Sierran Civil War

The Sierran Civil War, widely known within Sierra as simply the Civil War, was a fought from 1874 to 1877 between the Monarchists who were loyal to the King and his government, and the Republicans led by senator Isaiah Landon who opposed the monarchy. The Monarchists won, preserving the Kingdom, with Parliament passing reforms on the monarchy and federal government but many Republican leaders sentence to or  for.

26,000 were killed throughout the course of the war, with the conflict being primarily confined to the Pacific coast and in the form of skirmishes. Several major battles in the cities including San Francisco City and Los Angeles occurred during the later stages of the war, as support for the militant Republicans waned and the leadership grew more aggressive. The war ended on November 11, 1877 with the capitulation of Isaiah Landon outside of, Central Valley, after his forces surrendered in the Battle of Indian Wells, and his lieutenants revealed his location to the Monarchists.

Hostilities began when angered citizens, mostly farmers and members of the Democratic-Republicans in the Central Valley provinces revolted against the local governments in response to the apparent death of Prime Minister Ulysses Perry. Perry, a prolific republican and ardent opponent of Smith I, led a nearly successful movement to abolish the monarchy, but he descended into following his wife's murder. Perry was later reported missing before personal bodyguards revealed that he was dead, as his disappearance coincided with several gunshots. Although the government declared that his death was, opponents and the public believed he was assassinated at the order of the King. News of his death galvanized republicans who believed the monarchy had descended into. Isaiah Landon, who was a close friend of Perry, and a senator from San Joaquin declared an armed rebellion against the monarchy, and prompted many of his constituents to take up arms to depose the monarchy. Inactive militia groups which fought during the Mexican-American War and held republican sentiments throughout the nation joined.

In the Deseret region, the, a group originally from the , took advantage of the chaos, and declared independence while engaging in open hostilities with the Canaanites, another religious group that were loyal to the Kingdom. The Republicans supported the Mormons' move, and urged all provinces in opposition of the monarchy to to form a republic. Towards the end of the war, the conflict placed a great burden on the nation's economy, discouraging investors, merchants, and immigrants from entering the country, and disoriented many citizens tired of violence. The Democratic-Republican Party, whose leadership was dominated by moderates throughout the war, and opposed armed insurrection, denounced Landon, and released a series of publications known today as the Principled Papers, which persuaded radical Republicans to cease hostilities and sue for peace.

With waning support, Landon resorted to more extreme and controversial means to win his battles, including accepting no prisoners, burning fields, forcing civilians of both sexes and of all ages to fight, and sending ill spies over to enemy lines to infect them. Landon and his men spent their final months criss-crossing the Central Valley, evading the Monarchists, before being caught-off guard in an ambush during the Battle of Indian Wells. Leaving his men at the battlefield, Landon was set off to the United States to gain American military support and spent a night at a republican safehouse in Ridgecrest before his men betrayed him, and revealed his location to the Monarchists. After a brief exchange of gunfire, Landon surrendered, and was arrested. Minor skirmishes would continue for months after Landon's capture and the war's end.

The war strengthened the nation's views on the monarchy, whose status as a stabilizing and dignified force, greatly improved the royal family's image. The monarchy worked to establish a stronger dialogue between itself and its citizens, and Parliament passed various laws pertaining to agricultural reform and water rights to please disaffected agrarian farmers. Parliament passed an amendment establishing a legal, controlled process for while many leaders of the Republicans, including Landon, were tried and convicted of treason. Landon, who was regarded as a revolutionary hero, was sentenced to death for his s toward the end of the conflict but his sentence was by the King himself, as a symbolic gesture of goodwill between the factions. Landon spent the rest of his life under at his Fresno estate while other leaders were sentenced to death or incarcerated in federal prisons. The independence of Deseret was not recognized and consequently, its self-declared republic was dismantled, but through an agreement, the Mormons would be allowed to exercise a substantial degree of autonomy as an organized territory. The Canaanites, who had fought alongside the Monarchists, were not given their own territory, and many were forced to move to mainland Sierra or Rainier.