Broken Brotherhood Backstory
Commonwealth E20 :: [ARCHIVE] Broken Brotherhood E20 :: Background and Gameplay :: Backstory and Maps
Page 1 of 1
Broken Brotherhood Backstory
by TLS Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:59 pm
Broken Brotherhood Major Backstory
TL;DR SUMMARY: George Washington is assassinated in 1782, is unable to prevent the Newburgh Conspiracy, and a de facto coup causes the American republic to quickly collapse back into the constituent states. The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, but then essentially converts itself into a useless talking shop based in Philadelphia--a 1780s North American version of the League of Nations, if you will. The states that have them retain their claims in the trans-Appalachian region, while border disputes now have no supervisory organization trying to paper them over.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21, 1782
As the war in continental North America has largely come to an end, the focus of the conflict moves to the peace negotiations in Paris and General Washington attempts to manage the vicissitudes of demobilizing an army that is increasingly insistent on receiving back pay and pensions. However, though the war seems over not everyone is reconciled to the new order. As Washington attempts to manage his army from Newburgh, New York, a major in the Loyal American Regiment, Thomas Henry Barclay, sneaks his way into the Continental camp. Barclay manages to remain unnoticed until evening, and approaches Washington masquerading as a supplicant during one of the general's sunset constitutionals. After obsequiously getting close to Washington with a sob story about being a wounded veteran in pursuit of his hard-earned wages, he quickly reveals a blade hidden in his sleeve and repeatedly stabs the general.
Nearby Continental soldiers quickly intervene and cut Barclay down, but by this point Washington has suffered 8 separate stab wounds to his gut and chest. He is rushed into his cabin but expires by 11 pm that evening. The nascent union descends into mourning, and the Continental Army loses its unifying figurehead. Competing generals now vie for the loyalty of the army and the support of Congress, but Benjamin Lincoln is put in overall command of the Continental Army.
March and April 1783
Frustration in the camp at Newburgh has finally reaches a boiling point as an anonymous letter spreads on March 10 among the men calling for a meeting to plan action to ensure payment of debts to the men. Lincoln’s force of personality is weak, and he is unable to prevent the men from congregating at the instigation of one John Armstrong Jr. Armstrong, a former aide to the quasi-disgraced General Horatio Gates, has little time for the promises of the weak general staff and the even weaker scoundrels in Congress. Armstrong puts a motion to the assembled body of mid-level officers and soldiers that Gates be instituted as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and that the army take any and all necessary steps to ensure that the Congress makes good on its debts. Armstrong’s mutiny quickly overruns the camp and General Lincoln is forced to flee back to Philadelphia.
General Gates declines the overall title of Commander-in-Chief, claiming that such a title can only be granted by Congress itself, but accepts leadership of the army and swears that he will go to Philadelphia personally to ensure that the issues are resolved. To that end, Gates sets out for Philadelphia—with 2,000 Continentals at his side. Though the army is hardly a juggernaut, and most of the army remains encamped at Newburgh, news of Gates’ march on Philadelphia spreads like wildfire. Along the route, other disgruntled Continental units and militiamen flock to Gates’ force, and by the time he reaches Trenton on March 26 he is at the head of some 4,000 men under arms.
The Continental Congress, which had only a few months prior been excoriating Gates for his military failures, recognizes the enormity of the challenge being posed. However, the Congress itself is divided between those sympathetic to Gates and the army and those opposed. They urge the Pennsylvanian president, John Dickinson, to call out the Pennsylvania militia, and he refuses. Not only does Congress have no right to force his militia to mobilize in its defense, he argues, but the loyalty of said militia is likely suspect. Seeing no choice but to flee, President of the Congress Elias Boudinot gives the order to evacuate and much of the Congress decamps and hurriedly flees to Annapolis.
However, not everyone leaves Philadelphia. Most state delegations are, in fact, split by their personal ties to Gates and their loyalty to the Congress. As such, when Gates arrives in Philadelphia on April 4 members of the Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia delegations remain. Gates does the quick math, sees that the required nine states are in some way represented in Philadelphia, and makes his play. He sends officers around to politely invite the remaining delegations to Independence Hall and similarly requests that John Dickinson preside over the proceedings, seeing as they are, after all, taking place next to the Pennsylvania state capitol.
A Cromwellian scene begins to unfold, as, like the men of the New Model Army before them, soldiers of the Continental Army surround the building as the delegations enter. Gates himself is not present as the proceedings get under way, but now-Major General Armstrong directs the events as they unfold inside the congressional chamber. He ensures that a member of the Rhode Island delegation, Jonathan Arnold, puts forth a motion to ensure a lifetime half-pension scheme for all serving veterans of the Continental Army. Critically, the funds for these payments are to be issued in the form of promissory notes denominated the state bonds, not the worthless Continental script. Additionally, he puts forth a motion to nominate and confirm Horatio Gates as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the motion passes unanimously. Gates shortly thereafter strides into the chambers of Congress and humbly accepts the commission.
Of course, the majority of Congress in Annapolis, once it learns of these actions, move quickly to condemn them. However, Gates and his Rump Congress in Philadelphia quickly send word to the Congress in Annapolis spinning a convenient tale of legal fiction. Because Congress remained in quorum in Philadelphia, clearly the actions were legitimate—however, there was no question as to the fact that the entire Congress remained the sole legitimate representative of the entire United States. Attached to Gates’ letter, in fact, is a note that had arrived from the American representatives in Paris, presaging an imminent breakthrough and finalization of the treaty with Great Britain to end the war. The carrot and stick are thus clearly presented: accept the actions of Gates’ Rump and come back together or face the risk of internal conflict and the return to war with England. On April 10, Congress slinks back into Philadelphia and pretends as if nothing has just happened, and the next day announces the end of cessation of arms against Great Britain.
May through December 1783
The genie having been let out of the bottle, the Continental Congress soon finds that it cannot simply sweep the Newburgh Affair under the rug. While Gates is now Commander-in-Chief and beloved by many of his men for earning them their back pay, he is despised by much of the Continental officer corps. The Congressional delegations may have also believed that this realpolitik was necessary to ensure the cessation of arms, but most of the state governments are furious at this trampling upon their sovereignty. Most critically, the provision to denominate the back-pay in promissory notes by the states has left them all tremendously indebted.
Order in the Continental Army begins to break down. Units across the country, having won their backpay, begin to melt away to pester and lobby their state governments for their just payments. Gates, having seemed so recently to be on the precipice of being the American Cromwell, instead presides as Commander-in-Chief of a dissolving military force. Congress itself is wracked by divisions between “True” Congressmen and “Rump” Congressmen, with those who validated Gates’ de facto coup being isolated by their peers. As these divisions cut through many state delegations, Congress is further wracked by inaction.
Several key ideologues of the revolution begin to rail against this state of affairs. Some of the largest names were well-regarded members of Continental political society: George Mason, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Clinton being some of the most widely known figures. Even Thomas Jefferson, former governor of Virginia and a former firm adherent to the cause of Congressional power, is disgusted by the abuse of revolutionary authority. While some had been arguing that the Continental Congress was, perhaps, too weak, the fact that a cabal of self-interested generals could leverage it for their own purposes demonstrates that, clearly, Congress is too strong. The Articles of Confederation have not only been abrogated and breached, but they have provided the template for this chaos.
Thus, as the summer of 1783 progresses, anti-confederation sentiment spreads. It is strongest in the small states, which cannot afford these heavy burdens, and in the states that were not even party to the original agreement with Gates. The most radically anti-confederation state is little Rhode Island, which is soon engulfed in agitation to effectively dismantle the entire Congress. Similar sentiment emerges across the states. In New York, rage at the cost of having to shoulder this burden leads to the state revoking its cession of land to the government, arguing that this land is now required to keep the state solvent to pay the debts to the soldiers. States begin seizing Continental armories and ships under the argument that if they must pay for the soldiers, they might as well reap the benefits of those investments.
By August, these threats have reached a boiling point. Fervent letters from the negotiators in Paris to Philadelphia indicate that the British are aware that the entire American project is on the brink of collapse, and hardline elements in the court of George III are encouraging the British sovereign to call off negotiations. Unless the Americans can demonstrate that there will be a Continental Congress to treat with, there will be no peace. All that is keeping the former-colonies together, then, is the fear of British return. United States have signed a treaty with Britain, but hardly remain united. The Articles of Confederation are essentially a dead letter, but if the treaty goes unsigned there is nothing to prevent a return to the threat of British encroachment and attack. While all agree that the treaty need be signed, some states begin to enter into what are, in effect, a suicide pact: either we all sign the treaty under a new framework, or we refuse to ratify it and take our chances with the British.
Patrick Henry, elected by the Virginia General Assembly as a member of the Virginia delegation to Congress, thus begins to leverage his ties to fellow radicals to put forth a new solution. Rather than adhere to the Articles of Confederation, a wartime necessity, the states should take back the power that is legitimately theirs. There will be no more need for a central army, navy, treasury, or any other centralized apparatus, save for the necessary institutions to sign a treaty with Britain. Indeed, the first Article of the agreed-upon text with the British reads:
“His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof.”
As such, each and every state is recognized as free, sovereign, and independent. Congress need only exist as a mechanism to adjudicate and sign this treaty with Britain. Once the treaty is signed and ratified, Britain will have recognized each state separately, and nothing need bind them but their mutual admiration and brotherhood.
As the Articles of Confederation have been so severely abused by the actions of the Continental Army, and that body itself is no longer trustworthy in any event, Henry puts forth a motion to strike all but the first, second, and third, and fifth articles of the Articles of Confederation. Freedom of movement is curtailed, the Congress loses its sole ability to declare war or conduct foreign relations, the Congress will not be able to compel the states to fund its actions, no armies shall be raised for common defense, and the Congress shall lose all powers to create courts, regulate the post offices, force the states to issue bonds, or appoint a commander in chief. Furthermore, nine states can no longer act on behalf of the entire Congress, and—critically—the articles shall no longer remain perpetual. In place of these articles, a new article is drafted which simply states that “The purpose of this confederacy will be to ensure that these united states adhere to the terms of the treaty with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.”
Stronger proponents of the American project are aghast, but some of the strongest advocates of that ideal are currently over the sea in France. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia firmly embrace Henry’s proposal. An alliance of small and large states, therefore, have now come together to force the Congress to bend: either they sign the peace treaty under these terms, or each of the states will walk away from the table. Living jointly under the threat of tyranny is worse than the prospect of fighting alone against the English.
The negotiations carry into the early winter, especially once key patriots like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin return to try to salvage the joint project, but the winds have decisively blown against the confederacy. Ultimately, by early December, it is clear that the continental union is untenable. On December 11, 1783, two acts are unanimously ratified by the Continental Congress. The first is to ratify the Treaty of Paris and finally end the war with Great Britain. The second is to ratify Patrick Henry’s amendments to the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress would be reformed the coming year as the “Perpetual Congress,” based in Philadelphia, but would clearly be nothing more than a toothless talking-shop—much like its namesake, the Perpetual Diet. As the delegations break from Philadelphia to rush home in time for Christmas, none is in a celebratory mood. They may have won their independence from Britain, but the future looks very lonely indeed.
Game Start: January 1, 1784
TL;DR SUMMARY: George Washington is assassinated in 1782, is unable to prevent the Newburgh Conspiracy, and a de facto coup causes the American republic to quickly collapse back into the constituent states. The Continental Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris, but then essentially converts itself into a useless talking shop based in Philadelphia--a 1780s North American version of the League of Nations, if you will. The states that have them retain their claims in the trans-Appalachian region, while border disputes now have no supervisory organization trying to paper them over.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
August 21, 1782
As the war in continental North America has largely come to an end, the focus of the conflict moves to the peace negotiations in Paris and General Washington attempts to manage the vicissitudes of demobilizing an army that is increasingly insistent on receiving back pay and pensions. However, though the war seems over not everyone is reconciled to the new order. As Washington attempts to manage his army from Newburgh, New York, a major in the Loyal American Regiment, Thomas Henry Barclay, sneaks his way into the Continental camp. Barclay manages to remain unnoticed until evening, and approaches Washington masquerading as a supplicant during one of the general's sunset constitutionals. After obsequiously getting close to Washington with a sob story about being a wounded veteran in pursuit of his hard-earned wages, he quickly reveals a blade hidden in his sleeve and repeatedly stabs the general.
Nearby Continental soldiers quickly intervene and cut Barclay down, but by this point Washington has suffered 8 separate stab wounds to his gut and chest. He is rushed into his cabin but expires by 11 pm that evening. The nascent union descends into mourning, and the Continental Army loses its unifying figurehead. Competing generals now vie for the loyalty of the army and the support of Congress, but Benjamin Lincoln is put in overall command of the Continental Army.
March and April 1783
Frustration in the camp at Newburgh has finally reaches a boiling point as an anonymous letter spreads on March 10 among the men calling for a meeting to plan action to ensure payment of debts to the men. Lincoln’s force of personality is weak, and he is unable to prevent the men from congregating at the instigation of one John Armstrong Jr. Armstrong, a former aide to the quasi-disgraced General Horatio Gates, has little time for the promises of the weak general staff and the even weaker scoundrels in Congress. Armstrong puts a motion to the assembled body of mid-level officers and soldiers that Gates be instituted as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army, and that the army take any and all necessary steps to ensure that the Congress makes good on its debts. Armstrong’s mutiny quickly overruns the camp and General Lincoln is forced to flee back to Philadelphia.
General Gates declines the overall title of Commander-in-Chief, claiming that such a title can only be granted by Congress itself, but accepts leadership of the army and swears that he will go to Philadelphia personally to ensure that the issues are resolved. To that end, Gates sets out for Philadelphia—with 2,000 Continentals at his side. Though the army is hardly a juggernaut, and most of the army remains encamped at Newburgh, news of Gates’ march on Philadelphia spreads like wildfire. Along the route, other disgruntled Continental units and militiamen flock to Gates’ force, and by the time he reaches Trenton on March 26 he is at the head of some 4,000 men under arms.
The Continental Congress, which had only a few months prior been excoriating Gates for his military failures, recognizes the enormity of the challenge being posed. However, the Congress itself is divided between those sympathetic to Gates and the army and those opposed. They urge the Pennsylvanian president, John Dickinson, to call out the Pennsylvania militia, and he refuses. Not only does Congress have no right to force his militia to mobilize in its defense, he argues, but the loyalty of said militia is likely suspect. Seeing no choice but to flee, President of the Congress Elias Boudinot gives the order to evacuate and much of the Congress decamps and hurriedly flees to Annapolis.
However, not everyone leaves Philadelphia. Most state delegations are, in fact, split by their personal ties to Gates and their loyalty to the Congress. As such, when Gates arrives in Philadelphia on April 4 members of the Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, New York, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia delegations remain. Gates does the quick math, sees that the required nine states are in some way represented in Philadelphia, and makes his play. He sends officers around to politely invite the remaining delegations to Independence Hall and similarly requests that John Dickinson preside over the proceedings, seeing as they are, after all, taking place next to the Pennsylvania state capitol.
A Cromwellian scene begins to unfold, as, like the men of the New Model Army before them, soldiers of the Continental Army surround the building as the delegations enter. Gates himself is not present as the proceedings get under way, but now-Major General Armstrong directs the events as they unfold inside the congressional chamber. He ensures that a member of the Rhode Island delegation, Jonathan Arnold, puts forth a motion to ensure a lifetime half-pension scheme for all serving veterans of the Continental Army. Critically, the funds for these payments are to be issued in the form of promissory notes denominated the state bonds, not the worthless Continental script. Additionally, he puts forth a motion to nominate and confirm Horatio Gates as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the motion passes unanimously. Gates shortly thereafter strides into the chambers of Congress and humbly accepts the commission.
Of course, the majority of Congress in Annapolis, once it learns of these actions, move quickly to condemn them. However, Gates and his Rump Congress in Philadelphia quickly send word to the Congress in Annapolis spinning a convenient tale of legal fiction. Because Congress remained in quorum in Philadelphia, clearly the actions were legitimate—however, there was no question as to the fact that the entire Congress remained the sole legitimate representative of the entire United States. Attached to Gates’ letter, in fact, is a note that had arrived from the American representatives in Paris, presaging an imminent breakthrough and finalization of the treaty with Great Britain to end the war. The carrot and stick are thus clearly presented: accept the actions of Gates’ Rump and come back together or face the risk of internal conflict and the return to war with England. On April 10, Congress slinks back into Philadelphia and pretends as if nothing has just happened, and the next day announces the end of cessation of arms against Great Britain.
May through December 1783
The genie having been let out of the bottle, the Continental Congress soon finds that it cannot simply sweep the Newburgh Affair under the rug. While Gates is now Commander-in-Chief and beloved by many of his men for earning them their back pay, he is despised by much of the Continental officer corps. The Congressional delegations may have also believed that this realpolitik was necessary to ensure the cessation of arms, but most of the state governments are furious at this trampling upon their sovereignty. Most critically, the provision to denominate the back-pay in promissory notes by the states has left them all tremendously indebted.
Order in the Continental Army begins to break down. Units across the country, having won their backpay, begin to melt away to pester and lobby their state governments for their just payments. Gates, having seemed so recently to be on the precipice of being the American Cromwell, instead presides as Commander-in-Chief of a dissolving military force. Congress itself is wracked by divisions between “True” Congressmen and “Rump” Congressmen, with those who validated Gates’ de facto coup being isolated by their peers. As these divisions cut through many state delegations, Congress is further wracked by inaction.
Several key ideologues of the revolution begin to rail against this state of affairs. Some of the largest names were well-regarded members of Continental political society: George Mason, Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Clinton being some of the most widely known figures. Even Thomas Jefferson, former governor of Virginia and a former firm adherent to the cause of Congressional power, is disgusted by the abuse of revolutionary authority. While some had been arguing that the Continental Congress was, perhaps, too weak, the fact that a cabal of self-interested generals could leverage it for their own purposes demonstrates that, clearly, Congress is too strong. The Articles of Confederation have not only been abrogated and breached, but they have provided the template for this chaos.
Thus, as the summer of 1783 progresses, anti-confederation sentiment spreads. It is strongest in the small states, which cannot afford these heavy burdens, and in the states that were not even party to the original agreement with Gates. The most radically anti-confederation state is little Rhode Island, which is soon engulfed in agitation to effectively dismantle the entire Congress. Similar sentiment emerges across the states. In New York, rage at the cost of having to shoulder this burden leads to the state revoking its cession of land to the government, arguing that this land is now required to keep the state solvent to pay the debts to the soldiers. States begin seizing Continental armories and ships under the argument that if they must pay for the soldiers, they might as well reap the benefits of those investments.
By August, these threats have reached a boiling point. Fervent letters from the negotiators in Paris to Philadelphia indicate that the British are aware that the entire American project is on the brink of collapse, and hardline elements in the court of George III are encouraging the British sovereign to call off negotiations. Unless the Americans can demonstrate that there will be a Continental Congress to treat with, there will be no peace. All that is keeping the former-colonies together, then, is the fear of British return. United States have signed a treaty with Britain, but hardly remain united. The Articles of Confederation are essentially a dead letter, but if the treaty goes unsigned there is nothing to prevent a return to the threat of British encroachment and attack. While all agree that the treaty need be signed, some states begin to enter into what are, in effect, a suicide pact: either we all sign the treaty under a new framework, or we refuse to ratify it and take our chances with the British.
Patrick Henry, elected by the Virginia General Assembly as a member of the Virginia delegation to Congress, thus begins to leverage his ties to fellow radicals to put forth a new solution. Rather than adhere to the Articles of Confederation, a wartime necessity, the states should take back the power that is legitimately theirs. There will be no more need for a central army, navy, treasury, or any other centralized apparatus, save for the necessary institutions to sign a treaty with Britain. Indeed, the first Article of the agreed-upon text with the British reads:
“His Brittanic Majesty acknowledges the said United States, viz., New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, to be free sovereign and independent states, that he treats with them as such, and for himself, his heirs, and successors, relinquishes all claims to the government, propriety, and territorial rights of the same and every part thereof.”
As such, each and every state is recognized as free, sovereign, and independent. Congress need only exist as a mechanism to adjudicate and sign this treaty with Britain. Once the treaty is signed and ratified, Britain will have recognized each state separately, and nothing need bind them but their mutual admiration and brotherhood.
As the Articles of Confederation have been so severely abused by the actions of the Continental Army, and that body itself is no longer trustworthy in any event, Henry puts forth a motion to strike all but the first, second, and third, and fifth articles of the Articles of Confederation. Freedom of movement is curtailed, the Congress loses its sole ability to declare war or conduct foreign relations, the Congress will not be able to compel the states to fund its actions, no armies shall be raised for common defense, and the Congress shall lose all powers to create courts, regulate the post offices, force the states to issue bonds, or appoint a commander in chief. Furthermore, nine states can no longer act on behalf of the entire Congress, and—critically—the articles shall no longer remain perpetual. In place of these articles, a new article is drafted which simply states that “The purpose of this confederacy will be to ensure that these united states adhere to the terms of the treaty with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.”
Stronger proponents of the American project are aghast, but some of the strongest advocates of that ideal are currently over the sea in France. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia firmly embrace Henry’s proposal. An alliance of small and large states, therefore, have now come together to force the Congress to bend: either they sign the peace treaty under these terms, or each of the states will walk away from the table. Living jointly under the threat of tyranny is worse than the prospect of fighting alone against the English.
The negotiations carry into the early winter, especially once key patriots like John Adams and Benjamin Franklin return to try to salvage the joint project, but the winds have decisively blown against the confederacy. Ultimately, by early December, it is clear that the continental union is untenable. On December 11, 1783, two acts are unanimously ratified by the Continental Congress. The first is to ratify the Treaty of Paris and finally end the war with Great Britain. The second is to ratify Patrick Henry’s amendments to the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress would be reformed the coming year as the “Perpetual Congress,” based in Philadelphia, but would clearly be nothing more than a toothless talking-shop—much like its namesake, the Perpetual Diet. As the delegations break from Philadelphia to rush home in time for Christmas, none is in a celebratory mood. They may have won their independence from Britain, but the future looks very lonely indeed.
Game Start: January 1, 1784
TLS- Admin
- Posts : 731
Join date : 2017-09-19 -
Commonwealth E20 :: [ARCHIVE] Broken Brotherhood E20 :: Background and Gameplay :: Backstory and Maps
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum|
|
|