A Glorious Union or America: the New Sparta

[sloreck]

Sadly Union camps were not that much better, however the level of supplies was substantially better so while there was suffering, the death rates were much lower. A significant hardship for Confederate prisoners was the cold winter weather. FYI the prison camp at Elmira NY was known as "Hellmira" by the occupants. With the events concerning black troops ITTL, the suspension of exchange protocols came sooner.

I shudder to think of the conditions for black prisoners, OTL many were re-enslaved if they were previously enslaved and quite a few free blacks from the north were also sold - some ended up as slaves in Cuba.

 

[Corder]

Sadly Union camps were not that much better, however the level of supplies was substantially better so while there was suffering, the death rates were much lower. A significant hardship for Confederate prisoners was the cold winter weather. FYI the prison camp at Elmira NY was known as "Hellmira" by the occupants. With the events concerning black troops ITTL, the suspension of exchange protocols came sooner.

I shudder to think of the conditions for black prisoners, OTL many were re-enslaved if they were previously enslaved and quite a few free blacks from the north were also sold - some ended up as slaves in Cuba.

I get the distinct impression that no one in the north will care much for a very long time! Hell they might think not enough rebels died in the camps. I think the South is about to massively loose the PR war. In TTL it seems like "Lost Cause" thinking might be on a par with "Holocaust denial" in ours...

 

[Admiral Matt]

I shudder to think of the conditions for black prisoners, OTL many were re-enslaved if they were previously enslaved and quite a few free blacks from the north were also sold - some ended up as slaves in Cuba.

You know, given the course of reprisals the north has already taken for treatment of black troops.... That kind of issue may not be let alone, postwar.

 

[Fiver]

Apologies if you find those photos distressing. I considered whether to post them. However they are real photographs taken of real prisoners from Andersonville which were copied in Harper's Weekly and, as such, I wanted to remind people just how truly horrible their experience would have been...

A picture is worth a thousand words is a cliche, but it definitely applies here. The photos are distressing, which is exactly why they should be posted. I very recently found out from the geneology buff in my family that a direct ancestor spent 10 months in Andersonville.

 

[TheKnightIrish]

Did John B. Floyd die ATL as in OTL? If not, he is the one remaining guy on my list of folks who should have been hanged after the war.

Mr Secretary Floyd has avoided a worse fate by dying roughly on schedule from ill health brought on by his military service.

 

[TheKnightIrish]

You know, given the course of reprisals the north has already taken for treatment of black troops.... That kind of issue may not be let alone, postwar.

Hmmmm. Interesting. I must look for a source for that nugget of information. Do you have one...?

 

[Admiral Matt]

Hmmmm. Interesting. I must look for a source for that nugget of information. Do you have one...?

It's new to me as well. Perhaps sloreck?

 

[sargon10]

More please!

 

[sloreck]

The only "reprisal" OTL the north took because of CSA treatment of black prisoners was the suspension of the exchange protocols, Grant (& others) had insisted that black troops be exchanged on the same basis as white troops. The CSA, in general, looked on black Union troops as rebellious slaves even if they were free blacks from the north (or south) as opposed to "contrabands". Equality was not the only reason the exchanges were stopped, the north realized the south was running desperately short of manpower whereas the north could continue to recruit and did not "need" to get prisoners back to keep their military going.

ITTL can't recall any particular reprisals other than some courrt-martials of CSA officers ordering massacres - but its KI's timeline...

 

[TheKnightIrish]

Chapter Ninety Nine​

Grand Strategy​

From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern​

“Kearny formulated a clear strategy for 1864. It is characteristic that Kearny took soundings from Reynolds, from Peck, from Hooker, from Grant, even from the commanders of the far west before presenting his strategy to the President. General Kearny brooked no interference from Stanton, though Stanton’s proposed changes were minor. The President, and the Secretaries of War and the Navy largely approved General Kearny’s plan…​

The Army of the Potomac under Reynolds would press Longstreet’s army. Its objective was to drive Longstreet out of North Carolina and take Charlotte or to crush Longstreet and then move on Charlotte. Reynolds, in advancing into North Carolina was to secure Raleigh first…​

Major Generals John F. Reynolds and John J. Peck were to drive through North Carolina​

The Army of the James under Peck was initially to cover Reynolds’ eastern flank. Unless Longstreet proved stronger than either Kearny or Reynolds’ believed him to be, Peck would ultimately break with Reynolds and march south, first on Goldsboro and ultimately on Wilmington…

Grant, with the Armies of the Mississippi and the Cumberland, would push towards Atlanta through the difficult ground of north west Georgia and seek to bring Hardee to battle…​

McClernand had requested authority to lead his troops on an aquatic diversion to the Texas coast. It was not to be. Kearny had ordered McClernand’s Army of the Alabama (effectively XIX Corps) to retrace its steps to Montgomery. It was then to tentatively push towards Columbus and ultimately Macon in Georgia. His objective was to draw reinforcements from Hardee by threatening Atlanta from the south. McClernand might also be able to liberate a number of prisoner of war camps known to be located in southern Georgia. Kearny saw that cavalry was sent to McClernand over Grant's force to assist in this objective. However Kearny was keen to emphasise to both McClernand (and Fitz John Porter should the need arise to relieve McClernand) that they were not to take unnecessary risks. Kearny wanted no more Blackwater/Chickamauga surprises…

John McClernand was the last "political" general in charge of an army in the field​

Thomas had taken command of the renamed XXV Corps (formerly the Department of East Tennessee under George Stoneman). His objective was to take his force, cobbled together from one veteran division and a mixture of green Ohio and Indiana troops and well as new USCT formations and finally root out the last rebel bastion in Tennessee – Knoxville. Kearny judged that a simple enough task. He envisaged the bulk of Thomas’ forces being able to reinforce Grant before the end of spring…

Edward Canby was to concentrate the Army of the Frontier (effectively XXIV Corps) near Little Rock and push south west. Kearny intended that Canby’s push towards Texas/Louisiana would divert Kirby Smith’s attention from the Mississippi River and leave the “critical theatres undisturbed by King Kirby-Smith’s bushwhackers and cattle-rustlers” (Lincoln allegedly quoting General Kearny). General Blunt’s force, currently based at Fort Smith, would join Canby and spearhead the advance…​

Kearny had one surprise up his sleeve which satisfied Secretary Stanton a great deal. Kearny believed the Army of the Potomac now vastly outnumbered the now misnamed Army of Northern Virginia. He had seen fit to withdraw Lew Wallace’s corps should it be needed in the west during the crisis of Chickamauga. As it was not needed, Kearny felt Reynolds’ could spare a corps for a descent by sea on the birthplace of secession – Charleston…​

First under Robert Milroy and then John Hatch, the laughably named X Corps [it was barely a division in size], occupied the Sea Islands and generally made a nuisance of itself all along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts. Now Isaac Rodman and his fighting VI Corps would be assigned to the Sea Islands. Rodman would take command and, in conjunction with a fleet being assembled under Admiral Samuel du Pont, he was to take Charleston by any and all means necessary…​

Rear Admiral Samuel F. Du Pont​

Thus, as Lincoln put it “Kearny means for every man in the army to pile upon the south as though in some great football scrum”…

 

[TheKnightIrish]

No before going further I will recap some world events for 1863 that we might have missed - particularly Mexico and China...

And I will try my hand at a map of the South to show the occupied areas but no promises!

 

[xxmagex]

The best compliment I can give this timeline is the fact that it is one of a handful of timelines which I have printed out given its binder. That way I can go back and read it at my leisure.

 

[TheKnightIrish]

Appendix to Chapter Ninety Nine​

From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern

"Before the 1864 campaigns commenced President Lincoln would honor Major-General Phil Kearny once again by promoting him to the full rank of Lieutenant-General..."

From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern

"General Kearny had been frustrated from the very commencement of the war about the failure of Congress to authorize proper awards for valor. As a result he established, in 1862, his original decoration was known as the Kearny Medal. It was adopted as an unofficial medal by the officers of the 1st Division, 3rd Corps, of the Union Army of the Potomac, which served under Major General Philip Kearny. The original Kearny Medal was first bestowed on November 29, 1862, and was awarded to any Union officer who had performed acts of extreme bravery and heroism in the face of the enemy. In 1863, the medal was authorized retroactively to officers who had performed such acts while enlisted soldiers, and had been subsequently commissioned...

At the end of 1863, General Kearny established a second version of the Kearny Medal: a "Cross of Valor" for all personnel. The new medal, known as the Kearny Cross, was awarded to any Union soldier who had displayed meritorious, heroic, or other distinguished acts while in the face of an enemy force. General Kearny had a thousand of the crosses produced at his own expense and he encouraged the commanders of all active units to apply for their award to candidates within their own forces. Kearny's staff had the unenviable task of sifting through the applications. More than once Kearny would write that many applications were rejected because officers' applications were based on a desire to seek popularity or political preferment, or for more mundane reasons like nepotism...

The Kearny Cross​

By the end of 1864, both the Kearny Medal and the Kearny Cross were commonly referred to by the single name of the Kearny Cross. Since the decorations were issued by General Kearny in his personal capacity, the medals remained unofficial awards and were not issued again after the death of General Kearny. Nevertheless, the Kearny Cross and Medal are regarded as one of the oldest military decorations of the United States Army, second only to the Badge of Military Merit and the Fidelity Medallion, and according to many memoirs of the time were valued more highly than the subsequent Medal of Honor..."

 

[TheKnightIrish]

The best compliment I can give this timeline is the fact that it is one of a handful of timelines which I have printed out given its binder. That way I can go back and read it at my leisure.

Thanks old man. I'm very glad you are enjoying it.

 

[CobiWann]

Appendix to Chapter Ninety Nine​

From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern

"Before the 1864 campaigns commenced President Lincoln would honor Major-General Phil Kearny once again by promoting him to the full rank of Lieutenant-General..."

From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern

"General Kearny had been frustrated from the very commencement of the war about the failure of Congress to authorize proper awards for valor. As a result he established, in 1862, his original decoration was known as the Kearny Medal. It was adopted as an unofficial medal by the officers of the 1st Division, 3rd Corps, of the Union Army of the Potomac, which served under Major General Philip Kearny. The original Kearny Medal was first bestowed on November 29, 1862, and was awarded to any Union officer who had performed acts of extreme bravery and heroism in the face of the enemy. In 1863, the medal was authorized retroactively to officers who had performed such acts while enlisted soldiers, and had been subsequently commissioned...

At the end of 1863, General Kearny established a second version of the Kearny Medal: a "Cross of Valor" for all personnel. The new medal, known as the Kearny Cross, was awarded to any Union soldier who had displayed meritorious, heroic, or other distinguished acts while in the face of an enemy force. General Kearny had a thousand of the crosses produced at his own expense and he encouraged the commanders of all active units to apply for their award to candidates within their own forces. Kearny's staff had the unenviable task of sifting through the applications. More than once Kearny would write that many applications were rejected because officers' applications were based on a desire to seek popularity or political preferment, or for more mundane reasons like nepotism...

The Kearny Cross​

By the end of 1864, both the Kearny Medal and the Kearny Cross were commonly referred to by the single name of the Kearny Cross. Since the decorations were issued by General Kearny in his personal capacity, the medals remained unofficial awards and were not issued again after the death of General Kearny. Nevertheless, the Kearny Cross and Medal are regarded as one of the oldest military decorations of the United States Army, second only to the Badge of Military Merit and the Fidelity Medallion, and according to many memoirs of the time were valued more highly than the subsequent Medal of Honor..."

This? This is freakin' KEEN.

Kearny is bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase "Anaconda Plan." Pressure everywhere until the Confederacy is bled dry.

 

[sargon10]

Awesome!

 

[fernerdave]

minor nit pick:

Thus, as Lincoln put it “Kearny means for every man in the army to pile upon the south as though in some great football scrum”…

While apt, isnt this a bit anachronistic? At least for an American? Id think Lincoln would've used some frontier-ish folksy reference.
Awesome story, keep up the good work!

 

[TheKnightIrish]

minor nit pick:


While apt, isnt this a bit anachronistic? At least for an American? Id think Lincoln would've used some frontier-ish folksy reference.
Awesome story, keep up the good work!

I wondered if someone would take issue. However its entirely appropriate. Actually the form of football then practiced in the US often turned into something more akin to a brawl. Below is Winslow Homer's depiction of a match in camp...

And a slightly more civilised match involving the First Maryland (or perhaps its just early in the game!)...

 

[Darth_Kiryan]

Thus, as Lincoln put it “Kearny means for every man in the army to pile upon the south as though in some great football scrum”…

That doesn't sound very Lincolnish. Woiuld have thought he would use a frontier reference. like ants on a wounded animal" or a "lion stalks its wounded prey" or something like that.

Besides that, what are the Native Amerindians doing about now? Considering some fought with the confederacy....

 

[Corder]

I wondered if someone would take issue. However its entirely appropriate. Actually the form of football then practiced in the US often turned into something more akin to a brawl. Below is Winslow Homer's depiction of a match in camp...

And a slightly more civilised match involving the First Maryland (or perhaps its just early in the game!)...

Now I understand why Americans wear pads and helmets!