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WALKER. 261 WALKER. command of the ironclad river stpamer Baron de Kalb partifipalod in Ihe operations against Vicksburg. After the fall of that city lie led the expedition up the Yazoo River, and while en- gaging Confederate batteries his vessel was sunk by a torpedo. He was then transferred to the Atlantic coast, and as eonimau<ler of the Shaic- mut assisted in the capture of Wilmington in ISdo. He was promoted commander in 1860; became a captain in 1877; from 1873 till 1878 was secretary of the Lighthouse lioar<l; was ap- pointed chief of the Bureau of Navigation in 1881; and in 1881) became a commodore. From 188!) till 1803 he coinmandcd the White Squad- ron ; in 1894 was put in counuand of the Pacific Squa<lron and was sent to protect American in- terests in the Sandwich Islands; in the same year was commissioned rear-admiral; and in 1807 was retired. In the last mentioned year he was a])pointed president of the Nicaragua Canal Commission, and in 1809 became president of the Isthmian Canal Commission. WALKER, Leroy Pope (1817-84). A Con- federate Secretary of War, born at Madison, Ala. lie was admitted to the bar ; was several times a member of the State Legislature; in 1847 and again in 1849 was chosen Speaker of the House; and from 1850 till 1833 was judge of the Fourth Circuit Court. In February, 1801, he was made Secretary of War in the Confederate Cabinet, but toward the close of the year resigned. His most notable action as Secretary consisted in delivering after the fall of Fort Sumter a speech in which he declared that before the war closed the Confederate flag would be flying in triumph over Independence Hall. Philadelphia, and over Faneuil Hall, Boston. This utterance, which was regarded as in a certain sense official, had much influence in rousing the North. After he resigned he was made a brigadier-general, and was for a time in command of ilobile, but in 1862 he retired from the army, and during the remainder of the war served as judge of a mili- tary court. WALKER, EonERT .Ta:mes (1801-60). An American political leader and financier, born at Northumberland. Pa. He graduated at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1810, and began the practice of law at Pittsburg in 1822. In 1826 he removed to Mississippi and became prominent as a lawyer and land-speculator. He was active in his opposition to nullification and secession in 1832-33. and through his influence the Legis- lature passed an act declaring nullification trea- sonable. In 1835 he was elected United States Senator as a Democrat, and at once became known as one of the foremost anti-rlavery advo- cates in his party. He secured great influence over President T^der, and is generally credited with having been largely instrumental in causing his return to the Democratic Party. While in the Senate he opposed the Bank of the United States and the distribution of the surplus, advo- cated gradual emancipation, and introduced the resolution for Texan independence. From 1845 to 1849 he was Secretary of the Treasury. The tariff bill of 1846 was adopted almost as it came from his hands. In 1833 he declined the post of commissioner to China, and in 1857, against his will, was appointed Governor of Kansas Terri- tory. He resigned in 1858. declaring that he would not help to force slaery upon the Terri- tory. At the begiiming of the (:ivil War he ttmk strong ground in favor of the Union, negotiated a lo:in in IOur()i>e for the United States in 1863- 04, and was iuiitrumental in preventing the suc- cess of the secoiul Confederate loan. On his return he published a nund)er of articles oppos- ing the impeachment of President .lohnson, ad- vocating the Alaska treaty, and favoring the (■on~tnu'1iou of the Pacific Railroad. WALKER, Seahs Cook (180.5-53). An American astronomer, born in Wilmington, Mass. He graduated at Harvard College ( 1825), and for some time taught school near Boston. After- wards he removed to Philadelphia, taught, and engaged in scientific labors, and prepared (1837) a plan for an observatory in coimection with the high school. In 1845 he was appointed to the Naval Observatory, took charge of the longi- tude work of the United States Coast Sui'xcy (1847). an<l continued in this department of the LInited States (iovernment service until his death. ■Walker's most important contributions to as- tronomical science were his improvement and in- troduction into general use of the electric chrono- graph (q.v. ) and his investigation of the orbit of Neptune. WALKER, Timothy (1806-56).- An Ameri- can lawyer, born at Wilmington, Mass. He graduated from Harvard in 1826; taught mathe- matics for three years; studied in the Harvard Law School (1829-30) ; and three years later, in association with Judge John C. Wright, he estab- lished the Cincinnati Law Scluxil. in which he was a professor of law until 1844. He was pre- siding judge of the Hamilton Countv Court of Common Pleas (1842-43). He edited the West- ern Lnie Journal for several years. The degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by Harvard in 1854. His lectures on law and his chief work, An Inlrodnclio'n to American. Law, have alw.ays been popular wdth law students. He died at Cincinnati in 1856. WALKER, WiLLiAif (1824-60). An Ameri- can adventurer and filibuster, born in Nashville, Tenn. He graduated at the University of Nash- ville and was admitted to the bar, after which he studied medicine at Edinburgh and Heidel- berg. He then engaged in newspaper work in New Orleans and San Francisco. In the summer of 1853 he organized an expedition for the con- quest of the Jlexican State of Sonora. He eluded the United States authorities, landed with an armed force at La Paz, in Lower California, in November, captured several small towns, pro- claimed himself President, and started on a march inland. His provisions and ammunition ran short, however, and to escape falling into the hands of a Mexican force -wdiich was sent against him he crossed the boundary into the t'nited States, and surrendered to the United States officials at San Diego. He was tried at San Francisco for violating the neutrality laws, but was acquitted. He next planned an expedi- tion to Nicaragua, then in a state of civil war. He landed at Realejo.June 11, 1855, and succeeded in capturing Granada and making an arrange- ment with General Corral, the President, by which Walker was appointed Secretary of War and commander-in-chief. The two leaders soon quarreled and Walker had Corral tried for con-