Texans Fight and Die in Central America

Two hundred Texans itching for a fight answered the call of Gen. William Walker and sailed for Nicaragua on Sep. 17, 1856.

By the mid-1800s, the South was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. To satisfy the increasing demand for cotton, planters from Texas to Virginia were in desperate need of more field hands. But a strong back sold at auction for as much as $1,500, a price only the wealthiest plantation owners could pay.

Texans, who had argued for years over the slavery issue, found themselves in the same leaky boat. Putting aside their differences, the rabid and the reasonable agreed on reopening the African slave trade.