By-Ways of War: The Story of the Filibusters

A history of nineteenth-century American filibusters traces the term's origins and profiles private military adventurers who mounted unauthorized expeditions across the Americas. It chronicles early examples and later campaigns — incursions in Texas and Mexico, the Sonora and Central American ventures, and the rise and fall of William Walker — describing battles, political maneuvers, maritime actions, foreign reactions, and the prosecution of imagined republics. The narrative blends military episodes, diplomacy, personal portraits, and legal and moral questions such as slavery's role and international intervention, concluding with the collapse of the filibuster movement and reflections on its legacy.