Timeline 31

[mobiyuz]

9 February 1894
Cedar City, Deseret

With things finally calmed down in the east, Lieutenant General Malcolm Wilkerson had been reassigned to a much more benign duty. His new job was to travel across Deseret's vast territory and hunt down the remaining polygamists, who had scattered to the wind like ashes once the "Mormon Concordat" went into effect. They'd escaped into the desert and started hiding out anywhere they could, forming little colonies like nests of rats. And for those in Cedar City, the arrival of the railroad had brought mixed reactions. For the non-polygamists and "gentiles" of the town, it meant connection to the outside world, greater trade and commerce, the arrival of the telegraph, and fresh blood to revitalize the town. For those not in that category, the so-called "Old Believers"...

The train carrying Wilkerson's men came to a grinding halt with a loud blast on its whistle, signalling the arrival of a military train. Wilkerson himself stepped off and was immediately greeted with a crowd of onlookers. By now, he could tell who was a Mormon and who wasn't. Non-Mormons clapped and cheered, some even waved flags. Mormons just stood there and watched, some with no expression, some with looks of disapproval. His smile and wave was for the non-Mormons.

A very formal-looking man who his report had told him was the mayor of the city, a short, pudgy man who went by the name Ezekiel Mitchell, and who was also a Mormon, greeted him with a neutral expression and a firm handshake. "Greetings to you, General. Cedar City welcomes you with open arms."

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Mayor." Both their voices made steam in the frigid air of Winter, accentuating the fresh snowfall on the ground around them.

"I trust that your stay in the city will be a short one?" He said that perhaps a bit too anxiously. Backtracking on his words a bit, he continued. "Of course, I ask simply because I understand that there are likely to be a great many places throughout the countryside of this state that require your attention more than my city."

"Undoubtedly so, Mr. Mayor, but I was ordered here for a reason." He pulled out a note from the pocket on the breast of his jacket and read it again. "My commanders have stated interest in a Mr. Aaron Kimball. If you could simply direct me and a handful of my men thenceward, we may complete our task in the shortest time possible."

"Of course, Mr. Kimball is one of the upstanding pillars of our community, I'm sure-"

Wilkerson held up a hand. "I am sure that he is a pillar of your community in many ways, Mr. Mayor. That's not what I asked about. I simply asked to be directed toward his place of residence." Mayor Mitchell's expression held a hint of a glare, but he turned and pointed down one of the city's roads.

"His house is the one down the road that-a-ways, with the white fence on its front, but I can assure you-"

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Mayor, I can take it from here." He turned to a group of soldiers with him. "Alright, you heard the man. This way." Snapping to attention, the small force of soldiers made their way down the street toward the house that had the white fence, and all the while Wilkerson couldn't help but keep notice of the houses in this part of the city. Most of them were very large, sprawling affairs, with multiple additions onto each one.

A soldier who was too young to have more than a peach's fuzz on his upper lip couldn't help but notice the houses either. "They sure do need a lot of space, don't they?"

"Polygamist houses, private. I read about them back west, and saw them for myself out here. A man builds a house, then he builds a new wing for each of his wives and their litters. Most of the polygamists in these have been run out by now, but we'll see what Mr. Kimball has to say on the subject." He walked up to the front door and knocked three times, and was immediately greeted by a wizened old man with a fantastically large beard spilling out over his chest. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Aaron Kimball?"

"Yessir, I'm he." His voice was much slower, much like molasses spilling out over his lips, in contrast to the faster, clipped tones of Wilkerson's own English. "What can I do for you sirs?"

"I ask only that you assemble all of your family here in this house in this front room here." Kimball eyed him and made as if to slam the door in his face, then thought better of it, considered it once again, but then opened the door.

"Very well. Please come in, but leave yer soldier boys outside."

"I can't do that, sir. If you're willing to compromise, then I will take only four in with me while the rest wait outside." Again, a glare from Kimball, but then he nodded and went to assemble his family. Four adult women were among them, along with an excessive number of young boys and girls. Wilkerson looked them over, then paid his attention to the four adult women. "Which among you is Mrs. Kimball?"

He could tell that all four of them were about to respond, but then just one responded and said "I am his wife, his only wife." Then the next woman spoke up and said "I'm his sister", followed by the third woman responding "I'm his wife's sister." The fourth woman, though, was quiet. She looked to be the youngest of them, maybe only barely over the age of majority.

"Miss, I need you to tell me how you're related to this man."

She looked up at him, then suddenly rushed forward and fell at his feet. "I'm his wife, they all are, please sir, please take me away from here, get me away from this place!" She said it all in one breathless go, while the other three woman began shrieking like banshees. "Jezebel! Harlot! Betrayal! Traitor!"

Wilkerson, meanwhile, simply turned to the other soldiers with him, and those outside the room. "Men, take Mr. Kimball and his wives into custody, see that his children will be attended to. Once you've done that, burn this house to the ground, so that no den of sin may be permitted to exist within our nation's borders." Maybe he'd grown overly harsh in his years patrolling the deserts, but once given a job it was his duty to carry it out, no exceptions. The girls shrieked at him, the boys attempted to slap, punch, and kick at the soldiers, Kimball himself simply let them carry him out, and the three wives cursed and shrieked in a very un-ladylike way. The fourth woman, though, he led gently back toward the train, silently, and with no strife. He could see tears welling in her eyes, though whether they were anguish or joy was unclear. As they returned to the train, the town's residents glared at them again, aside from again the non-Mormon cheers and clapping. Once he returned to the train, though, his wondering about the cause of her tears was cleared with a small smile and two small words.

"Thank you."

[lordroel]

Jun 26, 2019 12:17:52 GMT mobiyuz said:

9 February 1894
Cedar City, Deseret

With things finally calmed down in the east, Lieutenant General Malcolm Wilkerson had been reassigned to a much more benign duty. His new job was to travel across Deseret's vast territory and hunt down the remaining polygamists, who had scattered to the wind like ashes once the "Mormon Concordat" went into effect. They'd escaped into the desert and started hiding out anywhere they could, forming little colonies like nests of rats. And for those in Cedar City, the arrival of the railroad had brought mixed reactions. For the non-polygamists and "gentiles" of the town, it meant connection to the outside world, greater trade and commerce, the arrival of the telegraph, and fresh blood to revitalize the town. For those not in that category, the so-called "Old Believers"...

The train carrying Wilkerson's men came to a grinding halt with a loud blast on its whistle, signalling the arrival of a military train. Wilkerson himself stepped off and was immediately greeted with a crowd of onlookers. By now, he could tell who was a Mormon and who wasn't. Non-Mormons clapped and cheered, some even waved flags. Mormons just stood there and watched, some with no expression, some with looks of disapproval. His smile and wave was for the non-Mormons.

A very formal-looking man who his report had told him was the mayor of the city, a short, pudgy man who went by the name Ezekiel Mitchell, and who was also a Mormon, greeted him with a neutral expression and a firm handshake. "Greetings to you, General. Cedar City welcomes you with open arms."

"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Mayor." Both their voices made steam in the frigid air of Winter, accentuating the fresh snowfall on the ground around them.

"I trust that your stay in the city will be a short one?" He said that perhaps a bit too anxiously. Backtracking on his words a bit, he continued. "Of course, I ask simply because I understand that there are likely to be a great many places throughout the countryside of this state that require your attention more than my city."

"Undoubtedly so, Mr. Mayor, but I was ordered here for a reason." He pulled out a note from the pocket on the breast of his jacket and read it again. "My commanders have stated interest in a Mr. Aaron Kimball. If you could simply direct me and a handful of my men thenceward, we may complete our task in the shortest time possible."

"Of course, Mr. Kimball is one of the upstanding pillars of our community, I'm sure-"

Wilkerson held up a hand. "I am sure that he is a pillar of your community in many ways, Mr. Mayor. That's not what I asked about. I simply asked to be directed toward his place of residence." Mayor Mitchell's expression held a hint of a glare, but he turned and pointed down one of the city's roads.

"His house is the one down the road that-a-ways, with the white fence on its front, but I can assure you-"

"Thank you kindly, Mr. Mayor, I can take it from here." He turned to a group of soldiers with him. "Alright, you heard the man. This way." Snapping to attention, the small force of soldiers made their way down the street toward the house that had the white fence, and all the while Wilkerson couldn't help but keep notice of the houses in this part of the city. Most of them were very large, sprawling affairs, with multiple additions onto each one.

A soldier who was too young to have more than a peach's fuzz on his upper lip couldn't help but notice the houses either. "They sure do need a lot of space, don't they?"

"Polygamist houses, private. I read about them back west, and saw them for myself out here. A man builds a house, then he builds a new wing for each of his wives and their litters. Most of the polygamists in these have been run out by now, but we'll see what Mr. Kimball has to say on the subject." He walked up to the front door and knocked three times, and was immediately greeted by a wizened old man with a fantastically large beard spilling out over his chest. "Excuse me, are you Mr. Aaron Kimball?"

"Yessir, I'm he." His voice was much slower, much like molasses spilling out over his lips, in contrast to the faster, clipped tones of Wilkerson's own English. "What can I do for you sirs?"

"I ask only that you assemble all of your family here in this house in this front room here." Kimball eyed him and made as if to slam the door in his face, then thought better of it, considered it once again, but then opened the door.

"Very well. Please come in, but leave yer soldier boys outside."

"I can't do that, sir. If you're willing to compromise, then I will take only four in with me while the rest wait outside." Again, a glare from Kimball, but then he nodded and went to assemble his family. Four adult women were among them, along with an excessive number of young boys and girls. Wilkerson looked them over, then paid his attention to the four adult women. "Which among you is Mrs. Kimball?"

He could tell that all four of them were about to respond, but then just one responded and said "I am his wife, his only wife." Then the next woman spoke up and said "I'm his sister", followed by the third woman responding "I'm his wife's sister." The fourth woman, though, was quiet. She looked to be the youngest of them, maybe only barely over the age of majority.

"Miss, I need you to tell me how you're related to this man."

She looked up at him, then suddenly rushed forward and fell at his feet. "I'm his wife, they all are, please sir, please take me away from here, get me away from this place!" She said it all in one breathless go, while the other three woman began shrieking like banshees. "Jezebel! Harlot! Betrayal! Traitor!"

Wilkerson, meanwhile, simply turned to the other soldiers with him, and those outside the room. "Men, take Mr. Kimball and his wives into custody, see that his children will be attended to. Once you've done that, burn this house to the ground, so that no den of sin may be permitted to exist within our nation's borders." Maybe he'd grown overly harsh in his years patrolling the deserts, but once given a job it was his duty to carry it out, no exceptions. The girls shrieked at him, the boys attempted to slap, punch, and kick at the soldiers, Kimball himself simply let them carry him out, and the three wives cursed and shrieked in a very un-ladylike way. The fourth woman, though, he led gently back toward the train, silently, and with no strife. He could see tears welling in her eyes, though whether they were anguish or joy was unclear. As they returned to the train, the town's residents glared at them again, aside from again the non-Mormon cheers and clapping. Once he returned to the train, though, his wondering about the cause of her tears was cleared with a small smile and two small words.

"Thank you."

Nice update mobiyuz.

[mobiyuz]

Part 8: The Freedom War (1895-1896)

For a moment, we will backtrack and discuss the development of Texas from the War of Dissolution until 1895. One of three slave-owning nations in North America in 1866 along with the Plains Federation and the Confederate States of America, and one of several in the whole of the world, Texas was increasingly isolated by the albatross of slavery as nation after nation outlawed it, including the Plains Federation to the north in 1871. In fact, by 1895, Texas and the CSA were the only nations in the world that still allowed slavery, and as a consequence were increasingly politically and economically isolated. The CSA suffered for it by the sputtering wars that broke out every so often with Freedonia, but Texas was more suffering internally. Much as the United States had been split north and south on the issue, Texas was split east and west. Eastern Texas, anchored to the Mississippi River, was dominated by slave plantations and the plantation system, as well as having most of the country's population. Western Texas, anchored to the Rio Grande River, was dominated by ranches and had almost no slaves, and was more sparsely populated. Central Texas, based around the so-called "Golden Triangle" formed by Austin, Dallas, and Galveston, was more centered on commerce and industry, and was something of the epicenter of the debate.

An aerial view of the city of Austin, the capital of the Republic of Texas.

The issue of slavery, despite being one of the initial reasons that Texas had seceded, was now beginning to tear it apart as well. There were legitimate threats from the western portion of the country that they would secede to form the "Republic of the Rio Grande", to the point that men operating on the Californian side of the river were smuggling guns in for a possible uprising. Facing such a situation, President Silas Hare (himself sympathetic to slavery) desperately needed something to try and unify the nation around a single cause, and found one in his western neighbor. Since independence, Texan slaves had several options to attempt to flee. North was the Plains Federation, which being dependent on Texas and the CSA for commerce down the Mississippi had been forced to sign an extradition treaty. East was the CSA, which would be fleeing the frying pan and falling into the fire. South was Mexico, which had much more ability to patrol its borders against a people they had a lack of sympathy for. This only really left one option: California, to the west. And for years now, a steady trickle of escaped slaves had been fleeing into California, and all the while California had refused to return them, putting a significant roadblock on their diplomatic interactions.

A dramatization of Texan slaves escaping westward into California.

Having a casus belli, on 5 August 1895, President Hare sent an ultimatum to the Californian government with a demand that he knew they wouldn't be willing to fulfill. The terms were the return of all slaves who had escaped to California, and to allow Texan officials to oversee the process. As expected, Waterman refused the terms, but then pulled a move that Austin hadn't expected: he didn't pass the terms on to Congress to be voted on, saying that he was "deliberating" the terms, which was within his power as chief diplomat. During this time, though, Waterman reached out to a Lieutenant General with experience in the Sand Wars by the name of Malcolm Wilkerson, appointing him General of the Armies for his experience in the region. His instructions, according to Waterman, were "This war must be fought on the defensive. Make them bleed." This was an extrapolation of the fact that Texas' army was larger than California's, nearly double its size, especially after cuts to the military that Waterman's government had enacted. Now, with emergency funding authorized by Congress, Wilkerson began to prepare for the coming fight. Among these preparations, Wilkerson began to adapt technologies that had been made use of in conflicts out east and during the last war, methods such as war trenches, the use of barbed wire, and a new innovation in the maxim gun, a repeating gun capable of a fantastic rate of fire.

A modern replica of an 1892 Maxim machine gun, similar to those used in the Freedom War

Massing his defenses around the primary railroad lines crossing the border, Wilkerson could now focus his defenses on where it would be easiest for the Texans to mass their own forces as well as making it easier for him to resupply his larger forces by railroads. Having spent enough time out here, Wilkerson also knew the nature of the primary geographic barrier to Texans crossing the border: the Rio Grande River. As it was August, the meltwater was beginning to run out, and it was slowly calming down. Soon, come Winter it would be just a thin trickle of water along a muddy riverbed, allowing for Texas to more easily bring forces across by foot. Should they hold out through Winter, however, in Spring the meltwater would rise again, and the river would become much more difficult to navigate with the amount flowing through. Other concerns, meanwhile, were serendipitous. California's government had redesigned its uniforms and patterned them after the British, who had started to make use of a color they called "khaki", while Californian soldiers instead described it as "mojave", given that it matched the color of the dirt fairly well. Compared to the gaudy deep blue with red trim uniforms that Texas used, they were effectively an early form of camouflage.

A photograph of Californian soldiers mounting a defensive near Albuquerque.

On 5 September 1895, having run out of time, the ultimatum ran out and all at once, Texas and California were at war. As part of his initial plans for war, once the telegram came through that the war had begun, General Wilkerson had the two railroad bridges crossing the Rio Grande, one at Las Cruces and the other at Albuquerque, destroyed on the Californian side, requiring the Texans to go across the river. As it was Fall, the river was very easy to cross regardless, and the Texan advance could cross the river with simple boats. It was there that the Texans ran into the prepared Californian defenses, and Wilkerson had thrown everything into it: barbed wire, lines of trenches, artillery ranged out to the shores, and Maxim guns. The defense was absolutely brutal, and in the first hour of Texans beginning the attack, more than 800 Texan soldiers were killed. Californian artillery also shelled East Las Cruces and Albuquerque, along with other towns along the border. The complete lack of offensive efforts by California greatly confused the Texan military establishment, as they were unprepared for a scenario where their offensive efforts would be met by such stiff resistance. Regardless, the offensives continued across the entire front, but concentrated around Albuquerque and Las Cruces, as they were where the railroad lines made supplying troops easier. Preparing for this, the most lethal defenses had been put into place in the towns of West Mesa and Fairacre, the towns on the Californian side of the river that were quickly smashed to pieces by both Texan and Californian artillery. It was West Mesa that some of the most brutal fighting was held, with fighting from house to house, in the streets, and even in the rubble. A common story was that a single building, the West Mesa Bank, changed hands three times within a single hour. These stories are likely exaggerated, but it cannot be overemphasized the degree to which urban warfare found its beginnings here.

Californian soldiers mount a defensive in a ruined building in West Mesa, 22 October 1895

As Winter came and the river slowed to a trickle through a muddy riverbed, Texas began to punch even harder at California's lines, but again, Wilkerson's plans for the defensive held. The farthest advance had been north of Fairacre, where they had managed to push 15 kilometers into California, which was still far behind Texas' offensive plans for what they had hoped to achieve by that point. The ultimate goals of their campaign were Flagstaff and Phoenix, cities deep within California's borders. Yet it was becoming increasingly clear that these goals were going to be far more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. By this point, the Texans had been forced to adopt a depressingly routine strategy to clash with the Californians. Having established supply lines across the river into Californian territory, the Texans had also dug in and begun using trenches as well to prepare assaults. At the order of "over the top!", soldiers would charge across the land between trenches, and be met with a hail of artillery and gunfire until either the assault fell back, or they managed to take the trench. And if they took the trench, the Californians would have prepared further defenses behind that trench, making advancing forward unbearably slow.

Civilians in Polvadera taking shots at enemy Texans from their porch, 19 December 1895

In late December of 1895, a remarkable event took place. In recognition of Christmas approaching rapidly, Eureka telegraphed Austin with a request for a 24-hour ceasefire in honor of the holiday. Austin, somewhat amazingly, agreed, and at midnight on 25 December 1895, the cease-fire went into effect. For the whole of Christmas day, only isolated, sporadic outbursts of shooting took place. In most cases, soldiers on both sides simply kept to themselves, but in many places, the two opposing sides would meet in the middle of No Man's Land and sing carols, carry out impromptu gift exchanges, and interact with each other as if there was no war. The "Christmas Ceasefire" would quickly be mythologized as an example of brotherhood in war, and the silliness of war as a whole. Of course, the next day, the ceasefire expired and the war began once again.

A photograph of an impromptu game of football became one of the most famous images of the war,
demonstrating camaraderie between enemies even during a conflict.

As the war entered February of 1896, General Wilkerson temporarily returned to Eureka for a conference with President Waterman. During the meeting, Wilkerson stated that Texas might be ready to make peace, but Waterman refused. Waterman insisted that the Texan forces in California be completely smashed before peace talks begin, and Wilkerson adapted his strategy to accommodate this. Unlike many other rivers that continuously flowed fairly consistently throughout the year, like the Ohio River or Mississippi River, the Rio Grande had a seasonal cycle. And Wilkerson knew that by mid-Spring, melting snow in the Rocky Mountains that fed the Rio Grande would turn the river into a much stronger and higher current that would make supplying Texan soldiers across the river much more difficult. With that in mind, Wilkerson planned for a massive offensive campaign when the river cut into Texas' supply lines.
 At the same time, things in Texas were growing progressively worse. With Texan men dying every day on the front lines of the war, the public mood had turned overwhelmingly against President Hare and the war in general. Initially promised a quick victory because of Texas' larger army and the fact that California was run by the Progressives, the fact that the war was dragging on for so long and proving to be so costly was putting increasing strain on Texas' government and its military command. An increasing number of figures on both sides of the aisle were beginning to call for peace with California, but President Hare had let himself become too invested in trying to pull out a victory, a victim of the sunk cost fallacy. Even the military was becoming increasingly unhappy with the President, who had overall command of the armies as Commander-in-Chief.

A riot in Galveston calling for the end of the war turns violent as a bomb is detonated, 17 March 1896

As March turned into April, on schedule, the Rio Grande began to swell and become much choppier. This made transporting men and materials across the river into occupied parts of California much more difficult for the Texan army, and Wilkerson put his plan into action. On 18 April 1896, California embarked on its first major offensive action in the course of the war, which caught the Texans off guard and forced them to scramble for the defensive. The April Offensive lasted for 6 days and struck across wide swathes of the front, and the Californian forces, who had been able to conserve the morale and energy of their soldiers through the defensive campaign struck blow after blow against the exhausted and demoralized Texan forces, pushing them back kilometer after kilometer, the Rio Grande making resupply almost impossible on the scale that it was necessary. In the town of Mesita, 700 Texan soldiers were encircled and forced to surrender, taken as prisoners of war. By the time the offensive ended with stiffened Texan resistance, more than 2,000 Texans had been killed and thousands more had been injured. The Texans had lost the initiative, and throughout May they continued struggling to retake the kilometers they had lost in the offensive.

A dramatization of the Californian advance during the April Offensive.

In the aftermath of the April Offensive, the mood in Texas turned overwhelmingly toward calls for peace. Hare, however, refused, pointing to the construction of pontoon bridges for supply efforts as a sign that they could regain the initiative. Even the military command, though, had no hope for successfully carrying on the campaign. They instead drew their own conclusion for ending the war: a coup. On the 8th of July 1896, a group of soldiers under command of several high-ranking members of the Texan Military Command stormed the Executive Mansion and demanded that President Hare resign immediately. Seeing that the military had turned against him, Hare, for his part, accepted the reality of the situation and resigned as President an hour later. Not a single person had been shot in what became known as the "July Coup". The next day, his Vice President, Alois Mendelson, was sworn in as president. The same day, General Archer Huxley, the commanding general of the Texan forces, surrendered to General Wilkerson in the Californian town of Magdalena. And the day after that, on 10 July 1896, Mendelson sent a telegram declaring a full and unconditional surrender.

Californian and Texan soldiers meet following General Huxley's surrender, 9 July 1896

The war had been a disaster for Texas and a boon for California. In the Treaty of Phoenix that formally ended the war, Texas was required to pay 2.1 million dollars in reparations, but more importantly was forced to recognize that California was a free nation above all else and that any slaves who escaped into its territory were legally recognized as free the moment they escaped across the border. All of it was just further underscored as pointless when Mendelson pushed for and succeeded in securing the abolition of slavery in 1899. Texas itself had nearly been brought to the point of revolution, but would eventually settle back down with its politics slowly being stabilized. The humiliation that the war had put on Texas, however, just further underscored its pariah status in the world. Not only had it been defeated by a smaller military power, it had been defeated while trying to reclaim escaped slaves in an era when virtually all nations had abolished it, only further isolating Texas in the world. This humiliation wouldn't even begin to wear off for decades. The war had been a massive win for California, however. Success and victory in the war saw a massive outpouring of patriotism and national fervor. It was a very important political victory for President Waterman as well, and its aftermath saw his approval ratings skyrocket to a maximum of 74% in the immediate aftermath, though it would drop fairly quickly to a more normal level over the rest of the year. The Progressives used it as a vindication of their party holding power, but it also altered the Progressive Party's stance on war as well. Instead of reducing the military entirely and going for a totally pacifist stance in international relations, they instead would adopt a policy of "guarded pacifism", keeping the military built up (even if slightly reduced) to be prepared for war.

The Wilkerson Arch in San Francisco, a temporary structure built to commemorate victory in the war.

In the following years, Texas would abolish slavery, leaving the CSA as the last major western nation to do so in 1905. The Progressives were now solidly entrenched as the main liberal party in California, and became icons for Lincolnists across the continent. Indeed, Lincolnist-inspired parties would begin cropping up all over the continent after the war. But one last major thing to discuss of the war's legacy is its effects on Europe - or indeed, its lack of one. Foreign observers had been sent to study the war from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan, all of whom had observers on both sides and saw how General Wilkerson had used the defensive to great effect, making full use of the capabilities of modern warfare. However, almost none of them took their observations to heart. A war on a large, spread-out front in southwestern North America was seen as too alien to the built-up, densely populated areas of Europe that fronts might break out, and so were seen as somewhat useless to study. The General Staff of the German Empire, however, did keep records of the war on hand and would keep them as case studies right up to World War I, and Japan would go on to make use of tactics and strategies with trench warfare in their wars against China and Russia the next decade.

The Freedom War memorial in Eureka, modern-day.

The Freedom War is one of those events that seems small and inconsequential in the terms of the wider world, but once you look deeper into how it unfolded and all the things that resulted from it, it becomes apparent why some historians call the Freedom War the first "modern war", where technology and strategy determined superiority on the battlefield rather than the valor or bravery of soldiers, where glory of a nation no longer mattered compared to the overall victory. And it matters because it served as something of a grim portent of what was to come, the kinds of horrors modern warfare could wreak on a nation that was soon to be learned firsthand by the nations of Europe in the coming war.

[lordroel]

Jun 27, 2019 1:43:15 GMT mobiyuz said:

Part 8: The Freedom War (1895-1896)

For a moment, we will backtrack and discuss the development of Texas from the War of Dissolution until 1895. One of three slave-owning nations in North America in 1866 along with the Plains Federation and the Confederate States of America, and one of several in the whole of the world, Texas was increasingly isolated by the albatross of slavery as nation after nation outlawed it, including the Plains Federation to the north in 1871. In fact, by 1895, Texas and the CSA were the only nations in the world that still allowed slavery, and as a consequence were increasingly politically and economically isolated. The CSA suffered for it by the sputtering wars that broke out every so often with Freedonia, but Texas was more suffering internally. Much as the United States had been split north and south on the issue, Texas was split east and west. Eastern Texas, anchored to the Mississippi River, was dominated by slave plantations and the plantation system, as well as having most of the country's population. Western Texas, anchored to the Rio Grande River, was dominated by ranches and had almost no slaves, and was more sparsely populated. Central Texas, based around the so-called "Golden Triangle" formed by Austin, Dallas, and Galveston, was more centered on commerce and industry, and was something of the epicenter of the debate.

An aerial view of the city of Austin, the capital of the Republic of Texas.

The issue of slavery, despite being one of the initial reasons that Texas had seceded, was now beginning to tear it apart as well. There were legitimate threats from the western portion of the country that they would secede to form the "Republic of the Rio Grande", to the point that men operating on the Californian side of the river were smuggling guns in for a possible uprising. Facing such a situation, President Silas Hare (himself sympathetic to slavery) desperately needed something to try and unify the nation around a single cause, and found one in his western neighbor. Since independence, Texan slaves had several options to attempt to flee. North was the Plains Federation, which being dependent on Texas and the CSA for commerce down the Mississippi had been forced to sign an extradition treaty. East was the CSA, which would be fleeing the frying pan and falling into the fire. South was Mexico, which had much more ability to patrol its borders against a people they had a lack of sympathy for. This only really left one option: California, to the west. And for years now, a steady trickle of escaped slaves had been fleeing into California, and all the while California had refused to return them, putting a significant roadblock on their diplomatic interactions.

A dramatization of Texan slaves escaping westward into California.

Having a casus belli, on 5 August 1895, President Hare sent an ultimatum to the Californian government with a demand that he knew they wouldn't be willing to fulfill. The terms were the return of all slaves who had escaped to California, and to allow Texan officials to oversee the process. As expected, Waterman refused the terms, but then pulled a move that Austin hadn't expected: he didn't pass the terms on to Congress to be voted on, saying that he was "deliberating" the terms, which was within his power as chief diplomat. During this time, though, Waterman reached out to a Lieutenant General with experience in the Sand Wars by the name of Malcolm Wilkerson, appointing him General of the Armies for his experience in the region. His instructions, according to Waterman, were "This war must be fought on the defensive. Make them bleed." This was an extrapolation of the fact that Texas' army was larger than California's, nearly double its size, especially after cuts to the military that Waterman's government had enacted. Now, with emergency funding authorized by Congress, Wilkerson began to prepare for the coming fight. Among these preparations, Wilkerson began to adapt technologies that had been made use of in conflicts out east and during the last war, methods such as war trenches, the use of barbed wire, and a new innovation in the maxim gun, a repeating gun capable of a fantastic rate of fire.

A modern replica of an 1892 Maxim machine gun, similar to those used in the Freedom War

Massing his defenses around the primary railroad lines crossing the border, Wilkerson could now focus his defenses on where it would be easiest for the Texans to mass their own forces as well as making it easier for him to resupply his larger forces by railroads. Having spent enough time out here, Wilkerson also knew the nature of the primary geographic barrier to Texans crossing the border: the Rio Grande River. As it was August, the meltwater was beginning to run out, and it was slowly calming down. Soon, come Winter it would be just a thin trickle of water along a muddy riverbed, allowing for Texas to more easily bring forces across by foot. Should they hold out through Winter, however, in Spring the meltwater would rise again, and the river would become much more difficult to navigate with the amount flowing through. Other concerns, meanwhile, were serendipitous. California's government had redesigned its uniforms and patterned them after the British, who had started to make use of a color they called "khaki", while Californian soldiers instead described it as "mojave", given that it matched the color of the dirt fairly well. Compared to the gaudy deep blue with red trim uniforms that Texas used, they were effectively an early form of camouflage.

A photograph of Californian soldiers mounting a defensive near Albuquerque.

On 5 September 1895, having run out of time, the ultimatum ran out and all at once, Texas and California were at war. As part of his initial plans for war, once the telegram came through that the war had begun, General Wilkerson had the two railroad bridges crossing the Rio Grande, one at Las Cruces and the other at Albuquerque, destroyed on the Californian side, requiring the Texans to go across the river. As it was Fall, the river was very easy to cross regardless, and the Texan advance could cross the river with simple boats. It was there that the Texans ran into the prepared Californian defenses, and Wilkerson had thrown everything into it: barbed wire, lines of trenches, artillery ranged out to the shores, and Maxim guns. The defense was absolutely brutal, and in the first hour of Texans beginning the attack, more than 800 Texan soldiers were killed. Californian artillery also shelled East Las Cruces and Albuquerque, along with other towns along the border. The complete lack of offensive efforts by California greatly confused the Texan military establishment, as they were unprepared for a scenario where their offensive efforts would be met by such stiff resistance. Regardless, the offensives continued across the entire front, but concentrated around Albuquerque and Las Cruces, as they were where the railroad lines made supplying troops easier. Preparing for this, the most lethal defenses had been put into place in the towns of West Mesa and Fairacre, the towns on the Californian side of the river that were quickly smashed to pieces by both Texan and Californian artillery. It was West Mesa that some of the most brutal fighting was held, with fighting from house to house, in the streets, and even in the rubble. A common story was that a single building, the West Mesa Bank, changed hands three times within a single hour. These stories are likely exaggerated, but it cannot be overemphasized the degree to which urban warfare found its beginnings here.

Californian soldiers mount a defensive in a ruined building in West Mesa, 22 October 1895

As Winter came and the river slowed to a trickle through a muddy riverbed, Texas began to punch even harder at California's lines, but again, Wilkerson's plans for the defensive held. The farthest advance had been north of Fairacre, where they had managed to push 15 kilometers into California, which was still far behind Texas' offensive plans for what they had hoped to achieve by that point. The ultimate goals of their campaign were Flagstaff and Phoenix, cities deep within California's borders. Yet it was becoming increasingly clear that these goals were going to be far more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve. By this point, the Texans had been forced to adopt a depressingly routine strategy to clash with the Californians. Having established supply lines across the river into Californian territory, the Texans had also dug in and begun using trenches as well to prepare assaults. At the order of "over the top!", soldiers would charge across the land between trenches, and be met with a hail of artillery and gunfire until either the assault fell back, or they managed to take the trench. And if they took the trench, the Californians would have prepared further defenses behind that trench, making advancing forward unbearably slow.

Civilians in Polvadera taking shots at enemy Texans from their porch, 19 December 1895

In late December of 1895, a remarkable event took place. In recognition of Christmas approaching rapidly, Eureka telegraphed Austin with a request for a 24-hour ceasefire in honor of the holiday. Austin, somewhat amazingly, agreed, and at midnight on 25 December 1895, the cease-fire went into effect. For the whole of Christmas day, only isolated, sporadic outbursts of shooting took place. In most cases, soldiers on both sides simply kept to themselves, but in many places, the two opposing sides would meet in the middle of No Man's Land and sing carols, carry out impromptu gift exchanges, and interact with each other as if there was no war. The "Christmas Ceasefire" would quickly be mythologized as an example of brotherhood in war, and the silliness of war as a whole. Of course, the next day, the ceasefire expired and the war began once again.

A photograph of an impromptu game of football became one of the most famous images of the war,
demonstrating camaraderie between enemies even during a conflict.

As the war entered February of 1896, General Wilkerson temporarily returned to Eureka for a conference with President Waterman. During the meeting, Wilkerson stated that Texas might be ready to make peace, but Waterman refused. Waterman insisted that the Texan forces in California be completely smashed before peace talks begin, and Wilkerson adapted his strategy to accommodate this. Unlike many other rivers that continuously flowed fairly consistently throughout the year, like the Ohio River or Mississippi River, the Rio Grande had a seasonal cycle. And Wilkerson knew that by mid-Spring, melting snow in the Rocky Mountains that fed the Rio Grande would turn the river into a much stronger and higher current that would make supplying Texan soldiers across the river much more difficult. With that in mind, Wilkerson planned for a massive offensive campaign when the river cut into Texas' supply lines.
 At the same time, things in Texas were growing progressively worse. With Texan men dying every day on the front lines of the war, the public mood had turned overwhelmingly against President Hare and the war in general. Initially promised a quick victory because of Texas' larger army and the fact that California was run by the Progressives, the fact that the war was dragging on for so long and proving to be so costly was putting increasing strain on Texas' government and its military command. An increasing number of figures on both sides of the aisle were beginning to call for peace with California, but President Hare had let himself become too invested in trying to pull out a victory, a victim of the sunk cost fallacy. Even the military was becoming increasingly unhappy with the President, who had overall command of the armies as Commander-in-Chief.

A riot in Galveston calling for the end of the war turns violent as a bomb is detonated, 17 March 1896

As March turned into April, on schedule, the Rio Grande began to swell and become much choppier. This made transporting men and materials across the river into occupied parts of California much more difficult for the Texan army, and Wilkerson put his plan into action. On 18 April 1896, California embarked on its first major offensive action in the course of the war, which caught the Texans off guard and forced them to scramble for the defensive. The April Offensive lasted for 6 days and struck across wide swathes of the front, and the Californian forces, who had been able to conserve the morale and energy of their soldiers through the defensive campaign struck blow after blow against the exhausted and demoralized Texan forces, pushing them back kilometer after kilometer, the Rio Grande making resupply almost impossible on the scale that it was necessary. In the town of Mesita, 700 Texan soldiers were encircled and forced to surrender, taken as prisoners of war. By the time the offensive ended with stiffened Texan resistance, more than 2,000 Texans had been killed and thousands more had been injured. The Texans had lost the initiative, and throughout May they continued struggling to retake the kilometers they had lost in the offensive.

A dramatization of the Californian advance during the April Offensive.

In the aftermath of the April Offensive, the mood in Texas turned overwhelmingly toward calls for peace. Hare, however, refused, pointing to the construction of pontoon bridges for supply efforts as a sign that they could regain the initiative. Even the military command, though, had no hope for successfully carrying on the campaign. They instead drew their own conclusion for ending the war: a coup. On the 8th of July 1896, a group of soldiers under command of several high-ranking members of the Texan Military Command stormed the Executive Mansion and demanded that President Hare resign immediately. Seeing that the military had turned against him, Hare, for his part, accepted the reality of the situation and resigned as President an hour later. Not a single person had been shot in what became known as the "July Coup". The next day, his Vice President, Alois Mendelson, was sworn in as president. The same day, General Archer Huxley, the commanding general of the Texan forces, surrendered to General Wilkerson in the Californian town of Magdalena. And the day after that, on 10 July 1896, Mendelson sent a telegram declaring a full and unconditional surrender.

Californian and Texan soldiers meet following General Huxley's surrender, 9 July 1896

The war had been a disaster for Texas and a boon for California. In the Treaty of Phoenix that formally ended the war, Texas was required to pay 2.1 million dollars in reparations, but more importantly was forced to recognize that California was a free nation above all else and that any slaves who escaped into its territory were legally recognized as free the moment they escaped across the border. All of it was just further underscored as pointless when Mendelson pushed for and succeeded in securing the abolition of slavery in 1899. Texas itself had nearly been brought to the point of revolution, but would eventually settle back down with its politics slowly being stabilized. The humiliation that the war had put on Texas, however, just further underscored its pariah status in the world. Not only had it been defeated by a smaller military power, it had been defeated while trying to reclaim escaped slaves in an era when virtually all nations had abolished it, only further isolating Texas in the world. This humiliation wouldn't even begin to wear off for decades. The war had been a massive win for California, however. Success and victory in the war saw a massive outpouring of patriotism and national fervor. It was a very important political victory for President Waterman as well, and its aftermath saw his approval ratings skyrocket to a maximum of 74% in the immediate aftermath, though it would drop fairly quickly to a more normal level over the rest of the year. The Progressives used it as a vindication of their party holding power, but it also altered the Progressive Party's stance on war as well. Instead of reducing the military entirely and going for a totally pacifist stance in international relations, they instead would adopt a policy of "guarded pacifism", keeping the military built up (even if slightly reduced) to be prepared for war.

The Wilkerson Arch in San Francisco, a temporary structure built to commemorate victory in the war.

In the following years, Texas would abolish slavery, leaving the CSA as the last major western nation to do so in 1905. The Progressives were now solidly entrenched as the main liberal party in California, and became icons for Lincolnists across the continent. Indeed, Lincolnist-inspired parties would begin cropping up all over the continent after the war. But one last major thing to discuss of the war's legacy is its effects on Europe - or indeed, its lack of one. Foreign observers had been sent to study the war from the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and Japan, all of whom had observers on both sides and saw how General Wilkerson had used the defensive to great effect, making full use of the capabilities of modern warfare. However, almost none of them took their observations to heart. A war on a large, spread-out front in southwestern North America was seen as too alien to the built-up, densely populated areas of Europe that fronts might break out, and so were seen as somewhat useless to study. The General Staff of the German Empire, however, did keep records of the war on hand and would keep them as case studies right up to World War I, and Japan would go on to make use of tactics and strategies with trench warfare in their wars against China and Russia the next decade.

The Freedom War memorial in Eureka, modern-day.

The Freedom War is one of those events that seems small and inconsequential in the terms of the wider world, but once you look deeper into how it unfolded and all the things that resulted from it, it becomes apparent why some historians call the Freedom War the first "modern war", where technology and strategy determined superiority on the battlefield rather than the valor or bravery of soldiers, where glory of a nation no longer mattered compared to the overall victory. And it matters because it served as something of a grim portent of what was to come, the kinds of horrors modern warfare could wreak on a nation that was soon to be learned firsthand by the nations of Europe in the coming war.

Another great update mobiyuz.

[stevep]

   mobiyuz

   Interesting chapter but would the main route for escaping slaves be west to California given the relatively barren landscape or south to Mexico where going by the historical Mexican hostility towards slavery they would also be welcomed? Its this same barrenness of the border zone that allowed such a defensive war to be fought as while you could have plenty of options for cavalry raids and the like elsewhere as there would be too few troops to form any defensive lines or supply lines for prolonged occupation of territory.

   Depressing that given the date and size of this conflict and the presence of observers from many countries no one, other than Germany, which is potentially a further cause of worry seems to have learnt any lessons from it.  As you say virtually all the conflict was centred on two limited areas which would fit in well with the situation in much of Europe.  A very bad omen for the future. 

  The other exception seems to be Japan which would make a big difference in their behaviour and their military culture.  It also suggests their not fighting their own OTL war with China at this point? 

  As far as I'm aware in modern conflicts unconditional surrender wasn't used until 1945.  A defeated nation would ask for terms or an armistice as Germany did in 1918.  Since the Californian terms are quite moderate and they have no intention of occupying any let alone all of Texas I would expect that its more likely the new Texan government would asked what conditions California wants then leap to accept the conditions that were offered.  Unconditional surrender would suggest that the new government was prepared to accept any terms at all and attempts by California to impose draconian terms would be likely to alienate Texans from any peace.

  Otherwise a good chapter and a wise way to handle a war.  Also going to be a boost to California in a number of ways including probably strengthening national unity and identity. 

  Steve

  PS - Having seen the wiki type entry you put up for the conflict possibly the reason why the Europeans ignored the lessons from it, albeit not a good reason, was that it was pretty small, lasting less than a year, with no territorial changes and only ~20k dead in total.   Many of them might think of it more as a colonial border skirmish than the sort of war the continental powers expect to fight in Europe.  If the 2nd Boer war still occurs I wonder whether Britain, or possibly other powers will learn more than Britain did OTL - which was a lot fortunately - from it.

[mobiyuz]

Jun 27, 2019 8:39:16 GMT stevep said:

   mobiyuz

   Interesting chapter but would the main route for escaping slaves be west to California given the relatively barren landscape or south to Mexico where going by the historical Mexican hostility towards slavery they would also be welcomed? Its this same barrenness of the border zone that allowed such a defensive war to be fought as while you could have plenty of options for cavalry raids and the like elsewhere as there would be too few troops to form any defensive lines or supply lines for prolonged occupation of territory.

   Depressing that given the date and size of this conflict and the presence of observers from many countries no one, other than Germany, which is potentially a further cause of worry seems to have learnt any lessons from it.  As you say virtually all the conflict was centred on two limited areas which would fit in well with the situation in much of Europe.  A very bad omen for the future. 

  The other exception seems to be Japan which would make a big difference in their behaviour and their military culture.  It also suggests their not fighting their own OTL war with China at this point? 

  As far as I'm aware in modern conflicts unconditional surrender wasn't used until 1945.  A defeated nation would ask for terms or an armistice as Germany did in 1918.  Since the Californian terms are quite moderate and they have no intention of occupying any let alone all of Texas I would expect that its more likely the new Texan government would asked what conditions California wants then leap to accept the conditions that were offered.  Unconditional surrender would suggest that the new government was prepared to accept any terms at all and attempts by California to impose draconian terms would be likely to alienate Texans from any peace.

  Otherwise a good chapter and a wise way to handle a war.  Also going to be a boost to California in a number of ways including probably strengthening national unity and identity. 

  Steve

  PS - Having seen the wiki type entry you put up for the conflict possibly the reason why the Europeans ignored the lessons from it, albeit not a good reason, was that it was pretty small, lasting less than a year, with no territorial changes and only ~20k dead in total.   Many of them might think of it more as a colonial border skirmish than the sort of war the continental powers expect to fight in Europe.  If the 2nd Boer war still occurs I wonder whether Britain, or possibly other powers will learn more than Britain did OTL - which was a lot fortunately - from it.

That's the unfortunate part of it. The powers of Europe mostly just brushed it off. In the words of a German military attache, "It would be impossible to draw any real plans from this war, fought in a wide, arid landscape with little development and only a few small towns, that could be applied to a conflict in Europe, which is a temperate region with many cities and little room to maneuver." And this would remain the general opinion of Wilkerson's strategy, or as it came to be known the "Turtling Strategy" (named after the turtle being very defense-oriented with its shell) until around...let's say 1919-ish.

And as for the escaping south into Mexico, the Mexican government really had a low opinion of Afro-Americans given that they were the reason that Texas had seceded, not to mention the fact that Mexico really didn't want to have to deal with them on top of everything else, and also just pure racism: Mexico didn't want black people in their country. Not to say that California was any less prejudiced, sort of, they were just happier to benignly neglect them.

And yeah, the term "unconditional surrender" probably wouldn't be the best historically, but it's the only one I could think of to describe how Texas just wanted the war to end by any means necessary. It was just fortunate for them that the Waterman Administration didn't want any specific terms for said surrender.

[stevep]

Jun 27, 2019 9:04:35 GMT mobiyuz said:

Jun 27, 2019 8:39:16 GMT stevep said:

   mobiyuz

   Interesting chapter but would the main route for escaping slaves be west to California given the relatively barren landscape or south to Mexico where going by the historical Mexican hostility towards slavery they would also be welcomed? Its this same barrenness of the border zone that allowed such a defensive war to be fought as while you could have plenty of options for cavalry raids and the like elsewhere as there would be too few troops to form any defensive lines or supply lines for prolonged occupation of territory.

   Depressing that given the date and size of this conflict and the presence of observers from many countries no one, other than Germany, which is potentially a further cause of worry seems to have learnt any lessons from it.  As you say virtually all the conflict was centred on two limited areas which would fit in well with the situation in much of Europe.  A very bad omen for the future. 

  The other exception seems to be Japan which would make a big difference in their behaviour and their military culture.  It also suggests their not fighting their own OTL war with China at this point? 

  As far as I'm aware in modern conflicts unconditional surrender wasn't used until 1945.  A defeated nation would ask for terms or an armistice as Germany did in 1918.  Since the Californian terms are quite moderate and they have no intention of occupying any let alone all of Texas I would expect that its more likely the new Texan government would asked what conditions California wants then leap to accept the conditions that were offered.  Unconditional surrender would suggest that the new government was prepared to accept any terms at all and attempts by California to impose draconian terms would be likely to alienate Texans from any peace.

  Otherwise a good chapter and a wise way to handle a war.  Also going to be a boost to California in a number of ways including probably strengthening national unity and identity. 

  Steve

  PS - Having seen the wiki type entry you put up for the conflict possibly the reason why the Europeans ignored the lessons from it, albeit not a good reason, was that it was pretty small, lasting less than a year, with no territorial changes and only ~20k dead in total.   Many of them might think of it more as a colonial border skirmish than the sort of war the continental powers expect to fight in Europe.  If the 2nd Boer war still occurs I wonder whether Britain, or possibly other powers will learn more than Britain did OTL - which was a lot fortunately - from it.

That's the unfortunate part of it. The powers of Europe mostly just brushed it off. In the words of a German military attache, "It would be impossible to draw any real plans from this war, fought in a wide, arid landscape with little development and only a few small towns, that could be applied to a conflict in Europe, which is a temperate region with many cities and little room to maneuver." And this would remain the general opinion of Wilkerson's strategy, or as it came to be known the "Turtling Strategy" (named after the turtle being very defense-oriented with its shell) until around...let's say 1919-ish.

And as for the escaping south into Mexico, the Mexican government really had a low opinion of Afro-Americans given that they were the reason that Texas had seceded, not to mention the fact that Mexico really didn't want to have to deal with them on top of everything else, and also just pure racism: Mexico didn't want black people in their country. Not to say that California was any less prejudiced, sort of, they were just happier to benignly neglect them.

And yeah, the term "unconditional surrender" probably wouldn't be the best historically, but it's the only one I could think of to describe how Texas just wanted the war to end by any means necessary. It was just fortunate for them that the Waterman Administration didn't want any specific terms for said surrender.

    mobiyuz

  In agreement other than this bit.  It wasn't objection to blacks in general but more than the Texan rebels - or more especially the Anglo ones - did so because they sought to bring slavery into Texas despite this being in breach of both Mexican law which banned it and their agreement for settling in Texas.  There may well have be racism against blacks in Mexico although not aware of specific cases but the problem that was a major factor in the initial rebellion against Mexico was the white American settlers bringing slaves into the territory.  [Ditto also as part of the terms of the agreement that allowed them to settle they were supposed to convert to Catholism but I don't think any did.]

  Steve

[mobiyuz]

Jun 27, 2019 9:25:40 GMT stevep said:

Jun 27, 2019 9:04:35 GMT mobiyuz said:

That's the unfortunate part of it. The powers of Europe mostly just brushed it off. In the words of a German military attache, "It would be impossible to draw any real plans from this war, fought in a wide, arid landscape with little development and only a few small towns, that could be applied to a conflict in Europe, which is a temperate region with many cities and little room to maneuver." And this would remain the general opinion of Wilkerson's strategy, or as it came to be known the "Turtling Strategy" (named after the turtle being very defense-oriented with its shell) until around...let's say 1919-ish.

And as for the escaping south into Mexico, the Mexican government really had a low opinion of Afro-Americans given that they were the reason that Texas had seceded, not to mention the fact that Mexico really didn't want to have to deal with them on top of everything else, and also just pure racism: Mexico didn't want black people in their country. Not to say that California was any less prejudiced, sort of, they were just happier to benignly neglect them.

And yeah, the term "unconditional surrender" probably wouldn't be the best historically, but it's the only one I could think of to describe how Texas just wanted the war to end by any means necessary. It was just fortunate for them that the Waterman Administration didn't want any specific terms for said surrender.

    mobiyuz

  In agreement other than this bit.  It wasn't objection to blacks in general but more than the Texan rebels - or more especially the Anglo ones - did so because they sought to bring slavery into Texas despite this being in breach of both Mexican law which banned it and their agreement for settling in Texas.  There may well have be racism against blacks in Mexico although not aware of specific cases but the problem that was a major factor in the initial rebellion against Mexico was the white American settlers bringing slaves into the territory.  [Ditto also as part of the terms of the agreement that allowed them to settle they were supposed to convert to Catholism but I don't think any did.]

  Steve

Yes of course, but if people in the United States could blame the enslaved African-Americans for the civil war, then Mexico could blame the slaves for Texas. It's not a good reason, but it's one they had.

[mobiyuz]

Before this latest update, I would like to note that I forgot a rather big part of Part 7 pertaining to the leasing of the Kahului Territory in Hawaii. That part has now been updated with the relevant information. That out of the way, the update shall continue as normal.

---

18 January 1895
"A" Front, 10 km from East Las Cruces, Arizona

In the northern hemisphere, January usually meant that it was winter. To most people, it meant snow falling in thick layers and staying there for several months, requiring snow shovels and salt to get it out of the way. Along the Rio Grande, however, all it meant was frost on the ground and the reduction of the river’s flow to the barest trickle while its bed turned into mud, and to Henry Ardfel, it meant that the Texans were able to move across the river on foot rather than having to cross by ferry. Which meant that he had to pay the repeating gun even more attention in his efforts to stem the tide.

The gun snarled like a dog from the gates of hell, loud even through the cotton shoved in his ears. Sweeping across the field, he aimed it at anything and everything that moved, and men fell like birds at a duck shoot. By the time the belt fell out, he counted that he’d taken out at least 15 men in that sweep alone, with the next wave already gathering strength on the other side of the trenches.

Sitting back down into the trench, he grinned. “War is hell, ain’t it?”

The man next to him, who had been feeding ammunition into the war machine, pulled a plug of cotton out of his ears. “What was that?”

“I said ‘War is hell’, Chessie.” Henry smiled and patted the helmet that covered most of his head. “Bet you’re learning that pretty quick, eh?” The boy who had the unusual name of ‘Chesapeake Adams’ smiled and nodded emphatically. He was just a lad of 19, barely a man compared to Henry’s own 47 years and two decades of experience in the army. Still, this was the first real war either of them had actually fought in, and both were getting just as much field experience.

“Now come on, pass me that box of bullets, I wanna take a few cracks with my rifle.”

“The what?”

“The bullets, damn it! Give me the bullets!” Chessie passed them over in a hurry, and like lightning he’d loaded the cartridge and was firing away across the trenches. “It is a good thing war is so terrible, otherwise we’d grow too fond of it.”

“That’s a good quote, Mr. Ardfel. You should write it down.”

“Already was. That was said by General Lee himself after the Yankees were driven back at Fredericksburg in 1862.” He didn’t expect the boy to really know who Lee was. Lee had been dead for 6 years by the time he’d been born, and there wasn’t much reason to study Lee outside of the military context that the lad had only just been introduced to. “Generals gotta make the tough decision, kid. Gotta know that if you’re ever gonna move beyond where you’re at now. You ever wanna get out of these trenches, you’re gonna have to get that in your head.” He cracked off another few shots, maybe even hitting another Texan or two.

“I know that, it’s just...there’s a lot to take in.”

“Well, take it in. War ain’t some pretty thing that you get a few medals for taking part in. War is that!” He pointed out at the no man’s land between the trenches. “Back when war was honorable, it was men on the field of battle exchanging fire and one would win. Now, war is barbed wire, trenches, mud, artillery, and repeating guns. And no one wins!”

Chessie nodded and got him another box of bullets. “Think I’ll be able to fire a gun sometime soon?”

“Maybe someday, but just do the job you need to right now.” Several more shots, and an artillery shell landing some ways away with more sounds of men screaming across no man’s land. Chessie looked out across it, taking in the scope of it all. Endless mud, endless craters and shells left unexploded, trees blasted out of the ground. “Ain’t war hell?”

Another shell exploded. This time launched from the Texan side. It crashed down less than 10 feet in front of the both of them, sending a sandbag down on top of Chessie and throwing him into the mud of the trench.

It took some time to pull his face out and take a massive gulp of air, being face-down in the thick mud was worse than being underwater. “Sir? Mr. Ardfel?” He looked up, and vomited immediately. The only way he was able to tell it was Henry Ardfel anymore was the gold tooth in what was left of his jaw.

Chessie struggled to get as far from...it as was possible in the trench, scrambling over bits of wood and blasted remains of guns. He was only stopped by another soldier grabbing him. “What is it, private? What’s wrong!?”

Wordlessly, he looked back at it to point and dry heaved, only capable of spitting up the small bits of bile left in his stomach. The other soldier stared at it and held the boy close to his chest, trying his best to comfort him. “I know. I know, soldier, I know. There’s nothing you can do, and he went quickly. That’s all we can hope for.” He looked the boy in the eyes, and nodded. “Whose unit are you in?”

“The...” He dry heaved again. “The 14th Arizona volunteer...”

“And who’s your commander?”

“Don’t know...I...I don’t...”

“Soldier, you’re dismissed. Get to the rear lines, that’s an order!”

He didn’t even know if he had the ability to command him, but he took it. Stumbling a bit and heaving, nothing he did could get that image out of his head. Taking the lines back towards the staging trenches where men prepared to go forward to continue the defense. Shaking, Chessie fell back against one of the dirt walls, trying to close his eyes but finding it harder than he’d expected.

“Soldier, where is your post? Who were you assigned to?” Another soldier with a shoulder patch marking him as a Lieutenant General walked up to him.

“I...I was with Henry Ardfel. He...he was...a shell...” Again, dry heaving. His throat and stomach were burning.

“Calm down, kid. Here, take a swig.” The lieutenant knelt down and handed him a flask. “It’ll take the edge off your nerves.” Chessie took a long swig, the fire in the liquid helping distract him from the fire that had been burning everything from his mouth to his stomach. “Now. What happened?”

“Ardfel was killed by a shell...sir.” He took a moment to remember the proper honorific to use for an officer.

“I see. Name and rank, son?”

“Chesapeake Adams, sir. Private...private in the, uh...the...the 14th Arizona Volunteer Infantry.”

“Not much place for your kind anymore. Infantry just get shot the moment they approach the trenches these days.” He patted his shoulder. “Soldier, you’re dismissed for today. Go back and try to calm down a bit, then report back to your commander tomorrow morning for new orders.” He’d gotten the first bit of that command before, but now that an actual officer of the army, a man with the bear and star on his hat and everything, had given the order, he was much more willing and able to follow it. Standing up slowly, he limped back towards the medical tents. He wasn’t even hurt. He just couldn’t do anything else but limp.

[mobiyuz]

Part 9: An Era of Good Feelings (1896 - 1906)

With the war ended and peace returned, the Progressives had firmly established themselves as capable leadership of the country, and as soon as it was over, the national mood of elation saw the next great victory of Waterman's presidency. Ratified by 5 of California's then 8 states, the Equal Voting Rights Amendment (actually the 14th amendment to the constitution, but the modern-day constitution has been amended so many times that they are more commonly given nicknames) set forth the axiom that women would have the full right to vote, and moreover that no legal citizen of California would be denied the right to vote based on gender or ethnicity, becoming one of the first countries on Earth to enact universal enfranchisement. The pattern of the voting also served as an indicator for the country's future political leanings as well: states like Navajo, Sierra Nevada, and Mojave ratified the amendment almost immediately, while other states like Kamath, Arizona, and Deseret were much slower to ratify it, signalling the future political leanings of these states.

A 1901 political cartoon showing votes for women reaching across the continent, as California
and Cascadia-Montana were the only nations among the Post-American Nations to give women the vote at the time.

In the closing years of the Waterman Administration, a tumultuous and chaotic yet no less productive and progressive period for California, one last major addition began its existence: the Californian National Parks. With the inaugural park being Yosemite National Park, both Waterman and John Muir were present for an event both men described as "the moment that we dedicated our powers now to preserving the well-being of future generations." Yosemite was merely the first, and in the years following this number would grow to 11 national parks, and many more National Monuments, National Forests, and National Wildlife Reserves, as well as the National Marine Reserves and National Coastlines later on. This triumph of environmentalism only served to underscore one of California's main advertising strategies overseas to bring in immigrants: to advertise California as a place of unparalleled national beauty, free from the pollution-clogged and garbage-choked cities of Europe and the east. Of course, California's own cities were much the same as this, but it did work. Immigrants were pouring in from all over the world, growing California faster than almost any other nation in North America.

"For I passed through the gates of Heaven, and gazed into the Eternal Kingdom itself." - John Muir, 1898

With the presidency of Robert Waterman reaching its end, the Progressives had a small battle among themselves to determine who their next candidate would be. Waterman was insistent that his vice president, Romualdo Pacheco, be the nominee, but a combination of Pacheco's insistence that he was too old along with the party leadership's desire to "play it safe" in the election of 1898 resulted in James Budd, a member of the National Assembly from Sierra Nevada, being appointed to the presidency and sailing to an easy victory, with almost 70% of the vote. It did, though, end up disappointing a lot of people. In contrast to the exhilaration of Waterman's constant push for progress and equality, Budd instead was primarily focused on smaller reforms to the budget and federal administrations, a great contrast and disappointing a great number of the non-Anglo residents of the country.

James Budd, 8th President of California

Regardless of the disappointment in the abrupt shift from "all ahead full" to "steady as she goes", the period straddling the turn of the century was unquestionably a belle époque for California. San Francisco had grown into a major hub of trade, finance, culture, and demographics, and many of her other cities were rapidly catching up. The San Joaquin Valley and the Sacramento Valley had become intensely productive for agricultural output, feeding the nation and rendering California almost entirely independent of requiring food imports. Other areas of California were also steadily being irrigated, such as the Wasatch Front that Salt Lake City was centered in, or the "Maricopa Valley" region that Phoenix nestled itself in, though they saw less dramatic success. Meanwhile, Deseret, Arizona, and Plata Territory saw a massive mineral boom, with the region producing a colossal amount of gold, copper, iron, and silver for the nation's manufacturing needs. Elsewhere, Sierra Nevada and Klamath were unparalleled in the country's lumber industry. And being adjacent to a cold-water current flowing from the north, the coastline of California was rich with fish for its fisheries and canneries. In many ways, the country could have been considered entirely self-sufficient, possessing such unparalleled natural resources as to make its continuous growth unstoppable.

An example of an advertisement posted overseas used to paint an incredibly flowery
picture of California as a Garden of Eden to encourage immigration.

For many, though, even with the recent progress toward breaking down racial and gender barriers, California was not the most progressive nation in the world. While there was no longer anything legally confining Hispanic-Californians and Asian-Californians to ethnic enclaves, the majority were too poor to truly afford to move away from them, coupled with social pressures to keep away from "proper neighborhoods" that were dominated by Anglo-Californians. As such, while de jure segregation had ended, de facto segregation would continue onward. Meanwhile, enabling women to vote led to a spike in women running for office at all levels of government, but once again, social stigma left almost none of them winning office, and by the 1902 election there were only two women in Congress: Edith Willard, an Assemblywoman from Sierra Nevada, and Margaret Eden, an Assemblywoman from Klamath. For the majority of women, the right to vote did not automatically equal liberation. The vast, vast majority of California's women were still supposed to be in the home, taking care of children and domestic affairs. Despite this, the success of "First Wave Feminism" did not stop the rise of a new, "Second Wave Feminism" that sought women's equality in the home, in the workplace, and in society, and this would manifest as something of a rebellious attitude toward societal norms for many.

An anonymous 1903 photograph of a woman only known as "Madame X" caused a scandal when
it was published, though it immediately became an iconic symbol of "the modern woman" for a new era.

It was certainly an age of mass immigration for California as well. While the railroad lines across the continent brought many from the port cities of Freedonia, the Confederacy, and New England, many also still came by ship as well, especially helped by the completion of a new Anglo-French joint project to build a canal across the Panama isthmus of Colombia, dramatically shortening the time for European immigrants to arrive directly. It was also extremely common for Asian emigrants to move to California as well, with Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Filipino migrants traveling to California en masse. Between 1890 and 1910, through a combination of good climate, excellent opportunities, and the new social programs of the Progressive Party that continued to dominate the national government of the time, more than 1.5 million immigrants arrived in California, which more than doubled the total national population at a rate once considered impossible. Farmers could settle in the San Joaquin Valley, miners could move inland, merchants had any number of cities to settle in, and many immigrants saw programs such as a basic minimum wage as impossible to resist. Consistently throughout this period, California remained the #1 destination for immigration to North America.

Motorists celebrating the opening of Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, one of the first roads in the city built with cars specifically in mind.

It was in 1904 that California held another election, and while support for Progressive administrations remained fairly high, dissatisfaction with the wishy-washy leadership of President Budd led the Progressives to offer up another alternative in the form of Hiram Johnson, who himself was immediately notable for being the first native-born Californian to run for president, having been born just after the end of the War of Dissolution in 1866. He was also fairly young compared to most other presidents, being only 38 years old at the time, the same age as Leland Stanford when he achieved the presidency. Running what could be considered a very populist campaign, Johnson not only pledged to carry on Waterman-era policies but to "reform democracy itself", promising to broaden the ability of Californians to control the government by declaring three new processes that would give them an unprecedented level of direct democracy as named in his campaign slogan: "Initiative, Referendum, Recall". The Initiative would be the ability to put issues onto a ballot separate from electing officials if enough signatures were collected to do so, the Referendum would allow Californians to vote directly on new laws (again if signatures were collected), and the Recall would allow Californians to recall public officials in special elections (once again, if enough signatures were gathered). It proved to be broadly popular enough that Johnson won with 65% of the national vote, becoming the 9th President of California.

Hiram Johnson, 9th President of California, and the first born as
a citizen of California. Also the first president to not have a beard.

Johnson would set about following his campaign promises straightaway, seeking the Ballot Initiative and Referendum Amendments almost immediately after arriving in the presidency. Naturally, this kicked up a lot of controversy, but with Johnson's broadly popular appeal enough pressure existed to have both amendments passed to the constitution, which would thereafter immediately change the way that the constitution could be changed. With ballot initiatives, the people of California could now directly vote amendments into the constitution, which not only had the effect of giving Californians a previously unimaginable level of control over government, but also had the side effect of rapidly increasing the speed at which amendments came into effect from then on. In total, by the modern day California now has the world's third-longest national constitution, surpassed only by the constitution of India and the constitution of the Confederate States of America. Even with this new minor chaos, the people of California were quite happy with Johnson and his willingness to cede national power to the people of California, setting a precedent of popular control over the government that remains a central fixture of Californian democracy to this day.

President Johnson giving a speech from a motorcar on the streets of Eureka, 1905

The "Edwardian Era" (so named for King Edward VII of the United Kingdom) was very much an extension of the Victorian Era, even as Queen Victoria herself had passed in 1901. Technology was progressing rapidly, giving many hope that suffering, disease, and poverty could be eliminated entirely. Most of the rest of the world, meanwhile, had been snapped up by colonial empires of Europe, and in an outlier case Japan, reflecting the glories of these great imperial nations across the world in political, economic, and cultural hegemonies. It was an era of limitless possibilities, even in California, and many had total faith in technological mastery of the world.

And then, in the first half of 1906, California received a rather violent wake-up call.

[stevep]

   mobiyuz

   Can I just check on the demograpghics please? Your last chapter seems to suggest that Californian immigration of ~1.5M over 20 years [1890-1910] more than doubled the population of the republic, so presumably by the later date its a little under 3M? Also can you give rough figures for the other nations in N American in comparison please?  OTL of course the US population was expanding very rapidly, over 1M a year much of the time so be interesting to see how the other nations are faring.

  Given that by the sound of it the city has developed more dramatically as the economic centre of the republic San Francisco is probably larger than OTL which could make the incoming disaster even worse than OTL.  Definitely likely to see some urgent regulations on building construction.

  So in the current time in TTL a CSA still exists. 

  Steve

[mobiyuz]

Jun 28, 2019 16:10:51 GMT stevep said:

   mobiyuz

   Can I just check on the demograpghics please? Your last chapter seems to suggest that Californian immigration of ~1.5M over 20 years [1890-1910] more than doubled the population of the republic, so presumably by the later date its a little under 3M? Also can you give rough figures for the other nations in N American in comparison please?  OTL of course the US population was expanding very rapidly, over 1M a year much of the time so be interesting to see how the other nations are faring.

  Given that by the sound of it the city has developed more dramatically as the economic centre of the republic San Francisco is probably larger than OTL which could make the incoming disaster even worse than OTL.  Definitely likely to see some urgent regulations on building construction.

  So in the current time in TTL a CSA still exists. 

  Steve

See, this is something that I've never been amazing at, but yes, California would be near 3 million by this time, which is roughly 600,000 more than the OTL population. For comparison, this makes California (at the moment) the fourth most populous of the Post-American Nations at this time (surpassing the Plains Federation and Cascadia-Montana while being surpassed by Texas, New England, the CSA, and Freedonia, not necessarily in that order). And yes, at this point San Francisco had a population of just shy of 500,000, which if you'll notice is about 17% of the entire population of the country thus making it far and away the country's largest city. It is without question the economic, cultural, and demographic capital of California.

Which yes, does make the coming disaster just that much more palpable.

[mobiyuz]

9 May 1902
Off the Coast of San Francisco

In the bowels of a ship bearing the name of the SS Olompali, a young woman went over the contents of the small suitcase that she’d brought with her. In it was everything that she’d been able to bring with her to California, along with it a picture of the man that she was crossing the ocean to marry. Insofar, that photo was the only means by which she even knew what he looked like.

Outside the small porthole that looked out of the small cabins that the Olompali had for Japanese immigrants right off the cargo hold, she could see the land for the first time in several days. The massive, looming hills of what were likely to be what she’d been told were the Marin Headlands rose sharply out of the water. This was it. She was here.

A sharp knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. “All immigrants make ready to get off, we’re coming up to Alcatraz.”

Kaneko Masako stood up and straightened out the dress that she’d been given for arriving in California, one her family had bought at great expense from an importer. Now, as she walked out of the hold and up toward the deck, a crewmember stopped her. “Excuse me, ma’am, are you traveling with someone?”

She’d been told not to speak to strange men. Still, his cap had the emblem of the Blue Star Line, which most likely meant he could be trusted. In a small voice, she responded “No, I am alone.”

“That’s not good. We’ll have someone escort you on the island, make sure no one tries anything. San Francisco is a rough city, it’s not good for women to walk around on their own.” With a screech from the whistle, the ship slowly came to a halt next to the dock jutting out from Alcatraz Island, where a Californian flag flew high over the immigration center that dominated most of the island. Just 18 people stepped off the ramp from the ship and up to the island, while true to his word a man from the island’s staff escorted Masako up the steps towards the center. A cold, wet breeze blew across the island from the bay, leaving moisture from the fog in her hair.

When they were herded into the building, Masako was led into a separate line with a large sign that read, in English and Japanese and what must have also been Korean and Chinese, “SINGLES”. Two men lined up behind her as her escort continued to stand behind her, making no eye contact and simply just keeping watch. The man at the first booth called her forward. “Next!”

Masako walked up quietly and sat down when she was directed to. “Do you speak English?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. State your name and country of origin.”

“My name is Kaneko Masako, and I am from Japan.”

“Papers.” He held out his hand expectantly, and Masako handed over the collection of documents that she’d been given before she’d boarded the ship. The immigration official, who had a small bear pin on his hat that glinted in the light of the lamps just often enough to keep catching her eye, unfolded the documents and started reading them. “Masako Kaneko, age 23. Noto, Ishikawa, Japan. Is this correct?” He’d put her personal name before her family name, in the way she’d been told that westerners often did.

“Yes.”

“Your father was Kaneko Hiroharu, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let me see here.” He looked up at her then back at the paper several times, checking the description. Black hair, brown eyes, light skin, slanted eyes, small nose, thin lips, all the physical details that had been put down on the document. “Let me see your thumb.” She offered him her hand, where he took her thumb, stamped it on a pad of ink, then onto a paper, and proceeded to compare it against the thumbprint on the document. “Okay, good. Step over there, please.” He gestured over to where a camera was pointed at a white background.

Masako stood up and was handed a plate that had a number written down in chalk. “Hold that in front of your chest and look directly into the camera. Don’t smile or frown, just look into the camera.” She did as she was told, and did her best to keep a neutral expression, even when the powder went off and left her rubbing her eyes to try and see normally again. One of the men led her back to the desk, where he looked her over once again, then checked the seal on her documents. “This seems valid. Proceed to the inspection station. Leave your bags here, they’ll be searched for contraband.”

Another man led her to the inspection station, where he had her hold her arms out and flex them, followed by her legs and her fingers, bending over to reach her knees, and then looking at several letters to see how good her vision was. A third man then started going through her hair with a comb, pulling somewhat painfully at it while he made a thorough check, then had her sit down and pull up the sleeves of her dress and look over her legs to inspect for any rashes. He took a light and shined it into her eyes, had her open her mouth to check her teeth, then nodded. “You look clean. Proceed to interrogation.”

“But my bag-”

“Just go to interrogation. We’ll deal with those.”

Shaking a bit from both the chill in the air and the stress of it all, she walked over and sat down at yet another man at a table who sat under a large sign reading “INTERROGATION”, who folded his hands on the table and watched her intently. “Is your name Masako Kaneko?”

“Yes.”

“Are you immigrating to California permanently?”

“Yes.”

“What is your final destination in California?”

“I am traveling to Sacramento.”

“Which country did you leave from?”

"Japan."

“What city did you depart from?”

“Osaka.”

“Are you married?”

“I will be meeting my fiance in Sacramento.”

“Is your husband already married?”

“No, he is not.” That was an odd question.

“Has your passage to Sacramento been paid?”

“Yes.”

“Was your ticket paid by a private individual or by a company, society, or government?”

“A private individual.” The drilling she’d gotten for the questions was paying off. There was no chance she’d have been able to answer that alone.

“Who was this individual?”

“My fiance.”

“What is his name?”

“Takahata Hayao.”

“Is Takahata his family name?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been in California previously?”

“No.”

“Have you ever been imprisoned, or confined to a mental institution for insanity?”

“No.” Simple, short answers. Stay calm and breathe. Do not let them see weakness.

“Are you an anarchist?”

“No.” What was an anarchist? That didn’t matter, just answer “no”.

“Are you a polygamist?”

She finally had to ask. “What is that?”

“Are you now, or do you intend to, marry a man who currently has one or more other wives?”

“No, I am not.”

“Are you coming to California for any reason of an offer, direct or implied, promise or agreement, to perform labor?”

“Yes.” It was something of a lie, but she’d been told that answer would be more likely to get her in.

“How would you rate your physical and mental health, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect health and 1 being very unhealthy?”

“10.” 10. The moment he asks that question, just say 10. Even if you have a cold, even if you have a rash, even if you have pneumonia, say 10.

“Do you swear that all of the answers you’ve given me are true and accurate?”

“I do.”

“Very well. Sign here, please.” He held out another document and pointed to a line next to the word “IMMIGRANT”. She signed her name in English letters as best she could, then was directed back towards a bench where one of the other attendants sat next to her until they brought her luggage back. They’d clearly opened it, and had hastily put everything back. “Your luggage has been checked thoroughly, and will be allowed through. If you’ll come with us, we will take you to the barracks where you’ll stay until we can confirm your documents and your contacts.”

“But I have been cleared, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am. We just want to make sure. Can’t let undesirables slip through.” He put a particular emphasis on the word “undesirable” that made it clear he was referring to almost anyone who wasn’t white, British, and protestant. With no other recourse, Masako stood up and followed him into a room lined with cots, surrounded by other women of ages ranging from young infants to elderly women who needed a cane to walk. She sat down on the cot that she’d been led to, and simply began waiting.

A day passed. And another. It was only on the third day that a man came to her while she was eating the lunch rations they were being provided and said “Ms. Kaneko?”

“Yes?”

“Your visa has been approved. Come with me, we’ll have a man escort you to San Francisco. The ferry leaving for Sacramento will take you straight to your destination.”

She stood up and left her tray of food, picking up her bags and following him. Today, at least, the weather was bright and clear, the sun shining down on the bay. One of the smaller ferries serving the island gave a small blast on its whistle before moving across the waters toward the ferry building. Again, the chill of the air added to her shivering, but this time it was accompanied by two new feelings. One was anxiety, the knowledge that she was finally about to meet the man that she’d been arranged to marry by telegraph without ever actually seeing him. The other was anticipation. California stretched out in front of her, the Golden Gate was open. And now, she was finally stepping through it.

[lordroel]

Jun 28, 2019 22:24:50 GMT mobiyuz said:

9 May 1902
Off the Coast of San Francisco

In the bowels of a ship bearing the name of the SS Olompali, a young woman went over the contents of the small suitcase that she’d brought with her. In it was everything that she’d been able to bring with her to California, along with it a picture of the man that she was crossing the ocean to marry. Insofar, that photo was the only means by which she even knew what he looked like.

Outside the small porthole that looked out of the small cabins that the Olompali had for Japanese immigrants right off the cargo hold, she could see the land for the first time in several days. The massive, looming hills of what were likely to be what she’d been told were the Marin Headlands rose sharply out of the water. This was it. She was here.

A sharp knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. “All immigrants make ready to get off, we’re coming up to Alcatraz.”

Kaneko Masako stood up and straightened out the dress that she’d been given for arriving in California, one her family had bought at great expense from an importer. Now, as she walked out of the hold and up toward the deck, a crewmember stopped her. “Excuse me, ma’am, are you traveling with someone?”

She’d been told not to speak to strange men. Still, his cap had the emblem of the Blue Star Line, which most likely meant he could be trusted. In a small voice, she responded “No, I am alone.”

“That’s not good. We’ll have someone escort you on the island, make sure no one tries anything. San Francisco is a rough city, it’s not good for women to walk around on their own.” With a screech from the whistle, the ship slowly came to a halt next to the dock jutting out from Alcatraz Island, where a Californian flag flew high over the immigration center that dominated most of the island. Just 18 people stepped off the ramp from the ship and up to the island, while true to his word a man from the island’s staff escorted Masako up the steps towards the center. A cold, wet breeze blew across the island from the bay, leaving moisture from the fog in her hair.

When they were herded into the building, Masako was led into a separate line with a large sign that read, in English and Japanese and what must have also been Korean and Chinese, “SINGLES”. Two men lined up behind her as her escort continued to stand behind her, making no eye contact and simply just keeping watch. The man at the first booth called her forward. “Next!”

Masako walked up quietly and sat down when she was directed to. “Do you speak English?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. State your name and country of origin.”

“My name is Kaneko Masako, and I am from Japan.”

“Papers.” He held out his hand expectantly, and Masako handed over the collection of documents that she’d been given before she’d boarded the ship. The immigration official, who had a small bear pin on his hat that glinted in the light of the lamps just often enough to keep catching her eye, unfolded the documents and started reading them. “Masako Kaneko, age 23. Noto, Ishikawa, Japan. Is this correct?” He’d put her personal name before her family name, in the way she’d been told that westerners often did.

“Yes.”

“Your father was Kaneko Hiroharu, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let me see here.” He looked up at her then back at the paper several times, checking the description. Black hair, brown eyes, light skin, slanted eyes, small nose, thin lips, all the physical details that had been put down on the document. “Let me see your thumb.” She offered him her hand, where he took her thumb, stamped it on a pad of ink, then onto a paper, and proceeded to compare it against the thumbprint on the document. “Okay, good. Step over there, please.” He gestured over to where a camera was pointed at a white background.

Masako stood up and was handed a plate that had a number written down in chalk. “Hold that in front of your chest and look directly into the camera. Don’t smile or frown, just look into the camera.” She did as she was told, and did her best to keep a neutral expression, even when the powder went off and left her rubbing her eyes to try and see normally again. One of the men led her back to the desk, where he looked her over once again, then checked the seal on her documents. “This seems valid. Proceed to the inspection station. Leave your bags here, they’ll be searched for contraband.”

Another man led her to the inspection station, where he had her hold her arms out and flex them, followed by her legs and her fingers, bending over to reach her knees, and then looking at several letters to see how good her vision was. A third man then started going through her hair with a comb, pulling somewhat painfully at it while he made a thorough check, then had her sit down and pull up the sleeves of her dress and look over her legs to inspect for any rashes. He took a light and shined it into her eyes, had her open her mouth to check her teeth, then nodded. “You look clean. Proceed to interrogation.”

“But my bag-”

“Just go to interrogation. We’ll deal with those.”

Shaking a bit from both the chill in the air and the stress of it all, she walked over and sat down at yet another man at a table who sat under a large sign reading “INTERROGATION”, who folded his hands on the table and watched her intently. “Is your name Masako Kaneko?”

“Yes.”

“Are you immigrating to California permanently?”

“Yes.”

“What is your final destination in California?”

“I am traveling to Sacramento.”

“Which country did you leave from?”

"Japan."

“What city did you depart from?”

“Osaka.”

“Are you married?”

“I will be meeting my fiance in Sacramento.”

“Is your husband already married?”

“No, he is not.” That was an odd question.

“Has your passage to Sacramento been paid?”

“Yes.”

“Was your ticket paid by a private individual or by a company, society, or government?”

“A private individual.” The drilling she’d gotten for the questions was paying off. There was no chance she’d have been able to answer that alone.

“Who was this individual?”

“My fiance.”

“What is his name?”

“Takahata Hayao.”

“Is Takahata his family name?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been in California previously?”

“No.”

“Have you ever been imprisoned, or confined to a mental institution for insanity?”

“No.” Simple, short answers. Stay calm and breathe. Do not let them see weakness.

“Are you an anarchist?”

“No.” What was an anarchist? That didn’t matter, just answer “no”.

“Are you a polygamist?”

She finally had to ask. “What is that?”

“Are you now, or do you intend to, marry a man who currently has one or more other wives?”

“No, I am not.”

“Are you coming to California for any reason of an offer, direct or implied, promise or agreement, to perform labor?”

“Yes.” It was something of a lie, but she’d been told that answer would be more likely to get her in.

“How would you rate your physical and mental health, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect health and 1 being very unhealthy?”

“10.” 10. The moment he asks that question, just say 10. Even if you have a cold, even if you have a rash, even if you have pneumonia, say 10.

“Do you swear that all of the answers you’ve given me are true and accurate?”

“I do.”

“Very well. Sign here, please.” He held out another document and pointed to a line next to the word “IMMIGRANT”. She signed her name in English letters as best she could, then was directed back towards a bench where one of the other attendants sat next to her until they brought her luggage back. They’d clearly opened it, and had hastily put everything back. “Your luggage has been checked thoroughly, and will be allowed through. If you’ll come with us, we will take you to the barracks where you’ll stay until we can confirm your documents and your contacts.”

“But I have been cleared, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am. We just want to make sure. Can’t let undesirables slip through.” He put a particular emphasis on the word “undesirable” that made it clear he was referring to almost anyone who wasn’t white, British, and protestant. With no other recourse, Masako stood up and followed him into a room lined with cots, surrounded by other women of ages ranging from young infants to elderly women who needed a cane to walk. She sat down on the cot that she’d been led to, and simply began waiting.

A day passed. And another. It was only on the third day that a man came to her while she was eating the lunch rations they were being provided and said “Ms. Kaneko?”

“Yes?”

“Your visa has been approved. Come with me, we’ll have a man escort you to San Francisco. The ferry leaving for Sacramento will take you straight to your destination.”

She stood up and left her tray of food, picking up her bags and following him. Today, at least, the weather was bright and clear, the sun shining down on the bay. One of the smaller ferries serving the island gave a small blast on its whistle before moving across the waters toward the ferry building. Again, the chill of the air added to her shivering, but this time it was accompanied by two new feelings. One was anxiety, the knowledge that she was finally about to meet the man that she’d been arranged to marry by telegraph without ever actually seeing him. The other was anticipation. California stretched out in front of her, the Golden Gate was open. And now, she was finally stepping through it.

Poor Masako Kaneko, half the questions she was asked she did not understand, but she is finally able to start here new live in California.

[mobiyuz]

Jun 29, 2019 8:19:21 GMT lordroel said:

Jun 28, 2019 22:24:50 GMT mobiyuz said:

9 May 1902
Off the Coast of San Francisco

In the bowels of a ship bearing the name of the SS Olompali, a young woman went over the contents of the small suitcase that she’d brought with her. In it was everything that she’d been able to bring with her to California, along with it a picture of the man that she was crossing the ocean to marry. Insofar, that photo was the only means by which she even knew what he looked like.

Outside the small porthole that looked out of the small cabins that the Olompali had for Japanese immigrants right off the cargo hold, she could see the land for the first time in several days. The massive, looming hills of what were likely to be what she’d been told were the Marin Headlands rose sharply out of the water. This was it. She was here.

A sharp knock on the door broke her out of her reverie. “All immigrants make ready to get off, we’re coming up to Alcatraz.”

Kaneko Masako stood up and straightened out the dress that she’d been given for arriving in California, one her family had bought at great expense from an importer. Now, as she walked out of the hold and up toward the deck, a crewmember stopped her. “Excuse me, ma’am, are you traveling with someone?”

She’d been told not to speak to strange men. Still, his cap had the emblem of the Blue Star Line, which most likely meant he could be trusted. In a small voice, she responded “No, I am alone.”

“That’s not good. We’ll have someone escort you on the island, make sure no one tries anything. San Francisco is a rough city, it’s not good for women to walk around on their own.” With a screech from the whistle, the ship slowly came to a halt next to the dock jutting out from Alcatraz Island, where a Californian flag flew high over the immigration center that dominated most of the island. Just 18 people stepped off the ramp from the ship and up to the island, while true to his word a man from the island’s staff escorted Masako up the steps towards the center. A cold, wet breeze blew across the island from the bay, leaving moisture from the fog in her hair.

When they were herded into the building, Masako was led into a separate line with a large sign that read, in English and Japanese and what must have also been Korean and Chinese, “SINGLES”. Two men lined up behind her as her escort continued to stand behind her, making no eye contact and simply just keeping watch. The man at the first booth called her forward. “Next!”

Masako walked up quietly and sat down when she was directed to. “Do you speak English?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Good. State your name and country of origin.”

“My name is Kaneko Masako, and I am from Japan.”

“Papers.” He held out his hand expectantly, and Masako handed over the collection of documents that she’d been given before she’d boarded the ship. The immigration official, who had a small bear pin on his hat that glinted in the light of the lamps just often enough to keep catching her eye, unfolded the documents and started reading them. “Masako Kaneko, age 23. Noto, Ishikawa, Japan. Is this correct?” He’d put her personal name before her family name, in the way she’d been told that westerners often did.

“Yes.”

“Your father was Kaneko Hiroharu, yes?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, let me see here.” He looked up at her then back at the paper several times, checking the description. Black hair, brown eyes, light skin, slanted eyes, small nose, thin lips, all the physical details that had been put down on the document. “Let me see your thumb.” She offered him her hand, where he took her thumb, stamped it on a pad of ink, then onto a paper, and proceeded to compare it against the thumbprint on the document. “Okay, good. Step over there, please.” He gestured over to where a camera was pointed at a white background.

Masako stood up and was handed a plate that had a number written down in chalk. “Hold that in front of your chest and look directly into the camera. Don’t smile or frown, just look into the camera.” She did as she was told, and did her best to keep a neutral expression, even when the powder went off and left her rubbing her eyes to try and see normally again. One of the men led her back to the desk, where he looked her over once again, then checked the seal on her documents. “This seems valid. Proceed to the inspection station. Leave your bags here, they’ll be searched for contraband.”

Another man led her to the inspection station, where he had her hold her arms out and flex them, followed by her legs and her fingers, bending over to reach her knees, and then looking at several letters to see how good her vision was. A third man then started going through her hair with a comb, pulling somewhat painfully at it while he made a thorough check, then had her sit down and pull up the sleeves of her dress and look over her legs to inspect for any rashes. He took a light and shined it into her eyes, had her open her mouth to check her teeth, then nodded. “You look clean. Proceed to interrogation.”

“But my bag-”

“Just go to interrogation. We’ll deal with those.”

Shaking a bit from both the chill in the air and the stress of it all, she walked over and sat down at yet another man at a table who sat under a large sign reading “INTERROGATION”, who folded his hands on the table and watched her intently. “Is your name Masako Kaneko?”

“Yes.”

“Are you immigrating to California permanently?”

“Yes.”

“What is your final destination in California?”

“I am traveling to Sacramento.”

“Which country did you leave from?”

"Japan."

“What city did you depart from?”

“Osaka.”

“Are you married?”

“I will be meeting my fiance in Sacramento.”

“Is your husband already married?”

“No, he is not.” That was an odd question.

“Has your passage to Sacramento been paid?”

“Yes.”

“Was your ticket paid by a private individual or by a company, society, or government?”

“A private individual.” The drilling she’d gotten for the questions was paying off. There was no chance she’d have been able to answer that alone.

“Who was this individual?”

“My fiance.”

“What is his name?”

“Takahata Hayao.”

“Is Takahata his family name?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever been in California previously?”

“No.”

“Have you ever been imprisoned, or confined to a mental institution for insanity?”

“No.” Simple, short answers. Stay calm and breathe. Do not let them see weakness.

“Are you an anarchist?”

“No.” What was an anarchist? That didn’t matter, just answer “no”.

“Are you a polygamist?”

She finally had to ask. “What is that?”

“Are you now, or do you intend to, marry a man who currently has one or more other wives?”

“No, I am not.”

“Are you coming to California for any reason of an offer, direct or implied, promise or agreement, to perform labor?”

“Yes.” It was something of a lie, but she’d been told that answer would be more likely to get her in.

“How would you rate your physical and mental health, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect health and 1 being very unhealthy?”

“10.” 10. The moment he asks that question, just say 10. Even if you have a cold, even if you have a rash, even if you have pneumonia, say 10.

“Do you swear that all of the answers you’ve given me are true and accurate?”

“I do.”

“Very well. Sign here, please.” He held out another document and pointed to a line next to the word “IMMIGRANT”. She signed her name in English letters as best she could, then was directed back towards a bench where one of the other attendants sat next to her until they brought her luggage back. They’d clearly opened it, and had hastily put everything back. “Your luggage has been checked thoroughly, and will be allowed through. If you’ll come with us, we will take you to the barracks where you’ll stay until we can confirm your documents and your contacts.”

“But I have been cleared, yes?”

“Yes, ma’am. We just want to make sure. Can’t let undesirables slip through.” He put a particular emphasis on the word “undesirable” that made it clear he was referring to almost anyone who wasn’t white, British, and protestant. With no other recourse, Masako stood up and followed him into a room lined with cots, surrounded by other women of ages ranging from young infants to elderly women who needed a cane to walk. She sat down on the cot that she’d been led to, and simply began waiting.

A day passed. And another. It was only on the third day that a man came to her while she was eating the lunch rations they were being provided and said “Ms. Kaneko?”

“Yes?”

“Your visa has been approved. Come with me, we’ll have a man escort you to San Francisco. The ferry leaving for Sacramento will take you straight to your destination.”

She stood up and left her tray of food, picking up her bags and following him. Today, at least, the weather was bright and clear, the sun shining down on the bay. One of the smaller ferries serving the island gave a small blast on its whistle before moving across the waters toward the ferry building. Again, the chill of the air added to her shivering, but this time it was accompanied by two new feelings. One was anxiety, the knowledge that she was finally about to meet the man that she’d been arranged to marry by telegraph without ever actually seeing him. The other was anticipation. California stretched out in front of her, the Golden Gate was open. And now, she was finally stepping through it.

Poor Masako Kaneko, half the questions she was asked she did not understand, but she is finally able to start here new live in California.

Fun fact: "Picture Brides" were a very real thing in California.