Bombardment of Upolu

Bombardment of Upolu
Part of the United States Exploring Expedition
A drawing of a Samoan village made in 1839 by Alfred Agate during the Wilkes Expedition.
Date February 24, 1841 Location Upolu, Samoa, Pacific Ocean Result United States victory, natives retreat.
Belligerents
United States	Samoa
Commanders and leaders
William L. Hudson William M. Walker	Malietoa Moli
Strength
Land: ~20 marines ~50 sailors Sea: 1 sloop-of-war 1 schooner	unknown
Casualties and losses
none	unknown

The Bombardment of Upolu, in 1841, was the second engagement with islanders of the Pacific Ocean during the United States Exploring Expedition.

Following the murder of an American sailor on the island of Upolu, Samoa, two United States Navy warships were dispatched to investigate. When the principal local chief would not hand over those suspected of the murder, they bombarded one village and went ashore and burned down others.

The American expedition of discovery first arrived off Upolu in October 1839 while conducting surveys of the region. Because United States-flagged merchant ships had traded a lot with the natives in the previous decades, Commander Charles Wilkes decided on establishing a treaty with the seven chiefs on the island which would govern future relations. Wilkes then drafted what he called the "commercial regulations" that, among other things, provided that the Samoans would hand over any natives found guilty of murdering foreigners. An incident had occurred a few years before in which the followers of Chief Oportuno had killed three sailors from an American merchantman, so Wilkes wanted a treaty to handle such a situation. All of the stipulations were agreed to and were officially signed on November 5, 1839, the same day that James C. William was appointed the American consul to the island. With that accomplished, Commander Wilkes left Upolu to continue his voyage around the world.

Trade with the Samoans went well until about a year later, when the natives at Upolu killed another American.

When Commander Wilkes learned of the death, he detached two vessels from his squadron to sail back to Samoa. The twenty-two gun sloop-of-war USS Peacock and the small two gun schooner USS Flying Fish were under the command of Lieutenant William L. Hudson and Commandant Samuel R. Knox, respectively. The two vessels arrived off Upolu on February 24, 1841. The Americans decided to meet with the principal chief Malietoa to demand that the murderer or murderers be handed over.

...
Wikipedia