page_title: 1895 Wilcox rebellion
section_title: Battle of Diamond Head
hierarchical_section_title: 1895 Wilcox rebellion / Battle of Diamond Head
caption_attribution_description: English: Canoes at Diamond Head — 1890 oil on canvas painting of Waikiki Beach and Diamond Head; by Edward Bailey. Bailey House Museum collection, Maui.
context_page_description: The 1895 Wilcox rebellion was a brief war from January 6 to January 9, 1895, that consisted of three battles on the island of Oʻahu, Republic of Hawaii. 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 conflict 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”.
context_section_description: Rumors were circulating on January 6, 1895, that armaments were being landed on Waikīkī beach, Oʻahu. A squad of six policemen led by Captain Parker, a veteran of the 1889 rebellion who commanded the 30 Royal Guards in the Palace, had been sent to Henry Bertelmann’s house near Diamond Head to search for the weapons. They did not know Bertelmann was a Lieutenant in the insurgency. As Deputy Marshal Brown read the warrant to Bertleman, the squad was fired upon by three Royalists returning from the beach, that took shelter in Bertleman’s canoe house. The police advanced toward the canoe house until the Royalists were driven off, but not before Charles L. Carter, an armed civilian accompanying the police, was shot three times in the chest. Bertleman shot and wounded police lieutenant Holi as the policemen returned to the house. The policemen subdued Bertleman and another rebel, John Lane, in the first clash and took shelter in Bertleman’s house. 70 royalists in the surrounding area joined the battle attacking the house. They were commanded by Colonel Robert Wilcox and Lieutenant Lot Lane, an intimidating six foot Irish-Hawaiian. The Royalists surrounded the house but three men escaped: Captain Parker, Deputy Marshal Brown, and Alfred Wellington Carter (Charles Carter's cousin). The police officers mounted their horses and sent word of the uprising, while Alfred Carter searched for a doctor. A detachment of the National Guard of Hawaii, Company E commanded by Lt. King, drove back the Royalists towards Diamond Head by 9:00, allowing Alfred Carter to bring doctors Walter, Murry, and Doyle to his cousin. The battle continued into the night. The Royalists managed to repel the soldiers from their fallback position. By dawn of January 7, the government forces withdrew to Sans Souci Beach in Waikiki near Sans Souci Hotel run by Royalist George Lycurgus at Kapiolani Park west of Diamond Head and awaited reinforcements, ending the battle.
  C. L. Carter, nephew of supreme court justice Albert Francis Judd and son of former Kingdom diplomat Henry A. P. Carter,  died from his wounds later that day. Two other police officers were also wounded and sent to a hospital. Bertleman and Lane were sent to the police station, where they were imprisoned. Although the royalists had triumphed in the first battle of the war, they had lost the element of surprise. Consequently, this victory would be short-lived.
caption: Diamond Head and Waikīkī beach,1890
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