ST-RP Posted December 1, 2024 Share Posted December 1, 2024 The State of Tahoma & New Austin Territory, 1884 Admitted to the Union in the summer of 1846, Tahoma became the 29th star to fly on the spangled banner. Sixteen years later when the secession rang across the States, it joined arms with the Confederacy and in a swift siege one fateful day in May '61, surrendered its capital to the Union—an ignoble loss still felt strongly today. Even the Siege of Blackwater however couldn't quell the fighting spirit of West Elizabeth County; they found respite hunting mink, beaver and other prize furs in the hills surrounding the lumbering town of Strawberry whose forests were once traversed by the various Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, since pacified during the Indian Wars. The same cannot be said for Apache and Comanche groups that continue to resist against the cohabitation of their land in the neighboring New Austin territory. Half a year ago in 1883, one lucky prospector struck gold in that old copper mine out by the Coronado and in droves, men and women rushed out to line their pockets in what they've coined the Gaptooth Gold Rush; but they say in the tall shadow of all this fortune rumbles the beating hooves and hollers of the Old West, and if you're not careful, those gunslinging carrion will swoop in to take their fill... but none so hungry for gold as the federal government. If they have their way, they'll absorb New Austin and its resources into Tahoma. It falls to the people to make their stance: join Tahoma state, reaping from its comforts at possibly the expense of their prosperity or—for the glorious merit of independence—trouble to tame that wild frontier for their own? West Elizabeth county is part of the wider Tahoma state. It's home to the state capital and borders the New Austin territory. As a result, it compensates for its proximity to wilderness with a civilized exterior. BLACKWATER During the American Civil War, the Governor of the time steered Tahoma toward the Confederacy despite a statewide divide of kinship, creed, and country; so when urban settlements like Blackwater were speedily captured by Union forces, they became bastions of federal control, whose agents lauded over the prosperous freight hub with an iron fist of indenture. The South Western Railroad Company's continued investment into the state was a great boon to Blackwater. It brought with it a surge of employable denizens to restore the city to its prior opportunity for industry. With ranches on the nearby flats and Strawberry's furs and lumber to preserve the winter lulls, West Elizabeth enjoyed its post-war renaissance for export by water, holding on to the hope that the rail would be extended to their domain. It's here with its Republican majority that Blackwater vied to seize the land for the civilized America, shepherding throngs of Confederate veterans out into the territory. What they did not expect, however, was the gold those men would find in the deepest, westernmost bowels of that red dustbowl... STRAWBERRY The Siege of Blackwater was no great battle. Casualties were few, but losses great; so when boats burned and livelihoods crumbled, many citizens went north to the sleepy lumber town of Strawberry. The Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes who had lived on that land had become pacified during the Indian Wars; competition for valuable game and for hardy lumber was now nil. As time went by, however, the Blackwater brood became quite comfortable as the new threads in the young tapestry of Strawberry. The sense of community is reputed to be bar none, with 'Berry folk known for their mountain comradeship; and with the port town whence they came greedily siphoning their goods with federal export fees beyond reason, a growing resentment bristles beneath the surface. During the Mexican-American War, northern Nuevo Paraiso is annexed from the Mexican Republic. Squabbles between pro and anti-slavery factions result in a gridlock, and the land is christened the Territory of New Austin. GAPTOOTH RIDGE & TUMBLEWEED The first murmurs of a mining camp were heard in the wider territory some fourteen years ago. They found copper out by the Sea of Coronado and the distant chorus of labor breathed life into what was an otherwise barren plains. Named affectionately 'Tumbleweed' by its thorny populace, the camp became a town thoroughfare whose sunspotted buildings yawned against the low desert wind, and that lonely way it remained for several years; it was too terrible a place to live, what with frequent clashes with the Mexican-American, Apache and Comanche populace. All manner of sport was outsourced to its gleaming sister town, Armadillo; that was until—when Tahoma's crestfallen Confederates abandoned civilization in pursuit of freedom—one wandering prospector invoked the Gaptooth Gold Rush. Fortune seekers flood out west to stake their claim and of a sudden, Tumbleweed threatens to crest Armadillo as all manner of opportunist scramble to do business with the camp—few of them particularly moral. ARMADILLO The settlement of Armadillo became a middleman between the copper mines and the States. The South Western Railroad Company's sale of land marked it for a transport hub and with the trains came a colorful cast to comprise its community. The miners would come out from Tumbleweed for respite, enjoying the saloon and new goods fresh from Blackwater. However, when a violent outbreak of cholera struck in '81, the SWRC withdrew its trains and thus all support from Tahoma State, leaving the epidemic to grip the town with longevity and stunting the modernization of New Austin both. It’s 1884 and Armadillo climbs slowly back to its feet, but finds itself now overshadowed by Tumbleweed and as prospectors arrive to take their fill, they can't help but leave the sickly town a wide berth… just to be sure. Landmark & Specific Events Spoiler Cheap land brought settlers west to Tahoma and outside ideologies migrated with them. Much of Tahoma's white population hailed from the Southern states and in comparison to the unforgiving swamps and humidity of Lemoyne, the sprawling plains and mountains of South Tahoma provided a land for men to be free and prosperous if they'd strive to maintain it against the Unionist urban areas which were primarily composed of Irish and German immigrants; but the resources, wealth, geography, and population made Tahoma a prize worth fighting over. Simmering tensions came to a boil when Fort Sumter was fired upon out East, and men of the South rallied to the cause. First of federal interest were the twin ports of Blackwater and Saint Denis, which were cities that provided a working population and crucial control over the Lannahechee and San Luis rivers. Federal forces occupied Blackwater in the Spring of 1861 and a year later springboarded to capture Saint Denis in a surprise assault from upriver at Bolger Glade. Reeling to a fighting retreat, secessionist troops were exiled to the hilltop town of Rhodes. Many deserted the ranks of the combined Confederate and secessionist state troops and, now denied outside support, the people of Tahoma had to depend upon themselves. Gunsmoke cleared and lines were drawn in the sand, only for them to be crossed by troops affiliated in cause alone. Guerillas known as Bushwhackers became a common scourge to Union supporters, while Jayhawker bands loyal to Lincoln worked to keep equal score. Soon after realizing their utility while larger battles were fought out east, many of these unconventional soldiers were formed into Partisan Ranger brigades, paid and fighting directly on the behalf of the Confederacy. The civil war in Tahoma wasn't one of pitched battle, but of mobile cavalry raids that sought to terrorize and disorient the population. Bloodshed, revenge, and one last ditch effort to break out from Rhodes and continue the fight led to the last gasp of the Confederacy in Tahoma, choked and thwarted by federal forces nearby Caliga Hall before Lee's official surrender in 1865; but Virginia was far, and blood continued to pool in Tahoma. When the winds of change pushed these men and women further west, many left nothing behind because they had nothing, for when they returned from the war, they found their land to be scorched by battle or bought out by the Yankees. 23 1 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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