Character Interview: Rachel Semmes

Sometimes you just have to take one for the team. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. We are interviewing Rachel Semmes today, and as things go we were forced to conduct our interview on the Island of Oahu, in the Kingdom of Hawaii. I know, the trials we must endure.

One of the trials is that we had to do the interview at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, instead of, say, Diamond Head. It has also taken us six years to get the interview, the result of red tape at the public affairs office. That has been a blessing in disguise. I was all set to interview Lieutenant-Commander Rachel Semmes, Captain of The R.N.S. Prince Maksutov and architect of the Pacific Alliance. However, my interview today is in the office of the Commanding Officer of PACCOM, Rear Admiral Rachel Semmes. And while a bunch of you will be shocked that there is a woman in this high position here in the year 1881, I'll have to revive some of you when I tell you that she is not yet thirty. And while a rear admiral is the equivalent of a one or two star general, and I have already interviewed a three star in General John Lee Anderson, it always sounds much cooler to be Admiral.

• CG: Admiral Semmes, thank you for the interview. Would you mind introducing yourself to my readers.
• RS: I would be glad to. My name is Rachel Semmes, I'm twenty-eight years old and have been in the Republican Navy for the past six years. Mobile born and bred. And I am the favorite niece of my Uncle Rafe.
• CG: There is so much to follow up here. First of all, Uncle Rafe?
• RS: That would be Admiral Raphael Semmes, commander of the C.S.S. Alabama during the last war.
• CG: I guess Naval greatness is in the blood.
• RS: Our initials are both RS, so that's something as well. Honestly, until I was given command of the Prince Maksutov I never commanded any more than a rowboat.
• CG: That would seem to lead to the next question. From civilian to Admiral in six years. Was everyone in the Republican Navy afraid of your uncle.
• RS: I wish. Most of them never heard of him. There aren't many naval historians in the West. I owe most of my success to the Pacific Alliance. 
• CG: So no great Naval Battles to speak of?
• RS: I didn't say that. The Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 got The United States in the door with the Hawaiian Government, and then war broke out. And now we wanted to establish a base there, and have refueling rights. We knew that Grant wanted to establish a base there, and we needed to get there first. The Prince Maksutov held her ground against a better armed American Ship, and when they broke off to regroup we pulled out our ace. We had a handful of torpedoes. 
• CG: A torpedo. How did that work.
• RS: It wasn't easy. You have to put them in the water and launch them manually, so we had to set out the lifeboats. The federals thought we were abandoning ship and so never reacted until it was too late.
• CG: The press probably had a great time reporting that.
• RS: Yes, we were a bunch of pirates who launched a cowardly attack on an innocent party. Massacre and all that. But the end result is, Hawaii is ours.
• CG: And the Pacific Alliance?
• RS: There are four members at present. Us, Hawaii, Russia and New Zealand. We have entertained a Russian Vessel but that is the extent of their aid. I think we are still on our own. I will not be holding my breath for a Russian Fleet.
• CG: Have you gotten any advice from your uncle.
• RS: After I got my command I asked his advice. He said do not seek a fight. The federals will find me soon enough. But if I am forced to fight do not spare any cannon. It is better to go down to the sea in defeat than to surrender.
• CG: With the war and all the activity with the alliance, have you had any chance at having a personal life.
• RS: Prime Minister Davis eldest son, James, has recently begun courting me in earnest. He is a nice man, but I am still not sure if it is proper.
• CG: Is he your subordinate?
• RS: Everyone is your subordinate when you're the admiral. He is not directly, though. He is a clerk, not in active operations. He is the same age as I, so that helps somewhat.
• CG: You said you were mobile born and bred. Was your home like Sauf Asir.
• RS: I wish. I wasn't born into such riches.
• CG: One last thing. Since you are Minister of The Navy, are there anything new in the war effort going on?
• RS: I will give your readers a scoop. The engineers over at Fort Bering are working on perfecting the idea of an armed submersible craft. Now that we have working torpedoes the time seems right. There will be no repeat of a Hunley Disaster.
• CG: Minister Semmes, I thank you for your time.

The Grand Tour: The Pacific Alliance

With the War just beginning our grand tour is going to take a bit of a detour. And to a land of a bit warmer weather. 

It takes allies to win a war. From the moment the first shot was fired at Fort Leavenworth it was obvious that the new Republic was in over its head. To win the war all that was needed would be to outlast the resolve of the United States. To win the peace they would have to destroy the East's will to fight.

The path to victory in both respects is charted by Rachel Semmes, the niece of Raphael Semmes, Captain of the C.S.S. Alabama. The path is called The Pacific Alliance.

The Capital of the Pacific Alliance was the Kingdom of Hawaii from its founding through the Pineapple War. Once the war was won by the Republic and Hawaii and Queen Liliuokalani's reign was secured, the capital was integrated with Republican government functions at Reno. From 1893 to 1941 only PACCOM was centered at Pearl Harbor Naval Base. In addition to The Republic of Ansdale and The Kingdom of Hawaii, charter members of the alliance included New Zealand, Canada and Russia. As the alliance grew, new members joined, including Australia, China and Japan.

The prime doctrine of the alliance is mutual defense and aid of fellow members, though all members also agree to provide.

1. Open Ports of Call for member nations, especially to provide safe haven during times of war and other periods of instability.
2. Reciprocity concerning Letters of Marque and Reprisal for all member nations, and the establishing of maritime or admiralty courts in every major port.
3. Diplomatic exchange among the member nations.

The three requirements benefit the Republic almost exclusively, however, they alone, with some small help from Russia bear the military side of the agreement. There is no Hawaiian or New Zealand navy at present.

Despite its diverse membership, the alliance survives. There have been challenges however. The Russian Revolution of 1917 resulted in its expulsion from the alliance, however, it was readmitted when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor Naval Base, at the time jointly manned by the Republic of Ansdale and The United States of America and followed it up with an invasion of China and Australia. Japan was expelled at that time and was not readmitted until sometime after the wars end.

Next time we will talk with the architect of the Pacific Alliance, Rachel Semmes.

The Grand Tour: Kansas

Let The Bleeding Resume. Our next tour stop is a State born of war. I'm speaking of Kansas. It's not often that a State gets the word "bleeding" affixed to it. It started before the first Civil War. You, know, the North South one, not the current East West one. The lightning rod for the conflict was voter fraud. As the region known as Kansas was about to be organized into a Territory border ruffians from Missouri flooded over the border. When you've got 1,500 registered voters and 6,000 votes cast, somethings wrong, and only a blind man could fail to see it. The Blind man in question was Franklin Pierce, the President of the United States. He Was a Democrat, The Slave owners were 90+% Democrat. As far as he was considered, the election was legal.

The outrage was immediate, and so was the response from the abolitionists. Even the Church was mobilized, most notable among them Henry Ward Beecher, who shipped crates of Sharps Rifles to anti-slavery emigrants that were labeled as Bibles. Well, it says The Word is like a two edged sword, so...

In this case the weapons of our warfare were quite carnal, and things all centered on a town called Lawrence. The town, which was settled by free staters, has been sacked three times

• May 21, 1856 - Border ruffians from Missouri burn the Free State Hotel, 2 newspaper offices and houses and businesses
• August 21, 1863 - William Quantrill burn the town and kill 183 men and boys, as young as fourteen.
• July 10, 1875 - Captain Leah Marie Quantrill of the 1st Republican Cavalry burns several buildings, most of them wrecks already, in a show of resolve and gains the surrender of the town.

Actually, the third one would barely Qualify as a sack, if not for the last name of the Captain. Quantrill. As in, the daughter, though illegitimate, of WCQ, the butcher of Lawrence.

This time, however, the Governor of Kansas was a supporter of the Cause, and so the allegiance of the State was never in doubt. The real problem was Leavenworth, and that had been neutralized a few days before.

The sides have been drawn. Things are about to get very interesting.

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.

Tooting My Own Horn

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me. Not this site. That wont happen until December. Not me, personally, either. That was back in April.

The Cake and Presents are for my main blog The WENC Night Beat. It's been three years since my first post. And while I wish everybody success in their chosen endeavors, I get a slight bit of pleasure when a competitor drops out. One less obstacle in the path of total world domination. Waa ha ha.

I invite everyone to stop by and check things out. I will be rolling out something old and something new in the weeks ahead.