The Yoni Expedition was

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

campaign launched in 1887 against the

Yoni Chiefdom The Yoni Chiefdom is a Chiefdom of Sierra Leone located in Tonkolili District, Northern Province, Sierra Leone. It is centred on Yonibana and the Yoni people are part of the Temne and fula ethnic groups. British invasion of 1887 Francis de Winto ...

of the

Temne people The Temne, also called Atemne, Témené, Temné, Téminè, Temeni, Thaimne, Themne, Thimni, Timené, Timné, Timmani, or Timni, are a West African ethnic group. They are predominantly found in the Northern Province, Sierra Leone, Northern Provin ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

Composition of expedition

The expedition was led by

Francis de Winton Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Francis Walter de Winton (21 June 1835 – 16 December 1901) was a British Army officer, colonial administrator and courtier in the Household of King George V and Queen Mary, Household of the D ...

and consisted of: *

1st West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

: 298 troops *

Sierra Leone Police Corps The Sierra Leone Police Corps was established in 1829, by the colonial authorities of British West Africa (first period). Recruitment was primarily made from Sierra Leone Creole people The Sierra Leone Creole people () are an ethnic group of Si ...

: 45 men * HMS ''Acorn'', HMS ''Icarus'' and HMS ''Rifleman'': 38 naval personnel * irregulars from friendly tribes: 400 men The British were supported by a force led by Sory Kessebeh from

Bumpe Bumpe is a small town in Bo District in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone. As of 2013 it had an estimated population of 16,123. The town is located south-west of Bo. The town is also known as Bompeh, and both names are applied to a local ri ...

, who had previously experienced attacks from the Temne. * local porters to transport supplies: 500 men * local bush-cutters to open up a track through the bush: 200 * government officials and military officers: 19 men The seamen manned a 7-pounder rifled, muzzle-loading field gun and a

Maxim machine gun The Maxim gun is a Recoil operation, recoil-operated machine gun invented in 1884 by Hiram Maxim, Hiram Stevens Maxim. It was the first automatic firearm, fully automatic machine gun in the world. The Maxim gun has been called "the weapon most ...

. The West Indians were each armed with a Martini-Henry rifle and they also operated tubes firing rockets. The British military, with all their modern machinery and their allied forces, faced an ambush organized by the Yoni warriors. 20 killed and all wounded. They suffered greatly during this campaign.

References

{{reflist Military of Sierra Leone British West Indies Military history of Jamaica