The Guns of the South
Encyclopedia
The Guns of the South is an alternate history novel set during the American Civil War
by Harry Turtledove
.
The story deals with a group of time-travelling Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
members who supply Robert E. Lee
's Army of Northern Virginia
with AK-47
s and small amounts of other supplies (including nitroglycerine tablets for treating Lee's heart condition), leading to a Southern
victory in the war.
at the headquarters of the Army of Northern Virginia
, demonstrating a rifle far superior to all other firearms of the time. The men call their organization "America Will Break" (or "AWB
"), and offer to supply the Confederate army with these rifles, which they refer to as AK-47
s. The weapons operate on chemical and engineering principles unknown to Confederate military engineers.
Soldiers are trained by the AWB men to use their new weapons, and ammunition is issued. Confederate morale improves considerably as the men prepare to meet Union forces in the 1864 campaign. They soon engage General Grant's men at the Battle of the Wilderness, and inflict a devastating defeat on Union forces.
The AWB continue to offer inexplicable information and technology to the Confederacy, even providing Lee with nitroglycerin pills, which ease his frequent chest pains. Finally, Lee questions their leader, Andries Rhoodie, who ultimately decides to tell Lee the truth. The men of AWB are time travelers from the year 2014, the 21st-century. The newcomers claim that white supremacy
has not endured to the modern era, and that blacks in the future will eclipse whites. Lee is informed that unless a slave-holding South is allowed to endure into the 20th century, blacks will take over the world. A slave-owner himself, Lee is surprised by this revelation—he never thought Negroes capable of participating in government.
With the AWB's guns and some direct military aid from the racist South Africans, the Confederacy eventually captures Washington, D.C.
, thus ending the Civil War. The United Kingdom and France recognize the Confederacy and the President Lincoln is forced to accept Southern victory. As Confederate forces begin to end their occupation of Washington, the new country starts to determine its future social and political direction.
In negotiations between the two Americas, to which Lee is made a representative for the CSA, the United States agrees to pay millions of dollars in reparations, albeit reluctantly. The Confederacy, in turn, gives up any claim to Maryland and West Virginia. After much debate, both sides agree for Kentucky and Missouri to hold elections and determine whether they will remain in the Union or secede. Supporters, both official and unofficial, pour into both states and try to sway voters their way. Ultimately, despite an assassination attempt on Lee by a former slave and efforts at rigging elections by the Rivington men, Kentucky secedes and Missouri remains in the Union.
Confederate slaves freed during the war by Union troops violently resist returning to slavery. Lee, already dubious about slavery and respectful of the courage of the United States Colored Troops
during the war, is convinced that continuing to enslave Negroes is both wrong and impracticable. The genie is already out of the bottle, and black guerrillas will continue to make trouble in the future. Some parts of the South had already lost many of their slaves during the war anyway. Despite threats by the Rivington men, Lee makes no effort to hide his views as he runs for president in 1867. The Rivington men convince Nathan Bedford Forrest
to run against Lee on a pro-slavery ticket, and pour their considerable resources into Forrest's campaign. When Lee manages a narrow victory, Forrest respectfully concedes defeat and promises to help rally the young nation behind its new president.
At Lee's inauguration, AWB men attempt to assassinate him using Uzis, resulting in the death of Lee's wife, Mary
; his vice president, Albert Gallatin Brown; various dignitaries and generals; and many civilians. The AWB offices in Richmond are seized after a fierce battle, and Lee enters the stronghold to find more technological marvels (such as light bulbs), along with a collection of books that document the increasing marginalization of racism from 1865 into the 21st century. Lee shows these books to Confederate congressmen, hoping that the future's nearly universal condemnation of slavery will convince the congressmen to vote for his plan for gradual abolition.
Confederate forces surround Rivington and after a long siege capture the town. Confederate infantry destroy the AWB's time machine during the fighting, prompting the rest to lose hope and surrender. Andries Rhoodie is killed by an enraged slave, who the Confederates, well aware of the Rivington men's cruelty and treason, spare. In Richmond, the Confederate Congress passes President Lee's abolition bill. Contemporaries have reproduced the nitroglycerin pills brought by the AWB, and Lee hopes, with their help, to live to see the effects of his plan for emancipation. Meanwhile, a few of the stranded South Africans agree to help the Confederacy replicate their 21st century technology from 2014, helping Lee to counter the Union's own replica AK-47's and greater industrial strength. Though the Union has started a war with the British Empire by invading Canada and Lee fears the Union may attempt a war of revenge against the CSA in the future, he rests assured that the CSA will remain the most technologically-advanced nation in the world for many decades to come.
Award for Southern Fiction in 1993.
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
by Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove
Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
.
The story deals with a group of time-travelling Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
members who supply Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
's Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
with AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s and small amounts of other supplies (including nitroglycerine tablets for treating Lee's heart condition), leading to a Southern
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
victory in the war.
Plot summary
It is January 1864, and the Confederacy is losing the war with the United States. Men with strange accents and oddly mottled clothing approach Robert E. LeeRobert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
at the headquarters of the Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Northern Virginia
The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War, as well as the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most often arrayed against the Union Army of the Potomac...
, demonstrating a rifle far superior to all other firearms of the time. The men call their organization "America Will Break" (or "AWB
Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging
The Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging is a South African far right separatist political and former paramilitary organization, since its creation dedicated to secessionist Afrikaner nationalism and the creation of an independent Boer-Afrikaner republic or "" in part of South Africa...
"), and offer to supply the Confederate army with these rifles, which they refer to as AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s. The weapons operate on chemical and engineering principles unknown to Confederate military engineers.
Soldiers are trained by the AWB men to use their new weapons, and ammunition is issued. Confederate morale improves considerably as the men prepare to meet Union forces in the 1864 campaign. They soon engage General Grant's men at the Battle of the Wilderness, and inflict a devastating defeat on Union forces.
The AWB continue to offer inexplicable information and technology to the Confederacy, even providing Lee with nitroglycerin pills, which ease his frequent chest pains. Finally, Lee questions their leader, Andries Rhoodie, who ultimately decides to tell Lee the truth. The men of AWB are time travelers from the year 2014, the 21st-century. The newcomers claim that white supremacy
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
has not endured to the modern era, and that blacks in the future will eclipse whites. Lee is informed that unless a slave-holding South is allowed to endure into the 20th century, blacks will take over the world. A slave-owner himself, Lee is surprised by this revelation—he never thought Negroes capable of participating in government.
With the AWB's guns and some direct military aid from the racist South Africans, the Confederacy eventually captures Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, thus ending the Civil War. The United Kingdom and France recognize the Confederacy and the President Lincoln is forced to accept Southern victory. As Confederate forces begin to end their occupation of Washington, the new country starts to determine its future social and political direction.
In negotiations between the two Americas, to which Lee is made a representative for the CSA, the United States agrees to pay millions of dollars in reparations, albeit reluctantly. The Confederacy, in turn, gives up any claim to Maryland and West Virginia. After much debate, both sides agree for Kentucky and Missouri to hold elections and determine whether they will remain in the Union or secede. Supporters, both official and unofficial, pour into both states and try to sway voters their way. Ultimately, despite an assassination attempt on Lee by a former slave and efforts at rigging elections by the Rivington men, Kentucky secedes and Missouri remains in the Union.
Confederate slaves freed during the war by Union troops violently resist returning to slavery. Lee, already dubious about slavery and respectful of the courage of the United States Colored Troops
United States Colored Troops
The United States Colored Troops were regiments of the United States Army during the American Civil War that were composed of African American soldiers. First recruited in 1863, by the end of the Civil War, the men of the 175 regiments of the USCT constituted approximately one-tenth of the Union...
during the war, is convinced that continuing to enslave Negroes is both wrong and impracticable. The genie is already out of the bottle, and black guerrillas will continue to make trouble in the future. Some parts of the South had already lost many of their slaves during the war anyway. Despite threats by the Rivington men, Lee makes no effort to hide his views as he runs for president in 1867. The Rivington men convince Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
to run against Lee on a pro-slavery ticket, and pour their considerable resources into Forrest's campaign. When Lee manages a narrow victory, Forrest respectfully concedes defeat and promises to help rally the young nation behind its new president.
At Lee's inauguration, AWB men attempt to assassinate him using Uzis, resulting in the death of Lee's wife, Mary
Mary Anna Custis Lee
Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee was the wife of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.-Biography:Mary Anna Custis Lee was the only surviving child of George Washington Parke Custis, George Washington's step-grandson and adopted son and founder of Arlington House, and Mary Lee Fitzhugh Custis, daughter...
; his vice president, Albert Gallatin Brown; various dignitaries and generals; and many civilians. The AWB offices in Richmond are seized after a fierce battle, and Lee enters the stronghold to find more technological marvels (such as light bulbs), along with a collection of books that document the increasing marginalization of racism from 1865 into the 21st century. Lee shows these books to Confederate congressmen, hoping that the future's nearly universal condemnation of slavery will convince the congressmen to vote for his plan for gradual abolition.
Confederate forces surround Rivington and after a long siege capture the town. Confederate infantry destroy the AWB's time machine during the fighting, prompting the rest to lose hope and surrender. Andries Rhoodie is killed by an enraged slave, who the Confederates, well aware of the Rivington men's cruelty and treason, spare. In Richmond, the Confederate Congress passes President Lee's abolition bill. Contemporaries have reproduced the nitroglycerin pills brought by the AWB, and Lee hopes, with their help, to live to see the effects of his plan for emancipation. Meanwhile, a few of the stranded South Africans agree to help the Confederacy replicate their 21st century technology from 2014, helping Lee to counter the Union's own replica AK-47's and greater industrial strength. Though the Union has started a war with the British Empire by invading Canada and Lee fears the Union may attempt a war of revenge against the CSA in the future, he rests assured that the CSA will remain the most technologically-advanced nation in the world for many decades to come.
Awards
The book won the John Esten CookeJohn Esten Cooke
John Esten Cooke was an American novelist and poet. He was the brother of poet Philip Pendleton Cooke.-Early life:Born in Winchester, Virginia, he was noted for writing about that state...
Award for Southern Fiction in 1993.
External links
- Americanisms in Harry Turtledove's The Guns of the South, Tatu Ahponen, 2003 (including detailed summary)
- 2010 review by Jo WaltonJo WaltonJo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Ha'penny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award...
- Review by Mark Taha