The Grey

kaizerfox

The Congressman said:
The big problem here is that they are just outnumbered. Firstly, they refuse to explore the untapped potential of their black population by keeping them as slaves. Plus, I doubt that the new Mexican citizens of the CSA want to fight for their nation. Also, the US doesn't need to guard against the UK in Canada so has the ability to concentrate fully on the CSA
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I'm sure the Confederates are exploiting the blacks in their war effort to the maximum they're willing to do (i.e. working as cooks, logistics support, manufacturing, etc.) but the thought of arming the blacks is abhorrent to them. To a certain extent I can understand this as they only recently put down a slave insurrection before the war but it was always going to hurt them in the long run. The only way I can see blacks in the Confederate military units is if they thinly disperse them throughout their units instead of all black units which makes the risks of defection to the US and turning on their white comrades less likely and causes less damage when it does occur. Problem is most whites would refuse to fight side-by-side with blacks. I expect another slave insurrection after the war when the Confederacy is battered and weakened.

Deckhand said:
I wonder how long it will be before Cuba rises. The CSA can't reinforce it any more, but the US can easily ship some weapons in.
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Probably either late in the war when its blatantly obvious the CSA is going to lose or soon after. Whether or not the former Mexican areas under the CSA rise up is another question.
 

herricks

kaizerfox said:
I'm sure the Confederates are exploiting the blacks in their war effort to the maximum they're willing to do (i.e. working as cooks, logistics support, manufacturing, etc.) but the thought of arming the blacks is abhorrent to them. To a certain extent I can understand this as they only recently put down a slave insurrection before the war but it was always going to hurt them in the long run. The only way I can see blacks in the Confederate military units is if they thinly disperse them throughout their units instead of all black units which makes the risks of defection to the US and turning on their white comrades less likely and causes less damage when it does occur. Problem is most whites would refuse to fight side-by-side with blacks. I expect another slave insurrection after the war when the Confederacy is battered and weakened.



Probably either late in the war when its blatantly obvious the CSA is going to lose or soon after. Whether or not the former Mexican areas under the CSA rise up is another question.
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They have been using what I call the slave corps Building fortifications and digging trenches and doing all the heavy lifting and dirty work allowing the soldiers to focus on fighting.

The Mexican States that the Confederacy has might haveSome small instability but they have been heavily Confederized The past few decades and had a lot of settlers move in
 

Prince Daemon Targaryen

herricks said:
They have been using what I call the slave corps Building fortifications and digging trenches and doing all the heavy lifting and dirty work allowing the soldiers to focus on fighting.

The Mexican States that the Confederacy has might haveSome small instability but they have been heavily Confederized The past few decades and had a lot of settlers move in
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We should see a massive slave revolt in heavily slave areas like the riverlands of MS or the swamps of SC
 

herricks

The Congressman said:
We should see a massive slave revolt in heavily slave areas like the riverlands of MS or the swamps of SC
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Maybe, they've already had a large one tat took many decades to squash. A rebellion deeper in the confederate heartland would have a harder time getting weapons and support from the US
 

herricks

Infinite War



War had turned against the Confederacy. They were on the defensive on every front and the only place that they still held American territory as in Maryland. On Ramsey's orders his army was working round the clock constructing a network of trench works across his front while a lull was made by the loss of Merritt. Though soldiers were doing some of the work the vast majority of it was conducted by POW's and every slave that the army could commandeer. Though the US was holding moving against Ramsey directly they weren't sitting still. To force the Confederacy to divert men and material on October 15 the first invasion of Virginia would commence. Commanding the 60,000 strong invasion force was Major General Henry Ware Lawton moving into the Shenandoah Valley. The first engagement of the First Shenandoah Campaign came shortly after the Americans crossed the Potomac when the Americans defeated a brigade sized Confederate force at the Battle of Martinsburg. The first engagement of sufficient size though wouldn't come until October 29 when Lawton met 20,000 Confederates under Brevet Major General Jeb Stuart Jr. in the Battle of Winchester. Though Stuart fought well he just didn't have the manpower and after twelve hours he finally withdrew. Reinforcements for Stuart were on their way however and just ten days later the Battle of Strasburg was fought with closer to even numbers and after a day and a half of fighting Lawton was finally defeated and withdrew back to Martinsburg ending the First Shenandoah Campaign in defeat. While the First Shenandoah Campaign was at its height though, the main front in the Eastern Theater would explode back into action.



After the death of General Merritt Brevet Lieutenant General Joshua Chamberlain had assumed interm command until a new one arrived. Though he had once been a fierce fighter, during this war he had been on staff duty in the US capitals and only came down to keep the army together. Two days after Lawton invaded Virginia the newly promoted full General MacArthur was named the new commander of the American Army Group East and immediately began preparing an offensive to knock the Confederates out of Maryland. On November 1 the American Fall Offensive began as nearly 500,000 US forces began their attack. Ramsey had been vigorously preparing for an attack along many different areas however, most men were focused on central and northern Maryland protecting Baltimore. The head of MacArthur's offensive though was aimed down the Potomac, both sides of the Potomac, towards Washington. 135,000 men smashed across the Potomac near Brunswick and into Northern Virginia marching towards Leesburg while another 250,000 marched southeast towards Germantown. Within two weeks both of these objectives fell under American control and the offensive continued. Desperate to stop the advancing Americans Ramsey was forced to withdraw from the fortifications his army had worked so hard to build and move troops to counter the attack. While he refused to let got of Baltimore nearly everything else was abandoned. This move would begin to have success. On November 16 the advance in Northern Virginia was stalled at Reston and on November 24 the offensive in Maryland hit a wall beginning the Battle of Glenmont. For the next nineteen days the Battle of Glenmont would rage. Though it ended technically inconclusively it would morally be a victory for the Confederacy as they would halt the advance and keep Washington and Baltimore in Confederate hands, for now.



Wishing to grab a significant portion of Kentucky before the winter months set in General Crooks rapidly prepared for a new assault and on October 13 he began assaulting Alexander's positions at Crittenden. The Battle of Crittenden stretched all across the northern tip of Kentucky. Despite the short time frame Alexander had worked well to fortify the line. For twenty days the battle raged all along the line as 120,000 Confederate soldiers held back over 300,000 US troops time and time again. Finally though on November 2 a division managed to cross the Ohio at Vevay and got around them. This forced Alexander to divert troops to try and stop this new landing making his line simply too weak to hold up to the amount of men being thrown at it. Finally on November 15 the Battle of Crittenden came to an end as Confederate forces began falling back to secondary positions along the Kentucky River and Berry. Though victorious the Battle of Crittenden had cost the US over 90,000 casualties and the Confederates nearly 50,000. As the winter months set in the war here began to enter a lull as both sides picked up some much needed rest and recovery.



While the Five Nations Army entering Arkansas numbered only about 13,000 the Americans had only a small occupation force in northern Arkansas. Major General John Brown, head of the Seminole Nation and commandeer if the Five Nations Army was moving his forces hard and fast across northern Arkansas. The rapid advance allowed his force to surprise and overcome many American units including one more than twice its size on October 21 at the Battle of Calico Rock which resulted in the capture of more than 5000 American troops. At the same time as Brown's march across northern Arkansas General Wheeler launched his counterattack crossing the Arkansas River and around the main American point and attack from the east. Their first engagement would be at Hickory Ridge where they would defeat Custer and his 30,000 strong force. Fearing his army cut off Custer was forced to retreat from central Arkansas. The front here wouldn't stabilize again until December 1 when they were back to where the front began early in the war in northeaster Arkansas.



American forces in Texas were building up their strength and preparing to take the two largest cities in northern Texas. It was here though that the US was having its worst supply problems though what with its extremely long supply lines. General Wheeler was hoping to exploit this to the best of his advantage and hopefully regain some ground in Texas. In a highly controversial move Wheeler ordered the release of the Apache and Comanche tribes. Unlike the Five Civilized Tribes which were free citizens the Comanche and Apache were still under military guard in reservations. Though they had been making their way towards assimilation there was still a long ways to go. With approval from Richmond the Comanche and Apache tribes were guaranteed the same rights and privileges as the Five Civilized Tribes and land to be set aside in parts of Ne Mexico much like Seqouyah was most set aside for the Five Civilized Tribes. On October 10 10,000 Confederate armed and equipped Apache and Comanche troops set out from their reservations under overall command of old war chief Major General Quanah Parker moved to raid and disrupt the American supply chains. Within a month dozens of supply trains were captured or in flames and hundreds of US troops were dead or POW's as Parker's men moved all across New Mexico and west Texas. On November 20 they would achieve their greatest success when Santa Fe was liberated from American control. On November 6 Confederate forces in Texas began moving on the Americans as well with attacking the at the Battle of Eliasville where they forced the underequipped Americans. Throughout most of the month the two forces fought one another numerous times between the forks of the Brazos. As December arrived however, with their supply lines being taken by Parker's warriors General Custer ordered his men in Texas to withdraw. By the end of the year while they had finally halted Parker's advances in New Mexico, most of Texas had returned to Confederate control.



With MacArthur now fighting in the East it was up to Shafter to continue the war in the southwest. On October 12 Shafter moved out of Hermosillo and headed towards Guaymas. They still outnumbered the Confederates nearly 2-1 and the general believed that he could continue in MacArthur's footsteps and and capture the Confederate port. Stuart however saw the change in command as an opportunity to finally turn the tables on the Americans in this theater. He quickly began fortifying the area around Guaymas and preparing his men for the fight to hopefully turn the invasion around. The Battle of Guaymas would begin on October 22 as the first of General Shafter's 85,000 men began assault Stuart's lines and the 40,000 men defending them. For sixteen days the battle would rage as Shafter sent wave after wave slamming against Confederate defenses only to be forced back each time. Finally on November 8 it was the Confederates turn to attack when Stuart ordered a flanking attack from the east around the main lines attacking the weaker sides. This move worked and within hours a whole section of the American lines began being rolled up and the next morning General Shafter ordered the retreat. The the main Confederate Pacific port was saved from capture for now and Stuart was now looking to liberate more of the state. On December 27 it was the Americans turn to play defense when the Second Battle of Hermosillo began.
 

herricks

war End of 1895

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herricks

I'm sorry for the delay. I'm trying.





After the Battle of Glenmont MacArthur halted his drive to rid Maryland of its occupiers for the remainder of the year. Throughout the winter months both armies worked tirelessly to prepare for the coming campaigns. Finally on February 3,1896 the war on the Eastern Front the sprung back into action. At dawn thousands of artillery pieces opened up mostly aimed at Confederate lines in Washington and Baltimore. While this bombardment went on the the army went on the move in northern Virginia to cut off the Confederate army. With 285,000 men behind him MacArthur moved out on a forced march aimed at the Chesapeake. Moving fast American forces defeated smaller Confederate forces at Fairfax, Bull Run, and Woodbridge reaching the Potomac in a bloody eighteen day campaign cutting General Ramseur off from the best and most direct route into Virginia.



On February 15, against President Gordon's orders, General Ramseur ordered the abandonment of Baltimore. In his order to withdraw however he wanted to leave absolutely nothing for the Americans when they returned. For the next four days fires were set across the city with important structures and areas blown up. When American forces fully entered Baltimore nearly all of the city had been damaged to some degree with roughly 80% totally destroyed. A city that once held more than 400,000 people now held less than 2000. In abandoning Baltimore Ramseur had 120,000 extra men to combat MacArthur. On February 28 Ramseur attacked MacArthur near the historic Mount Vernon. For the next eleven days the Battle of Mount Vernon raged in a ferocious fight that would wipe the US's first president, and a national hero for both nations, George Washington's plantation off the face of the earth. Over 100,000 casualties would be sustained during the engagement and leave both armies ravaged. But on March 10 MacArthur would finally order his army's withdrawal back to Fairfax and open back up the Confederacy's route into Virginia. It would be more than a month before significant moves were made on this front again.



General Crooks had spent the winter preparing for the next big offensive that he hoped would be enough to force the Confederates out of northern and eastern Kentucky. On February 2 Crooks launched a new offensive. Using his numerical superiority Crooks launched a two pronged attack against the Confederates with 100,000 men moving towards Louisville and 170,000 towards Lexington and Frankfort. Within hours of each other these two assaults struck Confederate defenses beginning the Battle of Owenton and the Battle of Corinth. For days these two battles raged simultaneously. Though the Confederates were outnumbered, more than 2-1 at Corinth, they fought hard. With the war now beginning to enter Virginia however the theater in Kentucky was receiving less and less in the way of supplies and reinforcements. On February 16 Owenton finally fell with the Confederates withdrawing back across the Kentucky River. With their western flank now unsecure the Battle of Corinth wouldn't last much longer and on February 19 they finally fell back to Sadieville.



Even before the twin battles began the Confederates had been turning the Kentucky River into a formidable defensive line. This caused General Crooks to hold off attempting to breach this line and instead continue his focus on the rivers eastern side, for now. Just two weeks after Corinth the Americans were on the move again. Still moving as two forces Crooks moved towards Sadieville as well as Stamping Grounds southwest of there. On March 9 the Battle of Sadieville began as the Americans collided with Confederate fortifications. Two days later the Battle of Stamping Ground began and again and a second set of twin battles began. Day after day the battles raged soldiers in both green and butternut did their best to slaughter one another. Long stretches of the Kentucky countryside were forever rearranged by the endless bombardments laid on by both sides. The Confederates fought hard, really hard, making the Americans pay in blood. By April though it had become apparent that the lines weren't going to hold. On April 13 the Battles of Sadieville and Stamping Ground came to an end as the Confederates withdrew. Now the front was on the doorsteps of Frankfort and Lexington.



Though he had more men than Wheeler General Custer had been unable to successfully drive deep into Arkansas and reach Louisiana. It was time to take another approach, not necessarily a new one, but another one. During the winter months Custer pulled an entire division of men from the front in New Mexico and another from the Canadian garrisons giving him 150,000 men in his command. On January 19 Custer's army began moving into western Tennessee and into the Jackson Purchase. Along with 60 monitors they were moving to try a second time to take the Kentucky Bend from the Confederates. Moving quickly the two arms of the army rapidly captured northwestern Tennessee and much of the Jackson Purchase. By February 1 they were closing in on their target. Instead of trying to take the bend by force again, this time Custer settled his forces in for a siege. For nearly two months the Siege of Kentucky Bend went on as the Confederates faced almost continuous bombardment and daily small scale probing battles. Finally, on March 27 the siege came to an end and 35,000 starved and defeated Confederate soldiers marched off to captivity. General Custer had won a dramatic victory and opened the central Mississippi for the riverine forces. Now it was time to finally attempt and take the city of Memphis. On April 25 after driving back a Confederate attack at Dyersburg, the Americans began the drive south.



With roughly half of its force withdrawn plans for new offensives into Texas were scrapped. This was just what the Confederates here wanted. On February 23 the army of Confederate soldiers and the Comanche/Apache army began assaulting American lines. Over the next month the two armies struck at the Americans over and over. By April the Americans had been driven from New Mexico. They would only finally be stopped on April 14 after being defeated in the Second Battle of Durango.



For a month and a half the Second Battle of Hermosillo raged as General Stuart's army attempted to liberate the Sonoran capital. Day in and day out the two sides brutally fought one another. Finally, on February 17 the battle came to an end as the Americans finally withdrew. With Hermosillo back in Confederate hands Stuart immediately began to prepare to take more of Sonora back. On February 28 Stuart set out and by April he had driven over halfway back to the Arizona border. However, on April 28 Stuart would receive bad news from Richmond. Due to the unfortunate turn of events on the now three fronts east of the Mississippi he was ordered to divert one of his divisions to fight back east thereby nearly halving his army.
 

herricks

Endless War



On May 13 the largest artillery barrage that the United States had yet conducted began. For two years the war had raged across the continent and although the war had turned and the most of the US was back in American hands there was one place of extreme importance, the capital city of Washington. 1896 was an election year in the US and Lincoln wanted to make sure he saw reelection. This was because despite the fact that the US had won a string of victories driving the Confederates almost entirely out of their land, there was a sizable number that wanted a negotiated peace to be made meaning that all of the death and destruction thus far would be for nothing. Lincoln couldn't have that. So to bring all of the American people behind him the president ordered the liberation of Washington at once.



For the first four days of the Second Battle of Washington the Americans almost constantly bombarded Confederate positions or dueled with their artillery. On the fifth day though infantry moved forwards. The next ten days while still called the Second Battle of Washington it was actually a number of different battles around the capital as the Americans tried to move closer. Though the Confederates did win some in Virginia like Second Fairfax, McLeon, and Annandele which actually regained them some territory there, in Maryland they were forced to withdraw and by the end of May the front was moving into the Columbia District. The Americans were determined to retake their capital however, the Confederates were just as determined to hold what they considered their capital too. For a month Washington saw some of the most intense street fighting in the war. Confederates fought for every block, every street, and every house not withdrawing until nothing was left standing. The capital building , the White House, and the entire National Mall was left nothing but but a pile of rubble and ash. Despite fierce fighting however, and causing more than 2-1 casualties against the Americans by the end of June Confederate forces were backed against the Potomac. On July 4 the Second Battle of Washington came to an end with the last Confederate soldiers in the capital withdrew back into Virginia. The Second Battle of Washington had caused more than 600,000 casualties and left the capital virtually leveled. Though there would still be some troops yet to be pulled out of the southern most portions of Maryland the Confederacy had effectively been ejected from American territory.



As General MacArthur was moving to retake Washington General Crooks was preparing to take Frankfort and Lexington. On May 29 the Battles of Frankfort and Lexington began with 650,000 American troops moving forward. With so much focus on Washington the Confederates here were outnumbered having only about 240,000 men to defend both cities. Despite the numerical inferiority the Confederates fought hard. It would be over two weeks before Lexington finally fell to the Americans and another three weeks after that before Frankfort finally fell. While the Confederates lost the battles they had caused the numerous casualties for the the Americans and Crooks would have to hold off on attempting to cross the Kentucky River for a while.



The war was now in Tennessee and Custer was determined keep it there and move south. The main objective here in western Tennessee was the vital city of Memphis. With a steady supply line from Cairo coming in Custer moved out with 125,000 men. Instead of moving directly towards Memphis Custer would take a wide approach to make sure and cut all lines to the city and isolate the city. The first place the two sides came to contact was on May 4 at the Battle of Humbolt. For two days the battle here would rage but on May 6 the Confederates withdrew. Now the important rail hub of Jackson was in Custer's cross hairs and on May 15 the Battle of Jackson began and after three days General Wheeler was forced to abandon the city, destroying everything the Americans could use. Now he turned towards Memphis. Over the next three weeks the American Army surged towards Memphis defeating Wheeler's army at every turn. Finally, after weeks of intense fighting Custer's objective was in sight. On the morning of June 28 the citizens of Memphis would be awoken to the sounds of over 200 artillery pieces opening up on the city. The Battle of Memphis had begun.



With his army halved General Stuart was at a serious disadvantage. He hoped however that he could maneuver well enough to successfully drive Shafter out of Sonora entirely and into Arizona. On May 29 Stuart set out trying to get around the Main American lines by forcing their way up the coast. The move was working and took Shafter by surprise. On June 15 Stuart defeated Shafter at the Second Battle of Herocia Caborca and finally reentered Arizona on June 20 and began moving towards the Colorado.
 

Prince Daemon Targaryen

Washington was a huge propaganda victory. For the US, the best moves should be to take KY/TN while gaining naval superiority over the confederate coast - I bet Haiti would have no problem allowing the US to use it as a jumping off point to invade Cuba
 
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