Moderator: Community Manager
[Post Reply] [*]  Page 1 of 3  [ 30 posts ]  Go to page 1 2 3 »
Author Message
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 13th, 2017, 10:32 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Nicaragua as it would have been if it fell permanently to William Walker and became a neo-American colony.

[ img ]

[ img ]

-Introduction: We know from history that William Walker was defeated by European powers and a coalition of Central American states, but what if they didn't intervene... What if the more imperialistic elements of the United States government and public were able to convince the United States to uphold the Monroe doctrine and make Mr. Walker president of a puppet state. This is what occurred in the AU I present to you today!

-Basic History: Following it's establishment, Walker's small nation begins to establish itself. He sets up a government in Managua and establishes an American-style Constitution. While this protected the rights of accepted citizens, the nation endorsed slavery and created a system of slave-manned plantations that exported vast amounts of agricultural products including sugar and rice. The dependence on exports led to the development of a strong shipping industry and with it, a navy to defend the trade routes. The government diverted funds to develop it's harbors to increase exports and by 1855, ships with drafts of up to 16 feet could access the harbors along the East and West coasts of the country. Walker's government developed an army of up to 3,000 men with weapons supplied by various contractors from both Europe and the United States. This included early rifled firearms and later on, revolvers and rifled artillery. Walker's government is largely democratic and is mostly concerned with establishing itself as a regional power capable of holding it's own against most Central American nations. However, the nation is not without it's issues. The main problems that face the country are lack of paved roads/railroads, a wild interior populated by savage natives and ferocious wildlife, and a predominantly illiterate, poor peasant populace. The government addresses these problems one at a time. Investors and engineers from the more modern nations of the world are invited via Congressional Order, and are promised the reward of a hefty sum of cash along with the promotion of their name around the world. Needless to say, several groups interested not only in helping themselves to the reward but also in assisting the people of Nicaragua to improve their lives arrive in the nation ready to do their part. A private fund to help the people is started, called "The Improvement fund for the People of Nicaragua" the fund was registered in the name of Mr. Walker. It succeeds in raising over 12,000,000 USD in modern money. With the influx of expertise and money, the nation begins to transform. Cities are cleaned up and almost entirely rebuilt on an efficient grid plan. Wide paved streets and sewer systems are incorporated, as are public water tanks and piping. Missionary groups build schools and hospitals, as well as start literacy and training programs intended to enhance the abilities of the populace to fend for themselves in the modern world. All this time, Walker's government took good care to hide the presence of slavery in the country. After the reconstruction rush was over, the government embarked on a program to "pacify" the interior of the country. Expeditions of men armed with the latest in American repeated firearms set off in search of suitable routes for railroads through the jungle. Obviously, the natives were not too pleased about the incursions of the civilized man. They attempted to fight back, but the combined power of revolvers and repeating rifles proved to be too much for the natives to handle. Soon after, railroads crisscrossed the dense jungle, and villages and plantations dotted the wild interior. Army outposts were set up along the rails to protect them from native attacks, and a detachment of soldiers traveled on every train. With a mixture of private and government capital, industry began to appear around the coasts and more populated areas of the nation. Some of the first included sugar processing, textiles, and some primitive ironworks. While not much by European and American standards, it was enough to send a signal that the nation was on the path to modernity...

-Navy: The navy acquired it's first two ships in 1856, when it purchased two identical cargo vessels and outfitted them for war. Eventually, they were replaced by purpose-built warships ordered from US yards, and the Admiralty introduced its 2-coast fleet policy. Under this plan each coast was to have an identical fleet to defend it, primarily composed of 2 brigs and several gunboats per coast, as well as supporting vessels. The first steamships were ordered, again from US yards, in the 1850's, placing the nation at the forefront of naval affairs in Central America. The 1855 fleet plan called for 4 brigs, 8 gunboats, 2 steam sloops, and 15 supporting vessels including transports, coast guard cutters, and tenders. Real modern naval expansion would start in the Civil War era of 1861-1865.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Last edited by RegiaMarina1939 on January 31st, 2018, 10:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 14th, 2017, 7:29 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
[ img ]

-The two schooners Libertad and Independencia were originally built as the Swift and the Wasp at Baltimore in the United States, and were used by private interests as passenger vessels and message boats. Upon the declaration of war with Mexico, the United States pressed them into emergency service as dispatch vessels serving with the fleet in the Gulf Of Mexico. After the war, they were seriously worn out and had been lightly damaged. They were auctioned off as surplus, since the owners turned down a return offer after seeing the condition of the vessels, and purchased by officials of the Nicaraguan Government looking for new material for the fleet. They were patched up and sailed to Nicaragua, where they were commissioned under the names Libertad and Independencia. They were refitted in Nicaragua during repairs, and received six 8-pounder medium guns as their armament. Their hulls were also strengthened with extra timber to better resist shot. They were the only somewhat-large warships in the fleet until 1856, when their replacements were ordered just a year after they entered service (the admiralty already knew they were obsolete and irrelevant.) They were placed in reserve upon delivery of the new vessels, and were de-masted and disarmed. Libertad was given a numerical designation and transferred to harbor maintenance as a barge for carrying sand and sediment displaced by dredging operations. Independencia was also given a numerical designation and tied up at a dock for storage space, being earmarked for sinking as an obstacle in the event of hostilities. Not long after, her rotten hull sprung a major leak and she sank at her moorings. She was raised and broken up at a nearby beach, and anything of value was sold off while the remains of the hull were burned on the beach.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Last edited by RegiaMarina1939 on December 31st, 2017, 4:47 am, edited 8 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Thiel
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 14th, 2017, 9:32 pm
Offline
User avatar
Posts: 5376
Joined: July 27th, 2010, 3:02 am
Location: Aalborg, Denmark
It's not a brig though. It's a topsail schooner

_________________
“Close” only counts with horseshoes, hand grenades, and tactical nuclear weapons.
That which does not kill me has made a grave tactical error

Worklist

Source Materiel is always welcome.


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 14th, 2017, 11:13 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Thiel wrote:
It's not a brig though. It's a topsail schooner
Yea I just realized that now that you point it out... I will make a title change later.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 5:25 am
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
[ img ]

-The America class brigs America and Nicaragua were built in Baltimore on order by Nicaragua in 1856 as replacements for the Libertad-class schooners that had been pressed into naval service in the early 1850's.

Nearly 50 meters long, they came fully finished with prototype antifouling paint (which was found to work well) and strengthened wooden frames. This made them especially strong and able to take large amounts of punishment, as well as support the heavier Armstrong guns.

The two were armed with 6 x 12-lb. medium smoothbore guns and a single 12-pounder rifled swivel gun from Armstrong's of England. This gun was purchased by an American company on special request by Mr. Walker's government. They had to be purchased through an American group as the British government was still hostile to Walker's government. The guns were very popular and their explosive shells proved to be devastating against wooden ships. The bulwarks on either side of the gun's pivot mount could lower to allow the weapon to fire to either side of the vessel. The 12lb. medium guns were effective at medium range, and were considered as standard for the time.

The two were commissioned in 1857, and were immediately used intensively. They patrolled the coasts and were tested their new rifled weapons against a plethora of different targets including coast defenses and thick wooden side planking. In 1860, the government gave up slavery because of pressure from the United States, sparing them from the same fate as the Confederacy. During the Civil War, Nicaragua lent it's support to the Union. This included contributing force to the blockade and patrol against Confederate raiders in the Caribbean. America and Nicaragua were transferred to the reserve fleet in 1863, and used exclusively for home defense until the end of the war. Along with the rest of the sailing fleet, they were completely replaced by steamships. The two were disarmed and had their guns transferred to the new flotilla of steamers. After disarmament, Nicaragua was used as an ammunition depot until 1864, when she exploded in harbor due to alleged sabotage from Confederate spies. Her sister, the America, was used as the harbormaster's flagship at Puerto Cabeza's. She was decommissioned and scrapped in 1865.

From now on, the navy will focus on developing it's strength in the Pacific, ordering several warships from the Union Ironworks in California, as well as building a brand new dockyard and base at San Juan del Sur that could handle large warships and modern steamers. The navy will be a great tool for the government when they begin their expansion across Central America.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Last edited by RegiaMarina1939 on January 2nd, 2018, 3:28 am, edited 3 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 2:52 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
Also at the end of the 10 year period 1855-1865 I am probably going to do a Redhorse-style fleet review because that is one of my favorite things to see in an AU. Many people list the ships, which is fine, but I enjoy seeing them all in front of me and I'm sure other people do as well.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 7:30 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
[ img ]

The Mangua-class brigs Managua and Leon were laid down at the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California in 1858. They were ordered as part of a program started by the fleet to ensure equal strength on either side of the nation. They were placed in service with the Pacific fleet in 1859.

They were roughly 41 meters long and displaced 790 tons standard. They were odd in that they did not have a coppered hull and their hulls were strengthened with iron fastenings. The copper was omitted because the government wanted to cut costs on new construction, so as to save money for steamships. They were coppered finally in 1861, as part of their civil war outfitting project that saw an increased crew size and new guns.

The armament was similar to their counterparts in the Caribbean, with a main battery of six 12-lb. medium guns mounted in 4-truck naval gun carriages. This was standard for the time. In 1862, they were re-armed with ten 10-lb. Parrot RML guns on the gun deck. These used the same carriages for ease of maintenance and simplicity. The gun on the bow was also a 12-pounder but had been modified for use on a swiveling carriage. It was also replaced with an RML gun during the armament changes.

The vessels were commissioned into the fleet in 1859, and from the start were based at Puerto Sandino and San Juan del Sur. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, the ships were placed on coastal patrol duty. They were especially on high alert when reports came in from American observers that the Confederate raider Alabama was cutting loose in the South Pacific. They were dispatched alongside a Union force to attempt to find the raider. The expedition was unsuccessful and the ships returned home. Coastal patrol duty had by this point been taken up almost exclusively by steamships. Therefore, they were de-masted and were anchored in their respective harbors to act as floating batteries. For this role they were strengthened with railroad iron bars on the bulwarks and additional planking on their sides. After the war, their armament was transferred to other vessels and they were sunk as target practice. They were the last major sailing warships built for the fleet.

The drawings for steamships and sailing tenders will be uploaded as soon as I have some more time.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Last edited by RegiaMarina1939 on December 31st, 2017, 4:50 am, edited 13 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 8:07 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
[ img ]

Recent acquisitions by the fleet had been costly, but had also left the Navy able to decommission some of the older vessels taking up resources and manpower, and as such were willing and, due to recent budget increases, able to replace them with modern steamships of sturdy construction. These two new ships were to be named Grenada and Masaya, and were built by William Cramp and Sons in Philadelphia.

Just over 50 meters long, these vessels displaced around 600 tons and were classified as sloops of war. They were based on contemporary designs of the United States and Europe, and were far and away the most modern vessels in service in the Caribbean that didn't belong to the USA. Laid down in 1858, they were completed in 1860 and commissioned the same year.

They carried the same guns as the other vessels in the fleet, but featured their 18-pounder shell guns in swiveling positions on the bow and stern, featuring collapsible bulwarks to allow firing on either side.
The broadside battery was made up of 6 12-pounder guns of conventional construction, smooth-bore and muzzle-loading. The armament was light, but they were re-gunned in 1863 with entirely new 20-pounder rifled muzzle loaders in order to better participate in the Civil War (though the Armstrongs were left in place.)

The class was propelled by a single horizontal direct-acting engine built by the Morgan Iron Works in New York City. These engine was propelled by two circular coal-fired boilers. Under sail they could make 12 knots, under steam 8, and combined with full load could make 14 on average. In calm seas, they achieved 15 knots. The smoke was vented by a single funnel amidships above the boiler compartment.

They were in blockade service during the Civil War, and the Granada helped bombard Fort Fisher near Wilmington. Retained in service until 1868, they were replaced by larger vessels the following year. After 2 more years in reserve with no guns, they were sold at public auction, with Masaya being refurbished and used as a passenger liner by a Cuban/American company. Granada was scrapped in 1878, after 5 years as a machine shop and storage facility.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Last edited by RegiaMarina1939 on December 31st, 2017, 4:50 am, edited 8 times in total.

Top
[Profile] [Quote]
acelanceloet
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 9:14 pm
Offline
User avatar
Posts: 7496
Joined: July 28th, 2010, 12:25 pm
Location: the netherlands
RegiaMarina1939 wrote:
[ img ]
so, you decided to use one of my well researched drawings as base for your own drawing. nothing wrong with that, but you will run into some trouble with the way you modified her.
- you cut all the rigging designed to keep the masts from falling backwards. this will limit your ship to sailing only with the wind from astern, anything with wind from the sides or even worse, somewhat forward, will mean your masts go overboard.
- you made the rudder at least 2 times smaller, which means you can no longer hold course.
- the rudder is now only below the waterline, which means you will have to invent (they did not have this on any ship at the time) an watertight connection from your steering mechanism to your rudder, otherwise your ship will be sinking.
- you removed all anchor handling gear from the ship
- quite a few lines from the stern and keel now end somewhere halfway.
- you added a gun amidships which is half a deck higher then the guns were, and from the looks of it quite a bit heavier. this means you can carry less sail then the real ship, and carry less stores.
- you no longer have chasing guns
- your bowsprit is not actually secured.
- you removed the copper, but not actually coppered her hull?
- with the new stern shape, the hull shading is most likely no longer accurate.
- the last brig closely following this design was decommissioned 1849, and this particular ship was scrapped in 1822. I very much doubt this rigging would still be exactly like this on a ship build in 1858.
- The Irene actually carried 30 or 32 pounder carronades and 2 long 6 pounders. comparing that, 18 pounders seem quite heavy, even if you carry less of them.
RegiaMarina1939 wrote:
[ img ]
I know very little of the vessels of this time, but the hull shape looks very wrong. in the first place, because you have a funnel amidships, underneath there should be a boiler. a boiler is a big tank filled with water, so it is large and heavy. behind that is the machinery, connected to the propeller. however, in your hull, there is very little volume aft of the funnel, as the skeg begins aft of the forward mast already. in addition, your bowsprit is not connected, the weight of the aft gun is not supported by any volume underneath it and I see no place at all for your officers to control the vessel.

a small note, the first vessel has an huge oversized whitespace around it, so huge in fact that your image host has decided to resize the image.

may I suggest taking a bit more time with the vessels? I spend more then a month of research and drawing on the Irene alone, you just spit out 3 modified ship drawings with background stories in one day. of course, drawing anew takes more time then modifying an existing drawing, but it is hardly fair to the original authors to bash some big guns on the deck and remove and redraw some bits and add your name on it ;)

_________________
Drawings are credited with J.Scholtens
I ask of you to prove me wrong. Not say I am wrong, but prove it, because then I will have learned something new.
Shipbucket Wiki admin


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
RegiaMarina1939
Post subject: Re: William Walkers NicaraguaPosted: January 15th, 2017, 9:25 pm
Offline
Posts: 423
Joined: January 12th, 2016, 8:57 pm
Location: Wilmington, North Carolina
acelanceloet wrote:
RegiaMarina1939 wrote:
[ img ]
so, you decided to use one of my well researched drawings as base for your own drawing. nothing wrong with that, but you will run into some trouble with the way you modified her.
- you cut all the rigging designed to keep the masts from falling backwards. this will limit your ship to sailing only with the wind from astern, anything with wind from the sides or even worse, somewhat forward, will mean your masts go overboard.
- you made the rudder at least 2 times smaller, which means you can no longer hold course.
- the rudder is now only below the waterline, which means you will have to invent (they did not have this on any ship at the time) an watertight connection from your steering mechanism to your rudder, otherwise your ship will be sinking.
- you removed all anchor handling gear from the ship
- quite a few lines from the stern and keel now end somewhere halfway.
- you added a gun amidships which is half a deck higher then the guns were, and from the looks of it quite a bit heavier. this means you can carry less sail then the real ship, and carry less stores.
- you no longer have chasing guns
- your bowsprit is not actually secured.
- you removed the copper, but not actually coppered her hull?
- with the new stern shape, the hull shading is most likely no longer accurate.
- the last brig closely following this design was decommissioned 1849, and this particular ship was scrapped in 1822. I very much doubt this rigging would still be exactly like this on a ship build in 1858.
- The Irene actually carried 30 or 32 pounder carronades and 2 long 6 pounders. comparing that, 18 pounders seem quite heavy, even if you carry less of them.
RegiaMarina1939 wrote:
[ img ]
I know very little of the vessels of this time, but the hull shape looks very wrong. in the first place, because you have a funnel amidships, underneath there should be a boiler. a boiler is a big tank filled with water, so it is large and heavy. behind that is the machinery, connected to the propeller. however, in your hull, there is very little volume aft of the funnel, as the skeg begins aft of the forward mast already. in addition, your bowsprit is not connected, the weight of the aft gun is not supported by any volume underneath it and I see no place at all for your officers to control the vessel.

a small note, the first vessel has an huge oversized whitespace around it, so huge in fact that your image host has decided to resize the image.

may I suggest taking a bit more time with the vessels? I spend more then a month of research and drawing on the Irene alone, you just spit out 3 modified ship drawings with background stories in one day. of course, drawing anew takes more time then modifying an existing drawing, but it is hardly fair to the original authors to bash some big guns on the deck and remove and redraw some bits and add your name on it ;)
You're absolutely right. Forgive my ignorance... I will change some things around. I rushed quite a bit. I will take a look and make the changes and modifications pointed out here. I'm probably going to end up completely restructuring both based on these recommendations. I will rework the guns and bow on the sailing ship and will probably end up deepening the draft and lengthening the steam sloop.

_________________
Best regards,

RegiaMarina1939


Top
[Profile] [Quote]
Display: Sort by: Direction:
[Post Reply]  Page 1 of 3  [ 30 posts ]  Return to “Alternate Universe Designs” | Go to page 1 2 3 »

Jump to: 

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 47 guests


The team | Delete all board cookies | All times are UTC


cron
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited
[ GZIP: Off ]