Johanna Expedition
| Johanna Expedition | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Johanna Island, Indian Ocean | |
| Result |
American victory
|
United States
Johanna Sultanate William Pearson Selim1 blockhouse
1 blockhouse damaged
The Johanna Expedition, or Anjouan Expedition, was a naval operation that occurred in August 1851 during the American anti-slavery patrols off Africa. The event was unrelated to slavery and began after the seizure of the merchant ship Maria and her captain at Johanna Island. The United States Navy sent a sloop-of-war to free the captain, who was still being held, and to demand compensation for the incident. When Sultan Selim refused, the Americans briefly bombarded the island's fortifications.[1][2]
Expedition
In April 1850, the
Bombardment of Johanna
The natives of the island became alarmed so Sultan Selim offered $5,000 in cash, cattle, trinkets and whatever he could find. Pearson never expected to receive the full $20,000 so he gave himself twenty-four hours to decide while the sultan gathered his resources. The Americans also warned the Johannans that if they did anything warlike, or failed to evacuate the women and children during the twenty-four-hour period, the deal would be void and the Dale would immediately begin a bombardment. However, the Johannans soon after revealed their intentions of ignoring the demands of Captain Pearson when they marched a large body of soldiers into the town. Consequently, at 9:00 am on August 6, 1851, USS Dale's 12- and 32-pound cannons fired on the enemy fort, which responded by firing six shots before a white flag was raised. USS Dale then stopped her attack and Selim issued another letter to the captain insisting that he very much wished that the bombardment would stop. Because Captain Pearson was not sure whether to resume the engagement, he sent
The natives apparently refused to take the flag down so the Americans eventually resumed their fire on the fort before redirecting it at the blockhouse. Pearson ordered his men to make sure their shots were well aimed as he did not want any stray rounds to land within the civilian areas; only military structures were damaged. After expending a total of thirty-nine shot and shell from eight guns, over the course of about an hour, the Dale ceased firing again and sent Lieutenant Fairfax back to shore. Shortly thereafter, the lieutenant returned with Captain Moores and $1,000 from the sultan. Selim offered to surrender the town, give away all of his houses, slaves, cattle and money to try and stop the attack, he also said he was very sorry for the capture of the Maria and would not do anything like it again. Hoping to avoid bloodshed, Captain Pearson accepted the agreement and signed a treaty that put the United States among the island's most favored trading partners.[1][2]
Aftermath
The Americans suffered no casualties in the engagement and it is unknown if any of the Johannans were hurt. USS Dale and her crew successfully extracted
See also
- Punitive expedition
- Falklands Expedition
- Korean Expedition
- Blockade of Africa
- East India Squadron
References
- ^ a b c d e f "The Bombardment of Johanna". NYTimes. February 4, 1852. p. [1].
- ^ a b c "Suppression of Piracy on Johanna Island, August 1851" (PDF). Naval History and Heritage Command. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2011.