Grant stood up and began: “I estimate that the British are just learning of the extent of their recent losses. This news will be spreading through neutral merchant ships which have traveled to our acquisitions, and spread the news at their next port of call. I estimate their immediate reaction will be to reinforce Halifax, as that is their principle remaining base in North America. I also expect them to strengthen positions in British Honduras and Guyana, which they could use as springboards for operations in the Bahamas and the Caribbean. General Johnson and Admiral Porter will have the responsibility to prevent that occurrence.
We could start the assault against Halifax as soon as the ice is off the St. Lawrence; which should begin to break up by mid to late April. Then we could move forces up from Montreal, as well as land troops from Portland and Boston. The troops from Montreal will land on the north coast of Nova Scotia and will advance on Halifax from the west. Transports from Boston will land south of Halifax near Lunenburg, while transport ships from Portland will sail up the Bay of Fundy and land at St. John New Brunswick.
Our naval forces will be heavily involved as escorts and as a counterweight to the Royal Navy. We have the military resources in Lower and Upper Canada to move in power up the St Lawrence. We have 50,000 regular army soldiers in New England. With the British attacks on Boston and in the Penobscot region, there should be no lack of volunteers to remove the British, from their last bastion which could be used to threaten New England again. Lincoln then asked Secretary of State William Seward for any changes in the diplomatic circles.
Seward stood up and replied: “There have not been any significant changes on the diplomatic scene. The North German Confederation is firmly on our side. Their naval attaché is very interested in our new designs. We are exploring avenues to assist them in the naval development and other mutual interests.
The French are experiencing increasing tensions with the North German Confederation. They fear the Prussians are trying to push for the unification of the various German states. That will directly interfere with French hegemony on the continent. The French also have imperialistic designs on West Africa, which could conflict with British interests in the surrounding areas. Those considerations, plus Maximillian in Mexico will keep France on the sidelines.
In Spain, Queen Isabella is in danger of being overthrown by supporters of the Carlist faction. That puts pressure on the French to be the mediator in that conflict. There have already been two civil wars between Isabella’s forces and those of the Carlist pretender. The Cuban independence movement is getting restless. That could present us with a future opportunity.
All things considered, I do not see any diplomatic obstacles to our conflict with the British. Most of the rest of the powers relegate our conflict as a family dispute. They might welcome the humbling of Great Britain.” With that, he sat down.
Lincoln then stood up, walked around the room and then turned back. Grant, Farragut, and Seward looked on expectantly. Lincoln began: “I just was informed by Stanton, that the state legislatures in New York and New Jersey voted today on the ratification of the 14th Amendment. Only one of them was needed to ensure confirmation. The focus was on which one would have the honor of the decisive vote. It turned out that both ratified at almost the same time. Gentlemen, it is done!! The former slaves throughout the South can now register to vote and will be able to vote in November. This development could prove decisive in the election.” Grant, Farragut, and Seward jumped up, applauded, gathered around Lincoln and slapped him on his shoulders.
Smiling broadly, Lincoln continued: “We are in the midst of an enterprise which could be protracted. I can only expect the unexpected from Great Britain. I have placed into motion a series of events which can change the nature of our country. I cannot walk away and leave this dream of our Manifest Destiny to others to fulfill. I want you, my closest advisors to be the first to know. I will run for a third term as President.”
Grant and Farragut applauded enthusiastically. Seward, who just had his presidential ambitions demolished looked shocked, then shook his head in disbelief. After a few moments, he walked up to Lincoln, shook his hand, and said: “Mr. President we may not always have agreed, but I have always been loyal to you. You have my support, but if you win, I will retire into private life.”
EPILOGUE
One week after the meeting in Washington DC, the telegraph lines were busy. A squadron of Royal Navy vessels was observed leaving Victoria and moving into Puget Sound. After landing an estimated 2,000 soldiers and occupying United States territory on the south shore of the sound; the fleet sailed away and disappeared into the fog.
Five days later, on a Sunday morning, the telegraph lines from San Francisco reported that twelve Royal Navy vessels, three of them two-deck battleships were sighted entering San Francisco Bay. The militia is being called up, and Navy personnel at the Mere Island Navy Shipyard, 25 miles north of the city in San Pablo Bay recalled from leave.
The same day, another telegraph message arrived from Salt Lake City. The Mormon Nauvoo Legion had attacked and burned Fort Douglas and Fort Floyd. On the steps of the Tabernacle, Brigham Young, standing in front of cheering crowds, declared the Utah Territory to be the independent country of Deseret. Non-Mormons were told to either convert or face expulsion with their property appropriated.
Disturbing reports of many Indian uprisings reached Washington. The Apache and Comanche tribes were raiding in separate areas of the southwest. The Sioux were rising in the Dakotas, and the Northern Cheyenne were attacking outlying areas in Colorado.
AFTERWARD.
Lincoln Sneezed is a fictional book which creates an alternate historical timeline. The basis is the presumption that Abraham Lincoln survived the assassination attempt. Other than the historical events leading up to Lincoln’s assassination, none of the subsequent events depicted in this book happened.
I have liberally inserted actual historical characters into the story line, but their actions are from my imagination and are purely fictional. I have also created fictional characters. Any comparison with any person living or dead is purely coincidental.
Had Abraham Lincoln lived, the United States historical timeline would likely be vastly different. His 2nd Inaugural Address spelled out his plans for reconstructing the Union. The forced reconstruction of the South by the Radical Republicans would not have occurred. That period of reconstruction poisoned the atmosphere between the North and South for over 100 years.
Lincoln also advocated transporting the freed slaves to Liberia. This action would have been a voluntary repatriation. In this book, I outlined a possible scenario.
Robert E Lee’s meeting with his former generals took place in 1868. I have moved that meeting up two years so that Lee could use it to gain support for Lincoln’s plan.
The Alabama Claims were a real issue and almost resulted in War between the USA and Great Britain. The issues highlighted here closely mirror actual events. In the official timeline, the United States and Great Britain achieved a negotiated settlement. In my alternative history, the emigration of hundreds of thousands of freed slaves into Liberia changed the dynamics. A backward nation became populated and invigorated. A large Liberian army was formed, mostly from Civil War veterans. The accidental incursion of this army into Sierra Leone was the catalyst for the creation of the war between Great Britain and Liberia. Britain’s failed invasion exacerbated the tense atmosphere, resulting in The Cousins War.
Liberia never became a military power. The only reason it existed at all was the protection of the United States. Liberia became an Oligarchy style nation, with the descendants of the original settlers ruling until the 1980’s, with the native population relegated to second-class servitude.
Captain Vansittart, in real time, was a Royal Navy officer. He was the first captain of USS Achilles. He had a long distinguished career and retired as an Admiral. His actions in this book are fictional.
Admiral Thomas Symonds, also existed in the official t
imeline and for a time served as First Lord of the Admiralty. He was the principal advocate for the Royal Navy to convert to turreted ironclads and to discard sail as a means of propulsion. In my alternate time, he came to this conclusion earlier as the result of the battles with USS Stonewall.
The CSS Stonewall also existed. It was French-built, and its Confederate service career is as highlighted in this book. In the real timeline, after it was purchased from Spanish authorities in Cuba by the US Navy, it was resold to the Empire of Japan. There it served until the late 1880’s. In my alternate story line, the USS Stonewall underwent an extensive refit, with larger cannons. These renovations allowed it to be the forerunner of new battleship design.
In reality, the Navy built only four of the 20-inch Dahlgren cannons, and none saw action. The reason was the Civil War ended, and there was no immediate need. The nation’s attention was on expanding into the vast sparsely populated area located between the Mississippi and the Pacific Ocean.
Sir Frederick Chapman, in the real timeline, was the Governor General of Bermuda and commander of the North Atlantic squadron from 1867 to 1870. He had a distinguished military career. In my alternative timeline, he falls victim to obsolete Royal Navy battleships, which could not stand up to ironclad monitors.
The Treat family, as described in my book are fictional. There was a Treat family in Chelsea Massachusetts, and they descended from Robert Treat who was the first governor of the New Haven colony and then moved to what is now Newark, NJ. He was one of the founders of that settlement. Other famous family members included Robert Treat Paine, who signed the Declaration of Independence and was one of the authors of The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. For full disclosure, I am also descended from the real Treat family through my maternal grandmother Annie Mae Treat Weeks. However, the characters depicted and their exploits, as described in this book are fictional; and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.
In the actual timeline, the US Navy was allowed to decline after the Civil War. Technical advancement in ironclads, which should have been a natural progression for the US Navy fell to the British and French and evolved into the modern battleships. Under the mismanagement of Secretary of the Navy George Maxwell Robeson, the US Navy declined and became a coastal defense force. This neglect resulted in embarrassed weakness in the face of Spanish Naval superiority during the Virginis Affair between the US and Spain from 1873 – 1875.
In my alternate history, the US Navy’s technological advancement progressed under President Lincoln and an aggressive Navy Secretary David Farragut; to become a preeminent naval power. This development is easily corroborated by the real-time US Naval advancement from 1885 to 1915. Then, even while starting from scratch, the US Navy equaled the Royal Navy in strength and was advanced in technology.
In the real history, the British divided Canada into provinces in the late 1860’s. The last imperial troops withdrew in the 1970’s. Lower Canada became the Province of Quebec and Upper Canada the Province of Ontario. Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick were one Provence. The west coast of Canada became the Province of British Columbia. The vast interior was mostly unsettled, owned and managed by the Prince Rupert Company. In my alternate story line, a new history is under development.
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