A Greater Union, From the Cutting Floor
A slight diversion from our story
I have been completely slammed lately and Part 4 of A Greater Union still needs some work. To tide you over, here’s a short clip of how Part 3 originally began before I cut it out. I like the actual Part 3 (published here) better, but I kept this bit around because I might use one of the characters later in the story.
George H. Pendleton was the Ambassador of the United States to the German Empire from 1885 to 1889 and I thought he’d make a good minor character in this story. He still might, but I preferred the new version. Pendleton was a lawyer and politician from Ohio and was most famous as the leader of the Copperheads, Democrats from Union states that opposed Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. He also campaigned as George McClellan’s running mate in the 1864 presidential election.
He might still make an appearance, but I wanted to share this little clip as I’m not quite finished with the other posts I’m working on.
Enjoy!
The Original Part 3
"I take it that you served in the Army of your Confederacy in your recent Civil War, Ambassador Pendleton?" Franz asked as he took a sip of his wine.
He was startled when the American ambassador choked and nearly spit out his own sip.
"My apologies, Archduke." He coughed again into a handkerchief. "My apologies. Ah, no, sir, I did not fight for the Confederacy. I was a United States Representative from the great state of Ohio during the war."
"I see. The error is mine, I presumed from your statements your sympathies lied with the Confederacy." His confusion grew as the man’s face became even more florid. He sputtered again, thankfully without the wine at this point, until the two were interrupted by the arrival of a third.
"Ah, Foreign Minister Korospatak. Have you met Ambassador Pendleton from America? We have just met."
"I do not believe we have had the pleasure, Ambassador." Korospatak said in heavily accented English.
"The pleasure is mine, Foreign Minister." Pendleton said, seemingly grateful for the interruption.
"Forgive me, Ambassador Pendleton, but I must steal the Archduke away for a few moments." Pendleton nodded and gave a half-bow, which the two representatives of Austria-Hungary returned.
Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time!