American Civil War (Hamilton Lives)

Secession
Following the election of Nathaniel P. Banks in November of 1856, South Carolina seceded on January 1, 1857. The states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and Texas all secede before Banks is sworn in on March 4. The Confederate States adopted a provisional constitution and government, and decided on Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States, ahead of Robert Toombs and William L. Yancey. Robert Orr was elected Vice President. Then South Carolinians seized the American station at Fort Sumter, and President Nathaniel P. Banks ordered 100,000 troops to quell the rebellion in the South. This caused the states of North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia to secede. The states of Missouri, Maryland, and Kentucky had congressmen in both the Confederate and Union congresses. The Confederate Capital was then moved to Richmond for the remainder of the war.

1857
Following the attack on Fort Sumter and secession of several states, the North gathered an army to invade the South. Similarly, the South gathered an army of its own. The two armies met for the first time at the Battle of Occoquan, which saw the first fighting in the main front of the war. The battle was a major Confederate victory, and allowed the South to recruit many troops. It caused the North to realize that the South had a chance, and for both sides to realize the oncoming bloodiness of the war. The Union troops retreated back to Alexandria. With Maryland acting as a border state, Washington, D.C. was especially at risk. As a result, Union General Winfield Scott proposed beginning the war by ensuring the safety of the capital from militias in Maryland--by occupying Maryland with 5,000 troops. In the short run, this caused a major riot in Baltimore, where a shadow secessionist government had been formed. Violence broke out in August in what became known as the Battle of Baltimore, and about 500 of the troops were killed, while over 700 civilians were killed and 1,000 were arrested. This resulted in increased fervor for both sides, and also convinced congress to send an additional 5,000 troops to Maryland. Maryland's secessionist politicians soon all were either captured or fled, and the rebellion was quelled, but the North was unable to be offensive in the Eastern Front until 1858.

Meanwhile, However, the South gathered troops of its own, and focused on strengthening itself. The South, which had become slightly more industialized than in OTL due to increased internal improvements, built a small stockpile of weapons, built new forts, and began attempts at diplomacy with Spain, France, Britain, and even th Union (though negotiations failed). In July, the Battle of Owensboro was a Union victory in Kentucky, and restricted a major prot in Kentucky. However, at the Battle of Hartford, the Confederates in Kentucky successfully stopped the Union troops from capturing the shadow capital at Bowling Green or even the Rough River. In September, following the events in Baltimore, the Confederate troops launched an attack on the Union positions in Alexandria, and at the Battle of Holmes Run the Confederates again advanced and forced the Union retreat to Washington. Also, the Confederates launched an invasion of Nassau in the Bahamas, which was a Union territory that they hoped to gain control of. As a result, the governor of the Bahamas Territory surrendered to the Confederacy. The Confederacy quickly attempted to sell the Bahamas back to Britain, but they declined as they didn't recognize the Confederacy.