas then you've failed as a writer.

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by Knight of Ni

If this alternative history doesn't end up with a Pirate Armada overtaking Britain as ruler of the seas then you've failed as a writer.

The next chapter involves a new Mormon Theocratic country

[Gravy]

Originally Posted by MechaGodzilla

The next chapter involves a new Mormon Theocratic country

Utahnistan?

[Knight of Ni]

Originally Posted by Yvgar

Utahnistan?

Sexwithclothesonembourg.

[Gravy]

Originally Posted by Knight of Ni

Sexwithclothesonembourg.

Polygamyville?

[Knight of Ni]

Originally Posted by Yvgar

Polygamyville?

the Holy Prude Empire

founded by Emperor Abstaintine

[Cybren]

tabletop wargaming KICKS ASS

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Five – The Republic of Pacifica and Deseret

While the United States was shackled to the arresting nature of an economic downfall after their defeat in the American Civil War, the two new states that had emerged out of that conflict were to undergo rapid expansion of both industry and foreign investment. While the west coast was to receive far less support in proportion to the Confederate States of America, the boon which they received was far more in context. California, the largest of the three west coast states, had during the civil war, played a double-sided role. Many in the southern reaches of the state (which had briefly been offered its own statehood), viewed eye to eye with the Confederates and several units such as the Los Angeles Rifles joined with Texan units in the fight against the Union. However the real center of power in California was at San Francisco, the city that had most benefited from the earlier gold rush in the late 1840's. The character of the city was anything but pro-Confederate, and due to this the state stayed with the Union throughout the conflict. After the defeat of the Union however the question of continued statehood with the United States was brought into question by many in San Francisco who viewed ties with Boston to be only a drag upon the economy of the state and its neighbors. This fact, coupled with the public announcement by President Seymour that work on an intercontinental railroad would be halted for the time being pushed the politicians in California to seek alternative arrangements without the federal government on the East Coast.

The fateful step to separate from the Union was decided in the days leading up to the Christmas of 1867. Henry Haight, the tenth governor of the state had run and won the state election based on the promise to separate from the Union, a promise which got little if any comment from the federal government on the other side of the continent. This move prompted Haight to receive monumental support from not only the primarily New Englander population of the San Francisco, but also from many of the men who had wished to join the Confederates during the Civil War. As such, Haight was swept into office on the promise that he separate from the Union post-haste. The governor however knew that if his plan to succeed was to be a success, he would need the support of the other two neighboring states – Oregon and Nevada. To the north lay Oregon, smaller and with far less population then California at a time, it was dependent on California for many of its goods and was at least in part economically reliant on their southern counterpart. The state governor – A.C. Gibbs – had recently won another term in office, and despite his want to stay with the Union he realized that without a transcontinental railroad and with California planning to succeed it would be in the states best interest - if not its only interest to join in the federation which Governor Haight suggested. To the east in Nevada, that question of economic reliance was far more certain. The discovery of gold in 1866, led to a massive movement of Californian assets into the state by experienced gold miners that had move to the area over fifteen years previously. In addition many of the mines within the states used San Francisco as the common port on which their raw materials could be shipped to markets and where they were to receive supplies. Much like the governor of Oregon, Henry Blasdel the sitting governor agreed to Haight's proposal for a confederation of west coast states.


The founders of Pacifica from left to right - California Governor Henry Haight, Oregon Governor A.C. Gibbs, Nevada Governor Henry Blasdel

With all three governors now agreed on a plan to succeed from the Union it was only a matter of time before those states announced their plans to leave the Union and proclaim sovereignty. By Boxing Day – December 26th 1867 – all three state legislatures had ratified the plan to leave the Union. A half hearted attempt by the federal government was made to stop the process, but many in California and the other states viewed the attempt as only a move to save face. Newspapers which still backed the Union, proclaimed that “Seymour talked, but didn't act. A lame duck!”. Despite the protests by many in the state, the plan received backing from the majority of citizens within at least California and without significant ties to the east, the two fellow states on the west coast went with them. Though they did not want the federal government, the new nation was to continue with its democratic roots with several notable changes. For one, the President of the Republic was to have a term of six years instead of four. Henry Haight – the man who had enabled the succession was to become the first President of the Republic of Pacifica as it was to soon be called. The prospects for the Union looked good, and expansion of the new Republic to the north and possibly to the east and south was discussed fervently. These hopes for a northern expansion past Oregon were largely dashed by Canada as they annexed the northern half of the region in 1871, following the entry of British Columbia into Confederation. Further expansion however into Idaho was made by the mid-1870's and the area was granted full statehood in the Republic of Pacifica by 1877. While politicians in San Francisco continued to fund expansion, after Idaho the gains became less and less. Settlers from Pacifica moving into western Arizona were largely stopped by Confederate forces as that nation brought both the Arizona and New Mexico territories into their field of influence. Despite this, the administration at San Francisco was able to bring much of western Arizona under the Republics influence, setting up a provisional state capitol at Phoenix.

In the Utah territory, settlers from San Francisco and other parts of Pacifica were fully turned back by the Mormons. A full fledged State of Deseret had sprung up in the area during the collapse of the United States after Lee cut the country in half at Ohio and by 1870, a Mormon theocracy had fully solidified. Brigham Young, the leader and prophet of the Mormons at the time had already moved the Mormons to the Utah territory and with the Union collapsing had no intention of yielding any territory to an outside force. As he rightly perceived the loss by the Union to the Confederates had given Mormon settlers their best chance to establish the State of Deseret. Not willing to allow settlers to encroach on lands which the Mormons claimed he sent a bold message to neighboring Pacifica when a caravan of settlers bound for the Utah territory was ambushed and destroyed. Though it nearly put the new Republic of Pacifica and the State of Deseret to war, it forever halted settlement into the Utah territory by Pacifica settlers. The State of Deseret now free from foreign attempts at colonization and lacking outside influence in the form of a transcontinental railroad was given leisurely time to draft a constitution and by 1872, several nations including Great Britain, France and even the United States of America had recognized the theocratic government in the Great Basin.


The division of the continental United States by 1885. Blue is the United States of America, Red is the Confederate States of America, Green is Pacifica, Yellow is the State of Deseret and Orange for Canada.

As one can see the United States has expanded into the midwest as far as Montana and eastern Idaho. The Confederate States have taken control of New Mexico and half of Arizona. Pacifica has had modest expansion into Idaho, Washington and Arizona. Canada meanwhile has expanded south from British Columbia. Its a whole new ballgame!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Six – Mexico
Like all portions of the story thus far, one can draw the beginnings of the modern history of Mexico in the Napoleonic Wars. As previously shown the Peninsular War had significantly harmed the Spainish Empire, so much so that most of the empires territory in South America was lost to the revolutions led by Simon Bolivar and Jose de San Martin. In Central America, a series of independence movements led to the creation of a string of small nations – El vSalvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala. In Mexico however the quest for independence would reach its greatest extent in both violence and length, then anywhere else on the super continent. Mexico had been ruled by the Spanish Empire since the destruction of the Aztecs by the Conquistadors under Hernan Cortes hundreds of years previous. By the start of the nineteenth century however, the time for this undisturbed reign was set to end, and in the stunning twist it would be a parish priest named Miguel Hidalgo who was to being the fall of Spanish power in Mexico.

The story of Miguel Hidalgo, is of course the story of the independence movement within Mexico at the time. A parish priest, he was the anti-thesis of everything Spanish authorities wished to find in their citizens. Of French literature which was formerly banned, he was an avid reader and was openly contemptuous against the Spanish authorities. Father Hidalgo even went so far as to violate some of the most sacred laws of the Catholic Church, regularly breaking his vow of celibacy. In his quest to rid Mexico of the Spanish his nonconformist attitude was best come in handy as he learned the indigenous languages that helped him lead some of the earliest mestizo and farmer uprisings. By the December of 1810, he and his followers decided that the time was right – the revolution should come then, when the Spanish were at their weakest. Napoleon had conquered Spain and the Peninsular War was at its height, the small group of peasants, criolles and former prisoners led by a simple priest would have their best chance at victory then and only then. Unknown the Hidalgo and his followers however, their plans to rise up and kick the Spanish out of New Spain had been leaked to the Spanish authorities and only a last minute warning was to save the group from arrest and execution.


Father Miguel Hidalgo, the founder of the Mexican independene movement. Though he would die for the cause, his example would allow for the eventual success of the revolution.

Unlettered Miguel Hidalgo delivered his famous speech in which he called for support and declared – "Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Death to bad government! Death to the gachupines!". The call was greeted by enthusiastic support by all who heard the priest speak and within days a mob of hundreds strong was marching to Guanajuato. Once there, they were joined by the miners who worked in the area and with their help all of the peninsulares and the local intendente were massacred in the city square. Emboldened by the victory the small army set off towards Mexico City to finish the revolution in their favor. Along the way they captured a series of towns including Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi and Valladolid. Stopped at Monte de las Cruces, the rebels were brought to battle by Spanish forces and though they won the battle, they were forced to march north in an attempt to escape from the colonial rulers of New Spain. On the border with Texas however the group – including Father Hidalgo were captured. Retribution was swift. Hidalgo's followers were all shot, their bodies mutilated and their heads displayed at each city their army had marched through. Hidalgo himself faired little better, shackled and marched to Mexico City he was put before the Spanish Inquisition and forced to repent under several weeks worth of torture. The confession extracted, Spanish officials condemned Hidalgo to death by firing squad. The testimonials from the execution vary, but on one issue all accounts agree. As he was marched to the spot at which his life would end, he was asked if he had any last words. He did - “Viva la revolution!”. Seconds later the crack of muskets ended the life of Miguel Hidalgo, his body was flayed and later quartered with a limb of the priests body sent to each corner of New Spain. His head was displayed upon a spike in Mexico City for over a year, but the one aim with which they Spanish authorities had aimed for – the breaking of the Mexican Independence movement – had not been stopped by Father Miguel's death, indeed his death only strengthened the desire for independence.



Fellow Catholic Priest Jose Maria Morelos would take up the cause of Mexican Independence after the death of Father Miguel Hidalgo's death.

With Hidalgo dead it was up to his friend and fellow Roman Catholic Priest – Jose Maria Morelos – to take up the fight against the Spanish. Though his forces conducted a brilliant set of campaigns against the Spanish Viceroy, capturing large portions of the countryside and taking cities such as Oaxaca and Acapulco, he was also captured. Like the man before him, Morelos was executed and his body split into pieces as a warning to the rebels. Again however, the revolution would not stop. Instead it only strengthened as two more men – Guadalupe Victoria and Vicente Guerrero – took up the fight against the Viceroy. By 1821 the Spanish could not hold Mexico for any longer, several factors had eroded their support within the country itself and in Spain the installment of Ferdinand VII had led to the general weakening of the Spanish. In another cruel twist of fate it was to be Agustin de Iturbide – a criolle officer who had hunted both Miguel Hidalgo and Jose Morelos for the Spanish Viceroy – who would secure the independence of Mexico. Sent to finally crush the rebels by the Viceroy, he instead turned against the Spanish Crown and strengthened by rebel forces marched into Mexico City, ending Spanish rule over Mexico. By the end of the year a treaty had been signed in Cordoba giving Mexico full sovereignty.


Agustin de Iturbide. He would lead the Mexican Independence movement to victory after earlier attempts to crush it for the Spanish Viceroy. After the Treaty of Corbuda he would be installed as the first and only Mexican Emperor.

The question now turned to who would rule the nation? Liberals and conservatives both disagreed, but the Treaty of Cordoba left open a possibility of installing a monarch to rule the nation. A search for a suitable member of one of Europe's nobility did not find a suitable candidate and so the Mexicans turned to one of their own – Agustin de Iturbide. Though a fine officer, Iturbide was to become a horrible monarch as he jailed anyone who disagreed with his judgments. Within months of the beginning of his reign, significant resistance had formulated and several of the previous rebels including Guadalupe Victoria conspired to depose Iturbide and begin a Republic. The Plan de Casa Mata that followed would install Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna as the de facto ruler of Mexico until his death in 1876. His rule was to be punctuated with numerous military expeditions and threats against the new Republic of Mexico. First in 1829 the Spanish tried for a final time to reimpose their will over Mexico, landing a force of several thousand at Tampico. Despite being outnumbered and outclassed, Santa Anna was able to rout and destroy the Spanish. A half decade later Texas declared its independence, Santa Anna once again marched – this time north to contest with the Texans. It was in Texas however that the fate of Mexico began its downward spiral, his victory at the Alamo was quickly turned into defeat as Sam Houston's forces defeated and took him prisoner at the Battle of San Jacinto. Humiliated by the Texans, he was forced to allow for their independence. Only two years later the French invaded in the short lived Pastry War and though it cost little in life, it cost Santa Anna his leg.


General Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna. Early in his career he would help in the overthrow of the first Mexican Emperor, and would go onto fight for Mexico in numerous affairs such as the Pastry War. In the end he would lose two of his limbs for the effort.

This began his second reign as President of Mexico, and he began to impose his will far more hostilely . Tax rates began to soar and several states totally eliminated contact with the central government, most tellingly a large portion of southern Mexico around the Yucatan declared its independence and within days agreed to join with the United States of Central America. The following war cost Santa Anna his arm and a large portion of his army. Now disgraced by two lost wars and two lost limbs, Santa Anna was exiled from Mexico by the army and forced to flee to London. Despite the removal of Santa Anna, the fortunes of Mexico would go no higher, soon in 1846 the United States annexed most of northern Mexico including California. Less then two decades later, the American Civil War had ended and Mexico looked enviously towards the north seeing a relatively undefended New Mexico and Arizona ripe for the picking. After the Confederate victory at Springfield however, the government in Richmond had declared both territories part of the Confederate States of America. Tensions over the states soon escalated and a war between the two nations began in earnest. In hindsight one can see that Mexico was unequipped without General Santa Anna to deal with experienced Confederate expedition force led by Stonewall Jackson, but the government in Mexico City was undisturbed. A plea from Santa Anna himself to return to Mexico from London to assist in the defense of the nation was refused and Mexico soon fell to Confederate forces. At the same time on Mexico's western border the newly organized Republic of Pacifica decided to gain the spoils of war while Mexico was distracted, annexing the Baja Peninsula. This however was only a sideshow to the real war which was unfolding to the east near Tampico.


Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and Joseph Wheeler, both experienced Generals from the American Civil War would lead the Confederate Expidition into Mexico. At the Battle of Tampico they would lead the Confederate forces.

The Battle of Tampico was set to begin. The Confederates led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson had marched south from Corpus Christi with several thousand men in two corps of infantry and a division of cavalry under Lieutenant General Joseph Wheeler. Together Jackson and Wheeler had upwards of fifteen thousand men ready for the battle. Opposing them were twelve thousand regulars of the Mexican Army, along with several thousand partisans which knew the area well. Pedro de Ampudia was to command the force, and his primary objective was to keep Tampico out of Confederate hands. Unknown to all of them however Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was only twelve miles off the coast of Tampico and was only hours away from landing there. Santa Anna had defied the refusal of his request to defend Mexico and instead had chartered the fastest ship he could find to ferry him to his homeland, so that he may, he hoped defend it. Unknown to him and everyone involved in the Battle of Tampico so far – he was to prove the critical role in what would become one of the most decisive battles in North American history, one that would put the Battle of Springfield to shame.

As dawn rose, the corps assembled and the first artillery shells violated the air.....

[Knight of Ni]

Hooray brown people!

Also, WHERE ARE THE PIRATES

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by Knight of Ni

Hooray brown people!

Also, WHERE ARE THE PIRATES

First the mud people and the confederates battle it out!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Seven – Calm Before The Storm

The day before the Battle of Tampico was to prove almost as important as the battle itself. General Ampudia had sent his partisan militia and irregulars forward from his regular units to reconnoiter the countryside in front of Tampico. Cavalry units and the foot infantry soon found the forward edges of the Confederate advance composed of Wheelers 1st Virginia Cavalry led by Colonel James Drake. Though the battle was short, the Confederates inflicted several dozen casualties upon the disorganized militia and it was a stunning testament to the gap of experience between each of the units. The 1st Virginians had been a part of Wheelers division at the battle of Springfield and had participated at the height of the battle and thus were as battle hardened as one might expect a unit of their caliber might be. Their opponents – composed mostly of hastily trained men from Tampico – had no such training and indeed many of them had fired only five or six shots from their rifles. Attached Mexican cavalry mainly stayed out of the battle as per General Ampudia's orders.

That decision was based upon the fact that Ampudia was sorely deficient in cavalry strength. Though his division was over ten thousand strong in nearly ten brigades, it had less then one brigade of cavalry. As such Ampudia was to retain a tight lease over the cavalry throughout the battle. Thus, the opening salvo's between the Virginians and the Tampico militia gave the Confederate forces the initiative. The Mexicans however had gained what they were trying to find out however – the Confederates were within striking distance of Tampico. Hurriedly the Mexican cavalry returned to the command post which General Ampudia had erected three miles from Tampico and half a mile from the nearest building – an old Catholic Mission built in the 1500's. Learning that the Confederate forces were within a days march of the town he was ordered to defend, Ampudia ordered his corps to take positions in the ridges overlooking the road leading to Soto La Martina.

At the command post of General Thomas Jackson the same kinds of decisions were being made at around the same time. His division had roughly swept aside the small amount of resistance which the militia and Mexican irregulars had offered over the previous few days. Although they had proved a nuisance, they were of no real threat and both the supply wagons and communication lines to Texas had remained open since they had crossed the border. Reports from General Wheeler had informed him that the last of the irregulars had been destroyed by his cavalry an hour previously, however Mexican cavalry had been spotted, undoubtedly trying to scout out his divisions location. The maps his men had been able to requisition from the local populace had shed light on the situation before the division. During the night before the battle Jackson and Wheeler were to confer for several hours as too how the attack would play out the next day. Ahead of them were two large, yet modest ridges and behind them a small creek before Tampico itself could be taken. Obviously their Mexican counterpart would try to force a decisive battle on the ridges where he possessed the high ground along with defensive cover at the Catholic Mission. Yet a chance to bypass that hurdle was offered them, as the rightmost ridge stopped nearly a half mile from the Gulf of Mexico. It was here that the hammer would fall between the ocean and the heavily protected ridges. Jackson had committed his forces to a similar maneuver before at Springfield and he longed to prove its use once again.

The final plan envisioned an anvil provided by the 1st and 2nd Brigades of Jacksons Division that would pin the Mexicans near the Catholic Mission in a pitched battle. Meanwhile the 3rd and 4th Brigades, along with Wheelers cavalry would punch through the screen of Mexican infantry between the Mission and the ocean, allowing for the infantry and cavalry to roll up the flank of the Mexicans, catching them in a vice. The only problem associated with the plan was the how the Mexicans might distribute their own brigades. Should they heavily garrison the left ridge then the whole plan would be forfeit, with overwhelming strength on the 1st Brigades flank, they would surely themselves be flanked. Jackson however dismissed this idea, seeing as the right ridge offered superior protection in the form of the Catholic Mission that would be needed to protect both the road and the gap to the Gulf. With their plan complete Jackson and Wheeler retired to capture a few hours sleep before the battle was to begin.


Army dispositions before the Battle

EDIT: This image took FOREVER to make, so you better appreciate it

[Gravy]

Dammit Mecha, I keep reading these and then diving into some Hearts of Iron when I should be doing homework.

YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING TO MY POOR GRADES, JERK!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Originally Posted by Yvgar

Dammit Mecha, I keep reading these and then diving into some Hearts of Iron when I should be doing homework.

YOU'RE CONTRIBUTING TO MY POOR GRADES, JERK!

More about The Battle of Tampico on the way!

[BlecchaClodzilla]

Chapter Eight – The Mission And A Fateful Gap

Confederate troops lining up on the morning of the battle could still smell the blood of the partisans that had fell to Wheelers cavalry the day before. Many among them could see the dead bodies, the rotting flesh and the scavengers that were already picking away at the corpses. No men had come during the night to collect the dead and give them a proper Christian burial, instead they would lay where they fell to rot and insult the Confederates noses. Despite the stench, the men in their gray uniforms stood at attention for their daily inspection. Several muttered prayers which they had recited in past battles, many of them had their own private rituals which they hoped might stave off the bullet which might end their lives, or worse yet, make them an amputee. Men could abide death, for it was an eventuality – a trip to the surgeon was something that hopefully could be. By seven in the morning units had already finished their scant breakfast, eating whatever their rations afforded them. Several of the officers in Wheelers 1st Brigade had the unusual pleasure of a roasted chicken – a prize they had won while scouting a Mexican farmstead the day before. Though the family that lived there yelled at them in Spanish, they could not lift an arm to stop the men in their gray uniforms from taking several of their chickens.

Several miles away General Ampudia could see the tents of the army in front of him. The heights afforded by the twin ridges allowed a man properly situated and with a well made telescope to see for several miles in almost every direction. Ampudia had rightly realized this fact and before the battle had gotten underway had moved to see for himself how the Confederate battle lines would form up. Meanwhile far to the south in Tampico a lone ship had docked, aboard it was Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna. Quickly he and his few companions moved into the city where they found two brigades of infantry freshly arrived from Mexico City by way of the local rail line. They had been forming up when Santa Anna hobbled up to their commanding officer and demanded that he be allowed to assume command of the forces within the city. The officer he spoke to had never met Santa Anna, however the shuffle brought on by his one leg and the way the former General stuck his left sleeve into his jacket like Horatio Nelson had done when he was alive convinced the young man that this was in fact General Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna. Within minutes the General had assumed command of the two brigades within the city and set off north towards the creek and the battle ahead of it.

It was by now slightly after eight thirty in the morning. Jacksons four brigades had formed up and were now within several hundred yards of the Mexican lines near the Catholic Mission. Confederate artillery had already begun to pound the Mexican lines and the wind direction had shifted the smoke to cover the Confederate line of advance. Shocked by the artillery the Mexican regulars, though comparatively well trained had not been under fire before and began to fire well out of their rifles range. Officers trying to retain command of the situation found themselves grappling with almost panicking troops before they had even engaged the Confederate infantry line. The smoke was so bad that it was to fully conceal the movements of the 4th Virginian Brigade, along with most of Wheelers cavalry. Counter-battery fire by the scant few Mexican artillery pieces likewise was deterred by the smoke created by the hurried Confederate artillery that the few shots which the Mexicans did fire went either too high or landed well short.

Jackson had meanwhile realized by now that the majority of the Mexican forces were indeed located upon the left ridge and the intervening gap to the Gulf and pushed his troops forward without thought to the threat the 1st and 2nd Mexican Brigades posed to his 1st Virginians left flank. Unknown to him however, the forces he saw in front of him were not the full threat he faced. Indeed he was not to account for the possibility of two reserve brigades appearing at the peak of the battle. Santa Anna was to have his surprise after all.


The Spanish Mission where Mexican infantry men would doggedly defend the ridge between the road and the gap. Loopholes within the structure would provide protection for rifleman as they fired at advancing Confederates.
As the Confederate infantry lines approached the Mission they encountered the first accurate volleys the Mexicans could hurl at them. The affect was particularly vicious upon the 6th North Carolina Company, within minutes accurate rifle fire coming from loopholes in the Catholic Mission nearly wiped out the units whole strength. Nearby from the 6th North Carolina Company, the lieutenant colonel of their Battalion was hit by a Mexican bullet and kicked off his saddle. Despite the casualties the Confederate forces advanced and began to fire back as they rushed and stumbled upwards towards the Mission and the top of the ridge. General Ampudia, receiving dispatches from the battle line was under the impression as it neared eleven o'clock in the morning that while the situation was growing serious that it could be handled. Reports given to him would attest to the fact that the brigadier general in charge of that area believed that he was engaged with at least three brigades and was holding his own with his two. Little did Ampudia know that in the gap the first shots were being fired in what would soon open the right flank of the 4th and 5th Mexican Brigades.

Ampudia had earlier dismissed the notion that the Confederates would with any serious strength try to move past the gap and smash his brigades from the rear. Instead he had firmly put forward the idea that Jackson would casually try to make his way through the twin ridges down the Soto La Martina road towards Tampico itself. He was to be proven wrong and near eleven thirty, the 3rd and 4th Confederate Infantry Brigades began their assault against the lone Mexican brigade which held the gap. To their rear Wheelers cavalry awaited the breakthrough which would allow them to encircle the two Mexican brigades near the Catholic Mission. Charging with bayonets attached the two Confederate Brigades roughly pushed aside their one opposing Brigade within minutes. By noon, the 6th Mexican Brigade had been routed and the gap was open.

Santa Anna himself had forced the two Brigades he had assumed control over to double time it down the road too where the sounds of a pitched battle could be heard. Slightly after eleven o'clock he had gotten both units over the creak and had approached the right ridge guarded by the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Mexican Brigades involved in the battle. Battery fire from the Confederate lines had done their job of keeping the raging battle to their right from being adequately shown and as such many of the men were milling around, the officers waiting for the enemy to appear. General Ampudia, so engrossed in the conflict swirling around the Mission had let his command over those three Brigades lapse and so he had not sprung on the chance to flank the Confederate 1st Brigade. General Santa Anna upon arriving at the ridge and knowing the situation was aghast. His own scouts had informed him of the pitched battles occuring near the Mission and he had also learned that only a single Brigade protected the gap. As he saw it the only way to stave off defeat would be to outflank the Confederates left. With the sun high in the sky and the temperature reaching its zenith, he set about doing that.


The Battle for Tampico at around noon. Heavy figting around the Catholic Mission had been ongoing for several hours and despite being toe to toe with two Confederate Brigades the Mexicans have been holding on. However their flank has been dangerously exposed after the gap was breeched by Jacksons infantry and Wheelers cavalry. Santa Anna has meanwhile moved up with his two Brigades to take over command of the Mexican left wing.