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The point of divergence is 1862, the American Civil War. In our timeline, a Confederate messenger lost Robert E. Lee's General Order detailing his plans for the Battle of Antietam. The orders were soon found by Federal soldiers, and using them George McClellan was able to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia.
In Turtledove's novel, the orders are never lost, and McClellan is caught by surprise. Lee forces him into battle on the banks of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania and destroys the Army of the Potomac in the battle of Camp Hill. Lee goes on to capture Philadelphia, earning the Confederate States of America diplomatic recognition from Great BritainGreat Britain (often abbreviated as Britain is an island lying off the western coast of Europe, comprising the main territory of the United Kingdom. Great Britain is also used as a political term describing the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales, and FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents. and winning the war.
In 1881Events January 16- 24 ? Siege of Geok Tepe ? Russian troops under general Skobeleff defeat Turkomans January 25 Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company February 5 Phoenix, Arizona is incorporated. February 13 First issu, James G. BlaineJames Gillespie Blaine ( January 31, 1830 January 27, 1893) was a U. Representative, U. Senator from Maine and a two-time United States Secretary of State. He also ran for President of the United States, obtaining the 1884 Republican nomination, but never has ridden a platform of anti-Confederatism into the White HouseThis page is about the official residence of the President of the USA. For other White Houses see White House (disambiguation). See also 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (musical . The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President. Both American nations are sanctioning Indian raids into the other's territory, and the international tension boils over when Confederate President James LongstreetJames Longstreet ( January 8, 1821 January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost generals of the American Civil War, and later enjoyed a successful post-war career working for the government of his former enemies, as a diplomat and administrator. Longstreet wa, desiring a Pacific coast, purchases the Mexican provinces of SonoraThis article is about the Mexican State of Sonora. For other places with the same name, see Sonora (disambiguation). ESTADO DE SONORA Other Mexican States Capital Hermosillo Other major cities Ciudad Obregon Nogales list of municipalities Area182,052 kmē and ChihuahuaThis article is about the state in Mexico; for the city of Chihuahua see: Chihuahua. ESTADO DE CHIHUAHUA Other Mexican States Capital Chihuahua Other major cities Ciudad Juarez Cuauhtemoc list of municipalities Area244,938 kmē Ranked 1st Population(2000 c. Blaine uses the "coerced" purchase as a casus belli, and what will later become known as the Second Mexican War erupts.
The novel uses historical figures exclusively for its main characters.
Thomas J. Jackson, old "Stonewall," is the General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army, and ready and eager to strike at the Yankees once more. Among the Yankees ready to strike at him are Colonel George A. Custer, a frustrated cavalryman serving on the Great Plains, and a wealthy, patriotic young Montana rancher named Theodore Roosevelt. General J.E.B. Stuart has been tasked with defending the new Confederate territories from the Yankees, and from the native Apaches, led by the venerable holy man Geronimo. Frederick Douglass, a former slave and a fiery orator, observes the Union forces at war, along with Alfred von Schlieffen, the German military attache to the U.S. Observing from the sidelines in San Francisco is Samuel Clemens, a sharp-witted newpaper editor. And flitting about North America is the man some say started the whole mess: former President Abraham Lincoln, now an orator struggling to keep the Republican Party united in the cause of the working man, against the Democratic Party and Big Business. And if the Republicans prove unable to meet the challenge, he'll find someone who can.The novel is followed by the Great War, American Empire, and Settling Accounts trilogies.
Alternate history