The Confederate HighWheeler Dragoons

The Confederate HighWheeler Dragoons

Point Of Divergence is an amateur press magazine and also a forum for discussing AH and AH-related ideas. Here is my comment section.

(Warning: This is not real history. It is iffy history speculaiton)

The south's early lead in HighWheeler or bicycle technology was doubly ironic, first because the first recognizable bicycle was actually built in Philadelphia in 1854, and second because its inventor, Irving Blanchard, was an ardent Abolitionist.

Blanchard's invention, which he called the "Fast Foot", enjoyed a brief period of popularity in Philadelphia and other northern cities. It also spread to England and France. The period of popularity was brief, and the Fast Foot's nickname 'boneshaker' gives a pretty good indication of why its popularity faded. The Fast Foot was made entirely of wood, including its tires. That made for a very rough ride on the cobblestone or dirt roads of the mid-1850s.

The bicycle fad faded quickly from the northern cities. Blanchard had sunk a great deal of money into building his machines. His company went bankrupt in 1856.

While some southern historians claim that South Carolina inventor Anthony Archer invented his series of bicycles independently, it is almost certain that he was aware of Blanchard's work prior to building his first machine in 1856. Archer started with machines much like the Fast Foot, but he quickly realized that metal construction of the frame was key to a successful machine. Unfortunately, the metal working of the day was not up to the demands of building the designs Archer had in mind. However, Anthony Archer was able to interest his uncle, Robert Archer in the problem. Robert Archer played a major role in the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond Virginia, and he was able to produce the necessary parts for the first metal bicycle in 1859.

Metal bicycles were somewhat lighter, sturdier and more manageable than wooden ones, and Archer's Sumter Bicycle Works was modestly successful, primarily around its headquarters in Charlestown South Carolina. Archer's bicycles still had a very rough ride though, and with their peddles attached directly to the front wheels they were limited in their speed.

Bicycle racing was becoming popular in areas around Charlestown, and other southern cities, especially Richmond. That put a premium on speed. Without a workable chain system, the easiest way to make a bicycle faster was to make the front wheel bigger. Through 1860, Archer and several upstart competitors in the bicycle industry competed to put bigger and bigger front wheels on their bikes, as rear wheels shrank. The big wheels made for a somewhat better ride, and it also increased speed. Public enthusiasm for bicycle racing spread, as did trails designed specially for the new vehicles.

The racing fad spread to France and England, but not to the northern cities of the US with their previous bad experience with the "boneshakers". In the south, bicycles quickly developed to the classic high-wheeler configuration, with front wheels as large as the owners leg length could handle.

As the secession crisis became more bitter, the south had a large body of athletic young men used to riding high-wheelers. The north did not. High wheelers were not the ideal military transportation. Riders were vulnerable to rifle fire and unable to fire back without stopping and dismounting. However, lightly armed troops on high-wheelers could move faster than horsed cavalry over long distances if good roads or trails were available. That meant that in the early days of the war of secession the south could move messages and small bodies of lightly armed but highly motivated troops much more quickly than the north.

That ability to move lightly armed troops quickly served the south well in the confused early struggle in border states such as Missouri and Kentucky and border areas such as northwestern Virginia. Confederate Highwheeler Dragoons played a prominent role in both areas. As the war went on though, the importance of the dragoons decreased, and they were for the most part relegated to scouting and raiding.

Other "Bicycle" Uses in the War of SecessionThe south used bicycle mechanisms extensively in railroad transportation carts in lieu of scarce locomotives. The Confederate Navy also used variations of that mechanism in their moderately successful harbor defense submersibles. Though the south lost far more submersible crews than the north lost in warships, Confederate submersibles were a deterrent to Union naval operations near the southern coast.

Bicycles for the North: The north was slow to produce their own bicycle troop, partly because of the lack of trained riders and an infrastructure to produce the machines. However, by 1863, the union had formed several high-wheeler units of its own. In late 1863 union bicycle manufacturers introduced the first chain driven bicycles. That allowed them to equal the speed of the high-wheelers without the high learning curve and danger to the riders. By mid-1864 the north's bicycle dragoons were far more numerous than their confederate counterparts and they played a major role in Grant's march to the sea.

In spite of their early triumphs, the Confederate HighWheeler Dragoons, like the rest of the Confederacy, were overwhelmed by the superior manpower and production capability of the north.

So what is alternate history about all of that? Well, the bicycle just missed being invented in time for the Civil War. It was actually invented in France in the late 1860s. What was the point of all of this? I just thought that the idea of Confederate troops on high-wheelers somehow fit, so I came up with a scenario where that could happen.

Slightly revised and reposted on Feb 4, 2012.

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