Here is an old Timeline of mine.
I've been doing research over the past two months towards continuing
the Lone Star Republic timeline onward beyond where I left it
(effectively, 1859). The next installment, as promised, will focus on
Mexico, specifically the Liberal-Conservative civil unrest and war
which will end in the faceoff between Benito Juarez and Emperor
Maximillian... and how the Republic of Texas, a nation with a
population of over half a million people and growing fantastically,
will become entangled in that war.
Other installments will cover the birth and growth of Virginia City,
Texas/USA, Texan Alaska, the Kingdom of Hawaii, and the Colorado Lode,
where Texas, USA, and CSA meet. There will also be more politics, more
personalities, and slowly more butterflies, as the presence of Texas
begins to have an effect in Europe and the Pacific. If there are other
events, esp. natural disasters and the like, which need to be
Unfortunately, I don't know when Episode XVI will come out, so until
then here's a quick reminder of the events which the first fifteen
installments covered.
LONE STAR REPUBLIC TIMELINE (exact dates given where available or
applicable)
1841
APRIL
John Tyler succeeds William Henry Harrison, the first Vice President
of the United States to be promoted upon the death of the President.
OCTOBER
Santa Fe Expedition, ordered by Texas President Mirabeau Lamar, is
captured without a struggle
Lamar's Presidency of Texas ends; David Burnet is defeated easily by
Sam Houston for a three-year term.
1842
APRIL
Mexican armed forces capture San Antonio, Goliad and Victoria briefly,
retreating south before Texan armed forces can react. No captives are
taken.
AUGUST
POINT OF DIVERSION: Santa Anna, president of Mexico, decides based on
the recognition of Texas by Great Britain, and by the successes of the
raids of April, to make plans to retake part or all of Texas by force.
He sends General Adrian Woll with 1,000 men to retake and hold San
Antonio (as he did in OTL) with additional orders to kill all
prisoners taken as rebels to the Republic of Mexico (which he did not
do OTL, although he ordered atrocities enough on other occasions).
SEPTEMBER
Woll, stalling despite poor supply lines and rapidly growing enemy
forces, stalls after taking San Antonio. After the battle of Saltillo
Creek, he can no longer maintain his position, and so he has killed
over 200 male captives in the Frost Brothers warehouses, within sight
of the old Alamo. He then returns with what remains of his command to
Mexico, leaving Texas roaring for Mexican blood.
OCTOBER
Sam Houston, yielding against his wishes to public outcry, authorizes
Colonel Alexander Somervell to take 200 men from the Texas standing
army, enlist a further 700 volunteers, and demonstrate along the Rio
Grande. Somervell is ordered sub rosa to avoid any actual combat if at
all possible and to commit no crimes against the Mexicans during the
campaign. Over a thousand volunteers actually show up under various
commands, however.
NOVEMBER
25 Somervell Expedition, numbering 1,289 men, leaves San Antonio.
DECEMBER
8 Somervell captures Laredo without a fight. Three days later Guerrero
falls as well. In both cases, Somervell prevents Texan troops from
looting the towns on the north bank of the Rio Grande, to the troops'
intense dissatisfaction.
19 Colonel Somervell, against his better judgement, decides to
continue the campaign, knowing that half his command or more will
refuse to disband or follow him if he returns to San Antonio.
22 Somervell reaches Mier, on the south bank of the Rio Grande. Scouts
under Tom Green and Ben McCulloch report a Mexican force assembling
rapidly.
23 Mexican forces retreat in the early morning hours. Somervell's
troops march into Mier unopposed and demand supplies from the town.
Expecting delivery on the next day, the Texans return above the Rio
Grande. That night, General Pedro de Ampudia arrives with 3,000 men to
defend the town, and he soon has full intelligence on the enemy force.
24 No supplies reach the Texans. Ampudia decides to remain on the
defensive.
25 Texan troops capture a Mexican deserter and gain intelligence on
Ampudia's force and plans. Texans cross the river and begin assault on
Mier in mid-afternoon, outnumbered four to one by the defending army.
26 At 2 PM the Texans storm the town square, breaking Mexican
resistance. The one-sided battle, horribly mismanaged by Ampudia, ends
with over 1,200 Mexicans killed or wounded, about 400 prisoners
(including Ampudia himself), as opposed to 87 dead Texans and an
unknown, but relatively small, number of wounded.
27 Somervell begins his return march to San Antonio.
1843
JANUARY
23 Colonel Jacob Snively, paymaster of the Texan Army, sends a
proposal to President Houston and Army commander General Albert Sidney
Johnston, proposing a 500-man strong force to travel into the open
plains country and disrupt trade along the Santa Fe trail within
Texan-claimed territory.
FEBRUARY
15 Secretary of War George Hockley gives grudging permission for
Snively to raise 300 volunteers with a letter of marque to raid
Mexican commerce. They were not to be regarded as Texan Army soldiers.
APRIL
24 The Snively Expedition, precisely 300 men strong, leaves Georgetown
on the Red River, crossing American-claimed territory on his way
northeast. He is not discovered or confronted before he returns to
Texan-claimed soil. He is followed by about 150 'unofficial' members
who refuse to be left out of the expedition.
MAY
27 After much difficulty and slow marching, Snively reaches the
Arkansas River, effectively Texas's northern border.
30 Snively spots a wagon train, only to discover it is American and,
according to Houston's orders, untouchable.
JUNE
20 Snively captures intact an entire company of Mexican cavalry.
28 The expedition, divided from within by ambitious subordinates,
splits. Snively is left with fewer than 300 'Mountaineers' while over
150 'Home Boys' elect Eli Chandler, Snively's adjutant, as their new
colonel.
30 The Mountaineers encounter United States troopers under the command
of Captain Philip St. George Cooke south of the Arkansas (and within
Texan-claimed borders). Cooke orders Snively to surrender his force's
arms. When Snively refuses, Cooke takes him captive and storms the
Texan positions, capturing the force with about thirty USA wounded and
about twice that many Texans wounded. Snively's Mountaineers are
marched to Missouri, where after some serious diplomatic troubles
between Texas and the United States, they are released.
JULY
13 The Home Boys capture a Mexican wagon train and its escort,
including Nuevo Mexico governor Manuel Armijo.
About this same time word reaches Texas that Santa Anna will enter
into armistice with Texas to discuss a lasting peace, with the
condition that Texas must never join the United States, on pain of war
with Mexico.
AUGUST
Santa Anna is deposed for proposing peace with Texas. The new junta
pledges to uphold the armistice until it expires in May 1844.
1844
MAY
19 The Bent brothers lead a mob of Mexican and American men to storm
the government buildings of Santa Fe. The Mexican authorities and
forces are put to full flight.
20 William Bent proclaims New Mexico as United States territory. New
Mexico erupts into massive civil war with no less than five separate
factions (not counting various Indian tribes).
JUNE
USA presidential candidate Henry Clay sends several letters to
newspaper editors in North Carolina outlining his position on
annexation. In these letters he portrays his opponent, James Polk, of
seeking to conquer Texas against its will and, in so doing, bring
about war with Europe.
AUGUST
Mexico proposes a treaty granting independence to Texas and
recognizing all of Texas' land claims. The only restriction, as with
Santa Anna, is that Texas must never join the United States.
SEPTEMBER
John Tyler and Andrew Jackson Donelson craft a treaty of annexation
for Texas; both US and Texan Congresses table it upon receipt.
OCTOBER
Edward Burleson, Sam Houston's estranged vice-president and a
pro-independence candidate, narrowly defeats Anson Jones, Houston's
chosen pro-annexation candidate, 6,998 to 6,557. Congressional
representation is only slightly more favorable to independence.
NOVEMBER
Henry Clay, despite narrowly losing the popular vote 1,316,371 to
James Polk's 1,319,934, wins the Presidency of the United States with
an electoral vote of 167 to 108. The Whig President, however, will
have to deal with an openly hostile Democrat Congress.
DECEMBER
Newly inaugurated Texas President Burleson restores Sam Houston to his
rank of Major General and command of the Texan armies, sending him to
secure the Rio Grande border.
1845
JANUARY
The Mexican government narrowly ratifies the treaty recognizing Texas,
including its claim to Santa Fe.
FEBRUARY
The Texas Congress ratifies the treaty with Mexico, putting a
permanent end to hopes of annexation to the USA.
MARCH
Santa Anna returns from exile to his home near Veracruz.
APRIL
Manuel Armijo, released under terms of the peace treaty, arrives in
Mexico City to seek support in retaking Nuevo Mexico.
JUNE
Henry Clay settles the border with British Canada at the 49th
Parallel, with the exception of Vancouver Island. The treaty is very
nearly the only Clay proposal ratified by Congress during his term.
JULY
Santa Anna returns to power in Mexico, having pledged to reconquer
Texas no matter the cost.
AUGUST
Brigadier General Johnston arrives with over 1,000 men in Santa Fe,
bringing word to the still-anarchic province of the Texas-Mexico
peace. With great difficulty (and with assistance from the threat of
Armijo's return) he brings peace to New Mexico.
During the fall and winter both Texas and Mexico build up forces on
the borders.
1846
JANUARY
8 Santa Anna takes personal command of a force of 5,000 Mexican troops
at Matamoros.
20 Texas declares war on Mexico.
31 Henry Clay declares American neutrality in the new war. The slave
states respond by sending thousands of volunteers to Texas to support
the cause. Thousands more emigrate to Texas seeking to profit from the
war.
FEBRUARY
26 Houston shifts the bulk of his just-under-2000 man army to cover
his supply point on the Gulf Coast, leaving a garrison of 300 men at
Fort Jackson on the Rio Grande.
28 Santa Anna moves across the Rio Grande, bypassing Fort Jackson and
advancing against Houston with 4,000 men.
MARCH
2 Battle of Palo Alto. Houston assaults Santa Anna's forces, but does
not break them. Santa Anna pulls back during the night.
4 Battle of Palma Resaca. Houston again attacks, this time turning the
Mexican right. Santa Anna retreats in good order from the field.
5 Battle of Matamoros. Houston's army, reinforced by the Fort Jackson
garrison, crosses the Rio Grande and routs Santa Anna's army.
MAY
8 Houston marches forward with over 6100 men.
10 Johnston meets Armijo's 3000-man army with a mixed force of 1800
men and, in a series of battles over a week, utterly routs or destroys
the Mexicans. Armijo flees back into Mexico, never to return.
26 Johnston takes 400 of his troops westward, crossing the Gila River
valley and the deserts of southern California. Leaving 200 men behind
in the tiny mining settlement of Tuscon, he crosses the Sierra Nevada
range in mid-July.
30 John C. Fremont, Captain U. S. Topography Service, raises the Bear
Flag at Sutter's Mill, organizing a 300-man army for the purpose of
conquering California for the United States.
JUNE
8-21 Houston besieges Saltillo, held by 12,000 Mexicans under the
command of Pedro de Ampudia. Through a combined use of methodical
siege maneuvers and occasional uncontrolled bravado charges, the Texan
army forces Ampudia to surrender. Total Texan casualties are under
1,000 men (while Houston recieved nearly 2000 reinforcements in that
time); less than half of Ampudia's 12,000 men were able to march out
under the terms of the surrender.
15 Fremont seeks aid from US warships in harbor at San Francisco; he
narrowly escapes arrest for violation of the Neutrality Act. He begins
marching southward with his little army, at first meeting no
opposition, but gradually faced with serious guerilla resistance led
by the brother of the Mexican governor, Andreas Pico.
JULY
18 Johnston's 180 men arrive in Los Angeles, to a very lukewarm
reception.
21 Battle of Monterrey. The beginnings of a siege maneuver against a
Mexican army of 14,000 lead to Houston's 8,000 men outflanking and
overruning the Mexican defenses. Despite every possible advantage, the
Mexicans are routed or annhilated. Among the captives is a young cadet
from the local military academy, Pofirio Diaz.
28 Admiral Edwin C. Moore, commanding the Texas Navy and with 500
infantrymen as support, captures the port of Tampico.
AUGUST
5 Andreas Pico, setting a trap for the southward-marching Bear Flag
forces, accidentally charges the northward-marching Texas forces under
Johnston at dusk. Fremont's troops arrive in the twilight and help
drive off the partisans.
6 Fremont, under serious pressure from Johnston, furls the Bear Flag
and pledges allegiance to Texas. Johnston sends for reinforcements
from Tuscon and Santa Fe. The combined Texan forces, which would
number about 500 men by year's end, would only balance out the
irregular forces led by Pico. The war in California would consist of
indecisive skirmishes until word of peace came.
SEPTEMBER
8 Santa Anna leaves San Luis Potosi with 20,000 men. By his order, the
road between San Luis Potosi had all its water cisterns destroyed in
the retreat from Monterey. The troops had only the water they carried
with them (if any), with no means of getting more on the march.
13 Battle of Buena Vista. Santa Anna's 20,000 troops attack Houston's
line of 5,000, push it back, and stall, taking terrible casualties.
Attempts to outflank the Texans are foiled by Ranger units guarding
the vital passes in the hills and mountains south of Buena Vista.
Santa Anna orders a retreat during the night.
17 The first remnants of Santa Anna's army reach San Luis Potosi. Only
about 5,000 of Santa Anna's 20,000 men will return, and most of those
are seriously dehydrated and unfit for duty.
23 Houston issues a statement that his armies will penetrate no deeper
into Mexico, calling for armistice and peace negotiations.
OCTOBER
Santa Anna is deposed by a weak liberal coalition government.
NOVEMBER
George Hockley is sent by President Burleson to Mexico to negotiate a
peace. En route, he meets with Houston, who is appalled by the severe
and unrealistic terms of Burleson's proposal. He sends a second,
milder proposal along with Hockley's party, fixing the new border as
the Rio Grande to the thirty-first north parallel, then westward to
the Gulf of California, with both Alta and Baja California going to
Texas. The Mexican government almost instantly ratifies Houston's
proposal rather than even consider the official proposal and packs the
Texan negotiating party off to sea with the treaty in hand.
DECEMBER
Burleson sacks Houston and, for the time being, holds the proposed
treaty from Congress, seeking enough votes to prevent its
ratification.
1847
JANUARY
Sam Houston files to run for President of Texas again.
FEBRUARY
Unable to block passage or support the armies in the field, Burleson
submits the treaty to Congress, who ratify almost without debate,
ending the War of 1846.
OCTOBER
Houston is elected in a landslide, encountering no serious opposition.
Notable among newly elected Senators are two from Alta California,
Andreas Pico (representing the coastal missions) and John Fremont
(representing Sutter's Fort and environs).
1848
APRIL
The Texas Congress passes a proposed Constitutional Amendment to
reform representation in that Congress on a fixed basis of 90
Representatives and 30 Senators. (The old form had a fluctuating
number of Senators and one Representative for every county.) The
amendment must be passed in referendum by the people, and then
re-approved by the next Congress, to become law. If successful it will
be the first amendment of the Texas Constitution.
MAY
Santa Anna wins the Presidency of Mexico in an open election,
returning to power yet again.
President Sam Houston sends a proposal to the United States, offering
all of Texas north of the 36th parallel for sale to the United States.
JUNE
12 Gold first discovered at Sutter's Mill.
AUGUST
The Senate of the United States, after much debate, fails to summon
even a majority to ratify the 'Colorado Purchase.' The proposal is
withdrawn by the Texas ambassador two weeks later.
SEPTEMBER
First word of the Sutter's Mill strike reaches Houston and Washington.
OCTOBER
A lukewarm turnout of voters maintains the Democratic majority in the
Texas Congress and approves the Congressional Reform Amendment.
NOVEMBER
Democrat Lewis Cass wins the US Presidency in a landslide over Whig
Gen. Winfield Scott.
1849
MARCH
President Houston makes a new proposal, offering only the land north
of a line drawn westward from the headwaters of the Arkansas,
approximately 39 degrees north latitude, for the same price as the
Colorado Purchase had been offered at. President Cass presents the
treaty to the Senate, but Senator Calhoun of South Carolina attempts
to tack on a proviso that the 'Deseret Purchase' must be made open to
slavery. The Calhoun Proviso is defeated, and the sale goes through in
May, but slavery has become an official 'issue' in Congress with this
act.
APRIL
The Texas Congress formally ratifies the First Amendment to the
Constitution of 1836, making it the law of the land, and passes a bill
to fund a census in 1850.
JUNE
Death of Henry Clay.
SEPTEMBER
John C. Fremont announces his candidacy for President of Texas and
founds the Federalist Party of Texas, advocating a confederation of
states within Texas and regional abolition of slavery. Andreas Pico
responds by founding the Whig Party of Texas, basically as an
anti-Fremont party. Both parties try to find support in Old Texas, but
the Federalists make no ground with their anti-slavery stance.
OCTOBER
The Whigs in Old Texas name Peter Bell, veteran soldier and Ranger, as
their 1850 Presidential nominee. They form a more solid platform
calling for further territorial expansion, extermination of the
Indians, and a trans-Texas railroad and other internal improvements.
Houston forms the Democrat Party of Texas as the conservative and
moderate party, with a plank in the platform supporting Hispanic
sufferage. General Thomas Rusk is nominated as the Democrat candidate
for President.
NOVEMBER
Texan Congressional elections give the Democrats a plurality of the
Senate and a slim majority of the House. The Old Texas fronier and
Mexican-populated New Mexico and Baja California go Whig, while the
Federalists control Alta California.