In a Different Texas

[12th Doctor]

Constructive Criticism.


Any war fought in Cascadia at that time period would have looked nothing like the actual American Civil War.

First off, the nature of the region itself would have made set piece battles almost impossible.  Without large populations, large farms, developed transportation routes, etc all, how would either side, but especially the United States, be able to afford to field a large, concentrated army, of any kind, in one place?  The famrs around the area would have been barely enough to sustain the locals, and their forces, let alone an invading Federal Army, and so your conception of a "March to the Sea" likely couldn't have occurred.

The best way to move troops into the area probably would have been by ship onto the West Coast, but even that is a dicey prospect, as you would have to move the entire US Navy, which wasn't very impressive at the time, all the way around South America, then back up.  A very dangerous, very time consuming journey.  By the time they landed, half the men would be diseased.  And even then, it would have taken years to build up a force of just 40,000 or so.

Most likely, the Cascadians would endeavor to fight a guerrilla war, with a very important battles, but by that I mean more along the size of Glorieta Pass, or some of the other battles fought in the Trans-Mississippi Theater.  Certainly nothing even approaching the size of even the smaller battles in the Virginia campaigns.

As such, many of the big name generals we associate with the Civil War would have been terrible choices to lead the effort.  Most of the commanders who rose to prominence would be old Indian fighters; men like John Buford.  Lee and Grant wouldn't even make it to the radar.  And the Army would probably be more immersed in political appointments under a Douglas Administration than under Lincoln in the real TL, and they would have been even less effective in the first few years.

The British almost certainly would have become involved at a high level.  They always fears U.S. invasion of Canada, particularly on the Pacific Coast.  Denying them access to that coast altogether in favor of a small, non-threatening power, would be very much in their interests.  The French, in the meantime, would probably jump into help, hoping to get Mexico established before the U.S. threatened to activate the Monroe Doctrine on old Maximilian.

The war itself could last as long as a decade, or longer, assuming Britain and France decided not to jump in, as the U.S. would have no effective way of gaining support for the cause, getting men to fight the rebels, or supplying them once they got there.  In contrast, the Cascadians would at least have access to Pacific trade routes, and major home field advantage would keep them in the hunt.