Combat
Sumatra Expeditions
Two punitive naval campaigns that marked the first significant projection of American armed force into Asian waters.
Both grew from the same grievance: Malay rulers on the pepper coast of Sumatra plundered American merchant ships and murdered their crews, and the United States answered with warships. The First Expedition of 1832, under Commodore John Downes in the frigate USS Potomac, avenged the seizure of the Friendship at Quallah Battoo with a landing that stormed the town's forts, followed by a bombardment. When the lesson did not hold, the Second Expedition of 1838–1839, under Commodore George Read with the Columbia and John Adams, returned to bombard Quallah Battoo again and to land and destroy the town of Muckie. Marines served in the landing parties and as shipboard guards throughout. Together the two expeditions suppressed Malay attacks on American shipping and announced that the United States would reach across the world to protect its commerce.
Engagements in this conflict (3) Podcast episodes on Sumatra Expeditions
Record no. 298