Chapter 12: Hear His Own Words

Chapter 12

Hear His Own Words

            President Stanton and his staff, right after the bombing of Sacramento, started working diligently to get the situation with the United States under as mush control as California could provide to their citizens.

            “If what they want is war, then a war is what they will get.” President Stanton told his newly formed military council made up of his top military officers and himself. “General Hister, what do you believe is the best way to defend this new country?”

            General George Hister was a Colonel of the Californian National Guard before the secession, and like many National Guard troops he said loyal to his state. After the secession, and the establishment of the Californian Army, Colonel Hister was promoted to the rank of General and General of the entire Californian Army. “Mr. President, since the seceding states are so spread out, the most important thing is to protect our borders. We must start by taking out any American bases still left in our country; we must push out any military personnel still left, and then mobilize along the borders. Once we have our borders secured, we can push an offensive campaign if you wish to. There are some border states that would be easy for our troops to take and force a quicker surrender from the Americans.”

            “So what you’re telling me General is that you want us to wage an offensive civil war?”

            “Yes. We must learn from the mistakes the Confederates made in the first civil war. The Confederacy's biggest mistake was believing that all they had to do was fight a defensive war. They were cut off from their supplies by the offensive union, and they lose more and more territory, which weakened their defense. Had they mustered an offense, they could have taken Washington, D.C. and ended the war right then and there. So we must not fight like the Confederates of the civil war, but fight like the Patriots of the Revolutionary War. We must fight with an offense if we want to survive.”

            “I see. I understand everything Generals. Now if you don’t mind I must prepare for a speech I am giving to the country later tonight.”

            “Yes. Thank you for your time Mr. President.” After dismissing his military council, President Stanton sat down to think to himself. He had a very important speech to give to his country tonight. This would be the first speech he was going to give since the air battle of Sacramento.

            Michael Stanton looked down at his speech that had been prepared for him earlier. He took it in his hands and ripped to shreds. He ripped it to pieces so small that a paper shredder could not do as good of a job. “This just won’t do. I can’t give a speech to the people of California that I didn’t write myself. I must let them hear my own words.” So the president sat down to write a new speech. The new speech would let the people of California actually hear his own words.