Fragments from Dixie

Montgomery, Alabama, Confederate States of America: January 1889

 

 

President Samuel Bell Maxey, looked out the window of his office and surveyed the sprawling, busy capitol of the Southern Confederacy. Until 1867 the city of Montgomery had played host to both the Confederate federal government formed in 1861 and the State government of Alabama which had been located there since Alabama had been formed as a State in the Union. The Alabama State government had decided to gradually relocate to the flourishing city of Birmingham, Alabama after 1870, to free up space for the ever expanding collection of confederate capitol buildings, bureaus and offices. It had been a good move for both governments, the other states had long been uncomfortable with the two governments being placed so closely together.

Maxey, reminded himself wearily was the Confederacy's seventh president, before him six other men had occupied and grappled with the problems that came with this office.  Jefferson Finis Davis who had been elected the South's first president and been in many ways one of it's most divisive and controversial. The War between the States of 1861-67 had been a long drawn out affair, lasting all of Davis's tenure and there had been times when Maxey and others had wondered if the Confederacy would last six years let alone the twenty-eight it had so far held together. Davis had fought his own Congress almost as bitterly as the Union! Of course, Maxey thought those twenty-eight years had not been easy or harmonious for everyone either, conflicts both external and internal had marred those years which ought to have been ones of peaceful recovery.

It had also set back much progress in terms of both Confederate citizens lives and already scare state and federal funds. President John Cabell Breckinridge who had been elected in 1868 had worked to repair the physical damages of the long civil war and mend as many political fences both internally and with the foreign countries who had been both enemies and allies.  Breckinridge's otherwise sterling presidency which had promoted widespread agricultural diversification, land reform, industrial and education developments and internal improvements in canals, roads and railways was marred only by an unwanted war he had sought to avoid . John Brown Gordon elected in 1874, managed to negotiate an end to the botched Mexican War in 1873 started in that year by Texas's maverick Governor John Robert Baylor. Gordon had then worked with a will to strengthen the confederacy and its institutions in every way he could and left the Confederacy in much better circumstances both politically and economically then it had been for a long time.

Robert Augustus Toombs, elected in 1880, on the other hand nearly managed to tear the Confederacy apart, with his destructive conflicts with Congress and even his own cabinet.  Fortunately, Toombs had died more then halfway through his six year tenure to be replaced by his vice-president Howell Cobb, who himself only lived long enough to be sworen in before dying three months later. Simon Bolivar Buckner, the former Governor of South Kentucky was sworn in by the unanimous agreement of the Confederate Congress to act as a custodial president til new elections could be arranged. Buckner served as president through 1885-1887, and gave the Southern people three years of sober, efficient and prosperous government. Buckner had by the end of his term managed to erase much of the political damage Toombs had inflicted and even improve things for many citizens both white and black and red.  Now, Maxey, thought his greatest concern was the ongoing quarrels with the Union over Missouri and similar entanglements with Spain over Cuba which threatened to strain working relations with both countries to the breaking point. That was something the president adamantly would attempt to avoid, the Confederacy did not need another war.

Maxey felt the country had turned a corner in the relations between it's white and black and red populations, although negro slavery was still a going institution with the fifteen states that made up the Confederacy. A decision Congress had made back during the Civil War, which Maxey and all the presidents that had followed Davis had lived to regret, since it cost the South it's good political relations with Great Britain and France, it's war time allies. All the negro soldiers who had been enlisted in the Confederate Army or Navy from the middle of the war on, had been freed along with their immediate families. They had been granted freedman status but that had been as far as Congress had been willing to go, and even that had been too far for the likes of  Bob Toombs and Howell Cobb; who had lead the opposition in both political and military circles to try and block even that concession. Maxey sighed, President Toombs had also tried to undue the good relations with the Indian Tribes he and others like Albert Pike, Douglas Hancock Cooper and Stand Watie in Oklahoma had worked so hard to build up and steadily improve.

Admiral Leonidas Holt Bullfinch stared at the tall, heavily bearded president's back, his own arms folded tightly across his chest as he regarded his leader through his one good eye. Beside Bullfinch at the conference table sat Admiral Richard Lucian Page, the outgoing uniformed Commander of the Confederate Navy, Secretary of War General Gustavus Woodson Smith and Secretary of State James Lawrence Orr along with the Secretary of the Navy John Lunsford. The meeting the president had called that morning had been both a long and at times tense one. All of the men around the table could see the president was wrestling with a black mood, they happened more and more often of late. Then again, they also could understand why, they felt it themselves it was this house and everything that went with it.

"How are we on the progress towards completing the Garth Program?" Suddenly the president remarked from the window. Bullfinch and Page shared a glance. The Garth Program; named after Louisana Senator James Louis Garth, who had proposed it to the House and the Senate in 1884, for a comprehensive and large-scale construction program of both ships, shore installations and recruitment and training for the C.S.N. in particular the construction of a battle fleet worthy of the name. The Confederacy had a coastline of some three thousand five hundred and forty-nine miles with something like one-hundred and eighty-five openings for commerce: harbours, bays, channels, rivers, lagoons and swamps. It was a massive waterfront to both defend and patrol. Prior naval construction programs had built up a sizeable fleet but it largely consisted of riverine and coastal warships, steam screw or paddle-wheel driven vessels. One hundred gunboats made up the bulk of the Patrol Fleet, backed up by a small number of larger corvettes, while one hundred larger steam frigates and cruisers made up the balance of the Cruising Fleet, most of these vessels had been designed as long range commerce raiders so they were vessels with long endurance, good turns of speed but limited armaments as they were meant to fight merchant vessels not warships. The rest of the C.S.N.  that wasn't support or logistical vessels was composed almost entirely of casemate ironclads designed for one of three very specified roles: riverine, coastal and harbour defense.

Senator Garth, had recognized that the Navy lacked any real deep water force: it's largest casemate ironclads while powerful in their own right, were only capable of limited to moderate deep water operations, that could successfully carry a war to a nautical enemy. The Union and Spain being the case in point, when he proposed the highly controversial bill, both countries had powerful navies, and possessed considerable institutional experience of using naval power in all it's forms something the Confederacy was entirely deficient in some respects.

"It's proceeding well, in fact we might be just a bit ahead of schedule in the circumstances." Admiral Page said after a moment. "The heart of the new Atlantic Fleet will be out of dock and running trials by the middle of this year, and ready for duty by December at the earliest."

President Maxey nodded silently, the Atlantic Fleet, which would  augment rather then replace the existing four Atlantic squadrons (which covered the C.S.A.'s coast from Chesapeake Bay, Virginia to the southern tip of Florida) would contain some sixty new vessels being constructed at the various C.S.N. Dockyards and several privates slipways in Norfolk, Charleston and Savannah - seventeen turret battleships, sixteen armoured cruisers, sixteen torpedoboat-destroyers and eleven large sea-going torpedoboats. Admiral Page looked both pleased and not a little regretful, he and then Naval Secretary Robert Hubert had shepherded Garth's bill through Congress and the bitter opposition of then President Toombs and worked out the mountain of attendant details needed to implement it, and now Page was retiring - he would be eighty-two this December - from active service just as the ten year program was coming to fruition.

Nation States of An Age of Steam, Steel and Iron: Part Six

South America: 1889

Brazil, ruled by Emperor Pedro II, once a colony of the Kingdom of Portugal, which unique amoung the countries of South America won it's freedom and independence from it's mother country peacefully in 1822. In 1888 Pedro II's government took the unprecedented step of abolishing slavery within the Empire as part of it's ongoing program of internal and political reforms. Many of these reforms, particularly abolition, are opposed by both the Brazilian planter class and Brazilian Liberals in Parliament although they enjoy widespread support amoung the Brazilian people as a whole. The mainstays of the economy are rubber, coffee, bananas and cattle. The export of oil and bauxite have emerged in recent years to augment the largely agricultural character of the Brazilian economy.

Argentina, Brazil's chief rival for dominance of South American affairs, is also at constant loggerheads with Chile over territorial disputes, particularly over Chilean possession of the Cape Horn-Tierra del Fuego region. A similar situation mars Argentinian and British relations with reference to the Falkland Islands.  Argentina once a Spanish possession freed itself from Spanish rule in 1816, although it's current borders were only solidly defined by the 1860s. Argentina's political history has been uneven, since it's founding being frequently marred by internal upheavals, which only settled down in the 1830s and 1850s, followed by a stable period of internal peace and prosperity, with governmental policy being aimed at promoting schools, universities, immigration, railways and communications developments.  Argentine's booming economy, which is considered the foremost in South America, is chiefly fuelled by the export of cattle, silver, grain and oil.

Chile, Achieved it's independence from Spain in 1810, although not formally recognized until 1818. Chile became the most preeminent naval power in South America, with it's very considerable successes in the 'Nitrate War'. This military lead is stubbornly maintained by the Chilean government with each passing year. The country's robust economy is based on copper and saltpeter mining, grain production, cattle products and oil production. Chile's internal peace and harmony is sometimes threatened by a tendency towards revolutionary changes in governments.

Bolivia, Became independent of Spain as part of the Republic of Peru, from which it promptly succeeded, although it was not recognized as an independent state until 1825. Like Peru and Chile, Bolivia was a participant in the 'Nitrate War', which cost Bolivia its coastal province of Atacama and thus all access to the sea. This did not as adversely affect Bolivia's economy as was initially feared due to Bolivia's extensive and inreasingly profitable mining and exportation of tin and silver. To date, Bolivia, maintains the strongest sky fleet both military and merchantile of any of the countries of South America.

Venezuela, Like it's neighbours Colombia and Ecuador, it became independent of Spain in 1811, but opted to join the State of Gran Colombia, which disintegrated as a working country by 1830. Venezuela, consequently reformed itself as a republic with a federalist constitution, which came under threat with the internal conflict termed the Federalist War in 1861-68. Dictatorial rule became the norm for the country after this period. The country's economy has developed towards the widespread cultivation of coffee, cattle and oil products for export.

Colombia, A former Spanish colonial possession, which was once a part of the state of Gran Colombia (the future states of Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela) which was proclaimed in 1819 but disintegrated in 1830. Briefly becoming the United States of Gran Granada, until 1861, whereupon the country became the Republic of Colombia. The country has suffered constant civil wars between unitarians, federalists, liberals and clericals. This situation only stabilized in 1858, when a confederation was agreed upon and finally reformed as a formal republic in 1861, through the intervention of the American Union. Colombia, virtually lost control of the province of Panama, through Imperial French political, financial and military intrigues during the 1850s.  Panama to Colombian chagrin, later declared it's own formal independence in 1871. The country's developing economy is driven by the export of bananas, cattle, coffee and oil.

Peru, The Last former Spanish colony to gain independence, in 1821 Peru immediately fractured into two countries, as Southern Peru, declared it's own independence in 1825 to become the State of Bolivia. Peru was nearly splintered apart by the consequent Civil War of 1842-45.  The national government of Peru increasingly took dictatorial powers both during this conflict and from this period on. The following 'Nitrate War' of 1879-1883 between Peru and Chile, resulted in Peru's defeat which was occasioned by the discovery of widespread saltpeter deposits which had international economic applications both in the production of powerful explosives and agricultural fertilizers. The economy of Peru, is both strongly agricultural and increasingly industrial being based on the export of oil, cattle, grain products, and silver, copper and saltpetre mining

Paraguay, Gaining it's independence from Spain in 1811. Paraguay, particularly under the Lopez family which dominated it's politics and as often as not acted as the country's dictators, attempted to build itself up into a significant power in South American political scene. President F. Solano Lopez, through his excessive territorial ambitions for his country pitched South American into the devastating Paraguayian War in 1865 only ending with Lopez's death in 1870 and the virtual destruction of his country. Paraguay is still recovering from losing over seventy percent of it's population and the destruction of both it's capital city, it's military and economic inferstructures along with many of it's more prosperous towns and villages.

Uruguay, Found itself in the extremely awkward position of being desired by both Brazil and Argentina, even before it was a formal country and being briefly annexed at one time by both countries in 1817 and 1822. Only in 1828 with the Peace of Montevideo, did Uruguay gain it's own independence from it's two larger neighbours. Uruguay found itself the target of it's neighbor Paraguay's territorial ambitions in the 1865-70 Paraguayian War. Uruguay survived the war by allying with Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina. Quietly prosperous, Uruguay's economy is based on acting as a major transfer and storage point for foreign sea and air trade and the local production and export of grain and cattle products.

Ecuador, Once part of Gran Colombia, Ecuador was forced to forge it's own independent path when that country ceased in 1830. While formerly the government emphasized friendly relations with the Roman Catholic Church, current relations - particularly after the assassination of President Moreno - between Ecuadorian liberals and clericals is becoming increasingly hostile. The local economy is geared to large scale cultivation and export of coffee as it staple cash crop.

Acre, A South American republic, which was originally part of Bolivia, which was settled largely by Spanish Bolivians and Portuguese Brazilians immigrants from 1860 onwards. A series of revolts starting in 1863 occurred against Bolivian rule over the region. These revolts largely instigated by the Brazilian immigrants were generally unsuccessful until the Acre Revolutionaries adopted strict military discipline, organization and hired better leaders and built an army of some thirty thousand soldiers, which won battle after battle against the Bolivian Army. The Arcean Republic occupies territory claimed by Peru, Bolivia and Brazil and has been involved in three wars - it's 1863-1883 War of Independence, the 1865-1870 Paraguayan War and the 1879-1883 Nitrate War/Pacific War in order to expand, hold and survive the efforts of the three countries attempts to erase it. The Republic of Arce was not formally recognized by Peru, Brazil and Bolivia until the 1883 Treaty of Cidade do Arce.  The pillar of the Acrean ecomony is large scale rubber cultivation, with subsistence farming and animal husbandry making out the balance.