Chapter 1636 - 1542: The Battle for Huntsville

Chapter 1636: Chapter 1542: The Battle for Huntsville

As early as when Joseph planned the "abduction" of America to expand northward, he had already arranged for the Security Bureau to operate in Lower Canada.

This time, England’s diversion of troops from Upper Canada to Louisiana gave him the opportunity to activate his Canada plan.

According to England’s decree in 1791, the Canadian Colony was divided into two parts: Upper and Lower Canada. Upper Canada was mainly British, with Ontario to Ottawa as its core. Lower Canada was the part east of the Ottawa River, with its capital in Quebec.

Upper and Lower Canada enforced different laws, each having its own Congress.

This governance model greatly diminished the conflict between the British and the French, but it also provided Joseph with the best lever for political manipulation.

In fact, even if he did not interfere, in about 30 years, Lower Canada would erupt in a vigorous independence movement.

Three days later, Lower Canada Speaker Bedard met with a generous lumber merchant—Baron Morin.

The latter was evidently a gentleman very concerned about the rights of the French in Canada, sponsoring the Canadian Party with 3,500 British Pounds to promote legislative reform in Congress.

Of course, in Bedard’s view, he merely wanted to obtain the same timber export rights as British merchants.

Meanwhile, newspapers in Quebec and Montreal began to discuss constitutional reform issues at length.

Indeed, in such sparsely populated places like Canada, newspapers usually operated at a loss. Therefore, the Security Bureau spent less than 10,000 francs to acquire Lower Canada’s two largest newspaper offices.

The collaboration between the Security Bureau and the Paris Commercial News had become very skilled—they previously ran many press offices in Austria, Southern Germany, the United States, and other places.

Through publishing European news and novels provided by the France Culture Promotion Association, along with very low pricing, the circulation of Quebec Messenger and Canadians Newspaper doubled in over a year, becoming an influential force in Lower Canada.

Soon, fueled by Morin’s sponsorship and public discourse, speeches calling for the improvement of French-Canadians’ rights and more autonomy for Lower Canada began to appear on Quebec streets, with related pamphlets flying everywhere.

Typically, Governor Prescott would have ordered the Royal Canadian Volunteer Infantry Regiment to enter the city and maintain order—these were the troops stationed in Lower Canada, usually comprising two battalions with a theoretical strength of 1,300 men, although the actual number was close to 1,000.

At this time, however, most of the troops were deployed to the United States, leaving only over 300 British Army soldiers in Lower Canada.

Meanwhile, maintaining order on the streets was left to the colonial militia.

The so-called militia was a security force formed by drawing lots among adult males registered for military service, mostly French.

These men were nominally under the Governor’s command but actually listened more to Congress.

At this moment, instead of dispersing the crowd listening to the speeches, they were eager to join and listen themselves, since the speeches were about matters directly related to their interests.

Thus, under the immense "momentum of public opinion," several Lower Canadian Members of Parliament submitted the reform proposal on "equal access for French-Canadians to public lands and government positions" to Congress in mid-December.

Unquestionably, the proposal passed almost unanimously.

...

Red Bay, a small town in northwestern Alabama.

American Army Commander Wilkinson focused intently on the courier, confirming once again: "Are you sure the news is reliable?"

The latter quickly nodded, responding: "Yes, General. Many pioneers along the way have seen the French Army. Captain Carey twice risked approaching the enemy, seeing Bonaparte’s figure through the telescope."

Although Wilkinson’s eyes still carried a heavy expression, his brows gradually relaxed.

His cavalry finally found the whereabouts of the French—they are currently located more than ten miles west of Florence, numbering around 4,000.

Today, the cavalry Company Commander saw the French Army Commander, indicating that this is definitely the enemy’s main force.

According to previous intelligence, the French Army numbered about 5,000, but their ability to suddenly attack Memphis from the northeast indicates they must have come through the Illinois forest from the north.

Long-distance marching in poor conditions, combined with battles in Memphis and Jackson, must have cost them some soldiers, so Bonaparte’s goal is definitely to seize Huntsville before Hampton’s Army.

If the French get through Cumberland Pass—right next to Huntsville’s east side—Hampton might face a sudden encounter with the French Army unprepared.

Wilkinson knew well, with Bonaparte’s excellent commanding abilities, if the French had a manpower advantage, they would surely quickly crush Hampton. The latter had only 3,000 regular troops and over 1,000 state militia.

He glanced at the sky and instructed the Order Officer: "Order the soldiers to increase their marching speed, forget about the heavy artillery and supply wagons—make sure they reach Shore Creek before nightfall!"

He was indeed somewhat anxious, though he was 75 miles from Huntsville, while the French were nearly 90 miles away; he knew the marching speed of the French Army well—from the war few years ago, Wayne hadn’t anticipated how fast the French could move.

Moreover, he was still south of the Tennessee River, needing to cross Wheeler Lake to reach Huntsville.

The water level on Wheeler Lake’s eastern side only reached knee-height, easily traversable, but if the French arrived first and shelled the opposite bank, it would be a huge problem for him.

Thus he needed to arrive early in Huntsville at all costs.

By then, En Army without logistics would have no choice but to storm his defensive positions.

With nearly 8,000 soldiers under his command, he’d certainly easily defeat the French.

As the Order Officer urged his horse onwards, the rhythm of American Army’s war drums immediately quickened, and the winding marching column became somewhat chaotic.

Wilkinson was also a very cautious general.

His cavalry scouted the area within six or seven miles without finding any traces of the French Army.

Moreover, the French main force was on the north side of the Tennessee River, allowing him to dare to march hastily without regard for formation.

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Huntsville, nicknamed "Rocket City," is the county seat of Madison County, Alabama, located on the Tennessee River, spanning 451.8 square kilometers.

John Hunter settled here in 1805, officially named it in 1811, and established it as a city in 1844; after reconstruction following North-South conflict destruction in 1862, it became a cotton textile center.

John Hunter was the first person to settle here (1805). The name Huntsville was officially used in 1811, the city established in 1844, and rebuilt post "North-South conflict" burning by the Northern Army in 1862. A center of cotton textile industry. Now one of the world’s important space travel research centers.