William Walker

William Walker 1824-60, American filibuster in Nicaragua, b. Nashville, Tenn. Walker, a qualified doctor, a lawyer, and a journalist by the time he was 24, sought a more adventurous career. After a short stay in San Francisco, his filibustering expeditions began with an invasion of Lower California (1853-54) intended to wrest the region together with Sonora from Mexico. The invasion failed miserably. He was tried for violating neutrality laws but was acquitted by a sympathetic jury. In June, 1855, Walker set out on another filibustering expedition, this time to Nicaragua, at the invitation of one of the country's revolutionary factions. His capture of Granada brought an end to the fighting, and, after obtaining recognition (May, 1856) from the United States for the new government, Walker declared himself president of Nicaragua in July, 1856. An alliance of hostile Central American states and the enmity of his former friend Cornelius Vanderbilt, whose Accessory Transit Company controlled Walker's supply lines, led to his defeat and surrender to the U.S. navy in May, 1857. Considered a hero by many Americans, Walker was again acquitted of violating neutrality, but he then alienated U.S. public opinion by blaming his defeat on the U.S. navy. From the Islas de la Bahía of Honduras, Walker made a final abortive attempt (1860) to conquer Central America but was forced to surrender to the British navy. He was turned over to Honduras and was shot by a firing squad Sept. 12, 1860.

Bibliography: See his own book, War in Nicaragua (1860, repr. 1971); W. O. Scroggs, Filibusters and Financiers (1916, repr. 1969); L. Greene, The Filibuster (1937, repr. 1974); biography by A. H. Carr (1963).

Walker, William (1824–1860) U.S. adventurer. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, William Walker received a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1843. He practiced medicine in Nashville and law in New Orleans before heading for the California goldfields in 1850. Walker began his career of filibustering by trying to create the Republic of Lower California on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico, but Mexican troops drove him all the way back over the Colorado River. After being acquitted in California for violating American neutrality laws, Walker took a band of mercenaries to help a warring faction in Nicaragua. His forces were very successful and in 1856 he named himself president of the country and head of its army. Walker's ambitions in the region soon clashed with those of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who sent agents to help surrounding nations overthrow Walker's regime. The U.S. had recognized his government and evacuated him, but naval authorities prevented him from returning in 1857. Walker was again acquitted of violating neutrality laws, and tried to mount an expedition into Nicaragua from Honduras. He was captured there by the British Navy, who turned Walker over to local authorities. They executed him by firing squad in Trujillo, Honduras.