Stars & Stripes: The Rise of the United States.

Here's some more chapters for you, btw.

Stars & Stripes #6: Madison & Tecumseh.

Extracts from “Madison: The Man, and the President”
By Harvey F. Jameson
Notre Dame University
St. Joseph, Indiana
(c) 1922 Turtelbaum & Sons: Columbus, Ohio. Used with permission.

...The Battle of Pigeon Creek[1] started on June 23rd, 1811 and was one of two significant battles to occur between the U.S. and the first Indian alliance before the Meeting At Charleston[2]. The battle originally started when a division of the 15th U.S. Army spotted a small group of about 250 Indians camped near Gnessau, Ohio around noon. One soldier fired a warning shot into the air to get their attention, and so their commander, Levi Andrews, could give them a set of demands to follow. Little did they know most of the Indians were Shawnee warriors; unfortunately for Andrews and his men, that realization came almost too late as dozens of the Indians rushed towards the American soldiers, weapons in hand. However, though, even the small element of surprise didn't give the Indians much of an advantage, given that many of the soldiers were expecting a conflict. For the next 18 days, the battle raged on as Indian and soldier alike fought and perished in the summer heat, with either side gaining little advantage. Late on the night of July 10th, a draw was negotiated between the two sides, and both armies went home to their families. 185 U.S. Soldiers had lost their lives, compared to 217 Indians, over those 2 and a half weeks of pitched battle.
This was the first time that President Madison had to deal with the Indians during his administration, and while he felt that the losses of the brave men who fought in Pigeon Creek could not be suffered in vain, he also understood that any further conflict with certain amongst the Indians, particularly the Shawnee, might eventually lead to a wider war. So, on July 15th, Tecumseh was invited to the White House, the first time any man of Indian blood had ever been allowed into the President's abode......

July 18th, 1811
Washington, D.C.
United States of America

“Mr. President, I do believe Tecumseh is here to see you.” said one of the White House staff members.

“Ah yes, the Indian chief. Thank you kindly, Jenkins. Will you send him in, please?” Madison hoped this meeting wouldn't backfire on him. After all, the Shawnee were still friendly with Britain and any wider conflict with them could possibly bring the Canadas, or even England herself into the fracas. And he knew that might very well end badly for the United States, even if the latter was still embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars. This dealing with Tecumseh might just be the perfect opprotunity to stave off another war for a while, or so he had hoped.

Tecumseh walked in a few seconds later, flanked by two men who could be called his entourage of a sort. “Greetings. So you are the Great White Father Madison. May I ask why I was brought here, to your capital city?” he said, in the most respectful tone he could muster.

“Please, do call me just Mr. President. It's so much less.......pompous.” the President replied. He wasn't exactly fond of super-lofty titles, since they reminded him of British royalty. “I requested your presence to discuss the terms of a possible cease fire between us and your people.”

“Fine then, Mr. President. I will consider such. What are your terms?” Tecumseh wanted no additional conflict but had a feeling deep down that things might not turn out as well as he would have hoped; he also feared that too much capitulation might earn a harsh rebuke from some of his allies, or perhaps even worse, betrayal.

“Firstly, we request that the Shawnees relinquish all claims of the land which currently consists of an area from south-west Indiana to eastern Ohio, to allow further settlement by American citizens, white men or otherwise. We also request that you cease all raids against American settlements and that you should attempt to convince your allies to follow your lead.”

“It will not be easy, Mr. President. Many of my people have much anger towards your nation. They see you in a manner comparable to what your people thought of the British just 3 decades ago. And what of our allies?”

Madison replied, “As long as you adhere to the terms of this cease fire, no wars will come to your people unless evidence of provocation has been found. I trust you understand?”

“We are a peaceful people. We only wish to be left to our own devices, and not to constantly be in battle with other tribes and nations.”, said Tecumseh.

“But your people did ally with those who sacked the city of Louisville, Kentucky. Some of your fellow Shawnee even directly participated in the mayhem. My people cannot forgive such actions easily.” said Madison.

“Perhaps so, but it was a matter of honor, that they joined our Maumee[3] comrades.”

Madison shot back. “Honor?” “Then you haven't heard of the more than 2 dozen American civilians who lost their lives in Louisville, my good chief? If your people are truly peaceful, then this surely cannot stand. Or was that kind of revenge justified, in your view?” Was this Indian truly such a careless fool, he wondered? To Madison, civilians were to be protected as much as humanly possible during any conflict.

“I was informed that some of the Maumee had engaged in unfortunate behavior during the battle. Those that lived have been disciplined; I personally requested such, as our relationship with the Maumees has been good for some time.” Tecumseh hadn't been happy about the massacres of the American civilians, but at the same time, he didn't forget what had happened to his own people, either.

Madison's anger simmered down. “Fine then, at least you show some dignity. Now, about the land-”

“We Shawnees don't believe in land ownership, Mr. President. Like many of our fellows, we believe that all land belongs to the Great Spirit, and all the peoples of this world.”

“Would you at least accept some resettlement?” Madison inquired.

“Some of my people will protest, but I see no other choice, even if only to prevent war.” Tecumseh replied. He didn't like how things were going at this time, but to protest too much might anger the President and could perhaps undo any compromise that might have been reached.

Madison paused for a second and then replied. “Fine then. The Shawnee north of the 37th parallel [4] shall be relocated to the eastern part of our state of Kentucky, and the northern third of the state of Indiana, and those living south of the 37th parallel shall be relocated to northern Georgia, until further settlement can be agreed upon.”

“Then it is agreed? No further conflict shall arise?” asked Tecumseh, hoping for the answer he'd like to hear.

Madison replied a little more swiftly this time. “That is correct, but only if you adhere to the terms of the cease-fire. Perhaps in a year or two, we may be able to sign a lasting treaty.”

Tecumseh sighed. “Let us hope, Mr. President, our attempts at making peace, shan't come too late.......”
As he walked out the doors with his 2 bodyguards, Tecumseh began to wonder if the American palefaces would actually keep their word.....or would be more than happy to break it at the first sign of opprotunity. “Only time will tell, perhaps.”, he thought, as he approached the waiting stagecoach.

Later that day...

“Now, let me see if I can understand, Mr. President. You actually let TECUMSEH of all people, just walk into the White House?” George Clinton remarked, his voice slightly raised in agitation.

“No, George. He was invited to the Presidential home so we could discuss terms for a possible cease-fire. Right now, we have no need of a war with Britain.” Madison calmly replied.

"But perhaps if the Indians go behind our backs-"

Madison interrupted the Vice-President. "Tecumseh may be an Indian but he does seem to be a honorable one.” The Shawnee chief had appeared to be a man of a decent moral standing, even if he had been considered to be a savage by the white Americans, and perhaps a more permanent peace could someday be undertaken. Still, some doubt lingered in his mind at that moment. “The other chiefs, however, may not be so trustworthy, especially the Maumees in Ohio and the Ouiatenon[4] in Indiana at the moment. And I still wonder if perhaps Tecumseh may yet feel more allegiance to his fellow Indians than our cease-fire agreement?” Some rather worrying intelligence had started coming into D.C. as of late. The Maumees in particular, were beginning to tire of Tecumseh's peace making efforts, and desired to once again make war with Washington, despite the Shawnee Chief's attempts at settling the matter.

"Can't we just raid their camps and-" Clinton asked.

Madison sighed. "To do so would be disastrous at this moment."

“I understand, Mr. President.” Clinton had little respect for the Shawnee, but was even less so of many of the other Indians, the Maumees in particular, whose warriors had wrecked much of Louisville, Kentucky not too terribly long ago. But even he understood that fighting them at that moment would've meant a declaration of war by not just the Canadas, but perhaps even Britain herself. And no one wished for America to be conquered & brought back into the English fold.

“However, if by some chance, the Shawnees make the most unfortunate choice to break the cease-fire, then we may proceed with retaliation. Unfortunately, should Britain exert any pressure on Tecumseh, he and his men may feel they have no choice but to concede to the King's demands, and attack this nation anyway. Our only hope in that situation may be appeasement when necessary, and continued pressure when the opprotunity exists.”

Clinton nodded in agreement.“I fear you may be correct on that, sir.”

“Now, if you'll excuse me George, I do believe I have a meeting with the Secretary of the Army.”

“All right, I shall be on my way then.” Clinton walked out of the room.
Not long afterwards, there was a knock at the door. “Mr. President?”

“Yes, Mr. Jenkins? You may open the door.” Madison replied.

Jenkins peeked thru. “Secretary Wilkinson would like to see you now, sir.”

“Well, then, let him in. And thank you.” said Madison. Jenkins smiled, and left.

James Wilkinson entered right then. The somewhat weathered 54-year old Revolutionary War Veteran had long been an agent of controversy and intrigue; from his sabotaging of Zebulon Pike's plan of exploration of what was then the northwest of New Spain in 1806, to the apprehension of Aaron Burr in 1807, and even the rumors of him being a Spanish agent[5], did nothing to really help his reputation. On the other hand, he did help quell the riots in Providence following the bombing of the 'Mary Louise' in 1808, with no casualties, and still had had his military career to fall back on, so Madison kept him around as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army as Jefferson had. “Well, good evening, Mr. President. I assume all went well with Tecumseh?”

Madison replied, “Yes. We've agreed to a cease-fire, but whether he keeps his word or plunges a knife in our back is yet to be seen. Perhaps the man is truly honorable, at least for a primitive Indian, but due to the fact that he does take orders from London[6], he may feel compelled to take the path of least resistance.”

“I see. Well, in any case, sir, I have the latest reports from the frontlines.” Wilkinson replied.

“And that would be?” Madison asked.

“Perhaps you should look for yourself, sir.......”

[1]Another small Ohio town, generally in the vicinity of OTL's Frankfort.

[2]An important event that occurred between the U.S. & and the Native tribes not too much later onwards.

[3]Also called the Miami IOTL.

[4]A minor Native American tribe which had a little significance IOTL, but not quite on the level of say, the Shawnee, Cherokee, or Creek.

[5]Which, sadly, turned out to be true.

[6]Or at least, that's how Madison sees things at the moment.

--

Stars & Stripes #7: The Razing of Louisville

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

Chapter 5: The Maumee Raids, Part I

While the destruction of Louisville in May of 1811 had seen participation by some Maumee warriors, that particular warband had been unorganized and was actually a rather strange mix consisting of Shawnees, Ouiatenon, and even a few Creeks and Cherokees who had traveled north to join forces with the anti-Washington coalition led by Tecumseh and some of the other Midwestern chiefs. However, though, Tecumseh was dismayed to learn of the civilian casualties that had occurred in the city, mostly caused by some of the more frenzied Maumee warriors, and though his attempts at peacemaking, including his July 15th visit to Washington had some success, he was not able to convince many of the Maumee to follow his lead, and by late July, 1811, the Maumee chief Little Beaver[1] was making plans to attack the Americans, this time with organization and greater numbers, although some arguments began to occur between the leaders of the Maumee bands concerning whether the right decision had been made, or if would end in total disaster for all involved. Some even threatened to leave for Tecumseh's camp if the war were to go on. On the other hand, a few of the pro-war Indians claimed that they would leave for the Canadas if their plans for starting conflicts anew were cancelled. Regardless, in the middle of the morning on August 17th, the Maumee forces began their first formal raid, this time directed towards the town of Tappan, Ohio, on the east bank. However, though, a Maumee scout and spy who had been hired by the U.S. Army had warned of the attack, and several dozen National Guardsmen, and militiamen came to meet the approximately 250 Maumees who where sweeping in a headlong rush towards Tappan and the surrounding area. The Maumee fought rather fericiously, with the militiamen taking heavy losses during the first 4 hours of the battle. Eventually, however, the National Guard's firepower began to turn the tables and many of the Indians began to fall to American bullets. It went downhill from there for the Maumees' war effort as the few dozen or so who hadn't been killed or captured were forced to retreat well into the Michigan Country by noon the next day. On August 20th, a small survey team was sent to Tappan to assess the damage that had been done...

--

Aug. 20, 1811
Tappan, Ohio State
United States of America

Captain John Wright[2] looked around the town of Tappan. "What a horrid mess.", he whispered quietly. He hadn't ever seen an Indian raid as bad as this one, or lived through any, for that matter.
"Yes, it certainly is. What a damn shame.", said Pvt. James Douglas. Much of the town had been ruined, despite the brevity of the combat, which had only lasted slightly over a day. Of the 423 people who once lived here, most had been been able to flee beforehand. But there were a few who couldn't, or wouldn't leave. 10 residents had perished, mostly, but not always, by crossfire.
"I hear those Injuns prob'ly raped a few of the women too.” claimed Pvt. Elijah Branston. “Now, now, Branston, we mustn't make such accusations without evidence. They may be Indians but they can't all be truly savage.” Wright replied, admonishing him in turn.

“But, sir, I-” chimed in Pvt. Douglas.

“Private, we can't assume such things without witnesses.” Wright turned around. “Now let's move forward, men!” *And hope we don't find any more horrors in town.*,[3] he thought to himself.

Stars & Stripes #8-The Beginning of the End of the Viceroyalty.

--
Extracted from “The Fall of the Spanish Empire, 1805-1929”
© 1956 By Victoria Patterson
Liberty Press
Sacramento, California, United States.

Chapter 4: The Flames of The Rebellion Are Lit

In the summer of 1808, things were already looking quite unfavorable for the Spanish Empire. Earlier that year, in April, Napoleon's army had been able to capture much of Catalonia, including Barcelona, without much heavy resistance. The French had also imprisoned several Spanish nobles as well, causing Fernando VII to flee Madrid for Buenos Aires, Argentina, as well as causing considerable debate in Madrid as to whether or not to surrender and capitulate to the advancing French, or continue the fighting, possibly risking an even more serious loss and harsher post-war consequences.
Meanwhile, in what was to become Mexico, things weren't looking well for the colonial government there, either. The imprisonment of Francisco Valenzuela and Alberto Galvez had only stoked the flames of discontent and rebellion instead of quenching them, as many of the members of the ruling class had hoped. On May 15th, a prison raid by a local rebel cell in Mexico City was able to free Valenzuela, Galvez, and over a dozen other political prisoners; this was viewed as such a success, that multiple additional operations were undertaken, including the one which freed pro-liberty priest Miguel Hidalgo who was incarcerated in Veracruz by some of the more corruptible authorities there. And as they did this, as well as planting flyers, and sparking protests, among other things, more and more people began to join their cause.

By the middle of July, government authority had begun to collapse in many parts of the country, and it was in the city of Ticoacan, Guanajuato, that the very first battle against Spanish authority began in Mexico, and the first Grito de Guerra[4] was uttered...

**Intermission**

[Well, folks, I've decided to do some intermissions every now & then. This very first one will be a look at an alternate version of OTL's Grito de Dolores.]

Recorded by:
Julian Walthers, University of Maryland, Baltimore.
© August, 1969.

Now, popular legend has it, that on the 13th of July, 1808, a small group of rebels gathered in the tiny Indian village of Ticoacan, Guanajuato, to brainstorm a new anthem for their fellows to chant, whether on the battlefield, or at home with their families and friends, not only as a tool of defiance against the Spanish, but as an expression of love for their new homeland. The next day, they had completed the song, and it went a little bit like this:

Our fellow Mexicans! Let us rejoice, for the time of liberation has come!
Long live the heroes who dared to resist the Spanish!
Long live Hidalgo!
Long live Morelos!
Long live MariaVallejo!
Long live Sanchez[5]!
Long live Senor Aldama!
Long live Galvez!
Long live Valenzuela!
Long live the homeland! Long live Mexico!

This song would eventually become incorporated into Mexico's national anthem.

**End of Intermission**

Chapter 5: Women in the Revolution

It may surprise some readers to learn that some of Mexico's female citizens did, in fact, play a significant role in the revolution even in it's early stages. Maria Vallejo, a 20-year-old seamstress from Coahuila, was responsible for gathering the first large scale peaceful protest during her stay in Saltillo on the morning of June 6th, 1808. 5,000 people came together in the middle of town to protest certain activities of the governor of that province, one Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, which included the total suppression of dissent, arresting random citizens without due cause, and even rumors of sanctioned murders of certain citizens who refused to toe the line, particularly in the bigger cities such as Saltillo or Torreon. The protestors were left alone for some time, but the Governor became rather weary of their grievances, and ordered the soldiers to start arresting people at some point around 9 am. However, though, that measure was only met with additional resistance, and the commander of the local garrison soon realized that this protest was not going to end without violence. He requested to step down, but just as he was preparing to cease the arrests, Bustamante ordered his execution for supposed treason, and at 9:23, shots rang out in the area, signaling his death. The new commander angrily ordered his men to fire at the protestors. And most of them did so, though some hesitated. The carnage that followed was to be forever recorded in the annals of Mexican history 'til the end of their nation's time and beyond. Over the next 6 hours, 183 protestors were to be killed by the soldiers who did fire upon them, until they ran out of ammunition. Some of the civilians fought back, however, and it is mostly because of this that 22 Spanish soldiers lost their lives(although one was to commit suicide towards the end because he couldn't stand the thought of firing upon his own people, as told by one revolutionary who cornered him near the governor's residence.). But, by 3 pm, the efforts of the governor were in vain, and not long after, the gates were broken through, and up to 1,000 of the angered protestors charged right into the grounds.
Just before the governor could leave his quarters at 3:50, a dozen of the protestors and their revolutionary allies barged through the door, some with weapons in hand. He immediately ordered his guards to subdue them, but they were quickly overpowered. One of the revolutionaries, Pablo Sanchez, grabbed the governor and held him hostage. Bustamante did have one final bargaining chip, however; Sanchez's 14-year-old daughter, Luisa, was being held hostage by one of the surviving guards. He then made demands to be allowed to leave for Mexico City and that the rebels in the area cease their activities at once, or suffer the full weight of the Spanish military crashing down on their heads.[6] This of course, didn't impress Sanchez at all, and he retorted with, as we are told, “You talk the talk, Mr. High-and-Mighty. But can you walk the walk, you child-abusing coward?”[7] Just then, the guard holding Luisa made a move for her, another revolutionary by the name of Sabina Santana shot him down, saving Pablo's daughter from an early death. She then turned her pistol towards the Governor, and uttered, “Any last words, you bastard son of the Crown?”, to which he is said to have retorted, “I will enjoy seeing you roast in the lowest circle of hell, you traitorous sex worker.”. She replied, “I'll live with it. Now prepare to meet your maker, Bustamante. May God forgive you, because Mexico may not.” Santana fired a single shot into the Governor's head, killing him instantly. Just as they were about to leave, however, another pair of the rebels had captured Vice-Governor Antonio Tejada, who had attempted to flee thru a back exit, and had almost made it before he tripped on a loose gun one of the fleeing guards had dropped. Despite his fears to the contrary, Tejada[8] was spared and allowed to rule as acting governor, though not all of Coahuila had been under their control just yet. But with 30,000 people now part of the rebel effort in that province, it wouldn't be long before the dominos were start to start falling not just there, but all over Mexico...

--

June 9, 1808
Near Saltillo, Coahuila Province
Viceroyalty of New Spain(recognized)
Mexican Democratic Republic(proclaimed)

Maria Vallejo stood in the middle in the patch of desert where she and some of her comrades had made camp the night before. It was only mid-morning but the summer sun was already beating down on them anyway. “Maria? Is it true that we can win this war against the Crown?”, said Sabina Santana, who was standing right next to her. The 20-year-old revolutionary had her doubts about the rebellion's chance of success due to the rather small amount of territory actually solidly held by the rebels, although not enough to consider giving up and raising the white flag, as it were. “Sabina, have a little faith in our efforts. We have a long road to travel, yes, but victory shall be ours eventually. The Viceroy will fall, and Spain will surrender our soverignty to us, where it rightfully belongs.” Maria replied with a hint of reassurance in her voice. “And there is no one who can stop us, from achieving our goals.” She smiled. This was only the beginning of the rise of Mexico......

--

July 16, 1808.
Near Leon, Intendancy of Guanajuato
Viceroyalty of New Spain(recognized)
Mexican Democratic Republic(proclaimed)

“Have you got the plans?” asked Alberto Galvez. “Of course I do, Alberto. I assume we are to start the attack soon?” replied Francisco Valenzuela. “Yes we are. We will strike thru the heart of Leon tomorrow morning.” Galvez asserted. He fervently hoped that this plan of his would work; Leon had only a few loyal soldiers that could reinforce the city, and at least some resident sympathetic to the rebels' cause. Although there were only 500 soldiers in the particular division that they had chose to accompany, things were looking up for them, at least as it seemed at the moment. “May God & the Virgin bless and protect us all.” Valenzuela whispered, as he faced westwards towards the sunset. He hoped his prayers for liberation would come true. Galvez “Asi. Then it's agreed. We rest tonight, and then we start towards Leon just before dawn. I have high hopes for our success, my friend. May Providence be on our side.”

--

Taken from: “Steel and Iron: The Expanded Encyclopedia of Military History, 1774-1941”
© 1955 William F. Marston
Hamilton Publishing Company: Salt Lake, U.S.A.[9]

The Mexican Revolution (April 28, 1808-September 7, 1812)
Was the one of the first major revolts against Spanish power in the Americas, with associated anti-colonial struggles in Florida, Dominica, and later on, Venezuela and Ecuador, precluded by a harsh crackdown against protesting civilians by local & provincial authorities in St. Augustine, Florida. The original cause of the Revolution was the imprisonment of two local civilians in what was still New Spain in 1807, Francisco Valenzuela, and Alberto Galvez. The men were charged with disrupting the peace and sedition, and were to be imprisoned for a total of 10 years for what the Crown prosecutor claimed was a serious attempt at inciting treason. This did not bode well to many of the people of Mexico Province and soon, a serious uprising began in the area. Throughout much of 1807 the Viceroyalty had to deal with growing numbers of protests and riots as word of the suppressions in Florida began to circulate. It also hadn't helped that many governors and other authorities went well above and beyond their orders and actually ordered mass arrests, and even, in some areas, sporadic executions. The spring and early summer of 1808, saw a number of important developments; April 27th was the day that the first declaration of independence and sovereignty from Spanish control was issued.
May 15th saw the successful jailbreak of Valenzuela, Galvez, and a dozen other political prisoners, several of whom would later participate in the military efforts of the rebels; June 6th saw the rebel takeover of Saltillo, Coahuila, when the manor of Governor Manuel Cordova was stormed, seized, and looted by angry protestors who had been fired upon by some of his troops, with Cordova himself being executed by the rebels, and on July 17th, the first major battle began, in the city of Leon, Guanajuato, just before dawn...

--

Taken from “Revolucionarios! Stories of the Mexican Revolution, And The People Who Fought In It”
© 1952 Dr. Josiah A. Spencer, Lipton University
Popular Press.[10]
San Francisco, California: United States of America


It was just before 5 am in the city of Leon on the morning of July 17th. Nothing stirred here nor there, except for the occasional citizen on the street or rotation of the guard. The city was as quiet as it could possibly be. Or so it would continue, were it not for the nearly rebel division who stood nearby. Then, an order was given. The rebels were about to advance.

They rushed by the hundreds, yelling their war cry as they stormed the city. The few soldiers who still resided in the outskirts of Leon were completely overwhelmed, and the rebels made quick work of the frontline Spaniards in only 30 minutes' time. The rest of them, however, had holed themselves in various buildings across the city, and the rebels spent over 12 hours trying to clear them all out. But when it came their time to engage in urban warfare, many of them quickly realized that they actually excelled at it, though some found other ways to fight. One rebel reportedly tricked a pair of Spanish soldiers by mimicking the accent of a Spanish noblewoman in need of assistance. But when the one of the Spaniards rushed out, the rebel tripped him and he fell 2 stories, breaking his back, with the other one following him, having been kicked squarely in the hind quarters. Another rebel, it's said, managed to tie a Spanish commander to a loose cannonball with some heavy-duty rope that he found laying around; he then inserted it into the nearby cannon, lit the fuse, and got the Spaniard's attention. Just after the commander noticed the prank, he turned around to berate the Mexican, but as he started to do so he saw the lit fuse and his jaw dropped wide open in astonishment. The rebel made a witty comment, and the cannon shot it's payload, taking the Spaniard with it. One of the small number of women in the area was highly talented as a seductress of any man she could find, and she was able to distract one of the lead commanders during the night before a comrade of hers stabbed him in the back.[11] Of course, quick thinking wasn't the only thing the rebels had on their side; many were rural peasants who had grown up in the more mountainous regions across the country, and to some amongst them, these buildings were basically like the mountains of their youth, only much flatter and the insides were as caves. The battle lasted for about 48 more hours; the Spanish managed to send 2 waves of reinforcements, although they too, were without success in purging the rebel presence. Just before the rebels completed their securing of Leon on the 19th , one of the surviving Spanish commanders came up and actually surrendered before the rebels, prostrated. After a little debate, the man was allowed to live, but not before he was stripped of his uniform and weapons; he was then forced to leave the city on foot.

And so it was. Though about half of the rebels had given their lives for the revolution, the Spanish losses were much worse; 1,500 of them had perished trying to halt the advance of the revolucionarios into Leon. With the capital of Guanajuato in their hands, the Mexican rebels regrouped and turned northward in search of the next target, while gaining a massive swell of supporters and fellow travelers along the way...
--

Taken from: “The Wars That Impacted World History, Volume II: The Colonial Revolutions”
© 1966 by Teresa Kuresaki
Satoshi-Kura College
Tokyo, Japan
English Translation by Kuresaki & Robert Warranga, Oceanic University: Ballarat[OTL's Wollongong], New South Wales. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5a: The Mexican Front: Beginnings.

The sacking of Leon, Guanajuato on July 17th, 1808, was the first successful official military operation that the revolutionaries had undertaken. A feeling of boldness swept their ranks, and many of the leaders began to debate amongst themselves concerning where they could strike next. Several plans were discussed, but it was eventually decided that they could attempt a manuever which involved one group made a northward progression through what is now called Sanchez Valley[12]to the city of Aguascalientes. It was hoped that they could then run through northern New Galicia towards Zacatecas.
Another group was to make an advancement to San Luis Potosi, in hopes of possibly gaining access to the silver mines, and then the third and final detachment was to head to the southeast towards Irapuato and Celaya, where they hoped to find people sympathetic to their cause.

By the end of July, 8,000 persons now made up the ranks of the rebels under the direct control of FranciscoValenzuela, including the original 1,150 surviving veterans under their command. 5,000 rebels answered to Miguel Hidalgo, and at least 7,000 people were grouped under the leadership of Juan Morelos. Most of them were ragtag militias, but it was hoped by most of the leaders, Hidalgo and Valenzuela in particular, that perhaps at least some of them could survive to gain some experience with each passing battle. On the morning of July 30th, the men set off for their predetermined targets.

The first of the battles that occurred was to take place in and near the city of Guanajuato starting at 8 am on July 31st . The battle took place in four stages; the first was began a 2 hour pass through some of the mountains and hills north of the city by, taking out a number of the guard posts which had recently been erected in the area; this offensive was successful, but did result in the loss of about 50 of about 2,000 of Hidalgo's men. Next, about an hour, after the start of the first offensive, a group of about 500 rebels, many on horseback, began to straddle the outskirts of the city, eliminating a fair number of encamped Viceroyal soldiers who had largely been caught by surprise, and then moving out to provide additional support to both their comrades approaching the city, and those in the mountains just to the north. The third offensive involved the other 2,500 rebels in the front of the city, making a direct beeline for the city of Guanajuato itself. Unfortunately, they had underestimated the number of Spaniards who had garrisoned there; they now faced up to 4,000 Viceroyal troops who were now ready for battle and all too eager to fight to the death for the Crown. The insurgents had significant trouble trying to advance, and although they had been able to inflict some casualties on the Spaniards for the next 8 hours, they also suffered serious losses on their side, with as many 1,800 of them perishing in the battle. However, though, just as many of the Mexicans thought the battle to be lost, at around 5:30 pm, their comrades in the mountains rushed through the southern pass into Guanajuato, yelling their signature war cry; the fourth and final offensive had begun. The Spaniards were caught almost completely off guard as their rear flank was swarmed; although a few of them managed to get some shots off at the charging rebels, most were to unable to compensate for the oversight, and within 2 hours, most of the Viceroyal troops had either been killed or captured. One of the Spanish commanders, fearing for his life, divulged some valuable information to the rebels, particularly concerning troop movements in and around the Zacatecas area.
Hidalgo believed this to be promising for the war effort, so he sent a couple of scouts out to find Alberto Galvez, who had stayed behind in their camp just northwest of Leon. Early the next morning, Galvez heard the good news; he in turn, sent for a couple of his scouts to find Valenzuela's men...

--

August 1, 1808
Aguascalientes, New Galicia
Viceroyalty of New Spain(recognized)
Mexican Democratic Republic(proclaimed)

Francisco Valenzuela stood in the middle of the town with about 1,000 of his men. They needed rest after a couple of days' worth of marching towards Zacatecas so he let them stop here, since no Viceroyal troops had bothered to stop in the small town yet. Valenzuela was about to sit down himself, when suddenly, the galloping of hooves marked the arrival of a messenger, or rather, two of them.
“Greetings, and you might be?” he asked the two men. One of them replied quickly.“We were sent here by your close comrade Galvez. He sends you his best regards.” “That's good.” said Valenzuela. “Any news of their advance on Guanajuato?” he asked. The other scout replied, “That's what he sent us for. Galvez and his company requested us to inform you that one of the Spanish commandantes they captured gave us valuable information. Several divisions are headed towards Zacatecas to reinforce those Viceroyal troops already in the city, starting tomorrow evening.” Valenzuela smiled. “Good then. We'll start in a couple of hours, right at the start of dawn.” “I wish you good luck, sir.” Said one of the horsemen before he rode off back to Galvez's position. “Godspeed my friend.” Valenzuela said softly as the two scouts as they disappeared from view. He then turned to his men, all now awake and ready to receive their orders. “Alright men! The time has come to strike towards Zacatecas. I hope and expect for nothing less than your bravest conduct and your best fighting skills. Are you ready to earn more glory, for the motherland?” They all responded quite vigorously. “Si, comandante!” “VIVA MEXICO!” Valenzuela yelled as they started off for the city...

--

Taken from: “The Wars That Impacted World History, Volume II: The Colonial Revolutions”
© 1966 by Teresa Kuresaki
Satoshi-Kura College
Tokyo, Japan
English Translation by Kuresaki & Robert Warranga, Oceanic University: Ballarat[OTL's Wollongong], New South Wales. All rights reserved.

Chapter 5b: The Mexican Front: The Battles of Zacatecas & San Luis Potosi

Late in the morning of August 2nd, Francisco Valenzuela and some of his men arrived at a small post not far to the south of Zacatecas. The plan that Valenzuela and some of his allies had drawn up was to attempt to lead about 1,000 of his men to have the Spaniards chase them around the area, while the main force backed up for a little while to allow them some room. The 1,000 men would split up into groups of five and try to force the Royalists into the middle of town while the main Revolutionary force came up from their rear. The plan started to be put into action at noon, and all 1,000 of the diversionaries immediately set out to do their jobs. Unfortunately, the actions didn't go quite as planned; a few of the Spaniards had figured out the ruse, and actually started to go the other way, and the rebels had a hard time figuring out who should go off in which direction for a while. However, though, one rebel commander suggested that they try a circular faux retreat instead, and this new plan was acted on immediately. It worked much better than expected; they were not only able to circle the city, but were able to go all the way into the middle of the core. As soon as Valenzuela's scouts saw the success of their comrades' actions, they charged towards the Spaniards. Although as many as 500 of the rebels had perished, the Royalists were about to get a very nasty surprise indeed. Only too late, they saw the 5,000 rebels charging behind them, and even worse, dozens of the other rebels were coming in from other directions. It was a slaughterfest; of the 8,000 Spanish troops who had been sent to Zacatecas, perhaps only 300 survived, compared to about 700 rebel losses. The operation had been a complete success, as the entire city was now in their hands; not only that, but they even gained a significant boosting of their ranks, from some very grateful citizens...

--

August 3, 1808
Zacatecas, New Galicia
Viceroyalty of New Spain(recognized)
Mexican Democratic Republic(proclaimed)

In the city of Zacatecas, the recently-liberated inhabitants still cheered their saviors as they had the night before, after the last surviving, non-captured Spanish troops retreated from the city at full speed, and it already seemed that nothing could stop them from achieving victory over all Mexico. Francisco Valenzuela realized, however, that this was only the beginning, and that much more testing challenges were yet to lay ahead for them; the Spanish still had many troops in Mexico and he knew that if Fernando VII were to flee Spain due to the wars in Europe, the Crown would waste no time trying to secure at least some of the colonies, possibly including Mexico, even if their successes on the battlefield were to continue at the rate that they had been.
However, it was also clear that many of the people were on the side of the revolucionarios; even if Spain could throw a half million troops at this place, it would take up to a decade or more to get rid of all the freedom fighters, at least, in the very worst case scenario. The main question, in his mind, wasn't “Will we lose?”, but rather “How soon can we win, and how many casualties will we have to endure before this land is liberated?” Suddenly, someone spoke.

“Sir?” asked a revolutionary.

“Yes, what is it?” Valenzuela replied.
“How long should we stick around?”

“Two weeks, at least. We have people joining our ranks every day, but the Spanish will want to make a few more attempts to take this area back from us. Prepare yourself, things could turn rough soon.”

“Aye, sir. May the Virgin protect us.” The revolutionary went back to his post. Valenzuela indeed hoped that divine intervention would continue to be on their side, as many of his comrades believed.

--

Taken from: “The Wars That Impacted World History, Volume II: The Colonial Revolutions”
© 1966 by Teresa Kuresaki
Satoshi-Kura College
Tokyo, Japan
English Translation by Kuresaki & Robert Warranga, Oceanic University: Ballarat, New South Wales. All rights reserved.

Continued from Chapter 5b

While Valenzuela's army marched towards Zacatecas, and Hidalgo's in the direction of Irapuato, Morelos and his men made it their objective to capture the vital silver mining town of San Luis Potosi. On August 2nd, right around noon, they arrived not too far from the town of San Felipe. Although some confusion was present at first following their arrival, it was eventually decided that the men would split into two teams, one heading off the to the northwest, and one to the northeast. with Morelos commanding the former. A trusted ally of his, Miguel Dominguez[13], headed the other. With that settled, they started off in the middle of the afternoon for on their respective paths. Dominguez had little trouble with the Royalists, though Morelos had to deal with an ambush not far north of the town of Ocampo, with about 200 men lost. However, though, along the way, Morelos's contingent gained another 500 men, mostly peasants from Ocampo & Arriaga, which more than compensated for their earlier loss. Unfortunately, another setback occurred not long after; unseasonably hot weather had begun to settle in the area; temperatures on occasion could soar as high as 105*F, which caused serious delays in their advancement towards San Luis. Meanwhile, Dominguez and his men had their own issues to deal with; a rockslide early on the morning of August 3rd had killed at least 50 of the fighters. It would take hours to clear all the debris, and a small number of the men had been so exhausted afterwards that they had to be left behind so that their lack of mobility wouldn't hinder the progress of their brethren in arms. At 11 o'clock they were once again on the move towards San Luis.
Morelos had made better progress and by sunset they had reached the very outskirts of the city. It was soon decided that they would rest for the night in a couple of hours and then charge the Spaniards. At 5:40 a.m. the next morning, the revolucionarios, having been well-rested, once they heard their leader Morelos yell out the rebel anthem, charged straight for the city, weapons in hand.

The battle that followed was a rather slow one at first; a Royalist captain who had been awake at the time heard the noise and alerted a few of his fellows to the imminent siege, and a few dozen Royalist troops came out to meet the rebels. Unfortunately for the rebels, many of them had no guns and over 100 were badly slaughtered by the initial defensive wave. Soon, many more Royalist soldiers steadily came out to meet the advancing rebels, and over the next 24 hours, a stalemate developed between the two armies. Meanwhile, Dominguez and his allies had ran across a few backup Spanish divisions later in the morning and spent around 8-9 hours trying to eradicate them. Worse still, by the time they reached the outskirts of the city, several more divisions had camped out by the city, and it took over a day to fight them all off. This, unfortunately, had allowed a serious reduction in the forces of Morelos, who decided to move back a ways to allow them a little breathing room. It was also hoped by both armies that Dominguez could be able to break through and carry out a surprise attack on the Royalists' rear flanks, but that hope began to die as the battle wore on, with Morelos in particular suffering a somewhat heavy loss. However, though, a major breakthrough came in the middle of the morning of August the 7th when Dominguez's fighters finally broke thru and began to charge into San Luis itself. The Royalist commander, Juan de la Cruz, realized the seriousness of the developing situation and immediately ordered about 2,000 of his remaining men to meet the oncoming rebels. Fortunately for Morelos and Dominguez however, De La Cruz and his advisors had quite strongly overestimated the number of rebels headed westward, and at the same time, underestimated the number of Morelos's men to their south-west. Many of the front line Spaniards were massacred when they collided with the Morelos group, and even worse, a couple hundred of the rebels, some on horse back, had managed to elude the battle altogether and were able to charge behind the divisions who had gone to intercept Dominguez and his troops; they too, were utterly destroyed.
As a last resort, De La Cruz ordered his remaining forces to scatter across the city and to continue the warfare in the various buildings in the area, in the hope that reinforcements would soon come. They never did. Though Morelos and Dominguez had one last challenge to overcome, by the end of August 9th , their goal had been achieved. San Luis Potosi was now theirs; De La Cruz, however, had escaped, his whereabouts unknown for the time being...

--

August 9, 1808
Near San Luis Potosi
Viceroyalty of New Spain(recognized)
Mexican Democratic Republic(proclaimed)

Juan De La Cruz was exhausted after his escape San Luis Potosi. He cursed the names of those two men, Morelos and Dominguez, who had taken that city of silver from its rightful owners, and put it in the hands of these dogs, these peasants, these indios. The very thought of his failure made shivers go down his spine, despite the unusually warm weather this evening. He turned to the few men still loyal to him, and spoke, “Men! You have seen the pillage of the city of San Luis Potosi and its displacement from our hands in those of savages and miscreants. We have little in the way of resources, and many of our fellows have been felled by the scroundrels calling themselves the “Mexicans”, and their allies, including the traitor Dominguez, whose treachery shall forever be recorded in the annals of Hispanic history. Now, we must regroup, and head to Mexico City. It is my personal mission to retake the city San Luis, and restore it to its rightful owners. We shall rest now, for tomorrow, our quest, shall begin!”. Despite their lack of energy many of the men cheered their commander's rather short speech.They, too, wished for revenge...[14]

--

August 10, 1808
San Luis Potosi, Mexico(proclaimed)

Miguel Dominguez awoke on this fine morning to good spirits. He, and his comrade in arms, Juan Morelos had just completed their mission. However, though the whereabouts of the enemy commander De La Cruz, was still unknown to either of them. Not long after, a man on horseback rode up to Dominguez's position.
“Sir.”

“Good morning, I assume you may have some news concerning our old friend De La Cruz?” Dry wit was essential to keeping one's spirits up in such a situation, he thought.

The horseman answered, “Yes, but I fear it may not be good. It seems he was able to escape with about 2 dozen of his men. It's quite possible he could head for either Monterrey or Mexico City, and that reinforcements may try to retake this area. Your recommendation, sir?”

“We should gather up as many recruits we can muster. There are many in this area who no longer support the Crown, and some are fit enough to join our ranks if they wish.” replied Dominguez.

“Anything else sir?”

“No. Send Senor Morelos my best regards.” Morelos's camp was just outside San Luis in case the Royalists attempted to retake the city thru the most important road.

“Thank you.” said the horseman as he rode off.

[1] As far as I know, no significant figure existed IOTL. Assume that this man was a nobody who rose to the rank of chief thru warfare.

[2]He was a minor figure IOTL, but a relatively decent one.

[3] Understandable; some of these raids could get pretty nasty.

[4]'Cry of War', in English. The ATL version of the 'Grito de Dolores'

[5]Victor Sanchez is an ATL figure I introduced into the story; just assume he was an average Joe who just happened to find a place in the annals of history.

[6]A real threat that the Spanish government most certainly could have tried to act on, especially if Napoleon and his men were able to capture the city of Madrid. The thinking here is, “Why not just try to reinforce our colonies while leaving enough men to fight for our nation?”

[7]Sanchez will be remembered for his cojones for a very long time to come ITTL.

[8]Tejada was a somewhat minor figure in OTL 1808: at that time, he was the Vice-Governor of Coahuila.

[9] You may be hearing quite a bit about the ATL Salt Lake one of these days. Try to guess what the state's name will be? =)

[10] An ATL San Francisco publishing company known for its more layman and youth-oriented books. Josiah Spencer adds a touch of humor to his writings here, drawing directly from the tales of those who actually lived thru the war.

[11]Now that's what I call a battle axe! Get it? =)

[12]De La Cruz will be featured elsewhere. Trust me, like Cortez, he too, will play an important role during, and even after the revolutions.........

*****

And there we go. Any comments appreciated.

Here's 12, 13, btw.

--

Stars & Stripes #12-English Slavers, And Napoleon's Follies

Taken from: "Britain's Great Embarrassment: The Failure of the Slave Trade Act And How It Affected British Policy"
(c) 1942 by William F. Burroughs
Peckham & Sons: Sheffield, Yorkshire, Great Britain.

It has often been said for many decades that England is today, and was in the later 1800s, a nation of libertines, democrats, and good governors[1], but had this term been coined in the early 1800s this reputation would have been tarnished by certain unfortunate events, one of the most prominent being Parliament's failure to sign into law, the Slave Trade Act of 1807. This particular piece of legislation was principally drafted by Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce the year before, in response to the growing protests against the trade(and, to a lesser extent, the slave revolts in Haiti in July, 1804); it demanded an complete end to the slave trade by no later than December of 1808, and also ordered fines for offenders who were caught continuing to engage in the trade, and a term in jail for the most serious of them, not to exceed 5 years. This may seem rather generous to most readers[2], but it has to be realized that pro-slavery forces still held plenty of sway in London, from Puritan MPs, to slaveship owners, captains, etc. themselves, planters and farmers, particularly in the Caribbean, and even some factories and banks; many of them would not accept the end of slavery without some form of compensation. This, however, was not offered in the original bill, and there was no intention from either Wilberforce or Clarkson to include such a provision. Despite some rather decent support for the Act, even amongst the more moderate MPs, it was because of this and several other key factors, that the Act ultimately failed to pass the Upper House, despite a majority supporting it in the Lower House. When the news broke out on 1 September, riots began to occur all over the U.K., particularly in Liverpool, and the Southeast of London. And thus began Britain's Great Embarrassment...

--







January 25, 1811
London, England
United Kingdom

William Wilberforce's life had not been in a good shape these past few years. Ever since the complete failure of the Slave Trade Act, the man who many had come to know & love as the 'Grand Crusader of Abolitionism' had not only lost his livelihood and some of his supporters, but his dreams of an emancipated Empire seemed to have been permanently shattered. It was enough to make one break down and sob quite heartily. Wilberforce, however, did his utmost best to keep a stiff upper lip[3] and keep on going. With him at this moment, on this most chilly of mid-winter mornings, was his old friend, Thomas Clarkson, whose attitude was a tad more optimistic.

Wilberforce spoke. “Thomas, dear friend, knowing how far we have fallen these past few years...is there any hope for justice?” Despite his hopes, he wondered if perhaps someday, the world would be dominated by slaveowners[4].

Clarkson replied, “Perhaps not now in England, but over yonder in America, the men calling themselves the Yankees have begun to make the most vocal protestations as of late. Not to mention fight against the slave trade did see some success; their law passed right around the same time our mission had begun to fail. Who knows? Perhaps they'll abolish the abomination faster than we will.” Clarkson, however, had his own doubts as well. The anti-emancipation slaveholders still held sway in much of the nascent United States, particularly it's southern half, and had quite a bit of money and many connections to back them all up, not the least of which was the Church[5]. And then there was the matter of what to do with the slaves if they were all to be freed; could they go to Africa, or stay in America?

“Perhaps, if they can even bother to get past the first initial stages. I fear, however, that the Americans may find someday find themselves reversing these steps towards moral government, and go back to the barbarism that is the very slave trade we failed to stop here in Britain. And they certainly won't be emancipating all the Negroes anytime soon, even if the majority of American southerners were to reject the system as a whole.” Wilberforce said in response to his friend.

"Well, William, know this: slavery within England's border has already been banned. The English people are growing ever weary of the existence of the slave trade, and more join our righteous and Godly cause every day. We may perhaps have many challenges yet, but we shall persevere and triumph. Our nation has always been capable of such feats, and may it always be so, God willing.", Despite whatever doubts he may have had, Clarkson was sure of one thing: The forces of slavery would eventually be defeated, as they had always been.

Wilberforce's spirits lifted up a little but he still had a little doubt left in him, and it wasn't just concerning England, either. “By the way, Thomas. I have heard of the revolts in New Spain. Slaveowners are being evicted left, right, and center in some places, according to the latest newspaper articles I've read. Only problem is, there is still the rest of Spanish America. Do you think the Crown would still have the audacity to continue this nightmarish sin elsewhere if the Mexicans were to seize control of their most prized jewel? Or might they, pray tell, see the error of their ways, as we have done in this country?”

Clarkson replied, “Will, I am quite afraid there is no simple answer for such a question. As honorably anti-slavery as many of the Mexican rebels may be, sadly, there are some Spaniards, even in Mexico, who would, in fact, do their best to continue the damned trade, even if the revolutionaries' victory was to be absolute. And then there's the matter of the Americans; particularly the Southern Yankees. Do you think they would actually tolerate the birth, and eventual rise, of one enormous free-soil nation, particularly one peopled by persons whom they view as of an inferior race?”

William shook his head. “I should think not, even though not all the slaveholders are actually for the expansion of the trade.”

Thomas replied, “Exactly so. However, though, what you have said is most certainly the truth; not all of the American slaveholders shall be privy to slavery's continued growth, and from what I am hearing from correspondence with our allies in that country, there are those amongst them that are even willing to negotiate the eventual emancipation of all slaves someday in the future. And if famous plantation owners such as Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are able to convince themselves, and others, that such an act would be not only morally correct, but even economically feasible as well, then I do believe there IS hope for the future.”

“Then, Thomas, perhaps it's time for one last push. Let us pray for the Lord's guidance. Until we meet again, farewell.” said Wilberforce to Clarkson. “Amen. And Godspeed.” Clarkson replied.

--

Extracted from “Napoleon's Follies: The Fall, And Exile, of France's First And Last Emperor”
By Dominic Duvall
La Defenserie University
Versailles, France
Translated by Richard T. Carleton and Anne Roseley, St. Albans University, Parsons' Green, West London, Great Britain.
© 1949 St. Albans Press, London. Used with permission.

...In late 1812, Napoleon's worries finally seemed so far away again; Not only had Saxony and many of the other German states been forced to withdraw and much of Spain under his control, but the Russians had also lost many of their far southern lands as well; The French Army had decided to attack in early June, after having already conquered a good portion of the Ukraine in the previous 2 to 3 months. Starting in Kiev, the French made their first advance on the 12th, striking thru the Donbass plain with over 100,000 men, and due to the fact that even the best of Russia's military geniuses hadn't quite foreseen such a plan[5], the Tsar's armies were at first, largely caught off their guard.
By late August, the Russians had lost most of the southern fourth of the nation to Napoleon, and were just about to lose Tsaritsyn. On the evening of 24 August, Alexander II ordered the majority of the military to move towards the besieged city, in hopes of possibly retaking it; the first Russian divisions from Moscow arrived on 8 September. While the French sustained some 20,000 losses, they were still able to hold Tsaritsyn thanks to the fact that many of them had encamped on the outer reaches by the end of October. On the other side of the continent, the French had been able to check the second Anglo-Saxon-Prussian attempt to invade their nation thru Belgium, and not only that, but the Russo-German alliance was beginning to strain as well[6].
And then, in the middle of October, the Battle of Waterloo occurred between the French, and 2 of their German allies, Baden & Bavaria, versus the British, Prussians, and the Austrians. Though the French, Badenese, and Bavarian forces were somewhat outnumbered, poor military strategy, especially on the part of the Prussians, and the death of General Cornwallis on 27 October, contributed to the French win on 3 November, although not quite a decisive one; The French and both allies had all lost just under half of their collective fighting force, with many more wounded, some severely enough to not be able to move on with their comrades. And eventually, the Bavarians deserted them, leaving only Baden to continue to assist the French in their war.[7] On top of that, the representatives of Britain, Prussia and their allies met in The Hague in late December, 1812, to discuss a possible strategy for collectively combatting, and it was hoped, defeating, what was to be called the “Gallic Menace”...[8]

January 19, 1813
Brest, Brittany
French First Republic(nominal)

It was a cold and rather dreary mid-winter's night in this little seaport town, many hundreds of kilometers west of Paris. It was snowing heavily, and many of the roads leading in and out of the area were impassible. However, though, this actually proved to be perfect for the French leadership; Napoleon himself decided to set up shop here, in case something happened to Versailles. Despite the blizzard, the Emperor found himself in good spirits; at least for the moment.
A knock on the door interrupted the tranquility. "Do let the man in, would you, Jacques?" Napoleon gestured to a servant nearby. The man obliged and in walked one Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, head diplomat of the French Empire, and former Minister of Foriegn Affairs.[9]
"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Napoleon replied, "My thanks to you, Monsieur, for coming to my humble new abode in this time of uncertainty. Now, do tell me, how is the war effort going?"

Talleyrand looked a little uneasy. The news he had received was that France was now beginning to run into a semi-solid wall of defeats and retreats, and that a number of previously neutral nations were beginning to leave that status to fight right along side the Prussians. "Perhaps I should break this to you gently, sir. We have reached our zenith. Though our great army had felled Cornwallis in Waterloo only this past October, and we still have troops in Baden, it seems that not only have our biggest enemies regrouped, but that many of the formerly neutral states seem to have joined against us as well. And I do believe that the Bavarians have gone forward with the rest of their edict to withdraw their formal support as well."

Napoleon sighed. "Wonderful. We somehow managed to defeat, and kill, General Cornwallis in the battle of Waterloo, and scattered the Austrians at Innerrhoden[10], yet not 4 months later we find ourselves fighting enemies whose confidence has been renewed and our allies deserting us one by one! But we must not surrender. We must fight to the finish, even if it should come to something such as the loss of Paris, or my untimely death in battle."
Talleyrand replied, "Quite so, Your Excellency. But for how long can we hold out against our enemies?"

"Even in these circumstances, we must plan to fight. I have these orders in hand, ordering the additional conscription of many more men within this nation's ranks; all available men from 18 to 40, that is." Napoleon said, handing Talleyrand a document.

"Your Excellency, I shall deliver this at once when the circumstances permit. The nearest command post is about 50 miles west of here." the diplomat said.

"Good then. You should probably wait till morning, however. This weather could make a corpse out of even the hardiest Russian, were he dressed in anything less than a full winter coat." said Napoleon wryly.[11]

Talleyrand respectfully nodded. "Then I shall do it. I'll be returning to my quarters now, Your Excellency, with your blessing."

Napoleon smiled just a bit. "Ah yes. Then go ahead. I have some further conversation with my military strategists. They should be here soon." Talleyrand nodded one last time and went to his quarters, while Napoleon began to comtemplate how he could keep France alive during these next 12 months of uncertainty.......

[1]An ATL term coined in the 1850s as a respectful and admiring nod to the long standing liberal(in the classical way)traditions of Britain, brought back to full fruition right around that time.

[2]And it probably would, particularly in Britain. Especially 1940s Britain.

[3]As the old saying goes.

[4]Slight nod to 'Decades of Darkness' here.

[5]Here, it was assumed that Napoleon would probably try a drive straight for Moscow and the surrounding towns, as he had done IOTL.

[6]The Russians ITTL had begun to question whether a war to protect these Germans was actually worth it.

[7]Waterloo would eventually enter the lexicon as the definition of what happens when a country wins a major battle, but at a time when they are about to lose the war.

[8]As coined by one of the Saxon noblemen in attendance.

[9]Pretty much as IOTL, except he actually did turn out to be pretty loyal to Napoleon after all, unlike what happened OTL when he started to betray him outright.

[10]ATL battle that occurred in July 1812 which resulted in the severe wounding and eventual death of Karl Phillipp von Schwarzenberg.

[11]Hey, even Napoleon can have a sense of humor, can't he?
Stars & Stripes #13-Napoleon's Follies, Act II and Madison's Race To The Finish

Apr. 21, 1812
The White House
Washington, D.C.

President Madison was feeling rather comfortable on this warm spring day; though the election was heating up quickly, and Rufus King seemed poised to strike harder with every passing day, Madison still had the upper advantage on one issue; the Indian Question. King had recently taken a hardline stance on the issue, advocating with the total deportation of all Native Americans anywhere east of the 94th meridian, starting with the most particularly troublesome groups such as the Maumee and Kiowas[1], and then proceeding onward to the Shawnee, etc. These extreme measures weren't always well appreciated many of the American people, but on the other hand, nobody wanted the Indian Wars to continue as they had been; Madison had a more moderate solution: the Army could deal with the Indians who did aggress further against the country, but they would also leave the more peaceful tribes alone for the moment, unless warranted. And the President sincerely hoped this would help earn him a second term in office, as he sincerely wanted to continue his diplomacy with not just the Indians, but Britain as well.

At around 11 that morning someone knocked on the door. It was none other than junior Congressman Henry Clay[2]. Madison turned around. “Congressman Clay? Well, you are in the Oval Office, so please do have a seat.”
The redheaded young Congressman smiled. “Thank you, Mr. President.” Madison replied, “Now pray tell, what business do you have here in the White House?”

“A number of reasons, good sir. Firstly, you've heard about the troubles in West Florida, have you not?”
Madison nodded yes. West Florida had become a major hotbed of all sorts of mercenary activity,
lawlessness, and something rather close to chaos in some parts, since that country broke off from Spanish control in March, 1810, under the guidance of William Claiborne and certain others. Its temporary capital, St. Francisville[3], was practically nonexistent on most maps of the day, and was barely functioning. Even worse for them, Spanish renegades were becoming a rather dangerous nuisance, since Spain had just surrendered all remaining control of East Florida to an interim gov't, whose leaders didn't even an official militia, let alone a standing army, and frankly, the same thing happened to be true, to an extent, for West Florida as well. “Yes, Mister Clay, I have indeed heard about West Florida.” Clay replied, “Well, Mr. President, sir, I have been requested to send a message from none other than William Claiborne, the Governor of West Florida. He requests to meet with you within the next month to discuss possible annexation to the United States.[4]”

“I understand, but there are some pressing matters to attend to first, particularly the Indians.......” Madison said.

Clay cut him off. “That's one of the other things, Mr. President. Word's been going around that some of the Creek may want to declare war on the United States soon, due to what they see as 'encroachment' on their homelands. The Red Sticks are already making plans for their first strike, and may soon be mobilizing.[5]”

Madison replied, “Well, perhaps it'll be time to pull out the quill pen again one of these days. Hopefully, the Indians will see reason: We don't wish for a full war anymore than they would. And we still have to continually watch the British and their subordinates, particularly those in Canada. Too many moves in the wrong direction could anger the British, and even with Napoleon still fighting his war, we can't risk angering them. The only sensible solution I see at this moment is to continue to compromise with Britain, and to negotiate with the Indians, even if we may have to pull back a small amount of military influence, and ignore at least the majority of the rhetoric from the more hawkish elements of this Congress.[6]”

Clay replied,”Frankly, sir, I am in complete agreement at this moment. I only hope, however, that Britain may not be so eager to fight a war with us, even if they do succeed in containing Napoleon's forces.”[7] Clay didn't mention the tens of thousands of reserve troops in the Canadas as well; they could do some damage in the Northwest if loosed by London.

Madison looked up at Clay. “We can only hope and pray for such good fortune, Mister Clay.” He hadn't exactly been optimistic about America's relations with Britain as of late. Despite Thomas Jefferson's assistance in moderation, which he hoped would bring around a cease-fire one of these days,
he still wondered if America could make a colossal mistake, such as angering any of one of the Great Powers outside Britain, especially at a time when America was just beginning to seriously need allies in Europe. “Anything else?”

“One more pressing matter of importance, sir.”, Clay replied. He was a little hesitant to say what was about to come out next. “I'm afraid that......that another British merchant ship has been destroyed, this time in Norfolk, Virginia.” Madison stared for a second, dumbfounded, and then slumped a little in his chair, and breathed a sigh of exasperation. “Damn it all. It's already bad enough that our relations with Britain continue to be strained. But these vigilantes continue to disrespect the law as it stands. I fear that soon, that this indeed could be the cause of a war with England, if nothing else.” Madison was also concerned that Spain could get involved as well; even though their empire in most of what was now basically Mexico had almost totally ceased to exist on any meaningful level, they still had two to three hundred thousand men who basically had nothing to lose now that Madrid had left them standing in the cold, so to speak.[8] Tens of thousands of loyal renegades also existed in the Floridas and they couldn't be ignored, either. Madison hoped, however, that Britain might be in a much better mood to negotiate an end to the tensions once the Napoleonic Wars were all over.......and preferably, after the elections.

“I understand sir. Perhaps if I may offer a word?” Clay said. He then offered his advice on how to further deal with the vigilantes, and how to explain their actions to the British. Clay then made suggestions as how Madison could deal with the Indians.[9]

After about 30 minutes had passed Clay then bade farewell but before he left, he added, “I wish you the best of luck this next election, Mr. President.” Madison smiled and let Clay move on. He then began to write a letter to his campaign committee on improving his campaign........

--

The U.S. Election of 1812
From “Callahan's Authoritative Guide to the Political History of America, 1788-present”
© 1962 by T. Louise Callahan
Jefferson Press Company.
Madison, New Mexico: United States

Summary:
The election of 1812 was quite notable for two reasons: It was not only the year that Spanish colonial rule over Mexico and Florida came to a screeching halt, but also the when the U.S. began to involve itself diplomatically in the Napoleonic conflict. James Madison and and Rufus King were engaged in a struggle that managed to get more and more heated every day, with Madison accusing King of being a warhawk, and King, a lily-livered coward of Madison, when it came to dealing with the Native Indians.
Madison attempted to bank his success on his policy of moderation with the Indians, particularly the peace treaty with the Shawnee, and Jefferson's rather slick diplomatic exploits in Europe, which had, so far at least, kept America in decent standing with all but one of the Great Powers who dealt with her, Britain being the only exception to the rule. King countered that isolationism was the best policy when dealing with Napoleon and that the Indians were a far greater threat at the moment, than Britain's armies. To complicate things even further, both Hamilton and Louisiana were to be admitted as states that year, on August 3rd, and April 24th, respectively. By the end of October, there were all sorts of guesses as to just which candidate would win his seat for the Presidency...

Popular Votes Electoral Votes
State Madison King Madison King
Alabama 42,462 32,456 9 0
Connecticut 93,415 94,214 0 8
Delaware 24,683 25,357 0 3
Georgia 46,572 45,783 8 0
Hamilton 9,246 4,257 1 0
Kentucky 55,732 46,245 0 13
Louisiana 11,356 10,842 2 0
Maryland 93,246 87,225 7 0
Massachusetts 152,465 148,356 22 0
Pennsylvania 150,245 161,246 25 0
N. Hampshire 83,451 90,314 8 0
New Jersey 142,456 116,340 8 0
New York 214,732 192,063 29 0
N. Carolina 126,421 134,298 15 0
Rhode Island 74,236 71,356 4 0
S. Carolina 76,452 73,132 11 0
Tennessee 92,435 89,337 8 0
Vermont 42,567 28,468 7 0
Virginia 148,356 172,350 25 0
Total 1,680,528 1,623,639 189 24

--

The Washington Picayune[10]
Nov. 9th, 1812

President Madison Re-Elected.

...As many more politically aware denizens of this nation may realise, this was the closest election this country has seen to-date. Rufus King exhaustively campaigned on the platform of isolationism, which won him many voters, up north, but, in the end, he simply could not compete with President Madison; particularly owing to his last-minute initiatives of compromise concerning the Indian Question, which King claimed to be “unreasonable, and foolish.”. Despite this protestation, however, a great number of people, even in the frontier states like Ohio and Kentucky, saw the compromise as perhaps the only way to eventually bring the conflict between our country and the Indians to a halt. And thus, it can be safely said that the President has just earned a second term in the White House...

--

Census Date for the Entire U.S. & Territories: 1810
Taken from, “The Complete Encyclopedia of American History”[11]
© 1981 by Sara Vallejo
American Liberty Press: Visalia, California. May be used with full credit given to the author.



[12]

--

Extracted from “Napoleon's Follies: The Fall, And Exile, of France's First And Last Emperor”
By Dominic Duvall
La Defenserie University
Versailles, France
Translated by Richard T. Carleton and Anne Roseley, St. Albans University, Parsons' Green, West London, Great Britain.
© 1949 St. Albans Press, London. Used with permission.
...When the spring of 1813 came, it was clear that the end of Napoleon's regime was on the horizon. In December of 1812, emissaries of several those nations opposed to the French congregated in Warsaw to discuss possible ways of ending the war early; the Russian gov't suggested a many-pronged attack on the French homeland, then asking Napoleon to surrender; The British suggested attempting to get Napoleon to surrender, and then invading & occupying France if he refused; and then the Saxons had the idea of just starting a massive rush into France and dragging Napoleon back to their nation and executed if he was found by their troops. The Swedes, however, had their own solution; create a grand alliance and then re-invade France, piece by piece, until Napoleon did surrender; the Corsican would then have to agree to at least some of their terms. The Swedish solution was eventually accepted, and at the end of the month, the Grand Alliance was born[13]...Waterloo was to be the last hurrah for the French from that point on.[14] By the end of March, the French had won their last significant victory, and began a long string of disastrous losses, both at sea and on the battlefield, the first of which was at Strasbourg in April, 1813...

--

May 5, 1813
Le Havre, Normandy
Empire of France

In his latest retreat, Napoleon found himself stuck in this little port town in the middle of Normandy with no way out of his current predicament. Everything had been going wrong since that winter, it seemed; his first loss of that note was in Russia at the end of December, when the Tsarists broke thru one of their defenses north of Tsaritsyn; a careless lack of maintenance of one of the temporary French walls surrounding the city was reportedly the primary cause of that loss; French forces were in full retreat by the end of January. Then there was the Dresden problem; The French advance into Saxony via Nassau in March of 1813[15] had ended in disaster as well; they were ill-prepared for the Saxon response or the fact that several of the other German states had rushed to their aid. And now Strasbourg had fallen to the Austrians and Prussians...this was starting to take a toll on him; he began to agonize silently. “Could Paris or Versailles be next?”, he wondered. After an hour or to of agonizing, Napoleon decided that the best course of action at this stage was to continue drafting plans for the defense of France. One such plan he drafted this afternoon, was a drive to Prussia, thru Baden and Bavaria...

--

Extracted from “The Napoleonic Wars: The Roots, The Battles, and The Aftermath”
By. J. Denison Armitage
New Orleans, Louisiana
© 1953 LeFavre House: New Orleans.

Chapter 18: The Tide Turns on Napoleon

The unfortunate loss at Tsaritsyn and the creation of the Grand Alliance in December 1812 had both indicated to Napoleon that his war, and perhaps his empire, might soon be waning. The French had already had a significant amount of trouble escaping the stalemate that had begun to develop shortly before the battle of Waterloo in October, but it was the birth of the Grand Alliance that was said to be the snowball that started the avalanche[16a], and the battle of Tsaritsyn, the little Swiss boy who got it rolling[16b]. And by the end of January the only question that would be asked by most, is how long his army's initiatives and fighting spirit could keep on going...or if there would even be a French army to speak of. And even worse, several additional major losses continued to occur, most notably in Dresden in March; though the French Army was able to check the Saxons at every turn at first, they hadn't counted the Saxon reinforcements, or the aid of several of the nearby German states. Things soon began to go downhill fast for the French and they found themselves in full retreat by the end of the month. Another significant setback occurred soon after, this time in Strasbourg in early and mid-April, at the hands of the Prussians and the Austrians, who rushed the city seemingly out of nowhere on the morning hours of the 6th. The Grande Armee defended the city quite valiantly but were unable to hold it much longer than 2 weeks; by April 23, they had to retreat, once again, to the countryside lying west of Strasbourg.

Yet, despite all this, Napoleon consistently proved, time and time, again, that he still had some tactical genius and know-how. He had managed to check the Austrians near Nice, and had even managed to defeat the Prussians at Brussels. He had also managed to cut off a number of German supply lines, slowing their advance into French territory. Still, though, it wasn't enough to prevent what even he knew would be the eventual defeat of France. But he did have one last trick up his sleeve, however; while staying in Normandy, Napoleon drafted one last great plan, one which he hoped could buy France some extra time...

Chapter 22: The Prussian Gambit.

The Prussian Gambit, coined in 1882 by British historian Sir John Walpole[17] was Napoleon's most ambitious scheme yet; instead of trying to attack the Saxons, he would instead go straight for the nation whom he saw as his worst enemy amongst the German powers in those days: the Prussians. To accomplish this, Napoleon requested that a final call of conscription be made for up to 500,000 more men in the country. He also ordered a tripling of the production of all armaments, and that temporary citizen's militias be set up to defend the towns and cities of the country, especially the east, if the Army couldn't be able to do so. Throughout May and much of June, the French were continually ramping up for this last minute invasion. Finally, on June 20, the French Army was ordered to move out, towards Prussia, and whomever else stood in their way...

--

[1]Haven't done much on the Kiowas yet. You'll see more of them eventually. On the other hand, the Maumees are about finished here.

[2]ITTL, Clay ran for Congress in 1810, having been asked to resign from the Senate due to his being underage, and won. Quite handily, in fact.

[3]St. Francisville IOTL has become somewhat of a “no-account” town; it's not even incorporated. ITTL, however, this may be a different story altogether...

[4]Which eventually does happen. But what will the state, or states be called afterwards? That, dear readers, is a question that will hopefully be answered, quite soon in our future. =)

[5]Such a conflict actually did occur IOTL.

[6]Madison seems to be hopeful that peace wil prevail...

[7]...As does Clay. Unfortunately, the hopes of both men will be dashed to pieces, and sooner than they think...

[8]That's how many of them had begun to see it, anyway. You can count on one thing for certain; the bloodshed is going to linger for many months after the end of the Revolution.

[9]Too much of a hassle to write everything down, TBH. Probably would have covered a dozen pages and taken weeks to finish if I had.

[10]ATL newspaper in D.C. You may hear from them again one of these days...

[11]You'll be seeing quite a few of these.

[12]Made with OpenOffice 3.3 Calc. =)

[13]But only until the end of the war, however.

[14]As seen in the previous S&S post.

[15]Any relation to 'Decades of Darkness' is strictly coincidental(no, really.)

[16a]This, however, is kind of an homage to DoD.(Hello Jared!)

[16b]Adopted from a popular German fairy tale written circa 1862. May be expanded upon later.

[17]Yes, he is in fact, intended to be a descendant of Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of the U.K.

--

–


Stars & Stripes #17b Trouble's Brewing in the U.S., Part 1

Selected Important Dates in U.S. History: 1812-17
Extracted from: “Harmon's Encyclopedia - Important Dates & Events in American & World History”
By Jarrett Jones & Francis E. Harmon, Jr.
Pearleton, Illinois
© 1948 Harmon's Incorporated.

Aug. 4, 1812: Hamilton is admitted as the 20th U.S. state. Although admitted as a free-soil state, a compromise inserted into that state's constitution allowed for the trafficking of slaves between borders, but not their sale, and the state could choose to compensate owners for lost slaves regardless of whether or not they were returned.[3]

Oct, 1812: The first French immigrants fleeing the wars in Europe are made citizens in New York and South Carolina.

Nov 6, 1812: In Mexican Florida, Enrique Cortez and a small group of friends decide to go on a rampage: Dozens of Seminole Indians are shot by the men as a reprisal for their assistance of the rebels during the Mexican Revolution.

Mar. 26, 1813: Thousands of Jews fleeing Europe arrive in the port of Boston early in the morning. Some describe being harassed, ridiculed, and even threatened by anti-Semites in Germany and Russia, particularly in Saxony which was at that time taking a very hard and crushing blow from Napoleon's forces.

Sep. 22, 1813: The Non-Importation Act is renewed in Congress; only now, Prussian and Saxonian cargo is banned from the U.S. as well as British.

Nov. 1, 1813: Former President Jefferson leaves the U.S. to act as an official mediator for what will be the upcoming Congress of Versailles.

Jan. 31, 1814: With the war over, Britain and the United States find themselves in an ever increasing tension over the destruction & raiding of merchant vessels, as well as the Non-Importation Act and its successors. On this day, the first diplomatic discussions begin in Washington.

Feb. 7, 1814: Sensing that tensions with the United States are beginning to worsen, and having been badly battered in the Napoleonic Wars, Parliament slips through the Dominion Defence Act of 1814, which allows various dominions, Canada especially, to defend themselves if need be, albeit with British support & logistics[4].

Apr. 22, 1814: Indiana is admitted as the 21st state. It, is a free-soil state, although like Hamilton, it too, allows transportation of slaves within its borders, but not their sale, nor are slaveowners allowed permanent residence in the state.

Jul 18, 1814: The first shots of what will be the War of 1814 are fired near Niagara Falls, N.Y., after Canadian troops accidentally strayed just beyond their nation's borders, which was interpreted as an attempt at invasion by some local members of the state militia.

Sep. 23, 1814: Maine, home of the “Sons of New England”, is admitted as the 22nd state, and is a free soil state.

Oct. 7, 1814: The U.S. Embassy in Montreal, which was established by President Jefferson in 1807, is closed by the local authorities, and its staff ordered to leave the area immediately.

Nov. 2, 1814: President Madison catches a nasty cold in D.C.. This, coupled with a bout of pneumonia and a heart attack on the morning of the 14th, conspires to make him consider an early retirement. But on this day, he also launches the first invasion of Canada.

Mar. 31, 1815: On this day, the first attempt to raid Washington occurs, under the Canadian general, Sir Isaac Brock. Fearing the worst, Dolly Madison tries to save as many artifacts as possible before she, James, and the rest of the White House personalities flee to safety.

Apr. 5, 1815: Canadian soldiers raid and burn much of the town of Erie, Pa.

May 1, 1815: The Indonesian volcano, Mt. Tambora, finally erupts after many decades of dormancy. 90,000 people die in the immediate area and much of the rest of the world is eventually affected by its eruption: June, July and August of 1815 all see temperatures well below average, particularly in some subtropical and tropical areas(as severe as -25*F in some places!), and this after an unusually warm spring as well: Things were even worse in 1816; in some parts of the northern U.S. and Canada, frost came even in the height of summer, while in the Southland, inclement weather occurred during just about every week from April until the end of October.[5]

May 8, 1815: President Madison is rather nastily injured in a suspicious carriage accident just outside of Fredericksburg, Va. while on his way to meet with General , breaking his right leg in the process. Though suspicions abound that British agents may have caused the accident by either tampering with the vehicle beforehand or damaging it as the President made his way thru, no truly 100% verifiable proof is found, at least not for a long time.

May 29, 1815: Due to his ill health and the recent carriage accident, Madison decides to resign, the first President to do so, at least temporarily. Vice President Clinton is sworn in on May 31st, and continues the war effort.

Jun 25, 1815: The Battle of Pilsen[6] takes place in & near the town of the same name in northern Ohio.

Sep. 10, 1815: The town of Hull, Lower Canada, is burned by the Americans.

Sep. 21, 1815: Another Anglo-Canadian[7] attempt to occupy D.C.[8a] occurs. It, too, fails, but not before the British destroy a local armory, which sparks a wildfire: much of northeast D.C. is destroyed. The “Washington Wildfire” kills 114 people, including the former mayor, Daniel Rapine.

Sep 24-25, 1815: A major offensive begins to occur in northwest Ohio when Canadian troops, supported by British regulars, raid and occupy Tappan[8b], a city of 5,000 residents. Several more towns are raided in the area in addition to Tappan and to make matters worse, thousands of Maumee & other Indians seize the chance to strike back at the Americans and they pour into the west-central part of the state as well as parts of Indiana.
Meanwhile, in the Southeast on the following day, thousands of Red Stick Creek Indians and their allies launch offensives of their own. The Mississippi Territory, Georgia, and East Tennessee are the hardest hit regions. In Georgia, the small town of Gwinnettsville is burned to the ground by its own occupants to prevent the Indians from confiscating valuable property.....or freeing any slaves, for that matter! White women in Chattanooga committed suicide rather than live through an Indian raid.

Nov. 9, 1815: The city of York, Lower Canada is raided, sacked, and completely burned to the ground by the Americans, as a reprisal for the attempted destruction of Washington, D.C.

Jun. 24, 1816: The U.S. signs a peace treaty with the Creek, Maumee, and several other Indian tribes who had been in combat against Washington but fighting against the Canadians will continue for some time...

--

Apr. 22, 1813
Newton[9], Indiana Territory
United States of America.

Henry Dearborn was a somewhat anxious soul as of late: Ever since the Maumee and their allies had been defeated in the Indiana War, some began to that Britain might one day intervene on behalf of them and invade America. Although he had some success in assisting the overthrow of the Spanish government in Florida a few years earlier, that was nothing compared to the challenge that would be presented by fighting the world's most powerful standing army, and navy, for that matter[10]. His promotion to admiral for his success in the Mexican smuggling operation and several more recent battles against the Indians hadn't come easily[11] but had been well earned, and all the respect that came with such. Now he was posted in this frontier town in Indiana with over 5,000 men under his direct command, and with plenty of resources. Still, though, with Canadian territory not far to the northeast, and with a slowly increasing military presence in the southwest corner of Upper Canada, just across the river from Detroit in the Michigan Territory[12], it was quite prudent to be on guard at all times, particularly in times of heightened tension. And then there was the matter of the Indians: The Maumee in particular were still smarting from having been beaten back especially hard, and they had wanted revenge ever since then, and Tecumseh's brother, the Prophet, had been all too obliged to start cozying up with them and many of the other Indians in the area of the Northwest, and rumors had begun to circulate that they had begun to consolidate another alliance, particularly in Michigan and northwest Indiana where their presence was currently strongest; the militias of many states, particularly those bordering the Great Lakes and the Canadas, were ready for anything. And deep down inside, Admiral Dearborn wondered how it would all end.......

--

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

Chapter 7: The Creek Civil War[13].

Ever since the beginning of the first Indian Wars, it has been long speculated and debated just what started the great schism that broke apart the powerful Creek alliance. The events of December 1811 may provide some answers: it was during that month that 4 major tremors occurred in the Missouri Territory. The worst earthquake of the bunch was the one occurred just after 2 a.m. on the 16th, near the town of Fort Chapman[OTL Caruthersville, MO], which killed 11 people in the town and some surrounding areas; it may have been as severe as 75 to 78 on the Richter Scale[14] and was felt as far away as Madison in the Territory of Louisiana. Another severe quake followed only 6 hours later; 8 people died when a newly-built Baptist church collapsed in a small village in far west Tennessee, including the preacher and his 5 year old son. The biggest event yet to come, however, was the tremor that would occur near New Madrid on February 7th; it could be felt for hundreds of miles around. Houses collapsed in St. Louis and in Little Cairo in the Hamilton Territory. Ships rocked back and forth at the newly-built harbor in New Orleans. Church bells rang on their own with seemingly endless abandon in Louisville. Even as far north as the tiny trading village of LaMarche in what was to be the state of Minnesota, shaking could be still be noticeably felt. All in all, many communities were ruined and as many as 2,000 had lost their lives.
The effect it had on the Creek Indians was enormous; virtually everyone agreed that these powerful tremors had meant something, that they occurred for a deeper reason. Just what that something was, however, varied from tribe to tribe. While some believed that it was a sign that peace was needed, many others believed that the earthquake had been sent as punishment to the people they saw as invaders and trespassers, and that the Indians needed to defend their lands at any cost.
One of the latter factions in particular called themselves the Red Sticks and they not only believed in war and retaliation instead of peace and reconciliation, but they also sought a return to their traditional ways of life. Some of their top leaders, like Red Eagle and Peter McQueen, had been greatly influenced by the Shawnee leader Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa, supported by their spiritual advisors, and they often squabbled with other chiefs who weren't so eager to war with the Euro-Americans[15]. Other Upper Creek who answered the concerns of the Red Sticks were Josiah Francis of the Koasati; Paddy Walsh from the Alabama tribe; and 'High-head Jim', or Cusseta Tustunnuggee, also an Alabama Indian; Walsh and Francis would eventually join the Red Sticks themselves as full-fledged members in late 1812.
One of their biggest immediate concerns early in 1812 was how to deal with the Lower Creeks, most of whom had accepted American administration and guidance, particularly that of Ben Hawkins[16], then one of the primary Federal agents to the Indians. Their leaders at that time, included Bird Tail King, Little Prince, and one William McIntosh from the Creek Village of Coweta, and had significant backing from many of the Cherokee and Choctaw as well as the white Americans. One of the first major incidents that strained relations between the two groups was an August incident in which an Upper Creek raiding party of about 100 men coming up thru Indiana had attacked Fort Cotton in southern Michigan[17], killing not only 17 of the 40 men stationed there but also 6 civilians who had happened to be in that area, including the 79-year-old grandmother of one of the surviving soldiers. Only 2 Creek warriors died and the rest were able to make their way back to their camp in Alabama during the next week. Upon their arrival, however, they discovered that they had been found out by the Lower Creeks & Ben Hawkins thanks to a U.S. Army scout who had survived. Hawkins demanded compensation for the act, and Big Warrior requested permission to take of the matter himself. Hawkins agreed, and Big Warrior and several other chiefs ordered the execution of all 94 of the present men who had been in the war party(3 of them had decided to flee elsewhere and one was killed by a settler in Kentucky.)on the afternoon of August 20th. And only a few days passed before word had spread to the outside world, and already, many feared the schism could occur any day now.......

--

Aug. 30, 1812
Coweta, Georgia[18]
United States of America.

The great Shawnee Chief Tecumseh had reason to be concerned over the past few days. The Fort Cotton Massacre had horrified many white men and angered a number of those Indians who felt they had worked hard to keep their tribes intact. Tensions had already been bad, but now it seemed as if the two Creek factions could start going for each other's throats at any time. Despite his acquired talent of moderation, he realized that not only would he need every bit of skill he had to possibly be able to stop the infighting in its track, but that even then, his efforts could still be in vain and for naught. Even worse, he couldn't stop his brother, the Prophet, from going in his own direction, and right now, it seemed he was throwing all his weight behind the Red Sticks and their friends.
And then there was the matter of the American government, who wouldn't take the murder of any soldiers, let alone civilians, sitting down, even if the military men in question hadn't mostly been more than low-level grunts; a trait which was admirable in most situations, but here could be quite disastrous[19].
Despite the warmish early morning air, the Great Chief shivered. This was going to be one miserable morning....

--

Aug 7, 1812
The White House
Washington, D.C.

“My God, they've done what?”, said President Madison in a somewhat raised voice. “Sir,” said General Thomas Flournoy[20], “a warband of Creek Indians massacred a whole group of Army recruits not four days ago. We have reason to suspect that it was most likely spurred on, or perhaps even ordered by, one of the Upper Creek chiefs, although we cannot ascertain exactly which of them.”
“Well then, General, I suggest sending for a few scouts towards Coweta to observe the Red Stick camps. And maybe we can also convince one of the loyal Creek or Choctaw to infiltrate their ranks to gather intelligence, specifically to find out who ordered the execution of this nefarious deed. The one option I cannot accept, at this time, would be a direct military intervention, as requested by General Jackson[21].” Flournoy seemed a little flustered. “And just why would we not engage the Indians, sir? Pray tell. We have lost some two dozen men this last Sunday, and I doubt the good people of Michigan in particular would care much to see this act go unpunished.” “Because,” Madison replied sternly, “we cannot risk antagonizing the British at this moment, given that they are quite sympathetic to the Red Sticks and are likely to support them militarily, barring some sort of miracle on the part of Napoleon and his allies.” Madison relaxed a little. “However, if incidents like these do continue, then perhaps intervention may be wise. But for now, caution is needed.” “I understand, sir. I shall leave for Georgia in the morning and hopefully, this plan of yours shall succeed, sir.”, Flournoy said respectfully. “Let us hope so, General. Let us hope so.” Flournoy exited the Oval Office, and Madison sat there in his chair hoping that he had made the right choice...

[1]Particularly due to Napoleon's rivalry with the Orange family which had developed during the war, and Jefferson's aversion to kings in general.

[2]Holland hadn't exactly fared too well after the conflict: it was practically in a state of civil war from the moment the Organists organized in Haarlem and many cities had sustained some damage during all this.

[3]As far as this author knows, no state adopted a system quite like it IOTL.

[4]This would turn out to be a very smart move as Britain's military, the Royal Navy in particular, ended up taking a heavy battering during the Napoleonic Wars and would be in no shape to try to involve itself directly without possibly straining itself to the limit.

[5a]I decided to move up Tambora's eruption date just a bit. Also, while severe weather can, of course, be a problem in just about every month down there and is pretty much omnipresent during the spring months, and autumn and early winter to a lesser degree, 1816 ITTL was the year in which the eruption appeared to have had the greatest effect on the weather patterns, and given that temperatures had gone down significantly in many areas, it seemed to be somewhat plausible that this phenomenon could happen in the South as well, only with the effect being more severe weather.
[5b]1816 would become known by many Southerners as the 'Year of the Eternal Spring': Although a number of nasty episodes of severe weather had occurred in most of the region throughout the spring, summer, and fall of that year, on the positive side, temperatures were rarely unpleasant; temperatures never went much beyond 80*F even in the middle of July in most areas, and 70s were typical. Sunsets were sometimes quite breathtaking and a few people were even inspired to actually paint or draw what they witnessed; some of these artists would eventually gain greater fame later in their lives.

[6]This is where Dover, OH was IOTL.

[7]That is, the Dominion, backed by their British masters.

[8a]Pun intended, but with apologies to Occupy Wall Street.
[8b]Tappan, OH was one of the towns featured in S&S #7.

[9]Right around OTL's Logansport, or thereabouts.

[10]Even though they'd taken some notable losses during the Napoleonic Wars, the Royal Navy, and Royal Army, were still two of the most powerful military institutions in the world.

[11]Dearborn has had two brushes with death at this point: One fighting the Maumees, and the other in Florida fighting off the Spanish. A popular tale has it that he once fought in a sword duel with the Spanish extremist proto-nationalist, Enrique Cortez, and won handily.

[12]Basically all of OTL's Michigan outside the U.P.

[13]Similar to the OTL conflict, but before the U.S.'s big clash with Britain.

[14]Name TBD....basically OTL's scale, multiplied by 10.

[15]An alternative “P.C.” word invented as far back as the late 1940s. Mr. Little Bird was one of the first people to use the term in a literary work of any kind in the United States.

[16]Not much changed from OTL. ITTL, seen as a sympathetic figure who tried to prevent war on either side but just couldn't keep up the diplomacy.

[17]Was named after a town in Georgia.

[18]This was one of the chief Creek villages in the state of Georgia back in the day.

[19]That is, going to war all over a few dead soldiers when worse things have happened before, in his mind.

[20]Flournoy was a minor figure who was present in OTL's War of 1812. Here, he is mainly dealing with the Indians.

[21]How will Jackson react to this news? Stay tuned. =)
--

Stars & Stripes #18-Trouble's Brewing in the U.S., Part 2

--

Aug 26, 1812
Somewhere in Alabama

Andrew Jackson was not going to be a happy man this morning. One of his subordinates was finishing his explanation of what President Madison had decided, and why. “...and that's what happened, sir.”
Jackson flushed a little. “Damn that Madison. How could he possibly be so incompetent? So foolish? Had I not been obstructed, we could have started whipping them so-called Red Sticks yet!” He really wished he could somehow circumvent the order, but that would mean possibly risking his entire career; and what if it hadn't succeeded? All of his efforts would have been wasted, and himself ridiculed; he feared that more than anything else at this stage of his life. “However, perhaps the President may yet develop some good sense and come to the understanding that these Red Injuns will continue to cause us distress until they are defeated, or better yet, crushed, as we have.”
The Upper Creek, despite having lost dozens of their warriors to execution by their fellow Creek, still continued to agitate against the Federals and still engaged in the occasional raid. And the involvement of other anti-American Indians such as Tenskwatawa's Shawnee only exacerbated the problem; the cherry that topped this cake of disaster was that some of the Lower Creek began to have reservations about defending an ally which often didn't seem to have any real respect for them; arguments between chiefs were already starting to develop as of this juncture. Having realized this, Jackson suddenly got an idea: find a way to exacerbate the divisions amongst the Upper & Lower Creeks, and then try to further even more division amongst the Red Sticks, while uniting the Lower Creeks in favor of Washington[1]. But how to get this done? Jackson started to think of every other general whose names he could possibly remember, and wrote a letter that collectively addressed each and every one of them. He then asked for one of his messengers. “Deliver this to the War Department in Washington, on the double!” “Yes sir, right away.”, the man said, pocketing the note and setting off on his horse, away from the camp and towards D.C.

--

Sep. 3, 1812
The White House
Washington, D.C.

“Gentlemen, you have all read this letter from General Jackson as well as I, have you not?” said Thomas Flournoy, speaking to several other top generals in the War Department's offices. “While most of us agree that certain amongst the southern Indians are a danger to white men and not to be trusted, the President still insists that we refrain from a direct attack on their territory. Jackson's plan did not involve a direct offensive, but rather, a strategy which would involve provoking divisions between the Red Sticks and their allies, whilst also attempting to unite the Upper Creeks in our favor; most of them are already our allies, although some distrust has begun to occur amongst certain of their ranks as of late, so there are additional challenges to overcome. However, despite Madison's reservations, Jackson also believes that if a consensus can be reached, that he may be willing to reconsider his decision. All in favor, say aye.” A resounding chorus of all ayes then filled the room. Flournoy smiled. It was time to talk to President Madison, and now.
--

Sep. 5, 1812
The White House
Washington, D.C.

“You've read this letter of ours, Mr. President.” “What are your thoughts, sir?”, General Thomas Flournoy asked. Jackson's letter had been short, but rather to the point.

Madison sighed. “Well now, General,” He seemed to be a little frustrated at Jackson's continued insistence. “This is unfortunate news. It seems that Jackson's slight obsession has started to become accepted by some of the other generals.” Slight was quite an understatement: Andrew Jackson was a man who was not only driven by success, but controlled by it; any opportunity to advance his military career would be taken, even if it had the effect of harming his popularity to a point. Truly, it seemed, nothing could stand in his way without a fight. Flournoy, however, disagreed. “Sir,” he said with a slight inflection of tone, “with all due respect, I believe that Jackson's plan is rather sound; divide those Indians who would oppose the rule of white men in this nation, and unite those who accept it, and then attack our enemies. This would make it far less difficult for our forces to secure true control in the South.”

The President, however, had his reservations. “There's still the matter of the Shawnee, I'm afraid. Though Tecumseh has continued to be a man of his word, his brother, Tenskwatawa, continues to agitate for additional wars against the country, and the Red Sticks seem particularly fond of his musings....” “But sir,” Flournoy interrupted, “what of the other Creeks..” Madison cut him off. “Even amongst the most pro-American of Lower Creeks, some division has begun to occur, from the news I have received. The Choctaw are beginning to have second thoughts, as well.”

Flournoy might have had his past disagreements with the President, but he really did need his support today, as he was raring for battle himself. “Sir, you must realize that your objections have been contrary to the wishes of the majority of the Generals, myself included. I would not dare act against your orders, sir, but some of the others may not have those same reservations, Jackson in particular.”

“Although I have been receiving some news as of late that British spies may have been arming some of our enemies[2], I'd rather not take action, until an actual sanctioned offense does occur on the part of the Red Sticks, or any of their allies. To do so otherwise, might provoke a war with Britain. We have already had a number of other problems to deal with as it is, namely the destruction of a number of English merchant ships, and their objections over our friendly relations with Napoleon.” And the last thing the country needed, in his mind, was Federal meddling in the inter-tribal affairs of certain amongst the Indians causing a greater war with Britain herself. Flournoy, however, wished to hear none of it. “Sir, there are many white men in Georgia and certain of our territories who feel quite threatened by the Red Sticks. The killings in Michigan...”

Madison cut him off again. “Were dealt with by the other Creeks. It was rather unfortunate, that can be said without any doubt, but so far, however, it appears that it was the act of a rogue chief and warband. Even some of the more hawkish Red Sticks weren't ready for a significant offensive just yet. Hopefully, our scouts & spies can gather more information over the coming weeks and months, but until then, I still believe non-intervention would be the best course of action here, and hopefully, I can trust my generals to follow orders.”

“Mr. President,” Flournoy added, “what of Congress? The people cannot wait forever for a decision on our part, sir.” There had been a number of Congressmen as of late, who were calling for retaliation against the Lower Creeks following the the Ft. Cotton Massacre; some, however, said that only sanctions were needed, and that anything more could actually potentially push the Red Sticks even further into the arms of the British, and nobody wanted that. Madison thought about this for several minutes. Having made some very careful consideration on the matter, he finally spoke again. “Alright, General. Tell Jackson that he may proceed, on one condition...” Flournoy eased up a bit as the tension dissipated. “Yes, sir?” “...That Federal involvement goes no further than munitions & food aid for our Indian allies, unless and until an unprovoked attack were to occur on the part of the Red Sticks. Only then, may the military directly intervene.” A slight smile reached Flournoy's lips. At least some progress had been made today. “Very well, sir. I'll inform Jackson immediately.” Flournoy began to walk out of the White House and towards his horse. He hoped that someday, the Red Sticks could be wiped out forever[3]. And he was going to try to be there when that day came.

Taken from: “Spooks, Guns, & Assassins: Covert Operations in the Early Modern Age, 1805 To The Present.”
© 1979 Lt. Gen. Tyler Patrick (ret), U.S.M.C.
Keystone Press
Sherman, KS, United States.

Chapter 4: The Creek Civil War[4].

In the summer of 1812, tensions between the Red Sticks and the Lower Creeks, or Blue Sticks, in the South was beginning to come to full fruition. In early August, a war party of about 100 Red Stick Creek Indians attacked Fort Cotton in southeast Michigan, in which nearly 2 dozen people, both civilians and fighting men, lost their lives. Although the warriors were eventually punished, at the hand of Creek justice, no less, the American gov't demanded more compensation. Matters began to get more complicated, however, when both factions soon began to bicker amongst themselves, on top of each other; Some Red Sticks wanted war with the Americans & the Lower Creeks, while some wanted to fight only the Americans; and then there were those who wanted no offensive conflict at all. On the Lower Creek side of things, some wished to stay on the fence during any possible conflict, while others wanted full blown war with both the Red Sticks and their allies. And then there were a few who threatened to defect to the Red Stick camp, and vice versa[5]. No one knew what to make of it at first, but General Jackson, seeing an opportunity, wished to take advantage of the malaise and engage in, and lead, a direct raid on Red Stick territory. President Madison intervened, however, and informed the general that only indirect involvement would be allowed, due to various uncertainties concerning the situation at large, including the possibility of British involvement. He was, however, willing to green-light covert operations to sell, or even smuggle, arms to the Lower Creeks, as well as food aid. So Jackson, along with Robert McAfee & Henry Dearborn, began what the latter christened, “the Indian Split”[6], in October, 1812...

Oct. 5, 1812
Somewhere in South Carolina
United States of America

“We've got a good way to go before we reach Coweta.”, Henry Dearborn sighed, surveying the road ahead of him. His last mission had ended as a resounding success; the anti-Spanish rebels in East Florida had a much easier time kicking the Spaniards out of the peninsula than before, and earned him some much-appreciated respect even amongst the most critical of his rivals, such as Andrew Jackson.
The Creek Indians in Georgia would be almost as easy to exploit due to the fact that the schism between the Red & Blue Sticks seemed to be growing every day, and both sides were eager to show the other just exactly who was boss. Not to mention the fact that the possibility British might just start engaging in arms trading of their own, so in Dearborn's view, it was better to exploit the tensions than to possibly caught with trousers down, as it were. Even before the Indian Wars, he had been considered a hero; sure, there were many others out there whose heroism had shone through in the Revolution, but how many more were further adding to their prestige n this day and age? Not many, he had thought. But he was a humble and modest man, as many other Yankees were, and that alone earned him another type of respect amongst many of the younger fighting men that seemed to evade certain other generals, Andrew Jackson in particular.

In any case, he hoped that perhaps, more than anything, that this move would confound the anti-American Indians, and perhaps counteract any British covert arms deals that might be happening and make things a little safer for the increasing number of settlers who were making their way to Alabama and Mississippi these days. He also knew that if this failed, and the Red Sticks either crushed the Lower Creeks or the two put aside their squabbles and allied against the Americans, that not only would the lives of many settlers possibly by gravely endangered, but that the British might be able to take advantage of the situation and perhaps even try to carve up parts of the South. And he would do everything he could to prevent either scenario[7].

“Well, alright then,” Dearborn muttered to himself. “We'd best be moving.”

Sept. 30, 1812
Coweta, Georgia.
United States of America

Tenskwatawa stood on the open grassland just north of the Creek village. The warmth was a bit more than what he was used to back home, but he could take it. His disgust against the Americans grew each passing day, it seemed. He had done much to gain as many allies as possible, but one thing still remained; to convince London to fully back his faction of the Shawnee. 'Tecumseh,' he thought, 'you are becoming weak, my brother. Only resistance against the Yankee palefaces is the right course, not surrender, no capitulation, to our enemies.' Of course, he knew that the U.S. Army would come after him, but he feared nothing these days, except defeat and humilation. And long ago, he decided he'd rather die than be a captive of those damned Americans. “Americans,” he muttered towards the empty forest, “your time will come.”[8]

--

[1]A classic divide-and-conquer strategy.

[2]This would take some time to confirm. Did this really happen? Stay tuned.

[3]That opportunity would present itself very soon.

[4]The split amongst the Creeks has been given the same name as it did IOTL because that's what it's recognized as.

[5]Pretty complex situation, no? It's going to get a little more wacky over the next few years.

[6]A small retcon here.

[7]Or die trying, at least.

[8]Little did he know just his hopes weren't exactly going to come true.....and in the most ironic way.

--


Stars & Stripes #18-Trouble's Brewing in the U.S., Part 3

Oct. 8, 1812
Coweta, Georgia

It was a muggy, cloudy, and miserable afternoon in this village of the Creek Nation. Bitter disputes had started as early as mid-June over treaties with the U.S., but the Fort Cotton Massacre in August had made things even worse. Two Upper Creek chiefs, in particular, were having a notably heated argument.

“He was only doing what he thought best for the defense of our people,”, said Menawa[1], a chief who had supported the Fort Cotton raid. “against these paleface invaders.”
“Little Warrior,” claimed Josiah Francis, “may have just helped doom our people to destruction. His men killed several women and older children. Is this truly the Creek way, Menawa?” Although he had come to see the white men as invaders and trespassers on sacred Creek land, for which came to despise a great number of them, particularly some of the wealthier plantation owners, he also wouldn't have gone so far as to take the lives of women, or children, for that matter, like that adolescent boy in Fort Cotton who died trying to save his mother. He feared, more than anything, that the whites would one day begin to smell blood and want to take revenge on all Red Creeks, not just the warriors; perhaps some had already. “Such is war.”, Menawa replied. “The palefaces have killed some of our people in the past, as well. It is not fair that we only retaliated for these transgressions?” “Menawa,”, Francis answered, “as it is said, two wrongs, do not make a right. Would we be better than they are if we were to kill their women and children?” Menawa started to grow a little red in the face, becoming ever more agitated by the second. “You fool! Don't think for a second that they wouldn't destroy us. They have already tried such with the Maumee and Potawatami to our north! And yet you wish to make peace with them?” “No, only to stand our ground,” Francis replied, with a hint of sternness, “until the Americans either attack us themselves, or provoke one of their allies to do their work for them. Menawa, you know very well, that I too, have no trust for these pale men and their wiles, but we must remain cautious. I believe that, someday soon, the Americans will make that first move. And then the right-thinking peoples of this land can see them for the perfidious evildoers that they truly are. But if we attack first, then we risk having accomplished nothing, and even some of our closest allies will see us as fools.” Menawa sighed, conceding to the slightly younger chief. “Alright, then. But I have long wished for combat against these invaders, these trespassers of our sacred land, and should that dreadful day come, when they come to pillage our towns and destroy our livelihoods, I will take part in battle, even if you choose to do nothing to save our home.” “Menawa,” Francis added, “do what you will, but if you decide to go on any more of these 'adventures' of yours, and should the Americans decide to invade, I can not be held responsible for what happens to our people...”

Menawa didn't respond this time, and simply began to skulk away in anger. Who was this half-breed, to stand by and allow the pale men to destroy their villages and steal away their women? He decided that he had just about enough of Josiah Francis and his cowardice. It was time to start gathering up some of his more loyal and dutiful comrades. “Perhaps soon, the Americans will come to fear us. No longer will they trespass on the this sacred homeland of ours, and we true Creeks shall once again be free.” The very thought brought a smile to his face.

--

Oct. 9, 1812
Somewhere in West Florida

The Red Stick chief known as High-Head Jim sighed. 'Who would want me to travel all the way out here, to this forsaken-by-the-Creator swampland?', he wondered. “This had better not be a damn American trick.”, he muttered under his breath. He began to slowly walk to to the east, but just as he started off, he heard rustling just in front of him. “Show yourself.” said the chief. Two men slowly emerged from the brush, one a Creek, and the other was an average sized, but seemingly intimidating, Latinate fellow with a small beard. The Latin man spoke first. “You are the one, called Cusseta Tustunnuggee?” High-Head Jim was impressed; the name was pronounced almost exactly as he himself would have. “Yes, I am he. You are the one who wished to converse with me?”, asked the chief,out of curiosity. “I certainly am.”, said the Latin. “My name, is Enrique Cortez[2], and I too, despise those conniving Yankees, who stole my beloved Florida from the Spanish and allowed it to land in the hands of those filthy people calling themselves the Mexicans.”, which was then translated by the Creek companion. High-Head Jim nodded slowly in contentment. Anyone who despised the Americans as much as he did could be a quite valuable ally indeed. “I see that. Tell me, Cortez, exactly what do you have planned?” The Creek whispered the Spanish equivalent in Cortez's ear. “Ah, now we get to the finer points of our discussion.” Cortez replied, happy to oblige the chief's request. “This is what I had planned, and exactly how we're going to accomplish it...”

--

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

Chapter 8: The Creek Civil War, Part 2.

...Things became somewhat more complicated in October of 1812 when Enrique Cortez became involved in the struggle. Cortez, now widely regarded as one of the world's first extreme nationalists[3], was a man whose loyalty and devotion to the old Viceroyalty was matched only by his hatred of the 'Yankees' and most of the Southeastern Native Americans; despite the latter, however, he found a useful ally in High-Head Jim, who had become of the more influential of the Red Stick chiefs, and who shared his disdain for white Americans.
Cortez, by one way or another, had learned of the Americans' first travel to the Lower Creek camp near Coweta, and found out which roads they were taking to get there. His plan was as follows: He was going to enlist some fellow blancos to dress as U.S. Army enlistees; they would then block the main road about for about an hour or two before the estimated arrival of the first ammunition wagons, and act as a diversion for a coordinated ambush to be committed by some of Red Stick warriors under the command of High-Head Jim, with some more blancos acting as backup. The first of a series of these coordinated attacks was to occur on the morning of October 11th...

--

Oct. 11, 1812
Someplace along the Coweta Trail
Georgia, U.S.A.

Along this narrow path leading to the Creek town of Coweta, lay a number of bodies, all of them American soldiers who had been killed in a sudden ambush conducted by some of the Red Stick Indians and a number of Enrique Cortez's friends, and if one saw the scene, it would appear as if a total massacre had occurred here. But a few of them were still surviving yet.

Matthew Perry[4] was one of the only four men still living, out of the detachment of fifty who had been assigned to guard this shipment of weapons and food aid to the Lower Creeks. The 18-year-old Rhode Island native had been a green[5] volunteer for the U.S. Army Corps and had been enlisted for just a couple of months when the incident occurred. Now, he lay on the ground in a terrible daze, unsure of whether or not he'd live to see the next day. He had two gunshot wounds, one in the leg and one through his arm, and both were still bleeding somewhat after three hours, and he began to feel a tad delirious as well.
Just when all of this seemed hopeless, however, a carriage arrived, seemingly out of the blue, along with some men on horseback. A somewhat tallish man stepped out of the carriage; he was an Army medic, transferred from New York. The medic approached Perry slowly, and said, “You okay, son?” “Don't think so, sir. My leg's been shot up pretty bad. So's my arm, too. How'd you make it up here, by the way?” The doctor replied, “We heard a few gunshots about three hours back while we were camped about 10 miles south of here, but we didn't know what to make of it, until we got word that an Indian ambush had occurred. Then we came straight up here.”
Perry looked at both of his wounds and asked, “Am I going to be alright, Doc?” The doctor wanted to be optimistic but decided to be frank with the young soldier. “Well, count yourself lucky, my young friend. You seem to be one of only a few survivors here. But we'd best get you to a clinic so your wounds can be treated.” Perry breathed a sigh of hopeful relief. Maybe he would get to live a full life after all...

--

[1]An important leader of the Red Sticks IOTL.

[2]The question is, where will Enrique show up next? Stay tuned, readers.

[3]And how!

[4]Yes, THAT Matthew Perry. Of U.S. Navy fame IOTL.

[5]'Green' is a term sometimes used to describe anyone who is a new member of any group, whether it be the army, or a social club, etc.

--

Stars and Stripes #19a-You Wanted to Know About Them, Round 2.


Auguste Comte is a young idealist and promising pupil who is currently attending the Ecole Polytechnique as of August, 1817, and recently acquainted himself with a more well-known Frenchman.

Sarah Baartman was a slave on a Dutch plantation in what would become South Africa until 1810, when she was escorted to be exhibited in London in July of that year by Hendrick Cezar, and remaining there until October, when she was to be shipped back to South Africa. However, though, while the ship was docked in Freetown, Sierra Leone, a sympathetic Briton who worked at the docks came across Mrs. Baartman and set her free just before sunrise. Her escape wasn't discovered until just after the ship arrived back in the Cape, and she now lives amongst the other free blacks in Freetown.

George Byron is currently a somewhat successful young post and writer living in southeast London, though he has fallen on hard times as of late; his mother recently passed away and he has been racking up some personal debts. His travels thru Europe from 1809-12 were thoroughly documented and he is trying to sell a somewhat fictionalized version of these events as his first full-length novel.

George Canning retired from political office in 1812 to pursue a publishing career. He started his own newspaper called the 'London Observer' the following year and almost immediately began to develop a small, but rather loyal following, particularly in East London, given his background of growing up in Marylebone, not too far from places like Hackney or Greenwich.

George III died in London during the afternoon of Sept. 22, 1814 after contracting a severe case of influenza in late August. His son, George IV, now sits at the head of the Empire.

Henry John Temple[1], son of the 2nd Viscount Palmerston, joined the Royal Navy late in 1807, and is now an Admiral as of 1817. He is hoping to possibly retire early and get back into politics someday. He has two children; Sarah Jane, born in August 1809, and Henry John, III, born in March, 1811.

The family of Robert E. Lee has suffered a bit of trouble as of late. His half-brother Philip[2] was killed by Red Stick Creek in Tennessee during the war, and Lucy died shortly after childbirth in December 1818, though her daughter Marian Elizabeth survived the ordeal and is being raised by her grandparents. Henry Lee, however, had begun to fall gravely ill starting in October, and may soon pass on.

[1]Yes, that was his real name, for those of you who may not have known.

[2]To be expanded on later.

--

Stars & Stripes #19b- Shots Over The Falls.

Taken from “The War of 1814”
(c) 1922 by Donald Fleming
Liberty Bell Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Chapter 2: The First Shots of the War

Tensions were rather high in the summer of 1814; both the United States and Britain were becoming increasingly nervous and distrustful towards one another as time went by and along many parts of the border with the U.S. and Canada military patrols were becoming more and more numerous each day, it seemed. Rumors of all sorts began to fly about in taverns, restaurants, and other social gathering places, such as a possible full-scale British invasion[1], or a great Indian war conspiracy[2], terrorism[3] in the cities, or even a conspiracy between American freemasons and the British government[4a] to destroy the United States and to bring about a “Confederation of North America”[4b]! Or said one William Morgan, anyway[4c]. Even all this couldn't quite prepare people for the true cause of the war, however.
Early on the morning of July 18th, 1814, not long before sunrise, a small contingent of Canadian soldiers accidentally strayed from their designated route not far from today's Niagara Falls, Ontario[5], and eventually came across what they thought was a civilian townsite just before 5 am, and thought nothing of it. What they didn't realize, however, is that they had crossed the U.S. border just north of the tiny village of Lewiston, N.Y., and that the small townsite was in fact, an American military outpost. Not long after afterwards, one of the Americans spotted the Canadians and a few of them fired warning shots at the Canadians. Realizing their situation, the Canadians immediately fired back, and for about 45 minutes, the two sides exchanged on-and-off gunfire. About 5 minutes before 6 am, members of a local militia who heard the gun shots intervened on behalf of their Army comrades and the Canadians decided to retreat back to their home territory, having lost 15 of their men, compared to 9 men on the American side. Many Lewistonians had heard some of the gunfire and when word reached Buffalo, the editor of the area's most influential newspaper, the Buffalo Weekly-Standard[6], then only recently established, sounded the alarm, and soon, fear began to spread across the area....

--

Taken from The Buffalo Weekly-Standard, July 18th, 1814.

Army Outpost Attacked Near Lewiston, War Soon To Follow?

It has come to our attention, not three hours before the publishing of this paper, that a contingent of Canadian soldiers invaded our small town and unlawfully attacked an Army facility without any provocation whatsoever, not long before 5 o' clock this morning. 9 of our men lost their lives in the hour-long skirmish[7a] and their names shall be published in tomorrow's obituary. What provoked these soldiers of the Crown to attack a seemingly random target is not, and may never be known, and many persons in this area of Western New York fear additional military action. In any case, the White House has yet to issue an official opinion on this grave matter presently at hand....[7b]

--

July 19, 1814
The White House
Washington, D.C.

President Madison looked at the military briefing. It had only been about 24 hours since the event and there were already widespread fears of imminent war, especially in those areas bordering British Canada. He wondered how such an unfortunate incident could have occurred, and in such times, on top of that. “Well, sir,” said the Secretary of War, William Eustis, “what are we to do? Perhaps this truly was just an unfortunate blunder, but rumors continue to persist that it was nothing more than a plot to draw our nation into war, not to mention those claiming that the vast majority of the western Indians are plotting to ally themselves with Britain to crush our country and destroy our frontier towns and villages, and, God forbid, that British agents have infiltrated this government all the way to it's highest levels! It's madness, sir.” “Yes, I see.” Replied the President. “It reminds me somewhat of that old quote from Revelations, 'There will be wars, and rumors of wars', and such. Let's only hope that the British haven't lost their minds outright, although with each passing day I fear they may very well have.” Eustis replied, “I concur, Mr. President. What are your suggestions?” “Well,” Madison replied, “We may have to begin mobilizations of the state militias in those states bordering Canada as well as putting the Army on an increased state of readiness. If a war does occur, then we should take any precautions possible to prepare for such. I only hope this doesn't end in disaster, for the sakes of both nations.” Eustis shook his head in agreement. “Very well, sir. I shall, of course, deliver your orders post-haste”. As Eustis walked out, Madison slumped back in his chair a little. He was quite tired and this hadn't been the best of news. He decided that the best thing to do was to take a nap, and deal with things later on...

--

Taken from “The War of 1814”
(c) 1922 by Donald Fleming
Liberty Bell Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Chapter 2: The First Shots of the War

…It can be verily said that although America and Britain weren't exactly eager to throw each other's armies at the other after the July 18th incident, several additional developments were to occur over the next 6 weeks that would inevitably lead to full blown conflict. About a week after the Lewiston incident, state militia units in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, and Pennsylvania were put on full alert, whereas the Canadian equivalent was ordered to do the same, by London.
Several other skirmishes would occur between the two powers from then until September. One noticeable battle occurred near the town of Richford, Vermont, on August 7th between Canadian forces and British volunteers, and American state militia units backed up by a pair of Army divisions.
Another one occurred near the small village of Put-in-Bay, Ohio[8], on August 22nd and was the first engagement of the war in which naval forces were used by either side.....

--

Aug. 23, 1814
Put-In-Bay, Ohio
United States of America

Oliver Hazard Perry[9] stood at the edge of the harbor of Put-in-Bay. Much of the area had been badly damaged by the battle between the U.S. and Royal Navies as well as a few homesteads on the southeastern side of the island that had been affected by a brief, and disastrous attempt at a raid by British sailors. Still, though his side had won, it left a rather negative impression on him. 'If the British were willing to so badly ravage a small village like this one, for merely temporarily hosting only three of our Navy's ships, what might they be willing do to more important towns?' Despite the warmth of the afternoon, Perry felt a little chilly. “Ah,” he said to himself, “best if we all get a solid drink to calm the nerves. Hopefully the tavern is still open.” And then he turned to the men under his command. “Well, what say you, men? Shall we drink to our success?” The sailors responded with a resounding “Yes!”, almost to a man. So, with that, Perry led his men to the local tavern, hoping he could drink his troubles away......[10]

--

[1]Although Britain had lost a lot of men fighting Napoleon and couldn't quite afford to throw too many of their own men to fight in North America.

[2]Which wouldn't have worked, as the Indian chiefs sometimes squabbled amongst themselves even in the best of times.

[3]This wasn't happening, but rumors can spread pretty far before they're squashed, even if they are based on falsehoods.

[4a]Yep, even the crazies got their word in, too!

[4b]An homage to the 1971 Robert Sobel classic, “For Want of a Nail”. There will be many more.

[4c]William Morgan was an eccentric and early conspiracy monger from Virginia best known for his supposed expose of Freemason wrongdoing and plotting, and his mysterious disappearance in 1826.

[5]The only one of the two towns still existing in its current form as of 1922, btw.

[6]An ATL newspaper founded in 1806 in Buffalo. Known mainly as “the paper that started the War of 1814” in some circles.

[7a]There are a few inaccuracies here, namely being that the Americans fired first and not the Canadians, and that the battle really only lasted about 45 mins. instead of an hour.

[7b]That much, however, was true. An official statement wasn't issued until the following day.

[8]There was a battle that occurred there IOTL in September, 1813, which the Americans also won. Not quite so much damage to the town, though.

[9]Matthew Perry's older brother, and unlike Matt, still joined the Navy as per OTL, although this was before the POD.

[10]Well, not drunk to the point of total inebriation, of course. Just enough to get them in a state of relaxed calmness. =)

--

Stars & Stripes #19c- The Indian Wars Rage On.

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America


Chapter 9: The Creek Civil War Continues.

The Battle of Econochaca.

One of the first major battles between the American military and the Red Sticks was the Battle of Econochaca in December, 1812. The town of Econochaca, which had been only established early that April, already had about 400 residents and was one of 4 towns established during that spring and summer. The town was not only fortified but was also a place where Creek religious figures could perform ceremonies to invoke the protection of the spirits, hence the town's name, which means “holy ground” in the language of the Creek Nation.

Following the massacre at Fort Cotton and the ambush of Matthew Perry's company near Coweta, Lt. General Ferdinand Claiborne, operating under the aegis of Thomas Flournoy, began to gather volunteers to raid Econochaca, eventually including about 200 Choctaw men under the guidance of Pushmataha, themselves uneasy rivals of the Red Sticks. Early on the morning of Dec. 23rd , Lt. Gen. Claiborne set up his camp about 15 miles to the northeast of the Creek town, with intent to gather intelligence and then attack the following day. Fortunately for the Upper Creeks[1], however, one of their scouts found the camp late that afternoon, and when William Weatherford heard the news, he immediately requested a complete evacuation of all women, children, and non-enlisted men, clearing out by midnight. When Claiborne's men raided the village late in the morning on Christmas Eve, all they found were about 100 angry and battle-ready Red Sticks, as well as a few dozen Afro-American[2] allies, many of them escaped slaves, and a small bloodbath began to occur. Although about 70 to 80 of the defenders had been killed, Claiborne had lost a number of his own men, and was nearly killed himself when one of the Afro-Americans fired a rifle whose bullet grazed him in the shoulder; another 4 inches and he would have lost his life[3]. Weatherford, meanwhile, had made a daring escape on his horse Arrow, braving a hail of American rifle fire, and would live to fight another day. The Army later plundered the town's food and ammo stores, and let the Choctaws destroy the rest of the remains.
Although Claiborne's campaign was considered to be somewhat of a failure, in military terms, the loss of supplies did create some hardship for for many of the local Creeks. This, however, had little effect on the Red Sticks, and in fact, may have motivated them to fight back even harder[4].

The Battle of Burnt Corn Creek.

Early in January 1813, The U.S. army set up a camp near what is now today's Escambia, West Florida[5], clearing out a small party of Creek settlers in the process. Right around that same time, Peter McQueen, a half-white Red Stick, and some 200 of his men, had traveled to the small town of St. Augustine in Mexican Florida. One of the local administrators gave them a civil welcome and gave them each a small bag of powder and ten bullets to each man, and offered additional moral and military support whenever it was needed. Thanking them, McQueen and his men began to return to their encampment when a fellow Red Stick informed them of the incident at Burnt Corn Creek. Seeing this as a perfect opprotunity to take revenge on the Americans for the attack on Econochaca, McQueen and his men headed back west to deal with the intruding Americans. In the early evening of the 9th the Red Sticks attacked without warning, killing over 150 of the Americans, including their commander, Colonel James Caller, resulting in a decisive victory for their side. Dixon Bailey[6a], a half-Indian Captain, was captured alive but not harmed, provided that he give them any information he might have had on his person. He had nothing of value but the Creeks let him live anyway[6b], sensing his honesty.
The Creeks then confiscated many of the leftover rations and supplies and after their work was done, moved back east...

The Skirmish near Bashi

This battle was fought near what was to become the town of Mottsville in Milton County, West Florida, on Feb. 9, 1813. It isn't known exactly what caused the battle but what is known is that the skirmish resulted in the destruction of the small Creek village of Bashi, named after a local stream. Late on the afternoon of the 6th, a small U.S. Army contingent led by Colonel William McGrew decided to set up camp 25 miles to the east of town. 2 days passed without any sightings but then a cavalryman by the name of Edmund Miles spotted the small Creek community on the late morning hours of the 8th . It was thought that the Indians were unaware of their presence and McGrew decided to attack the area the following morning. When they arrived, all McGrew and his men found was an empty village, or so it seemed. Soon, a turkey's tail rose up from some nearby bushes; they had been ambushed. Several Creek warriors immediately began to fire their guns and the Americans struggled to defend themselves against them. Colonel McGrew, Miles, and David Griffin, amongst 11 others, were killed by the Creeks. Jesse Griffin and Captain William Bradbury[7] fled the scene along with 10 other survivors. Arriving in Alabama, the two men told their story to anyone who would hear.

The battle of Emuckfaw

Late in the month of February Andrew Jackson's men had raided and destroyed the Creek town of Enotachopo and this had resulted in numerous wounded and a few dead men amongst the Indians.
Hearing about this, the Red Stick warrior known as Little Prince gathered up approximately 1,000 men and began to plot possible retaliation plans. On March 9th, not long before sunrise, an unarmed Red Stick scout spotted a camp about 30 miles northeast of Horseshoe Bend. One of the Americans saw him and shot the man dead as he fled. Several hours passed, and the Red Sticks realized that their comrade wasn't going to come back. With that, about 20 of them decided to attack the American camp. They were driven off in about 45 minutes but not before killing 8 of the Americans[though with the loss of a dozen of their own]. Later that afternoon, the rest of the warriors attacked the camp full-force, with guns and arrows blazing. The Americans were reinforced by a few of local militia groups and this ensured that the battle would last well into the next day. By sunset on the 10th, the death toll was as follows: 178 of the Americans had been killed versus 255 of the Creeks, including one of Little Prince's subordinates[8]. Neither of them made any significant gains and Little Prince informed his fellow Creeks upon arriving home that perhaps it would be best if he reclaim a civilian leadership role, to which the rest of them wholeheartedly agreed.

--

March 13, 1813
Near Emuckfaw, Alabama
United States

Andrew Jackson cursed under his breath on this warm night. His first loss in combat, ever, had really put a good dent in his ego; over 100 of his men had been lost and not a single worthwhile gain to show for it. He thought that perhaps he could teach the savages[9a] a lesson another day, and maybe get his revenge on those who he felt had wronged the American people. The white Americans had every right to this land[9b], and these Indians were merely squatters[9c], temporary residents to be brushed aside for the expansion of glorious civilization[9d]. The mere thought of resistance annoyed him but for now all he could do was rest. 'Someday', he thought, 'they'll all pay. And America will grow larger.'[10]

–
[1]No anti-American bias here. No, really.

[2]Another OTL 'PC' term that entered the ATL lexicon.

[3]Later on, he wouldn't be so fortunate one of these days.

[4]Not surprising in the least.

[5]Yep, you heard it here first, there IS, in fact, a state of West Florida.

[6a]A minor OTL military figure who died during our reality's Creek Wars. Here, he survived.

[6b]Which was to be repaid later on.

[7]Both him and Jesse Griffin were killed by the Red Sticks IOTL. Here, both men have survived.

[8]This battle was a lot bloodier than OTL's Battle of Emuckfaw.

[9a, 9b, 9c, 9d]This, of course, does not in any way, reflect the author's[aka, myself] views. This writer, in fact, is appalled by such thinking, but such is the reality of the times.

[10]A Command and Conquer reference. If you've ever played 'Zero Hour' or 'Generals', you'll get it.

--

Stars & Stripes #19d-Trouble's Brewing in the U.S., Part 4

Selected Relevant Dates in U.S. History: 1811-14
Extracted from: “Harmon's Encyclopedia - Important Dates & Events in American & World History”
By Jarrett Jones & Francis E. Harmon, Jr.
Pearleton, Illinois
© 1948 Harmon's Incorporated.

May 8, 1811: The Maumee raid on Louisville devastates the city and leaves 25 of its residents dead and many hundreds more injured.[1]

Jun. 23, 1811: The Battle of Pigeon Creek occurs in the Ohio town of the same name.

Aug. 17, 1811: Tappan, Ohio was raided and devastated by a day-long battle between a war party of about 250 Maumee and the Ohio state militia & U.S. Army.

Jan. 5, 1812: American forces engaged with, and managed to drive off, a band of Shawnee in southeast Missouri. This battle was notable because of the fact that it was the first engagement west of the Mississippi River.

Aug. 3/10, 1812: The Fort Cotton Massacre is committed by a war party of Upper Creeks: 23 civilians and soldiers were killed there on this day. The following week, the survivors were executed by their fellow Indians for their actions.

Oct. 8, 1812: A bitter dispute occurred between the Red Stick chiefs Menawa and Josiah Francis, an event which some believe may have significantly contributed to the deepening of the division within the Red Stick camp.

Dec. 23, 1812: The Battle of Econochaca: A U.S. Army contingent under Andrew Jackson raided and trashed the small town of Econochaca, Alabama, though they were ambushed by the locals.

Jan. 9, 1813: The Battle of Burnt Corn Creek: The Red Sticks raided a U.S. Army camp near what is now Escambia, W. Fla., resulting in 150 American and 38 Red Stick deaths. One notable survivor of the conflict was Dixon Bailey who was then a Captain in the Army.

Feb. 9, 1813: Several dozen Americans are ambushed by the Upper Creeks near today's Mottsville, W. Fla. following the raid on Burnt Corn Creek.

Mar. 9-10, 1813: The Battle of Emuckfaw: One of the the bloodiest battles of the Indian Wars; 178 Americans and 255 Red Sticks battled to the death near the small town of Emuckfaw. Though the Indians were eventually chased out, this battle has long been seen as a small-scale Pyrrhic victory, if not an outright draw.

May 22, 1813: The town of Vincennes, Indiana, is raided by Shawnee loyal to Tenskwatawa[2a] due to the nearby Army post. 22 U.S. Army personnel are killed

Jun. 7, 1813: Another Shawnee band loyal to Tenskwatawa[2b] attacks in Indiana, this time near Fort Wayne. 13 people are killed.

Jul. 22, 1813: The town of Lima, Ohio is razed by Potawatomi Indians in retaliation for the destruction of their camps.

Sep. 18, 1813: The Battle of Vincennes: U.S. forces battled a coalition of Potawatomi and Maumee Indians about 10 miles northeast of Vincennes, Indiana.

Nov. 2, 1813: The Red Stick Creeks attacked the town of Augusta, Ga. late on this afternoon killing 30 people in the town.

Jan. 27, 1814: The Battle of Asheville: A surprise attack by the Red Stick Creeks on a U.S. Army camp occurred 11 mi. southwest of Asheville, N.C.

Apr. 26, 1814: The Battle of Gilman[3]: A multi-tribe war band of Potawatomi, Shawnee, and Maumee Indians attacked an Army post late this morning five miles east of Gilman, Ind. The battle eventually spilled into town and 37 people lost their lives there. Also notable, was the death of General Jacob Brown[4].

--

Apr. 29, 1814
The White House
Washington, D.C.

President Madison slumped in his chair. He really hadn't been feeling well these past few days and would not have been in the mood to hear bad news. But, unfortunately, that's just what he was about to get. One of his staff members came in the room with a letter in hand. “I do hope you won't mind the intrusion, sir.” “No,” Madison replied, “It's quite alright.” “Well, alright, sir. I have a letter from the War Department. I'm afraid it's not good news from what I hear.”, the staffer said. Madison's eyebrow arched a bit.“Well, may I see it, then?”, he asked. The staffer handed Madison the letter. He began to read it and as he did so, his facial expression began to sink a little. “Well, it appears that General Brown is no longer amongst the living. He was cut down by a Maumee Indian trying to defend some small frontier town in Indiana.” “A true tragedy, sir.”, the staffer replied. “Yes, but he died serving this country. And for that, we should all be grateful.”, said Madison, with a small smile on his face. Brown had been a good soldier; he started out in 1806 and quickly worked his way up from there, becoming a brigadier general in 1810. His valiant conduct during a number of battles in 1811 and 1812, ensured his promotion to general in 1813; most notably, his actions which saved the lives of dozens when the Shawnee tried to destroy Perkinsville, Indiana, in November, 1811. That earned him a trip to the White House where he had dinner with the President himself. And now, Brown was gone, felled by an Indian spear. The thought of such made him frown again. “May I have some privacy?” He motioned the staffer to leave. “Yes, sir. Goodbye, sir.”, the man said as he left, leaving the President alone. All Madison wanted to do now was just go to sleep and try to forget about his troubles.

--

[1]As seen in S&S 5.

[2a, 2b]Egged on by their leader, no doubt.

[3]OTL's Rochester, IN.

[4]Jacob Brown was a general originally from PA who fought in the War of 1812 IOTL; He is perhaps best known for his capture of Fort Erie and received the Congressional Gold Medal for it.

–

And now we're finally caught up to where the TL is right now.

--

Stars & Stripes #21a-Death of the Creek Nation.

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

Chapter 11: The Beginning of the end of the Creek Nation.

In 1814 the Creek Nation was on the verge of complete collapse; both the Lower Creeks and Red Sticks had exhausted most of their forces, tensions were running high and morale on both sides was running at an all-time low. The quarrels between men such as William McIntosh and Bird Tail King, versus Menawa and Josiah Francis seemed to become more heated each passing day, and not just between the two sides, but within their own ranks as well; there were few of instances of men coming to blows over normally trivial matters and even a couple of full-blown riots...And while all this was going on, people such as Andrew Jackson and Enrique Cortez, sought to take advantage of this crisis, one way or another.....

--

Jan. 27, 1814
Coweta, Georgia

A damp and cold morning in the troubled Creek village gave way to an even more miserable afternoon as a chilly drizzle began to fall on the area. The two Indians known as Menawa, and Little Prince, had been arguing since sunrise on the merits of the war and who should receive what after hostilities ended, which was liable to be very soon[1].

“Our demand is that you cede all your claims of the middle of Georgia to us Blue Sticks and the Americans. In return, you shall keep all of your lands to the west, in Alabama and any civilian in that part of Georgia will be repatriated to their new home.”, said Little Prince.

“This is our sacred homeland, Little Prince. You would suggest giving it to the palefaces who betrayed our people? Have you no shame? No dignity?, Menawa replied.

“Would you rather make peace with the white men and save our people from destruction or fight a battle which cannot ever be won?”, replied Little Prince.

Menawa shot back angrily. “We lost much of our land because you Blue Sticks were busy collaborating with the enemies of the Creek people, nay, of all Indians, for your own personal gain.”

Little Prince scoffed at Menawa's response. “'Tis better to appease a great former enemy for the sake of survival than to foolishly sacrifice oneself over ideology.”

“You fool! Do you not understand that the white men who call themselves Washington have no true respect for us so-called Indians and will continue to use us and turn against us until we have ceased to exist?”, Menawa snapped, his tone steadily rising in frustration.

“We have dealt with the white chiefs in Washington as have the Cherokee and Choctaw and so far, they have kept their word. No harm has come to us warriors or our citizenry.”, said Little Prince.

“That wasn't what happened with us. The palefaces promised us that they would let us live in peace if we caused no disturbance. And yet when our backs were turned we found these very same men attacking us.”

“But there were incidents in which white men found themselves dying at the hands of your fellow Red Sticks. Perhaps if you had kept your warriors under better control......”

“You damned imbecile!”, Menawa yelled, “Where were you when the white men were stealing our land and raping our women? When they were razing our villages to the dust and pillaging our homes? You Blue Stick cowards sat by and watched us suffer. But that wasn't enough for you, oh no. You had to go so far as to betray us just to save your own dirty hides! Have you no shame, Little Prince?”

Little Prince became somewhat defensive at these accusations. “May I remind you, Menawa, that we Lower Creeks made peace with the Americans only in the hopes of keeping ourselves alive, while you Red Sticks were foolishly provoking them every chance you got? And what happened in Florida, by the by? Last I checked, you left the Seminole to rot in the hands of the Spanish.....[2]”

“The Seminole were starting to become untrustworthy and had begun to cooperate with the Americans. So we felt that we had no choice but to assist the Spaniards.”, said Menawa. “What good is an ally if they start turning away from you at the mention of money or beautiful women[3]?”

“So you hate the Americans but have no problems with the Spanish, who decimated many of the Indians to the south of us?” Little Prince retorted.

Menawa sighed heavily. “We feared that the Americans would have destroyed our villages just north of Florida if we hadn't received any assistance. The Spanish proved to be a rather consistent and honorable, if only perhaps temporary, ally and they protected those people. I can't imagine the Americans will do the same for you Blue Sticks forever.[4]”

“Better to survive than to die a fool and lose your nation for nothing.”, Little Prince said, becoming agitated himself.

“You mean, better to be a coward and lie down like a beaten horse than fight for what's right?” Menawa retorted.

“And what has fighting the Americans gotten you, Menawa?”, Little Prince retorted, “Because all I see is failure on your end; half of the Upper Creek villages are gone, more of your men are deserting.....”

Menawa interrupted him. “Even though we lost a few men to desertion it hasn't hampered the righteousness and validity of our cause. And perhaps if you hadn't been appeasing these tricksters.....”

Little Prince finally snapped himself. “Perhaps, Menawa, if you accursed Red Sticks hadn't been so set in your ways maybe there wouldn't have been a war! You wouldn't have lost your villages! Your women wouldn't have been laid to waste! It's because of you Red Sticks that the Creek nation is doomed to fracture in front of the white man and the other Indians!” He took a deep breath and then said, “You, and only you, are to blame, not those of us who sought peace and tranquility! It is you Red Sticks who have forsaken our people.”

“You know not of the white man's treachery, Little Prince. There will come a day that you too will face his rifles and his men, that you shall see your homes razed to the ground, as what happened with us. Fighting us Red Sticks has only made the Creek people weaker, and our enemies stronger.”, replied Menawa.

“And what if you are wrong, Menawa? What if the Americans truly do only want peace and cooperation with our people, in exchange for settling rights?”. Little Prince replied. The Lower Creeks had recently received a cool deal from the U.S. government, partly suggested by President Madison himself, promising the protection of their towns in exchange for unrestricted white settlement in certain areas, an idea which appealed to even the most skeptical amongst the Blue Sticks. 'Fighting the white Americans won't solve our problems, it'll make them worse!', he thought, 'How could this man Menawa possibly fail to understand this? Has he lost his mind, perhaps?',

“Your hopes, Little Prince, will fail you just as ours did with us. You would be better off allied with us Red Sticks and our friends and associates, fighting the Americans. Instead we have to deal with all this internal squabbling, while these Kolowas[5] steal our land, our women and our livelihoods from all of us Creek.” Menawa, of course, wasn't willing to admit that the Red Sticks were the ones who had initiated a good part of the conflict.

“And yet you Red Sticks insisted on pushing the Americans back instead of cooperating with them.” Little Prince wouldn't have wanted to admit at that moment that there were some Blue Sticks who had recently questioned his motives for staying out of any Amero-Indian wars and allying with the Americans, most notably Big Warrior, the chief who had intervened against the Red Sticks after the Fort Cotton incident[6].

“Peace with your adversary is one thing, Little Prince. It is quite another, however, to sell yourself out to him. And unfortunately, that seems to be what you have accomplished. And now our nation crumbles because of your failures.”

“And your fanaticism made things far worse of all of us, Menawa. At least when we were friends with the Americans, we had reason to believe they would at least honor our treaties with them. Now, perhaps even we Blue Sticks may have fallen under their mistrusting eyes. Your mistakes, may one day ensure the doom of us all.”

“You cannot deny the truth, Little Prince. Our resistance, whether it is rendered futile or not, was, is, and always has been a righteous cause. I can only hope that you Blue Sticks, too, can learn the ways of the world, and fight for what is rightly ours. Otherwise, we may as well hoist the proverbial white flag and surrender ourselves to those who sought to take advantage of us in the first place, because a tribe that doesn't fight for its people and its land, are then better off not having existed at all.”
However, though, Menawa, realizing that he was about to lose the debate, decided to concede. “But perhaps there's nothing else that can be said here. I only hope this isn't truly the end of our once great nation.”, said the Chief. 'Better to argue another day than to waste our time squabbling.', he didn't say.

When the sun began to set in the pallid yellowish blue sky, Menawa gathered his men to ride back to their camp about 30 miles due west. There were plans to discuss.......

–

Feb. 1, 1814
Somewhere in Alabama

Andrew Jackson looked upon the afternoon sky with a glimmer of hope in his mind. Word of the final schism amongst the Creeks had bode rather well for him and he hoped that perhaps now would be the time to start hammering the final nail, so to speak, in the coffin of the dying Indian nation. And this would be an act in which he took much pleasure; after all, these savages[7] had murdered a number of white civilians, and were standing in the way of the progress of this great nation of freeholders. Not to mention the freeing of Negro slaves, some of whom were actively joining Indian militias[8]. It made his blood boil, just thinking about it.

“Sir?”. His adjutant handed him a paper from an Army post in Georgia.

“Thank you.” Jackson read the contents of the report briefly then sat it down on the makeshift table next to him. “May I ask, what the situation is, General sir?”, said his adjutant, a young blondish man no older than twenty-two. “It appears not only will we have to deal with the Red Sticks, but some of the slaves who escaped seem to think they'd rather be allies with the heathens, than those who brought their fathers to civilization.”, said Jackson, a slight blush on his face. “How many, sir?” asked the adjutant, now really curious. “The runaway slaves, you mean? At least five thousand of them. Possibly as many as ten thousand.[9]” The adjutant's pupils shrunk a bit. “That many damn niggers, sir? But we've only got four thousand men at most!” Jackson replied, “There is a bit of good news. There are some militiamen from Tennessee and both Carolinas who have pledged to lend us assistance, though I fear they may not appear in full force for some time. And we shall need all the friends whose courage we can muster.”
“Any other services required of me, sir?”, the younger man asked. “That is all. You are hereby dismissed.”, Jackson replied. 'And God help us all if these heathens and Negroes are able to repel our advances'[10], he didn't say.

--

Feb. 2, 1814
Somewhere in Mexican Florida

Enrique Cortez, too, had heard of the fall of the Creeks. To him, it mattered little; the Blue Sticks were cowards and collaborators with the hated Americans, and the Red Sticks were mostly useless, with the exception of High-Head Jim, who had proven to be an unusually trustworthy ally. There were also a number of men who had become his devotees and had committed various crimes in his name, including a still relatively recent massacre of a Seminole village in Florida[11], in which he himself had participated. He had also orchestrated a raid in which a total of 46 U.S. soldiers had perished, though a few of the Red Sticks had backed out before hand. The Red Sticks had also declined to assist with a number of plans that Cortez had thought up; one particularly outlandish scheme included detonating a couple of barrels filled with gunpowder and nails while President Madison was visiting Charleston, S.C.!

Despite his disappointment with most of his allies, he did relish the thought of getting yet another chance to inflict even more damage on those men who dared take Florida from his beloved Spain. Perhaps he could track down High-Head Jim again and they could scheme together. Maybe one of these days, they could have some real fun and enjoyment......[12]

–

[1]Although not before the Creek Nation would find itself in a state of permanent decay.

[2]Which unfortunately, was true. The Seminole Natives were understandably somewhat bitter about the whole affair, as that they had no intention of becoming American vassals, but merely to defend themselves against Spanish aggression.

[3]This had occurred with a few people, though not nearly as often as Menawa insinuated here.

[4]Sadly, Menawa may not have been so unwise to think this.........

[5]A Creek word meaning 'trickster'.

[6]Little Prince, however, remained respected by most Red Sticks, even by some of the Blue Sticks, due to the fact he was far more moderate than Menawa.

[7]Mainly, at this point, the Red Sticks. Jackson had no love for any other Natives either, though.

[8]This happened to a small extent, IOTL. Here, it's become much more commonplace in some areas, Alabama and Georgia in particular. (Mississippi just doesn't have enough people yet.)

[9]Most of these blacks wouldn't likely surrender if faced with defeat, though.

[10]Which could happen. The U.S. Army doesn't have too much in the way of resources down there as of yet and more and more slaves continue to join the ranks of the Indians.

[11]Cortez disliked the Seminole even more, far more really, than any Red Stick. Though for a much different reason, of course; he saw them as thieves of the land he once called home, and he and his men became known as a source of terror for the Seminole people for many years even after his death.

[12]Trust me, you don't want to know what would constitute enjoyment in the eyes of one such as Cortez. It's best left to the imagination, really.

--

Stars & Stripes #21b-The British Reaction.

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

The British Reaction.

Word of the collapse of the Creek Nation had reached quite far and wide indeed. One country in particular that seemed rather concerned was Great Britain; some of that country's agents had been operating in America, many of them directly aiding enemies of Washington such as the Red Sticks, Maumee, and others, through the distribution of arms and other contraband that could be used by the recipients. It also hadn't helped that the U.S. military had begun to step up patrols wherever the country shared a land border with the Canadas, which made many in York and Quebec City nervous.
On the 6th of February, 1814, Prime Minister Addington[1] called an emergency meeting of several of Britain's top generals. Among those in attendance, were Isaac Brock, and Edward Pakenham......

--

Feb. 2, 1814
London, England

John Addington was a rather worried man today. None of the news that had been coming out from across the Atlantic was good; one of most notable dilemmas was the now imminent collapse of the Creek Nation, certain factions of which had been some of Britain's best Indian customers up until recently; now many feared that their covert operations could possibly be blown wide open by American interference, were they to be discovered. There was also the fact that Yankee military patrols had become more and more common as of late as well, particularly along the border with the Canadas, and rumors had begun to spread that the Americans might possibly be preparing for an eventual war.
There were, at present, four other men in his Downing Street Office; Foreign Secretary Spencer Perceval[2], Generals Pakenham and Brock, and Addington's private secretary, recording the meeting for posterity.

“Gentlemen,”, said Addington, “it seems that we are coming to a diplomatic impasse at the moment. The Americans continue to agitate against our interests in the Canadas; the Ambassador is threatening to leave for Washington if the Yankees' demands aren't met posthaste, and that our spies have indicated that the Americans have begun comtemplating plans of attack in the event of war. On top of this, the Red Sticks, our most loyal allies in the American South, have been beaten back and are on the verge of defeat.”[3]

Isaac Brock spoke up then.”It is unfortunate, that the Red Sticks have met such a conundrum, but with all due respect, sir, I do believe that they had been quite foolish from the start, having done battle with the American army, on top of the Blue Sticks, instead of leaving the Army be and merely dealing only with their rivals.”

“And what if the Americans had intervened first?”, replied Pakenham. “There would have been no difference one way or the other! Speaking of such, why hadn't they done so already?”

“Because,” Brock replied, “The Americans feared that our Army would come crashing down on their heads were they to initiate a conflict. Madison, I must admit, was no fool in this regard. Even so, let us not forget the fact that we still have many other Indians willing to do our bidding at any moment we wish.[4]”

“Tecumseh deserted us perhaps not two years ago, did he not?”, said Pakenham.

“Yes. Tecumseh is no longer our ally, 'tis true. However, his brother, 'The Prophet', as the Shawnee call him, still has a large following and continues to be a valuable asset to us, for now, at least, as are certain other Indian leaders.”, said Brock.

“Perhaps so. But what of Canada? The Americans have been eyeing our most loyal provinces since they claimed their 'independence', the damned upstarts![5]”, Pakenham grumbled. It was true; Even in the Revolutionary days, there had been attempts to get Canadians to join the Yankees in rebellion; all had failed, of course, but even those setbacks likely wouldn't stop the Americans from trying and trying again, not in his view, anyway.

Spencer Perceval took his turn to speak. “Mr. Prime Minister, and General Pakenham, sirs, may I suggest re-evaluating the Dominion Defense Act?” The Act, originally proposed in 1813, would have given certain of Britain's more self-sustaining colonies, such as Canada, the ability to better defend themselves whilst also gaining the use of British logistics, and access to surplus military forces if need be[6]; this also allowed the British military to not have to expend any more forces than what they deemed necessary, and given the significant losses they all, particularly the Royal Navy, had suffered, fighting Napoleon and his allies, it was only prudent in the minds of most, to keep a fair distance whenever it was possible. “I believe allowing the colonies to defend themselves, and giving them the means to do so, would save us much trouble, especially if your concerns of an American invasion are indeed validated.”

“I concur,” said Brock, “As many of our soldiers do need to recuperate from having just destroyed Napoleon's Empire. We may, of course, draft and recruit additional men as needed, but I do suggest that, for now, we should mainly concern ourselves with those most fit for additional duties in the service of the King and our Country.”

Pakenham objected, however. “And if the Canadas are overrun? We would need to send our men back into the fray then, would we not? If we lose control of those territories, then perhaps all of non-Mexican North America might be at risk! And we cannot afford such, I dare say.”

“I doubt that will be the case, Gen. Pakenham,”, replied Brock, “The Yankees may yet dream of an American Canada, but 'tis only a dream, truly. They don't have the means to hold down even one iota of our territory and they would surely need additional strength to put down any uprisings that would happen on our behalf. There are many people loyal to the Empire in Canada, and that is not at all likely to change any time soon. Our main concern should be routing the Yankees if they decide to declare war, even in the event an actual invasion is attempted.”

Pakenham reluctantly concurred, albeit with reservations. “Perhaps so. Let us hope that the Americans will fail in their hopes of turning our only remaining colonies on the mainland into their personal den.[7]”

“Indeed.” Brock replied. He, too, was wary of the Americans; the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from the French had made them rather bold indeed; though Madison himself may not have had a longing eye on Canada, who was to say that others wouldn't have such ambitions as well?

Perceval turned to the Prime Minister. “What say you, sir? Shall we sign this act?”

Addington thought carefully for a minute, and then replied, “Yes, I shall. Perhaps we may indeed need to take as many precautions as possible. If the President of the United States sees it fit to declare war on the very nation to which it owed its existence, and perhaps, even,to steal more of its colonies, then perhaps it's time they learned a harsh lesson indeed.”

“I shan't think you would regret this, sir.”, Perceval replied, with a hint of contentment in his voice. “Our colonies would benefit from such an initiative, even without the imminent threat of Yankee belligerence. It would, in more concise terms, allow them to be more sufficient in managing their own defence, thus making the job of the military somewhat less difficult.”[8]

“Let us hope so, indeed.”, replied Addington. “Inform the Cabinet that you have my approval to sign this legislation into law.”

“Right away, sir.” Perceval said, smiling as he left the room. Perhaps someday soon, the Americans would get what was coming to them, and how!

--

[1]Addington was a rather minor figure IOTL, serving as a MP for the Wendover area in Buckinghamshire(or Bucks. to all you Brits out there). He gets a better break here, becoming the PM after Grenville.

[2]Perceval had been PM at one point IOTL(He was also the only one to be assassinated, apparently). Here, though, he's had a less illustrious career, though still a productive one nevertheless.

[3]It certainly appears that way at first.

[4]And there were still a fair number of them indeed. How many of them remain British allies, though, remains very much to be seen.

[5]Pakenham's view of the Americans and their country is pretty clear at this point, I would suspect.

[6]As posted in S & S Chapter 17b.

[7]See number 5.

[8]Or so they would hope, anyway.

--

Stars & Stripes #21c-Madison's Reply.

Feb. 23, 1814
Washington, D.C.

It was a cold and rainy morning in D.C. today. The blustery wind buffeted a carriage and its occupants as it made its way northward to the White House, and the driver began to sniffle and sneeze every few minutes; this could have perhaps annoyed the guest inside were he able to hear it all. However, though, he was only barely awake, still tired from a long journey which had taken about 30 hours to complete, total. He hoped, however, that he could gather enough energy to talk to President Madison about a very important matter indeed. At around 9:30, the carriage stopped in front of the President's home and he stepped out of the carriage, with his envoy at his side. Escorted in, the man soon arrived at the Oval Office.

The man was simply amazed at the interior of the White House. 'So this is the residence of the President of the United States.', he thought in reverence.

“Come in, if you may.”, said the President. Madison had been expecting this visitor for some time; all he knew was that he was an Indian leader and that he wasn't exactly a friend of Washington's, but he trusted that nothing would go wrong[1].

“Thank you kindly, Mister President.”, said the Native American, as he sat down.

“First of all, may I ask, what your name is, and your reason for arrival?”, said Madison, smiling.

“Francis. Josiah Francis, the Red Stick chief. I came here for only one reason, good sir. To discuss an eventual treaty of peace, between our peoples.”

Madison's eyebrows arched a bit. Was this Indian truly offering peace? 'This is a man that has to be listened to, to be believed.', he thought. Nevertheless, he decided to allow Francis to keep talking. “Go on, my good man.”, he said.

“Very well. As you may be aware, even some of us Red Sticks have grown weary of war and we have decided that it is time to seek peace before our entire nation finds itself in utter ruin and desolation.”, said Francis. Things had indeed not gone well for the Red Sticks over the past year; defeat after defeat had taken a terrible toll on the Indians, particularly after a string of many victories of all sorts[2]. “It is my sincere hope that such can be arranged, for the sake of all our peoples, including your settlers.”

“Alright then. What are your proposals?”, said Madison, now truly genuinely interested in what Francis had to offer.

“First of all, an assurance that the government of the United States will protect those Indians not engaged in conflict against Washington, or the American people, and that anyone who attacks an Indian person, or persons, without cause shall be suitably dealt with in a court of law.[2]”

“That can be arranged, I think. What else do you ask of us?”, replied the President. Madison hoped that any more bloodshed in the South could be stopped as soon as possible, even at the risk of possibly angering the most devout warhawks amongst both of the Houses of Congress, especially if war with Britain were to break out soon, as some had begun to fear; the American military would need every bit of manpower it could muster if they wanted to be able to go up against the British, even if their Army had been wrecked rather badly during the now recently-ended Napoleonic Wars, as well as having to deal with as few additional enemies as possible; it was already bad enough that a fair number of the Shawnee were still following the dictates of Tenskwatawa[3], and their closest allies with them; the last thing America needed was any more enemies, Indian or otherwise.

“Secondly, we request the right to live and work in our ancestral lands without fear of removal, or persecution, by any government, local, state, or federal.” Francis briefly wondered if he had gone too far, but decided not to change his mind. Some progress, was better than none at all.

Madison thought for a second, and then replied, “I would agree to this, though I'm afraid many of our more reactionary brethren might rather object to such[4]. Still, it is something we can consider.”

“I only hope that reason and dignity will win over fear and fanaticism, Mr. President.”, said Francis. 'The likes of Menawa may have already brought us to ruin as it is.', he thought, 'May the Creator bestow a hundred punishments on the fool, and those like him.'[5]

“So do I, Chief. May sanity triumph over paranoia.”, Madison replied. 'And I hope this pays off.', he didn't say. “Any other requests, et cetera?”, he asked the chief.

“Well,”, said Francis, “there is the matter of rebuilding some of the Creek villages......”[6]

--

Later that day...

“I trust you had some luck with your endeavors, Chief?”, the envoy asked.

“Thankfully, yes, it seems I've been able to talk some sense into the Great Chief of America[7]. Let us hope that is indeed the case.”, said Francis, a tinge of hope in his voice.

“Indubitably.”, said the envoy in response. “May I?” He opened the door for Francis as a sign of courtesy.

“Thank you very kindly, my good man.”, Francis said to the envoy, as he stepped in the carriage.
Before leaving, he decided to sit back and enjoy the weather for a second. Some five hours had passed since he had set foot in the White House; the rain had moved out of the area in the meantime, leaving a very fresh scent in the air, like that of newly-cut grass, and it had gotten quite a bit warmer as well. He hoped it would last a little longer while he left for home. After a few minutes, the envoy stepped in the carriage, and Francis motioned for the driver to carry on and to start the long trip back to Alabama. He hoped that perhaps, even those such as Menawa could finally listen to reason, and end the madness......[8]

--

[1]After all, Tecumseh had once been one of the biggest enemies of the United States, and even he hadn't pulled any dirty tricks during his White House visit.

[2]Many of the indigenous Natives willing to make peace with America surely would have wanted some protection, to make such a pact worthwhile.

[3]The Prophet, still in the employ of the British. The Shawnee may yet one day face their own schism, if the two brothers continue to go in different directions.

[4]And, unfortunately, indeed they would.

[5]Understandably, Francis felt his nation's survival was more important than the fighting the Americans, even if he still distrusted them.

[6]A bit of a stretch, but it might help quash some ill feelings that might prevail amongst the Creeks.

[7]Just another fancy Indian euphemism for the President of the United States.

[8]Unfortunately, though, there are still a few die-hards who will fight to the end. Menawa is likely to be amongst them at this point.

--

Stars and Stripes Misc. #1-Indians on Film.


Excerpted from the Mt. Vernon American newspaper, Apr. 29, 1962 edition.

Review of 'Fall of the Creeks'.

Well, folks, it looks like the cinema companies out west are still in love with the Indians this year. In case you haven't been reading the Entertainment section lately, there's been a lot of buzz and hype over John Milligan's latest film, Fall of the Creeks. Set mostly in Dixie Country[1] just before the start of the War of 1814, the movie focuses mainly on five persons; namely the Red Stick chiefs Menawa and Josiah Francis, the Blue Stick chief known to us as Little Prince, Ben Hawkins, the famed Indian agent, and the narrator, a fictional half-Indian, half-Caucasian adolescent from the boondocks of northern Alabama.

The film does a rather neat job of portraying both sides in a sympathetic and unbiased, yet realistic light, something that many other films have not quite successfully accomplished, though a few of the historical aspects are somewhat inaccurate. Most of these mistakes are small and very easily forgivable, even forgettable, however, in the grand scheme of things. And certainly, there are a number of exciting action scenes that are sure to capture the attention of many moviegoers as they occur from start to finish.

Fall of the Creeks starts off in 1812, during the waning years of the Creek Nation. The Massacre of Fort Cotton is shown for the first 5 minutes after the opening credits. Tony Jimenez has a small role as Little Warrior, the chief who led the incident, and though he only has a few lines of dialogue, he does a rather fine job of expressing them in the way you'd have expected him to. The flight of the warriors back to Georgia and the execution of Little Warrior seem to be absent[2], which might disappoint a few of the more action-oriented film watchers. On the other hand, the spirited debate between Menawa, played by Frank Migliano, and Josiah Francis, portrayed ever so eloquently by Martin LaMarche, makes for excellent theater. And so do many of the battles portrayed in the film, particularly the Battle of Burnt Corn Creek, not to mention the subtle comedy delivered by Matt Gibson's[3] Andrew Jackson, as well as the interrogation of Dixon Bailey, the man who was to become one of this country's great war heroes, played by Dale Buckman.

The argument between Menawa and and Randy Coleman's Little Prince is perhaps the climax of the film; 15 straight minutes of sheer dramatic goodness will have you on the edge of your seat as much as the gunfights would, showing just how bad tensions have gotten between the two warring factions, and the fact that the very existence of the Creek Nation is at stake.

We also get to see a dramatized version of Josiah Francis's trip to the White House, brought to life by the vivid imagination of screenwriter Dave Goldman, and his debate with the President. James Madison, portrayed by veteran documentary actor and New Mexico native Rob Sutter, by the way, is presented in a very plausible manner, with Sutter carrying on as the famed statesman himself would have, with LaMarche's Francis equally as life-like[4].

This film isn't without a fair share of tragedy, however; on top of the Massacre of Fort Cotton, the death of Ben Hawkins is portrayed at the end of the film[5], struck down by a rifle bullet fired by none other than the villainous High-Head Jim, true to real life, marking the one brief appearance of Native American actor Johnny Tall Trees, best known for his part in the 1942 classic, Son of a Sioux. Freddy Johnson's Hawkins makes the best of his last few moments on earth, saying a prayer, even asking forgiveness for the man who shot him, before he dies in the arms of Terry Marceau's[6] Lavinia Downs, which will surely bring a tear to the eyes of many who see it.

The film ends with the narrator telling a short tale of what happened to the Creeks after the war, and the camera then turns to an older man in a rocking chair, presumably our narrator, looking up into the sky longingly, and saying, in Creek, and then English, 'May those who died, always be remembered, by the good grace of the Creator.'. A fitting tribute to all, in the opinion of this reviewer.

Fall of the Creeks may not quite be a major appeal to hardcore academics, but for those with a casual interest in history with a twist, or who just like drama, period, this isn't a film to miss when it comes out nationwide this June 19th. You will be astonished by the action, moved by the drama, and amazed by the high quality of the sets, for the somewhat limited budget. A long film, about 4 hours total[7], but well worth the time.

Johnny's Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

--

[1]An ATL term for what we OTL'ers would just call 'the South', or at least anywhere east of the Sabine (or Mississippi, depending who you ask ITTL.)

[2]A director's cut, of course.

[3]He may or may not be an ATL relative of a certain well-known OTL Aussie actor. =)

[4]As in, pretty darn realistic.

[5]A neat little spoiler for you here. I may be able to expand on this later.

[6]She is an ATL American relative of a somewhat well-known French actress, perhaps best remembered as playing one of the leading ladies, gone bad in 1999's James Bond film, The World Is Not Enough. Bonus points if you can guess her first name without looking her up online first.

[7]You thought this movie was long? 1980's Berlin Alexanderplatz had a complete running time of 14 hours total. Now that's long! =)

--

Stars and Stripes #22: Jackson's Speech To The Creeks.

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

The De-Centralization of the Creek Nation.

The Creek Nation officially ceased to exist as a singular entity in April of 1814, with the Treaty of Savannah. All land that had still been under the administration of the Red Sticks was confiscated with approval from President Madison and redistributed to white settlers who wished to settle there; at this time, it mainly included today's Mississippi and most of Alabama, as well as all those parts of today's Mobile and West Florida north of the 31st parallel. Many who resisted were imprisoned by the Army, or exiled to parts unknown[1], and there were a few reports of cases where Indians had been shot, both ordered and spontaneous, even if the person had not necessarily been resisting.

On April 22nd, Jackson was asked, by President Madison, to make an appearance in Coweta, Georgia, to try to reason with the rest of the Creeks, in hopes of quelling any further resistance to the annexation of Creek land. The speech he was to give on the 26th is as follows, word for word[2]:

“My Indian Brothers! You know me to be your friend. You remember when your nation listened to the advice of good and decent men, and prospered with our blessing. You remember when we drove out the infernal British, who dared hold back the tide of liberty, from these lands.[3]

Were we not once friends, my brothers? There were those amongst you, unfortunately, who chose to listen to the vile and deceitful words of evil men. These so-called 'prophets' dared to incite war against the United States, and her allies. They dared to cry havoc and let loose their dogs of war. Did the Red Sticks not attack America directly, by plundering and pillaging Fort Cotton?[4]

Did not the British and the Spanish incite the Red Sticks to fight America, and then dare to turn and run like yellow-bellied cowards after promising them protection? Did America not have to defend herself from those who sought to harm it, and did we not protect and assist, those of you Creek Indians who honored their treaties with Washington? [5]

Brothers, I hear with some sorrow and disappointment that some amongst your people have been listening to the deceptions uttered from the mouth of Edward Nicolls and his ilk, and have been urging you to ignore and defy the Treaty of Savannah, which your leaders signed.[6]

I will be blunt, friends: I must tell you now that the line must be run, and that any resistance from your leaders may requite further actions against your people. My men and I will defend the United States with all our strength and willpower. [7]

Friends and brothers, I hope that there may someday be an understanding between our two peoples, the Creek race, and the American people, and that no more war shall come between us.[8]”

The speech was met with mixed reactions: While many Creeks did want to believe that Jackson may indeed have been sincere, there were those who suspected some dishonesty and deception in his words. Bird Tail King, in particular, warned that, “Only a fool believes the word of a white man without scrutinizing his every motive and watching his every move.”[9]

--

Apr. 30, 1814
Washington, D.C.

Andrew Jackson was back in Washington again. Madison wanted to know about the Creek reaction as soon as possible so he could decide on further actions, if any were to be taken at the moment, so a swift and concise report was the key to success.

It was a nice and warmish afternoon, and Jackson actually enjoyed his ride to White House, savoring every minute he was out in the spring air. However, though, he felt a little uneasy about all this trouble he had gone to; Might the Indians get wise and possibly turn against the Americans, fearing that they themselves could be stabbed in the back, as so many others had? And might Britain not have so many compunctions about actually aiding their Indian allies after all? It did concern him that London hadn't backed off from their current stance, even after the Red Sticks had been thoroughly licked...or so it seemed, anyhow. He also noticed that none of the other enemy Indians had really stood down, either.

Jackson prayed that that the President would make the right decision. And then, the coachman announced, “We're here, sir. Good luck.” Jackson nodded back. “Thank you kindly, I shall likely need it today.”, he said, exiting the carriage.

In the Oval Office, Madison was sitting at his desk, waiting patiently for Jackson's arrival. He hoped that whatever news Jackson had was good. He would soon find out, regardless......

Someone knocked on the door. “Please, do come in.”, Madison said, a friendly tone in his voice.

Andrew Jackson walked in and sat down in front of the President. “Sir?”

“Well, good to see you again, General. Tell me, Andrew, how did the Creeks react to our little
proposal?”, asked the President, slightly nervously.

“Well, Mister President, sir, “ Jackson said, “While I can't be sure at the moment, it does appear that events are, for now, moving a direction favorable to us. Most of the Creek Indians have accepted their place, though a few, like that damn bastard Menawa, continue to resist us at every turn, and our spies
report that British agents continue to cause trouble for us in these areas.”. 'And recruiting as many damned Negroes as they could find, too.', he didn't say.

“At least there's some good news. By the way, general, you've heard of a rather insane little Spaniard by name of Cortez, have you not?”, Madison asked.

“Yes, by all hell, yes.”, said Jackson, “He killed a good friend of mine in Georgia this last year. The rotten little bastard thinks he's protecting Western Christian civilization but all he's really doing is causing havoc, and I'll be damned if I'll let him slip by without receiving American justice.”

“I see.”, said Madison. “Any news on High-Head Jim yet?”

Jackson scowled. “No, damn him. He seems to have just vanished right into thin air. I've personally ordered my men to search the whole damn South and they can't find one murdering savage.” Jackson had gotten to know Ben Hawkins a little bit while in Georgia a few years back and had to come to admire him. Then that Red Stick had to come in and blow his brains to Kingdom Come, just as the two began to build a formal friendship. Jackson never really liked any Indians, but he absolutely despised High-Head Jim. “That murdering bastard oughta pay for killing Ben Hawkins. Ungrateful savage. We brought his people to God for crying out loud! We brought the Indians literacy, plumbing, and schooling, too, and all half of them ever gave us was nothing but trouble.”[10]

“Hawkins was a good man, and may he rest in peace.”, Madison replied. “But if we engage in any more offensive action now, especially after that treaty in Savannah, mind you, it'll only cause us more trouble, I'm afraid.”


“Perhaps so. But I'll be damned if we allow them to dictate to us. We made this country out of nothing, Mr. President, I'm sure you know that more than anyone. The Blue Sticks might be semi-civilized now, thanks to our help, but they're still primitive and they oughta stay in their place lest they get any unfortunate ideas.”, said Jackson, still angry.

“And no word on the Plains Indians?”

“Only thing I know is that not a single one has backed down and Britain is still backing them.”

“Alright, General. Thank you. You are dismissed.”, said the President.

Jackson smiled weakly...which turned back into a slight frown as soon as he left the Oval Office. He hoped the ride home would be as pleasant as the trip here. He really needed it....[11]

--

[1]Mostly to the former Louisiana Territory.

[2]This is remarkably similar to a speech he gave in 1814 IOTL.

[3]Though they did treat some of the Nations a little better.

[4]Which was still fresh in the minds of many.

[5]Partly true for now. Ben Hawkins in particular was instrumental in enforcing such.

[6]Actually true.

[7]As demonstrated when the Maumees were taken out.

[8]Or at least, an understanding that they wouldn't be crushed as long as they didn't get too uppity,
in more honest words.

[9]Even the Blue Sticks were skeptical.

[10]Unfortunately, these things also came with genocide, too.

[11]And how!

--

Stars and Stripes #23a: A Young Sioux's Escapades.

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

...Even after the defeat of the Red Stick Creeks, there were those Indians who continued to resist against American expansion; from the Wisconsin Territory to the bottom of the Mississippi River, various tribes engaged in warfare against the U.S. Army, and the occasional settler towns; one unfortunate case was in June 1814 when the tiny town of Turner's Creek, Hamilton, was raided by Plains mercenaries who had taken up the cause of the local tribes and wreaked havoc on the area. Few women and children were hurt but several of the town's adult male residents were taken hostage and killed. A nearby detachment of the infant state's then small state militia along with several attached Army personnel, were able to fight off the attack, and captured three or four[1] of the Indians. One of the prisoners admitted that his people had caught word of what had befallen the Creeks, and that he had wanted to help avenge their loss. None of the others talked, however, and were sent to the newly-built Federal jailhouse in Walkersville to be tried. One young man, however, was able to escape his confinement and blazed a trail back west.......

–

July, 1814
Somewhere in the Great Plains.

A young Sioux warrior walked across the plains of the old Louisiana country. It was rather hot today and the warrior was exhausted from the running he had done for much of the day since dawn. He also feared that the pale men, whose village in the place they called 'Hamilton' had been razed by some of his fellows, would hunt him down as surely as they did his comrades, though he had not participated in any killing of male civilians, just of a couple soldiers who dared taunt him while he was in that awful prison. Just when he was about to collapse, he came across a great river[2a]. With one last burst of speed he ran to the river and finally sat down and started to rest on its bank. He took a few drinks from time to time and found each sip to be just a little more refreshing than the last. The young man also realized something else. This was the same river on which his people dwelt[2b]! With relief in his heart, he fell asleep just after sunset that night, dreaming of his family........

Upon waking up, the young Indian took a few more sips of water and continued on his way home, with no pale Americans in sight for as far as he could see into the clear summer sky...

–

Taken from: "The Indian Wars And How They Shaped Native America"
(C) 1954 by Monty J. Little Bird
Thunderbird Native Press
Shawnee, Oklahoma: United States of America

...The word of the young Indian's escape from Walkersville had struck fear into the hearts of many in Hamilton & the Illinois Territory; could this warrior help bring down an even harsher reprisal down on the heads of the white settlers of those two places and elsewhere on the American frontier? To be fair, the Sioux & other Plains Indians who had raided Turner's Creek had been somewhat ruthless, and a number of settlers had indeed found themselves dying at the hands of men whom some saw as 'savages'. On the other hand, the Sioux, and most of the Plainsmen[3] in general, for that matter, had never been involved in American affairs for the most part, and largely dealt with just the French and British whenever they happened to pass by, and given that the Sioux were quite isolated from the rest of civilization at this point, any fears of mass raids from that tribe were, in all likelihood, totally unfounded. Regardless, many in America's frontier were becoming more and more wary of the 'red men' who often surrounded them, and this fear was only going to intensify over the next few decades as more and more white men came to settle the prairie.....
--

August 2, 1814
Somewhere in Indiana.

Tenskwatawa, the Prophet, was still intrigued by the news coming out of that place called Hamilton; who were these 'Lakotas' and where did they come from? Where they truly native Indians, as he? Or something else? One thing was for sure; the Prophet was pleased to hear of yet another blow towards his mortal enemies, however small it may have been. He hoped to come up with yet even more ways to strike against the hated white Americans, and he would do anything to achieve that goal[4].
However, though, his thoughts began to drift; the sun was soon to set and it had been terribly hot this day, enough to dry out a man's tongue in the time it takes to cook a meal for a feast[5a]. So he decided to leave his contemplation for another day and instead focus on replenishing himself with food and water from a nearby stream, where he and his men had been camping out for a few weeks. With the heat that they had all experienced, it was surely welcome, as well as the night which would soon follow[5b].....

--

[1]Historians differ.

[2a]This is, in fact, the Missouri River.....

[2b].....and the young warrior in question is a Lakota. Who is he and what role will he play in future events? Stay tuned, dear readers.......

[3]An ATL historical term for Plains Native Americans, such as the Lakota, Cheyenne, Pawnee, etc.

[4]Now that's some dedication right there.

[5a]This kind of heat is rare in Indiana even in mid-July: Here, it was about 100 degrees outside, enough to fry an egg or two on anything hard if one was to try.

[5b]This author would concur; nothing beats the heat of summer like a nighttime cooldown if you don't have a swimming pool handy. =)

Stars and Stripes #23b: A Young Sioux Gets His Name.

August 10, 1814
Somewhere in the Plains.

A young Lakhota warrior sat around the remains of a campfire late on a warm, cloudy afternoon. It had just rained and the air smelled pleasantly fresh. Three nights ago, the village had celebrated the young man's safe return from his imprisonment in that jailhouse across the Mississippi, in the U.S. And now, he had earned a new name for his daring exploits: Running Wolf. And he liked that name very much. He only wished that one day, he could one day face the American army in combat, and avenge the losses of his comrades. And he would not rest, until that chance came.....[6]


--

From: “Famous Native Americans, Volume 2: The 19th Century.”, by Joseph Connors. (c) Pemmican Press, Teton City, Kearny State, U.S., 1976.

Running Wolf(d. circa 1872)-A Lakota Sioux war chief well known for a number of daring exploits, and his position as a primary strategist for the Indian Confederation's military forces, as well as his key role in Black Hawk's War(1832-36). His exact date of birth and original name is unknown, but he is generally believed to have been born sometime around 1795, given that, in his spoken memoirs to Francis Dezotell[7] in 1862, he indicated that he was about 19 years old when he broke out of the local jail in Walkersville, Hamilton in July 1814....

His career as a warrior is said to have started in August 1814, when he first received his honorific title, and his first significant role of note was a chance skirmish with U.S. Troops under Gen. Thomas Flournoy[8] near what became Corn Creek, Iowa, in 1819.....

--

[6]And believe me, he certainly wouldn't.

[7]Francis Dezotell is a man who hasn't been born yet as of 1814, but will be featured later on, as he becomes particularly famous for his dealings with the Native Americans of the Plains....

[8]Who previously fought the Creek in the South.

--

And here's a piece to go with that.

From “A Brief History of the Plains Indians”, by John P. Sutter.[9]

In the early days of the expansion of the United States across the Great Plains, the Sauk and Fox Indians were one of the premier military and social forces amongst the indigenous peoples in that area, including their significant role in the eventual formation of what is sometimes called the “Indian Confederation”, the informal nation-state formed by the cooperation of various Native American tribes as a self-defense coalition of sorts, and were also one of the primary sometime adversaries of the U.S. Army during that era.

The Sauk and Fox Indians are both Algonquian tribes, and were originally located in what is now Michigan; the Sauks referred to themselves as “Asakawaki”, meaning “People of the Bay”, denoting their original home around Saginaw Bay. The Fox had been centered around Detroit and were originally called “Mesquakie”, which means “People of the Red Soil”, and received their European name from the Wagosh band, who themselves were sometimes named the “Renard” by the French.

Although the Americans proved to be their strongest rivals, conflict with Europeans had been occurring long before the U.S. was even thought of; the French had some significant disputes with the Fox over the fur trade, and there was a fair bit of thievery & violence to go along with that. In the 1720s this would erupt into a full-scale conflicts; in which the French & their erstwhile allies devastated the Fox in a series of battles. The Fox ultimately lost and having lost 90% of their men, fled to what is now Iowa hoping to recuperate; during that time, they befriended the Ioway and other local tribes. The Sauk would themselves be forced to evacuate Michigan after trying to shelter the surviving Fox; upon arriving in Iowa, the remaining Michigan Fox Indians were reunited with their fellows and the Sauk and Fox tribes forged a permanent brotherhood between themselves. Eventually, the Sauk and Fox would move south to what is now the general area of Rock Island, Illinois[10b] & Stanton, Iowa[10c], and would remain there until the late 1820s. During that period, Sauk villages were established all around the Mississippi from today's Decorah[10a] down to Des Moines River while the Fox set up villages all across the Rock River all the way up to the mouth of the Wisconsin, near today's Prairie du Chien[10b], Petersburg[10c] and New Hanover, Wis.[10c], and their hunting grounds ranged from the Missouri in the southwest to the shores of Lake Michigan in the northeast, right around where modern communities like Oconomowoc[10b] and Milwaukee[10b] now stand today.

By the time of the War of 1814, they had also acquired horses and even a few firearms from trade with the British and they would play at least a small role in the Western Theater of that conflict, as well as wars that occurred later on, including a couple in cooperation with a band of the Lakota led by the man known as Running Wolf....[11]

**

[9]With sincere apologies toward, and credit given to, Michael Dickey, of the MO Dept. of Nat. Resources for the OTL history.

[10a]An ATL estimate. Decorah, as of the 1990s, is about the size of OTL's town.

[10b]And here's more towns that existed in OTL.....

[10c]And a few that are a product of TTL.

[10d]I knew you'd see that coming. =)