Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Published Writings
  3. Periodicals
  4. Journalism
  5. per.01444

Surrender of King Fernando and All His Men

About This Item

  • Title: Surrender of King Fernando and All His Men
  • Date: 3 July 1857
  • Creator(s): Walt Whitman
  • Whitman Archive ID: per.01444
  • Source: Brooklyn Daily Times, 3 July 1857: 2. Our transcription is based on a digital image of a microfilm scan of the original issue. Microfilm of original issue held at Pennsylvania State University Libraries. For a description of the editorial rationale behind our treatment of the journalism, see our statement of editorial policy.
  • Editorial note: This piece is unsigned, as was the case for most of Whitman's journalism. However, this editorial is part of a series of texts that deal with a coherent theme that has been identified by the Whitman Archive journalism team as likely authored by Whitman. This decision is based on a combination of historical and (auto)biographical accounts, similarity to contemporary Whitman writings, a history of scholarly attribution, extant clippings retained by Whitman, computational stylometric analysis, and, in some cases, manuscript evidence in Whitman’s hand. A partial draft of this editorial appears in one of Whitman's notebooks held in the Walt Whitman Papers in the Charles E. Feinberg Collection at the Library of Congress (Notes and Notebooks, 1847-1891; Notebooks, 1855-1884; 1857, trial lines and descriptions).
  • Contributors to digital file: Tara Ballard Kevin McMullen Karie Cobb
  • Cite this page: Whitman, Walt. "Surrender of King Fernando and All His Men." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 16 July 2024. <http://www.whitmanarchive.org>.
  • Source File: per.01444.xml (TEI)
image 1image 2image 3image 4cropped image 1

SURRENDER OF KING FERNANDO AND ALL HIS MEN.

Mayor Wood,1 of New York, this forenoon issued an order to his various Police Captains, the "Municipals," to call in their men at 4 o'clock today (Friday), and deliver over the city property, as far as they personally are the holders of it, to the lawful Police Commissioners—after which they will be disbanded.2

The Station Houses are to remain under charge of the Captains, till further action of the Common Council.

We recommend Wood to go hunt up Gen. Walker,3 that they twain may retire very far away from these parts, and mourn out the rest of their lives. Both, however, will be accompanied by the shootings and curses of the many poor fellows they have so bitterly deceived.

Notes:

1. Fernando Wood (1812–1881), a Democrat, was mayor of New York City from 1855–1857 and 1860–1861. He was widely regarded as corrupt. During his time at the Brooklyn Daily Times, Whitman penned numerous fiery articles against "King Fernando." [back]

2. The Metropolitan Police Act of April 1857 was passed by the New York State Legislature in order to dissolve New York City's Municipal Police and replace them with the State-controlled Metropolitan force, overseen by a board of commissioners. This new force covered the combined areas of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Westchester County and was considered controversial in scope, with some parties arguing that the Act was unconstitutional. Embedded within the Act was a series of provisions that impacted both the sale of and access to alcohol. [back]

3. General William Walker (1824–1860) was an American filibuster and mercenary responsible for the "Filibuster War" in Nicaragua. He served as dictatorial president of Nicaragua from 1856 to 1857 before being arrested by the British Royal Navy. He was then turned over to Honduran forces, who tried and executed him. Walker was also a well-known newspaperman, following in Whitman's editorial footsteps at the New Orleans Daily Crescent, shortly after Whitman had left town in 1848. [back]

Back to top