IBTCPOTME Novel - Chapter 130
**Chapter 130**
(130/180)
**The Mexican-American War (3)**
Despite being busy commanding the war, I took a moment to greet a long-awaited guest.
“You’re the famous Tom. Nice to meet you, Tom Freeman.”
I offered a handshake to the black boy who stood stiffly in front of me, tense.
The boy hesitantly took my hand with trembling fingers.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”
“Oh, your pronunciation is natural. It seems you’ve been studying Spanish diligently.”
I smiled with satisfaction.
“Yes, thanks to Your Majesty’s graciousness in providing me with a tutor.”
‘His eyes are good, and he doesn’t seem to be stupid either.’
It’s been over 10 years since slavery was abolished in the Mexican Empire. During that long time, not a single slave had escaped to Mexico, but this black boy was the first to attempt it and succeed.
It may have been a coincidence that he got the information, but it wasn’t a coincidence that he decided to actually carry it out, planned it, and succeeded.
“Yes. I heard you want to help freed slaves in the future. Is that right?”
“Yes, that’s right. But if Your Majesty commands it, I’ll put on a uniform and join the war right away.”
He knows that the war with the United States has begun. He would have realized it even if he didn’t know, because this city of Trinidad, where he arrived, is full of soldiers. The conflict between the United States and Mexico, which began with his escape, has finally led to war.
“Haha, that’s good, but I’m expecting something else from you. Like it or not, you’ve already become the most famous freed slave in the world. Since that’s the case, wouldn’t it be good to use it?”
I said to Tom, who looked confused.
“First, go to university.”
“…University?”
He asked as if he couldn’t imagine it, but why else would I provide him with a tutor?
“Yes. I need you to do something. It’ll eventually help freed slaves, so don’t worry.”
Tom has already become a symbol of freed slaves in this era. Every reader of newspapers in the United States and Mexico knows his name, and every freed slave knows him. Didn’t even the black slaves in the United States know Tom’s name?
That’s why I’m going to raise him as a social activist and politician. He’ll encourage not only freed slaves but all black people to integrate well into our Mexican society, and he’ll be a role model who can even achieve success, depending on his achievements, if he does well.
***
When the government of New Granada declared war on the Mexican Empire, most of the people were baffled.
The president and parliament, who decided on the war, don’t understand this situation either. There’s no way the people, who are about to be dragged into a war they have nothing to do with and die, would understand. From the people’s perspective, it was like a bolt from the blue.
The most surprised were the residents of the border region, the province of Panama. They knew the power of the Mexican Empire very well.
“We’re at war with the Mexican Empire? Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’d rather go over there than die a pointless death.”
They knew the abundance of the Mexican Empire very well, even though they were at the very edge, the most remote part of the empire, with abundant food at low prices, plenty of jobs with decent working conditions, and benefits like getting land or houses if you immigrate.
Didn’t a huge number of people cross the border and immigrate because they knew that? War in that situation? It’s like pushing them to leave.
The reaction of the elites in each region was also cold. They were already in conflict because they didn’t like the government’s interference, and now they’re being told to send soldiers because they’re going to war.
“Those government bastards have gone crazy. Tell them we’re not sending a single soldier!”
“Yes!”
The New Granada government was only able to conscript an army of about 20,000, barely from the capital, Bogota, and its surrounding areas.
Almost every province refused the conscription order.
“If I had my way, I’d take this army and kill those federalists.”
The president and the central army generals desperately wanted to do that, but the war had broken out.
It was the same as saying they wanted to die from a military coup disguised as a revolution, considering that the public sentiment in the capital was already at its worst, and they couldn’t even defend against the enemy, let alone attack the provinces.
“Let’s send this army to Panama as quickly as possible. Even though our New Granada isn’t the main target of the attack, we don’t know when they’ll attack.”
“Yes, sir.”
Combined with the existing garrison, they barely had an army of 25,000. That was all the nation of New Granada had.
Even if it were a poor country, they would have received much more support if the war were one that the people and the provincial elites could understand, but public sentiment was at its worst.
Anti-war protesters were demanding accountability from those who had started this pointless war, and secret contacts were being made with local power holders.
***
The Mexican Empire’s fleet, which had assembled in Havana harbor in Cuba, began to sail north.
Havana, Cuba, is a major port and naval base for the Mexican Empire, and it’s not that far from the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Naturally, the US Navy was also scouting the area every hour and detected their movements.
“Admiral, the Mexican fleet is moving! The direction is northwest, as expected!”
“As expected.”
Even if he were in the position of the Mexican Empire, he would have targeted the Mississippi.
Admiral David Conner thought so. Blocking the Mississippi River’s waterways would be fatal to the United States.
During the War of 1812, the British Navy imposed a strong blockade on the US coast.
This blockade dealt a major blow to US trade and economy, but the transportation capacity of inland waterways, including the Mississippi River, was the driving force that allowed the United States to partially overcome this blockade and maintain economic stability during the war.
The Mississippi River, the longest, widest, and deepest river in the United States, was the core of US inland waterways. Its size was large enough for a fleet to enter, not just one or two ships.
“We’re moving according to plan.”
“Yes!”
As soon as the admiral’s order was given, the US fleet began to move quickly to their respective positions in a tense silence. On the sea, the heavy iron doors of the Monitor battleship creaked shut, and preparations for the operation were hastily carried out.
They weren’t trying to block the entrance to the Mississippi River. Instead, they were luring the Mexican Empire’s fleet deep into the river.
This strategy was based on preparing an ambush attack using the Mississippi River’s complex waterways and riverside forts. Through this, the United States hoped to disperse the enemy fleet and take the opportunity to defeat them one by one.
The age of sailing ships was over after the Mexican Empire demonstrated the power of ironclad ships. The United States also hastily began researching and building ironclad ships, but they couldn’t build them in large numbers.
They were too expensive. An ironclad ship, costing $600,000 per ship, was too much for the US government, which was relatively poor compared to the size of the country.
Instead, the United States built a large number of Monitor ships. Although small in size, they were armored, so their defense was decent, and they were equipped with large cannons, so their attack power was enough to deal with ironclads. They decided to simply accept the disadvantage that they weren’t suitable for long-distance voyages.
‘The Mexican Empire can’t leave all its harbors undefended. They’ll have to leave a defensive fleet behind. In that case, we have a chance to win, considering the coastal defense facilities we’ve expanded along the Mississippi River over the past year and the attack power of dozens of Monitor ships.’
The Mexican Empire’s huge fleet entered the Mississippi River, emitting smoke from their chimneys.
***
New Orleans, a major city in the American South that developed along the Mississippi River, was the first target of the Mexican Empire’s navy.
“The coastal defense facilities are stronger than we previously investigated!”
“Well, the Americans must have prepared. We didn’t think we could enter New Orleans without any casualties, so let’s crush them as they are.”
“Yes.”
Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip were much stronger than the information suggested, but Admiral Sandro Castillo ordered the attack without hesitation. There was a grand operational plan left after this, so it didn’t make sense to turn back just because of coastal defense facilities.
*Boom!*
Before the fleet could fire its main cannons, the coastal guns fired.
They had already begun to estimate the firing range in preparation for battle.
From the defensive facilities that stretched along the coastline, one by one, heavy cannons began to rotate towards their targets.
The soldiers’ tense breaths made the winter air even colder.
‘They’ve replaced all the coastal guns.’
According to the investigation, they were cannons that were lucky if they could scratch an ironclad, but now they’ve been replaced with large-caliber cannons.
The United States, having been greatly shocked by the appearance of ironclad ships, had prepared for this.
“Target those large-caliber coastal guns first.”
“Yes.”
This point, surrounded by Fort St. Philip to the north and Fort Jackson to the south, was the United States’ first line of defense.
*Boom!… Boom!*
The Mexican Empire’s fleet began to suppress the forts, firing their main cannons with ironclads positioned at the edge.
The two forts, made of thick bricks, were defended by thousands of defenders, even if you just looked at them with the naked eye.
*Whirring*
“Damage!”
*Bang!*
“Aaaaagh!”
The 300mm main cannon shell that hit the fort scraped the ground and whipped the soldiers. Seeing their comrades turned into bloody messes, the US soldiers retaliated by firing coastal guns.
They had foolishly increased the size to counter ironclads, making the loading speed ridiculously slow, but their power was formidable.
*Whirring*
*Bang!!*
*Crack!*
The ironclad, clad in wrought iron armor, barely deflected the shell, but the people on board heard the wood inside break. It definitely had an impact.
*Boom!*
The forts and fleets were chipping away at each other, but the power of the ironclads was still formidable.
The forts were being chipped away at a rapid pace with each hit, but the ironclads were fine on the outside, even if the soldiers inside vomited blood from the impact and the wood inside the armor broke.
If they continued to target the forts with ironclads in the lead, they would be able to suppress the two forts without suffering major casualties. However, Admiral Castillo also knew that this was not the end.
“US fleet sighted to the east!”
At the sudden shout, all eyes turned to the east. Beyond the coastline, the silhouette of the US fleet emerged, and the tension on the battlefield intensified.
*Boom boom boom!*
Soon, cannons were fired from the US fleet. The United States Navy fleet, having rushed at full speed upon hearing the cannon fire, struck the Mexican Empire’s fleet from behind.
The size of the fleet was much smaller.
The Mexican Empire’s fleet consisted of 16 ironclads, 24 armored frigates, 26 Monitor ships, and dozens of small and medium-sized ships, but the US fleet had only eight ironclads, no armored frigates, 42 Monitor ships, and nothing else.
Unlike the Mexican Empire, the United States had also brought sailing ships, such as ships of the line and frigates, but they didn’t seem to have high hopes for them, and they were waiting in the rear.
The US Navy fleet also began to fire the main cannons of their Monitor ships, with ironclads in the lead, similar to the Mexican Empire.
*Whirring*
*Bang!*
“Cough!”
Surrounded by the two forts to the north and south and the US fleet to the east, the Mexican Empire’s navy was revealed to have been careless.
It was true that they had overwhelming naval power. Even this fleet of 80 ships was a little over half of the Atlantic fleet.
The rest of the fleet was carrying out defense and other operations. However, it had been almost seven years since the existence of ironclad ships was revealed.
The enemy also knew the overwhelming defensive power of ironclad ships and had prepared thoroughly. They had created an environment where they could fight back.
Admiral Castillo realized that he and the high-ranking officers of the Mexican Empire’s navy had been careless.
‘We can still win this. But if we continue like this, our fleet will suffer more damage than we thought.’
New Orleans is only the first objective. We still have a long way to go, and if we suffer heavy losses here, it won’t be a victory even if we win.
*Boom!*
The main cannon of his flagship, which he was on, hit a US Monitor ship, passing by a US ironclad.
*Bang!*
The Monitor ship, which was in the middle of reloading, swayed violently from side to side, as if it was going to overturn.
The disadvantage of Monitor ships, which have a low freeboard, was revealed. But unfortunately for the Mexican Empire, it wasn’t enough to overturn with just one hit from the main cannon.
Admiral Castillo made a decision, seeing the Monitor ship barely regaining its balance.
“The flagship and the Libertador will charge towards the enemy fleet! The rest of the fleet will stay in place and suppress the forts!”
There was no opposition.
This ramming tactic was something they had planned to use if necessary, even when designing the two new ships.
Of all the ships that were chipping away at each other, only the two new ironclad ships were intact.
“Let’s go! Show the power of the ‘steel’ ironclad! Turn over all those Monitor ships!”
The two ships, which looked no different from other ironclads on the outside, were clad in steel armor, not wrought iron.
In an era where the defense of ships was stronger than their attack power, a ship clad in steel. It wasn’t unreasonable to consider a ramming tactic.
Admiral David Conner also noticed the two ships charging towards them, taking cannon fire.
“Block them! Block them, even if you have to ram the ironclads! Don’t let them collide with the Monitors!”
*Bang!!*
They managed to block the Libertador on the left by ramming it with two ironclads, but…
*Screech-*
The Mexican Empire’s flagship, the Cuauhtémoc, managed to scrape the side of the US ironclad and break free.
“Retreat! Retreat!”
“No, don’t retreat! It’s over if the Monitors get away here!”
Confused orders were exchanged between the captains of each Monitor ship, and the vortex of battle intensified.
The first casualty appeared.
The Mexican flagship, the Cuauhtémoc, rammed the US Monitor ship head-on.
*Bang-*
“Whoa!”
“Oh, no!”
“It’s overturned!”
Even though they had adjusted their direction at the last minute and rammed it at an angle, the huge difference in size made it overturn so easily that it was almost pathetic.
“Fire! Destroy them!”
*Bang! Bang bang bang! Bang!*
The Monitor ship’s soldiers, seeing their ship overturn in front of their eyes, felt threatened for their lives and fired their main cannons, but it was in vain.
The Cuauhtémoc, ignoring the onslaught of large-caliber cannon fire, rammed a second Monitor ship.
*Bang!*
In the blink of an eye, two Monitor ships were out of the battle.
The soldiers in the forts were desperately firing their cannons, but the Mexican Empire’s fleet was still strong.
Thanks to Admiral Castillo’s bold decision to deploy only two ironclad ships, successfully drawing the attention of the 42 Monitor ships deployed by the US Navy.
The US Navy’s contingency plan began to crumble.
Comments for chapter "Chapter 130"
MANGA DISCUSSION
Madara Info
Madara stands as a beacon for those desiring to craft a captivating online comic and manga reading platform on WordPress
For custom work request, please send email to wpstylish(at)gmail(dot)com