Second Fiji Expedition

Part of the

Yalobi Bay at Waya, Fiji.

Date	6–16 October 1859
Location	Waya, Fiji, Pacific Ocean
Result	American victory

Belligerents

United States

Fiji

Commanders and leaders

Strength

Land:
10 marines
40 sailors
1 artillery piece
Sea:
1 schooner

~300 warriors

Casualties and losses

6 wounded
1 artillery piece destroyed

14 killed
~36 wounded
115 huts destroyed

A 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.

In the summer of 1859, two American citizens on Waya were killed and canibalized by the natives so 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.

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.

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.”

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Wikipedia