How The Witches Helped In The Civil War In Motherland: Fort Salem
The history of America is one filled with excitement, intrigue, and no small amount of bloodshed. Evidently, that doesn't change if you throw magic into the mix. At least, that's what the Freeform original series "Motherland: Fort Salem" discovers with its own alternate version of American history. In a matriarchal world where witches exist and are conscripted into the army, America looks and feels different from the real one in many ways. Yes, they share geography, politics, and historical events, but at the same time, everything has been transformed by the influence of the witches.
Such discrepancies in American history in "Motherland: Fort Salem" date as far back as the Salem Witch Trials of the late 1600s, when the witch Sarah Alder cuts a deal to end the persecution of witches by volunteering them for the state's militia (via Motherland Wiki). Since then, witches are at the forefront of almost every conflict within the United States. Thus, the series begs the question: How do the witches in "Motherland: Fort Salem" influence the American Civil War during the 1800s?
The witches are there, but their exact actions are unknown
While it is clear from what people say and do in "Motherland: Fort Salem" that this alternate U.S.A. does have its own Civil War similar to our own, the specifics of the scenario are not clear. Early teasers for the series show an alternate Lincoln Memorial, featuring Alder (who survives into the modern day) instead of Abraham Lincoln. This indicates that Alder has a major role in winning the Civil War, and possibly even emancipating America's slaves. However, the latter is not confirmed in the series.
What is known is that witches are already a longstanding part of the United States Military at the time of the Civil War in the world of "Motherland: Fort Salem." While the original Salem Accords only pledge the witches' loyalty to the Massachusetts militia, the witches help win the Revolutionary War in the 1700s. From this, it can be inferred that many witches fight on the side of the Union and have a major role to play in winning the war. Whether or not any witches fight on the side of the Confederacy is unknown.
Either way, the military service of the witches both before and after the American Civil War is instrumental in shaping the modern world of "Motherland: Fort Salem." In the show's universe, almost every country values their witches as a military resource, as their work can mean the difference in determining victory. The witches' role in the Civil War is just one piece of that legacy.