The Second Sumatran expedition was a

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

against inhabitants of the island of

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

. After Malay

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s or

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s had massacred the crew of the American merchant ship ''Eclipse'', an expedition of two American warships landed a force that defeated the Malays in two short engagements.

Background

In August 1838, the American trading vessel ''Eclipse'' was visiting the village of Terbangan, on South Aceh, when 24 Malays approached. The ship's second mate allowed the Malays to board after they relieved themselves of their weapons. A few moments later the Americans returned the Malays their weapons as a sign of friendship. The Malays, now rearmed with knives and other bladed weapons, attacked the crew. First they killed the second mate and then one by one the remaining men. Some of the American

sailor A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s jumped overboard but the Malays hunted them down and killed them. This was the second of such incidents. The massacre of the crew of the merchant ship ''Friendship'' by Malays had given rise to the

first Sumatran expedition The First Sumatran expedition, which featured the Battle of Quallah Battoo (Aceh: Kuala Batèë, Indonesian: Kuala Batu) in 1832, was a punitive expedition by the United States Navy against the village of Kuala Batee, presently a subdistrict ...

in 1832. News of the massacre reached Commodore George C. Read in December 1838 while he was sailing off

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in command of the

East India Squadron The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a Squadron (naval), squadron of American ships that existed in the nineteenth century. It focused on protecting American interests in the Far East, while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on ...

. Immediately Commodore Read in the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

set sail southeast for Sumatra, together with the frigate . ''Columbia'' and ''John Adams'' were in the process of circumnavigating the globe in conjunction with, though not part of, the

United States Exploring Expedition The United States Exploring Expedition of 1838–1842 was an exploring and surveying expedition of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding lands conducted by the United States. The original appointed commanding officer was Commodore Thomas ap Catesby ...

of 1838 to 1842. Coincidentally, the expedition to Sumatra required no detour. ''Columbia'' held almost 500 men on average and mounted 50 guns during the expedition. ''John Adams'' carried about 220 men and officers with 30 guns.

Expedition

The expedition arrived off southern Sumatra on 1 January 1839. The two American vessels first headed for Quallah Battoo. Once they had arrived, the two U.S. Navy vessels formed a line of battle just in range of five earth and wooden forts that protected the village and opened fire. Over an hour later all of the forts were destroyed or in shambles. The chief of the village surrendered and agreed never again to attack American ships. With this Commodore Read set sail for Labuhan Tarok Muckie, the next American objective. ''Columbia'' and ''John Adams'' arrived off Muckie the following day. The Americans landed a force of 360 officers, marines and sailors, all under the command of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

T.W. Wyman of the Navy. Wyman's men attacked Muckie, while ''Columbia'' and ''John Adams'' provided covering fire with their

cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

. Although most of the inhabitants fled their village upon the outbreak of fighting, some of the Malay men attempted to resist the attack but were overwhelmed. Within a short time, Muckie was in flames. The landing party then returned to their ships and sailed away. The punitive expedition ended after the Muckie engagement, and Commodore Read continued his cruise around the world. The second Sumatran expedition achieved what the first expedition had not. Casualties are absent from records.

References

*Earl, George S. W. (1850). "On The Leading Characteristics of the Papuan, Australian and Malay-Polynesian Nations". Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia JIAEA, page 119 *Murrell, William Meacham, Cruise of the Frigate Columbia Around The World Under The Command of Commodore George C. Read. Benjamin Bussey Boston, Mass, (1840) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sumatran expedition, Second Battles involving the United States Aceh Naval battles involving the United States Naval battles involving the Netherlands United States Marine Corps in the 18th and 19th centuries Military history of Indonesia Military history of the Netherlands History of Sumatra Punitive expeditions of the United States Punitive expeditions of the Netherlands Conflicts in 1838 Conflicts in 1839 1838 in Southeast Asia 1839 in Southeast Asia 1838 in the Dutch East Indies 1839 in the Dutch East Indies December 1838 January 1839 Military history of the Indian Ocean

Background

Expedition

See also

References