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.