Jack of Harts

The USS Iwo Jima was homeported as part of the Mayport reserve when the Second Great Depression began. She was an old amphibious assault ship the size of a World War II carrier that had long since been placed on the reserve roster, and had not set sail in years. Florida was quick to “recruit” the crew to their cause. Technically, the recruitment had happened long before when they made certain that the entire reserve crew was composed of native Floridians. Florida had put similar thought into securing a Marine fighter unit capable of flying off the Iwo Jima, so when it came time for Florida to cast off the surly bonds of an abusive Federal government, they were more than ready to patrol their own coastlines. Various destroyers and frigates escorted her at all times, and when Florida eventually joined the Confederation of Dixie, the Iwo Jima proved to be a powerful addition to the Confederation Navy.

Norfolk remained the largest and most capable naval base in the world when the Second Great Depression began. That left it in a unique position when the Convention of States reorganized the Federal government. Most of the United States Navy’s larger ships maintained their loyalty to the new Federal government, but the Norfolk yards and harbor had split for Virginia. The Navy needed a home port, and Norfolk was still the best place for that. And Norfolk needed ships to maintain or it would have to shut down much of its capacity. They came to an agreeable compromise in the end. The Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to lease much of Norfolk to the United States Navy for a small yearly fee, and that relationship remained in practice throughout the centuries that followed. Its importance waned after the construction of Yosemite Yards, but the story was not over. When Yosemite fell, the Navy returned to Norfolk in force, and it became one of the arsenals of freedom that sent ships out again and again to face the Shang and their allies.