Hawaii and the American Civil War
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History of Hawaii | |
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1779 |
After the outbreak of the
Governmental policy
After the outbreak of the
On August 26, 1861, King Kamehameha IV signed the formal proclamation of neutrality:[1]
Be it known to all whom it may concern, that we, Kamehameha IV, King of the Hawaiian Islands, having been officially notified that hostilities are now unhappily pending between the government of the United States and certain States thereof styling themselves "The Confederate States of America," hereby proclaim our neutrality between said contending parties. That our neutrality is to be respected to the full extent of our jurisdiction, and that all captures and seizures made within the same are unlawful, and in violation of our rights as a sovereign. And be it further known that we hereby strictly prohibit all our subjects, and all who reside or may be within our jurisdiction, from engaging, either directly or indirectly, in privateering against the shipping or commerce of either of the contending parties, or of rendering any aid to such enterprises whatever; and all persons so offending will he liable to the penalties imposed by the laws of nations, as well as by the laws of said States, and they will in no wise obtain any protection from us as against any penal consequences which they may incur. Be it further known that no adjudication of prizes will be entertained within our jurisdiction, nor will the sale of goods or other property belonging to prizes be allowed. Be it further known that the rights of asylum are not extended to the privateers or their prizes of either of the contending parties, excepting only in cases of distress or of compulsory delay by stress of weather or dangers, of the sea, or in such cases as may be regulated by treaty stipulation. Given at our marine residence of Kailua this 26th day of August, A. D. 1861, and the seventh of our reign.[4]
A few months before the neutrality proclamation, an American expatriate and businessman, Captain Thomas Spencer, personally funded and drilled a company of infantry composed mostly of Native Hawaiians from
Hawaiian combatants
Despite the Hawaiian government's reluctance to be involved in the conflict, many Native Hawaiians and Hawaii-born Americans (mainly descendants of the American missionaries) both abroad and in the islands volunteered and enlisted in the military regiments of various states in the Union and the
Two mariners on the Boston Massachusetts Naval Rendezvous July 1863 (see thumbnail) list of naval recruits were from Hawaii, listed as the "Sandwich Islands". These Hawaiian sailors are enumerated as John Davis (no. 21) Ordinary Seaman, age 23 and Samuel Jones Ordinary Seaman, age 25 (no. 36), both men are described as born in the Sandwich Islands and as a “Sandwich Islander”.[15]
According to the 2014 survey, researchers have identified 119 documented Native Hawaiian and Hawaii-born combatants from historical records. The exact number still remains unclear because many Hawaiians enlisted and served under Anglicized names and little is known about them due to the lack of detailed records.[14][16]
Legacy
Many veterans of the Civil War are buried in Honolulu's Oʻahu Cemetery, although most of the marked graves belong to veterans from other states who later settled in Hawaii.[17][18] On August 26, 2010, on the anniversary of the signing of the Hawaiian Neutrality Proclamation, a bronze plaque was erected along the memorial pathway at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu recognizing the "Hawaii Sons of the Civil War", the more than one hundred documented Hawaiians who served during the American Civil War for both the Union and the Confederacy.[19][20][21]
In 2013, Todd Ocvirk, Nanette Napoleon, Justin Vance, Anita Manning and others began the process of creating a historical documentary about the individual experiences and stories of Hawaii-born soldiers and sailors of the American Civil War from both the Union and the Confederacy.[22][23][24][25] In 2015, the sesquicentennial of the end of the war, the National Park Service released a publication titled Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Civil War about the service of the large number of combatants of Asian and Pacific Islander descent who fought during the war. The history of Hawaii's involvement and the biographies of Pitman, Bush, Kealoha, and others were co-written by historians Anita Manning, Justin Vance and others.[26]
See also
- Kingdom of Hawaii–United States relations
References
- ^ a b c Kuykendall 1953, pp. 57–66.
- ^ Forbes 2001, pp. 298–299.
- ^ National Park Service 2015, pp. 130–163.
- ^ Bernard 2009, p. 149.
- ^ Dye 1997, p. 77.
- ^ National Park Service 2015, pp. 132–135.
- ^ a b c d Vance, Justin W.; Manning, Anita (October 2012). "The Effects of the American Civil War on Hawaiʻi and the Pacific World". World History Connected. 9 (3). Champaign, IL: University of Illinois.
- ^ Daws 1968, p. 183.
- ^ Schmitt 1998, pp. 171–172.
- ^ Manning & Vance 2014, pp. 145–170.
- ^ a b Smith, Jeffrey Allen (August 13, 2013). "The Civil War and Hawaii". The New York Times: Opinionator. New York.
- ^ Damon, Ethel M. (April 1, 1941). "Punahou Volunteers of 1863". The Friend. Vol. CXI, no. 4. Honolulu. p. 67. Archived from the original on June 4, 2016.
- ^ Manning & Vance 2014, pp. 160–163.
- ^ a b Davis, Chelsea (October 26, 2014). "Hawaiian Civil War soldier finally recognized". Hawaii News Now.
- ^ Sharp, John G. M. Naval Enlistments Boston July 1863 http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/portsmouth/shipyard/enlisboston1863.html accessed 3 February 2020
- ^ Punaboy (June 20, 2015). "Hawaiʻi Sons of the Civil War". Aloha Valley. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ^ Kam 2009, pp. 125–151.
- ^ Grzyb 2016, pp. 127–128.
- ^ Cole, William (May 31, 2010). "Native Hawaiians served on both sides during Civil War". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Honolulu.
- ^ National Park Service 2015, pp. 161–163.
- ^ Schuessler 2012, p. 66.
- ^ Murray, Anthony (July 2, 2013). "Sons of the Civil War". Midweek Kauai. Honolulu.
- ^ Sodetani, Naomi (February 2013). "Sons of the Civil War". Ka Wai Ola. Vol. 30, no. 2. Honolulu. p. 15.
- ^ Ocvirk, Todd (July 31, 2013). "Hawaii Sons of the Civil War – A Documentary Film". Indiegogo. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ^ Tanaka, Chris (September 20, 2013). "Hawaii's little known role in the Civil War". Hawaii News Now. Honolulu.
- ^ Hawaiʻi Pacific University (July 15, 2015). "HPU partners with National Park Service, Hawaii Civil War Round Table for July 17 talk". HPU News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015.
Bibliography
- Bernard, Mountague (2009). The Neutrality of Great Britain during the American Civil War. Bedford, MA: Applewood Books. OCLC 316824474.
- Daws, Gavan (1968). Shoal of Time: A History of the Hawaiian Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. OCLC 45815755.
- Dye, Bob (1997). Merchant Prince of the Sandalwood Mountains: Afong and the Chinese in Hawaiʻi. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. OCLC 247424976.
- Forbes, David W., ed. (2001). Hawaiian National Bibliography, Vol 3: 1851–1880. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. OCLC 314293370.
- Grzyb, Frank L. (2016). The Last Civil War Veterans: The Lives of the Final Survivors, State by State. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. OCLC 934885367.
- Kam, Ralph Thomas (2009). "Commemorating the Grand Army of the Republic in Hawaiʻi: 1882–1930". Hawaiian Journal of History. 43. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society: 125–151. hdl:10524/12242.
- OCLC 47010821.
- Manning, Anita; Vance, Justin W. (2014). "Hawaiʻi at Home During the American Civil War". Hawaiian Journal of History. 47. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society: 145–170. hdl:10524/47259.
- Schmitt, Robert C. (1998). "Hawaiʻi's War Veterans and Battle Deaths". Hawaiian Journal of History. 32. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society: 171–174. hdl:10524/521.
- Schuessler, Mark (January 2012). "A Surprising Civil War Dedication". American Digger. 8 (1). Acworth, GA: Greybird Publishing: 66.
- Shively, Carol A., ed. (2015). "Pacific Islanders and the Civil War". Asians and Pacific Islanders and the Civil War (PDF). Washington, D. C.: National Park Service. pp. 130–163. OCLC 904731668.
Further reading
- Manning, Anita (2013). "Keaupuni: A Hawaiian Sailor's Odyssey". Hawaiian Journal of History. 47. Honolulu: Hawaiian Historical Society: 87–102. OCLC 60626541.
- Moniz, Wayne (2014). Pukoko: A Hawaiian in the American Civil War. Wailuku, HI: Pūnāwai Press. ISBN 978-0-9791507-4-6.
- Rogers, Charles T., ed. (January 1884). "Hawaii's Contribution to the War for the Union". The Hawaiian Monthly. Vol. 1, no. 1. Honolulu: Printed at the Hawaiian Gazette Office. pp. 2–4. OCLC 616847011.
External links
- Foenander, Terry; Milligan, Edward; et al. (March 2015). "Asians and Pacific Islanders in the Civil War" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- Foenander, Terry; Milligan, Edward; et al. (March 2015). "Hawaiians in the Civil War" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- Hawaii's involvement in the Civil War, Town Square, Hawaii Public Radio Archived February 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (audio) - By Beth-Ann Kozlovich, July 4, 2013, interview with Anita Manning, Nanette Napoleon and Justin Vance.
- "Hawaiʻi Sons of The Civil War: A Documentary Film". Hawaiʻi Sons of The Civil War. Archived from the original on August 14, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
- Von Buol, Peter (October–November 2016). "On Foreign Fields". Hana Hou!. Vol. 19, no. 5. Honolulu. Retrieved August 11, 2018.