WALKER, William, American adven turer: b. Nashville, Tenn., 8 May 1824: d. Trujillo, Honduras, 12 Sept 1860. After study of law and medicine, he was a journalist in New Orleans and San Francisco, and practised law in Marysville, Cal. In 1853 he organized a filibustering expedition against Lower Cali fornia arid the Mexican state of Sonora. On 4 November he arrived at La Paz, made the Mexican !governor a prisoner and proclaimed a new regime to the inhabitants of Lower Cali fornia. In a few weelcs difficuhies arose. Re inforcements did not appear, desertions greatly reduced his force, and he was obliged to re treat across the border into California and sur render himself and band to a detachtnent of United States regulars. He was tried (May 1854) at San Francisco, for violation of the neutrality laws, and acquitted. But Walker was soon planmng new conquests. Talung ad vantage of insurrectionary troubles in Nicaragua, and to some extent abetted by American capitalists interested there, he landed at Realejo, 11 June 1855; and, having with his followers and a few natives won some trifling battles, managed to accomplish a peac.e which recognized Rivas, leader of the party favored by Walker, as President and Walker himself as generalissitno. Many Southerners joined him as recruits, and on 1 March 1856 he had, it is said, 1,200 troops. The Pierce administration prodaimed the neutrality laws, and made at tempts at prosecution, but expeditions sailed with comparative freedom from San Francisco and New Orleans to Walker's aid. Finally, Viill, a priest, the diplomatic representative of what was really the Walker government, was received 14 May 1856, though the North and many conservative Southerners condemned the action. The envoy did not remain long at Washington. Rivas absconded, and in June Walker got himself elected to the Presidency. In September he published a decree repealing all laws against slavery, which had not existed in Nicaragua for 32 years. Undoubtedly he
believed that such a procedure would obtain for him valuable support in the slave States. But the United States goverrunent declined to recognize him or his ministers, and his arbitrary acts provoked a native insurrection. At last he was held between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific by an allied army of native Nicaraguans and Costa Ricans, and on 1 May 1857 he gave himself up to Onm. C. H. Davis of the United States ,sloop-of-war Saint Mary's, under a treaty of capitulation obtained from Costa Rica. He was taken to New Orleans, and quickly began plotting to organize a new ex pedition. Arrested for violation of the nen. trality laws, he was released on hail, which he forfeited, going with about 200 followers, arms and supplies to Greytown, where he ar rived 25 November. In early December Com modore Paulding, United States navy, of the Wabash, compelled him to surrender. Walker presented himself as a prisoner of state at Washington in January 1858, but President Pierce declined to hold him as a prisoner, on the ground of his illegal apprehension on for eign soil. A. H. Stephens wrote in 1858 that the reason for the opposition to Walker was that cif successful, he would introduce African slavery thereD [Nicaragua]. Walker was re ceived vrith more or less of an ovation in the Gulf States. In October 1858 'he sailed again from Mobile, but vras arrested at the mouth of the Mississippi, tried at New Orleans and .ac quitted. In June 1860, with a small force, he went to Trujillo to stir up revolution in Hon duras. His followers were reshipped to the United States, while he was condemned and shot He published (The War in Nicaragua> (1860), in justification of his acts. Consult Joaquin Miller's poem (Walker in Nicaragua' ; Doubleday, (Reminiscences> (1886); Roche, (Story of the Filibusters> (1891).