United States of Democratia

THE BATTLE OF MOUNTAIN LAKE PARK
The Battle of Mountain Lake Park was the first official armed confrontation of the Democratian War of Independence. It occured on May 10-12, 1858, after American soldiers in Tucker County heard of a rebellious gathering. 2,000 American soldiers fought 750 rebel militiamen. The battle was an American victory.

Preceding the Battle
During the month of April, Maryland politicians disputed whether or not it should join the United States of Democratia. Meanwhile, armies in the South were preparing themselves for the war to come. Mountain Lake Park, a town of extreme anti-slavery town. Virtually every man in the town gathered at the courthouse and leaders distributed guns. Their plan was to cross into Virginia and free slaves on a plantation. On May 8, the plan began to backfire. A spy from Virginia alerted the army in Tucker County, Virginia. On May 9, the army gathered 2,000 men (1,000 of them volunteers fro the area) and marched to Mountain Lake Park.

Phase One
Around noon on May 10, 1858, the first wave of 900 American soldiers arrived at Mountain Lake Park. The soldiers found no rebels-or signs of life-at first, so they marched in town to the courthouse. While there, rebel gunman killed 2 American soldiers. The soldiers took position in the city and for the next hour, took nine more casualties. The rebels reported none yet.

Phase Two
By one thirty in the afternoon or so, the other 1,100 American soldiers showed up with cannon. From a mile or so away from the city, artillery bombarded rebel positions. The rebels took 20 casualties. They disbanded, and regrouped around five in the afternoon.

The Calm
The rebels knew they had suffered defeat. The Americans inside the city and in the fields reunited and moved into the town for patrol while rebels fled to nearby Friendsville. They gathered some 400 new recruits there. For the rest of the night, there were no problems.

Battle of Friendsville
Phase Three is more commonly called the Battle of Friendsville, as it was fought at Friendsville. Around six in the morning on May 11, 1858, American troops in Mountain Lake Park woke up and heard news of the rebels at Friendsville. They marched there, and arrived, immediately bombarding the city. Seven rebels died. The rebels tried to weaken the right flank of the American army, but instead lost another forty men. Finally, American cavalry captured the town and the rebels were arrested. Some fled to nearby Pennsylvania, where they joined the Democratian Army.

Results
The result was 68 rebel and 42 American casualties. It was the first battle of one of the bloodiest wars in history. It also saw the deployment of 20,000 more US soldiers to Garrett County, Maryland, to secure the area.