The 1895 Counter-revolution in Hawaii (Hawaiian: Kaua Kuloko 1895) also known as the Second Wilcox Rebellion of 1895, the Revolution of 1895, the Hawaiian Counter-revolution of 1895, the 1895 Uprising in Hawaii, the Hawaiian Civil War the 1895 Uprising Against the Provisional Government, or the Uprising of 1895 was a brief war from January 6 to January 9, 1895, that consisted of three battles on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. It was the last major military operation by royalists who opposed the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
Because of its brevity and lack of casualties, this war is largely forgotten; in some cases those who rediscover it coin a new name for the conflict, but it is frequently referred to as the “Counter-revolution”.
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Following the overthrow of Queen Liliʻuokalani in 1893, the Committee of Safety established the Provisional Government of Hawaii as a temporary government until an assumed annexation by the United States. The annexation was delayed by a restless populace and President Cleveland, who opposed expansionism. Cleveland launched an investigation which produced a finding known as the Blount Report. Meanwhile, petitions against annexation were collected by the population. The Provisional Government convened a constitutional convention and established the Republic of Hawaiʻi on July 4, 1894. The Republic continued to govern the country but its unpopularity and corresponding anti-annexation sentiment continued. Voting rights were limited to only 4,000, most of them politicians in power.
In 1895 Robert Wilcox was brought into a plot to overthrow the Republic of Hawaiʻi and return Queen Liliʻuokalani to the throne. Among the plotters was Sam Nowlein, former Head of the Royal Guard (which had been disbanded in 1893); Joseph Nawahi, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Charles T. Gulick, an advisor to both Kalākaua and Liliʻuokalani; William H. Rickard, anda sugar planter of British parentage. The rebels planned to attack government buildings in downtown Honolulu at night. They had recruited a number of poor Hawaiians, most of them day laborers from the outskirts of Honolulu, but failed to fill their quota of 700 recruits. In addition the recruits lacked weapons, training and discipline.[1] They had smuggled arms to Liliʻuokalani to resupply the conspirators once the palace was secured. A shipment of guns and ammunition from California had been smuggled on board the Schooner Wahlber to be put aboard the Steamer Waimanalo near Rabbit Island and shipped to a secret Honolulu location.[1]
