1773 - Future : Final Turn Results and Reflection

And the final winning argument is, ironically, the Royal Governor!  Have no fear of mischief, my wife supervised my die rolls and the Royal Governor personally does not fair well.  Read all the way through to the bottom for some reflections, and please feel free to leave comments and suggestions!

1773 - ????

Summary

With the onset of open warfare in the colonies, the crown position in the South is secure.  Charles Town itself is firmly under Crown control and the loyal back-country militias assist in hunting down the Low Country Planters who have taken to the swamp to wage a guerrilla war.  The Former low country militias are ineffective, as they are short on arms and eventually degenerate into bands of brigands. 

Amnesty is offered to Low Country planters that abandon rebellion and return to the fold, else their plantations will be confiscated and awarded to loyalists.  With no real base of support nor commercial activity to support them, many of the rebellious planters defect back to the Crown, with the remaining ones being hunted down over the years 1774-1776.

The Rebellion in the middle and New England Colonies proceeds differently, with the cunning George Washington avoiding catastrophic battlefield defeat time and time again.  Eventually, in the north the Crown only holds New York City proper, as the conflict widens with France and Spain declaring war on Britain.  But… 

In the South, with the South Carolina colony secure, the Crown launches an offensive against the Spanish in Louisiana and a simultaneous push by the SC Militia across the proclamation line into Cherokee territory and beyond.  By the time the Treaty of Paris of 1779 is signed, the situation looks like this:

• Britain recognizes the independence of a “United States of America” that consists of New England down to Virginia.  It is strictly restricted to its existing territory, with the British firmly in control of the Ohio valley.
• The Colony of South Carolina is divided, with the back country being incorporated as the colony of Western Carolina, extending through former Cherokee and Spanish territories to the Mississippi river.
• The Former low Country is now just “South Carolina” and exists purely as a subsidiary of British colonies in the Caribbean, providing them with Rice to feed the slaves on the sugar plantations.
• The former Royal Governor becomes the first Governor of Western Carolina, but is removed from office under a cloud of corruption charges linked to land speculation.  He dies in obscurity in London in 1811.

During the global conflict against Napoleon a generation later, the tiny “United States” foolishly declares war on Britain and allies with the French.  They are quickly crushed and reincorporated into the British Empire, although guerrilla war would continue in New England for decades until the American colonies are given full representation in Parliament in 1817.

Reflections

A few brief reflections from your umpire, but first a HUGE thanks to the players!  Please give them a quick round of applause!

Here are some of my thoughts:

• Running a Matrix Game via email is very different than running one face to face.  Not better or worse, just different, as there is less interaction between player arguments within a turn.
• About 6 turns seems to be a good number for a game.  Originally I targeted 9, but 6 seems to be a better balance, especially with folks having actual lives to lead!
• I believe that this is a valuable historical exercise, especially when you compare it with what actually happened, and can be a spur for deeper reading and understanding.  Historically, the majority of the back country allied with the low country during the war.  Why, when it seems like that is against their interests. (I suggest you read The Road to Guilford Courthouse for some of the answers!)

I think I will take a few months off of Matrix games and ruminate.  I would like to run another one, maybe a more military campaign style.

If you are interested in Matrix games, I urge you to just dive in and try!  I found umpiring to be a very rewarding experience.

Please leave any comments or observations you may have, and I will announce my next Matrix Game project here.  Meanwhile, you can follow all of the amazing (?) action over at my main gaming blog.  You can also find all of the files and the turn log for this game here.

Until next time, good gaming!

1771 - 1772 : Turn 5 Results

A quick aside, first apologies for taking a while to get this up, we were out of town this past weekend, so took me a while to get the results up.  A few observations before we dive in.  In the interest of fair play and a better game, I never, ever read the players arguments until I have made my own.  This lead to some really nice surprises as you can see. 

• I was wondering when someone would play the slave rebellion card (good work Julie!)  It was a perennial fear of the planters, for more information, look up the Stono Rebellion and Denmark Vesey.  Unfortunantly for the Back Country Farmers, a well constructed argument failed before the whims of Fortuna...
• The Low Country planters played a low probability argument hat had HUGE implications.
• See the bottom of this entry for Special Instructions for the players for next turn

Now on with our story... 

1771- 1772

Summary

• Rumors circulate of a possible slave revolt in the low country.  Tensions are high for a few months, but nothing comes of it.
• Parliament issues an order disarming unsanctioned (IE with Crown officer oversight)militias.  Effectively, this only impacts the low country, as the unified back-country militia has as Crown advisers for 6 years. The Crown Regiment stationed in Charles Town seizes the weapons of the Charles Town militia and completely disarm them.  The Crown is now firmly in control of the city and now collecting the customs revenue due the King.
• The Royal Governor issues an arrest warrant for the leaders of the Low Country Militia.  In his usual bumbling way, this is a complete failure and they all slip through his clutches.
• Meanwhile, the Low Country planters have sent delegates to Philadelphia to the Continental Congress.  After weeks of debate, the Congress issues a Declaration of Independence!  A Continental Army is formed outside of Boston under the command of a Virginia militia Colonel named George Washington.  The South Carolina delegates return to their homes to take to the swamps with their remaining militia, who are short on arms, but have huge supplies of powder.

Click Map to enlarge

Detailed Arguments and results

Back Country Farmers - Strong, FAILED (1)

While the back-country farmers have been solidifying their court system and defending their land from the Cherokee, they have noticed the growing unrest from the low country farmer’s slaves.  As the year starts the unrest reaches a boiling point, and there is a major slave revolt and severely impacts the safety, profits and political power of the low country farmers.  The revolt severely impacts the farmers because:

A. The low country plantation owners have been distracted by their political machinations and been driven by their pursues of political power and wealth.  They have not paid attention to the ever increasing anger at the slaves unjust treatment.

B. The slaves easily outnumber the low country farmers by 6:1.

C. The slaves are mostly strong and fit from working (in somewhat malnourished) and sadly accustomed to harsh conditions.

D. The back country farmers, no supporters of the slavery system, have not stopped slaves from gathering and moving through their territory (as long as no citizens or property is harmed.). If a few weapons have gone missing, it may have been overlooked.

Royal Governor - Moderate, FAILED (3)

In response to the "Charles Town Powder Party" the Royal Governor will issue arrest warrants for all of the senior officers of the low country militias, who also happen to be the richest members of the planter class.  They will be arrested and transported to London for trial.

This will succeed because:

- The Royal governor is incensed by the blatant slap in the face to Royal authority

- The Royal Governor now has access to a whole regiment of regulars in Charles Town to enforce the warrants

Parliament - Strong, SUCCEED(5)

Any militia that isn’t under Royal officer guidance is going to have their weapons confiscated, “To provide a source of arms to combat the Indian threat” and we’re going to start using those troops to enforce customs collection along the way. 

This will succeed because:

*Our officers have had a few years to influence some of the militia’s to our cause.

*Colonial militia are cowardly rabble that will not stand up to the stirring sight of a line of redcoats.

*Our troops are professionals.

Low Country Planters- Weak, SUCCEED(5)

The low Country Planters will send delegates to the Continental Congress.  In  cooperation with their New England allies, they will declare independence!  This will succeed because:

- There have been multiple incidents in both New England and in South Carolina of heavy handed action by the crown forces.

- The SC Low Country Planters have secretly been funding the Sons of Liberty in New England for the past 6 years

- The Low Country Militias have ready access to powder after seizing the magazine in Charles Town and hiding it in the swamps

Next Turn - Finale

Events in our humble simulation have out stripped historical events.  In 1773, we now have a Continental Army beginning to besiege Boston as well as Crown occupation of Charles Town, a much better position than the British were in historically.  But things could go either direction, with a strong, well organized back country militia that could tip the balance any way they like.

For your final argument of the game, I would like each player to submit what they believe the outcome of the war will be, with specific mention of what happens to South Carolina and your faction in particular.  Support this with reasons as you normally would.

To help, see the map provided below with a summary of the military and political situation in the colony / state.  

Stay tuned for the outcome of this so called "American Revolution!"