American Civil War Sesquicentennial -- With Added Steampunk

Today is the 150^th anniversary (sesquicentennial) of the official start of the American Civil War with the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 a.m. and lasted for 34 straight hours.  This date is the generally agreed upon date for the start of the American Civil War (War Between the States, War of Northern Aggression take what title you will), although there were earlier shots fired.  I’ll leave any political bickering and nitpicking for the plethora of other sites and create my own revisionist history, with added steampunk!

View of Ft. Sumter in Charleston harbor, looking east to west.  The siege is lifted with arrival of aerial and undersurface relief fleet.  South Carolina is in tense negotiations with the Union about the status of the Charleston harbor forts and other Union facilities by Governor Pickens, who has offered a monetary settlement for assets and debts of ex-Union possessions.  Negotiations are further clouded by other states leaving the Union.  The Republic of Texas has pledged to support secessionists.  Cotton prices are soaring on the stock exchange.

Airships, Ho!

Paratime Steampunk Victorian history is a lot of fun. From my very private collection is a page from Harper's Weekly about the First Victorian Gulf War.

The U.S. Airship Thunderbolt flies above besieged Baghdad Mahdist forces while allied camel corps stand by their Gatlings. Unseen in the river are underwater Carmagnolle units to screen the allied fleet from attack. Coalition forces deployed against Mahdist rebels include Great Britain, United States of America, Ottoman Empire, Prussia, French Empire and various Arabic units.



Coalition forces were called in to attack Mahdist forces who were working on various infernal devices to spring on their enemies. Intelligence suggests they received equipment and support from Dr. Fu Manchu, whose insidious labs have produced chemical agents, infernal devices and other sundry bedevilments.

During the siege of Baghdad, the false Mahdi escaped and fled to Afghanistan via airship and hid in deep mountain caves, touching off the Fourth Afghan War. Airship bombardment sealed the entrances but the Mahdi continued to elude capture.