Wilcox Rebellions - 1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii

1895 Counter-Revolution in Hawaii

In 1895, Wilcox participated in another attempt, this time to overthrow the Republic of Hawaiʻi and to restore Liliʻuokalani to power. Royalist supporters landed a cargo of arms and ammunition from San Francisco, California in a secret Honolulu location. At the location on January 6, 1895, a company of royalists met to draft plans to capture the government buildings by surprise. A premature encounter with a squad of police alarmed Honolulu and the plans were abandoned as the royalists were quickly routed. Wilcox spent several days in hiding in the mountains before being captured. The son of one pro-annexationist was killed. Several other skirmishes occurred during the following week resulting in the capture of the leading conspirators and their followers. The government allegedly found arms and ammunition and some potentially evidential documents on the premises of Washington Place, Liliʻuokalani's private residence implicating her in the plot.