AHC: 3 way ACW

Following the joke in The Simpsons about the war between the South, North and West and the My Name Is Earl episode dealing with the Centrals, here is a challenge:

With a POD that wouldn't butterfly away the US as we largely know it and the causes of the conflict, have the American Civil War be a three way affair (as in 3 enemies, not 2 against 1).

Only rule is that the 3rd side must can occupy bits of OTL CSA, USA proper, both or the territories.
 
you should probably clarify that last line; it's confusing as hell

the best option is probably the US territories of the time (the landlocked West, mostly) shooting for independence from both the US and the CS, or alternatively an Amerindian revolution (again in the territories) taking advantage of the chaos with the Confederacy to try and set up their own state, probably in the Midwest or perhaps the northern Southwest (essentially Lakota for the former, Navajo for the latter)
 
There were significant Amerindian conflicts during the OTL Civil War; perhaps have them more significant.

The problems are that neither the Amerindians nor the settlers have enough of a population to make a rebellion work on the same scale as the conflict in the east, and that any secessionist movement is likely to ally with the Confederacy out of convenience, even if it did somehow grow to ASB levels.

3 way wars are rare, because the natural equilibrium is for 2 sides to at least nominally ally to finish off the 3rd before settling their differences. The ACW is particularly hard in this respect, because the polarization had become so pronounced.
 
The West would secede from both and the Union and Confederacy would fight eachother to the death before the Union united with the West by conquest.
 
you should probably clarify that last line; it's confusing as hell

How's this:

The 3rd faction of the Civil war can occupy land that:

- in OTL would have been part of the CSA
or
- in OTL would have been part of the USA (as in the actual states)
or
- in OTL would have straddled both the CSA and the USA
or
- in OTL would have been situated in the incorporated territories of the USA
 
There were significant Amerindian conflicts during the OTL Civil War; perhaps have them more significant.

The problems are that neither the Amerindians nor the settlers have enough of a population to make a rebellion work on the same scale as the conflict in the east, and that any secessionist movement is likely to ally with the Confederacy out of convenience, even if it did somehow grow to ASB levels.

3 way wars are rare, because the natural equilibrium is for 2 sides to at least nominally ally to finish off the 3rd before settling their differences. The ACW is particularly hard in this respect, because the polarization had become so pronounced.

True though what I was thinking was maybe an "ethnic" 3rd faction like you saw during the Russian and Spanish civil wars (though as you say they would probably make a deal with one side out of self-preservation) which in the US context could be a confederation of native tribes, the Mormons somehow managing to concentrate their members even more heavily then in OTL before the ACW or freedmen and ex-slaves trying to establish a New African Republic.

The other possibility could be a state or group of state that try for an armed neutrality stand and end up having to fight both sides as they develop a "you're with me or against me" approach.
 
The war drags on. Some sort of political conflict arises within the Confederacy, leading to a civil war. Neither side is friendly towards the Union, so it's a three way conflict.

Possible TL title: Yo Dawg, I Herd You Like Civil Wars...

Or you could have California decide they don't want any part in the conflict, secede and declare neutrality, but engage in border skermishes with both sides over the western territories. Not exactly a three-way civil war, but it's enough to get California in the Wikipedia infobox.
 
Apparently California Governor John B. Weller intended to make California an Independent Republic if the North and South divided over slavery (bottom of 4th paragraph), so I guess that counts?

There aren't enough people in California to pull that off, and too many loyal troops. It would probably end up like the Missouri session attempt. That's the problem with most of these "the West secedes" hypotheses; the Anglo population of the western territories is too small to be more than a blip in the larger war.

You're probably better off trying to get the French invasion of Mexico involved somehow; there are enough different factions involved there to satisfy anyone.
 
There were significant Amerindian conflicts during the OTL Civil War; perhaps have them more significant.

Mainly between Indians. And in fact often within Indian tribes. The Cherokee had a brutal internal conflict between the pro-Confederate "Ridge Faction" led by Stand Watie and the pro-Union "Pin Indians" led by Chief John Ross.
 
Mainly between Indians. And in fact often within Indian tribes. The Cherokee had a brutal internal conflict between the pro-Confederate "Ridge Faction" led by Stand Watie and the pro-Union "Pin Indians" led by Chief John Ross.

Repeat of the Iroquois in the ARW? I hadn't heard much about that before, how much violence was there?
 
The only way I could see an American Civil War that somewhat resembles what happened IOTL is one in a timeline where the US completely annexes Mexico after the Mexican-American War. One or two decades down the line, when a sectional conflict starts between the slave states and the (English-speaking) free states, Mexican nationalists use it as an opportunity to revolt against American rule and try to reclaim independence.
 
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