Turtledove
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Potter's Raid was a military operation conducted by Confederate States troops under the command of Brigadier General Clarence Potter, C.S.A. Its goal was to smuggle via subterfuge a superbomb into the heart of Philadelphia, the capital of the United States of America. The raid was an outstanding tactical success for the Confederate States; the western side of Philadelphia was destroyed, and all the raiders, who were wearing US uniforms and thus could be executed as spies if captured, made it back to the CSA. However it failed in its objective of decapitating the US government, and did nothing to alter the strategic picture for the CSA. The USA still won the war a few months later on July 14, 1944.

The Raid[]

Acting on orders from Confederate President Jake Featherston, Potter gathered together at Lexington a company of special Confederate soldiers who had convincing "Yankee" accents. Dressed in US Army uniforms, the company loaded a jovium bomb onto the back of a truck and drove through the Shenandoah Valley toward the US line at Luray. The convoy was passed through by unsuspecting US guards into West Virginia, and then Maryland and Pennsylvania before turning east toward Philadelphia.[1]

Featherston had wanted Potter to take the bomb all the way to the heart of downtown Philadelphia, but Potter assumed US security would be overwhelmingly tight close to the seat of the federal government and US war effort. Instead he opted to leave the truck bomb at a lot to the west of the Schuylkill River and hurry out of town.[2] Potter and his men had managed to clear the blast zone when the bomb went off, annihilating most of West Philadelphia and killing or maiming most of the witnesses who saw Potter leave the bomb in the city. Nevertheless Potter's role in the bombing was suspected almost immediately due to his activities earlier in the war, and orders for his capture went out all across eastern United States. Despite these orders Potter and his men managed to reach Confederate lines.[3]

Aftermath[]

Potter caught up with Featherston as the President's inner circle were fleeing across North Carolina. As the United States had a price on his head for his role in the raid, Potter felt he was safer sticking with his political foe to the end rather than face trial and execution for espionage.[4] In the end the USA caught up with Potter when Featherston was shot dead in Georgia, and all with Featherston were arrested at the scene by US soldiers.[5] Potter went on trial for war crimes in Philadelphia, but was found not guilty due to the intervention of General Morrell and released.[6] He spent his days under surveillance in Richmond, where he began to write a memoir entitled How I Blew Up Philadelphia.[7]

References[]

  1. In at the Death, pgs. 264-268, hc.
  2. Ibid., pg. 269.
  3. Ibid., pgs. 281-283.
  4. Ibid., pgs. 369-370.
  5. Ibid., pgs. 380-383.
  6. Ibid., pgs. 513-514, 519.
  7. Ibid., pgs. 520-523.
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