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.