Eugene War

  

Eugene War
Part of the Anglo-American Wars
Sierran forces fire at retreating Canadian forces outside Fort Astoria
Date April 4–August 19, 1866 (4 months and 15 days) Location Rainier Result Sierran victory Canadian occupation of Rainier ended Vancouver Treaty Joint Canadian–Sierran guarantee on Rainian independence Normalization of Canada–Sierra relations Collapse of the Patriot Party of Canada Territorial changes Canada cedes territorial claims south of 49th parallel north (except Vancouver Island) to Rainier
Belligerents
Sierra Rainier (independence faction)	Canada Rainier (pro-Canada faction)
Commanders and leaders
Richard Trist Ulysses Perry John C. Frémont	Jean-Michel Duval
Strength
2,753 infantry 494 cavalrymen 552 dragoons 4 frigates	TBD
Casualties and losses
449 killed 817 wounded 1 frigate sunken	TBD

The Eugene War (also known as the Rainier War, the Canadian–Sierran War, or the War of Canadian Aggression) was a war between Canada and Sierra in Rainier in 1866 during the early stages of the War of Contingency. It is widely regarded by historians to be a sub-conflict of the War of Contingency and the Anglo-American Wars which occurred during the second half of the 19th century.

Following the political turmoil of the United States government at the end of the American Civil War, American control over the Oregon Country was lost. The power vacuum left behind in Oregon Country resulted in Anglo-American settlers there declaring independence as Rainier. Neighboring Canada began encouraging its citizens to settle in Rainier under the pretense of preventing lawlessness by the early fall of 1865. On March 28, 1866, just ten days after the outbreak of the War of Contingency, Canada claimed the 1846 Oregon Treaty it had with the United States was null and void, thus reactivating its claims of territory south of the 49th parallel north. It started sending its troops into Rainier for a military occupation. Canada was met with virtually no resistance upon their capture of Rainier's capital in Eugene and set up a pro-Canadian government. Sierran intelligence had learned of Canadian ambitions in Rainier weeks prior to the announcement and Sierra mobilized its own troops to prevent Canadian annexation of Rainier. Sierra feared if Rainier became a Canadian client state, both countries' republicanism would isolate the lone monarchist state and support the Styxie, an anti-monarchist region neighboring Rainier. It declared war on Canada a week later, citing Canadian aggression in Rainier as its cause.

Canadian and Sierran forces met at Eugene on April 20, 1866. Sierra demanded that Canada relinquish its claims over Rainier, evacuate all military personnel from the region, and recognize the independence of Rainier. The Canadian general commanding the troops in Rainier refused the demand, resulting in open combat in Eugene. The Canadians were defeated there and were forced to retreat northward to Fort Astoria to await naval reinforcements from Vancouver. Numerous small battles and skirmishes occurred throughout southern Rainier during the months of May and June before Sierran forces were ready to besiege the Canadian garrison in Astoria. Canadian naval reinforcements arrived in Astoria, resulting in an early advantage for the Canadians before Sierra received support from the Sierran Royal Navy. The Siege of Fort Astoria lasted more than two months of initial stalemate before it fell. While the siege was underway, news of the Sierrans' strong retaliation had finally reached Ottawa and dissuaded the Canadian government from pursuing the war further as it turned its attention to the southern aggression of the United States' successor, the United Commonwealth. It believed ending the war in Rainier would allow Sierra to devote its war effort to Eastern North America, which was a greater military threat to Canada due to the expansionist United Commonwealth. Canada ordered its army and navy to retreat from Rainier on July 20, 1866, but word did not arrive until July 26 when Fort Astoria had already fallen to the Sierrans just three days prior. The Canadian government petitioned the release of captured forces in Rainier. Canada and Sierra negotiated a peace settlement known as the Vancouver Treaty whereby Canada would relinquish its claims in Rainier, recognize Rainier's independence, and oversee joint protection of Rainier's independence against a potential invasion by either Superior or the United Commonwealth. The treaty also marked the normalization of Canadian–Sierran relations as the two nations became political and military allies during the rest of the War of Contingency.

In Canada, the military defeat was regarded by the public as a national humiliation. The Canadian government's decision to shift its attention from Rainier to the United Commonwealth was deemed a practical necessity and enabled both it and Sierra to halt Federalist advances in the war. However, the ruling Patriot Party lost public support after it suffered tremendous losses in the 1867 elections to the Liberals and Conservatives directly as a result of its failures in the Eugene War. On the home front in Sierra, news of Sierra's military victory in Rainier boosted national morale in a public that was skeptical of Sierran military capabilities in the War of Contingency. It also confirmed that the reorganization of California as Sierra had strengthened the nation-state, allowing Parliament to pass more drafts to raise numbers in the army to combat the Federalists in Eastern North America. Rainier became a republic and adopted its own constitution on December 19, 1866, and joined the War of Contingency by sending a small regiment to defend Superior and the Deseret.