My New Reality
SpaceOrbis
Well-known member
Ok so let me be clear to you all on what I'm trying to do here. Yes, this is a story about if the Confederate States of America succeeded in gaining freedom and existing past 1865. As somebody who has family on both sides and somebody who utterly hates the south being beaten at some later point in all alt-history stories that have this happen, I'm going to try to do my own thing. Blacks will be fighting for the south. Past that I haven't really thought on what I'll be trying to do with this story of mine so...yeah.
This is a story first and foremost. I'm not trying to be historically accurate mostly because I know very little about what was going on around the 1860s past the civil war. So if you're coming in here looking for that sort of thing go elsewhere because this isn't going to be that. It's just a fun story about what if I (An older me o' course was sent back to 1861 and aided the south). This is assuming of course that Donald Trump wins his second election in 2024. Because you know why not have the idea of a civil war about to kick off just as I'm sent back to fight in the one we all know and love to make stories out of.
~~~
It truly is an odd thing knowing that I have lived in the world of two distinctly different realities and knowing that both, at least for a time were both as real as the other. One that saw the Union win out in 1865 that would one day lead to the rise of Trump and his ilk and the rapid decline of America's influence on the world stage in the late 2010s to the middle of the 2020s and the other where the Confederacy had won their freedom and forever reshaped what it was to be an American civilian both north or south of the Mason-Dixon line.
-
It is, therefore, no stretch of the imagination to say that when I found myself sent back to the 1860s on my 33rd birthday that I was about as confused as confused could get. Luckily my benefactor going only by the name George (A low-level demigod from a plane of existence far beyond anything I or anyone else could ever hope to comprehend) had seen fit to bestow upon me a gift. This gift had come in the form of a small red-colored capsule not too dissimilar to those one could see in the Dragon Ball franchise. It was a small thing easily hidden away in an oversized coat that I was given for this time of year. I was told that upon clicking its top it would transform itself into a small portable replicator capable of creating weapons, clothing, ammunition, and, of course, all kinds of enjoyable food to eat.
Looking around the nearby area I could tell almost at once where I was. I was in the Union's capital, Washington DC. The year as I would soon come to know it as was none other than that of 1861 and word of Abraham Lincoln's ascension to the presidency was the talk of the town. I, myself at once knew what that meant and I knew at once what I needed to do. In only a few weeks the many forests, meadows, swamps, towns, and cities on the North American continent would soon be bathed in the blood of patriots both wearing blue and gray. I, a West Virginian man knew that my place was by the side of my brothers of gray. No way would I just sit back and watch as freedom was forever trampled and tarnished by the tyrant Abraham Lincoln and his administration. Of course, in this history the world only saw him as a fool who had sent the nation into a war they had no hope of ever winning and not as the great emancipator of the Negro race of the other history but, of course, that is what happens when one gifts one side with weapons of war more than a century ahead of anything ever seen before.
-
When the call rang out and 75,000 bluecoats had all assembled for the sole aim of invading the southern states and suppressing the rights of Americans the die was cast. The path of war was now a foregone conclusion and only a fool would think otherwise. Even when the news of Fort Sumter was reported in the newspapers I could still see a few foolish old men who still held out hope that peace could win out and that the war that was now only days away could be stopped. But I knew that such hope was misplaced and that war was now the only choice left for freedom-loving peoples.
-
The first battle of the war and I hesitate to call what happened that day a battle because it was more or less a bloodbath and less a battle befitting the name. Wave after wave of blue-coated boys and men all raced to their assigned positions and fixed their rifles atop the stone walls to meet the incoming wave of gray and chestnut. In the end, it did them little good as our guns could hit them from the relative safety of the trees on the other side of the river. In less than an hour the Union lines were falling deeper into the town and we, in turn, raced forward guns sounding off with their click...click...click as their guns sent out their instruments of death at a rate unseen by anybody on Earth in 1861. The speed of our boys as they reloaded was such that by the time a boy of blue could aim and shoot he and his brothers in arms were already dead and gone. The town of Harpers Ferry soon fell into the hands of the south in less than three whole hours of battle. The speed of the attack was such that the loss of life on our side was just a lowly three. The only noteworthy injury had come in the form of a boy who had stumbled upon a rock half-hidden in the grass. So aside from a small scratch to his left leg and no small bit of embarrassment on his part he was battle-ready come the afternoon meal.
-
"By God's name what happened? This should have been an easy thing. We had them dead to rights. Your boys were forced to flee the field of battle and I want a damn good answer as to why"! Lincoln raged as he walked from one end of the room to the other in an obvious attempt to vent his rage. It was clearly not doing a good job at its task as he looked just as angry upon turning to face the man again a few minutes later.
"I have no answers for you, sir...they just outgunned us. Their guns are unlike anything we have yet seen. They just kept shooting and we had no time to fire back. We barely even had the opportunity to poke our heads up from the walls to reply in kind, sir. We need to get our hands on one of them wonder weapons or this war may as well be over now". The man said as the taller of the two eyed him with a look he was sure could kill if looks could kill.
"What sort of weapons were they"? Lincoln asked as he seemed to have regained his composure at least for the moment.
"The sort that could shoot till Sunday, sir. Fast as lightning reloads as well, sir. The boys have been calling them auto-guns". The younger man said as he stood before the president. His back ramrod straight as he watched as the president took in his words.
"Auto guns...see to it we get one of them sent back for deconstruction and analysis. I want this war over come the new year or I will have you shoveling pig shit. Now get out and tell them boys to fight harder. I will not have them turncoats down south winning another battle. You best see to it that they don't". Lincoln said as he returned to his work. He would need to call up more men by the looks of things.
-
"Easy, Thomas no need to be doing that. The gun isn't going to kick that hard. Just hold it as I showed you the other day and you'll be right as rain". I said as I watched as the boys I had managed to get under my command were busy firing their new guns. They were about as green as green could be but they were my boys and by God was I going to make them great. A few days back I had heard some news of Lee pushing his men up north to some unknown railroad town but that was just hearsay and nothing had come from it in the days since as far as I knew.
"Did you hear...they say Lincoln has done called up another ten thousand men. Pushing them hard down south but Mr.Lee has done met them and if what I been hearing is true has been fighting them off like a wild dog for two whole days up near someplace called Martinsburg or some such". The voice of one of the boys sounded over the sounds of guns shooting and boys yelling and fires popping. I knew the place as it was...no had been my home. Now it was just a name on a map. An odd feeling knowing that your hometown wasn't really yours anymore. That the home you had lived in wouldn't exist until the 1900s and that all your family was down south or out west or maybe up in the north. It was times like this I wished I had looked up my family tree more than I had. As it was I may as well be a family of one. It was around this time that the talk died and all eyes turned to a man of gray riding upon a horse of fine stock.
"Sir". I said as I gave the man a crisp salute. The man, in turn, only nodded his head and waved me over. His eyes looked worn and his hair held onto the dust of the road.
"How goes the training of them boys of yours"? He asked as he cleared his hair of the worst of it before taking a seat and eyed me with a kind smile. We had met soon after my coming here and it was he that had seen to it that I had my own boys to train and fight beside.
"Fair as fair, sir the boys are working hard on the new guns. I dare say the war will be done by 1862 if I have it my way, sir". I answered as I eyed the camp outside the tent. It was basic yet it held a sense of family born out of fighting and bleeding and sleeping side-by-side under the stars for days on end.
It's my hope it'll be over sooner than that. God knows war isn't a thing one should ever enjoy". Lee said as his eyes turned to a folded-up map.
"The Union has retaken the town...your old hometown if I recall your story". Mr. Lee said as he stood up and unfolded it. His eyes trying to find some weakness he could use to beat up their lines but sadly he couldn't see anything of note. "Can you tell me more about that gift of yours. I don't rightly understand it all too well". Lee said as I started to answer him.
"Well...sir from my understanding it has a database...a list of things that one can input and it makes it. The larger the quantity or the more complex the item the longer it'll take to make. What you see the boys using are World War 1 era guns.
"World War 1"? Lee asked clearly not knowing of the war that would be kicked off in 1914.
"It was a war started after the assassinations of Franz Ferdinand and his wife around 1913-1914. It sent the world into a state of war unlike anything seen before. It ultimately set the stage for the rest of the 20th and 21st centuries.
"How bad was it"? Lee asked as he leaned forward clearly waiting for my reply. It was a sight I had come to know well as we talked about the future or, in my case, the past.
"Millions killed on an industrial scale. Lines moving only a few feet over the years. Plus you had the daily gas attacks and the advent of airplanes and tanks into warfare. Sadly as I said it set everything that came after it up. I, however, hope to stop such things if I can". I said as I stood near the tent flap eyeing the boys as they trained. In 2025 this field would bore a road and a number of houses on both sides but for now, it housed only trees, flowers, and wildlife. Good thing seeing as the gift was busy making boxes of ammo for the guns and so wouldn't be useable for a few hours. Just as I was about to turn back the yell of a young boy forced my eyes to the tree-line.
"Bluecoats down the road. Looks like a fair size down a-ways. They should be here in a few minutes, sir". The boy said as I pushed past him and yelled for the men to be ready to fight them off. Five minutes later the first line of men entered the clearing and the battle began.
-
"Ready...aim...fire"! The order rang out as the bluecoats fired, dropped down, and started to reload their guns. A time-consuming process that took around 10 seconds. We, however, had arms that could fire eight or more shots and reload in less than half that time. This, of course, made this a fairly one-sided affair but as we dropped one of their side two or three would rush forward and fill the gap in their lines. The Union had the numbers but we had the arms and resolve. I could only hope that would be enough to win us the day.
"Push them back boys....push them back"! I yelled as I fired my M1911 into the lines of bluecoats. The sounds of battle and smoke was making it hard to command the battle but I made do with what I could. Lee was making a push near the right but sadly his boys were still mostly armed with guns of the era. A few had guns closer to 1890 but it was clear they had little time to train in their use seeing as their shots missed more than they hit.
"Damn it to hell...charge them, boys. Show them the strength of our resolve. Push them into the trees". I ordered as the boys raced forward. The rebel cry clearly making some of them take a step or two back.
"Full-auto boys. Kill them all. No survivors today". I yelled as our lines mixed together and the fight turned to hand-to-hand combat. It looked akin to the opening battle of Battlefield 1 yet here it was real. Here a life lost was a life ended. Here nobody could be pulled from the hold of the Grim Reaper. The fighting was hard and bloody and messy and hot. Yet just as it seemed we would fall to the seemingly neverending attacks their lines fell back into the thick of the trees and was lost like water on a hot summers day.
"Doctor...somebody go get me a doctor. We have wounded boys here". I yelled as the battle was clearly over. As I eyed the field I knew in my heart this was just the start. More lives were going to be lost and more blood was going to be spilled all in the name of liberty and justice. But I knew better I had seen the outcome of that. A complete disregard for history, for patriotism, for compassion for human life and so much more. The Union had won the war and it ended with us tearing ourselves apart 160+ years later. I had to make sure this time we were better. I had to make this history understand the cost of freedom. I had to try to make a world befitting such a goal. If I failed I feared what would befall this new world of mine and it was that fear that drove me to do what I needed to do. I needed to talk to the president. I needed him to understand what needed to be done otherwise what was the point in fighting this war?
This is a story first and foremost. I'm not trying to be historically accurate mostly because I know very little about what was going on around the 1860s past the civil war. So if you're coming in here looking for that sort of thing go elsewhere because this isn't going to be that. It's just a fun story about what if I (An older me o' course was sent back to 1861 and aided the south). This is assuming of course that Donald Trump wins his second election in 2024. Because you know why not have the idea of a civil war about to kick off just as I'm sent back to fight in the one we all know and love to make stories out of.
~~~
It truly is an odd thing knowing that I have lived in the world of two distinctly different realities and knowing that both, at least for a time were both as real as the other. One that saw the Union win out in 1865 that would one day lead to the rise of Trump and his ilk and the rapid decline of America's influence on the world stage in the late 2010s to the middle of the 2020s and the other where the Confederacy had won their freedom and forever reshaped what it was to be an American civilian both north or south of the Mason-Dixon line.
-
It is, therefore, no stretch of the imagination to say that when I found myself sent back to the 1860s on my 33rd birthday that I was about as confused as confused could get. Luckily my benefactor going only by the name George (A low-level demigod from a plane of existence far beyond anything I or anyone else could ever hope to comprehend) had seen fit to bestow upon me a gift. This gift had come in the form of a small red-colored capsule not too dissimilar to those one could see in the Dragon Ball franchise. It was a small thing easily hidden away in an oversized coat that I was given for this time of year. I was told that upon clicking its top it would transform itself into a small portable replicator capable of creating weapons, clothing, ammunition, and, of course, all kinds of enjoyable food to eat.
Looking around the nearby area I could tell almost at once where I was. I was in the Union's capital, Washington DC. The year as I would soon come to know it as was none other than that of 1861 and word of Abraham Lincoln's ascension to the presidency was the talk of the town. I, myself at once knew what that meant and I knew at once what I needed to do. In only a few weeks the many forests, meadows, swamps, towns, and cities on the North American continent would soon be bathed in the blood of patriots both wearing blue and gray. I, a West Virginian man knew that my place was by the side of my brothers of gray. No way would I just sit back and watch as freedom was forever trampled and tarnished by the tyrant Abraham Lincoln and his administration. Of course, in this history the world only saw him as a fool who had sent the nation into a war they had no hope of ever winning and not as the great emancipator of the Negro race of the other history but, of course, that is what happens when one gifts one side with weapons of war more than a century ahead of anything ever seen before.
-
When the call rang out and 75,000 bluecoats had all assembled for the sole aim of invading the southern states and suppressing the rights of Americans the die was cast. The path of war was now a foregone conclusion and only a fool would think otherwise. Even when the news of Fort Sumter was reported in the newspapers I could still see a few foolish old men who still held out hope that peace could win out and that the war that was now only days away could be stopped. But I knew that such hope was misplaced and that war was now the only choice left for freedom-loving peoples.
-
The first battle of the war and I hesitate to call what happened that day a battle because it was more or less a bloodbath and less a battle befitting the name. Wave after wave of blue-coated boys and men all raced to their assigned positions and fixed their rifles atop the stone walls to meet the incoming wave of gray and chestnut. In the end, it did them little good as our guns could hit them from the relative safety of the trees on the other side of the river. In less than an hour the Union lines were falling deeper into the town and we, in turn, raced forward guns sounding off with their click...click...click as their guns sent out their instruments of death at a rate unseen by anybody on Earth in 1861. The speed of our boys as they reloaded was such that by the time a boy of blue could aim and shoot he and his brothers in arms were already dead and gone. The town of Harpers Ferry soon fell into the hands of the south in less than three whole hours of battle. The speed of the attack was such that the loss of life on our side was just a lowly three. The only noteworthy injury had come in the form of a boy who had stumbled upon a rock half-hidden in the grass. So aside from a small scratch to his left leg and no small bit of embarrassment on his part he was battle-ready come the afternoon meal.
-
"By God's name what happened? This should have been an easy thing. We had them dead to rights. Your boys were forced to flee the field of battle and I want a damn good answer as to why"! Lincoln raged as he walked from one end of the room to the other in an obvious attempt to vent his rage. It was clearly not doing a good job at its task as he looked just as angry upon turning to face the man again a few minutes later.
"I have no answers for you, sir...they just outgunned us. Their guns are unlike anything we have yet seen. They just kept shooting and we had no time to fire back. We barely even had the opportunity to poke our heads up from the walls to reply in kind, sir. We need to get our hands on one of them wonder weapons or this war may as well be over now". The man said as the taller of the two eyed him with a look he was sure could kill if looks could kill.
"What sort of weapons were they"? Lincoln asked as he seemed to have regained his composure at least for the moment.
"The sort that could shoot till Sunday, sir. Fast as lightning reloads as well, sir. The boys have been calling them auto-guns". The younger man said as he stood before the president. His back ramrod straight as he watched as the president took in his words.
"Auto guns...see to it we get one of them sent back for deconstruction and analysis. I want this war over come the new year or I will have you shoveling pig shit. Now get out and tell them boys to fight harder. I will not have them turncoats down south winning another battle. You best see to it that they don't". Lincoln said as he returned to his work. He would need to call up more men by the looks of things.
-
"Easy, Thomas no need to be doing that. The gun isn't going to kick that hard. Just hold it as I showed you the other day and you'll be right as rain". I said as I watched as the boys I had managed to get under my command were busy firing their new guns. They were about as green as green could be but they were my boys and by God was I going to make them great. A few days back I had heard some news of Lee pushing his men up north to some unknown railroad town but that was just hearsay and nothing had come from it in the days since as far as I knew.
"Did you hear...they say Lincoln has done called up another ten thousand men. Pushing them hard down south but Mr.Lee has done met them and if what I been hearing is true has been fighting them off like a wild dog for two whole days up near someplace called Martinsburg or some such". The voice of one of the boys sounded over the sounds of guns shooting and boys yelling and fires popping. I knew the place as it was...no had been my home. Now it was just a name on a map. An odd feeling knowing that your hometown wasn't really yours anymore. That the home you had lived in wouldn't exist until the 1900s and that all your family was down south or out west or maybe up in the north. It was times like this I wished I had looked up my family tree more than I had. As it was I may as well be a family of one. It was around this time that the talk died and all eyes turned to a man of gray riding upon a horse of fine stock.
"Sir". I said as I gave the man a crisp salute. The man, in turn, only nodded his head and waved me over. His eyes looked worn and his hair held onto the dust of the road.
"How goes the training of them boys of yours"? He asked as he cleared his hair of the worst of it before taking a seat and eyed me with a kind smile. We had met soon after my coming here and it was he that had seen to it that I had my own boys to train and fight beside.
"Fair as fair, sir the boys are working hard on the new guns. I dare say the war will be done by 1862 if I have it my way, sir". I answered as I eyed the camp outside the tent. It was basic yet it held a sense of family born out of fighting and bleeding and sleeping side-by-side under the stars for days on end.
It's my hope it'll be over sooner than that. God knows war isn't a thing one should ever enjoy". Lee said as his eyes turned to a folded-up map.
"The Union has retaken the town...your old hometown if I recall your story". Mr. Lee said as he stood up and unfolded it. His eyes trying to find some weakness he could use to beat up their lines but sadly he couldn't see anything of note. "Can you tell me more about that gift of yours. I don't rightly understand it all too well". Lee said as I started to answer him.
"Well...sir from my understanding it has a database...a list of things that one can input and it makes it. The larger the quantity or the more complex the item the longer it'll take to make. What you see the boys using are World War 1 era guns.
"World War 1"? Lee asked clearly not knowing of the war that would be kicked off in 1914.
"It was a war started after the assassinations of Franz Ferdinand and his wife around 1913-1914. It sent the world into a state of war unlike anything seen before. It ultimately set the stage for the rest of the 20th and 21st centuries.
"How bad was it"? Lee asked as he leaned forward clearly waiting for my reply. It was a sight I had come to know well as we talked about the future or, in my case, the past.
"Millions killed on an industrial scale. Lines moving only a few feet over the years. Plus you had the daily gas attacks and the advent of airplanes and tanks into warfare. Sadly as I said it set everything that came after it up. I, however, hope to stop such things if I can". I said as I stood near the tent flap eyeing the boys as they trained. In 2025 this field would bore a road and a number of houses on both sides but for now, it housed only trees, flowers, and wildlife. Good thing seeing as the gift was busy making boxes of ammo for the guns and so wouldn't be useable for a few hours. Just as I was about to turn back the yell of a young boy forced my eyes to the tree-line.
"Bluecoats down the road. Looks like a fair size down a-ways. They should be here in a few minutes, sir". The boy said as I pushed past him and yelled for the men to be ready to fight them off. Five minutes later the first line of men entered the clearing and the battle began.
-
"Ready...aim...fire"! The order rang out as the bluecoats fired, dropped down, and started to reload their guns. A time-consuming process that took around 10 seconds. We, however, had arms that could fire eight or more shots and reload in less than half that time. This, of course, made this a fairly one-sided affair but as we dropped one of their side two or three would rush forward and fill the gap in their lines. The Union had the numbers but we had the arms and resolve. I could only hope that would be enough to win us the day.
"Push them back boys....push them back"! I yelled as I fired my M1911 into the lines of bluecoats. The sounds of battle and smoke was making it hard to command the battle but I made do with what I could. Lee was making a push near the right but sadly his boys were still mostly armed with guns of the era. A few had guns closer to 1890 but it was clear they had little time to train in their use seeing as their shots missed more than they hit.
"Damn it to hell...charge them, boys. Show them the strength of our resolve. Push them into the trees". I ordered as the boys raced forward. The rebel cry clearly making some of them take a step or two back.
"Full-auto boys. Kill them all. No survivors today". I yelled as our lines mixed together and the fight turned to hand-to-hand combat. It looked akin to the opening battle of Battlefield 1 yet here it was real. Here a life lost was a life ended. Here nobody could be pulled from the hold of the Grim Reaper. The fighting was hard and bloody and messy and hot. Yet just as it seemed we would fall to the seemingly neverending attacks their lines fell back into the thick of the trees and was lost like water on a hot summers day.
"Doctor...somebody go get me a doctor. We have wounded boys here". I yelled as the battle was clearly over. As I eyed the field I knew in my heart this was just the start. More lives were going to be lost and more blood was going to be spilled all in the name of liberty and justice. But I knew better I had seen the outcome of that. A complete disregard for history, for patriotism, for compassion for human life and so much more. The Union had won the war and it ended with us tearing ourselves apart 160+ years later. I had to make sure this time we were better. I had to make this history understand the cost of freedom. I had to try to make a world befitting such a goal. If I failed I feared what would befall this new world of mine and it was that fear that drove me to do what I needed to do. I needed to talk to the president. I needed him to understand what needed to be done otherwise what was the point in fighting this war?