CSS Appomattox: A Thomas Devareaux Alternative History Military Adventure (The Thomas Sumter Devareaux Series Book 1)

by Chris Stoesen

  CSS Appomattox

  By Chris Stoesen

  December 17, 2014

  Version 1.15

  Text Copyright © 2014 Chris Stoesen

  Dedication

  To my wife and son for their love and support. A special thanks is owed to the talents of Philip McClimon whose proofing skills have only improved this work. If you like Zombies, check out his series. It is an excellent story. Thanks to Jon Yuengling for talking through various aspects of the story and serving as a sounding board.

  Table of Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1: Enemy In Sight

  Chapter 2: First Blood

  Chapter 3: Altitude

  Chapter 4: San Juan

  Chapter 5: Florida Bound

  Chapter 6: A Night Action

  Chapter 7: Land Fall

  Chapter 8: Savannah

  Chapter 9: Whytherspoon

  Chapter 10: Back on the Bridge

  Chapter 11: Training Exercises

  Chapter 12: Bomber Command

  Chapter 13: Counter Attack

  Chapter 14: Too Little To Late

  Chapter 15: Landfall

  Chapter 17: Death of the Appomattox

  Chapter 18: Headquarters

  Chapter 19: Intrigues

  Chapter 20: Resolutions

  Chapter 21: Beginnings

  Chapter 22: Deployment

  Chapter 23: Seize the Night

  Chapter 24: News

  Chapter 25: A Trail Far from Home

  Chapter 26: A Tropical Vacation

  Chapter 27: Puerto Rico

  Chapter 28: Meet the Germans

  Chapter 29: German Awareness

  Chapter 30: New Targets

  Chapter 31: Fortune to the Bold

  Chapter 32: Repercussions

  Chapter 33: A Mad Dash

  Chapter 34: The West End of Nowhere

  Chapter 35: The Long Way Home

  Appendix

  About the Author

  Introduction

  This is a work of alternative history combined with elements of a Steampunk genre. In many ways the technology and actual history is followed with the obvious exception of the continued existence of the Confederacy. Much of the technology described actually existed in the time frame presented. To better understand the universe of the CSS Appomattox, a small bit of background is necessary.

  The background of our story diverges from history as we know it in 1862. In this universe the Confederacy was able to secure recognition first from Great Britain and then France following a Confederate Victory at Antietam. Signing a treaty with Great Britain, the Confederacy was able to negotiate a peace with the United States as Royal Navy warships arrived off of the coast of New York and Washington DC to force the issue. A cease fire was achieved in October of 1862. The war drew to a close by January 1864 with an armistice. While hostilities ceased, the war was still ongoing. The fighting from that point forward existed only in bar fights and in harsh words exchanged at election time.

  In the year following the ceasefire, President Lincoln negotiated a treaty with most of the major European countries (with the notable exception of Portugal) to end the slave trade and to force economic sanctions against any nation utilizing slave labor or engaging in the slave trade. The ensuing economic stress caused by these sanctions forced the Confederacy to issue a proclamation of universal emancipation by late 1865.

  The Confederacy added New Mexico and Arizona as formal states rather than territories. The pressure on settlement in the western Confederate states led to constant conflict with the Native American tribes. The unpopularity of the postings on the Western Frontiers and along the Mexican border led to opening the military service to former slaves. The military proved to be an attractive career to many former slaves in the Confederacy.

  By 1875, the first African-Confederate received a field commission as an officer in Arizona. The general who issued the field commission was recalled by Richmond almost immediately, but the promoted officer was allowed to keep his rank. The overwhelming needs of the service showed that by 1880, over 85 percent of the military forces of the Confederacy in the western states and along the Mexican border were African-Confederates. As the number grew, men were promoted in rank based on competence, leading to growing numbers of field commissioned African-Confederate officers. This would lead Arizona to open the first military college that welcomed African-Confederate soldiers for training as officers.

  Further confounding Confederate ambitions was the lack of access to the Pacific Ocean. With California and Mexico blocking the way to the Pacific Ocean, the Confederacy had to content itself with access to the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. So instead, the Confederacy pursued a policy of diplomacy with both European powers and the lesser nations. The political instability of Mexico prevented a suitable partnership. But negotiations with Czarist Russia, the Spanish Empire and of all places, Switzerland, proved to be profitable arrangements. Trade agreements were renegotiated with France and Britain following the emancipation of slaves. But the former relationship the Confederacy initially enjoyed with France and Britian no longer existed. It was more of a cool friendship.

  Steam technology was honed and refined throughout the period. The wide usage of balloons during the late Civil War led to much experimentation. The first steam powered airship was made in 1873. Within two years, the first steam powered combat capable airship was built. The first designs utilized a wooden steamship hull that were bound to a tubular balloon. Test firing of the airship proved hazardous as the black powder had the potential to set fire to the airship on the discharge. The use of wooden ship hulls as the basis for the airship gondola proved to be seriously limiting in what armaments could be carried and produced enormous airbags. Even with these limitations, the design was commonplace. More unique designs began to emerge and technology continued to evolve.

  One particular liberty that this work takes is the timeline of the development of radio communications. The developments are advanced by about 10 years or so sooner than they actually developed.

  It is in this environment that the Empire of Germany began to emerge as a world power. Seeking to expand as a colonial power, they set their eyes upon Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. Through a series of diplomatic and secret maneuvers, the Germans gathered a fleet to seize the remaining Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. Spain looked for support within the Americas. Canada and the United States both were either unable or unwilling to lend their support to Spain.

  The United States, in fact, had negotiated a treaty with Germany. First, they would stay out of the way of any actions of the German Empire in the Caribbean. Second, they split the Spanish possessions between them, with the United States having her eyes on the Philippines. The Confederacy, however, was in need. The first need was for a strong, European trade partner and the second was to extend their reach with staging areas for the Confederate Navy in the Caribbean.

  With negotiations completing as quickly as possible, the Confederacy sent a force consisting of one ironclad, two torpedo destroyers, three torpedo boats and an experimental. These were dispatched to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for maneuvers with the Spanish Navy in February 1880.

  The airship was a different design than most standard ones. It was a smaller craft than most of the regular designs. It mounted a single Gatling gun on a bubble mount on the top of the craft. In the enlarged gondola on the underside, it mounted t
hree Winans guns. These were steam powered weapons using pressurized, heated air to propel a solid shot. It potentially had a rate of fire in excess of a Gatling gun, but if run that quickly, the pressure would drop and it would lose its effectiveness. The first Winans gun was developed by 1861. The initial gun was less than successful as the pressure would drastically drop off and cease to be effective after the first shot. The newer design utilized a series of pressure chambers that were constantly refilled and kept the pressure up on subsequent shots. One was mounted in the bow under the bridge in the front of the gondola. The other two were in the stern of the elongated gondola below the boiler room.

  Lastly, the airship mounted two rocket batteries on the port and the starboard sides. These were Congreve rocket batteries that were launched from enclosed troughs on swivel mounts that could pivot and increase and decrease the attitude of the weapon to aim it. It had a small crew and was also equipped with a set of sails on the port and starboard midsection. In deed, it was faster than any other airship made to that point.

  The CSS Appomattox’s weapons were much less powerful than the steam recoil cannons present in the Germans, British, French and US made airships. Instead, she relied on rockets and steam powered Winans guns as its primary armament. The experimental airship was able to fly higher due to the central air system of oxygen concentrators to enable the crew to breathe at higher altitudes. The initial versions relied on short breathing tethers that plugged into the system.

  It is the story of this airship, the CSS Appomattox and her crew that the story will follow.

  Chapter 1: Enemy In Sight

  Lieutenant Devareaux was awakened in his cabin by the ringing of the bell next to his bunk. He sat up too quickly and slammed his head on the low bulkhead above his cot. The ringing of the bell was drowned out by the sound of his profanity as he grabbed his injured head and rolled off of the bed and onto the floor. His knees impacted hard on the wooden deck, sending needles of pain lancing up through his body to ensure that he was awake.

  Devareaux grabbed the corner of the desk and used it to lever himself upright. Turning to his small vanity, he looked at himself in the mirror. His dark brown hair was as disheveled as his brown eyes were bloodshot and his tongue felt like it was wearing a wool coat. Moving to one of the few luxuries of his command cabin, Devareaux grabbed the speaking tube of the repeater station.

  …

  The harsh voice rang out over the repeater tube was not using standard procedures.

  "What!"

  From the observation deck at the top of the airship, Octavius and Bosun Hargrave looked at one another and grinned through their respirators. Willard ‘Willy’ Sykes, the midshipman of the watch, cleared his throat to remind them of their duties.

  Sykes began his report.

  "Sir, I believe we have spotted the German convoy. We have observed multiple columns of smoke from their surface fleet and we have spotted three of their airships. The surface fleet has spotlighted them to allow us to determine that two are the large Dessauer class capital ships and one of their lighter City Class airships. What are your orders, sir?"

  Drawing taken from the 1878 edition of Jane’s Fighting Airships

  An artist’s rendering of the CSS Appomattox as based on German after action reports and printed in the 1882 edition of Jane’s Fighting Airships.

  On the observation deck, the midshipman toggled the tube to wait for his senior officer's reply. He placed the goggles of his respirator up to the telescope mount and scanned the horizon looking for any other surprises.

  "Well, crap. I'll be right up."

  The Middy's eyes widened as did those of Octavius and Hargrave when they heard the terse reply bubbled from the repeater. It always seemed that moisture gathered in the tubes giving everyone the sound of someone drowning.

  Their new captain was full of surprises. Since he took command of the CSS Appomattox, Lieutenant Thomas Sumter Devareaux had run the crew ragged. He was not a by the book officer yet he drilled the crew constantly. He had kept the ship for the past week at the highest maximum altitude for an airship of their class. He kept the boilers running and fired the weapons at least once a day. The crew had to work, sleep and live in their respirators. Only the captain's cabin was pressurized. Yet rather than rule from the thin comfort of his cabin, the captain constantly moved about the ship.

  It was only three minutes before they heard the banging below their feet. Bosun Hargrave opened the hatch to let the Captain in. Upon pulling himself up through the entryway, Devareaux hurriedly plugged in his respirator tube into the spare outlet. He audibly sucked in a deep breath of the stale but oxygen rich air.

  He moved to the telescope and Midshipman Sykes stepped aside. All four men were bundled in heavy coats and fur hats. The captain peered through the telescope toward the horizon. After a minute he turned and affectionately slapped the midshipman's shoulder.

  "You found them Willy. The weekend pass is yours. Now let's see what kind of damage we can do."

  Plugging the speaking tube into the all ship connection he shouted out his orders.

  "Now hear this. All crew, battle stations. This is not a drill. Set the helm 5 degrees port and full military power. Gun crews, we are over 1000 feet above the enemy. We will make a single pass over them and turn for home. Commence firing as soon as you have a reasonable target. That is all."

  Grinning, Devareaux pointed to the gunner’s mate.

  "Octavius, you won't have much to do. We are too high to get a decent shot with your Gatling. Keep your eyes peeled. You see an opportunity, take it. Just don't shoot the Appy. Got it?"

  Without giving the gunner time to respond, he turned his attentions to the middy.

  "Willy, keep a sharp eye out for any tricky stuff from those Huns. The damn Germans are ten times more devious than the Yankees."

  With that, he unplugged and disappeared back down the hatch. The three men shared a look between each other that was in awe of the captain's daring. He had guessed right. They were above the enemy.

  …

  Henry Stoe was leaning forward with his goggles pressed to the forward viewport. He was nearly bouncing on his feet with excitement. His left hand reached out and lovingly patted the barrel of his beloved Winans gun.

  He was stirred from his reverie by a tap on his shoulders. Turning slightly, Henry found the masked face of Petrus, one of his assistants. The man’s eyes were wide and had a slightly confused look.

  “What’s the matter Petrus? Aren’t you excited?”

  The gunner gave his mate an evil grin.

  “Ain’t we outnumbered with three of them Germans and only one of us?”

  Stoe, to his credit, did not dismiss the question out of hand.

  “We have the height advantage. With our rebreathers, we are too high up for the enemy's guns to bear on us.”

  Pointing out the viewport at the closest of the enemy airships still out in the distance, he began to explain.

  “See that close one? That is a City class. It’s about 200 feet long. They have five heavy guns. But they are guns that don’t fire up. They can shoot down, so the captain is above them where we can shoot and they can’t.”

  Understanding dawned in Petrus’ eyes and his grin was hidden behind his respirator mask as he bobbed his head in comprehension.

  “Get ready fellas. The captain’s got some work for us.”

  With that Stoe began to make some adjustments to the many pressure settings on his gun before it was called into action.

  …

  With a crash, Devareaux slid down the ladder and bounced off of the deck as he landed. He snatched up the hatch and just jumped in through the opening. He moved and plugged his respirator into the air duct and sucked in another great lung full of the air.

  He turned and saw the civilian. The man's hair was an unruly mop that jutted above his thick goggles. The man had a custom respirator mask that lacked built in goggles. The hose for the respirator ended on a tube like device
and did not need to be connected to the shipboard oxygen concentrator system. Devareaux examined the young engineer.

  Despite his youth, Tobias Whytherspoon was a first class engineer. He had helped his father perfect the current Confederate Winans Steam cannon. Thanks to his work they had fixed the pressure issues that allowed the earlier weapon to be able to fire at such a distance as to become practical but also lightened it significantly to enable it to be placed aboard an airship.

  Tobias blinked his large eyes at the Lieutenant. Devareaux placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed.

  “Tobias, are you sure those damn British rockets are safe? I don’t want to kill the enemy and set us on fire as well.”

  Tobias’ nasal voice responded with confidence in his ability.

  “Well, no captain. We have reconfigured the rocket bay. We have two tubes on each side. We can fire without any worries. We have established fire control systems in case of accidents. It should be completely safe or at least as safe as a ship in combat can be.”

  Devareaux had stopped listening and began moving again. He looked at his bridge crew. There was the Midshipman of the watch Powell, and his senior enlisted. The bosun, the Engineer and the gunner were all present. The crew of the Appy was just a mere 28 men plus the civilian engineer. Tobias was only present since it was their first cruise.

  Taking the helm from Midshipman Powell, Devareaux checked the wind and saw that the sails were well trimmed. Satisfied, he pushed the throttle to full power to head towards the enemy.

  He reached into his pocket and withdrew the trusty Waltham watch. There was a deep gouge on the coin silver case and on the crystal beneath. He marked the time and quickly estimated how much longer until the engagement. He spoke into the repeater on the circuit for the whole airship.

  “Now hear this, we are five minutes to contact. Port Rocket Battery, fire on the closest of the airships as soon as you are in range. Bow battery, rake the City class airship as we pass.”