The Grand Tour: Dakota

The Council of Territorial Governors began the second wave of secession activity in The West. Sixteen days passed between the end of the first wave, marked by the secession of Texas, and the beginning of the second, which occurred when Wyoming proclaimed itself an Independent Republic.

Most people at the time would have expected Dakota Territory to have led the way, after all, it was where it all started. If General Anderson had not been ordered to 'The Northern Parts of Nebraska", there would have been no Great Western Empire. Alaska got the privilege of getting things started, and that was its payment for years of neglect and abuse. The second wave went to Wyoming, and considering that the territory is home base for Quantrill's Raiders, deservedly so.

Dakota should not be taken lightly, however. Originally known as the northern parts of the Nebraska territory, it was, as previously stated, the area that Brigadier General John Lee Anderson was assigned to back in 1855. Fort Pierre was the site of the first settlement, and it was a good thing that they encountered the peaceful Ansdale's and not the war hungry Dakota, because Fort Pierre was totally unsuitable for defense. Fort Ansdale replaced the crumbling Fort Pierre three years later. The garrison remains the largest in the territory despite the establishment of Fort Abraham Lincoln further north in 1872.

Actually, it was the establishment of that fort that provided the initial spark for independence, especially with the War Department's choice of commander. George Armstrong Custer, 34, was everything General Anderson despised. The goat of the West Point Class of 1861, brash, reckless, and with an ego the size of the west itself, he rose to prominence in the Civil War and is convinced of his own immortality. Anderson, however, at the top of his class, a veteran of the Mexican War, the picture perfect officer and gentleman, has been rewarded with the actual control of the west, if only because Washington has turned its head. The two seem destined to clash.

At the time War breaks out, Dakota is governed by John Pennington. He is the first governor of the territory to actually live in it, and it has affected the territory for the better. That is not to say that he can't have moments of unpopularity. Politically speaking he is Conservative. Though the territory has been suffering from a Grasshopper infestation for several years, Governor Pennington refuses to ask for Federal relief, believing it will create a territory of beggars.

General Anderson never officially got his showdown with Custer. The Golden Boy met his demise at Little Big Horn. Ironically, like his Confederate counterpart JEB Stuart, the field where he died was also the field where he was first wounded in battle. The Custer Luck ran out.

Custer originally came to the Black Hills of Dakota in search of Gold. The territory is still awash in it, but it is black gold. Between natural gas and oil, the territory is an energy powerhouse. Things are a fracking success. Of course of all its customers, selling to the energy starved United States is the best revenge of all. Washington better hope the spigot stays on.

Jade Kerrion Book Tour

Jade Kerrion's two newest novels, Earth-Sim and When the Silence Ends, are pulling in fantastic reviews. Please take a moment to check them out and take advantage of the book launch sale. Keep reading to find the coupon code!

EARTH-SIM

Amazon Rating: 4.8 Stars (13 reviews)</ strong>

"Earth-Sim starts off awesome and just keeps getting even better...Ms. Kerrion has done an amazing job with her world-building...This is one book that I will find myself rereading over and over - and one that I will encourage all of my friends to read."—Cara Drake, Amazon reviewer

Was the super-continent of Pangaea split because of a management dispute? Is the biblical flood the earliest evidence of why "technology and water don't mix"? If you always suspected that mass extinctions, such as the Black Death, had an otherworldly reason, you just might be right. Is there a real message hidden in the mysterious manuscripts that human sages and savants have created through the generations? Is there life out there, beyond our planet, and why has none of it shown up on Earth yet? Earth-Sim is a unique spin on the history of Earth and the history of mankind. What if Earth and the entire universe were actually part of a simulation program? What if the most iconic and memorable events in Earth's history were decisions (or more frequently accidents) triggered by two college students, Jem Moran and Kir Davos, who are still sorting out the finer points of working together and more importantly, still arguing over the finer points of planetary management? Bring your sense of humor. Earth-Sim is frequently whimsical and often irreverent. Either way, you finally have someone to blame for the state the world is in. E-books available at Amazon</ a>, Amazon UK, Apple</ a>, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords Paperbacks available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository BOOK LAUNCH SALE (50% DISCOUNT):</ span> Grab a copy of Earth-Sim for only $1.50 at Smashwords with coupon code MS68F. Valid until April 15.  

When the Silence Ends

Amazon Ratings: 4.6 Stars (9 reviews)</ strong>

“Wow! When the Silence Ends is captivating! I laughed, I cried, I could not put it down. Forget Harry Potter and Twilight…every young adult should read this book!”—KatRomeo, Amazon reviewer

When you choose your friends, you also choose your enemies.

Seventeen-year old Dee wants nothing more than to help her twin brother, Dum, break free from the trauma in their childhood and speak again, but the only person who can help Dum is the alpha empath, Danyael Sabre, whom the U.S. government considers a terrorist and traitor.

The search for Danyael will lead Dee and Dum from the sheltered protection of the Mutant Affairs Council and into the violent, gang-controlled heart of Anacostia. Ensnared by Danyael’s complicated network of friends and enemies, Dee makes her stand in a political and social war that she is ill equipped to fight. What can one human, armed only with her wits and pepper spray, do against the super-powered mutants who dominate the Genetic Revolution? America, nevertheless, is ripe for transformation. Exhausted by decades of belligerence between humans and their genetic derivatives--the clones, in vitros, and mutants--society is on the verge of falling apart or growing up. Dee, with her sassy attitude and smart mouth, is the unwitting pebble that starts the avalanche of change. In her quest to help her brother become normal, Dee will finally learn what it means to be extraordinary. When the Silence Ends is a Young Adult novel in the award-winning Double Helix series. E-books available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords Paperbacks available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository BOOK LAUNCH SALE (50% DISCOUNT):</ span> Grab a copy of When the Silence Ends for only $1.50 at Smashwords with coupon code FL93Y. Valid until April 15.  

Find Jade Kerrion at Website / Facebook</ a> / Twitter

The Grand Tour: Wyoming

Once Texas seceded the action in The West paused, at least temporarily, for the laws of mature required a reaction from the East. It was long overdue.

When Alaska proclaimed herself a Republic, Washington did nothing. When Nevada seceded, Washington did... Nothing. When Iowa seceded and seized the federal arsenal on Rock Island Washington did, once again, nothing. Yes, I will admit, they did call a peace conference after Nevada left, but with the Civil War as precedent, we all know how those turn out. Nothing would come of it but delay, which the Republic would use and the U.S. would squander.

By the time that Texas, for the third time in its history, proclaimed itself to be the Republic of Texas, Washington seriously began to think about maybe, quite possibly, doing something. In the typical glacial pace of Washington politics, four weeks would pass before President Grant decided to order a blockade of the Texas Coast. If Grant had not been so caught up in his campaign slogan of "Let us Have Peace", and had been more of the General who saved the Union, he may have ended the dreams of Western Independence before they had taken root. Grant's delay saw to it that three states would become six, and the territories would unite.

The uniting occurred at the Convention of Territorial Governors, which was hastily called to assemble in Cheyenne, the Capitol of Wyoming Territory. The City grew up along the Union Pacific Railway and was also the start of the Cheyenne-Deadwood Trail. The Territory was the also the Fifth Military District of General John Lee Anderson's command. It was established at the commencement of the Civil War by Kenneth Mark Bassett, a native of Portland, Maine, and has its headquarters at Lander, a town near the Wind River. Fort Shoshone is the Chief Garrison of the district, and it commands four other forts, including Bridger and Laramie.

Washington has its forts in the territory as well, but their loyalty is questionable. Of the Six forts established by the U.S. Army since the end of the Civil War, none of them have rushed to Washington's aid. Actually, the official standard is neutrality. For Washakie, 15 miles from Shoshone, is the only one of the six to declare loyalty to the West.

The strategic placement of Wyoming has led it to become the unofficial War Department at the early stages of the War. We shall see if Washington realizes it in time.

On The Road With Triberr

With all apologies to Jack Kerouac I am merely doing a review of +Triberr's new mobile site. I thought this was the best place to do it, since this is my writing blog.

I have been using the site now for around two years, and I am overall pleased with the results, though I do admit from time to time screaming "If it ain't broke, don't tinker with it!", but by no means would that ever be limited to Triberr. 

Now occasionally I want to get away from the computer, but up to now, that has been where Triberr fell short. Now a more cynical man than I would surmise that +Dino Dogan bought a new iPhone 5 and figured out that trying to approve posts on it was like trying to slog through quick drying cement.

I said Was. While enjoying a coffee at my local +Dunkin' Donuts (sorry +Starbucks Coffee , but you're too far away right now), enjoying the WiFi, I decided to go on Triberr so things wouldn't be backed up today.

The new login had me hooked, and then, it took you to a site that was perfectly made for mobile, so there was no trying to read posts. Before the iPhone was trying to zoom in order to read. Now everything is perfectly sized. Then there is the approval process. Hover, touch, done. Even manual approval for Google Plus was quick. On my Emerald Rating system on my other blog I would give it 25 Emeralds (I know, I only go up to 5, but this is good).

I did have one bad experience, but Triberr had nothing to do with it. That Dunkin didn't have the heat turned up and my fingers got numb from the cold. Now if I only had a pair of those touch gloves.

Now, if +Blogger would incorporate speech to text in their app, I may consider blogging from the road more often.

The Grand Tour: Texas

We come to the last member of the N.I.T. The third State to secede from the Union in 1875 was the first to do it twice. Texas was the first State in the Republic that was also part of the Confederate States of America. As a result Texas was able to provide the voice of experience as to how the United States would respond. Texas, along with Louisiana and Arkansas, would provide that experience from their alliance with the South to their more natural allies, The West. Of course Kansas and Missouri also had tales to tell, but they were "border states", not officially on either side. Of course that didn't mean they didn't suffer. Some of the most intense fighting occurred in the border states.

In a simplistic view of the conflict, the Mississippi River was the common boundary for the two nations. The United States was the Atlantic Power, and the Republic of Ansdale the Pacific Power. Texas shifts that balance of power, with its Gulf Coast giving the Republic access to the Atlantic coast of the United States. That access is a two edged sword, for it also opens Texas to the possibility of blockade by the United States.

Then there is the Rio Grande. The river marks the southern border of the state and marks the boundary with Mexico, which formerly considered the land theirs. In that respect, the experience the State gives to the Republic is priceless, for Texas is a State forged in War, all the way back to the Alamo in 1836.

When Texas proclaimed itself a Republic for the third time in its history, it came with a gift, and the Republic was hardly ignorant of it. Fort Bliss was its name. The fort was the guardian of the Southwest, established at El Paso at the end of the Mexican War. The Flag of the Republic of Texas flew over the garrison on the morning of May 14, 1875, two days after the State seceded.

As war would come to Texas once again, Washington would attempt to reconquer Texas by sea. The blockade gave way to bombardment and siege of Houston. If the sea defenses hold, Texas is safe. For now, Washington will not risk a land battle.

One of those sea defenses is at sea. The RNS Sam Houston, formerly the steamship Santa Ana, became the Republic's first blockade runner, slipping through the federal lines at Galveston on July 20, 1875, sinking two ships in the process. After a sneak attack on the Pensacola Naval Yard she has hid under a false flag at Nassau, Bahamas, posing as the HMS Victoria, using the time to resupply and rearm. While there they learn of a new innovation in naval warfare, the self-propelled torpedo. The Victoria departs for Trieste, Italy to make a purchase. If they are successful, no blockade will be effective again. It is wise not to mess with Texas.