[DOWNLOAD] The War in Nicaragua (1860) by William Walker ~ Book PDF Kindle ePub Free

July 22, 2021 Post a Comment

"There can be no feeling but admiration for the heroism of the brave little band who fought its way from an insignificant beginning to the conquest of Nicaragua ... a braver spirit never winged its flight." -De Bow's ReviewWilliam Walker "brings back a flood of thrilling memories ... a synonym for unfaltering courage ... the very antithesis of the cutthroat and blackguard and outlaw which he has been painted, being, on the contrary, a very brave and honest gentleman. We have good reason to be proud that William Walker was an American " -Gentlemen Rovers "The conduct of General Walker has always been characterized by the most scrupulous, and delicate forbearance. He is honor itself personified in the most chivalrous manner and with the most honorable motives." -Journal of Race DevelopmentAt the invitation of Nicaraguan Democrats seeking the overthrow of a cruel and authoritarian regime, in 1855 American filibuster adventurer William Walker (1824 – 1860) and his band of "Immortal Fifty-six" men invaded and conquered Nicaragua.These "Immortal Fifty-six" were men who, according to one participant, "gave up their lives in battle in a strange land, for a strange people; whose bones lie in an alien country, its soil crimsoned with their life's blood, poured out to save from misrule and oppression a people who invoked their arms and valor, and later heaped upon them the curses of ingratitude."A week after setting foot in Nicaragua, Walker, at the head of his Americans and 150 native soldiers, set out for Rivas, a town on the western shore of Lake Nicaragua held by 1200 of the enemy. He later seized a steamer on Lake Nicaragua and captured Granada, the capital and the stronghold of his opponents. Peace was then made by making an arrangement with General Corral by which Walker was appointed Secretary of War and commander in chief. In 1855, Nicaragua was torn by internal dissensions; the army was divided into a dozen factions; the peasantry were down-trodden and poverty-stricken; the government was inconceivably corrupt; and the usual revolution was, of course, in progress, in which the sister republics of Honduras and Costa Rica were preparing to take a hand. Everything considered, Nicaragua's only hope of salvation from anarchy lay in finding for a ruler a man with an inflexible sense of justice and an iron hand. Walker determined to be that man. In August 1854 an American acting as an agent for Walker, arrived at the headquarters of the Democratic forces with a novel offer. Briefly, he agreed to contract to supply the Democratic party with 300 American "colonists liable to military duty," these settlers to receive a grant of land and citizenship. This contract was approved and signed by General Castillon. After the successful invasion, an election was held, and as the book "Gentlemen Rovers" notes, "the election was regular in every respect, the voting being entirely free from the usual disturbances.... By such an overwhelming majority, and in an absolutely fair election, was William Walker made President of Nicaragua—the first and only time an American has ever been chosen ruler of a foreign and independent state. In all its troubled history Nicaragua has never been governed so justly and so wisely as it was by the American soldier of fortune." Walker's abolition of forced military service had caused many peasants to see in his election the prospect of not being coerced by ambitious factionists to fight through interminable revolutions for a cause in which they took no interest. Walker's 1860 book "The War in Nicaragua" narrates the events which unfolded, including several more wars and being baited and badgered by the British interests; it has the unrivaled value of one who has been there and participated in the events; anyone reading it cannot deny he was a remarkable man, a born leader, keen of intellect, and indomitable spirit.