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Roger Kimball
Fictional Character
Southern Victory
POD: September 10, 1862
Appearance(s): American Front
through
Blood and Iron
Type of Appearance: Direct (POV, Walk in Hell onward)
Nationality: Confederate States
Date of Birth: Late 19th century
Date of Death: 1923
Cause of Death: Murder by gunshots
Occupation: Submersible commander; Politician
Military Branch: Confederate States Navy (Great War)
Political Party: Freedom Party

Roger Kimball (d. 1923) was a Confederate submersible commander in the Great War and a prominent member of the Freedom Party following the Whigs' capitulation to the United States at the end of that war.

Born in Arkansas on a small farm, Kimball decided that a career at sea was the best way to get away from the backside of a mule. Thus, he earned his appointment to the Confederate Naval Academy in Mobile, Alabama. Assigned to submersibles, he was first deployed on the CSS Whelk. After being reassigned, the then lieutenant senior grade met Anne Colleton on a train. Intrigued by Kimball's distinctly non-aristocratic air, she was easily seduced.

His next command was the CSS Bonefish. While in command of the Bonefish, he sunk many US ships. At the same time, he was the occasional lover of Anne Colleton from 1914 onward. In fact, he was caught in Charleston during the start of the Red Rebellion of 1915 with Anne Colleton. Sometime after, he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander.

His next assignment was that of gunboat duty whilst the CSA was busy trying to suppress the Red Rebellion of 1915, a duty that was very unpalatable to the hardened submersible commander. Several crewmen were shot by the Red Negroes, and his boat was subsequently refitted with improvised metal shielding. Commander Kimball only felt relief when the rebellion ended and he could return to sea.

His exploits included a daring raid on New York Harbor, along with a raid in Chesapeake Bay. The former earned Kimball the Order of the Virginia, the second highest Confederate military honor. The latter earned him a promotion to Commander.

Later assigned to duty in the Atlantic, while based out of Habana, Cuba, the Bonefish crosses paths with the USS Ericsson. The Ericsson's narrow escapes infuriated Kimball. After the Confederate States had capitulated, Kimball ordered the torpedoing of the USS Ericsson, which he sunk with all hands. That made him a war criminal, a fact that he and his crew reveled in. Only the boat's executive officer, Tom Brearley, objected to the attack.

After the war, he was discharged by the Confederate States Navy, the CSN not able to keep submersibles after the war. He contemplated signing on with one of the South American republics who were looking to fight their own local wars after the end of the Great War but decided to remain in the CSA. He made Charleston his home so that he could be near Anne Colleton and heard Jake Featherston's speaking tour which made him join up with the Freedom Party. At the same time, he also made the acquaintance of Clarence Potter who was initially friendly but as the Freedom Party rhetoric became angrier and angrier, the relationship between the two men soured. Kimball also introduced Anne Colleton to the Freedom Party after thinking that Featherston could be controlled by them.

During an attempt to discredit the Freedom Party, Tom Brearley revealed the secret of the USS Ericsson. This made the news in the United States, reaching the attention of Sylvia Enos, the widow of one of the Ericsson's sailors. Brearley perished in a mysterious fire and the finger of suspicion was pointed at Kimball, who was innocent of his murder. Featherston ordered Kimball to keep a low profile, which effectively killed off his hopes of leading the party himself one day.

After Grady Calkins's assassination of President Wade Hampton V at the Birmingham Fairgrounds the Freedom Party was on the downslide. Anne Colleton abandoned the Freedom Party, and Roger Kimball as well, as Kimball was still a fervent Freedom Party man. When Kimball attempted to rape Anne, Anne kneed Kimball in the groin, temporarily disabling him. Soon after Anne left, Sylvia Enos arrived at his room and shot Kimball repeatedly, killing him.

Kimball's death was recounted in the popular book I Sank Roger Kimball, written by Sylvia Enos and Ernie.

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