America: My Third TL

Okay I’ve been having this idea for a new TL in my head for the past week or two & I’ve finally decided to go through with it. I’ve never made a TL with a POD this far back so bear with me & please let me know if there’s anything too ASB in the post as well as an input positive or negative yall have on what could make this TL more realistic & nicer to read. Thanks in advance for any advice yall give me.

Prelude

In 1789 George Washington, a man called the Father of His Country, would be unanimously elected the United States first president with John Adams as his Vice-President. As the countries 2nd election would grow near it seemed that both Washington & Adams were surely to continue for a further 4 years. However an unexpected tragedy would occur on December 14,1791 when Vice-President Adams would contract pneumonia & die 10 days later. In the election of 1792 Washington would as expected be elected to a second term in office though with Adams dead the new Federalist candidate John Jay would become his second Vice President.

Quasi

With Washington’s refusal to run for a third term in 1796 the seat for presidency would be up for the taking. With 4 years as the nation Vice President under his belt the Federalist John Jay would become the nations 2nd president defeating the Democratic-Republican candidate Thomas Jefferson. Chief negotiator in the Jay Treaty which had resolved many issues between the US & Britain Jay’s presidency would see relations between the 2 country’s. This however would also bring about hostilities from the US’s old ally France.

Following the US’s refusal to continue paying its debt to France following the overthrow of the monarchy French warships would begin seizing American ships trading with Britain as well as their refusal to receive America’s new minister Congress would authorize President Jay to acquire, arm, & man twelve new vessels & resume construction on the frigates Chesapeake, President, & Congress. In June 1798 Congress would rescind the treaties with France & authorize US warships to attack French warships.

This undeclared Quasi-War would continue for nearly two years with many privateers being captured or sunk by each others navies & their frigates would duel across the waters. Though the number of American merchant ships & privateers sunk or captured by the French would be exponentially higher than those captured by the US in warship on warship action the odds would be in the US’s favor. In dozens of engagements the US Navy would lose none of its 6 frigates while capturing 7 & sinking 4 of their French counterparts.

In February 1800 a truce between the US & France would be signed “officially” ending hostilities. However despite the peace mistrust would still remain with France & in the following years relations would be shaky at best. The peace & ending of French seizures of American merchants would propel John Jay into easily winning the election of 1800 once more over Thomas Jefferson & gaining him a second term in office.
 
Well with Jay as President would the US ally with England once France goes back on the offensive? Could this also lead to the US and England not getting into a War?
 
Isn't it common that Jay becoming President ensures that there would be a quicker end to slavery in any TL?
I've never heard of that but it sounds interesting. Tell me more please.
Well with Jay as President would the US ally with England once France goes back on the offensive? Could this also lead to the US and England not getting into a War?

well not right away at least. i've got about 3 time frames that i'm thinking of at least 1 anglo american war thuogh at the moment i'm not sure which one if any are used
 
I've never heard of that but it sounds interesting. Tell me more please.

Jay was notoriously anti-slavery. In my "Created Equal" I have Adams pushing through a Louisana Purchase wherein slavery is banned there; I can see Jay doing the same, but if you go with a war agaisnt France on the side of Britain there may not need to be a wpurchase.

Which might be needed, as different negotiators might do different thigns. Does Jay try to purchase New Orleans or seize it?

This will also have an impact on Jefferson - he and Adams developed a very heated rivalry, the Election of 1800 probably isn't as vitriolic. Likely there are no Alien and Sedition Acts, either - Jefferson likely doesn't have as big of a rivalry with jay, as I suspect Adams' personality helped the rivalry to increase with Jefferson. So, Jefferson probably isn't as rough on jay as Jay wouldn't rub him the wrong way as much.

With Jefferson a 2-time loser, I wonder if Burr would be the front-runner for 1804 for the D-R Party. My guess is Madison would be more likely to win support from D-R, but Burr could be active in New York politics if he's not VP.His rivalry with hamilton might come to a head earlier, then, but not have so much build up that there's a duel, just a heated argument without that.
 
Does Jay try to purchase New Orleans or seize it?

This will also have an impact on Jefferson - he and Adams developed a very heated rivalry, the Election of 1800 probably isn't as vitriolic. Likely there are no Alien and Sedition Acts, either - Jefferson likely doesn't have as big of a rivalry with jay, as I suspect Adams' personality helped the rivalry to increase with Jefferson. So, Jefferson probably isn't as rough on jay as Jay wouldn't rub him the wrong way as much.

With Jefferson a 2-time loser, I wonder if Burr would be the front-runner for 1804 for the D-R Party. My guess is Madison would be more likely to win support from D-R, but Burr could be active in New York politics if he's not VP.His rivalry with hamilton might come to a head earlier, then, but not have so much build up that there's a duel, just a heated argument without that.

I'm planning on the US to have a war with France & Spain during the Napoleonic wars but I'm not sure yet whether i want Louisiana bought before it or mot

how is the best way to end slavery peacefully & in what time frame we talking bout? As of right now i don't really want to have a civil war, mainly cus i'm usually more friendly to the south & don't want to go against my nature cause things usually look bad then:p
 
how is the best way to end slavery peacefully & in what time frame we talking bout? As of right now i don't really want to have a civil war, mainly cus i'm usually more friendly to the south & don't want to go against my nature cause things usually look bad then:p

Well, if all territory west of the Mississippi is free you're going to automatically have more free than slave states in the Senate after a while. there will be political machintions that the South will try, but I don't think they'll be able, in the lng run, to keep a balance.

This might make the Deep South a bit edgy, but if the Upper South can eliminte slavery, you might get them foced to go with compensated emancipation. There might be an incident akin to the Nullification Cresis over that but cooler heads can prevail.

Is there a way, with Jay as President, to butterfly Gabe Prosser's rebellion? that might help the cause of emancipation in Virginia. There ws talk of emancipation anyway. I'm just nt sure how Jay as President could do that, unless there's a way for Gabriel Prosser to maybe get hired by the Federal government for something and so be kept away fromfomenting his rebelion. (It was really nat Turner's that decimated hopes of emancipation, so if youo can't it's not an impossiblity.)

if virginia frees them, Delaware and marlyand probably would, too, and maybe North Carolina or Tennessee, given the large number of small-time farmers who don't own salves in some parts of those states, in the mountainous regions. Those are iffier but they'd also be more likely to go for compensated emancipation, I think. Kentucky's probably the same.

Interestingly, here you might get Southerners being War Hawks to get places in which to settle the freed blacks.
 
so getting rid of gabe prosser's & nat turner's rebellion is the best way to have Virginia end slavery & if Virginia ends slavery Maryland & Deleware would likely follow?

what would be Virginia's best route for emancipation? maybe sometime in the next 10-20 years they pass a law making all slaves free born or whatever its called?
 
so getting rid of gabe prosser's & nat turner's rebellion is the best way to have Virginia end slavery & if Virginia ends slavery Maryland & Deleware would likely follow?

what would be Virginia's best route for emancipation? maybe sometime in the next 10-20 years they pass a law making all slaves free born or whatever its called?

Right. It would be those after a certain date, and then eventually the rest would be freed. The Federal government might or might not provide some of the funds, it would be a lot of money to compensate them, but it might be doable with only state money with some sort of government bonds, I don't understand the economics stuff. Maryland and especially Delware would be easier for the states to compensate the slaveholders because there aren't as many, especially in Delaware.

Jefferson actually disliked slavery and thought it would disapepar, it's possible that without him being preoccupied with the Presidency he might become a force in trying to get gradual emancipation there; might be possible to have him as a Virginia governor sometime in the early 1800s.You can chexck and see if any elections were clsoe enough that he might have won.
 
Furthermore, if VA, Maryland and Delaware can satisfactorily put slavery under, I'd expect the rest of the Upper South to follow suit since neither North Carolina nor Tennessee were all that much more enamored (economically or morally) with the institution the way the Deep South was. And personally I'm a fan of using the Trans-Mississippi as a settlement area for freed blacks (can't say I'm all that surprised at the notion of the South being all "war-hawk-y", just not for this reason), which makes me wonder what the US would do with the money they paid for Louisiana in OTL?
 
Expeditions Near & Afar

Following his second inauguration John Jay would be the first president to take up residence in the White House & would move the government to the United State’s new capital, Washington. Though distrust in standing armies had led to the US Army being largely disbanded following the revolution. However as conflicts with the Indians in the country’s frontier grew the necessity for a standing army was soon realized & the first of these, the Legion of the United States was formed in 1791. While the Legion’s campaigns in the Northwest Territory had been largely successful, the Quasi War with France had shown Jay, as well as many others in America that external threats would always be there & could not be ignored.

With approval from Congress the US Army would be expanded to consist of 6000 trained troops. As this number was raised many would be sent to the frontier to help in the protection of American settlers expanding westward from Indian attacks. From 1801-1803 several forts would be constructed in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio (granted statehood in 1803), the Northwest Territory, & the Mississippi Territory. However despite the introduction of troops into the frontier conflict would continue. This would lead to several military expeditions mainly in the Northwest Territory to drive back the Indians. Though treaty after treaty would be signed “settling” borders between the US & the Northwest Indians, these treaties would never be honored for long & conflict would continue for years between the Native Americans & the American settlers as the Indians would slowly but steadily be forced from their land either westward or onto government created reservations.

Conflict at seas in the form of the Quasi War had also shown America that a professional navy would be required to protect American trade routes & interest both at home & abroad. Along with the Six Original Frigates & 10 other vessels remaining after the Quasi War, Congress would approve the construction of an additional 8 frigates to enter service in the US Navy. Over the next 4 years these ships, ranging from 36-44 guns in size would be constructed & commissioned into the navy.

Following the beginning of Barbary attacks on American vessels in the Summer of 1801 President Jay would authorize the blockade of Tripoli & seize or destroy all vessels & goods of the Pasha of Tripoli. In July 1801 Commodore Matthew Perry would sail to Sicily to court King Francis & seek help against Tripoli. Francis would prove a good ally for the US & allow US warships to use its ports as naval bases to be used, supplies, manpower, craftsmen, gunboats, mortar boats & assistance from a fleet of brigs, schooners, galleys, & gunboats. Over the next year & a half the Barbary War would consist mostly of blockading the coast & conducting raids on the cities fleets & defenses.

In 1804 a plan was devised by William Eaton to place the rightful heir Hamet Karamanli on the Tripoli throne. In May 1804 Eaton along with Hamet, a company of Marines, & 600 Arab & Greek mercenaries supported by the navy would march out of Egypt intent on taking Tripoli by land. Skirmishes wound occur all along the way with actual battles being fought at Derne & Benghazi however the largest would occur at Misrata where Eaton’s force of nearly 900 would be met by 5000 Tripolitinian troops.

Though drastically outnumbered Eaton would have support from 2 frigates, 1 brig, & 1 schooner just off the coast. the Battle of Misrata would occur over 6 days from June 8-14 as Eaton’s force slowly captured the city with the American flag being raised for the first time on that side of the Atlantic around 1800 on the 14th. Though reinforcements would be sent from Tripoli to retake the city Eaton, having well fortified the city as well as having naval support, would drive the attackers back time & time again over the next week before they would finally withdraw back to Tripoli. After spending a week being resupply & resting Eaton would leave Misrata to continue his trek to Tripoli which he would reach on July 2. The Battle of Tripoli would be fought over the next week before on July 11 & with most of Tripoli in American hands Tripoli’s bey Yusuf would surrender to Eaton & be exiled to Tunis.

As promised Hamet would be placed on the throne of Tripoli & make peace with the US. Hamet would release all American prisoners & the US would release its prisoners. On August 1,1804 the Treaty of Tripoli would be signed ending the Barbary War & nullifying all tributes owed by the US to Tripoli.

US forces battling outside Misrata

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War Hawks

As the actions in the Mediterranean were occurring to help secure America’s trade routes, at home a new president was soon to be hitting the stage. In November 1804 Federalist nominee & President Jay’s VP Charles Pinckney would defeat Democratic-Republican nominee George Clinton in the nations closest election yet. As Jay’s time as president would draw to a close he would see the Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution ratified & in January 1805 New Jersey would become the last Northern state to abolish slavery.

As Pinckney entered office as the nations third president the nation was moving westward & beginning to rapidly settle the countries frontier. In July 1805 the Northwest Territory would have land partitioned off once more with its lower peninsula being incorporated into the Michigan Territory. However while the US filled up its western lands the American settlers begin to be troubled by an old enemy once more.

Though having ceded Louisiana to Spain following its defeat in the French & Indian War in October 1800 France would reclaim its old territory after a treaty is negotiated between Napoleon Bonaparte & Spain. Though following the conclusion of the Quasi War the US & France were “officially” at peace, French warships had still occasionally harassed US shipping. Now with their colony bordering the US France would begin arming the Indian tribes at war with the US. In engagements from Mississippi to the Northwest French arms & equipment would be found on the field. The arming of Indians coupled with hostilities at sea rapidly increasing, most notably the USS Wilmington Affair where the US sloop of war USS Wilmington would be sunk by a French frigate, would have the US & France on the brink of war by the Spring of 1806.

On March 25,1806 final attempts would be made by the US’s Ambassador to France James Madison to keep the peace between the two countries. Though a few agreements would be made France would refuse to stop seizing American ships trading with Britain. With talks concluding on March 31 Madison would send word to Washington of France’s refusal to stop seizing US trade ships. On April 28 after receiving word from Madison President Pinckney would bring the news to Congress. On May 1,1806 with a vote of 78-50 in the House & 17-15 in the Senate the United States would declare war on France marking the young country’s first declaration of war against a foreign nation.
 
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Lessons Learned in War

Although the outbreak of war between the US & France had been suspected for some time neither country was prepared for war. While France had the most powerful army in the world at the time, with the Napoleonic Wars raging in Europe & Britain pretty much ruling the waves only 7500 French regular forces would be stationed in North America with 2500 of them on Guadeloupe & Martinique. Though its troops could be bolstered by militias & its native allies any reinforcements in the defense of Louisiana would have to come from the colonies of Spain, who had entered the war on its allies side on May 18,1806.

For the US while its regular army was near 10,000 with many stationed throughout the frontier to protect settlers against Indian raids, the regular army only had around 4500 troops ready to engage the French & Spanish. On June 1 Congress would approve expanding the army to 35,000 however with service being voluntary & low pay enlistments were low with only 8000 volunteering by the end of the year. Its navy was not in much better shape either. While the navy’s size had more than doubled since the Quasi War with 32 ships, including 11 frigates, many would still fear going up against a combined Franco-Spanish fleet. The Navy would however receive assistance from Britain whom the US would form an unofficial alliance with following the declaration of war. Although facing difficulties within the military one place the US would have few problems at least initially would be in gaining funds with loans from the Bank of the United States & from many private Northeastern bankers.

The first action by the regular army would be on June 14 as Colonel William Taggart would set out from Fort Reliance near the Mississippi River with 300 regular & 900 militia troops along with 2 cannon invading Louisiana with intent to capture New Orleans. Taggart would see no resistance as he moved south & he would quickly become confident that his decision to quickly push towards New Orleans had succeeded in catching the French off guard. However on June 18 Taggart’s forces would be surprised by 1000 French regular troops at the town of Baton Rouge.

Though outnumbering the French force in overall numbers with ¾’s of Taggart’s army being untrained militia the advantage would be miniscule. The Battle of Baton Rouge would last only 78 minutes before Taggart’s militia would retreat & forcing the rest of the troops to withdraw. With 88 dead, 256 wounded, his 2 cannon captured, & over 600 missing (mostly deserted militia) Colonel Taggart would withdraw from Louisiana on June 27 & return to the relative safety of Fort Reliance & thereby ending the First New Orleans Campaign in failure.

Colonel Taggart urging his troops forward at the Battle of Baton Rouge


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Pensacola Bay

Though Colonel Taggart’s New Orleans Campaign was a failure, smaller secondary campaigns in other areas would prove far more successful. On July 1,1806 self titled Colonel Benjamin Martin would lead a militia force of 1600 from Fort Mims & march to the Spanish settlement of Pensacola. Being only lightly defended by a local militia Pensacola would quickly fall on July 3 to Colonel Martin after a quick exchange of gunfire that would result in only 2 Spaniards wounded & 1 American killed. Martin’s plans had originally called for his force to move Mobile following Pensacola’s capture however, being a larger town Mobile would hold 900 militiamen as well as from July 7 on a detachment of 250 French troops & 4 cannon from New Orleans. While still outnumbering the towns defenders, with the arrival of regular troops & more importantly the cannon Colonel Martin would hold off on attacking Mobile & request help from Fort Mims, hoping to receive regulars & most hoped for cannon to assist in taking Mobile. Although Martin would not receive an answer from the army at Fort Mims on July 15 his small force would an unexpected source, the US Navy in the form of two sloops the USS Philadelphia & the USS James under the command of Lieutenant Commander Alexander Kennedy.

Having set sail from Savannah on June 12 Kennedy & his original 3 ships to attack French & Spanish commerce in the Gulf of Mexico & Caribbean. Though they had succeeded in capturing 4 French trade ships (scuttling 1 & sending the rest to the Bahamas) their luck had gone south on July 1 when rounding the Florida keys they encountered a Spanish frigate & schooner. Though outnumbering the Spaniards the enemy ships superior firepower forced the US vessels to flee into the gulf though not before damaging the Spanish schooner enough to force it to Havana. For three more days the frigate pursued Kennedy’s small flotilla up Florida’s Gulf coast before he would finally be forced to engage the ship off St. Andrews Bay. With the frigate now alone Kennedy had an advantage than in their previous engagement however, with two of his ships damaged (one severely) the advantage was only slightly. For over 2 hours the 4 ships would engage with the heavily damaged brig USS Trenton sinking early in the fight however Kennedy’s remaining ships would finally succeed in overpowering the frigate & sinking her an hour later. Though emerging the victors Kennedy’s crew had been exhausted & his ships in desperate need of repair.

Fearing his ships would not make the trip back to Savannah Kennedy would make a gamble that his crew & his attachment of 75 surviving Marines could take Pensacola & liberate materials needed to fix his ships for the voyage home. To Kennedy’s surprise when entering Pensacola Bay on July 17 he would see the American flag over the town & instead of having to potentially fight to secure the town he would instead be greeted by Colonel Martin. As Kennedy’s crews began trying to repair the ships Martin would make a request to Kennedy for him to leave 4 canon with him to allow him a better chance in capturing Mobile. While the James would be repaired within a week the Philadelphia had been severely damaged & its crews suspected that it would take several weeks to repair her enough to chance the voyage back home if the ship ever would. With the Philadelphia dead in the water Kennedy would loan Martin 6 cannon along with their crews & his Marine detachment with 25 sailor that had volunteered. That along with the 60 volunteers brought back from Fort Mims, the fort had denied request for cannon, on July 25 Colonel Martin would finally make his move on Mobile over land & Lieutenant Commander Kennedy on the USS James sailing to bombard the town by sea with the remaining Philadelphia crew not needed on the James staying in Pensacola continuing repairs & keeping guard over the town.

USS James engaging the Spanish frigate ate the Battle of St Andrews Bay

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Here’s the next update. I hope that all yall find it interesting & not ASB. As always any & all input & opinions would be appreciated.

Mobile

With the land north of Mobile Bay covered bayou’s & swamps Martin & Lt. Commander Kennedy had devised an idea to ferry the army across the bay in vessels liberated from Pensacola & the other coastal villages & using the USS James & attack from the south. Though all would make it across but 20 men & 1 cannon, lost when the boat they were on sunk, word had arrived at Mobile of their movements & to the garrisons commander Colonel Jean Leclerc who would start preparing Mobile’s defenses in anticipation of Martin’s force. As Colonel Martin’s force marched on Mobile their first engagement wouldn’t come from France or Spain, instead it would come from 670 Cherokee & Choctaw natives whose tribes had allied with France against the expanding US.

The native force would strike the troops on July 29 as they marched along Moore Creek surprising the soldiers. The surprise attack would nearly destroy any of Martin’s hopes of capturing Mobile as his troops disorganized & scared were on the verge of retreat. However 30 minutes into the battle the Marine detachment would take over 3 cannon (their original crews had either fled or been killed) & firing canister rounds turn the tide & force the natives to retreat after suffering over 200 casualties. The Battle of Moore Creek had been a victory for Martin & his men the will to continue towards Mobile was low. Martin’s army had suffered 67 dead, 123 wounded, & 89 missing of whom 46 would return having fled during the battle. At Colonel Martin’s urging however the troops would continue to Mobile the next day.

Colonel Martin & his roughly 1700 troops would reach Mobile on July 31 to see the town fortified for attack by 1200 French & Spanish militia troops & 8 previously unknown about cannon. From the sea however Mobile would be defended by only a small 2 cannoned gunboat & 3 shore battery cannons. With the Lt. Commander Kennedy & the USS James, who had returned to Pensacola with the wounded from the Battle of Moore Creek, due to return by August 2 it was Martin’s hope that support from the James’s 22 cannon would make his troops able to capture the town far easier. With the James arriving a day early on the 1st the Battle of Mobile would begin in the early morning of August 2.

At 0530 the USS James would begin bombarding the towns defenses. The predawn attack would catch Leclerc & his troops off guard as the James guns would make quick work of the towns shore batteries & sinking the gunboat before it could even leave shore. With the threats to itself eliminated at 0620 it would turn its attention to the defenses facing Martin & along with Martins 5 cannon begin reigning lead down on the towns defenders. While under cover fire from the artillery Martin would order his forces forward at 0630 in three separate areas to attack Leclerc’s lines. As the ground forces neared the Franco-Spanish lines the artillery barrage stopped & Martin’s men would attack quickly, firing 2 rounds each before charging the enemy’s lines. Disoriented from the bombardment the US forces would soon begin to overrun the enemy lines & Leclerc would order his troops to withdraw into town. Though Leclerc would continue to fight for over an hour the US troops, having both superior numbers & firepower wouldn’t be stopped.

By 0830 the Battle of Mobile would be over with 146 French & Spanish dead, 309 wounded, & 600 captured including a wounded Colonel Leclerc to only 36 killed & 84 wounded US troops. In less than a week Colonel Martin, with the Battles of Moore Creek & Mobile, had won two “major” battles for the US which would greatly boost the moral over the war. Due to his successfulness in command Colonel Martin would be offer the rank of Brigadier General in the Regular Army & command over an army being formed in Georgia in which he would accept. Lt. Commander Kennedy upon returning to Savannah would be given the rank of Captain & given the command of a squadron of 6 ships including the frigate USS Constellation, 2 sloop of wars, & 3 schooners out of Charleston.

Colonel Leclerc being pulled from his horse after being wounded by bayonet during the Battle of Mobile


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Goin’ to Jackson

Upon arriving in Savannah Brigadier General Martin would be placed in charge of training the army being raised to take St. Augustine which was guarded by over 2000 Spanish regular & militia troops & 40 guns mostly positioned around the fortress Castillo de San Marcos. Though the US Army currently in Savannah would number 2000 troops & 15 cannon with an additional 1500 troops & 10 cannon promised to arrive from the north, Martin as well as most officers in Savannah would fear many more would be needed to take St. Augustine & calls for 1500 volunteers would be sent to Georgia & South Carolina. While the regular reinforcements & 900 of the hoped 1500 volunteers would eventually arrive, it would be many months before the growing army would be ready to march on St. Augustine & the rest of 1806 would be spent training.

Though the St. Augustine Campaign was having a tough time getting off the ground other areas in the American frontier would begin seeing action. Since the outbreak of the war hostilities between the Indians, mainly supported by France, & the American settlers had rose exponentially. One of the native tribes most hostile had been the Red Stick Creeks that had begun wreaking havoc in the eastern Mississippi Territory by attacking American farms & settlements throughout the area. To combat the growing threat Major General Andrew Jackson of the Tennessee militia was called to defeat the Indians.

With 5000 men under his command including 2000 cavalry Jackson would move into the Mississippi Territory on August 4 however the first battle of the Creek War had already been fought on August 3 at the Battle of Coosa where Jackson’s cavalry under Colonel Robert Harrison would quickly overwhelm 400 Red Stick warriors killing 187, wounding 203, & capturing the remainder. Jackson & the Red Sticks would continue battling each other for another 9 months before the Red Sticks would finally surrender following the May 12,1807 Battle of Tallapoosa where General Jackson would defeat a force of 1400 warriors chief Menawa. With the signing of the Treaty of Fort Toulouse the Creek nation, whether they had fought against the US or not, would be forced to cede over 23,000,000 acres to the US in yet another unequal treaty between the US & Indians on a list that would grow & grow as the years continued.

With the Creeks subdued Jackson, now a Major General in the regular army would be sent to the Indiana Territory to combat a confederacy of northwestern Indian tribes under the Shawnee chief Tecumseh that had began combating Americans in that area as well. General Jackson would continue having successes against the Indians in this war as well where he would decisively defeat Tecumseh’s Confederacy at the Battle of Wabash on March 2,1808 in which Tecumseh would be killed & the former tribes of the confederacy would be forced to cede much of their claimed territory in the lower half of the Indiana Territory.

The Battle of Tallapoosa


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A Glorious Day

While the war on land was going steadily, the war at sea had been more sporadic. Though the US Navy had nowhere near the power to compete with France or Spain with Britain at war with those countries as well the French & Spanish warships had been much less inclined to leave the relative safety of their harbors. For the most part France & Spain had elected to sending their vessels out in small groups or solo to conduct commerce raiding on American & British shipping & only engaging other warships when no other choice is given or when they were at a clear advantage. However since the opening of hostilities there had been several single ship & small squadron engagements in the Atlantic, Caribbean, & Gulf of Mexico with the out coming favoring France or Spain slightly more as opposed to the US.

In mid November with their navies for the moment having the upper hand Admiral Fredrico de Borja would set sail from Havana with a Franco-Spanish fleet of 3 ship-of-the-lines, 6 frigates, 7 sloops, 14 brigs, & 10 schooners to sail up the American coast attacking American ports & bringing the war to the US. The fleet would strike at Savannah first bombarding the city on November 17,1806. Guarded by only 2 frigates & 4 gunboats the larger Franco-Spanish fleet would make quick work of them sinking the gunboats & a frigate while the other was forced to flee. However the gallant actions of the greatly outnumber US vessels as well as those under General Martin manning the shore batteries wouldn’t let the enemy fleet leave unscathed. Admiral de Borja had lost 3 brigs & a schooner while 4 other ships had received varying amounts of damage. One a frigate so extensive that it would withdraw from the fleet & attempt to sail back to Havana, however the wounded ship would be met off southern Florida by Captain Kennedy’s squadron & be captured to eventually enter service in the US Navy.

With Savannah extensively damaged & 283 soldiers, sailors, & civilians dead (the largest loss of American life to that point) de Borja, after two days having his ships repaired at sea, would continue up the coast aiming, despite the objections of some of his aids to its size, for the city of Charleston. As the Franco-Spanish fleet sailed for Charleston news of the attack on Savannah quickly traveled up the country & with the reports of large amounts of death & destruction support for the war & President Pinckney, which was already uneasy, began to slip. With support low & Charleston under threat Pinckney would order a fleet to be sent to stop de Borja. On November 18 Admiral Matthew Perry would sail out of the Chesapeake with the bulk of the US Navy in the frigates USS Constitution, Chesapeake, United States, America, & Delaware; 6 sloops, 10 brigs, 6 schooners, & 10 gunboats & would race towards Charleston where the city’s defending vessels the frigates USS Congress & President, 2 brigs, & 8 gunboats where desperately awaiting their arrival. As the sun rose over Charleston on November 21 de Borja’s fleet would be approaching the city with Perry nowhere in sight.

Facing unbeatable odds but unwilling to leave the city defenseless Jamie Richards, captain of Charleston’s squadron would set out with his vessels to meet de Borja at 0730. As the Battle of Charleston began almost immediately the USS President would cause a French 4th rate to explode when at 0750 its first broadside managed to set off the ships magazine sinking her in minutes with all hands. Soon however de Borja’s superior firepower would regain the advantage as over the next 45 minutes at the loss of 2 sloops & a schooner Captain Richards would lose a brig & 5 gunboats would be sunk or captured while the USS President was afire & its sailors desperately trying to extinguish it. By 0930 it would seem that the battle would end in de Borja’s favor but, as the President (who lost its battle with the fire) began to sink beneath the waves sails would be spotted on the horizon as Admiral Perry’s fleet would finally arrive.

Perry’s ships would immediately begin engaging the Franco-Spanish fleet sinking all but 2 of the brigs & capturing a frigate within the first 30 minutes. With the arrival of fresh ships & men to the battle the American warships would begin to turn the tide of battle as de Borja’s ship would slowly either be captured or slip beneath the waves. Despite mounting losses de Borja would continue to urge his ships to engage the Americans & until at 1325 de Borja’s flagship the 80-gunned Third-rate los Meregildos would be engaged by the frigates USS Constitution & Delaware & the brig USS Dover. The los Meregildos would fight desperately against the three ships sinking the Dover & causing enough damage to the Constitution that it would be scuttled following the battle before she would be boarded by the Delaware at 1430. Fighting on the los Meregildos would go on for 20 minutes with its crew, despite having been ravaged by the battle, able to hold the Americans at bay. However the remaining Franco-Spanish vessels new that they had lost the war & de Borja’s second in command Admiral Antonio Gravina aboard the only remaining & severely damaged ship of the line the fourth rate Santa Ana would withdraw from Charleston with the remaining Franco-Spanish vessels. With the remnants of his fleet retreating & his ship unable to repel the boarders Admiral would finally surrender the ship at 1445.

The Battle of Charleston with 84 ships engaged in it was the largest naval battle in the Americas until that time. The battle had caused 387 dead, 1245 wounded, & 21 ships lost for the US & the Franco-Spanish fleet had had 675 dead, 941 wounded, 312 captured, 19 ships lost, & 8 (including the los Meregildos which would be repaired & renamed the USS Washington) captured. With over 3500 casualties the battle had became the bloodiest yet of the war but for the US it had achieved much more. News of the battle would spread throughout the country & boost the nations moral & would make national heroes out of Admiral Matthew Perry & Captain Jamie Richards. Though the US navy had been badly battered the Battle of Charleston had secured American naval supremacy in the Americas & a large French or Spanish fleet would never again sail to challenge the US.

The Battle of Charleston


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