The Last Full Measure

By Jack Campbell

From a New York Times–bestselling author, an alternative history tale of a nightmarish America that could have been—and the Civil War that would free her.

America, 1863: the dream of the Founding Fathers has become a nightmare. The ideals of freedom and individualism have fallen to tyranny, corruption and greed. Wealthy industrialists of the North and slave-holding plantation owners of the South now hold power through the might of the military and puppet politicians—and all who defy them are declared traitors to the United States of America.

Condemned for daring to speak against the government, Prof. Joshua Chamberlain is on his way to a penal plantation when his prison train is captured by the Army of the New Republic—a growing force of courageous soldiers who wish to restore the United States to its original righteous path. Joining a company of heroes with names such as Hancock, Longstreet and Armistead, Chamberlain finds himself joining the fight for freedom. But to win that freedom—and keep it—the rebellion needs a leader who is not a soldier, but a living symbol of the cause with the wisdom and fortitude to lead America back into the light.

Chamberlain knows exactly where to find such a leader. A man who is currently being held in the most secure and dangerous prison in the country, where his treasonous ideals cannot be heard. A man whose refusal to bow to those who proudly claim slavery as a way of life has already made him a legend. A man they must rescue at all costs . . .

A man called Lincoln.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Mar 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781625673619

Jack Campbell

Jack Campbell is the pseudonym for John G. Hemry, a retired Naval officer and graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. As Jack Campbell, he writes The Lost Fleet series of military science fiction novels. He also wrote the Stark’s War and JAG in Space series under his real name.

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The Last Full Measure

Copyright © 2013 by John G. Hemry.

Originally published by Subterranean Press, 2013

Published as an eBook in in 2018 by JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

All rights reserved

eISBN: 978-1-625673-61-9

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Cover design by Tiger Bright Studios

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright Page

The Last Full Measure

Also by Jack Campbell

The Last Full Measure

The next prisoner is Mr. Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois.

Professor Joshua Chamberlain turned his head with careful movements so as not to excite the soldiers holding weapons at the back of the small, windowless courtroom. He sat on the end of a bench along with others arrested for offenses against national security, watching as a tall, gangly and rather unattractive man on the other end of the bench rose up like an ungainly stork coming to its feet.

The bailiff, a sergeant, faced the row of hooded military officers sitting at the front of the courtroom. The prisoner awaits sentencing.

Before the judges could speak, Mr. Lincoln did. The prisoner would greatly appreciate being told the charges against him.

After a pause, one of the judges spoke, his voice muffled by the hood he wore to conceal his identity. You are charged with being a threat to the security of the United States of America. You have stirred up opposition to the government, you have encouraged those who would weaken and destroy us, and you have sought to undermine the strength of this great nation. I assume you will not dare to deny those charges?

I am to be given the opportunity to plead? Lincoln said, speaking lightly despite the stern tone of the judge and despite the guards focusing their attention on him. That is one of the precepts upon which this nation was founded, is it not? As is the right to a fair trial. As is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Have any of you, by chance, heard of this thing called liberty?

Do not presume to ask us questions! Do you have no answer for the charges against you?

Lincoln shrugged with an unassuming manner, as if he were in a normal courtroom and addressing a jury of his peers. "You are like the man who planted a crop of wheat and then demanded to know why corn had not grown in his fields. You blame me for opposition to the government? Look no further than yourselves. These are your actions, and as the good book says, as ye sow so shall ye reap. You blame my words for the weaknesses that strike at the very foundation of our people? I did not create those weaknesses. Neither did you, but your acts perpetuate them. The monstrous injustice of slavery gnaws at the timbers of our Republic, not only in the South but also the North and the West. Our entire house trembles because slavery makes slaves of all who labor, and a small group of men enjoys a large proportion of the fruits."

Another judge spoke, his voice harsh. We are the most free and most happy country this world has ever known. We are free because our strength and our vigilance keep us free.

Lincoln shook his head slowly and sorrowfully. Gentlemen, you seem to believe that you are our strength, that our liberty is guarded by frowning battlements. Our reliance is not in such things. It is in our love of liberty. A liberty that you, sir, have placed in chains such as those that I and these other unfortunates now wear.

Chamberlain listened in amazement, moved by Lincoln’s words despite his own fears of what fate the tribunal might soon assign Chamberlain himself. I have never heard the issues set forth so plainly, even though the plight of the indentured factory workers of the North creates ever more unrest even in states which are technically free of slavery.

You see! the second judge insisted to his comrades, pointing an accusing finger at the tall, ungraceful figure of Lincoln. This is how he arouses the masses! This is why the northern states threaten rebellion and revolt! This is why the southern states must deal with agitators attempting to incite the slaves against their moral and proper state of benevolent servitude!

Lincoln smiled, but this time his voice held a sharp edge. If you wish to argue the virtues of slavery, perhaps you would care to have it tried on you personally?

I have heard enough. Death? the third judge asked.

Not until he and his words are forgotten! We don’t need any more martyrs!

Rendition to Fortress Monroe, the first judge said. "The Merrimac is leaving for Hampton Roads tomorrow with other prisoners. They will have plenty of room for this Lincoln."

Indefinite detention, the second judge added. To be kept solitary so that he might no longer communicate to others his lies about the motives and wisdom of our founders.

A wise man would have sat silently as Lincoln was taken from the courtroom. Chamberlain knew that. Only by staying silent would Chamberlain have a chance to avoid drawing too much attention to himself in a place where the hooded officers served as judge and jury. But perhaps it was asking too much of a professor of rhetoric to remain silent under such circumstances, after having heard such words.

Chamberlain stood up, a strange crawling sensation arising between his shoulders as he heard a sound behind him and imagined a rifle barrel aimed at his back. Our greatest founder, George Washington, would never have approved of this. I have read his papers.

The first judge halted a motion toward the bailiff aimed at silencing the prisoner and instead gazed at Chamberlain. How did you gain access to the papers of the First President and Founder?

Is it not more important what I read there? That Washington did not become president as our histories read because he was installed by the military and the great land owners. He was instead elected by popular vote. So was John Adams and so was Jefferson!

The second judge sounded amused. And Jefferson’s Co-President? Aaron Burr? Are you claiming that he was elected by popular vote as well?

Chamberlain swallowed, his throat dry at the taunting tone of the judge. They were playing with him, letting his own words condemn him. Well, so be it. The tribunals convicted all who came before them so any hope of release had always been illusory. "Burr was elected Vice-President. It was the price for that, for demanding the authority to deal with a military officer corps packed with Federalist party supporters by President Adams, that led to this. Burr dismissed every Federalist from the officer ranks, replacing them with Democratic Republican loyalists, and every administration after followed the example not of Washington but of Adams and Burr. That is what turned our Republic into a sham. The military of the United States has become a tool and an instrument of partisan politics. It does not serve the people, it serves those whose power and wealth control the government."

We are free, the first judge said. "Free because those who would defame our history

Reviews for The Last Full Measure

[jmulick_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was breathtaking. Although written before the nightmare that has descended on this country as I write in 2020, perfectly portrays the nightmare of a country overtaken by inequality and undermining of the Constitution. It is an alternate history of the beginning of the Civil War in 1863. The action concerns small band of irregulars who save a very important man who will come to lead the fight for the Constitution and true equality, and to save the country from the nightmare of the legacy of slavery.

[geoffhabiger · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Last Full Measure has a very interesting premise, re-imagining the American Civil War (or the start of it) from a unique starting point - the point of deviation is the Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr administration in the early 1800's and imagines a US that becomes dominated by a vicious self-sustaining circle of the military and politicians supporting each other, so by 1863 (when the story is set) US history has been revised and the military controls the politicians from behind the curtain, kangaroo courts rule the land, and a burgeoning "New Republic" is fighting for freedom from the tyranny. Into this mix we are introduced to Professor Joshua Chamberlain of Maine, on trial for treason for reading George Washington's original papers. There he meets a lawyer and orator, Abraham Lincoln, also being tried for treason. The events move along rapidly and while being taken to serve on the southern plantations, Chamberlain's train is attacked by New Republic rebels. The Professor joins their cause and must work to free Lincoln so that the growing, but unorganized rebels can take the fight to the government while instilling a reason and cause for the civilians. The story progresses to a very different Battle of Gettysburg between the forces of the New Republic led by Col. Lewis Armistead and (now) Capt. Joshua Chamberlain, and Federal troops led by Col. Robert E. Lee. I enjoyed the alternative history world-building that Campbell has done, bringing in many famous historical figures (not only Chamberlain and Lincoln, but also Lee, Armistead, Buford, Longstreet, and others) in different roles. The characters (mostly) stay true to their known personalities, and the reasons they give for their roles in the alternative world are plausible. There is some minor character development for Chamberlain, who is the main character, but not much development for other characters. Since this is a novella, that's a bit understandable, but that is the main complaint that I have. This is a story, a premise, that deserved to get a bigger treatment. It should have been a full novel, as by the time the story is resolved you are left with so many threads and unanswered questions that instead of being fulfilling, the story feels empty and half-completed. (It probably could have been a trilogy to better cover the full story.) That the novella ends where it does, uncompleted, is a big disappointment for me.A good alternate history premise, with decent and interesting characters, but the choice to convey the story in a novella left incomplete threads and unanswered questions about the story and plot.

[rbeffa_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

About 30 years ago I read one of the finest novels ever written, Michael Shaara's "The Killer Angels". It introduced me to Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, one of the true heroes on the Union Side at the battle of Gettysburg. Shaara's son Jeff wrote a sequel to that novel many years later titled "The Last Full Measure". The book I have just read, a novella also titled "The Last Full Measure", is not that book, but rather an alternate history novel where the 19th century is turned on its ear and the story opens in a courtroom with Abraham Lincoln and Professor Joshua Chamberlain charged with sedition. "The Last Full Measure" is also part of the ending of Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address":"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."If too much is said about the story I think it might spoil it for the reader. What we have is a setting very different from true history, in which the government has been transformed into something of a Northern Industrialist-southern aristocracy led military rule. The judges that Lincoln and Chamberlain face are hooded military officers. An entirely different civil war may be brewing and we encounter quite a few characters that Civil War buffs will recognize.The story builds to an exciting and memorable end. It left me wanting more. That is usually a good thing. I would not be surprised to find this part of a larger novel someday, but it works as it is.