If the South Had Won the Civil War

If the South Had Won the Civil War, MacKinlay Kantor, Bantam Books, 1961

This book looks at what would have happened if just a few things were changed during the Civil War. On May 12, 1863, near Vicksburg, Mississippi, General Ulysses S. Grant is killed in a freak equestrian accident. This seems to take the wind out of the Army of Tennessee, whose expedition had started earlier that year with such promise, but whose fortunes had been getting worse and worse. The remaining Union forces surrender to the Confederate Army at Vicksburg. Farther north, the Battle of Gettysburg truns into a defeat (perhaps slaughter is a better word) for the Union forces, who surrender to Robert E. Lee.

Word reaches President Abraham Lincoln that the end is near. On July 4, 1863, he and his family flee the White House at night, in the back of a horse-drawn ice truck. His first destination is Richmond, Virginia, where he is the "guest" of president Jefferson Davis. There is little or no looting of Washington by the advancing Confederate forces, though a number of White House items somehow make their way into Confederate homes. The looting is done by the citizens of Washington, whose name is changed from District of Columbia to District of Dixie.

America is given a chance to move the offices and documents out of Washington, and they eventually end up in the new capital of Columbus, Ohio, which is renamed Columbia. Seward's Folly, the purchase of Alaska from Russia, never happens. Throughout all of this, Texas remains independent.

In 1898, a Confederate battleship is blown up in Havana Harbor. The Confederate States declare war on Spain, and send an expeditionary force against Spanish forces in Cuba. After a successful campaign, the island is rebuilt and Cuba becomes the newest member of the Confederate States of America. Through the 20th century to the present, relations between the three countries (United States, Confederate States and Texas) are actually pretty good.

This is a fascinating book. History buffs, especially Civil War history, need to read it. Some knowledge of history, more than the usual amount, would be a help. This is highly recommended.