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 following his ascendancy as president of the self-declared Second California Republic consisting of several Republican-controlled towns and forts throughout the Kingdom, 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.

Background
After securing independence from Mexico through the, the California Republic was established, controlling all of the territory constituting the present-day contiguous Sierra. The Republic, modeled after the American democratic republican government, lasted for ten years from 1848 to 1858 before a new constitution was drafted and passed which would fuse elements of the monarchy with the original government, thereby creating the Kingdom of Sierra. The change, which was met by fierce opposition by those who supported republicanism was especially prevalent in Central Sierra where citizens were deeply suspicious and wary of the monarchy and feared the entrenchment of the government.

Immediately following the ascension of Smith I as Sierra's first monarch, two were formed: the Royalist Party of Sierra which supported the monarchy and the Democratic-Republican Party of Sierra which favored reverting the Kingdom back to the Republic. Parliament, bitterly divided, was subject to intense disputes over the scope and legitimacy of the monarchy, further compounded by differing interests between the coastal, urban provinces (which were predominantly Royalists) and the inland, rural provinces (predominantly Democratic-Republicans). Under the Royalist ministries of Frederick Bachelor, Sr. and Richard Trist, the federal government moved in a direction towards continued centralization and the expansion of federal power, at the expense of the provinces. Through industrialization and an open, lucrative global market, the interests of the farmers and rural workers were neglected, in favor of the businesses who were seen as steadfast allies of the monarchy. This rift only intensified as the Royalist-dominated Parliament funded projects and policies that primarily benefited the coastal provinces including roads and s.

In 1869, after Richard Trist resigned amid charges of, Democratic-Republican senator from San Joaquin ran for the office of the prime minister and won, defeating Royalist challenger Frederick Bachelor, Jr.. In addition, the Democratic-Republicans enjoyed a significant that year in 1870, gaining control of both houses in Parliament. An avowed republican, Perry centered his ministry around reversing the policies of the Royalists and included a plan to abolish the monarchy legally. The animosity between Perry and Smith I was highly publicized, reflecting the rivalry between the Democratic-Republicans and Royalists. While prime minister, Perry adopted the, passed the Kingdom's first laws, and curtailed the powers of the King with the goal of abolishing it by the end of his tenure.

During the summer of 1872, Perry's wife, Catherine Perry, was murdered by unknown assailants. Suspecting Royalists may have been connected to the murder, Perry took a more aggressive, hard-line approach in Parliament, persuading parliamentary leaders to move bills pertaining to the monarchy faster and higher in the priority queue. Descending into, Perry had his deputy prime minister, Issac Johnson, fill in for his duties. On February 14, 1873, Ulysses burned down his private estate, claiming he had seen his wife's spirit. Instructing his guards to leave him alone, Perry wandered off he was murdered. The guards, who rushed to the sound of several gunshots, found a pool of blood leading to a river. While the government led an investigation, the death of Perry was met with strong reaction from the nation. Many Democratic Republicans, who believed the death was an assassination issued by the King, called for retribution and vengeance. The official government report that Perry's death was suicide only bolstered support for the abolition of the monarchy.

Within days, farmers and urban republicans led demonstrations and strikes, demanding justice for Perry and a thorough investigation on his death. Parliament established a select committee of mostly Democratic-Republicans to investigate the death of Perry, including a testimony by the King himself.

Revolt
On April 13, 1874, Isaiah Landon, a San Joaquinian senator delivered a speech in, urging protesting citizens to take up arms and overthrow the monarchy. A close friend and political ally of Perry, Landon and his men led a mob to the Stockton Armory Depot, seized its weapons, and occupied the local government seat and the San Joaquin Provincial Legislature Building. Swearing to ensure that Perry's wish for a republic to be fulfilled, Landon delivered his famous speech, known as the Stockton Address, decrying the king's alleged grievances.

""Through the course of recent events most peculiar to this nation, never have I witnessed here a greater offense against the people by the King then now. A murderer, a wily dog in robes dared laid hands on the people's elected, in cold blood. We impugned the King our queries, and he had only returned our earnest favors a dismissal of contempt and silence. After repeated injuries against the interests of the common man, we demand the return of power to the people away from the hounds of the city and their wretched King. So as the noble French have done, off with his head!""

- Isaiah Landon, Stockton Address (1874)

Unilaterally declaring the "Second California Republic", news of Landon's revolt spread within days as others throughout the nation took up arms. A provisional government was established, and Landon headed the Executive Council, with himself as its chairman. Taking a day to reach the capital in San Francisco City, the King declared a state of emergency and ordered an armed response to quash the revolt. Within days, the provinces of Tahoe, Reno, Santa Clara, and the Central Valley had, joining the Second California Republic, pitting rebels and loyalists in the region. An independent force of former Mexican-American War veterans and others with military experiences with republican sentiments formed the "Bear Flaggers", who led attacks against Sierran public and military buildings.

None of the secessions that took place during the war were recognized following the war as valid by the Kingdom as the provincial governments in each were overthrown by force. In addition, the notion of secession itself was illegal at the time. The passage of the Fourth Amendment however, in response to the attempts, legalized secession through a legal pathway.

1874
A large number of national troops comprised mainly of new recruits and volunteers were organized within days of the revolt in San Francisco City. Acting Prime Minister Isaiah Johnson, who served as Ulysses Perry's deputy prime minister, commissioned two generals (John C. Frémont and Issac Johnson) to lead the first responding troops outside the rebellious provinces into the conflict. Parliament also authorized the military to establish temporary provisional governments over the rebellious provinces if they were successfully neutralized to restore the original local governments.

The first major battle between Monarchist troops and the Republicans occurred in the Battle of Silver Creek near, Santa Clara, on April 19, when hundreds of Republican troops led by Lieutenant Edmund York ambushed a line of about 2,000 Monarchists led by Colonel Tyler Eden who were heading towards the rebel provinces. The city of San Jose had just been taken over two days prior to the attack, and was originally intended to serve as a buffer town to delay Monarchist advancement. Caught by surprise, the Republicans decisively won the battle, with only 33 casualties while the Monarchists had over 400 including Colonel Eden himself who was killed while on horseback.

News of the battle was met with jubilant response for Republicans who believed independence was now definitively possible. Monarchists, who initially doubted the military capabilities of the Republicans and hoped for a quick-end to the rebellion, were shocked, and fearful of further, larger gains of the Republicans. Soon after, the main line of Monarchist troops led by General Fremont had crossed the and ventured into Republican territory.

Meanwhile, in southern Sierra, several uncoordinated Republican insurgents attempted to overthrow the local governments. The largest of these uprisings occurred in Los Angeles and San Diego where 2,000 and 1,200 rebels in each respective town violently led an insurrection. In the Los Angeles uprising, the rebels attempted to storm the Parliament Building and Occidental Palace, before the majority surrendered before national troops, resulting a virtually bloodless rebellion. In San Diego, there was a minor skirmish between Republican rebels and national troops and police, resulting in the death of 43 rebels and 13 soldiers.

Portrayal in popular culture
The Sierran Civil War has been a popular subject of interest in Sierran culture, and its events have been portrayed in various films, books, songs, and television shows.