Dixie Victorious: Chapter 8, Rebels enroll black soldiers

SYNOPSIS | Just for the fun of it, we're going through the scenarios in Stackpole's new offering, Dixie Victorious: An Alternate History of the Civil War (Peter G. Tsouras, ed.). I'll compile my comments on the scenarios and post them Sunday. (Note that the title of this post is a link to the book description on Amazon.)

Chapter 8. "Confederate Black and Gray"

Lee and Benjamin pitch Cleburne's emancipation plan to Davis; Davis, hesitant, has his envoys tell France and Britain that emancipation is under discussion but will require large European loans to succeed. By the time of the Battle of the Crater, the Rebellion is flush with cash and black units are reinforcing Lee faster than Grant can make up his losses. Lee makes public displays of promoting the new arrangements, winning over much public support. White Union units are demoralized by combat with black Confederates. Sherman is killed at Kennesaw Mountain, the Union army breaks, and under LTGs Cleburne and Johnston, it is annihilated. McClellan is elected. He immediately recognizes the CSA and sets up a dictatorship.