by Eric Gurr
In Sacramento, Colby worked with the leadership committee. He was the President, but yielded as much power as he thought he could while still maintaining control.
The new government was now paying its army and trying to solidify Oregon and repel attacks in Olympia, Seattle, and Washington.
In early December both would fall. The NFA troops, now solidly united under Hartwick and led by Tory Evans and a growing group of military professionals, pushed quickly on Tacoma and set up a new government.
The state had officially rejoined the union. Yet the structure was not traditional.
In the East Coast states, taxes continued to flow to D.C. In the state of Washington, the new government would follow the Indiana model. The federal taxes collected would be held by the state. Money was sent to D.C. to pay for social security, Medicare, the military and nothing else.
States were free to do whatever they wanted, but most had followed the Indiana model set up by Jake Stahl.
State spending was cut drastically. Welfare was gone and the homeless and those living in housing paid for by the state were rounded up and pushed into old hotels.
“Don’t starve let them starve, and keep a roof over their heads. But don’t let them get comfortable.” Was Stahl’s motto.
The only thing that Hartwick pushed states to do was fund a military.
The volunteer army had worked in the early months. But desertions were common and training was nearly impossible. Florida would not follow. They sent all due taxes to the Federal Government and kept their welfare systems in place.
Texas had decided on the Indiana model. Illinois tried to follow Florida’s lead, but the fighting in Chicago made it largely irrelevant. Nearly half of the state was simply run by Indiana. What state government that was left in Illinois tried to fix Chicago.
When the state of Washington fell there was a push into Oregon. The state quickly divided with the eastern two-thirds joining Washington and the western counties, now controlled by an army from California held to the new nation.
So it began. The three nations of winter. On the East Coast, a clear line from just south of Richmond Virginia was in all but name, its own nation. The rest of the states in the center of country were another nation, loosely aligned with the East Coast.
On the west coast was the official Free Nation of California. The nation also consisted of one-third of Oregon. Each of the three sections was for the most part peaceful. And each had areas where there was little or no control.
In California, San Diego was still in a constant state of war. Ohlbinger and his government had tried to take the city and bring the large naval base under control. Neither would surrender.
There was no fighting around the Naval base or other small military bases. But they were guarded well and defended. Desertions on the bases were over thirty percent. But more than enough remained to hold.
The rest of the state was not only peaceful but economic activity was growing quickly. The port of Los Angeles was particularly busy. The products delivered across the Pacific Ocean still had to be distributed. For the privilege of using the port the new nation of California was levying a heavy tax.
They would spend the coming months holding Oregon and solidifying California into a robust and viable nation. The leaders of the new nation would plan for the spring as well. It was clear a battle was coming. Their mission was to hold on to their gains and grow slowly where they could.
In the states in the center of the nation, there were still protests but they were peaceful and often broken up quickly. The area around Detroit was the exception.
On the East Coast there was also division. Two things were clear to the establishment government in Washington D.C.
The first was that an attack was coming. The second was that California was working to build a large defense force.
The military was still committed to staying out of the conflict. But President Hoxworth and the Republicans were also aware that the bureaucrats were largely working with the left.
Money was flowing to this new establishment army. Many were professional security for The Environmental Protection Agency, The IRS, and the Social Security Administration. They were not named and not acknowledged by the Democrats or the Republicans.
Some were paid directly by the government. They were given titles and jobs. They were janitorial staff, human resources specialists, information technology technicians, and thousands of other made up titles. They were in fact soldiers.
Republicans went along with this hoping it would preserve the union until an agreement could be arranged with the middle of the country.
The establishment east coast army stretched from Watertown New York, at the very northern edge of the state, all the way to just south of Richmond Virginia.
They knew from spies and other friendlies in the middle of the nation that John Hartwick was planning something to the east. They did not know where an attack would come, but they were certain that something was coming.
The establishment army was stretched all along Interstate eighty-one. Just to the southern edge of D.C., the line followed sixty-six east back to ninety-95. From there it followed south to Richmond.
North of Richmond, the line bulged along 295. The loop around the city. When they tried to move outside of this boundary they encountered resistance and pulled back.
Along I-81 the stretch between Hagerstown and Winchester was the most heavily guarded. This area offered the quickest path to Washington D.C. and thus was considered the most vulnerable area.
Troy Evans, John Hartwick, Jake Stahl, Matt Davis, and six other people knew the attack was going to be on Richmond.
Hartwick and Evans had travelled south to bring in the eleventh and twelfth members of the inner group who would know where the attack would be.
The final two members were critically important to their success. The first was Roy Desmond. The governor of Texas. The second was John Robert Ross. The famous evangelical preacher operating out of Dallas Texas.
From the first days of violence, all eyes had been on Texas. For a few weeks, the protests had been violent in Austin. But the rioters and protesters had been rounded up quickly and thrown in jail. There had been no more than small protests since. Those were confined to Dallas and Houston and had also been quickly brought under control.
Even the Senators and congressional representatives from Texas thought the state would secede first. But it had not happened. Two men had stopped it.
Roy Desmond, the second term governor, had argued that Texas should stay with the union and work to stop the violence.
John Robert Ross, the evangelical preacher, had appealed to the Christian faith of the citizens of Texas to avoid violence. It was a pair of men that would be hard to stop.
Jake Stahl had contacted Governor Desmond just two months ago, and Desmond had quickly agreed to join the center states in withholding a chunk of federal income taxes. He would commit to nothing more.
“Governor Desmond we want to tell you what our plan for the future is.” Hartwick said.
“We believe that California is a lost cause. We also believe that what we are seeing on the east coast is a mirage. We don’t think they are as united as it would appear. We have a very high-level contact in the military who thinks that we need to make a move militarily. But he tells us the government military will not help.”
“So Admiral Shock has talked to you eh? Well, I thought that might be the case. I know he wants you to make a run on Richmond. Is that still the plan?” Desmond answered.
Troy Evans and Hartwick showed the obvious confusion on their faces. “Wait, so Shock contacted you too? How many people know about this?” Evans asked.
“How many people have you two told?” The governor asked.
“Eight more. We thought we were the only ones.” Hartwick said.
“Well, I’m guessing that eleven know. Because I knew he called you General Hartwick. But he told me I was the only other one he had told of the idea. You know, The
Admiral and I go way back.
In fact, just a few days before you guys called I was planning on calling you. I’m a Navy guy. I don’t know if you know that. And this is a land war. But Shock thought if I could get Texas behind you, we might just pull this off.
In Texas, all of the military bases have made it clear they support Texas first. That caused us to lose quite a few soldiers. It also caused quite a few more to get mysteriously transferred here.
The reason Admiral Shock called me is that he and his fellow leaders in the military believe that Texas needs to be the last line of defense.
We have an agreement with them. We will help you in any way we can short one thing. We can’t let the military men fight. We’ll help with guns, and we’ll turn a blind eye to any instruction they might give you. No explosives, tanks or any other heavy equipment.
We’ll help you get men to fight with you. But your soldiers from Texas have to be civilians.
I think you can count on at least a few hundred thousand men. That sound good?”
Hartwick and Evans both smiled and nodded. “That sounds great Governor. But we have one more favor to ask. Maybe more than a favor it’s just advice.
“Fire away.” Desmond said.
“We want to talk to John Robert Ross. That TV preacher from Dallas. We’d like him to give us moral support.” Hartwick said.
“He’s really popular here in Texas gentlemen. He’s probably the biggest reason we didn’t have much of a problem here. But before you do that, you need to know a little more about him.”
The governor paused before continuing. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.
“You fellas mind if I smoke?” He asked.
“Hell its war.” Evans said. Everybody smokes during war, don’t they? Can I bum one from you?”
“I’ll take one too if you don’t mind.” Hartwick added after a sheepish glance at Evans.
Desmond gave them both cigarettes, and as the room filled with smoke he began to talk about John Robert Ross.
“You guys just see JR on television or listen to him on the radio. You probably think he is one of those prosperity preachers who just tells people what they want to here. Then he makes a ton of money and gets famous.
“I like him. I think he does a lot of good. I listen to him on the radio a couple of times a week. I think he’s great.” Evans said.
“I like him too.” Hartwick said. “I think people obviously like him and listen to him.
But I do think he is a prosperity preacher. I really do. But I don’t care. He does a good thing and I think he helps bring the country together.”
“Gentlemen, the truth is, John Robert Ross is a deeply religious man. The reason we didn’t have big problems down here is that he has a huge following. And the people that go to his church are white, black, Mexican, Asian, and any other thing you can think of. He wants people to do well and be happy. But he is also a man who believes in the bible. He thinks violence is a sin.
Now that doesn’t mean he won’t help. But you’re going to have to explain why you are doing this and let him make up his own mind. If he thinks you are doing something wrong, not only won’t he help you, he’ll work against you.”
When the governor had finished talking he snuffed out his cigarette and picked up the phone.
“JR? Hey it’s Roy. I have a couple of friends from Indiana who would like to have dinner with you. Can you make time for them tomorrow?”
The meeting was set just that easily. When John Robert Ross was given a promise that both men would work hard to stop any kind of forced emigration for blacks, Hispanics or any other group, he agreed to help. He gave his word he would not leak the plans and would say nothing until just before the battle was to begin.
At that point he would rally the nation behind Hartwick’s New Freedom Army. But he would also deliver a sermon on moral conduct during war.
When they returned to Indiana they continued planning and organizing. The media were reporting on the movement of men in large numbers across the Midwest and south.
The East Coast army of volunteers and paid government workers grew by the day.
During the months of January, February and March the entire world knew what was coming. A huge battle for the nation.
Chapter 13
Richmond
The southern wing of Hartwick’s NFA was gathered at Prince Edward-Gallion State Park in Virginia.
They were fifty miles from their destination, south of Richmond. At Four O’clock in the morning, they began to move out. There were just over one-hundred thousand men. Over twenty-thousand were in trucks.
They would arrive first and secure the area. Behind them, eighty-thousand more would march. In three hour stretches, they would move slowly to the east towards the city.
One-hundred and seventy miles to the north, in the small town of Strasburg Virginia, fifty-thousand of Hartwick’s soldiers were moving east. Just sixteen miles to the north, in Winchester, was a growing army from the establishment government forces.
They had expected an attack somewhere along this line marching towards D.C.
The first battle was happening at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historic Park.
Troy Evan’s was the senior officer. Their routes of retreat were already well established. As his army moved east men who knew of the plan would move among the army. They were told that it was a diversion only at the last minute.
The government army moved quickly from Winchester to the south to engage. A smaller contingent moved from the south to pinch Evan’s troops.
The fighting started in the state park with a few random shots across a valley. Both armies had settled along two ridges with Fort Valley in the center. The armies were stationed four miles away from each other.
Both sides would send small groups of a few hundred into the valley and pitched battles ensued.
Seventy miles to the south another NFA army of one-hundred thousand men was moving east through Stanton Virginia. Troy Evan’s mission was to hold as long as he could throughout the day. If there was a charge we would retreat. If there was a lull he would attack.
When he attacked, he would always send men ahead to Interstate 66 towards Washington D.C. Several groups from five-hundred to a thousand or more men would try to draw the government forces into a defensive position along 66 all the way to D.C.
Another group of five thousand was sent north along I-81. There were to shut off the power by destroying transformers and sub-stations. Fiber optic cables were also cut.
By noon the power was out, cell service and internet had been cut to most of the areas north and east of D.C.
In Richmond, the power was on and all was calm. As night began to fall a light mist turned in to a steady rain.
Evan’s moved his forces in groups of a few thousand at a time to the south along State Route 11 just along I-81. They knew 81 was guarded. 11 ran parallel and was slower going but easier to avoid detection. They would rally in Staunton Virginia. By morning they would move eighty miles to the east towards Richmond. All along the way Evan’s troops would disrupt the line. This drew East Coast troops from the south near Richmond up to him. His feint worked brilliantly
Through the night five-hundred men from the NFA would wreak havoc inside Richmond. Just ten groups of five men, well-armed and well stocked with ‘Farmer Footballs’, the little bombs they had first used in St. Louis spread throughout the city.
The establishment leaders back in Washington knew what was happening. Communications were slow but they knew Richmond was the target.
There was furious work behind the scenes to stop the East Coast army from getting the information. But it could not be hidden.
President Hoxworth and his advisors worked fruitlessly to get the Democrat’s to intercede and withdraw. They would not cooperate.
Hoxworth, Van Driessen, and a handful of Republicans could not persuade the Democrats that they just might lose. President Hoxworth called The Joint
Chief’s Chairman, Admiral Shock, to make sure the military would not intervene. Once confirmed he tried again to get the left to withdraw again. It did not work.
Thousands of establishment forces were now leaving D.C., Philadelphia and other areas along the 81 line and racing towards Richmond.
At Three o’clock the southern wing of the NFA had made it to the James River. Resistance had been light. They halted for thirty minutes to allow rear troops to catch up.
North of the city in a small town called Smart Pump, tens of thousands of NFA forces were gathered. There had been little resistance and many locals had joined to help attack Richmond and move north to D.C.
At just before Four o’clock everything was in place and the first trucks began to cross the I-95 Bridge into the city.
As the first few trucks crossed the river, gunfire erupted. This slowed the advance and just a few rows back the multi-gun trucks took positions forward. Six of them opened fire across the bridge. The catapult launchers also let loose their Ammonium Nitrate and Diesel bombs.
The middle and rear sections were beginning to cross fourteenth Street, Ninth Street and 301 bridges into the city.
As fires and explosions ignited across the river, the I-95 Bridge exploded. Bombs had been placed underneath and all along the bridge and on ramps.
Jacob Picket, the retired marine Colonel, had been put in charge of Hartwick’s southern Army. He was sixty years old but still maintained his Marine regimen. He was just to the east of the bridge trying to create a temporary communication center as the bridge exploded. He watched as thousands of his men fell to their deaths in the river.
Fearing the other bridges would be bombed as well he quickly rerouted his forces and multi-guns well to the west towards Westover Hills bridge and the toll bridge just a few miles away.
Maymont was on the other side. Much less populated and offering open fields to the east and good cover to the west his troops crossed easily and established a foothold.
To the north, Evans had moved his forces to the soccer fields and surrounding woods in an area called Bryan’s park.