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Thread: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

  1. #1
    Barry Goldwater's Avatar Mr. Conservative
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    Default Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Hey all,

    So as the Early America preview thread & our Discord chat suggest, we are indeed going to launch a 1789 America RPG a few weeks from now, most likely in the first or second week of September. Since (as I have also said several times on the Discord) we will be playing characters taking the role of the historical Founding Fathers, as opposed to playing the historical FFs themselves - basically placing us in-between MKFAH/WOTR and YATS as far as character historicity goes - it will be important to not only lay out our characters and how they differ from the Founding Fathers, as well as what effects that will have on the history of our Revolutionary War, but also what relationships they have with each other. Are they friends? Rivals? Bitter enemies? Ideologues at cross-purposes? Etc. This thread will be where we hash that, and everything else I'm about to talk about below, out ahead of the game proper.

    The one guideline I'd like to keep as far as character creation goes is that we stick to the historical ARW's, and Founding Fathers', 'broad strokes', but otherwise have a lot of room to fill in ourselves in-between, particularly when it comes to personality, ideology and family makeup. For example: our George Washington must still have been the Continental Army's commander-in-chief and the starting President, but other than that, if you like he can be a patriarch with children and grandchildren, a 'High Federalist' ideologically who's committed to expanding the federal gov't as much as he can or conversely a Democratic-Republican who wants to constrain his own powers as much as possible, a partisan who isn't above stepping into the political fray himself rather than staying above of & aloof from it like the historical Washington, etc. Our Thomas Jefferson must still be the author of the Declaration of Independence and a staunch advocate of the historical Democratic-Republican positions of populistic decentralization, but if you so choose he could be the Governor of New Hampshire and a merchant leading a large lumber business instead of a Virginian planter, a Congregational Calvinist fanatic instead of the anti-clerical pseudo-Deist he was IRL, etc. And so on.

    Likewise for the Revolutionary War itself. We can bend history, but I'd rather we not break it - both because it's already happened, and because I'd prefer to save the power of the butterfly effect for in-game. What I mean by this is that, for example, our characters may have been more or less aggressive than Washington, Hamilton, Gates etc. were historically and this could alter the nature or order of some battles and strategic maneuvers, but ultimately the war itself should still flow the same way it did historically on the grand-strategy scale (New England-->Mid-Atlantic-->Southern Campaign, as opposed to starting in the south, working its way north and concluding in the western frontier or whatever).

    To start with, I have prepared a list of 12 Founding Fathers and their roles which we can slide into. Please claim only one such position per family. Note that no political positions are fixed (for example, there is no cabinet) outside of the President and Vice-President. If you have more suggestions, by all means, please do suggest them (or just directly edit them into this post if you have mod permissions).

    Founding Father roles
    George Washington - starting President, formerly CIC of the Continental Army - Claims: Barry
    John Adams - starting VP - Claims: LW
    Thomas Jefferson - Anti-centralist champion, author of the Declaration of Independence - Claims: Chesser
    Alexander Hamilton - Centralist champion, co-organizer of the Constitutional Convention - Claims: Gandy
    James Madison - Co-organizer of the Constitutional Convention, author of the Constitution - Claims: CF
    Benjamin Franklin - Former chief ambassador to France and revolutionary ideologue - Claims: Perry
    John Jay - Secretary of Foreign Affairs under the Confederation Period and abolitionist ideologue - Claims: Chernov
    John Dickinson - Author of the Articles of Confederation
    John Hancock - Most famous signer of the DoI and President of the wartime Continental Congress - Claims: Brewster
    Charles C. Pinckney - Revolutionary War general, centralist delegate to the Constitutional Convention, advocate of slavery and the slave trade - Claims: Lucius
    Daniel Carroll - Delegate to Constitutional Convention and a rare Roman Catholic among the FFs - Claims: Gandy
    Patrick Henry - Great revolutionary orator, anti-centralist ideologue and opponent of the Constitution
    Nathanael Greene - Crucial commander in the Continental Army and Southern Theater overall commander - Claims: Perry
    Horatio Gates - Major Continental Army commander in the Saratoga Campaign and Southern Theater - Claims: Jokern

    Governor positions
    MA - Claims: LW
    NH - Claims: Lucius
    CT - Claims: Barry
    RI -
    NY - Claims: Perry
    NJ - Claims: CF
    PA - Claims: Chesser
    DE -
    MD - Claims: Gandy
    VA - Claims: Chesser
    NC - Claims: Lucius
    SC - Claims: Barry
    GA - Claims: Brew

    Also, for this game, I'll be raising our house & character cap from 3 and 6 respectively to 4 and 8. That way, we'll be able to sign up more characters not only to occupy the halls of Congress and Cabinet, but also for the military (in keeping with the newly installed regimental combat system, which incentivizes having a lot of player colonels and captains under the General's command).

    If you have any questions or need something clarified, please do ask, either in this thread or on Discord.
    Last edited by Barry Goldwater; September 09, 2019 at 08:14 PM.

  2. #2
    Barry Goldwater's Avatar Mr. Conservative
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Personally I'm going to claim the role of the 'George Washington'. As anyone who's played an RPG with me in the last 3 years knows, I tend to avoid major leading roles like kings or princes, but in this case I don't think I've got a choice. After two RPGs that fell apart on the launchpad in a row, I'm willing to take up a leading role this time to try & ensure this game gets off the ground.

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    Pericles of Athens's Avatar Vicarius Provinciae
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    I’m gonna claim the role of Benjamin Franklin. Atm looking to do Governor in New York, with a Dutch family. And French American congressmen in Maryland.


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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    John Adams - LW

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  5. #5
    Barry Goldwater's Avatar Mr. Conservative
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Cool, noted. I have added a list of Governors and their claims, including my own (a Congregationalist family for Mass.) and Lucius' (though he says he might go for senatorial positions, but since you can have multiple characters in a family serving as a governor and Congressmen...).

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    Lucius Malfoy's Avatar Pure-Blood
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Gonna just state it now: Governorship of NC (for the MacCotters), Governorship of NH (for the Harrisons), and Charles C. Pinckney (for the MacCotters).
    Last edited by Lucius Malfoy; August 17, 2019 at 05:04 PM.
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Tenatively Governor of MA.

    Besides a house in MA, I currently am considering playing a son of Micheal Kovats and a French-American(or French-Canadian) in Maryland/Virginia/NC.
    Last edited by Xion; August 17, 2019 at 04:18 PM.

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    Barry Goldwater's Avatar Mr. Conservative
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Noted, I'm happy to switch out of MA BTW. The backstory that I'm writing for my Congregationalists can easily fit into another New England state

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    Pericles of Athens's Avatar Vicarius Provinciae
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Oh, might as well put me down as interested in the Governorship of Maryland. I have more actual plans for New York, but I’ll want to make sure the catholic state doesn’t fall far behind the other PC driven ones.
    Last edited by Pericles of Athens; August 17, 2019 at 07:27 PM.


  10. #10
    Dave Strider's Avatar Dux Limitis
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    For all of my memeing in the Discord, I think I would like to genuinely be in the Maine part of Massachusetts. I actually really like the idea of being an Acadian-American, there's a lot of interesting RP options there. Not sure about a government role yet, though - maybe John Jay?
    when the union's inspiration through the worker's blood shall run,
    there can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun,
    yet what force on earth is weaker than the feeble strength of one?
    but the union makes us strong.

  11. #11
    Barry Goldwater's Avatar Mr. Conservative
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    That's fine Fred. You can also split roles if you want by having two families, if you don't think that'd jive well with your original character concept - one to be our 'John Jay', the other to be your Acadian Mainers.

    Meanwhile, I've finally finished the small novel I've written as the backstory to my prospective 'George Washington' character and his family. Consider this a demonstration of what I mean when I talk about 'bending' history with our characters as well - you'll notice that there are some differences in how I've written the ARW & post-war events going below, but overall the war keeps the same major beats (New England-->Mid-Atlantic-->Southern Campaign) and the historical outcomes leading up to 1789 are preserved where it matters.

    Lionheart of Virginia



    The founding and early years of the Lionheart family
    The Lionhearts of Charles County, Virginia originated with one Richard Lyon, a handsome English country gentleman who lived on the border of Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire in the mid-17th century. The only one of his parents' children to survive to adulthood, Lyon managed his sickly and increasingly frail father's estate until the latter died and passed it on to him in 1637 - just in time to get mixed up in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms under Charles I's reign. Lyon fought in service to the King, becoming an officer in the Marquess of Newcastle's 'whitecoat' forces and seeing action from the war's earliest days to the devastating defeat at Marston Moor which broke the Royalists' northern army. In this time, the golden-haired and azure-eyed Lyon gained a reputation not dissimilar from that of other, better-known Cavalier officers: proud, extravagant, a drinker of fine wines and chaser of finer skirts, and bold to the point of foolhardiness.

    Left for dead after the massacre of the Royalist infantry at Marston Moor, Lyon managed to escape the battlefield after dark, seek treatment with a friendly Royalist family's manor, and ride southward to join the King's own forces. Unfortunately for him, only a few months later he went on to fight at the Battle of Naseby, where the Royalists were shattered for good and Lyon himself barely evaded capture. Nevertheless, determined to resist to the last, he rejoined the ragtag remnants of Cavalier forces in the Midlands under the Baron Astley, only to once again taste the sting of defeat early next year at Stow-on-the-Wold. Going underground, with his estate ransacked by the triumphant Parliamentary forces, Lyon lived as a vagabond in the countryside, thieving and cutting throats to get by when he wasn't sheltering with Royalist supporters who'd managed to conceal their sympathies from the new authorities. He always found a way to join Royalist armies and rebellions, from Charles II's forces at Worcester to the uprisings of Penruddock and Booth, and ever the survivor he'd manage to slink back into the English countryside after each inevitable defeat.

    Newcastle's Whitecoats, a young Richard Lyon among them, make their last stand at Marston Moor, 1644

    After the death of Lord Protector Cromwell finally provided an opening for the Restoration, Lyon's loyal service was recognized by Charles II (and just in time, because he had deflowered his then-host's daughter - a young woman less than half his age - and the man would've turned him over to the Puritans had the latter's power not fallen apart at exactly that time). The newly restored King granted him an estate on the north bank of the James River, Virginia to compensate for his own Nottinghamshire estate (now burnt to the ground and wiped off the map to the point where even Lyon himself couldn't find its ruins) and jokingly remarked that he had the 'heart of a lion' for his zealous loyalty to the House of Stuart and unwillingness to ever surrender to Parliament or the Protectorate, even long after it became apparent that the Royalists had been militarily defeated. Jest though it may have been, Lyon took the King's congratulations to heart and legally changed his surname to 'Lionheart' shortly after marrying this last girl he'd just deflowered and making landfall in Virginia.

    Since then, Richard's descendants have continued to live on the plantation house he built some miles east of Charles City, the Virginian town named after the King this first Lionheart had served so faithfully, managing their tobacco plantation and growing number of slaves and indentured servants from their luxurious new halls. As a staunch believer in both the established Anglican Church and the monarchy, Richard fought as an officer of loyal militia on the side of Governor Berkeley and his administration during Bacon's Rebellion - his last, and finally victorious war - and profited from the confiscation & redistribution of rebels' estates afterward. Many of the Lionheart men followed in their ancestor's martial footsteps and fought in the various Anglo-French conflicts in North America as part of the Virginia colonial militia, from King William's War to the final French and Indian War, ironically on the side of the Orange and later Hanoverian monarchy that displaced the Stuarts to whom Richard had been faithful at all cost.

    Richard Lionheart at the end of his first week in America, his long golden hair regrown, 1661

    Arthur Lionheart, the man, the legend: Early years
    Speaking of the French and Indian War...this is where Arthur Lionheart II enters the picture. The most senior of Richard Lyon/Lionheart's direct male descendants, a then-twelve-year-old Arthur found himself in charge of the Lionheart estate after his father Percival died of a bad flu in 1742. Growing into a tall and robust young man, Arthur went on to secure a commission in the Virginia militia like so many of his predecessors, organize the 1st Virginia Regiment as its Colonel and play a key role in sparking the Jumonville Affair, a 1754 skirmish in which he and his Mingo Indian allies annihilated a French patrol in what is now western Pennsylvania under unclear circumstances (though Lionheart maintains to this day that the French shot first). Incidentally, his involvement here caused him to miss the birth of his own firstborn. Resoundingly defeated in the Battle of Fort Necessity that followed, Lionheart also took part in the even more disastrous Braddock Expedition the next year, which culminated in his superior's death at the Battle of the Monongahela and gave him a newfound appreciation for the irregular warfare which had made mincemeat out of his & the British forces.

    The stupefied Colonel Lionheart looks on from horseback as General Braddock dies at the Monongahela, 1755

    Frustrated by disputes over seniority with other colonial captains and their British commanders, Lionheart spent the two years following the Monongahela commanding the defense of Fort Cumberland, a humiliating post away from action on the front-lines in which he saw no fighting. In late 1757 he was finally able to talk his way back into front-line combat, joining the Forbes Expedition to seize Fort Duquesne. This carefully organized and planned expedition was vastly more successful than Braddock's, and Lionheart and his Virginians washed away the stain of their past defeats with French and French-allied Indian blood in the constant skirmishes around General Forbes' forward base at Fort Ligonier, culminating in the October 1758 Battle of Fort Ligonier in which he and the British drove off a desperate attack by the outnumbered and undersupplied French garrison of Fort Duquesne. Marching to the latter fortress soon after, the British and their colonial auxiliaries found that the French commander had already destroyed his indefensible fort and withdrawn. As French positions in the Ohio Valley fell apart following this defeat and others further to the north, the Forbes Expedition effectively marked the end of Lionheart's role in the French and Indian War.

    The British assumption of France's North American colonies did not go unchallenged by the local Indians, however, and tensions were further exacerbated by the harsh policies of General Jeffrey Amherst, the new Governor of these lands and of Virginia. Hostilities erupted around the Great Lakes in 1763 with the Odawa chief Pontiac leading Indians in revolt against Amherst's tyranny, inflicting upon the British (who regularly underestimated them) a number of sharp defeats. Drawing from his experiences in the French and Indian War, Lionheart tried to advise the authorities to take a reconciliatory approach to the insurgents and a cautious one to attacking 'irreconcilable' Indians, but was too lowly on the British chain of command to even get anywhere near Amherst and his staff. He had more success in Lord Dunmore's War five years later, where despite privately cursing the settlers who butchered once-friendly Mingo chief Logan's family at the Yellow Creek Massacre, he secured command of the Virginia militia and led them to victory when Indians under the Shawnee war-chief Cornstalk ambushed them at Point Pleasant in October of 1774: there, in addition to resolutely directing his men as the Indians swarmed their defenses, Lionheart also heeded his second-in-command's advice to send a flanking force across a nearby creek, catching Cornstalk off guard and driving the Indians into full retreat.

    Colonel Lionheart exhorts the Virginia militia, including son Lionel, to fight on at Point Pleasant, 1774

    It was while Lionheart and his men were still returning over the western Virginian mountains that, in April of 1775, the first shots of the American Revolutionary War rang out at Lexington and Concord.

    Arthur Lionheart, the man, the legend: The Revolution
    Lord Dunmore's suspension of the Virginia legislature at the outbreak of revolution in Massachussetts, coupled with the history of belittlement and willful ignorance to which Lionheart had been subjected while still a militia captain in Britain's employ, made the choice of who now-45-year-old Arthur should support a fairly easy one. Rumors that Lord Dunmore had colluded with the Shawnee to try to get the Virginian militia massacred at Point Pleasant and beyond, thereby weakening the increasingly unruly colonials before they could rebel, sealed it for Lionheart. Making his way to the newly convened Continental Congress, Lionheart advanced his case for leadership of the Patriots' military efforts (with the victory at Point Pleasant serving as his newest reason as to why he should receive the role) and was duly appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental Army by the Congress on June 14, 1775, the same day that said Army was organized. Meanwhile Lionheart's then-21-year-old son, Lionel, had opted to stay in Virginia with the rest of his family, but joined the local Patriots and played a junior role in the skirmishes which drove Lord Dunmore out of the colony by the end of 1775.

    Lionheart's ensuing military career was marked by his aggressive leadership style and insistence on fighting the British in the open 'like men' wherever he could. This initially served him well in the Boston Campaign, where though he listened to the advice of his chief artillery officer Lionel Harrison to fortify the Dorchester Heights overlooking the city and install heavy artillery (which Harrison and allied Vermonters had secured in a raid on Fort Ticonderoga) there, he nevertheless insisted on baiting the British into an open battle. Launching probing attacks on Boston's defenses which were then promptly turned back by the British even as Harrison's heavy artillery began to rain fire down on the British ships in harbor, Lionheart successfully tricked his opposite number, General William Howe, into ordering an assault on Dorchester Heights in March of 1776. While this was ongoing, he eagerly ordered the Continental Army to attack from nearby Cambridge. The British were caught wrong-footed, their assault on Dorchester Heights floundered against the defenses there - a veritable second Bunker Hill, only this time the Americans won more than a moral victory - and the appearance of Lionheart's main force on the city outskirts threw the defense into complete panic. The raw Patriot militia and green Continental Army recruits took significant casualties as they threw themselves at the British defenses, but in truth those defenses were manned only by the British rearguard while the rest of their army and a thousand Loyalist civilians were racing to the boats to evacuate and were overrun piece by piece - Howe included, though he should be credited for managing a successful evacuation at all under these circumstances. As his soldiers swarmed across Boston, Lionheart issued strict orders to refrain from pillage, enforced by the threat of public flogging and hanging.

    The last British soldiers to hold out in Boston stand down before General Lionheart, 1776

    General Lionheart was lauded as a triumphant hero, and accordingly basked in the praise of the Patriots as the first man to lead Continental forces to a major victory over the British. It was in this time that his son Lionel also came up north to join him, and was appointed Captain of a company in the 1st Continental Light Dragoons. However, this much adulation made the general overconfident and turned his gallantry to foolhardiness. Five months later Howe returned from Nova Scotia, wiser and angrier than before, with a host of over 30,000 soldiers (including nearly 10,000 Hessians) at his back. Lionheart dared to openly confront him with 23,000 soldiers under his own command. The result was the New York Campaign, in which the Americans were repeatedly defeated from Brooklyn Heights to Kip's Bay to White Plains. To relieve his besieged twin forts near the mouth of the Hudson River, in November of 1776 the increasingly desperate Lionheart attempted a large counteroffensive along the lower banks of the Hudson, which failed miserably in the face of Howe's larger, higher-spirited and better-disciplined army. Thus chastened, Lionheart left downstate New York and New Jersey to the British. Bloodied, exhausted, and low on just about everything after having to abandon most of their supplies to outrun Howe's forces, Lionheart and the Continental Army would have been incredibly doomed at this point if it had not been for a turn where his trademark aggression actually proved useful: the Delaware River campaign.

    Crossing the icy Delaware River on Christmas night after first receiving reinforcements, Lionheart launched an extremely risky attack on a major Hessian encampment at the New Jersey town of Trenton in the early hours of the morning after Christmas. As the Hessians were still drunk and a blizzard had descended upon them, the Americans were able to score a rousing victory in the face of common military sense and even killed the Hessian commander, Johann Rall, after a short but fierce engagement. Having taken the Hessians' cannons and supplies for themselves, the Americans now retreated back over the Delaware and rested until New Year's Day. Shortly after receiving their pay in camp, they fended off a British reprisal at Assunpink Creek and went on the attack once more, defeating another British force at Princeton and in so doing keeping New Jersey in American hands. These victories were not particularly decisive in the long run - the British still had vastly more men and materiel to throw at the Americans - but they were direly needed to boost flagging American morale after the catastrophic New York campaign, and of course saved Lionheart's own career from being cut short by Congress.

    Arthur Lionheart crossing the Delaware, Christmas 1776

    1777 was very much a mixed year for the Continental Army. Lionheart prevented the British under Howe from linking up with a major invasion force trying to push through the north under John Burgoyne, but at great cost. In April, he moved out of his fortified positions in the Watchung Mountains to attack a British army that had moved to Somerset Countyhouse; Howe had sent this force out as a diversion, but Lionheart smashed it so quickly before falling back to his Middlebrook cantonments that any plans the former might have had about stealing a march past the mountains had to be abandoned. Instead Howe sailed from New York for the mouth of the Delaware, and before Lionheart got too comfortable he found he'd have to race the British to the American capital at Philadelphia. After months of maneuvering and skirmishing, the tired Americans were resoundingly defeated at Brandywine, and a reckless attack ordered by Lionheart on Germantown not long after also floundered. Philadelphia was lost by year's end and the Continentals marched to Valley Forge, where a quarter of the men died in the harsh winter conditions and Lionheart found his leadership abilities questioned by his subordinates and Congress. Enraged and stressed, Lionheart defended himself before Congress while his men recuperated and drilled under the watchful eye of new foreign advisers from Europe, and with the support of his political connections was able to avoid getting sacked this time.

    The Americans entered 1778 in much higher spirits than they had left 1777 with. The Continental Army had been rebuilt and trained to fight at a higher standard, the French and Spanish were entering the war, and the theater of operations was shifting southward as the British gave up on trying to retake the Mid-Atlantic and New England. Furthermore, the British high command had grossly overestimated the extent & organization of Loyalist support in the South. While the senior Lionheart remained occupied with containment actions against British forces still in the northern colonies until 1781, he did dispatch more contingents of the Continental Army southward over the years, including the Light Dragoons commanded by his son Lionel in late 1779: he whose exploits in New Jersey had earned him the moniker 'Light Horse Leo', won him both a promotion to Lieutenant-Colonel and a rare gold medal from Congress, and who went on to play a supporting role in the Southern Campaign, primarily focused on capturing rural outposts and trading blows with the dreaded Banastre Tarleton's own horsemen (incidentally, this was how he found the time to visit his wife and sire a son). The battles and troubles of that campaign were many, but this part of the story must be left to the men who saw it from start to finish to tell.

    The elder Lionheart finally marched south, buoyed by significant French reinforcements, in 1781. The British, now led by Lord Charles Cornwallis, put up a formidable resistance and fended off the advancing Franco-American forces time and again, but were gradually boxed into Yorktown - time and numbers were both in Lionheart's favor and he intended to use them to the fullest - and forced to yield after the defeat of Admiral Thomas Graves' relief fleet at French hands in the Battle of the Chesapeake. Cornwallis' surrender on October 19, 1781 effectively ended large-scale operations in the American Revolutionary War, and the Thirteen Colonies' independence was formally recognized by Britain two years later at the Treaty of Paris.

    Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, 1781

    Arthur Lionheart, the man, the legend: The Confederation Years
    Following the defeat of the British, America was free - and now it had to start functioning as an independent nation, or rather at this time, nations. Under the Articles of Confederation which had been fully ratified by 1781, the American colonies-turned-states remained virtually independent debt-ridden little nations of their own, with the Continental Congress (now referred to as the Congress of the Confederation) existing as a nominal authority with little in the way of enforcing its decisions. The Army and Navy both had to be disbanded, to the great sorrow of Lionheart Senior. His last significant act as commander-in-chief was to defuse the Newburgh Conspiracy, a threatened mutiny which could have exploded into a full-blown military coup after Congress had initially refused to pay the Continental veterans' pensions, with an emotional appeal to heed Congressional supremacy - in a deep and cutting irony which grievously harmed the relationship between father and son, it was none other than Lionheart Junior who penned a letter to other Generals suggesting taking unspecified action against Congress, something which the younger Lionheart remained unapologetic about.

    Unpaid and frustrated Continental troops on the verge of mutiny, 1783

    Between 1783 and '88, Arthur Lionheart retired to his plantation estate, peacefully presiding over the growth of tobacco, grains and vegetables along the banks of the James River. Lionel Lionheart, in another twist of irony, became a representative of Virginia to the very same Congress whose overthrow he once implied would be a positive development...and very rapidly became disgusted at the chamber's utter lack of power to collect any revenue at all and apparent pointlessness while the states it claimed to represent remained mired in debt, squabbled with one another, and were wracked with internal dissent.

    Temporarily retired and oblivious to the dangers facing the United States, Arthur Lionheart goes out for a pleasant stroll with his grandchildren, 1787

    In 1787, following the outbreak of Shays' Rebellion, it was decided that a stronger central government was necessary for the survival of the American states. A convention was called for in Philadelphia, with the elder Lionheart being invited to preside over the proceedings. He could not have expected that Lionel would dare call for America to become a monarchy so soon after casting off one crown - and not even by inviting a foreign prince, as some others suggested, but by crowning him 'High King of America'. Once more the father embarrassed the son by loudly and strenuously rejecting any notion of being crowned a monarch, demonstrating the strength of his republican convictions and destroying the latter's hopes of becoming Prince of Virginia this time, and the Constitution ended up calling for an empowered but still elected executive branch rather than any sort of monarchy.

    In the resulting election, Lionheart - despite his personal wishes to retire back into private life once more - was pressured by his friends among the Founding Fathers and above all his own son into running for office, ostensibly for the sake of stability and to give the young United States a unifying figure as its head. He proceeded to win the 1788-89 race, with X coming in second place and thus becoming his Vice-President.

    And thus, we enter the present day - Anno Domini 1789 - with President Arthur Lionheart and his Vice-President having been freshly inaugurated...

    Structure of the Lionheart family, 1789
    Arthur Lionheart II, patriarch, age 59 (b. July 30, 1730)
    Mary Lionheart (née Pawlett), matriarch and wife of Arthur, age 53 (b. September 16, 1736)

    Lionel Lionheart, son of Arthur and Mary, age 35 (b. July 27, 1754)
    Frances Lionheart (née Le Montier), age 34 (b. February 28, 1755)
    Francine Lionheart, daughter of Lionel and Frances, age 14 (b. April 12, 1775)
    Richard Lionheart IV, son of Lionel and Frances, age 9 (b. November 23, 1780)
    Victor Lionheart, son of Lionel and Frances, age 5 (b. July 18, 1784)
    Caroline Lionheart, daughter of Lionel and Frances, age 4 (b. October 15, 1785)

    Henrietta Lionheart, daughter of Arthur and Mary, age 29 (b. November 18, 1760). Married to Joseph MacCotter of North Carolina. Any children they have will be recorded in the MacCotter annals.

    Jacqueline Lionheart, daughter of Arthur and Mary, age 25 (b. May 14, 1764)

    Arthur Lionheart, President of the United States

    The elder Lionheart deep in thought as he pens a letter to his wife, 1779

    Age: 59 (b. July 30, 1730)
    Spouse: Mary, née Pawlett (b. September 16, 1736)

    Lionel Lionheart, Virginian Senator

    'Light-Horse Leo' in his prime ordering around men of the 1st Continental Light Dragoons, 1781

    Age: 35 (b. July 27, 1754)
    Spouse: Frances, née Le Montier (b. February 28, 1755)
    Last edited by Barry Goldwater; August 20, 2019 at 05:21 PM.

  12. #12
    Jokern's Avatar Mowbray of Nottingham
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    I think I'll claim the Nathanael Greene spot, then.

  13. #13
    Lucius Malfoy's Avatar Pure-Blood
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Update: My patriot character, Lionel Harrison, will be claiming the role of Henry Knox, the famed quartermaster and chief artillery officer of the Continental Army.
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    Pericles of Athens's Avatar Vicarius Provinciae
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Bellerose Family History
    Acadia
    Jean-Baptiste and his twin brother Pierre Bellerose were born a little over a decade before the French in the colony of Acadia were forcibly removed from their homeland, after years of having fought a protracted guerrilla war against the English occupiers. In their youth, the two were raised under the tutelage of Jesuits, under their care they were educated to the highest standard. Their education covering theology, philosophy, reading, writing, mathematics and even sciences, as well as languages. Jean-Baptiste took to his studies far more naturally, having mastered six languages by the time he reached adolescence. He showed an inventive spirit from a young as well, inventing the Swimming Fins when he was only 8. Pierre lagged behind, but made up for his failings with a keen sense of both direction and leadership.

    Their father, Philippe Bellerose, was a key figure in the Acadian Militia. Helping to keep the spirit of revolution alive among the colonists. This eventually led to the brutal removal of the Acadian Frenchmen, starting in 1755. Philippe’s father had fought in Queen Anne’s War, Philippe himself fought in the Dummer War and King George’s War, receiving a crippling injury in the latter. As such, he was unable to take part in the French and Indian war, though his family would be treated as any Acadians that had fought.

    The Thirteen Colonies
    The Bellerose family were some of the first removed, ending up in Maryland. There the family started anew. Through luck and drive they were able to acquire large tracts of land, and become well situated planters in the hierarchy of Maryland.

    By the dawn of the revolution, over two decades later, the family was both effluent and influential, though unable to involve itself directly in politics. Despite their success the family patriarch, the aging Philippe was unwell. He longed for his home in Acadia and for life beneath the French Crown.

    Jean-Baptiste had positioned himself as an influential writer by this point, he had spent time abroad in Spain, France, Italy, and Britain where he had come to understand the intricacies of government and the power of the Enlightenment. Despite his Catholic upbringing the man had become a staunch champion of Enlightenment principles, a self-stylized inventor, and a political activist like. To name only a few inventions the man made the bifocal, the lightning rod, and the Jean-Baptiste Stove. Like his father had done before he began preaching anti-British rhetoric leading up to the war, and colonial unity. To this end Jean-Baptiste purchased a printing press, and published a newspaper for the city of Baltimore, under a pseudonym naturally. Maryland was deeply divided on the issue of independence before the revolution even began, many were loyal to the British Crown, others believed that their issues with the Crown could not be solved with violence and instead had to be solved with words. In the early 1770s Jean-Baptiste began engaging loyalists in anonymous debates over local newspaper, as a Roman Catholic he was prohibited from entering politics, voting, or practice law in the state of Maryland. Being barred from holding political office did not stop him from wielding political influence, as the war drew ever closer he continued to be an outspoken proponent of revolution, and as the decade went on he had increasingly decided that armed conflict would be the only way to see their issues with Britain rectified. Pierre had served in the British armed forces before the war, having received British military training and education shortly after the family arrived in Maryland. One day he would turn that knowledge on the British, and perhaps that had been their father’s intent the entire time.

    Revolutionary War
    The war would have a drastic effect on the life of all three of the Bellerose brothers. Only one of which (the elder of the twins, Jean-Baptiste) would be present at the Second Continental Congress, and would sign the Deceleration of Independence on behalf of Maryland. After engaging in failed talks with Canada he was appointed as an ambassador to France in 1776, and while there would become good friends with many influential leaders within the upper crust of Paris, including the King himself. Perhaps his closest friend in Paris was the Count of Mirabeau, a brilliant orator and revolutionary writer, Honore Gabriel Riqueti (a leader in the newly minted French Constitutional Assembly). Jean-Baptiste would even go on to name his second son for the Count of Mirabeau. He won the French over by being relatable and rustic, as a Frenchman he was familial and could communicate in their own native tongue. Jean-Baptist was no frontiersmen, however in Paris he wore a coonskin cap, a beaver skin jacket, and moccasins. He became something of a celebrity in Paris, a backwoods and self-made French Catholic surviving or even thriving in an overwhelmingly Protestant Thirteen Colonies. He was able to convince the French to enter the war on the side of the Revolutionaries, getting France to officially recognize the fledgling nation in 1778 and entering a permanent alliance with the United States. In turn French alliances with the Spanish and the Dutch would pull them into the growing war in 1779 and 1780. Jean-Baptiste would continue to serve in Paris until 1785, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Paris which ended the war. It is worth noting that he served as the ambassador to Prussia, this led to the signing of an agreement of friendship between the two.

    Pierre Bellerose, a former British officer at the outbreak of the war, was given command of the Maryland Line, the soon to be infamous Maryland Regulars who served in the Continental Army. Between 1776 and 1780 Pierre served in the New York and New Jersey Campaign, and the Philadelphia Campaign. After the failure of the Battle of Long Island Pierre proposed that the army burn Manhattan before retreating, to deny the British their victory. Pierre Bellerose convinced Lionheart to withdraw from the city rather than attempt to defend it, and so the campaign continued in the field. He proved himself a capable at the Battle of Trenton and the Battle of Princeton, both of which were victories for the Continental Army. In Pennsylvania his forces saved the Continental Army from envelopment at the Battle of the Brandywine. When officers began to speak of mutiny and replacing Lionheart, Pierre was one of his most prominent supporters. Over the course of the war he became a close confidant and respected advisor to General Arthur Lionheart. Though the two had different mindsets and upbringings, they respected what the other brought to the table. Eventually, Pierre would be appointed to help right the sinking ship that was the Patriot cause in the Southern Thirteen Colonies. However, Pierre was no fool, he knew through experience that the British forces could not be overcome in a head on fight, not with the troops Pierre has at his disposal. Instead he opted to wait them out, fighting a slow and grueling battle of attrition with the British. He divided and subdivided his forces, harassing the British at every step, and avoiding direct conflict whenever possible. Allowing Cornwallis strategic victories, but at brutal costs in both manpower and resources. His efforts in the South did not go unnoticed, Pierre became commonly known as “The Savior of the South” and “The Fighting Frenchmen”, given that earlier in the war the French crown had refused to land any ground troops, restricting themselves to naval operation.

    Postbellum Period
    At war’s end things were looking good for the Bellerose clan, their father had elected to remain in France, having been brought over by his son Jean-Baptiste when the latter was a Minister to France. This left Jean-Baptiste in charge of their father’s estates and he promptly began splitting the responsibility with his brother Pierre.

    However, times also proved enough to drive the war-hero and former General Pierre away from the fledgling nation. Just weeks after the war was officially ended Pierre resigned his post, retiring shortly to Maryland, with his wife and child. However, Pierre, was disillusioned with the failed federal government, and corrupt state governments, both of which he had fought so hard to respectively create and preserve. The soldiers, who had sacrificed so much for the nation were left forgotten, unpaid and disgruntled. He fled, making a short career for himself fighting as a freelancer for the French, where his brother had made many influential contacts that proved useful. Only returning upon the formation of a more structured government, given form by the new Constitution. And so Pierre Bellerose has returned to the country he helped give birth to, only to see his old friend and mentor, Arthur Lionheart, elected President.

    For his part, Jean-Baptiste fought to refine and define what it is this country would be. After the war he served in the newly minted Congress of the Confederation. However his time there was for but a single year, before returning to Maryland. He served for another term in Maryland’s state assembly, but found himself baffled by the state’s inability to collect taxes or even pay down the looming debt they had incurred. Jean-Baptiste had decided the Congress was too weak, too inept, too spineless, as too was his state’s government. This certainly must have been an opinion shared in other States, as even Massachusetts suffered the indignity of Shay’s Rebellion. And so, when Maryland sent a delegation to the Constitutional Convention Jean-Baptiste was at its head. He attempted to serve as a mediator and facilitator of compromise between the two deeply embittered sides at the convention. Eventually compromises were met as cooler heads prevailed, and the constitution was set into law. With the first elections held the nation waits with bated breath, as we see what this new system will bring. Jean-Baptiste enters the year 1789 as one of two of Maryland’s first Senators, his son Philippe having run for the governorship on the merit of the good family name, and of course Pierre sits at a personal and professional crossroads.

    Family Tree
    Philippe Bellerose - Born: Port Royal, French Acadia 1705, Died: Belle-Ile, France 1780
    Married to: Clemence Bellerose - Born: Quebec 1720, Died: Baltimore, Maryland 1787


    Issue Philippe and Clemence:

    Jean-Baptiste Bellerose - Born: Port Royal, French Acadia 1737
    Married to: Josephine Bellerose - Born: Quebec, 1741

    Pierre Bellerose - Born: Port Royal, French Acadia 1737
    Married to: Maria Bellerose - Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1739

    Issue by Jean-Baptiste and Josephine:
    Philippe Bellerose - Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1759
    Eloise Bellerose - Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1765
    Honore Bellerose - Born: Paris, France 1778

    Issue by Pierre and Maria:
    Jean-Baptiste Bellerose - Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1756
    Clemence Bellerose - Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1760


    Bok Family History
    Antebellum
    wip

    Revolution
    wip

    Postbellum
    wip

    Bok Family Tree
    Lambert Bok - Born: New York, New York 1690, Died: Albany, New York 1776
    Married to: Stella Bok - Born: Albany, New York 1710, Died: New York, New York 1770


    Issue by Lambert and Stella:
    Willem Bok - Born: New York, New York 1729
    Married to: Eva Bok - Born: New York, New York 1739

    Issue by Willem and Eva:
    Willem Bok Jr. - Born: New York, New York 1758
    Married to: Abagael Bok - Born: New York 1761

    Issue by Willem Jr. and Abagael:
    Willem Bok III - Born: New York, New York 1783
    Married to: Unmarried.

    Last edited by Pericles of Athens; August 18, 2019 at 09:14 PM.


  15. #15
    chesser2538's Avatar Senator
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    Plan on having 2 roles to start. One being a Daniel Morgan like veteran of the revolution who is now serving as governor of his State; either Pennsylvania, Virginia, whatever is available. The second will be the Thomas Jefferson slot.
    Last edited by chesser2538; August 18, 2019 at 06:14 PM.

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  16. #16
    Lord William's Avatar Duke of Nottingham
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    LW- Pennsylvania (along with John Adams)

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  17. #17

    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    I'll tentatively claim the Alexander Hamilton role as well as Carroll (separate family)

    Hamilton Family


    Arms of the Scottish Clan Hamilton, which Alexander claims illegitimate descent from.

    Alexander Hamilton:


    Age: 34 (Born 1755)

    Marital Status: Married to Elizabeth Schuyler

    Children:
    Philip (7)
    Angelica (5)
    Alexander (3)
    James (2)

    Fathered out of wedlock by a minor member of Clan Hamilton, Alexander was raised solely by his mother in the Danish Virgin Islands in the small settlement of Christiansted. Yellow fever took her in 1768, leaving Hamilton orphaned, and he soon entered employment as a low level clerk for a local business. By 1772, his apparently prodigious intelligence was regarded highly enough by the local leaders of Alexander's community to send him off to New York for a professional education. Enrolling as a student of King's College, it was here that Hamilton first became affiliated with the Patriot cause, anonymously publishing writings that refuted the arguments of the widely circulated loyalist propaganda and attending meetings with other like-minded political thinkers.

    When hostilities broke out in 1775, Hamilton immediately enlisted in a volunteer company that came to be called the Hearts of Oak. His grasp of military history and strategy soon saw him promoted, and under his command the company captured a number of British cannons stationed at The Battery on Manhattan Island. His political connections among the Patriots ensured he became Captain of his own Artillery Company, serving under Lionheart's command in his campaign to capture Boston; soon enough he was noticed by the Commander-in-Chief and invited to serve as his aide. Now a Lieutenant Colonel, Hamilton served as Lionheart's chief staff aide for several years, dealing on his behalf with various political and military figures. He developed a friendship with many of the senior American officers as well as Lionheart himself, connections that eventually led to Hamilton being granted an independent command over several battalions as the war was drawing to a close. In a joint operation with the French, Hamilton forced the British from several forts protecting Yorktown, thereby participating in one of the final acts of the war. With their position surrounded, Cornwallis promptly surrendered to Lionheart.

    Following Yorktown, Hamilton resigned his commission as an officer and secured an appointment to the Congress of the Confederation as a representative of New York. Already, he noted that the Confederation was fundamentally flawed, and had been slowly growing frustrated with the its reliance on the goodwill of the states to provide money and soldiers. He began to campaign for the introduction of federal taxation to repay the substantial debts accrued by the Revolutionary War, and he became well known for his preference for a strong, central government with a standing army to properly govern over the loose collection of states that had won their independence. Rumours even suggested that Hamilton used the Newburgh conspiracy to leverage his agenda, and there was perhaps a certain level of contact between himself and a certain Lionel Lionheart - though naturally these conversations are naught but hearsay without sufficient evidence. At the Convention in Philadelphia, Hamilton tempered calls for Lionheart to assume a crown by suggesting the Presidency instead be a lifetime appointment; his suggestions were however defeated by the senior Lionheart's own desire to avoid anything resembling a monarchy or dictatorship. With the Constitution remaining unpopular in New York, Hamilton vigorously campaigned for its adoption, and the state eventually voted to ratify it by a slim margin. Following the adoption of the Constitution and the election of Lionheart to the Presidency, Hamilton was named to the newly formed cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury.


    Howard Family



    Coat of Arms of the English aristocratic Howard family, which Philip Howard claims descent from.

    Founded by Philip's great-grandfather, Edward, who claimed legitimate descent from the 2nd Duke of Norfolk. Fought for the forces of Charles I during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and fled to America upon his defeat. Settling in Maryland, the family's wealth remained relatively modest until Philip's grandfather, Benedict Howard, secured a marriage to a wealthy heiress, inheriting a vast plantation that secured their entry into the local elite.


    Philip Howard:


    Age: 40 (born in 1759)

    Marital Status: Widower

    Children:
    Charles Howard (25)
    George Howard (20)
    Anne Howard (18)

    Named for his relative, the infamously martyr-turned-Saint Philip Howard of Arundel, it should seem obvious that these Howards, like their distant English cousins, remain fervent believers in the true faith. After a period of study abroad in Europe, Philip assumed the management of his father's extensive estates right before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Elected to the Maryland Senate, he raised troops and money for the American cause - despite initially being wary of the prospect of warfare - and became a key figure in the establishment of the infant American State. Though convinced of the need for a strong central government, he remained a champion of the rights of Maryland, being elected in 1789 to the role of Congressional Representative for the state's sixth congressional district.


    Edmund Howard:


    Age: 38 (Born in 1751)

    Marital Status: Single

    Children: None

    The younger brother of Philip, Edmund lacked the eldest's financial clout and political influence; already a soldier in the Colonial Militia, he joined the Patriots as an officer, seeing considerable military action against the British in the southern theatre. He wishes to establish his reputation in the military before venturing into his brother' preferred field of politics.

    Last edited by Gandalfus; August 21, 2019 at 10:30 AM.

  18. #18
    Lucius Malfoy's Avatar Pure-Blood
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    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    The MacCotter (Cotter) Family



    The Cotter, or MacCotter, family are a well-known Irish clan that were founded by Viking descendants in the early 12th century AD. It is believed that they may have had an older ancestor, an Icelander dating to the time of Cnut of England. Whatever the case, the Cotters have remained a prominent family in County Cork. One of their earliest members was an William Cottyr, who flourished during the reign of Edward IV. Another prominent member, Sir James, served Charles II in the effort to restore the monarchy.

    The MacCotters of the Thirteen Colonies came to the Americas during the early 1700s when Queen Anne's War raged between France and Britain. In loyalty for his services, a certain Major Joseph MacCotter was awarded a grant of land, a viable estate, in North Carolina. In 1741, Joseph died and was succeeded, as patriarch, by his eldest son Edward. It is to be noted that both Joseph and Edward are remembered by the Lionheart family as the former was an acquaintance of Arthur I and the latter was a mentor for the young Arthur II during the French and Indian War, starting in 1754. His career came to an end, however, due an accident that occurred during a patrol. Edward was succeeded by his own son, James. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, James would side with the Royalists and command the 2nd American Regiment, also known as the Volunteers of Ireland, throughout much of the war. His career ensured he rose to the rank of Brigadier General, seeing combat at Charleston, Camden, the Siege of Ninety-Six and eventually the Surrender of Yorktown. Though James was made a prisoner of war after Yorktown, his association with the Lionheart family, and the services rendered by his son, Joseph II, who married Arthur II's daughter and fought in the Continental Army, ensured he was neither hanged nor deprived of his land

    After the war, James, along with his son, entered politics. He became one of the leading politicians in centralist policies, participating in the Constitutional Convention, and an advocate of slavery and the slave trade. His son, Joseph, remained in North Carolina as an elected official for the local government there. While the father aimed for federal participation, the son aimed to be governor of his home state. During Shay's Rebellion, the son would return to the military, letting his political career go to fight in the army once more as a cavalry commander.

    A little further information:
    - Joseph II MacCotter is the oldest surviving son of James MacCotter and the middle sibling between his two sisters, Helena and Harriet. Whereas his father joined the Royalists, Joseph is noted to have sided with the Patriots. He was married Henrietta Lionheart in 1775 and would later join the Continental Army in 1777, eventually rising to command the North Carolina Light Dragoons till 1780. His quick rise through the ranks was mainly due to his ties with the Commander-in-Chief, Arthur Lionheart, as well as modest service within the Continental Army. He would later be transferred to command the 4th Continental Light Dragoons till 1783, participating at Yorktown and remaining engagements till the wars end. His highest rank achieved was that of Colonel. His services rendered ensured that his father, James, was released and no consequences were suffered by the family. During a brief few years, he would serve minor political roles within North Carolina, while his father was doing his role in the federal government. In 1786, Joseph returned to the army, leading a command of dragoons from North Carolina, once more, during Shay's Rebellion. After the rebellion, and by 1789, Joseph had re-entered political office and is presently serving his term as Governor of North Carolina.

    Family Tree
    Joseph I MacCotter - b. 1682 and d. 1741
    Edward MacCotter - b. 1711 and d. 1777
    James MacCotter - b. 1733 and d. ???? - Married Emily MacCotter, b. 1743

    Issue of James and Emily MacCotter
    - Helena MacCotter (b. 1768) - Married to Richard Sterling
    - Joseph II MacCotter (b. 1768) - Married to Henrietta Lionheart (in 1775)
    - Harriet MacCotter (b. 1767) - Married to Richard Harris

    Issue of Joseph II and Henrietta
    - Henry MacCotter b. 1780, twin of Elizabeth
    - Elizabeth MacCotter b. 1780, twin of Henry



    The Harrison Family



    The Harrisons are an old landowning family in the American colonies. The family legend is that their first ancestor came to England in the mid 1600s, among the first colonists to cultivate the land that would eventually become the Province of New Hampshire. However, a more accurate record notes a certain Robert Harrison, who was a local magistrate, in the Province of New Hampshire, during King William's War in 1688. With this record, the Harrisons have been in America for around a century and have always lived in the New England area. Robert would begat Thomas, another magistrate within the province. Thomas begat John, a British officer during Queen Anne's War in the early 1700s. John begat Robert II who died young, but whose son, Lionel, would come to lead the family. Lionel was an infant at the time, so the estate was handled by his widowed mother and a relative of his family until he turned 18 years old.

    Lionel continued the trend of his family to serve with the local law and justice of New Hampshire, rising to eventually be a chief justice within the province. However, when the Revolutionary War broke out, Lionel joined the army in 1775. He quickly became a noted figure for his aptitude with artillery, a field that he would excel at and earn him renown within the Continental Army. His friendship with Arthur Lionheart ensured was made a quartermaster for the Patriots and, eventually, their chief artillery officer by 1777. Lionel accompanied the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army to many battlefields and was involved in some of the most major actions of the war. Alongside his military career, Harrison established training centers for artillerymen and manufacturing facilities for weaponry, ensuring a steady flow of recruits and weapons to the Patriots. As a Brigadier General, Harrison was commander of the Continental Artillery Regiment, which was named Harrison's Hammers, whose cannons aided the Army in various battlefields. Most notably the Siege of Boston, Fort Washington, and Trenton. The regiment was disbanded in 1776 and replaced with four artillery units, but Lionel still held nominal command over them all due to his expertise with artillery.

    From 1776 to the Surrender of Yorktown, despite the ongoing war, Harrison set up various artillery schools and would go inactive for some months in order to give attention to training at these academies, namely at Pluckemin, New Jersey, which was a precursor for a future military academy. He served as Lionheart's representative in the north, ensuring fresh supplies and recruits were a steady stream to the Continental Army. He returned to more active service when the main army moved south and began the final campaigns that would end the war on the American Continent. His cannons were heard from Richmond to Yorktown as the Patriots won the war and forced the British to surrender. By the end of the war in 1783, Lionel Harrison had been raised to Major General and served as the commander at West Point. After Lionel resigned from his commission in December of 1783, Harrison became the senior officer of the army. A position he held till the following year when his political career would begin.

    His political career would begin in 1784 when Lionel resigned from the army and took up his post as Secretary of War for the fledgling government. His skill kept him at that post until the eve of the first Presidental election. While he desired to rejoin the army during Shay's Rebellion, however his duty to the government kept him away. That honor went to other commanders who were available, including his son, Robert, who had been a soldier late in the Revolution and achieved an officer's commission before the wars end in 1782.

    A little further background information:
    - Robert III Harrison was the eldest son of Lionel and older brother of Benjamin. At the outbreak of the war, Robert would join the 2nd New Hampshire Regiment, formed in 1775. He was wounded in the leg, as a result of the Sullivan Expedition, in 1779. He was put in leave and returned to his home to recover. Due to the popularity of his father back home, Robert was welcomed home by a fanfare and learned of his mother's efforts to find him a wife. One was chosen from the notable Prynne family, a lady by the name of Joy-Again (later called Joy within his household). They married in early 1780 before Robert returned to his regiment. With a vacancy in the command structure, Robert gained the rank of Colonel for his service thus far, with a little help from his father's reputation among the army as well. His final battle was at Yorktown in 1781, under the Marquis la Fayette. Yet, despite the war ending in America there, he remained with the army till 1784 when the unit was disbanded.

    - Henry Harrison was the second son of Lionel and the younger brother of Benjamin. While both his brother and his father served with great distinction on the front lines of the Revolution, Henry stayed at home to manage to family's estates and serve his term as a civilian official. He did ensure that the regiments of New Hampshire were able to get necessary replacements, wounded were brought home, the families of the dead were notified, and supplies were given to the Continental Army. His political career was modest, overshadowed easily by achievements of Lionel and Robert.
    Family Tree
    Robert Harrison - b. 1631 and d. 1701
    Thomas Harrison - b. 1655 and d. 1705
    John Harrison - b. 1680 and d. 1731
    Robert II Harrison - b. 1702 and d. 1737
    Lionel Harrison - b. 1735 and d. ???? - Married Meredith (Mary) Harrison (b. 1746)

    Issue of Lionel and Mary Harrison
    - Robert III Harrison (b. 1762) - Married to Joy-Again (Joy) Prynne (b. 1769) (married 1779)
    - Benjamin Harrison (b. 1767) - Unmarried

    Issue of Robert III and Joy Harrison
    - Charlotte Harrison (b. 1782)
    - Henry Harrison (b. 1784)

    Last edited by Lucius Malfoy; September 05, 2019 at 07:04 PM. Reason: u
    Gaming Director for the Gaming Staff
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  19. #19

    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    wip
    Griffiths family

    Artemas Griffiths, patriarch, born 1734 m. Rachel Griffiths (b. 1737)
    -Morgan b. 1750
    -George b. 1753

    Sanford/Cole/Hutchinson - RI

    Zuriel Hutchinson - Governor of RI
    Thomas Hutchinson - Former Commodore of the Continental Navy
    William Hutchinson - Colonel of the Kentish Guards of the Rhode Island Militia

    New Jersey -
    Livingston/

    ]
    Last edited by Xion; September 09, 2019 at 06:26 AM.

  20. #20

    Default Re: Early American RPG Character & Family Planning Thread

    I'll just be Stephen van Rensselaer III.

    Left: artwork by the great Duncan Fegredo.

    A link to my Deviantart's account.

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