We have had a few stamps that allowed us to see how precarious some of the Central American countries were early on. So weak that if not for the bravery of a young Army drummer. A band of adventurers led by an American southerner might have turned the whole area into an English speaking slave state. So slip on your smoking jacket, fill your pipe, take your first sip of your adult beverage and sit back in your most comfortable chair. Welcome to todays offering from The Philatelist.
The stamp diplays a statue of the drummer boy running with his torch during the decisive battle. Remember that there was no fighting with Spain to liberate Central America. The Filibuster War therefore serves as a worthy substitute. Here was Central America uniting to prevent a private American adventurer from changing the place forever. Sure there were only 60 Americans but they did conquer Nicaragua and how many Spaniards had it taken to defeat the earlier Indian nations.
Todays stamp is issue A30, a one Centimo stamp issued by Costa Rica in January 1901. It displays the statue of Juan Santamaria, a drummer in the Costa Rican Army during the Filibuster War in 1856. According to the Scott Catalog, the stamp is worth 30 cents used. In 1914 the Costa Rican government sold off a large batch of this stamp and others of the time for far less than face value. They were cancelled to order with a distinct cancellation and have an even lower value. Also if you see this stamp in a different color scheme, they are from a private reprint dating from 1948. Also according to the Scott Catalog, these versions have little or no value. That is a fair number of tests for my stamp to have passed only to be worth 30 cents.
William Walker was from Tennessee and spent his early career practicing medicine, the law, and has a journalist. He never married or had children but became enamored with the idea of an American manifest destiny where Central America and Mexico would be brought into the Union as English speaking slave states. The example of Texas was central to his dream. After recruiting a team of 45 adventures he crossed into Mexico and declared the Republic of Sanora. Though for a while he controlled Baja California, the Mexican Army quickly had his group on the run. On his return to the USA, Walker was tried for conducting an illegal war but the jury admired him and acquitted him.
Still filled with ambition, he traveled to Nicaragua where the local Liberal and Conservative Party were fighting a Civil War. The Liberal Party recruited Walker and his 60 mostly American adventurers to fight on their side. The Conservatives were quickly defeated and William Walker became the de facto President of Nicaragua. He legalized slavery and made English the official language and American President Franklin Pearce recognized his government. Not everyone did. American Financier Cornelias Vanderbilt and the British had visions of building a canal linking the Atlantic and the Pacific through Nicaragua and those plans did not involve Walker. So the British lobbied the Hondurans and Vanderbilt the Costa Ricans to attack and bring down Walker. The Costa Rican army invaded Nicaragua and defeated Walker’s forces in Rivas. Another force of Hondurans and Salvadorans came down from the North. The US Navy then evacuated Walker and his few remaining men. He tried to come back later by setting up shop in Trujillo Honduras where he made contact with a group of British settlers. He was then arrested by the Royal Navy and turned over to Honduran authorities and quickly executed by firing squad.
Juan Santamaria was born to a poor unwed Costa Rican mother. During the Costa Rican mobilization for the Filibuster War he joined the army and served as a drummer. The battle of Rivas was not going well as the Walker forces were emplaced in a hostel with good firing lines. The commander had the idea to sent up a single soldier with a torch to burn them out. Santamaria agreed to volunteer for the assignment if the country agreed to take care of his mother if he was killed. He was indeed mortally wounded on his approach but managed to get the hostel burning before he died. His mother later petitioned the government and was granted a special pension.
Well my drink is empty and so I will open up the conversation in the below comment section. Imagine how different the world would be today if the Filibuster War had gone the other way. Come again tomorrow for another story that can be learned from stamp collecting.