NF Steampunk Civil War

[Carronade]

Not sure I get the Hannibal Lecter masks some of the fellows are wearing.......

 

[mofederal]

It sounds like a good idea, and as pointed out The Wild Wild West, certainly had elements of it, I think it would be a good time period to add more steampunk elements to a Civil War story. It could be very entertaining.

 

[OldBrainsHalleck]

Sounds interesting. In many was the Civil War was already a steampunk conflict. Iron horses carrying men hundreds of miles, guns that could "fire all week," and impermeable metal ships steaming the seas.

I would have ironclad ships steaming the skies.

 

[LoriAnn]

I bought this one to support the vendor at the meeting (she bought some of our preserves) but my girl definitely could make her own! She loves the steampunk theme! She has some jewelry and I've made some earrings for her as well.

UDC has some pretty cool vendors, it seems. Maybe someday she'll be making stuff to sell (if she isn't already).

Great work LoriAnn! Love all the smiling faces! Not sure if it is my bag (not sure I have a bag) but I sure do love seeing people happy!

Thank you. I just barely know what Steampunk is, and yeah...it's not my thing either. I think I would enjoy dressing up, but that's just for the dressing up part. If you told me it was a Roaring 20s theme, I'd be like, "Wee! Make me a Flapper!"... just so I could wear the outfit.

I appreciate you mentioning the smiling faces. That is one of my main goals when I'm doing this. Yes, I want cool action shots at reenactments, but I also very much love happy expressions. Even better, I love candid smiles and laughter. So many people are uncomfortable with photos of themselves because they are too self critical. When you get a shot of them being their natural selves, they lack that self consciousness and thus take a great photo.

I have a few parasol shots, but the second one in the album is a great example. I had my camera trained on her several times, waiting for her to smile or laugh. Didn't happen. Didn't happen. Then suddenly, she turned, faced someone in my direction, and laughed. Boom. Got it. I thought she looked so cute and happy ~ at the Faire, all dressed up with her pretty things and her boyfriend. That's what I was trying to capture.

The girl with the white hair and mug was actually dancing in the middle of a group of people. I got lucky, and the sea of people parted for a moment. Caught her laughing and dancing.

Other people know how to pose, or aren't uncomfortable. Some of the people in that album are friends of mine, and that helps too. We're all total hams. It's easy to get "happy" from us!

I'm still looking at all my fabric asking myself when I'm going to get started on my dress!

You and me both. I've been doing so much hand work lately that I've completely set aside my sewing machine. I figured maybe I should consider warming up the sewing muscles by making a skirt rather than jump back in with a dress. So, I pulled out some skirt material. I'm still in the "staring at it" phase.

 

[LoriAnn]

Not sure I get the Hannibal Lecter masks some of the fellows are wearing.......

I don't get it either. They were pretty groovy looking though. The guy with the gold mask and chains is so shadowed, his eyes look black.

 

[amweiner]

Nice! Did the hat come that way, or did she decorate it?

Here's my album. Not every photo is Steampunk, but a good portion are. You can see some costume details.

I'm too lazy to suit up like this, but I think if I got my hands on a classic Victorian dress ~ or even tried sewing one ~ I'd wear it to photograph an event.

My favorite was this guy. I asked if he would mind if I took his photo, and he was like, "I dunno...I'm kinda shy." Then he gave me this pose.

Please tell me he didn't say, "It rubs the lotion on its skin; it does this whenever it's told."

 

[LoriAnn]

Please tell me he didn't say, "It rubs the lotion on its skin; it does this whenever it's told."

Dude. I thought the same exact thing. A few of those masks gave me that uncomfortable Silence of the Lambs vibe.

 

[amweiner]

Dude. I thought the same exact thing. A few of those masks gave me that uncomfortable Silence of the Lambs vibe.

PUT THE LOTION IN THE ****ING BASKET!!!

 

[rebelatsea]

I would have ironclad ships steaming the skies.

Not ironclad airships ,but steam airships were planned for our period See Airships, an illustrated history, by Henry Beaubois & Carlo Demand, not forgetting the steam helicopter, which I think was a thread on here. so you don't have to invent those .

 

[rebelatsea]

"In 1863, where an alternate nineteenth century Europe has made tremendous strides in steam-powered technologies, scientist Lloyd Steam and his son Edward have succeeded, after a lengthy expedition, in discovering a pure mineral water. They believe the water can be harnessed as an ultimate power source for steam engines (the main industrial engine of the time). An experiment in Russian Alaska goes terribly wrong, with Edward being engulfed in freezing gases, but results in the creation of a strange spherical apparatus..."

This is only the beginning of the plot of the beautifully animated but ridiculously convoluted 2004 Japanese anime Steamboy. Around that time the Japanese fully embraced the steampunk genre, producing quite a number of movies and TV series based on the concept.

In the book I'm thinking of there were steam cars by manufacturers we would be familiar with ,except they are steam, there were fast inshore boats with steam gatlings and communication was by heliograph, and pneumatic tube

 

[7thWisconsin]

"In 1863, where an alternate nineteenth century Europe has made tremendous strides in steam-powered technologies, scientist Lloyd Steam and his son Edward have succeeded, after a lengthy expedition, in discovering a pure mineral water. They believe the water can be harnessed as an ultimate power source for steam engines (the main industrial engine of the time). An experiment in Russian Alaska goes terribly wrong, with Edward being engulfed in freezing gases, but results in the creation of a strange spherical apparatus..."

This is only the beginning of the plot of the beautifully animated but ridiculously convoluted 2004 Japanese anime Steamboy. Around that time the Japanese fully embraced the steampunk genre, producing quite a number of movies and TV series based on the concept.

The battle scenes in that movie are awesome! The only other thing I remember about it is that you could make a drinking game by taking a drink every time the heroine yelled "Tomas!"

 

[7thWisconsin]

Look up an anthology called "Civil War Fantastic." More fantasy and light horror than steampunk, but a fun book I got some rpg and skirmish games from.

 

[Patrick H]

Or "The Civil War Fantastic", which includes a wonderful sci-fi story about a group of soldiers trapped in a time warp due to WWII experiments at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I can't remember the number of their unit, but the story is titled "The Saga of the ___th". They find themselves at the Battle of Franklin, armed with 1940s weapons! YIKES! I first read this short story when I was in college. It was published in PLAYBOY magazine in the 1960s and, yes, a lot of us read the text in between the pictures of the pretty ladies. And, yes, most of us looked at the pretty ladies, too. I sure did!

 

[Mark Roth]

I bought that book when I was a kid. My favorite story in the collection was the one about a modern day doctor who was able to pay for a time travel vacation to play doctor in the war. When, naturally, he got stuck, he had to deal with his fellow surgeons looking askew at some his "silly" ideas about medicine and the large number of bayonet wounds by the British troops now fighting in the war.

Wonder if I still have my copy.

 

[7thWisconsin]

There's a story about a Confederate revenant, reanimated by means of Dr Frankenstein's technique ("that's Frahnk en steen" ). One of the best in the book. The authors are a little bit too "Gettysburg centered" - too many stories revolve around those 3 days- but still a fun read.

 

[5fish]

I am considering doing an science fiction story where the Civil War was fought with steampunk elements. For those who are unfamiliar with the genre, steampunk is a scifi subgenre primarily set in Victorian times where steam-power and clockwork based machinery are the main type of technology.

Hey, there is one steampunk type comic/story with the American civil war as the background to them...

The Amazing Screw-On Head
CHARACTER » The Amazing Screw-On Head appears in 3 issues.

Working for Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States, the Amazing Screw-On Head fights evil and saves the world on a regular basis.

Profile:
Screw-on head is an agent for President Abraham Lincoln sent to track down Emperor Zombie an undead occultist who uses knowledge of ancient evil to become more powerful. Screw on also has the luxury of having a butler Mr. Groin to do repairs on his suit and fight side by side with him. Along with having his butler Screw-on head has another team mate Mr.dog an undead dog helps screw on head track down Emperor Zombie.

Power's and Abilities:
Screw on Head has no official power except that of immortality. But he has the ability to have his head screwed on to mechanical suits he's invented with special abilities and cool gadgetry to fight against his arch rival Emperor Zombie.

There were three issue and a DVD issued as well... It to be a one off project but there were three comics made. Mike Mignola is the creator of Hell Boy comics...


The Amazing Screw-On Head appears in 3 issues
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    The Amazing Screw-On Head
    
    1 appearances
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    Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects
    
    1 appearances
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    Mike Mignola's The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects Artist's Edition

You can google the comic and find much more about the comic...

I hope you OldBrainHalleck are successful in your efforts but I do not think the people that visit this forum will be your target audience. You will be going for the Japanese anime and manga crowd and the Millenials... Go for It... and Good Luck...

 

[5fish]

They made a pilot of the comic for the SCi Fi channel but was not pick up but it is on YouTube...It will give this forum an education in steampunk...

 

[5fish]

Look at this a.... There a professor that talks about the civil war a steampunk...

G.D. Falksen is an author and historian who has spent years discussing the complexities of the 19th century world and its relationship to the steampunk genre. More information can be found on his Twitter and Facebook.

STEAMPUNK FORTNIGHT
The Steampunk Civil War
GD Falksen
Thu Oct 28, 2010 6:19pm 8 comments Favorite This




The American Civil War, which occurred in an industrialized nation in the middle of the nineteenth century, is a remarkable window on the technologies of the steam age and their usefulness in war. And though one might well debate the accuracy of calling the Civil War the "first modern war" (a popular title for it in some circles), there is a reason why there is such a strong association between the Civil War and the concept of modern war. Like the Crimean War before it, aspects of the Civil War anticipated the structures of wars to come in the twentieth century.

Because of this cross between anticipation of future wars and Victorian-era technology, the American Civil War is a wonderful and fertile ground for exploring steampunk in the midst of an historical event. And while great mechanical monstrosities and terrifying super-weapons are all well and good, a study of history shows them to be unnecessary for the purposes of Civil War steampunk. The historical fact often reads like fiction, and with only a slight heightening of the application of certain technologies, this "war between the states" quickly takes on a steampunk appearance.


Mass Transportation

One thing that has consistently set modern wars apart from pre-industrial conflicts is the issue of mobility. Cavalry has traditionally been fast and mobile, but even cavalry-heavy armies are still tied to their supply lines, which are far slower. The difficulties inherent in moving supplies, infantry, and artillery across land (now solved by the use of motor vehicles and air transport) first found an industrial-age solution in that most iconic image of the steam age, the railroad. During the Civil War, rail transportation was used primarily within friendly territory, owing to the vulnerability of train tracks and depots, but this meant that massive numbers of soldiers could be moved from one place to another in a fraction of the time required by marching or wagons. For the South, this meant the possibility of counteracting superior Northern numbers through the use of interior lines to shift a concentration of forces from one battlefield to another. For the North, this ultimately meant that the fruits of industrial society (mass production and a proportionally larger population) could be marshaled and then brought to bear quickly enough to have a direct effect on the war effort.

Telecommunications

As in all conflicts, the Civil War was affected by the problem of how to transmit orders from commanders down to their subordinates, and how to send information on the situation in the field back up the chain of command. In the mid-nineteenth century, the new technology of the electronic telegraph suddenly made it possible to communicate almost instantly over vast distances. President Lincoln capitalized on this new technology to a remarkable degree, corresponding with his generals, and sometimes even subordinate officers, as he issued orders from the top and assembled information on battlefield conditions. The possibilities provided by the telegraph, if expanded to be more prevalent, are an excellent place to start Civil War steampunk with an advanced level of telecommunications.

War Correspondents

While the Civil War was not the first war to feature war correspondents (that distinction goes to the Crimean War only a few years earlier), they were present in the American conflict to a previously unseen degree. In addition to news reporters (who could pose a significant risk to military secrecy), photographers allowed the grim reality of the battlefield to be carried back to the home front in ways that could not have been imagined half a century before.

Air War

While air combat and military airships would not come into use until the turn of the century, the Civil War witnessed a remarkable advancement in the application of air power to help decide the outcome of battles. Balloons had initially been used for scouting purposes prior to the Civil War, but in a piecemeal fashion. In contrast, the Union formed a specific Ballooning Corps intended for use scouting enemy positions and movements in an organized and strategically viable manner (incidentally, this led to the creation of the first aircraft carrier, a ship used for tending balloons on the Potomac River). While the project was ultimately shut down midway through the war, had it remained in place and been expanded to its full potential, it would have been a real-life example of the steampunk dream of a nineteenth century air force.

Machine Guns

Although the machine gun would not be adopted as a standard military weapon until later in the century, the Civil War saw the development and limited use of this incredible and destructive piece of hardware. Richard Gatling's automatic weapon is undoubtedly the most famous and effective of the pre-Maxim machine guns, but there were others as well, such as the Agar "coffee mill" gun, so named because its loading port resembled the kind of wide hopper used in coffee grinders. The Gatling was by far the most effective, as it completely integrated and enclosed the loading process, while others required multiple parts to be loaded separately. The machine gun's limited use demonstrated its terrible effectiveness, but it was never put into large-scale application during the war. Had the new technology been applied to its full potential, the devastation would likely have been tremendous.

Repeating Rifles

The lethality of combat in the Civil War was compounded by the use of quick-loading rifled muskets using the Minié ball, which allowed soldiers to fire with the same speed as a non-rifled musket but with the accuracy and range of a rifle. Though this technology was significant, it had already been adopted as standard by the armies of France and Britain a decade earlier. Instead, America's contribution to mid-century rifle development came in the form of repeaters, like the Volcanic, Henry, and Spencer Rifles. These weapons were breech-loaders (a technology implemented much earlier in weapons like the Dreyse needle gun) that combined this loading method with internal magazines capable of holding multiple cartridges. The result was a weapon capable of firing several shots in the time it would take a conventional infantryman to load and fire once. While repeating rifles were not widely adopted until after the war, the Spencer was employed by the Union forces for use with certain units such as cavalry.

Entrenchment

The Civil War was not the first conflict to use trench lines, nor did it put them into effect on as large a scale as the First World War. Nevertheless, the application of trench warfare in the Civil War, limited though it was, proves to be a startling parallel to 20th century conflicts. In particular, the scale of entrenchment and counter-entrenchment during the Siege of Vicksburg was dramatic. The Confederate trenches that protected the rail line linking the cities of Richmond and Petersburg bring to mind the great entrenchment of the first World War's western front, where trench lines extended far beyond the boundaries of cities, in order to prevent the movement of the enemy. Given the increased accuracy and lethality of rifled weapons during the Civil War, the use of entrenchments and field fortifications were perhaps more necessary than most commanders gave them credit for.

Ironclads

One of the most iconic technological images of the Civil War is the ironclad warship. The battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, is one of the most famous engagements in the Civil War, even though its overall impact on the war was fairly negligible. The invention of ironclads predated the American conflict—they traced their lineage back to French armored floating batteries deployed during the Crimean War, and the first true ironclad warship, France's La Gloire, was launched in 1859—but the Civil War was the first time such ships were used in any quantity, primarily being deployed as river gunboats. Although the Monitor and Virginia were the most famous, both the Union and the Confederacy deployed numbers of these ships of varying classes and designs, especially in the western theatre of the war in the Mississippi region. These armored warships anticipated the future of naval warfare, but the most incredible futuristic development was likely the Monitor class's revolving turret, a method for maximizing the efficient placement of guns still in use today.

All of the technologies available during the American Civil War prefigured later developments that would become standard in twentieth century conflicts such as the First World War. Although both the Union and Confederate armies were reluctant to fully adopt and adapt to these various inventions, the war clearly demonstrates their potential for application. The Civil War presents itself as a delightful case study into the steampunk genre, making it easy for authors and fans alike to explore how nineteenth century science fiction could have grown directly from historical fact.

link.. http://www.tor.com/2010/10/28/the-steampunk-civil-war/

Here is another book novel of the steampunk genre using the American civil war as a backdrop...

Boneshaker is a science fiction novel by Cherie Priest combining the steampunk genre with zombies in an alternate history version of Seattle, Washington. It was nominated for the 2009 Nebula Award for Best Novel[1] and the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Novel.[2] It won the 2010 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

 

[James N.]

I'm surprised that no mention has been made in the above post of that ultimate example of Civil War Steampunk technology: the Winans Steam-Gun! Below are a couple of pictures of a detailed model of this monstrosity:

 

[rebelatsea]

View attachment 153849
I'm surprised that no mention has been made in the above post of that ultimate example of Civil War Steampunk technology: the Winans Steam-Gun! Below are a couple of pictures of a detailed model of this monstrosity:

View attachment 153845
View attachment 153848

I thought about it James N. Someone could write a steampunk version of the war just using inventions and proposals made, they don't have to invent any more.