Peyton Snaggles

Peyton Snaggles is a Didelphid politician and former SR Army Major. He served as the 10th president of the United Seraph Republic from 1860 to 1880, making Peyton the longest serving Seraph President.

History

Early Life

While Peyton’s exact birth date is unknown, he is thought to have been born during the spring of 1820 in Vexxburg, in the Grand Principality of Didelphia (now the Didelphid Republic). Peyton’s biological parents are unknown, as he was presumably orphaned during the Fall of Vexxburg in April 1821. During the Fall of Vexxburg, Peyton was found by Matilda Snaggles, who became his adoptive mother. Matilda fled Didelphia soon after, taking Peyton with her to the Seraph Republic, where the two were granted citizenship. Peyton spent most of his childhood heading west with his mother as she searched for work and housing in the rapidly expanding Seraph West. Matilda eventually was able to find housing and a job as a courier in the city of Carnio.

Military Career

In 1839, at age 19, Peyton joined the Seraph army’s officer corps at the rank of 2nd lieutenant. Peyton was involved in the border clashes between Verdas and the USR throughout the 1840s. This along with his participation in the military intervention in Nemoi got him promoted to a 1st lieutenant, and then to a captain. In 1853, following the killing of several Seraph citizens, incumbent Seraph president Stanford C. Spruce called upon the Seraph Assembly to declare war on Verdas, which they did. As a result, the newly-promoted Captain Peyton Snaggles commanded the 16th Infantry Company throughout the duration of the war. It was during the Seraph-Verdasian war that Peyton gained notoriety for his overwhelming success in the capture of the Verdasian fortress of Fort Gustav using combined arms and a nighttime assault. These actions led to Peyton being promoted to the rank of Major in early 1854. Peyton is also well known for leading the 16th Infantry Company as one of first units to reach the Verdasian capital of Veneti during the city’s fall in April 1854. During the war, Peyton began a secretive romance with Captain Morgan Langston, the commander of an artillery company that was a part of the same battalion as the 16th Infantry. In 1855, Peyton was granted an honorable discharge from the Seraph Military at his own request.

Post-military service and entry into politics

Following his honorable discharge from the military in 1855, Peyton decided to enter into politics, joining the Progressive Party, where his notoriety and position as a war hero allowed him to rise quickly through the party ranks. Around the same time, Peyton and Morgan Langston married. In 1859, Peyton was selected as the Progressive candidate for the 1859 federal elections. It was during this election that Peyton and the Progressives found themselves among the 2 most popular parties, competing with Alfred E. Mangy and his Nationalists for the position of ruling party. In the end, Peyton won the election by a decent margin, and in January 1860 he was appointed president of the USR.

Presidency

Peyton served as president of the USR for 4 consecutive terms, entering office at age 39, and leaving office at age 60. Peyton’s presidency is remembered by many as a time of prosperity and good quality of life. Peyton introduced several labor reforms, and projects to assist the everyday Seraph citizen, such as infrastructure improvements and better food and medical regulations. In 1863, an assassination attempt was carried out against Peyton, resulting in him being shot in the left shoulder. Shortly after being shot, Peyton is well known for saying “Several men have shot me during my lifetime, but you sir, did the worse job of it without a doubt!”

Later life and Death

After stepping down in 1880, Peyton retired and lived a quiet life with his husband in Serena. While in retirement, Peyton wrote a number of autobiography novels detailing things like his time in the military, or as president. Peyton died peacefully in his sleep on November 7th, 1916, at the age of 96.

Personality

Throughout his life, Peyton was known to be confident, charismatic, and compassionate. Unlike many at the time, Peyton did not glorify war, instead giving the world a glimpse of what actual war was like in his bestselling 1890 novel The Five-Hundred Day March, in which he details his experience fighting in both Verdas and Nemoi. Peyton was also notably pro-patriotism, but ant-nationalist throughout his life.

Appearance

Like all Didelphids, Peyton resembles an anthropomorphic opossum. He was rather lean in build throughout his entire life. Peyton eventually grew a moustache and beard during his 1st term as Seraph president.

Trivia

Peyton Snaggles is based partially off of the real-life US president Theodore Roosevelt.
Peyton was the most decorated Didelphid Officer in the Seraph Military at the time of his death in 1916.