The Republic of Vermont

[TLS]

The Republic of Vermont



Political Organization
Official Title: The Republic of Vermont
Conventional: Vermont, the New Hampshire Grants
Political System: Republic
Capital: Windsor
Governor: Thomas Chittenden

Economy
Population: 80,000 (99.9% free white) [Mostly Occupied]
Resources: .5 [Mostly Occupied]

Military
Force Limit: 2,400 Regular, 4,800 Militia

Army (Maintenance: .1, Manpower: 200)


Mobile Forces
-1 Infantry Company (Burlington) [M: .1, Man: 200]

Militia (Wartime Maintenance: .5, Manpower: 2,200)
-1 Militia Infantry Regiment (Burlington) [Wartime Maintenance: .25, Manpower: 1,000]
-3 Militia Infantry Companies (Southern Vermont) [WM: .15, Manpower: 600] 
-1 Militia Cavalry Company (Burlington) [WM: .1, Man: 200]

[TLS]

Vermont Pre-Build

Income
Taxes: .1
Resources: .5
Total Income: .6
Pre-build Income: .6x3 = 1.8 rounded to 2

Expenditures:
-Fort - 0 Points [Maintenance: .1, Manpower: 200]
-3 Infantry Companies - .6 [M: .3, Man: 600]
-1 Cavalry Company - .5 [M: .2, Man: 200]
Total Spent: 1.1 [Maintenance: .6, Manpower: 1,200]

[TLS]

Vermont 1784 Build

Income
Taxes: .1
Resources: .5
Total Income: .6

Expenditures:
-Maintenance: .6

Total Spent: .6

[Kilani]

The Vermonters are publicly informed via messages that New York intends to enforce it's land grants and the "rule of law"; since the Congress has no jurisdiction, the legislature of New York feels free to take their own action on the matter. They are invited to submit to the rightful rule of the New York government peaceably.

No mention is made (overtly) of the alternative.

[TLS]

The Vermonters are publicly informed via messages that New York intends to enforce it's land grants and the "rule of law"; since the Congress has no jurisdiction, the legislature of New York feels free to take their own action on the matter. They are invited to submit to the rightful rule of the New York government peaceably.

No mention is made (overtly) of the alternative.

The implicit threats issued by New York are received as intended by the free Vermonters, and the Green Mountain Boys begins furtively consulting with old comrades. President Chittenden calls together Vermont's veteran leaders, most notably the brothers Ethan and Ira Allen. Ethan, the wartime leader of the Green Mountain Boys, is tasked with ensuring that Vermont has a plan to handle any and all potential incursions, while Ira moves to quickly consolidate political support from members of the General Assembly as it is hurriedly called back to session. Paranoia begins to grip the Green Mountains, and merchants and other visitors from both New York and New Hampshire are put under extra suspicion. Wartime convenience had brought Vermont closer to both its hostile neighbors, but the collapse of the Confederation has seen a quick deterioration in bilateral relations. Merchants from both, in particular, are increasingly heavily searched by panicky Vermont militiamen, looking for evidence of York or Hampshire perfidy through the form of weapons smuggling to arm potential allies within Vermont.

[TLS]

December 16, 1784

The Bennington Riot

As the Continental Congress has seen fights back and forth over the status of Vermont, with the New Yorkers and New Hampshirites calling for assistance in addressing what they view as a rebellious land, 1784 is marked by increasing paranoia and apprehension in the Green Mountains. Though Vermonters have been furtively studying the troop movements of their neighbors, the year has passed almost entirely without incident. As winter begins to settle in on New England and the harvest season comes to an end, the proud Yankees of the hills begin to let their guard down and hope that the worst of the crisis is over.

However, not all Vermonters have decided to cease their watch. An over-eager militia detachment based in Bennington has spent the past few months harassing and searching all manner of New York traders seeking to come across the state line. Though trade has decreased, enterprising New Yorkers and Vermonters alike see the value in running goods across the borders, considering Vermonts low manufacturing capability. Thus, on a snowy evening in mid-December, a small militia detachment stops a wagon as it approaches the town of Bennington. The driver and owner of the wagon, a New York merchant based out of Albany, protests as the militia begin to search his wagon as they carry no official writ of authority. They soon discover that the New Yorker is carrying rifles in his load and move to seize him--causing the merchant to panic, pull out his pistol, and kill the leader of the militia detachment before bolting away.

The militia fire after the New Yorker, quickly killing his horse and throwing him out onto the street. Dazed and not a little hurt by the crash, the Vermonters pummel him to within an inch of his life before dragging him into down. Shouting of how a New Yorker has spilled Vermont blood, the militia sound the tocsin to turn out the crowds. He half-conscious New Yorker, attempting to mumble his professions of innocence through broken teeth, is then unceremoniously hanged from a post on the town green. A particularly erudite young militia lieutenant then climbs on a platform of boxes quickly assembled, and belts out to the crowd:

"They claim our possessions--the pitiful knaves--The tribute we pay shall be prisons and graves!"

The crowd, then incensed and quickly armed by the militia, proceeds to tear through the town destroying any and all property owned by those with ties across the border. While no further bloodshed takes place, a number of shops and houses are ransacked, a few burned to the ground, and a stream of approximately 20 families sets out west to seek refuge in nearby Hoosick. As the march takes place in the dead of night in the early winter, upon their arrivals the families are haggard, frost-bitten, and within an inch of their lives.

[Kilani]

January, 1785

When news reaches the governor and legislature of New York there is a great deal of consternation and uproar and immediately a messenger is dispatched to Bennington (and thence to the "capital" of Vermont, it is hoped) with terms from the New York government:

-stand down and disband all militias currently under arms
-the Vermont "regulars" to march to Albany and disarm themselves under the supervision of the New York State Line to prevent additional violence against citizens of New York
-that those responsible for the murder and lynching of a New York citizen and the destruction of property belonging to New York citizens be handed over to New York authorities for civil and criminal trial
-allow New York tax collectors and surveyors to conduct a survey and redetermine grants and to whom the land actually belongs under New York law

[Galveston Bay]

The State of Massachusetts condemns the murder of citizens in Vermont, as even the accused have the right of trial and proper due process before the law.   The mob action is to be condemned, and local authorities should act responsibly and bring the men responsible for this riot to justice.

However Massachusetts urges New York to allow a reasonable length of time for local authorities in Vermont to follow the law, allow fair and just determination of property rights, and not make the mistake the British did and attempt to disarm free men by force of arms.

[TLS]

January, 1785

When news reaches the governor and legislature of New York there is a great deal of consternation and uproar and immediately a messenger is dispatched to Bennington (and thence to the "capital" of Vermont, it is hoped) with terms from the New York government:

-stand down and disband all militias currently under arms
-the Vermont "regulars" to march to Albany and disarm themselves under the supervision of the New York State Line to prevent additional violence against citizens of New York
-that those responsible for the murder and lynching of a New York citizen and the destruction of property belonging to New York citizens be handed over to New York authorities for civil and criminal trial
-allow New York tax collectors and surveyors to conduct a survey and redetermine grants and to whom the land actually belongs under New York law

President Chittenden declares that an investigation and trial before a court of Vermont law will be carried out. Murder is a serious allegation, but, if proven, the men of Vermont are as judicious and law-abiding as any.

However, none of the New York demands shall be met. The militias will not disband, the regulars will not surrender, the law will be carried out in Vermont, and the land grants of Vermont will not be dictated by a foreign power.

[Kilani]

January, 1785

When news reaches the governor and legislature of New York there is a great deal of consternation and uproar and immediately a messenger is dispatched to Bennington (and thence to the "capital" of Vermont, it is hoped) with terms from the New York government:

-stand down and disband all militias currently under arms
-the Vermont "regulars" to march to Albany and disarm themselves under the supervision of the New York State Line to prevent additional violence against citizens of New York
-that those responsible for the murder and lynching of a New York citizen and the destruction of property belonging to New York citizens be handed over to New York authorities for civil and criminal trial
-allow New York tax collectors and surveyors to conduct a survey and redetermine grants and to whom the land actually belongs under New York law

President Chittenden declares that an investigation and trial before a court of Vermont law will be carried out. Murder is a serious allegation, but, if proven, the men of Vermont are as judicious and law-abiding as any.

However, none of the New York demands shall be met. The militias will not disband, the regulars will not surrender, the law will be carried out in Vermont, and the land grants of Vermont will not be dictated by a foreign power.

The response is rejected out of hand; Vermont is not a recognized state and is on land claimed and (in theory) administered by the State of New York. If local authorities will not hand over those responsible, then New York will enforce the law, as required.

[TLS]

March, 1785

As news reaches New Hampshire of the apparently inevitable fight between the Green Mountain Boys and the State of New York, the New Hampshire General Assembly issues its own ultimatum to the New Hampshire Grants. They are informed that, due to the state of lawlessness and general terror engulfing the west bank of the Connecticut River, it is the duty of New Hampshire to return to restore law and order. They issue the following demands:

• Anyone claiming to hold an office above the county level will renounce their false assertion to "state-wide" authority.
  
• All members of the militia and so-called "regular" infantrymen will swear loyalty to the rightful government of New Hampshire.
  
• In return, all land titles currently observed will be recognized unless successfully challenged in a New Hampshire court of law by former title holders whose land was wrested from them by banditry.
  
• Furthermore, all offices of county-level and below will be recognized as stemming from the legitimate authority granted by the New Hampshire constitution.
  

The Vermonters, of course, are just as outraged at the New Hampshire ultimatum as that of New York. While less onerous than that of New York (the Vermonters are especially infuriated at the prospect of losing their hard-earned land, tilled by their own hands, to Dutchmen and other unsavory types from the West), the New Hampshire demands seek to destroy all that the men of Vermont have built over the past decade. As such, President Chittenden calls together his cabinet and issues a proclamation declaring that any incursion by the forces of New York or New Hampshire shall be met by force of arms. When he comes before the General Assembly he presents his declaration and it is quickly and unanimously endorsed by that august body. Ethan Allen, by now put in command of the Green Mountain Boys, emerges from the session of the General Assembly to address the assembling crowd outside. "Ho–all to the rescue!" he declares, "for Satan shall work! No gain for his legions of Hampshire and York!"

[TLS]

Vermont 1785 Build

Income
Taxes: .1
Resources: .5
Misc. Income: .5
Loan: .6 (out of max of .6)
Total Income: 1.7

Expenditures:
-Maintenance: .6
-Militia Maintenance: 1.1 [4 Militia Infantry Regiments, 1 Militia Cavalry Company]
Total Spent: 1.7

[TLS]

Vermont 1786 Build

Income
Taxes: .0
Resources: .1
Misc. Income: .5
Total Income: .6

Expenditures:
-Maintenance: .55
-Loan Repayment: .05 [.05/.6, Year 1/10]

Total Spent: .6

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