1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 685 Sven's Report

The Federal Navy's base in Baltimore is not far from Norfolk. The main channel between the two places is about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers). In addition, with the protection of the Delaware Peninsula, this entire voyage is almost within the Chesapeake Bay. There are no strong winds and waves, and the sailing is very smooth.

Since the war began, the performance of the Federal Army has been hard to describe, but the performance of the Federal Navy has been so-so.

Since the launch of Operation Anaconda, the Northern Confederacy has firmly grasped the sea power on the East Coast outside the coast of Texas.

The reason for this is not because the Northern Federation's navy is so powerful, but because except for Texas, which has a decent Green Sea Fleet, the other states in the South do not have a decent naval force that can compete with the Northern Federation's fleet.

The fleet led by Samuel DuPont, the federal naval chief, sailed unimpeded through the Chesapeake Bay, carrying a regiment of marines and a Maryland militia that was pro-Union, and headed straight for Norfolk. It took only a little more than a day for them to reach the port of Norfolk.

Lincoln only gave DuPont five days, and DuPont did not even conduct any reconnaissance or intelligence gathering on the port of Norfolk before launching an attack directly on the port of Norfolk.

Under the cover of naval guns, the Marines broke into Norfolk Harbor, where the Confederate defense was very weak and lax.

In such an important port as Norfolk, the Confederate Army only deployed one artillery company and two infantry companies to garrison here, and there was not even a militia to assist in the guard.

This is not because Virginia was short of troops. Since the war broke out, Virginia had quickly mobilized 19 militias and was the most important source of troops for the South.

However, the militia mobilized in Virginia were either transferred to the capital Richmond as the strategic reserve of the Confederate Army or sent to the Bull Run front, leaving the port of Norfolk with a very empty force.

The South seemed to be well aware that they were unable to compete with the North at sea, and had completely given up on the ocean, placing all their hopes on the army.

It took Samuel DuPont's Marines only half a day to capture the Gosport Navy Yard, and a day later they had captured most of Norfolk.

Two months later, the American Flag was raised again at the Gosport Naval Shipyard. DuPont and the Marines hurriedly took photos and checked in, fearing that Norfolk would fall into enemy hands again the next day and they would not have a chance to take additional photos.

After taking the photos, DuPont immediately ordered someone to send the photos to Washington by speedboat. As for whether the victory of the Marines could affect the war situation on the Eastern Front, DuPont had no idea.

As the situation in Veracruz and Texas stabilized, Sven came to Horn's camp to personally report the situation in Eastern Mexico and Texas to Liang Yao.

"The French army has just occupied Mexico, and their rule in Mexico is still unstable. Now the Atlantic Fleet is stationed in the port of Veracruz. In the short term, we will still have a stable Mexico." Sven took a sip of tea and reported to Liang Yao.

"We own two good ports in the Gulf of Mexico, Veracruz and Houston. We also control the sea power along the Texas coast. The trade routes to the European continent are still open, but the British have been harassing our merchant ships recently, which is very annoying."

Eleven years ago, Liang Yao's first stop on his trip to the East was Texas. He spared no effort to promote cooperation between the two states of Canada and Germany, and even spent a lot of money to build the Canada-Germany Railway, which seemed unnecessary to outsiders, even though the Pacific Railway already existed.

The purpose was to ensure that after the outbreak of the civil war, the country would still have access to the Atlantic Ocean so as to continue to maintain trade with European countries and avoid financial exhaustion.

Of course, there are also sea routes on the west coast that go around Cape Horn in South America to Europe, or even across the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, and then around the Cape of Good Hope to the north to Europe. But both routes are too far and the sailing period is too long, and neither is as convenient and cost-effective as going directly to Europe from the Atlantic Ocean.

"Does Texas have any intention of joining the Confederacy?" Liang Yao asked.

If Texas remained independent, the American Republic could deal directly with Texas. If Texas chose to join the Confederacy, Richmond would inevitably be involved.

"Which side should Texas join? Some want to maintain their independence, some want to join the South, some want to join us, and some even want to return to the North. For example, Houston, a Texas veteran, advocated returning to the Union, but almost no one responded."

After Sven led the Atlantic Fleet to Veracruz and Houston, he often dealt with senior Texas officials and attended their banquets and tea salons every now and then. He was very familiar with the internal situation in Texas.

"Which faction has the most supporters?" This is the question that Liang Yao is most concerned about.

"That's hard to say. From what I've observed, the strongest voices are for maintaining the status quo, maintaining independence, and merging into our western region," said Sven.

"Now the two states of Texas are in a state of mutual dependence. After the severance of relations with the Northern Confederacy, the economic lifeline of Texas is completely in our hands. The Southern Confederacy can still digest a little bit of sugar and tobacco for them, but the largest amount of cotton can only be digested by us.

Moreover, other southern states have no shortage of sugar and tobacco, and Texas sugar and tobacco cannot be sold at high prices in the South.

After the outbreak of the Civil War, Texas' economy was hardly affected, thanks to its long-term cooperation with the West Coast, the existence of the Gard Railroad, and the Green Water Fleet that the West helped them build.

This is also the reason why the Texas top leaders were wavering in their attitude and hesitant about whether to join the Confederacy, but were unable to make a decision.

Once Texas chose to join the Confederacy, the Northern Federal fleet would implement the Anaconda Plan against Texas, just as it had done with other Southern states, blocking the Texas coastline and turning Texas into a de facto landlocked state.

In addition, whether Texas chooses to join the Confederacy or return to the Union, it will lose the support of Chinese immigrants, who account for about 45% of the total population.

The political inclinations of Chinese immigrants in Texas are almost all in favor of incorporating the West rather than choosing between the North and the South.

Maintaining the current status quo of Texas' independence is a middle-of-the-road option acceptable to all factions in Texas.

Of course, this option is also acceptable to Liang Yao.

If the American Republic wants to become a country spanning two oceans, it must have access to the Atlantic Ocean. If it is limited to a corner of the west coast, the upper limit of the American Republic will be completely locked, and its ceiling will at best be a regional power like India and Iran in later generations.

However, Liang Yao was not satisfied with simply building the republic he founded into a regional power.

(End of this chapter)