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In the summer of 1859, two American citizens on Waya were killed and cannibalized by the natives. When word of the incident reached the American consulate at Ovalau, the Pacific Squadron sent the sloop-of-warVandalia. The warship arrived at Ovalau on 2 October 1859 and it was decided that in order to get to Waya a vessel with a shallower draft was needed. To solve this problem Commander Sinclair chartered the schoonerMechanic and placed her under the command of veteran Lieutenant Charles Caldwell. A force of 10 marines, forty sailors and a 12-pounder howitzer were mustered for the landing on Waya.[1][2][3]
A few Fijian guides and three American merchant sailors also participated. One of whom was Captain Josiah Knowles of the clipper shipWild Wave which was wrecked off Oeno Island. Knowles and 40 others were marooned on the island until being rescued by Vandalia and taken to Fiji.[1][2][3]
Expeditionedit
The expedition left Ovalau on 6 October 1859 and sailed west around the northern end of the main island of Viti Levu to Waya. During their passage to the island, Lieutenant Caldwell’s men heard many stories from towns and villages about the warriors of Waya. A letter was also received from the Wayan chiefs responsible for the deaths of the two American traders. The message said, “Do you suppose we have killed the two white men for nothing? No, we killed them and we have eaten them. We are great warriors, and we delight in war.” Caldwell later wrote, “...and woe to the members of any strange tribe that falls into their hands... to be clubbed to death and eaten is the only alternative for the captive. It is not a matter of surprise that the tribes along our route learned with feelings of satisfaction the nature of our expedition.”[1][2][3]
At 03:00 on 9 October, the Americans made a landing and marched inland toward the village of Somatti over tropical and mountainous terrain. While climbing through the mountains, the 12-pounder was destroyed and left behind when it fell 2,300 feet (700 m) down the side of a hill as the expedition tried to pull it up.[1][2][3]
When the column reached Somatti, it was daytime and over 300 native warriors were positioned in front of the village for defense. The Wayans wore white robes and were armed with clubs, rocks, spears, bows and some muskets. The Americans had swords and carbine rifles and the battle began when Lieutenant Caldwell ordered a flanking maneuver on the left side of the mass of warriors. This routed the natives and they dispersed themselves amongst the town or fled into the jungle. After, Master's Mate John K. Bartlett, who led a group of sailors, sang "Red, White and Blue" and let out three cheers before charging and capturing the village.[1][2][3]
The crew of the 12-pounder, with no gun to fire, took charge of burning the village and over 115 huts were destroyed. Marines under Lieutenant Alan Ramsey participated by providing a rearguard for the sailors, they repulsed a final Wayan attack from the jungle after they had regrouped. In all fourteen warriors, including the two chiefs, were counted dead after a fierce half an hour battle. At least 36 others were wounded. Two marines were wounded by musketry but survived, two sailors were hurt badly by rocks, one other marine was hit in the leg with an arrow and a sailor from Wild Wave was hurt as well.[1][2][3]
After the battle the Americans took until 16 October to return to the coast where the Mechanic was waiting. They stopped at friendly Fijian fishing villages and spread the news of their victory. Caldwell noted that two ramrods and one bayonet were lost during the march, and a large amount of ammunition was used in battle. The lieutenant received much credit for the operation which is considered one of the most impressive military campaigns launched by the United States in the South Pacific during the nineteenth century.[1][2][3]
Long, F. David (1988). Gold braid and foreign relations: diplomatic activities of U.S. naval officers, 1798–1883. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN0-87021-228-1.
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Second Fiji expedition news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2014 Second Fiji expeditionPart of the Fiji expeditionsYalobi Bay at Waya Fiji Date6 16 October 1859LocationWaya Fiji Pacific OceanResultAmerican victoryBelligerents United StatesFijiansCommanders and leadersCharles Caldwell John K Bartlett Alan RamseySeru Epenisa CakobauStrengthLand 10 marines40 sailors1 artillery pieceSea 1 schooner 300 warriorsCasualties and losses6 wounded1 artillery piece destroyed14 killed 36 wounded115 huts destroyedA few friendly Fijians accompanied the expedition as guides The Second Fiji expedition was an 1859 United States Navy operation against the native warriors of Seru Epenisa Cakobau on the island of Waya in Fiji Following the death of two American traders on Waya the Pacific Squadron launched a punitive expedition against the Wayans and defeated them in a pitched battle at the village of Somatti 1 2 Contents 1 Background 2 Expedition 3 See also 4 Notes 5 ReferencesBackground editIn the summer of 1859 two American citizens on Waya were killed and cannibalized by the natives When word of the incident reached the American consulate at Ovalau the Pacific Squadron sent the sloop of war Vandalia The warship arrived at Ovalau on 2 October 1859 and it was decided that in order to get to Waya a vessel with a shallower draft was needed To solve this problem Commander Sinclair chartered the schooner Mechanic and placed her under the command of veteran Lieutenant Charles Caldwell A force of 10 marines forty sailors and a 12 pounder howitzer were mustered for the landing on Waya 1 2 3 A few Fijian guides and three American merchant sailors also participated One of whom was Captain Josiah Knowles of the clipper ship Wild Wave which was wrecked off Oeno Island Knowles and 40 others were marooned on the island until being rescued by Vandalia and taken to Fiji 1 2 3 Expedition editThe expedition left Ovalau on 6 October 1859 and sailed west around the northern end of the main island of Viti Levu to Waya During their passage to the island Lieutenant Caldwell s men heard many stories from towns and villages about the warriors of Waya A letter was also received from the Wayan chiefs responsible for the deaths of the two American traders The message said Do you suppose we have killed the two white men for nothing No we killed them and we have eaten them We are great warriors and we delight in war Caldwell later wrote and woe to the members of any strange tribe that falls into their hands to be clubbed to death and eaten is the only alternative for the captive It is not a matter of surprise that the tribes along our route learned with feelings of satisfaction the nature of our expedition 1 2 3 nbsp Vandalia during the American Civil War At 03 00 on 9 October the Americans made a landing and marched inland toward the village of Somatti over tropical and mountainous terrain While climbing through the mountains the 12 pounder was destroyed and left behind when it fell 2 300 feet 700 m down the side of a hill as the expedition tried to pull it up 1 2 3 When the column reached Somatti it was daytime and over 300 native warriors were positioned in front of the village for defense The Wayans wore white robes and were armed with clubs rocks spears bows and some muskets The Americans had swords and carbine rifles and the battle began when Lieutenant Caldwell ordered a flanking maneuver on the left side of the mass of warriors This routed the natives and they dispersed themselves amongst the town or fled into the jungle After Master s Mate John K Bartlett who led a group of sailors sang Red White and Blue and let out three cheers before charging and capturing the village 1 2 3 The crew of the 12 pounder with no gun to fire took charge of burning the village and over 115 huts were destroyed Marines under Lieutenant Alan Ramsey participated by providing a rearguard for the sailors they repulsed a final Wayan attack from the jungle after they had regrouped In all fourteen warriors including the two chiefs were counted dead after a fierce half an hour battle At least 36 others were wounded Two marines were wounded by musketry but survived two sailors were hurt badly by rocks one other marine was hit in the leg with an arrow and a sailor from Wild Wave was hurt as well 1 2 3 After the battle the Americans took until 16 October to return to the coast where the Mechanic was waiting They stopped at friendly Fijian fishing villages and spread the news of their victory Caldwell noted that two ramrods and one bayonet were lost during the march and a large amount of ammunition was used in battle The lieutenant received much credit for the operation which is considered one of the most impressive military campaigns launched by the United States in the South Pacific during the nineteenth century 1 2 3 See also editWilkes Expedition Sumatran Expeditions Korean Expedition Formosan Expedition Nukapu ExpeditionNotes edit a b c d e f g h Irregular Warfare and the Vandalia expedition in Fiji 1859 Naval History Blog a b c d e f g h Timeline of United States Military Operations 1700s and 1800s a b c d e f g Long p 304References editLong F David 1988 Gold braid and foreign relations diplomatic activities of U S naval officers 1798 1883 Annapolis Maryland Naval Institute Press ISBN 0 87021 228 1 17 18 00 S 177 08 00 E 17 3000 S 177 1333 E 17 3000 177 1333 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Second Fiji expedition amp oldid 1177046149, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
