I run into the same problem with my own timeline. One of the problems of adding on to a project that has been doing on, literally, for years
Take your time and can't wait!A Glorious Union or America: the New Sparta
- Thread starter TheKnightIrish
- Start date
I run into the same problem with my own timeline. One of the problems of adding on to a project that has been doing on, literally, for years
Take your time and can't wait!
How did I miss the tenth anniversary of starting this TL? I really enjoyed writing it but life and work got in the way of continuing it to 1900 (I had notes for politics and world affairs up til then). I learned a lot about the Civil War I didn’t expect researching this and it’s led me to many great things (the ACWRTUK among them).
Happy birthday Phil!
Happy birthday Phil!
HOLY MOLY!
TheKnighIrish still exists and has briefly returned....
HOORAY!!!!
Are you going to continue this TL at any stage or are you just going to foot-note it...
Wow, has it really been 10 years? Oof. I remember reading this TL back when I didn't even have an account yet.
Any chance you'd like to share some of the ideas you had for this TL but never had the chance to write?
Happy birthday Phil. Bet you never imagined someone writing a story like this about you. I like to imagine you're very flattered about it though.
Any chance you'd like to share some of the ideas you had for this TL but never had the chance to write?
Happy birthday Phil. Bet you never imagined someone writing a story like this about you. I like to imagine you're very flattered about it though.
Deleted member 81475
I'd certainly enjoy hearing them as well. The presidents and political trends of this timeline seemed like they were going to become quite interesting.
Congrats on the anniversary, TKI. Sad to see that it got put by the wayside, but that's life for you; it was a nice ride while it lasted. I'll also echo the calls to see what those notes leading up to 1900 were.
Indeed. I have to say the most eyebrow-raising aspects were Korea divided into three separate pieces and one of the presidents being someone whose name I'm forgetting that strongly suggested that the US ITTL was going to do away with the natural born citizen requirement for its highest office...
Indeed. I have to say the most eyebrow-raising aspects were Korea divided into three separate pieces and one of the presidents being someone whose name I'm forgetting that strongly suggested that the US ITTL was going to do away with the natural born citizen requirement for its highest office...
I will see if I can find my notes...watch this space.
A belated happy anniversary to one of the best alternate civil war TLs on this site! Serves as a gold standard for anyone else in the genre and one of the best examples of alternate history we had running. Sad we didn't make it past 1868 but there was a lot to enjoy nontheless! Thanks for all your hard work on this one!
As a reader told me about an live & online talk in the UK on Phil Kearny that I should look into, I had to admit I am the one giving the talk. Over 10 years since I started writing nonsense about the Civil War and Phil Kearny I am now giving a talk about his real history to the American Civil War Round Table UK. Everyone welcome - it is being streamed live from London. Details below:
www.acwrt.org.uk
Phil Kearny - the Perfect Soldier? | acwrt.org.uk
Phil Kearny was arguably America's most experienced soldier in 1861, with a career spanning two decades and three continents. But he struggled to get a commission in the US Army, and contemporaries and historians differ on his capabilities. Ryan Diamond examines his career and his reputation.
www.acwrt.org.uk
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Six The Consuls of His Empire
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Six
The Consuls of His Empire
From “Men of Proven Merit - Kearny and His Cabinet” by Amelia DoggettThe Consuls of His Empire
Grosvenor 2017
"When it was suggested to Kearny that he wait for the new leadership of the newish National Union Party to get organised before making major appointments he had a simple view - "I will strike now before the enemy organises" (a comment reported by Lovell Rousseau). Kearny was not exaggerating when he hinted there may be opposition to his cabinet appointments. He intended to deviate from principles that had governed cabinet appointments for many years. Kearny had no interest in sectional appeasement with geographically balanced appointments. He also had no interest in rewarding political favours. As far as Kearny was concerned he was President on his own merits and the slew of National Unionist senators, congressmen, governors etc had been elected on his coattails. No Kearny intended to appoint his cabinet on a simple measure: who did Phil Kearny think was the best man for the job...?"
Stevens had become close to Kearny through the course of the war. Kearny considered him to be an excellent organiser and a good judge of men. He also shared Kearny's ill temper and had no difficult intimidating those he felt had not come up to scratch. Crucially Stevens had proven himself aligned with Kearny and his key advisor, his cousin John Watts de Peyster, on most issues of foreign affairs. A fact amply proven during long discussions on their tour of European capitals. Stevens concurred with de Peyster's view that the United States was an emergent Great Power who should have a greater say in affairs, not only in the Americas, but further afield where her interests and trade were affected. He combined Seward's opportunistic attitude to territorial acquisition with his President's attitude to the use of force (liberally where appropriate)...
Secretary of the Treasury - Joseph Seligman (New York)
In an astonishing move Kearny offered the post of Secretary of the Treasury to the Jewish financier Joseph Seligman. Seligman was the president of J & W Seligman & Co, probably the largest finance firm in the United States after the Civil War. During the War, Seligman was responsible for aiding the Union by disposing of $200,000,000 in bonds a feat which Robert Todd Lincoln later said was "scarcely less important than the Battle of Union Mills". Seligman sought to refuse the position initially but Kearny would not take no for an answer. "You are not only the right man for the job, you are the only right and honest man for the job" (Kearny in a letter to Seligman). It was with a great deal of trepidation that the somewhat shy and retiring Seligman bowed to the pressure and became to the first man of the Jewish faith to be appointed to cabinet rank in the United States...
Secretary of War - John Watts de Peyster (New York)
Of all the professional generals and military heroes that could have been appointed to the office who would have discharged it honourably and competently, it might at first seem surprising that Kearny chose a militia officer who had seen limited action during the war for the role of Secretary of War. However, John Watts de Peyster was not only Kearny's trusted cousin - he was a man of vision and ideas who united that with a skill in getting things done. In fact de Peyster had a hand in the formation and organisation of both the New York police and fire departments prior to the war. As a New York militia general he had briefly served against the rebels with great distinction at the Battle of Harrisburg. His experience and his strong opinions led him to write 'New American Tactics', a work on infantry and cavalry tactics that promoted the use of skirmishers and was considered cutting edge at the time. Indeed his beau ideal of a soldier was not his cousin but rather John Buford who de Peyster considered the pre-eminent cavalry general of the war...
De Peyster also had a vision of a militarily strong United States exercising a more robust role on the world stage. The behaviour of the European powers during the war had convinced him they had but little sympathy for the American experiment and that unless the United States proactively moved to protect its long term interests it would always remain at risk from a combination of potential hostile powers...
Attorney General - Joseph Holt (Kentucky)
Postmaster General, Secretary of War, Judge Advocate General, Vice-President - Joseph Holt had proven himself an effective operator in a wide range of political posts. It was Lincoln who strongly recommended Holt to the new President. In any event as a sound National Unionist, a southerner, and a vocal supporter of the government's policies on proscription and confiscation, he was a good fit for Kearny's cabinet. He had been intimately involved in the creation and implementation of the proscription legislation (as the most active Vice President up to that point in American history) and as such he was well placed to support Kearny's administration in the face of a variety of legal challenges to the constitutionality of proscription, expatriation, confiscation etc etc that the new administration expected...
Postmaster General - Jacob Dolson Cox (Ohio)
Rewarded for successfully helming the first four years of the Bureau of Collectors, Cox was rewarded with the position of Postmaster General (a much more powerful role that people in the modern era might imagine). Cox had, by design, built up a strong network of political allies through the liberal application of the spoils system within the Bureau. The office of Postmaster General offered similar opportunities. However, Cox had seemingly always tempered his use of the spoils system with the good sense to appoint apparently competent candidates to the various roles within his gift. Edward Bragg called Cox "the very ideal of what the Greeks name the Benevolent Tyrant". He had Kearny's confidence, not only as a supporter of the Lincoln Administration's policies but as a competent and experienced field commander who had served under Kearny...
Secretary of the Navy - Austin Blair (Michigan)
Former Governor Austin Blair had almost bankrupted himself in supporting the Union cause during the war. Moreover, he had ensured that out of a population of 110,000 men of fighting age at the start of the war, almost 90,000 would volunteer to fight from the state of Michigan. It was an incredible achievement and Blair's interest in the men had not ended at the point of volunteering. Michigan under Blair had an excellent record for caring for the welfare of its men on campaign and its convalescents elsewhere. Blair had ensured that Michigan passed legislation that would allow the men of Michigan to vote even when they were many miles from home on campaign...
Blair's actions had caught the attention of General Kearny and they had become regular correspondents. It was Bull Richardson, not always considered the most caring of men, who had drawn Kearny's attention to the impact of office on Blair's finances. Kearny resolved to award a man of like principle with a guaranteed government salary and duties that, at best, could be described as low on Kearny's list of priorities - the Navy. It was not to be the happiest of appointments...
Secretary of the Interior - James S. Wadsworth (New York)
As Wadsworth stepped down from the rough and tumble of New York gubernatorial politics his intention was to focus once again on his neglected business interests. He was not to be given the opportunity. Wadsworth had served Kearny (and indeed Lincoln) well on both the battlefield and in office. Kearny wanted another man of business in the cabinet and Wadsworth was one that was familiar with all of Kearny's worlds: business, politics and the military. Furthermore Wadsworth was someone who Kearny trusted implicitly to carry out any task with tact and sound judgment. Finally Wadsworth had proven himself a loyal friend to Kearny. It is therefore not surprisingly that the telegram 'appointing' Wadsworth to the office reads more like an order given to a trusted subordinate that an offer to a political ally. Indeed the majority of the cabinet could best be described as loyal and efficient subordinates...
Secretary to the President - James Cuffe Briscoe (Dublin and Pennsylvania)
A busy president needs a secretary and Lincoln had needed more than one. Kearny was used to working with an established staff and it is not surprising that he looked to that old pool of support for his secretary. James Cuffe Briscoe had been appointed as a engineering officer on Kearny's staff as long ago as Fair Oaks. He had remained with Kearny throughout the rest of the war. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, as a civil engineer Briscoe was seen as an asset on Kearny's European tour and thus remained in uniform (though technically still a volunteer) and 'on staff'. He has to prove himself quite adept at managing the business of a busy and ambitious president and was to become a key member of the new President's inner circle. Influence and the proximity of power were, in the end, to prove an intoxicating temptation for the gregarious Irishman..."
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It lives! Hurrah and Jubilee!
I think that's a solid cabinet. Hopefully Seligman can help the United States avoid some of its OTL financial problems in the post war period.
Oh and I'm excited to see how some of the states developed based on the governors and senators they picked in those last couple updates. South Carolina and Mississippi going full black super majoirty is always nice but those alliances in Texas and Lousiana are very interesting. Honestly it would be cool if Texas gets more German immigrants as a result.
I think that's a solid cabinet. Hopefully Seligman can help the United States avoid some of its OTL financial problems in the post war period.
Oh and I'm excited to see how some of the states developed based on the governors and senators they picked in those last couple updates. South Carolina and Mississippi going full black super majoirty is always nice but those alliances in Texas and Lousiana are very interesting. Honestly it would be cool if Texas gets more German immigrants as a result.
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On an unrelated subject here is some ejit talking to the American Civil War Round Table UK on Phil Kearny at such a length he couldn't fit in Second Bull Run...
And we'll rally round the flag boys, we'll rally once again, shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom! Hurrah for the Union! Hurrah for President Kearny!
Definitely on the watch list now for me!
Definitely on the watch list now for me!
Always glad to see a post on this most excellent of a timeline. Shame the Navy is at the bottom but to be honest naval tech is going to be rapidly changing so much that at this time unless your are GB riding the wave is going to be costly, so a decade or so of just maintaining might not be bad.
Hmmm... seems good ol' Kearny definitely has his biases on what's meritocratic and not meritocratic in his grand gesture of forging a new American political order. and I'm not even talking about how heavily he's dipping into personal connections for solid subordinates to his executive will, or how much he's relying on like New York good society as a replacement metric in the absence of just doing Spoils patronage, all of that's not too abnormal as far as non-Spoils presidential and cabinet politics are concerned. But more just how his fundamental organizational philosophy seems to put little stock in much of any kind of networking with Congress and what could very well be much more meritocratic candidates, even with the more parliamentary kinds of networking that aren't just open graft. (It also seems that in all this there's not too much disruption in what classes of people are to be considered meritocratic civil servants, without any kind of populist seismic shift pulling up lots of self-made men or anything, just breaking open some political office out of the hands of the antebellum political class specifically).
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