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As the American states were trickling in riots and death, the government was in a mess. Many Senators were tired of war since the Civil War and sought a peaceful resolution, while some, mostly being Radical Republicans, sought to crush these rebels as they had done before. The loudest voice for continuing the war was John Charles Frémont, the Pathfinder. Being heavily involved in the state of California, Frémont demanded a "great army to quickly sweep away these heathens". However, the public was very much anti-war, especially on the east coast, who very much belittled the western threat. The only citizens who actively seemed threatened by the enemy were the boarding states: Texas, Idaho, etc. The Texan people were more open to conscription, but still apprehensive to comply with Yanks. The injured Custer was able to replenish, even bolster, his numbers with Texan conscripts, personally calling them "Gold-reavers", while the Californians nicknamed them "Ogdens", referencing Frederick N. Ogden and his massacres at New Orleans. No matter their name, these Texans would be the bulk of Custer's army.

In May, a coordinated attack from the American Armies of the Rio Grande and the Missouri would march into the Californian territory and an Atlantic naval force would prepare a journey to the Pacific Ocean. Vliet strengthened his supply lines heavily, able to push into Nevada. Vliet was able to surprise the garrison at Elko, crushing them at the 2nd Siege of Elko. Jefferson C. Davis would attempt to expel this force, but the Army of Missouri would lead another surprise attack at the Battle of Winnemucca, where Vliet was able to use bands of mounted soldiers to flank and force Davis's men to flee or die. Davis and his army would be forced to traverse west to avoid the army's destruction, eventually bunkering up at the new city of Reno in June, while the Army of the Missouri was forced to slowly make its way west, being constantly harassed by Nevada militias. In New Mexico, the Army of the Rio Grande went up the Rio Grande's forts again. He would sacrifice Gold-reaver militiamen to quickly take a fort. The Army of Los Angelos was meanwhile distracted by Native American turncoats that raided nearby towns. The conflict would finally begin after the capture of Fort Craig in June. Ketchum and the Army of Los Angelos would march south, but Custer would use mobility to his advantage. Horse regiments would be able to bypass Ketchum's army and seize Albuquerque swiftly. Seeing that he was being surrounded, Ketchum was forced to flee to Nevada, so he marched his force to Fort Ketchum, formally Fort Grant, after he was able to flee from the Battle of Valverde, not to be confused with the American Civil War's Battle of Valverde.
After the forces of Ketchum was able to rally at the fort named after him, Custer wasn't willing to give the Californians an inch. During July, Custer was on his way to defeat Ketchum once more, as he may be bound to a horse, but his soul was untamed. Although his commanders recommended for Ketchum to bunker up at the fortress, and he did that without pause. He surrounded the fort with barricades, stakes, and cannons. However, Custer arrived with an unexpected slowing. The man was confident that any reinforcements coming would be too small or too far away. He wished to simply have Ketchum surrender or be starved out. Not wishing to be captured by some Yanks, Ketchum decided to constantly harass the American force with cannon fire and sallying out "death squads" to inflict heavy losses on the Army of the Rio Grande. The straw that broke the camel's back would be when one of these "death squads" would kill George Custer's youngest brother, Boston. Filled with rage after hearing this news, Custer called for an all-out assault. Custer's mounted infantry would quickly be found in the night and fired upon. Ketchum would constantly move the stake formations surrounding the fort, and at this night, unaware of these changes, it would be quickly found out when whole platoons of cavalry would smash against the sharp stakes. Grapeshots would prove deadly as the clustered infantry would kill hundreds at a time. This night attack would prove the death of the Army of the Rio Grande. By morning, Ketchum would call for a mass sally before a constant barrage of cannons. The remnants of Custer's force would flee back to Fort Craig, with both General and men broken.

In the international community, American favor was slipping. After the Siege of Fort Ketchum, the Kingdom of Hawaii would officially recognize the Empire of California as a nation. In addition, the Emperor of Brazil, Pedro II, would do the same. In 1867, Emperor Pedro first met Emperor Norton in San Francisco, intrigued by the man's character. The two spoke for hours and then maintained relations between both of them. When the Californian War erupted, Pedro was apprehensive to recognize or assist Emperor Norton, but when news came that the American lost a big fight at Fort Ketchum, formally named Fort Grant, it was such a disgrace in the views of the international community, Pedro II recognized the Empire of California. Russia would even open up trade with the Empire of California on their Siberian Coast. In August, the British and Russians would eventually force the Americans to do peace talks with the Empire of California, in hopes to end this conflict. The first meeting would happen on August 28th in Salt Lake City. However, combat would still continue. Norton made it clear that the Empire of California would not be absorbed by the Union, while Grant tried to make the negotiations meaningless so that Vliet could quickly defeat Davis's army and hopefully get better terms, maybe even defeat the Army of Los Angelos and be done with this mess.

The Army of the Missouri would finally arrive at Reno in late August and besiege the city. However, Davis was ill at this moment and his inferiors squabbled on what to do. In early September, Vliet would order a mass assault and overrun the wounded Army of the Applegate. Forced out of Reno, Vliet soon capitalized on the moment and beat the Californian army at Carson City, taking Nevada's capital. While Vliet's underlings recommended they rest, so they make the march south to beat the Army of Los Angelos and win the war, Vliet believed that Davis's Army of the Applegate could no longer exist. The American army marched down the Sierra Nevadas chasing Davis and his men. They would win another decisive battle at the Slaughter of Red Rock, where thousands of Californians were killed and hundreds were executed later. The Californians would eventually be cornered off at Nopah Range, where Davis set up artillery and his men for a "final stand". Vliet demanded for the Californians to surrender Davis and they would be spared, but not thought of a moment to do so. Reports came that there were some raiding parties on the American army's outskirts, but Vliet overlooked that.

The Californians were outnumbered three to one, but their morale was hard as steel. It was said that soldiers made lewd drawings in the dirt of General Vliet and caroled Christmas songs in the night before. The morning after, Vliet gave the word and the around two-thirds of the Army of the Missouri charged down upon Davis's men. Grapeshots and the smoke of musket fire were in the air. The Americans soon reached the Californians in melee combat and were trying to push through, but were stuck. When Vliet sent the order for the other third to charge as well, while they were preparing, the Americans were soon met with fire from behind. After the Siege of Fort Ketchum, William S. Ketchum marched his force straight in the direction of Reno to assist, and when he heard news of the fall of Carson City. Davis and he sent messengers back and forth to plan a ballsy move. The Americans were soon taking fire from both sides, and the men panicked. Vliet was soon downed by a shot to the arm, later dying from infection. The Army of the Missouri soon fell into disarray, and the slaughter commenced. Thousands were killed until the men were finally spared. The Battle of Nopah was a miracle compared to what happened at Fort Ketchum.


After the Battle of Nopah Range or the Battle of Bloody Nopah, as the Californians called it, many more events would occur. Raids along the New Mexico-Texas border would become frequent and a Native American uprising in Idaho, called the Bannock War, would begin in late September. The Atlantic fleet was stalled by Brazilian ships in the Maceió Incident, where Brazilian ships fired upon American ships, thinking that the ships were seized by Paraguayan veterans of the War of the Triple Alliance. Although everyone didn't believe in the story, the losing war with the Empire of California made America give a pass on Brazil. These ships eventually made it to the Pacific in December and met the Californian ships near the Mexican island of Cedros. At the Battle of Cedros, Californian ships, although not exactly up to date with the Atlantic ships, were way more organized than the low-morale American ships. Smaller vessels were able to maneuver around the Atlantic ships. Some of the fleet would be destroyed or boarded, as the whole thing was a huge blunder. The Bannock tribe would wear down Idaho militias, the whole conflict being very costly. At the turn of the year, James T. Farley would fly a hot air balloon over San Francisco, leading a huge morale boost to the Californian people. America's politicians demanded an end to this.

A formal armistice is signed by the U.S President, Ulysses S. Grant. After much debate, mainly over the territory of Utah. California demanded the U.S controlled Utah, while the Americans refused to do so. It would finally end when a Californian politician said: "we can end this peace, wait a month for our boys to take this Mormon country, and that'll be it". The Americans would agree to concede Utah to the Empire of California for exchange in Californian involvement in the Bannock War, where the Americans were unable to send troops and the Bannock's were recruiting men from other tribes as well, being nearly a thousand strong. On the 26th of January, the Treaty of Salt Lake City or the Treaty of Salt Lake for short, would end the Californian War. The Empire of California would control: California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, & Utah. The Transcontinental Railroad would be shared between the two nations, with the costs to repair it is shared between the two. Finally, the Empire of California would war with the Bannock people in the Bannock War. The man had done it. A madman destroyed the Union.