July 4, 1861: Celebrations in Honolulu 150 Years Ago

This year marks the the 150th anniversary of the commencement of hostilities between Union and Confederate forces in what would become the American Civil War.

As we countdown toward this year's July 4 holiday we at History Education Hawaii thought we'd share news reports on how -on the eve of Civil War in the United States- the holiday was celebrated by the American community in the Hawaiian Islands.

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Celebrations of the 4^th of July, 1861 in Honolulu

Source: The Polynesian. Honolulu, Saturday, June 29, 1861.

The American residents of this city met at the office of A.J. Cartwright, Esq., on Tuesday evening last for the purpose of making arrangements for celebrating the approaching anniversary of American freedom.

The meeting was organized by the appointment of Dr. Gerrit P. Judd as Chairman, and Benj. F. Durham as Secretary.

It having been unanimously determined that the day ought to be observed here with appropriate ceremonies, a Committee, consisting of Messrs. D. Foster, G.P. Judd, J. Mott Smith, C.C. Harris, H.W. Severance, W. E. Cutrell, Samuel James, Alvah K. Clark, A. J. Cartwright, and H.A.P. Carter, were appointed to whom was referred the duty of forming a programme for the celebration, with instructions to report at their earliest convenience.

On Thursday evening an adjourned meeting was held at the same place, which was very numerously attended. The Committee reported the following programme, which was adopted.

ORDER OF EXERCISES

FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE EIGHTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE

1. Salute of 13 guns at sunrise, from Punchbowl Battery.
2. Commemorative services at Fort Street Church at 10 o’clock, A.M., consisting of prayer, singing of national anthems, and an address from the Rev. C. V. Anthony.
3. Raising of the American Flag at 12, M., at the residence of A.B. Bates, Esq., Nuuanu (who has kindly given the use of his premises for the occasion,) under a salute of 34 guns from Punchbowl Battery, with accustomed honors.
4. Reading of the Declaration of Independence.
5. Collation, at which thirteen regular toasts will be given, and appropriate responses made.
6. Salute of 13 guns from the Punchbowl Battery at sunset.

The feeling manifested at this meeting cannot but be gratifying to all Americans. Several speeches were made, breathing the highest degree of patriotism, and some of our old residents came out with strong Union sentiments, uttered with an earnest enthusiasm that proved that their love of their country and its institutions has not been weakened by long absence.

Mr. Bates requests us to say, that on the occasion of the Celebration, his premises are at the disposal of all American citizens.

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The Fourth of July, 1861 in Honolulu

Source: The Polynesian. Honolulu, Saturday, July 6, 1861.

The celebration, by the American citizens in Honolulu, of this time-honored day came off according to the programme, nearly, as published in our issue of last week. The Committee of Arrangements had obtained from H.R.H. Prince Kamehameha the kindly loan of some field pieces and a file of artillerymen, and at sunrise the echoes of the valley awakened its inhabitants by a salute of 13 guns from the premises of A.B. Bates, Esq. At 10, A.M., a goodly crowd assembled at the Forth Street Church, where the Rev. Mr. C. V. Anthony delivered an eloquent address, preceded and followed by singing “Hail Columbia” and “The Star-spangled Banner.”

From 11, A.M., to 12 M., the Diplomatic and Consular Agents of Foreign Powers, Officers of this Government and a numerous host of American citizens paid the customary complimentary visits to His Excellency Col. Dryer, the United States Commissioner at the Court of Honolulu. At 12, M., every body had repaired to the spacious grounds of A.B. Bates, Esp., Nuuanu Valley, which had been placed at the disposal of the Committee, where the Star-spangled Banner of the United States was hoisted under a salute of 84 guns and during the ringing of the bell of the Forth Street Church.

The American Declaration of Independence was read by Jos. Fuller, Esq., and the company sat down to a sumptuous collation in a large and splendidly arranged marquee, Chief Justice Allen presiding at the table. Toasts were drank and responded to, and the day celebrated with a heartiness and satisfaction heightened no doubt by the presence of the wives and families of the American citizens and of other invited guests.

The following were the thirteen regular toasts and the gentlemen who responded to them:

1^st. The Day we celebrate.

We hope that its celebration is general throughout our country, and by arousing memories of past glories will prompt a return to duty of those now following misguided counsels. –Responded to by the Hon. E.H. Allen.

2^nd. The President of the United States.

We believe him to be a true Patriot and an honest man. His administration commences in discord and gloom: We hope that it will end in peace and brightness. –Hon. Thomas J. Dryer, U.S. Commissioner.

3d. The King and Royal Family.

May length of days and prosperity in their Kingdom and Family be the blessings granted to them. –Robert G. Davis, Esq.

4^th. The Memory of Washington.

“Where may the wearied eye repose,

When gazing on the great-

Where neither guilty glory glows,

Nor despicable state?

Yes one –the first-the last-the best-

The Cincinnatus of the West-

Whom Envy dared not hate.”

-Col. Parker, U.S. Consul.

5^th. The Union.

The Union of the States is the life of Freedom. –J.W. Austin, Esq.

6^th. The Heroes of ’76, both Civil and Military.

“Wake the trumpet’s sound again,

And rouse the ranks of Warrior Men!

Oh, War! When Truth thy arm employs,

And Freedom’s spirit guides the laboring storm-

‘Tis then thy vengeance takes a hallowed form-

And, like Heaven’s lightning, sacredly destroys.

Nor Music. Through thy breathing sphere,

Lives there a sound more grateful to the ear

Of him, who made all harmony-

Than the blessed sound of fetters breaking,

And the first Hymn that man, awaking

From slavery’s slumber, breathes to Liberty.”

-S.N. Castle, Esq.

7^th. The Army and Navy of the United States.

Small bodies-but when needed, have not been and will not be found wanting. –Lieut. Wm. Reynolds, U.S.N.

8^th. The Constitution.

Under it the country has attained to greatness –by adhering to it we shall continue in prosperity. –Ashier B. Bates, Esq.

9^th. The Volunteer Militia.

May we never see the day when the citizen shall cease to be a soldier, ready for duty –or the soldier shall cease to be a citizen. –L. McCully, Esq.

10^th. Gen. Winfield Scott.

The brave and loyal soldier. A life of glory shall close in a blaze of light. –J.C. Spaulding, Esq.

11^th. Col. Robert Anderson and the other defenders of Fort Sumter.

By their staunchness and fidelity they have set an example to the army, and given earnest of a life honorable to themselves and useful to their country. –R.H. Stanley.

12^th. Our Flag.

The American Banner will not allow any of her Stars to play comet, or submit to Indignant Stripes. –H.A.P. Carter, Esq.

13^th. The Ladies.

God bless them. –B.F. Durham, Esq.

Nor was this party the only one in honor of the day. Rural picnics seemed the order of the day, and the weather gave all its charm to the enjoyment. A large party of gentlemen met at the residence of Capt. H.S. Howland, in Waimalu, eight miles from town, and spent a most pleasant day together. Another party, of which Mr. Duncan was the soul, met at Moanalua. Another at Waikiki, and the veteran American Capt. J. Meek, had the honor of entertaining His Majesty at the Big Tree, in Ewa. The day closed, as it had opened, with a salute of 13 guns, and in the evening the U.S. Commissioner, Col. Dryer, entertained his countrymen and friends.

Every flag-staff in town, and vessel in the port flew the colors to which its owner was entitled, and we would not omit to make honorable mention of the gorgeous profusion of flags and devices which decorated the carriages and horses that plied during the day between the town and the various festal rendevouzes.

So ended in Honolulu the celebration of the 85^th Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence; a day memorable to all future ages for the bold and unequivocal enunciation of the political principle that “government exists by the will, and for the interest of the governed.,” and its inevitable corollary that, when that will is slighted, those interests contravened, the people have a natural, inalienable right to set up another government. On that basis did the framers of the Declaration renounce their allegiance to the British Empire and erect a political fabric, that has been the wonder of the age and the polar star of every oppressed people.

On that basis the several independent communities on the North American Continent threw in their fortunes together, and it is the sincere and faithful recognition of that principle and the spirit of mutual concession under the pressure of mutual wants, the spirit of conciliating instead of suppressing differences, which spring from it, that has made those communities individually free and collectively great. And the lesson has not been lost upon the world, for the declaration of that principle has gone far to soften the exercise of that oppression which is so often associated with arbitrary government, whether of one, a few, or many; and for more than eighty years the oppressed of Europe have looked well to the West and taken courage.

It has been said by a great writer that “revolutions never go backward;” and a principle or a truth once established never dies. The Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence would then have been an invaluable day on its own account, even had every individual state succumbed as a martyr to the truth it fought for. We honor the day for the principle it bore into the world; we honor the flag of the Stars and the Stripes as its emblem –E Pluribus Unum.

We do not feel competent to critically analyze the address of Mr. Anthony; it was eloquent in a high degree, and abounded in forcible appeals and nervous language. It undoubtedly received much of its coloring from the unhappy circumstances which have lately troubled the tranquil path of the United States. The address was received throughout with loud and energetic applause.