History Literature / UntilEveryDropOfBloodIsPaid

** The last battles of the American Civil War is staged in decidedly undramatic fashion. This was a deliberate choice by the author, who felt that such an evil state did not deserve to be memorialized with dramatic and valorous last stands.

** From then on, the fighting in the Eastern Theater shifts to [[spoiler: the area around Richmond, the Confederacy's capital. The first offensive, the Peninsular Campaign, becomes a disaster, which spells the end for [=McClellan's=] career. As the war progresses, the strategy shifts from capturing to Richmond to destroying the Army of Northern Virginia, though Richmond remains a key goal.]] On April 18th, 1865, the U.S. Army finally [[spoiler:enters Richmond, exactly four years after Washington D.C. fell]].

** There's several instances of teens lying about their age to join the war.
** During Hunter's raids into Virginia, the Confederates send Virginia Military Institute and other children to join Early's army in order to stop the former.

* DeathByAdaptation: Over the course of the war, several generals who survived in OTL meet their end. [[spoiler: Union General [=McDowell=] dies after his leg is amputated during the Second Maryland Campaign, Union General [=McClernand=] is killed by a bullet to the throat during the fighting for Fort Donelson, Confederate General Hardee is killed during the 1st Vicksburg Campaign and '''Robert E. Lee''' dies in a skirmish at Petersburg]]. Major civilian figures to pass away early are [[spoiler:Roger B. Taney, whose heart gives out from the stress of war, Lincoln's bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon, Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge (the latter two via execution)]].

* DefensiveFeintTrap: Confederate General A.S. Johnston uses this tactic at the Battle of Liberty. While keeping Sherman's Corps preoccupied, Johnston lets [=McPherson's=] Corps cross the Amite River before unleashing a powerful counterattack to push them into the river. [[spoiler: [=McPherson's=] slow and cautious advance causes Johnston to spring the trap early. Ultimately, Johnston fails to crush the bridgehead, which is reinforced by C.F. Smith's Corps.]]

* TheFamine: Due to a combination of Union raids, deterioration of infrastructures and terrible policies, the Confederacy suffers from a large famine that starts at the end of 1864 and lasts until several months after the end of the war. This causes large scale social breakdown as the less fortunate begin to protest. Unfortunately, the Junta sees it as defeatism, since they consider stopping the Union armies a higher priority than keeping their citizens fed, and the only reason they don't punish the protestors more heavily is because they don't have the men. This leads to the Southern Jacqueries, a series of riots that shake the entire Confederacy and brings down the house of cards.

** General Irvin [=McDowell=] receives this in spades. Although his inadequacies are highlighted at times, his [[spoiler: early death during the Second Maryland Campaign]] seals his image as an early hero for the Union, unlike his real fate of being disgraced and [[ReassignedToAntarctica reassigned as far away from the war.]]

* InSpiteOfANail: Some situations end up the same as OTL. For example, Jackson still acquires his historical nickname of Stonewall and many campaigns are similar to their real-life counterparts. The author has admitted it's because the OTL decisions either made sense when taking into account military conditions and the commanders' personalities or because they were so iconic he felt they had to be included.

** [[spoiler:Appomattox]] is the site of [[spoiler: the Army of Northern Virginia's]] last stand. Instead of an honorable surrender, it ends in a massacre thanks to its leader's stubbornness.

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: While Breckinridge and his government are fighting to uphold a system of slavery, they ultimately end up this [[spoiler: to the junta that overthrows them]] with their willingness to consider the plight of poor whites [[spoiler: as opposed to the planter-dominated junta]].
* LongLostRelative: Garland White meets his mother for the first time in years [[spoiler:as he enters Richmond with the Army of the Susquehanna]].

** There's many instances where this heavily affects the war effort of both the Union and the rebels. Most particularly, attempts by the Confederate government to force states to actually put together the resources needed to make war get stymied by said states' refusal to accept that their survival depends on it. For example, when Breckinridge attempts to initiate an impressment of slaves to bolster up defensive construction efforts, the slavers repeatedly state that they'd rather see the Union come and free everyone than let the Confederate government infringe on their "rights".

** On the Union side, John Reynolds and Nathaniel Lyon also survive, becoming the leader of the Army of the Susquehanna and the General in-chief, respectively. [[spoiler: Ultimately downplayed, as both Lyon and Reynolds are killed in John Wilkes Booth's assassination attempt.]] Philip Kearny (deceased in the Battle of Chantilly in 1862) is likewise still alive and kicking in 1864, helping lead the Army of the Shenandoah into battle.

The story has finished and continues in "[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/reconstruction-the-second-american-revolution.551503/ Reconstruction: The Second American Revolution]]".

''[[https://www.alternatehistory.com/forum/threads/until-every-drop-of-blood-is-paid-a-more-radical-american-civil-war.451420/ Until Every Drop of Blood is Paid: A More Radical American Civil War]]'', by [=Red_Galiray=], is an AlternateHistory timeline on Website/AlternateHistoryDotCom. A pro-slavery fanatic changes history when he decides to murder Lyman Trumbull, the Illinois politician who was elected to the Senate over Abraham Lincoln in 1854. Now a Senator, Abraham Lincoln arrives at a Washington where tensions between the North and the South are increasing each day. Thrust into the frontlines of the irrepressible conflict, Lincoln's views start to evolve and change faster than in our world. Little changes start to pile up, leading to a different, bloodier, and more radical UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar.

* AdaptationalBadass: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls Robert Smalls]], instead of being a pilot, is a full-on officer of the Union Army, and leads the troops that take Charleston. He even becomes the first black commissioned officer in the history of the United States.

** Allegations of alcoholism are levied almost constantly against General Grant. TruthInTelevision, taking into account his RealLife struggles with alcohol. The author tends to point out that many of these accusations were in fact false, made up by political and military enemies.
** Confederate President Breckinridge is also said to "love the bottle", but his alcoholism is not really explored. The closest is an accusation by General Bragg.

** Benjamin F. Cheatham, the commander of the Army of Tennessee in late 1864, has a reputation of being a hard fighter and a hard drinker. After the [[spoiler: utter disasters towards the end of the Atlanta Campaign, Cheatham breaks down and begins drinking.]]

* AndTheAdventureContinues: After the abolition of slavery, William Lloyd Garrison planned to shut down his ''The Liberator'' newspaper, but the paper was hijacked by Fredrick Douglass and Wendell Philips. They changed its goal to "No Reconstruction without Negro Suffrage."

* AndTheAdventureContinues: After the abolishment of slavery, William Lloyd Garrison planned to shut down his ''The Liberator'' newspaper, but the paper was hijacked by Fredrick Douglass and Wendell Philips. They changed its goal to No Reconstruction without Negro Suffrage.

* ApocalypseAnarchy: Towards the war's end, violent uprising and looting occurs across the [[spoiler:rural South as food runs low]]. The [[spoiler:junta]] does not take kindly to this and attempts to repress them, but their army is disintegrating from desertion.

* BigBad: Lincoln to the Confederates and Breckinridge to the Unionists. As such, terms like "Lincolnite troops" or "the Breckinridge insurrection" abound.

* AntiClimax: In November 1863, the long-awaited offensive in Georgia begins. Soldiers on both sides are excitedly talking about the upcoming decisive battle at the heights of Dalton. On November 17th, the battle lines are formed and the bands begin playing to raise morale... and the battle's over. Unable to outflank Johnston through the Snake Creek Gap due to muddy roads and seeing the defensive potential of the Dalton heights, Union General Thomas breaks off the action and decides to wait for spring 1864 for the next offensive. On the other side, Confederate General Joseph Johnston loses his nerve and actually plans to evacuate in the event of an attack. Thus, the commanders on both sides practically agree not to fight a major battle.

** From then on, the fighting in the Eastern Theater shifts to [[spoiler: the area around Richmond, the Confederacy's capital. The first offensive, the Peninsular Campaign, becomes a disaster, which spells the end for [=McClellan's=] career. As the war progresses, the strategy shifts from capturing to Richmond to destroying the Army of Northern Virginia, though Richmond remains a key goal.]]

** Breckinridge may be the leader of a rebellion that seeks to maintain millions in bondage and assert white supremacy, but he genuinely cares for the Southern population and tries to stop Confederate war criminals from massacring black Union troops.

* {{Irony}}: Breckinridge decrees that the Confederate government can draft the enslaved into the army and then free them, since they would be property of the government - a reasoning similar to the one Butler used when he started the "contraband" policy.

** Abraham Lincoln is this, despite egregious losses and opposition in congress he remained personally determined to win the war above all else. The Union victory sustained in the war vindicates this persistent attitude.

* YouCantGoHomeAgain: Most Confederates who are exiled and live abroad want to return home. Yet none of them return home within their lifetime.

* IronicDeath: Jeb Stuart is executed in Harper's Ferry, the same place where he executed John Brown seven years earlier.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Most Confederates cannot conceive of black soldiers being competent or brave, and as a result treat them with contempt instead of treating them as worthy foes. Due to this the rebels later get a rude awakening at Fort Saratoga and Union Mills.

* TheFamine: The ending months of the war lead to the Confederacy suffering from a famine from the end of 1864 to most of 1865. Naturally it led to social breakdown throughout the Confederacy as the less fortunate began to riot and protest. Unfortunately it is seen as defeatism by the Junta, who were more concerned with stopping the armies of the Union than keeping the masses fed. This meant if they had the men the Junta would punish the protestors.

** Price's attempted "Liberation" of Missouri. Going in with 12,000 men (with somewhere between 20%-40% unarmed), his army barely does more than steal food and goods from the locals before an abortive attack at Fort Knob and a crushing defeat at Westport. Price runs with his tail between the legs with only a third of the men he had initially.

* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: [[spoiler:The population of the Union, as well as Southern Unionists and former slaves, celebrate the end of the war and the death of the Confederation.]]

* DeathByAdaptation: Over the course of the war, several generals who survived in OTL meet their end. [[spoiler: Union General [=McDowell=] dies after his leg is amputated during the Second Maryland Campaign, Union General [=McClernand=] is killed by a bullet to the throat during the fighting for Fort Donelson, Confederate General Hardee is killed during the 1st Vicksburg Campaign and '''Robert Lee''' dies in a skirmish at Petersburg]]. Major civilian figures to pass away early are [[spoiler:Roger B. Taney, whose heart gives out from the stress of war, Lincoln's bodyguard Ward Hill Lamon, Jefferson Davis and John C. Breckinridge (the latter two via execution)]].

* InsaneTrollLogic:
** Hood, after realizing that his smaller force is no match for Thomas, determines his next course of action is to fight and march his way through Union-held Tennessee to raise an unrealistically big army in Kentucky to destroy Thomas. This is to be followed with a march across the mountains of West Virginia to destroy Grant and march on Philadelphia. [[spoiler:It doesn’t even make it outside Georgia.]]

** Following the battles of late August and September 1864, [[spoiler:President Breckinridge starts to send peace feelers to Lincoln, realizing that the Confederation is going to lose the war]].

* LaserGuidedKarma: It can be argued that what happens to the Confederacy is a direct result of their actions, but there are several examples that are more specific.

* SkewedPriorities: There's many instances where this heavily affects the war effort of both the Union and the rebels. Most particularly, attempts by the Confederate government to force states to actually put together the resources needed to make war get stymied by said states' refusal to accept that their survival depends on it.
** When Breckinridge attempts to initiate an impressment of slaves to bolster up defensive construction efforts, the slavers repeatedly state that they'd rather see the Union come and free everyone than let the Confederate government infringe on their "rights".

** On the Union side, John Reynolds and Nathaniel Lyon also survive, becoming the leader of the Army of the Susquehanna and the General in-chief, respectively. [[spoiler: Ultimately downplayed, as both Lyon and Reynolds are killed in John Wilkes Booth's assassination attempt.]]
*** Philip Kearny (deceased in the Battle of Chantilly in 1862) is still alive and kicking in 1864, helping lead the Army of the Shenandoah into battle.

** Despite the fact that both sides know that war will decide the fate of their nation, there's political infighting within both governments and both armies.
** In the Union, [[spoiler:the serious battlefield reverses in late 1862 sees the War Unionists discredited and the National Democracy party is taken over by the pro-peace Copperheads. The Copperheads insist that dropping emancipation as a war goal will be sufficient to coerce the Confederacy to accept reunion and outright attempt to subvert the government's authority.]]
** In the Confederacy, [[spoiler:after the disastrous setbacks of 1863, the Confederate politicians broke into two camps: the pro-Breckinridge Confederate National Party and the anti-Breckinridge "Tories" or "Reconstructionists". While both factions (with a few exceptions in the latter camp) are seeking to ensure that the Confederacy remains independent, the latter camp is opposed to many of the measures taken by Breckinridge]].
*** The [[spoiler:October Coup]] only worsens things, as the new government undoes many of Breckinridge's policies, making things worse for the lot. For example, the state governments are given leave to do whatever they want: North Carolina keeps a large supply of uniforms, blankets and shoe leather for their militias, and Georgia's governor recalls the militias attached to the Army of Georgia.

** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_H._Hammond James H. Hammond]], who hypocritically spoke of "Southern refinement" while he raped his slaves, was lynched by a mob.

** The author points out that Simon Bolivar Buckner, named after the Venezuelan liberator, does not deserve that name. Buckner is instead called "S.B. Buckner" within the story.

** [[spoiler:Toombs tells a mayor to give the last dregs of the Confederate treasury to soldiers that need it, and wills his mansion to the people he slaved for so long.]]

* PowderKegCrowd: The worsening food situation in parts of the Confederacy led to riots in Richmond. When Breckinridge was in power, he was able to calm the 1863 Bread Riots with a RousingSpeech. [[spoiler:The Junta that replaced him, however, opts for a crackdown when faced with protests in the early months of 1865. When the crackdown lead to a massacre however, all of Richmond descended into violence, forcing the Junta to flee.]]

* RapePillageAndBurn: Both sides engage in it during the war - the Confederates have Jubal Early's raids, the Unionists have Sherman's March to the Sea.

* RedBaron: On the Union side, there are Generals Ulysses S. Grant, known as "Unconditional Surrender" Grant; George H. Thomas, the "Sledgehammer of Lexington"; and John F. Reynolds, the "Victor of Union Mills". On the Confederate side, Beauregard is called "the Conqueror of Washington" and Johnston is sometimes known as the "Undaunted Johnston".

-->'''James Buchanan''': I desire you to remember that no Democrat ever yet differed from an administration of his own choice without being crushed.\\
'''Stephen Douglas''': You are no Jackson.