Well, okay then, here's the second chapter. I did use a little creative license here, btw, although hopefully it doesn't damper your enjoyment of this TL. =)
Nov. 6, 1809
The Patriot Tavern & Restaurant
New Haven, Connecticut
“Dear Lord. What immoral or unlawful thing had I done to earn such misery?” sighed Robert Harrison as he entered. The owner & founder of the 19-month old establishment looked around at what had been, the night before, a prosperous tavern full of loyal customers. Now, 11 of them were dead, as well as the chief bartender, Louis Malloy, a man he had known for 20 years, and a visiting off-duty soldier from New York[1]. Not to mention the horrid mess those awful vigilantes had made of the place; broken beer bottles & furniture were everywhere, even a few bullet holes could be seen here & there. Veteran patron Thomas 'Tommy' Gilmore nodded. “Robbie my friend, we did lose some good men yesterday, but at least our lives are still intact, thank the good Lord.” “And we c'n always patch the place up, eh?” chimed in Johnathon Dunwood. “Yes, but I will require hundreds of dollars to repair all that was lost to us. Let us hope for miracles, fellows. Lest those damned hooligans turn yonder and ransack this tavern of ours once again.” Harrison remarked with a tinge of bitterness.
--
The New Haven Standard
Nov. 6, 1809
Vigilantes Attack Local Tavern, Kill Over a Dozen Patrons
…Yesterday, tragedy struck at the newly established tavern known as 'The Patriot'. At around 2:30 p.m. several armed vigilantes attacked the patrons inside and killed at least 13 people, most notably the chief bartender, Louis Malloy, of Mystic, and a member of the New York state militia, Albert Stafford, who was visiting his grandmother in Hartford. There is no doubt in the minds of the citizens of this fair city, and that of many of our brethren in the rest of New England, that these vigilantes are a stain on the fabric that is American society and that they must be dealt with in a firm manner posthaste. We cannot allow this kind of dastardly behaviour to smear the good name of not just New Englanders but of all of America.”
[Here's a little something called an "excerpt". This AH tradition actually goes all the way back to Robert Sobel and his 1971 classic, "For Want of a Nail", but here, I've utilized something similar to the quite popular Grey Wolf/Jared/EdT layout. Pretty neat, IMO.]
– These excepts were taken from Franklin Van Buren's “The Early History of post-Independence America, 1797-1847” © 1929: University of New England Press, Cambridge, Mass. Used with permission.
1799: Former President George Washington dies on December 14.
1803: In April, the Louisiana Purchase occurs with France selling their claims to the entire area for only $15 million. There are some opponents, particularly in New England, but overall, most are supportive of Jefferson's move.
1804: Jefferson is re-elected for a second term as President; George Clinton is elected Vice-President.
1805: The Barbary War ends in October. Also, a peaceful demonstration against tightened military controls occurs in Spanish Florida in early August.
1806: The Non-Importation Act is passed by only a slight majority in Congress on April 22nd . Also, noted politico[2] C.C. Pinckney dies from a two-month case of pneumonia on Mar 11th .
1807: The highly controversial proposed Embargo Act dies in committee in April.
1808: James Madison wins this year's election, George Clinton makes his appearance once more as Vice-president. Also, the 'Mary Louise', a British merchant ship, is raided in Nantucket, R.I. .during the mid-morning hours of April 15th. It will be just the first of a long series of ship raidings and cargo confiscations undertaken by various U.S. authorities.
1809:
April 11: The creation of the regional advocacy group known as the Sons of New England in Portland, Maine Territory.
July 12: Attack of the British merchant ship 'Princeton' in the harbor of Providence, Rhode Island. An explosion which had been started off by the initial detonation of a powder keg which was smuggled onto the deck the previous night kills 35 people including several seamen from both Britain & America.
Sept. 9: First major N.I. Act related riots occur in the city of Boston, Mass; they last for 3 whole days and dozens are arrested by the local police.
Nov. 5: A vicious raid on a local New Haven, Conn. Tavern called 'The Patriot' by vigilantes leads to 13 deaths, 4 of them early supporters of the Sons of New England. Significant outrage does occur in much of the northern half of the U.S. but no major rioting occurs, at least, not in any major towns & cities, although Albany, N.Y. S.o.N.E. supporter John Brooks coins a new phrase in one of the local tabloids: “Remember, remember, the 5th of November!” as a rallying cry[3].
[1] Albert Stafford's son, Tommy, is only 3 when his father dies, but he will go on to be a minor force in N.Y.C. politics later on in his life.
[2]This is one of many terms that saw a much earlier introduction to English than IOTL.
[3]V For Vendetta, anyone? =)
No comments:
Post a Comment