by Jim Cheaney
Alternate Historical Background
July 3, 1863 — Gen. Robert E. Lee (instead of ordering Pickett’s ill-fated charge up Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg) listened to his chief adviser, Gen. James Longstreet, and ordered a second day of assaults on the Union’s undermanned flank on Little Round Top, south of Cemetery Ridge. The 20th Maine Infantry, led by Col. Joshua Chamberlain, had been decimated by the previous day’s carnage, and were out of ammunition. No match for the Confederate advance, the 20th Maine was routed. The Union Army of the Potomac was crushed between the Confederate pincers, ending the war in the East. President Hannibal Hamlin evacuated the government out of Washington to New York. Vicksburg was relieved, Kentucky and Missouri officially joined the Confederacy, and the CSA was recognized by U.S. President George McClellan, who defeated Hamlin in 1864, and by Great Britain and other world powers.
1870 – 1895 — With increasing costs of housing and food, and increasing mechanization on the farm, slave ownership becomes economically prohibitive. One by one, Southern states begin freeing their slaves, beginning with Missouri and Maryland in 1870, and ending with Mississippi, Kentucky, and South Carolina in 1895.
1901 — The Confederate Constitution, based on the Articles of Confederation (the failed U.S. constitution used between 1776 and 1787), proves to be as impractical and unwieldy for the CSA as it was for the USA 120 years earlier. The CSA dissolves, leaving 6 major powers to jockey for power.
Can you lead your state to dominance at the dawn of a new century amid the ashes of Dixie?
Game Overview
Victory Conditions: 19 Supply Centers during a Winter build phase.
Game Rules: All rules are identical to those in Standard Diplomacy. Only the map is different. The game begins in the Spring of 1901.
Land Bridges (marked in red on the map):
Delmarva – Norfolk — Both armies and fleets may move freely between Delmarva and Norfolk.
Kansas Nebraska – Iowa — Not really necessary, but included to make it clear that KNe and Iow are adjacent (hidden behind the legend on the map).
River Systems navigable by fleets, but do not impede armies (marked in blue on the map):
Mississippi River — Allows fleets to exist in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Bootheel, Land Between the Lakes, Reelfoot (west coast), Arkansas, Delta, Louisiana, Jackson, Pontchartrain, and Acadiana, and drains out into Mississippi Sound.
Ohio River — Allows fleets to exist in Pennsylvania New Jersey (west coast), West Virginia, Ohio, Lexington, Louisville, Indiana, Owensboro, Land Between the Lakes, and Illinois, and drains out into the Mississippi River.
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway — Allows fleets to exist in Land Between the Lakes, Reelfoot (east coast), Tennessee, Starkville, Tombigbee, and Mobile Bay, and drains out into Mississippi Sound. (this waterway is about 80 years anachronistic, but hey, it’s just a game)
For example, a fleet in Missouri can move to Iowa, Illinois, or Bootheel, but cannot move to Kansas Nebraska or to Ozarks. An army in Missouri can move to any of those 5 spaces.
A fleet or army in Land Between the Lakes can move to Illinois, Indiana, Owensboro, Tennessee, Reelfoot (east or west coasts), or Bootheel.
The Powers, and Opening Positions:
| Power and 1-Letter Abbreviation | Possessive Nickname | Opening Positions (pre-Spring 1901) | ||
| Florida (F) | Floridian | A Tallahassee | F Key West | F Pensacola |
| Georgia (G) | Georgian | A Atlanta | A Augusta | F Savannah |
| Kentucky (K) | Bluegrass | A Lexington | A Louisville | A Owensboro |
| Mississippi (S) | Rebel | A Jackson | A Starkville | F Pascagoula |
| Texas (T) | Lone Star | A Dallas Ft. Worth | A Houston | F Corpus Christi |
| Virginia (V) | Old Dominion | A Richmond | A Roanoke | F Norfolk |
Non-Standard Abbreviations:
All spaces follow the standard rule for Diplomacy abbreviations, except for those listed below. Standard abbreviations are the first 3 letters of a 1-word name, 1 letter of the first word and 2 letters of the second word in a 2-word name, or 1 letter of each word in a 3-word name.
| Province or Spaces | Abbreviation | Initial Status | Abbreviation Comments |
| Delmarva | Dmv | Neutral SC | Conflicts with Delta. |
| Delta | Dlt | Mississippi | Conflicts with Delmarva. |
| Land Between the Lakes | LBL | Kentucky | |
| Louisiana | Lsa | Neutral | Conflicts with Louisville. |
| Louisville | Lvl | Kentucky SC | Conflicts with Louisiana. |
PROVINCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Supply centers (SC) are in boldface. U.S. population figures are from the 2000 Census.
| PROVINCE OR SPACE | ABBREVIATION | INITIAL STATUS | COMMENTS |
| Acadiana | Aca | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Lsa, Pon, MSo, GBa, and Hou) | “Cajun” is an abbreviated form of “Acadian,” which is itself an abbreviated form of “Canadian.” The Cajuns were French Canadians from Quebec exiled to Louisiana in 1763 at the end of the Seven Years’ War. To this day, the dominant language west of New Orleans is an archaic form of 18th Century French. |
| Alabama | Ala | Neutral SC | Name of tribe in Creek confederacy. State pop. 4,447,100. SC represents Montgomery, the first capital of the CSA (pop. 201,568; metro pop. 322,441). |
| Alleghenies | All | Virginia | Allegheny Mtns. Named after Ohio tribe. |
| Apalachee Bay | ABa | Sea | Named after a tribe in the Florida Panhandle. Means “ally” in Choctaw. |
| Arkansas | Ark | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from Boo, Ree(wc), Dlt, and Lsa) | Algonquin for “south wind people.” State pop. 2,673,400. SC represents Little Rock (pop. 183,133; metro pop. 559,074) |
| Atlanta | Atl | Georgia SC | Largest city and capital of Georgia. City pop. 416,474. Metro pop. 3,857,097. |
| Atlantic Ocean | AOc | Sea | Name from lost continent of Atlantis. |
| Augusta | Aug | Georgia SC | Best known as home of the Masters golf tournament. City pop. 195,182. Metro pop. 460,826. |
| Bahamas | Bah | Neutral SC (accessible by armies from Cub) | British possession 1647-1973. Named derived from Spanish baja mar, or “shallow seas.” Country pop. 283,705. SC represents Nassau (pop. 172,196). |
| Bermuda | Ber | Neutral SC | British possession 1620-present. Country pop. 62,472. SC represents Hamilton (pop. 1200). |
| Blue Ridge | BRi | Neutral | Blue Ridge Mountains. So called because of ever-present humid haze during summer. |
| Bootheel | Boo | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Mis, Ill, LBL, Ree(wc), and Ark) | So named because of shape of the southeastern tip of Missouri. Best known as epicenter of Great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811 (at 8.9, the strongest earthquake in North American history). |
| Central Gulf | CGu | Sea | |
| Chesapeake Bay | CBa | Sea (accessible by fleets from Dmv, Ric, Nor, Tid, OBa, AOc, and DBa) | Origin unknown; one theory holds that bay was created by asteroid striking Earth at an oblique angle. |
| Corpus Christi | CCh | Texas SC | Largest coastal city in Texas. Pop. 277,454; metro pop. 387,105. |
| Cuba | Cub | Neutral SC (accessible by armies from Bah) | Spanish possession 1492-1898. U.S. possession 1898-1902 (if CSA had won Civil War, probably still under Spanish possession in 1901). Name means “land” in Arawak. Country pop. 11,096,395. SC represents Havana (pop. 2,184,990). |
| Cumberland Gap | Gap | Kentucky | See “Gap” below. |
| Cumberland Plateau | CPl | Neutral | Uplands between Cumberland River and Chattanooga. |
| Dallas Ft. Worth | DFW | Texas SC | Largest metro area in Texas. Metro pop. 4,909,523. |
| Delaware Bay | DBa | Sea (accessible by fleets from PNJ(ec) but NOT PNJ(wc)) | |
| Delmarva | Dmv (conflicts with Delta) | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from PNJ(ec) but NOT PNJ(wc). Also accessible by armies and fleets from Nor and Ric.) | Peninsula east of Chesapeake Bay. Derived from the names of the states Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Delaware-Maryland state pop. 6,080,086. SC represents Baltimore (pop. 651,154). Baltimore-Washington metro pop. 7,359,044. |
| Delta | Dlt (conflicts with Delmarva) | Mississippi (accessible by fleets from Ree(wc), Ark, Lsa, and Jac) | Birthplace of the Blues. So called because of its utterly flat topology. |
| Edwards Plateau | EPl | Texas | |
| Everglades | Eve | Florida | The Everglades once spanned all of south Florida. Drainage and development around Miami has reduced it today to one of the most endangered ecosystems in U.S. |
| Florida | Flo | Florida | Site of earliest European settlement in U.S. (St. Augustine est. 1565 by Spanish) |
| Florida Bay | FBa | Sea | |
| Galveston Bay | GBa | Sea | Galveston is Houston’s seaport. Most famous as site of the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, a 1900 hurricane that killed 6000. |
| Gap | Gap | Kentucky | Cumberland Gap. Main route for settlers from Virginia into Kentucky in 1700s. Designer could not resist having a space called “The Gap” on the board. |
| Grand Strand | GSt | Neutral SC | Northern South Carolina coast, including the resort town of Myrtle Beach. SC represents Charleston (pop. 96,650; metro pop. 552,803). |
| Gulf of Campeche | GoC | Sea | Named after Mayan for “land of ticks.” |
| Houston | Hou | Texas SC | Largest City in Texas. Named after Texas’ first (and only) president, Sam Houston. City pop. 1,953,631. Metro pop. 4,493,741. |
| Illinois | Ill | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Iow, Mis, Boo, LBL, and Ind) | Algonquin name for “warriors.” State pop. 12,419,293. |
| Indiana | Ind | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from Ohi, Lvl, Owe, LBL, and Ill) | State pop. 6,080,485. SC represents designer’s hometown of Evansville (pop. 121,582; metro pop. 382,360). |
| Iowa | Iow | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Ill and Mis) | Kiowa word for “beautiful land.” Designer’s current state of residence. State pop. 2,926,324. |
| Jackson | Jac | Mississippi SC (accessible by fleets from Dlt, Lsa, and Pon) | Largest city and capital of Mississippi. City pop. 184,256. Metro pop. 432,647. |
| Kansas Nebraska | KNe | Neutral SC | States combined to connect Iowa with western edge of board. Civil War really began in Kansas in 1856. Combined state pop. 4,399,681. SC represents Kansas City, largest city in U.S. bisected by a state line (pop. 588,411; metro pop. 1,755,899). |
| Key West | KWe | Florida SC | One of the oldest cities in Florida, a former pirate haunt, and one of the largest cities in South Florida before the advent of air conditioning. Pop. 24,754. |
| Land Between the Lakes | LBL | Kentucky (accessible by fleets from Ree(ec), Ree(wc), Boo, Ill, Ind, Owe, and Ten) | Somewhat anachronistic, since the giant dams (Kentucky Dam on the Tennessee River and Barkley Dam on the Cumberland River) that made the lakes were built by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in the 1930s. Today the Lakes are a world-known fishing mecca. |
| Lexington | Lex | Kentucky SC (accessible by fleets from WVi, Ohi, and Lvl) | Largest city in Kentucky and home of the University of Kentucky. City pop. 260,512. Metro pop. 455,617. |
| Lookout Mtn. | LMt | Neutral | Mountain range in northeast Alabama, made famous by Civil War battle and song “My Home’s in Alabama.” |
| Louisiana | Lsa (conflicts with Louisville) | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Ark, Dlt, Jac, Pon, and Aca) | Named after King Louis XIV. State pop. 4,468,976. |
| Louisville | Lvl (conflicts with Louisiana) | Kentucky SC (accessible by fleets from Lex, Ohi, Ind, and Owe) | Largest metro area and river city in Kentucky. Named for King Louis XVI. Pop. 256,231. Metro pop. 1,005,849. |
| México | Mex | Neutral SC | Aztec for “in the navel of the Moon,” referring to the position of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital (today México City), in relation to its surrounding lakes (now extinct). Country pop. 103,400,165. SC represents Tampico (pop. 272,690; metro pop. 604,291) |
| Mississippi Sound | MSo | Sea | The ribbon of water between the Mississippi Coast and its barrier islands. Site of a 20-foot tidal surge during Hurricane Camille in 1969, the only Category 5 hurricane to ever strike the U.S. The Coast still bears deep scars today. |
| Missouri | Mis | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from Iow, Ill, and Boo) | “Muddy water” (the Missouri River is still nicknamed “Big Muddy”). State pop. 5,595,211. SC represents St. Louis (pop. 348,189; metro pop. 2,569,029). |
| Mobile Bay | MBa | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from Tom, Pas, Pen, and MSo) | Named after Maubila tribe, Choctaw for “paddlers.” SC represents Mobile (pop. 198,915; metro pop. 535,472). |
| Norfolk | Nor | Virginia SC (accessible by armies and fleets from Dmv, Ric, and Tid) | Home port of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Pop. 234,403. Metro pop. 1,562,635. |
| Ohio | Ohi | Neutral (accessible by fleets from PNJ(wc), WVi, Lex, Lvl, and Ind) | Iroquois for “big river.” State pop. 11,353,140. |
| Okefenokee | Oke | Georgia | Okefenokee Swamp. Origin of name unknown. There are at least 135 different spellings of the name. Possibly derived from Choctaw for “quivering water.” |
| Oklahoma | Okl | Neutral | Indian territory until 1889. Choctaw for “red man.” State pop. 3,450,654. |
| Onslow Bay | OBa | Sea | Named for Sir Arthur Onslow, British Prime Minister 1728-1761. |
| Ouachitas | Oua | Neutral | Ouachita Mountains. Choctaw for “big buffalo.” |
| Owensboro | Owe | Kentucky SC (accessible by fleets from Lvl, Ind, and LBL) | 3rd largest city in Kentucky. Barbecue Capital of the World. Pop. 54,067. Metro pop. 91,179. |
| Ozarks | Oza | Neutral | Ozark Mountains/Ozark Plateau/Lake of the Ozarks. Exact origin of name unknown. May be dervied from French aux Ark, meaning “to the Arkansas River.” |
| Pascagoula | Pas | Mississippi SC | U.S. Naval Shipyards, where most of the U.S. Navy is built. Name comes from local tribe. Pop. 26,200. Biloxi-Gulfport-Pascagoula metro pop. 353,205. |
| Pennsylvania New Jersey | PNJ coasts: (wc) to Ohi, WVi (ec) to DBa, Dmv | Neutral (WC accessible by fleets from Ohi and WVi. EC accessible by fleets from DBa and Dmv.) | Pennsylvania is Latin for “Penn’s Woods,” after colony founder William Penn. New Jersey is named after the English Channel island of Jersey. Combined state pop. 20,695,404. |
| Pensacola | Pen | Florida SC | Before the advent of air conditioning, all of Florida’s major cities were in the Panhandle. Today, Pensacola is an Air Force town with nearby Elgin AFB. Names comes from local tribe. Pop. 56,255. Metro pop. 403,384. |
| Piedmont | Pie | Neutral SC | A nod to Standard Diplomacy. Settlers compared the sloping of area of central North Carolina from the Appalachians to the Atlantic to the sloping of Northwest Italy from the Alps to the Mediterranean. SC represents the heavily urbanized area between Winston-Salem and Raleigh (metro pop. 2,284,919). |
| Piney Woods | PWo | Texas | Technically the area east of a line from Dallas to Houston, east to the Sabine River and the Louisiana border. Guess what the main type of tree there is? |
| Pontchartrain | Pon | Neutral SC (accessible by fleets from Jac, Lsa, Aca, MSo, and Pas) | The world’s longest bridge is the mammoth 24-mile-long Lake Pontchartrain Causeway between Covington and Metairie. New Orleans’ Achilles’ heel sits 8 feet higher (sea level) than the New Orleans downtown, a potential disaster during a hurricane. Named for Count de Pontchartrain, King Louis XIV’s finance minister. SC represents New Orleans (pop. 484,674; metro pop. 1,305,479). |
| Reelfoot | Ree coasts: (wc) to Ark, Boo, Dlt, LBL (ec) to LBL, Ten | Neutral SC (WC accessible by fleets from LBL, Boo, Ark, and Dlt. EC accessible by fleets from LBL and Ten.) | Formed during the Great New Madrid Earthquake of 1811, Reelfoot Lake is the best fishing spot in the U.S. SC represents Memphis (pop. 650,100; metro pop. 1,105,058). |
| Richmond | Ric | Virginia SC (borders CBa, Nor, Dmv, She, Roa, BRi, Pie, and Tid) | Capital of Virginia and of the CSA. City pop. 197,790. Metro pop. 961,416. |
| Roanoke | Roa | Virginia SC | Named after first English colony in North America, which mysteriously vanished without a trace in 1588. Pop. 94,911. Metro pop. 227,741. |
| Sargasso | Sar | Sea | Means “seaweed.” |
| Savannah | Sav | Georgia SC | Georgia’s seaport and first settlement (city pop. 131,510; metro pop. 288,426). |
| Sea Islands | SIs | Sea | The Sea Islands between Jekyll Island, Georgia, and Charleston are being quickly overrun by high class resorts such as Hilton Head, South Carolina. The islands are the last refuge of one of the world’s most endangered languages, an African-Creole-English mix called Gullah. |
| Shenandoah | She | Virginia | Shenandoah Valley. Named after local tribe; may mean “daughter of the stars.” |
| Smokies | Smo | Neutral | Smoky Mountains, so named because of the ever-present fog. |
| South Alabama | SAl | Neutral | Among the neat things in this region is Enterprise’s Boll Weevil Monument, the world’s only memorial to a major pest. |
| South Carolina | SCa | Neutral SC | First state to secede from the U.S. SC represents Columbia (pop. 116,278; metro pop. 516,251). |
| Starkville | Sta | Mississippi SC (accessible by fleets from Ten and Tom) | Home of the designer’s alma mater, Mississippi State University. Named for Gen. John Stark. Pop. 20,886. Metro pop. 151,527. |
| Straits of Florida | SoF | Sea | |
| Tallahassee | Tal | Florida SC | Capital of Florida. Seminole word for “tribal land.” Pop. 150,624. Metro pop. 260,003. |
| Tennessee | Ten | Neutral (accessible by fleets from LBL, Ree(ec), and Sta) | Tennessee River. Named after a Cherokee village. State pop. 5,689,283. |
| Tidewater | Tid | Neutral | Site of the first English settlement in North America (Roanoke Island, 1585). |
| Tombigbee | Tom | Neutral (accessible by fleets from Sta and MBa) | Tombigbee River. Named after local tribe; may mean “coffin makers.” |
| Tri-Cities | Tri | Neutral SC | Johnson City, Kingsport, and Bristol, Tennessee. Metro pop. 462,769. |
| Western Gulf | WGu | Sea | |
| West Virginia | WVi | Neutral (accessible by fleets from PNJ(wc), Ohi, and Lex) | Seceded from Virginia after Virginia seceded in 1861, so it could rejoin the U.S. Became a state in 1863. State pop. 1,808,344. |
| Yucatán | Yuc | Neutral SC | Impact site of comet that made dinosaurs extinct 65 million years ago. Name derived from Spanish corruption of Mayan reply when Spaniards asked where they were (the Mayans actually replied with “we can’t understand what you are speaking.”). SC represents Mérida (pop. 722,753). |
| Yucatán Channel | YCh | Sea |