Department of Defense

The Rebellion of 1895 was the most important crisis that the National Guard was ever called upon to meet: It was well planned and kept very secret, so that the government had little idea of the extent of the movement.

The rebels’ ranks were filled mainly with natives, men who either felt that former Queen Liliuokalani was the rightful ruler of the Islands or who were dissatisfied with the government for other reasons. The ringleaders of the rebellion were Charles T. Gulick, a former cabinet minister under Kalakana; Sam Nowlein, commander of the Household Troops under Liliuokalani; W. H. Richards, a plantation manager; and Major Seward, one-time United States Army officer. Other important leaders of the rebellion were the ever-present Robert Wilcox and Colonel V. V. Ashford, who had commanded the Honolulu Rifles.

The leaders had ordered from San Francisco two hundred and eighty­ eight repeating Winchester rifles, one hundred pistols and some thirty thousand rounds of ammunition. On January 1, 1895, a small schooner secretly landed a part of the supply of arms at Rabbit Island and transferred the I rest to a fishing boat to be delivered near Honolulu.

Careful plans had been made for the conduct of this uprising. Squad leaders had been appointed and instructed to recruit as many natives as possible and have them in readiness to answer the call of the leaders. All in I all about four hundred natives had been secured. On a certain date they were to mass at Diamond Head and march on Honolulu in two groups. One group was to surround the Government Building and force the officials to surrender. The other group was to be stationed at various strategic positions throughout the city to prevent the volunteers and civilian guards from. assembling. A number of bombs had been manufactured and were to be used to clear the streets and terrorize the regular troops so that they would offer no resistance. After this the rebels planned to proclaim their own government.

Fortunately the rebels quarreled among themselves and the plan was not entirely put into effect. Some of the rebels wished to land the arms nearer town and start the attack from there. Without the consent of the leaders, an abortive attempt was made to carry out this plan on the night of January 3rd.” Marshal Hitchcock of the Police felt that something was in the air and stationed a number of his men along the beach at Kakaako and at the Immigration Station, where a large crowd of natives had gathered. The ship carrying the rifles and ammunition was unable to make the beach because of the heavy surf and the gathering was easily broken up by the police. The authorities had no idea of the size of the rebellion at the time so that the National Guard was not called out. However, the government was suspicious and maintained a sharp watch for any further disturbance.

Early on the afternoon of January 6th the rebellion commenced. Sam Nowlein had sent out the call for the rebels to assemble at two o’clock the following morning near Diamond Head. The order was’ misunderstood and many of the natives immediately set out for the assembly point. They caused so much disturbance en route that the matter was reported to the police, who set out to investigate. The rebels had managed to land their arms and ammunition and had hidden them at various spots. It was reported to the police that a large number of rifles were cached at the home of Henry Bertelmaun, near Diamond Head.

That evening a small detachment of six native police, under the command of Deputy Brown and Captain Parker, went to Bertelmann’s home armed with a search warrant. While the warrant was being read a group of rebels, who had been stationed near by to guard the arms, opened fire. Several of the police were injured and Charles L. Carter, who had accompanied them to Diamond Head, fell mortally wounded. The police retreated within the house and returned the fire of the rebels, who had been reinforced with more men sent by Wilcox. Deputy Brown made his escape in the brush and went to summon aid.

Late in the evening a small detachment of regular troops from Company E arrived at the scene of the disturbance under the command of Lieutenant King and forced the rebels to retreat. Around daybreak Robert Wilcox returned with about seventy armed royalists and opened fire on the house. Lieutenant King and his men went out in the open to engage them, but because of the superior size and position of the rebels, were soon compelled to retreat.

By this time the magnitude of the rebellion was apparent to the government and a general alarm was sounded. All National Guard and Citizens’ Guard organizations were ordered to turn out and be ready for immediate duty. Martial law was dedared” and the rest of Company E, which had remained at the Barracks, was ordered to proceed to Diamond Head at once. Captain J. W. Pratt, the Post Adjutant, mounted one of the artillery pieces on the deck of the tug “Eleu” and set out for the scene of the engagement by water.

By the time that Company E arrived the rebel ranks had been increased to one hundred and fifty armed men and had retreated to a better position along the rim of the crater. Captain Pratt brought his gun into action and I the Battle of Diamond Head commenced. Fighting continued throughout the morning and afternoon but as night fell the rebels withdrew from their position and fled with their leader, Robert Wikox. During the battle five of the rebels had been killed. The rebels had shown themselves courageous and determined, but they could not compete with the superior marksmanship of the well-disciplined regular troops.

While the Battle of Diamond Head was going on, Sam Nowlein, the other military leader of the rebellion, was also having trouble with the regular troops. According to the prearranged plan, he had set out the night before with a large disorganized mob to march on Honolulu. This movement was reported to Lieutenant Colonel Fisher, commander of the military forces, who had established headquarters in the Executive Building to direct operations. In conjunction with Marshal Hitchcock he sent a party of thirty-five volunteers under Police Captain Murray to head off the advance. The rebels were discovered in ambush on the side of Punchbowl Hill and offered such a withering fire that Captain Murray was forced to retreat and wait for reinforcements. Lieutenant Colonel Fisher, who had a good view of the engagement from the tower of the Executive Building, immediately dispatched Company F, Captain Zeigler commanding, to his aid. Six sharpshooters and a field piece with L. M. Johnson as gunner were also sent to the scene of the action, and the Battle of Moiliili commenced.

The ground on which the operations were conducted was unsuited to regular warfare and greatly handicapped the governmental forces. They were compelled to force themselves up sloping ground through heavy lantana brush to get near the rebels, who had fortified themselves in an old extinct crater. Captain Zeigler not knowing the strength of the opposition drew Company F up into a long line of battle along the old MoBiili road and commenced firing as he advanced. He was immediately answered from above and for several hours a heavy firing continued, without either side gaining any appreciable advantage. Finally, however, the main body of the rebels was located in the extinct crater, and the field piece was brought into action. At the same time Captain Zeigler sent Lieutenant Ludewig with a small party of men to make an attack from the flank. Lieutenant Ludewig became the first governmental casualty when he was shot in the leg on this mission, but, regardless of this, after the field piece had fired some fifteen shots into the crater the rebels began to surrender. Thirty-three natives came in and gave themselves up and the remainder fled into the mountains. It was found that three of the natives had been killed and a number injured. They were taken back to town and given medical attention.

When Martial Law was declared the Citizens’ Guard was called out to patrol the streets and maintain order in town. Business and inter-island shipping was suspended and a number of men known to be sympathetic toward the royalists were arrested and confined in the Police Station. The volunteer companies were assembled at the Drill Shed awaiting orders but I were not needed at the time.

The following day was comparatively quiet. The volunteers were sent out to look for the rebels who had taken to the hills. There were still about one hundred and fifty of them at large, but their whereabouts was unknown. The volunteers scoured the regions of recent activity and captured a number of the royalists who were wandering around in the woods. A considerable amount of arms and ammunition was also found but no formal resistance was offered the troops.

Late on the afternoon of January 9th the main body of rebels, under, the leadership of Wilcox, was discovered making its way up Manoa Valley to the mountains, where they intended to hold out against the government and make terms. The rebel group, which consisted of about seventy-five natives, immediately took to cover and commenced firing at Company A which had found them. Captain Paul Smith returned the fire and sent a call for reinforcements. When the news of this reached headquarters, Lieutenant Colonel Fisher dispatched the company of Sharpshooters to their aid. A detachment from Company D, which was in the vicinity of Punchbowl with Lieutenant Johnson, set out for the scene of the action at double-quick time, with five field pieces.

With the arrival of these reinforcements, the rebels fled up the valley, firing over their shoulders at the governmental troops as they ran. As in the previous engagements the Guardsmen were at a distinct disadvantage. The rebels occupied the higher position and were able to retreat under cover while the former were compelled to come out in the open. Night was falling as the rebels reached the end of Manoa Valley, with the Guardsmen close behind. Here some of them surrendered but the majority took advantage of the darkness. and fled up a narrow trail into the mountains where pursuit was impossible. Three of the royalists had been killed. They were transported back to town and the prisoners placed in jail.

By this battle the backbone of the rebellion was completely broken. However, the leaders, Robert Wilcox and Sam Nowlein, were stilt at large and had to be caught before the government could feel safe from further resistance. Consequently all the troops were maintained on active duty and were organized into searching parties.'” A systematic search was made of all the valleys around Honolulu. Company A, under Captain Smith, was in Makiki Valley. Company B, commanded by Captain Wall, was searching in the neighborhood of Mount Tantalus. Company C was half in Nuuanu Valley with Captain Camara, and half back of Punchbowl with Lieutenant Costa. Company D, with Captain Wilder, was guarding the garrison after having spent several fatiguing days in the field. Company E was half with Lieutenant Coyne at the head of Pauoa Valley and half with Lieutenant King below the former’s command. Company A was at the head of Manoa Valley with Captain Zeigler to prevent the rebels from seeking aid. These forces were augmented by searching parties composed of Sharpshooters, Citizens’ Guard, native police and private citizens.

A little over a week was necessary for the capture of all the royalists. The leaders had fled with their men to the hills from where they attempted to make terms with the government. However, when they saw that the government was determined to capture them no matter how long it took, they came down out of the mountains and surrendered in small groups. The leaders were captured on information supplied by the natives. On January 14th Sam Nowlein and the other leaders who had escaped after the Battle of Moiliili were found in hiding and arrested. A few hours later Wilcox was captured by the police in a house at Kalihi as he was attempt­ I ing to escape to another island. Some of the prisoners implicated Liliuokalani in the rebellion and she was also arrested and placed in confinement.”

These prisoners were tried before a special Military Commission headed by Colonel William Austin Whiting. One hundred and ninety cases were heard and only six men were acquitted. A number were sentenced to be executed and the others given terms in prison and heavy fines. Liliuokalani herself was fined $5,000 and sentenced to five years at hard labor. President Dole, however, felt that the punishments were unduly severe and commuted the death penalty in all cases and reduced most of the terms in prison. Even these revised sentences were never carried out and all the prisoners had been pardoned by the time that the United States annexed the islands.

This officially ended the Rebellion of 1895. It had shown that the Na­tional Guard had trained itself into a brave and efficient fighting force, ready at all times to protect the government. . .

– History of the Hawaii National Guard pp. 43-47

75 YEARS OF HISTORY

by SGT Ronald Fellows

. . . It was not dissident lepers, however, which brought the National Guard into a major crisis, but another revolution attempt.

The government feared for some time char royalists may attempt, through counter-revolution, to restore the monarchy, and therefore increased the strength, equipment and training of the National Guard.

When the Rebellion of 1895 came about, the Guardsmen were prepared.

The first shots of the Rebellion were fired on January 6, at the Diamond Head home of Henry Bercelmann, where police were searching for hidden arms. Rebels opened fire on the police, who rook refuge within rhe house.

That evening a small detachment of Nacional Guard troops arrived at the scene forcing the rebels to retreat. Around daybreak, however, the tide was turned when about 70 armed royalists attacked, causing the small Guard force to withdraw.

With the realization that an all-out rebellion was underway, the general alarm was sounded and all National Guard and Citizens Guard ( a civilian citizen organization giving assistance in time of invasion or rebellion ) organizations were called out.

Fighting erupted in several areas including Diamond Head, Punchbowl, Moiliili and Manoa.

Using infantry and artillery, the government forces battled royalists in and around craters, valleys and mountains for the next three days.

The backbone of the revolt was broken January 9, with most of the remaining rebels fleeing up Manoa Valley and into the mountains. Ir was another week, however, before rebellion leaders, Robert Wilcox and Sam Nowlein and the remainder of their force were captured.

– 1968 Spring The Hawaii Guardsman pp. 17