01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page i TYCOON’S WAR 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page ii This page intentionally left blank 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page iii T YCOON’S WAR (cid:2) How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America’s Most Famous Military Adventurer STEPHEN DANDO-COLLINS DA CAPO PRESS A Member of the Perseus Books Group 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page iv Copyright © 2008 by Stephen Dando-Collins All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America. For information, address Da Capo Press, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142. Set in 10.75 point Fairfield Light by the Perseus Books Group Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dando-Collins, Stephen. Tycoon’s war : how Cornelius Vanderbilt invaded a country to overthrow America’s most famous military adventurer / Stephen Dando-Collins. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-306-81607-9 1. Nicaragua—History—Filibuster War, 1855–1860. 2. United States—Military relations—Nicaragua. 3. Nicaragua—Military relations—United States. 4. Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 1794–1877. 5. Businessmen—United States—Biography. 6. Compañía Accesoria del Tránsito—History. 7. Nicaragua Canal (Nicaragua)—History. 8. Walker, William, 1824–1860. 9. Filibusters—Nicaragua—Biography. 10. United States— Foreign relations—1815–1861. I. Title. F1526.27.D36 2008 972.85'044—dc22 2008014632 Published by Da Capo Press A Member of the Perseus Books Group www.dacapopress.com Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or call (800) 810-4145, ext. 5000, or e-mail [email protected]. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page v CONTENTS Acknowledgments, vii Maps, viii Introduction 1 1 Gun-Barrel Diplomacy 16 2 Down, but Not Out 29 3 Enter the Colonel 46 4 Landing Behind Enemy Lines 55 5 The Battle of Rivas 65 6 Victory at La Virgen 84 7 Walker’s Secret Plan 99 8 Taking Granada 108 9 The Walker Way 117 10 Closing In on the Prize 136 11 On a Collision Course 145 12 Blindsiding Vanderbilt 151 13 The Gathering Storm 162 14 Going to War with Walker 172 15 The Battle of Santa Rosa 179 16 Courts-Martial and Firing Squads 186 v 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page vi vi Contents 17 A Killing or Two 193 18 The Second Battle of Rivas 205 19 President Walker 221 20 Battles on All Fronts 236 21 New Battlegrounds 250 22 Wheeling and Dealing 262 23 Here Was Granada 275 24 Closing Nicaragua’s Back Door 284 25 Operation San Juan 295 26 To the Victor, the Spoils 309 27 The Surrender 324 Epilogue 329 The Protagonists’Motives, 341 Bibliography, 343 Notes, 347 Index, 359 01_0306816079_dando.qxd 6/25/08 11:35 AM Page vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS OVER THEYEARS THAT THIS book has come together, many people have provided sincerely appreciated help and advice. I want to thank Clyde Prestowitz Jr., Pres- ident of the Economic Strategy Institute, Washington, D.C., for advice on the U.S. economy in the 1850s and 1860s. Also, Chris Morrison of the Historical Of- fice of the U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C., provided invaluable in- formation on the U.S. State Department and its workings in the mid-nineteenth century. My gratitude also goes to Dr. Erika Cox, Pathology Department, Launce- ston General Hospital, in Tasmania, Australia, for advice on contagious diseases common to Central America. And Marco A. Argotte, formerly of Chile, now of Sydney, Australia, for translation assistance. For their enthusiastic assistance with my on-the-ground research in Nicaragua, I thank Juan Carlos Mendosa of Managua, Nicaragua, and Major John Seldomridge (U.S. Army, retired) of Elisabethtown, Kentucky. And for path-finding help on the Vanderbilt trail on Staten Island, the intrepid Robert and Alison Simko of Lower Manhattan. I especially want to thank Bob Pigeon, Executive Editor with Da Capo Press, who has supported my ambitions for this book for a number of years, as I molded it into the tale it has become, and his efficient assistant, Ashley St. Thomas. My New York literary agent, Richard Curtis, the general of my campaigns in American, Roman, British, Australian, and French historical territory, has never doubted the importance of this book; without both his belief and his knowledgeable guidance, it would never have seen the light of day. And, as always, my thanks go to my wonderful wife, Louise. She has marched at my side every step of the way on this book, in museums, libraries, and archives and on battle sites in the United States, Central America, and elsewhere, then en- couraged, assisted, and advised me as I worked through the drafts. What a lonely, boring life it would be without my “Dona Louise.” vii 0 1 _ 0 3 0 6 8 1 NORTH AMERICA & CENTRAL AMERICA IN THE 1850s 6 0 7 9 _ d a n Boston d o UNITED STATES Philadelphia New York City .q x Washington, D.C. d San Francisco CALIFORNIA Atlantic 6/ Nashville Ocean 2 5 / Colorado River 0 San Diego 8 Ensenada Houston OrleNaenws Mobile 1 BAJA GHuearymmoassillo 2:3 CALIFORNIA 8 Gulf of P Mexico M La Paz BAHAMAS Mazatlan Havana Pa MEXICO CUBA DOMINICAN ge POacceiafinc Roatan JAMAICA HAITI REPUBLIC vii Acapulco BELIZE Isl. PUERTO RICO i GUATEMALA HONDURAS Caribbean Sea EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA Granada San Juan del Sur 0 1,000 miles Puntarenas San Jose Colon COSTA RICA 0 1,000 kilometers VENEZUELA PANAMA COLUMBIA GUYANA (NEW GRANADA) Steamer routes used by Vanderbilt and his competitors to and from San Francisco, to and from New York City, and New Orleans ECUADOR via Nicaragua and Panama in the 1850s. BRAZIL PERU 0 1 _ 0 3 0 6 8 tt 1 6 NICARAGUA IN THE 1850s 0 ss 7 9 _ aa d a HONDURAS Somotillo oo nd o . q CC x d GGuullff ooff FFoonnsseeccaa 6 NICARAGUA / 2 Caribbean 5 / El Sauce Sea 08 1 Chinandega 1 : 3 Realejo Leon 5 A M San Lake Francisco Managua San Jacinto Ranch oo P a Tipitapa g Managua Masaya tt BBlluueeffiieellddss e i ii x Granada uu Lake Nandaime qq Nicaragua Ometepe Isl. ss Rivas SSaann JJoorrggee oo Pacific Ocean La Virgen Brito MM San Juan del Sur San Carlos Transit Road Guanacaste El Castillo Greytown 0 40 miles Panama Santa ProvincCeOSTA RICA San JuanH Riipvper’sCoPdty.’s PC(Sauasnntti allJ audaenl del Norte) 0 40 kilometers Rosa San Carlos R. Pt. Sarapiqui R.