The Grand Tour: Missouri

Welcome back everyone as we re-launch the Welcome To The Republic blog. To old and new readers, I encourage you to experience the tour from the beginning. Our tour so far: Alaska, Nevada, Iowa, Texas, Wyoming, Dakota, Minnesota, Colorado, and Nebraska.

Our tour stop today is Missouri. Enjoy.

"The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend". Sometimes in the cause of freedom it seems like you have to make a deal with the devil. Such was the case with Missouri. The second of the Confederate States to join the cause of The West. True, in the first conflict the State was officially loyal to the Union, yet Southern sympathies were strong, and Governor Clairborne F. Jackson created a Confederate Government in Neosho.

Unconventional was the watchword in Missouri then and now. The field of battle in Missouri was that of the Guerrilla, and names such as William Quantrill, Frank and Jesse James, William T. "Bloody Bill" Anderson and others have secured their place in Missouri Lore. In the lore of the West, allegiances are strange. Quantrill's daughter leads a new Raiders, aided by her second in command Katherine Anderson. The press has had a field day.

And then there is the James Gang. Frank and Jesse James bank and train robberies would make them Criminals to the United States, but to the Republic, for the moment at least, they are allies. The former Confederates strike out at mainly "Republican" targets, yet they are the allies of the "New Republican Party" of which most of the Ansdale High Command have become part of. As long as the gang behaves, they may remain useful. Once the war is over, they will be dealt with.

Fate intervened with the James Gang, and the Republic was spared the embarrassment. Midway through the war. Jesse was killed by one of his own and Frank "retired" without any charges being pursued against him. And the Republic won, so maybe it wasn't a deal with the devil after all.

Missouri was a Godsend. It gave the Republic control of the Mississippi and Missouri (Ansdale) Rivers as well as the Metropolitan area of St. Louis, which would provide much needed revenues to the war effort. And this time there would be no divided loyalties. There was no U.S. Government in exile, and a United House stood, and so did the Republic.

From the time Missouri joined the cause there was literally no turning back. Within a month Washington would declare war. Freedom always has a price.

The Grand Tour: The War Begins

Anybody who thought things would be different this time was naive. Events have caught up with our tour. Dreams for a peaceful separation are dashed. The Republic is at war.

Ten Independent Republics, as they style themselves, make up the new nation. While gaps exist, the border stretches from the River to the sea, and from Canada to Mexico. 

One thing can thwart the dream. Fort Leavenworth. While it isn't the most powerful fort in the West, Fort Ansdale is that, it is the most powerful fort loyal to Washington. That makes it a inviting target, and one which will not go unnoticed. 

Plans for a bombardment of Leavenworth  have been underway since Independence and the timing is important. July 5,1875. Forts Shoshone and Pawnee furnish artillery, including a Gatling gun, which cuts down Union Infantry with ease. Ironclads from Ansdale seal the river, and the main assault comes from "Quantrill's Raiders". After a three day engagement Lieutenant-General Nelson A. Miles surrenders the fort. There can be no retreat. Victory or Death.

The Grand Tour: Nebraska

"To the northern portions of the Nebraska Territory." So begins the adventure that birthed the Republic of Ansdale, for Dakota was originally Nebraska, at least until Dakota Territory was created in 1861. Nebraska could be called the father of territories, for not only Dakota, but Montana, Idaho and Wyoming were created from it.

With those ties existing between General Anderson and Nebraska, it is not surprising that Nebraska became the right hand of the Republic. From the beginning the territory became one of Anderson's most reliable supporters. At the start of the War of Southern Independence in 1861, General Anderson made his first move in consolidating his power in the west when he established Fort Pawnee on the Platte River. Though it was assisted by Fort Shoshone, Fort Pawnee was the site from which Fort Leavenworth was successfully bombarded.

Actually, the choice of Pawnee to launch western independence should not be surprising to anyone familiar with the history of the Republic. From its founding, and for the first sixteen years of its existence, it was commanded by Major Gary White, a member of the original Dakota Expedition, a member of the Corps of Engineers, and the architect of Fort Ansdale.

Major White would get his chance to command his crown jewel, but not before Fort Pawnee would host the Trial of The Century. The trial of Jefferson Columbus Davis on charges of Crimes against The Republic,  and for permitting a reign of terror in Alaska. Even by Republican admission the trial was nothing more than a show, for General Davis was merely a pawn. The real criminal was the United States Congress, which had failed to create even the most basic of civil laws for Alaska. But you can't put Congress on Trial. No, for the United States Congress to be "found guilty" the Republic of Ansdale must win the war, and there was far more than reasonable doubt as to that verdict.

The trial proceeded, newspapers on both sides of the river covered the events, the United States was embarrassed, and General Davis was found guilty. His sentence was to be exiled from the Republic, back to The United States "on pain of death" should he return. Like everything else, it was an empty threat. General Davis died on November 30, 1879, never setting foot on Republican Soil again.

As to Nebraska, it's loyalty was never in doubt. Fort Pawnee was the only fort of major importance in the whole state. When it became obvious that the West would pursue its independence then Governor Silas Garber immediately supported the move. In a sort of closing of the loop Governor John Milton Thayer was elected as Governor of The State in order to usher in final independence. At the beginning of the conflict in 1875 he was the Governor of Wyoming Territory. The War began at Fort Shoshone in Wyoming in 1875 and a symbolic peace treaty was signed at Fort Pawnee twelve years later. The war, and history, had come full circle.

And so have I...Welcome back to The Republic, folks. This blog, though just a baby, has required an extended nap time as I worked on the WENC Night Beat, which is much more demanding. Don't worry, your visas have been extended. Enjoy the stay.