A Footnote in History: Guerrilla Warfare in Samoa

Known as the “pearl of the South Seas,” the Samoan Islands were some of the last Pacific Ocean territories to be colonised by the nineteenth-century great powers (Ellison 1938, 9). Throughout the latter-half of the 1800s, the United States, the British Empire, and Germany scrambled to establish colonial outposts throughout the Indo-Pacific. For these imperial powers, the value of small volcanic island chains like the Samoan Islands was their use as coaling stations to support naval operations throughout the Pacific Ocean.

The topographical features of the fourteen Samoan Islands made them strategically valuable. The most important natural feature was Pago Pago Bay, located on Tutuila Island. Pago Pago Bay’s natural landscape provided shipping with suitable protection from storms, adequate concealment for naval forces, and was deep enough for large capital ships to dock in the area (Ellison 1938, 11-12). In addition to Pago Pago Bay, the Samoan Islands were valuable for their overall geographic location. Located in the southern Pacific, the Samoan Islands were approximately midway between two important nineteenth-century port cities; over 4,000 miles from San Francisco and roughly 5,000 miles from Hong Kong (Ellison 1938, 11-12). To contemporary American expansionists, a coaling station at Pago Pago Bay would allow U.S. naval vessels greater freedom of action to pursue American interests across the Indo-Pacific.

The United States was not the only great power interested in annexing the Samoan Islands; they were the site of fierce great power competition among the United States, the British Empire, and Germany in the late nineteenth century. The U.S. presence in Samoa dated to the 1860’s when several American land speculators, investors, and sailors became interested in acquiring territory on Apia and Tutuila islands (Ellison 1938, 37). Desirous to see the United States annex the islands to ensure their property rights, these investors lobbied Congress to subsidise their industrial developments in Samoa and warned them of plans in Germany and New Zealand to annex the island chain (Ellison 1938, 38-42).

American and European immigration to the islands continued to grow, and by the late 1880’s competition over Samoa became so fierce that war between Germany and the United States seemed possible. Eventually, both parties (and the ever-interested British) agreed to terms at a conference in Berlin, which installed a monarchical Samoan government under a local ruler (Kennedy 2015, 89-95). The islands were divided into three separate spheres of influence, and the arrangements set forth by the 1889 Treaty of Berlin lasted until the Samoan monarch died in 1898 (Boot 2014, 65). A power struggle ensued, with the pro-German candidate for the throne taking power. The British and Americans were concerned about this development, as they feared this would lead to total German domination of the islands and most importantly, Pago Pago Bay. The Royal Navy and U.S. Navy dispatched a naval task force, including a small contingent of Marines, to the islands to restore order and a favourable balance of power (Boot 2014, 65).

The Anglo-American task force arrived in Samoa on 13 March 1899, and Marines immediately landed ashore to secure the Samoan capital of Apia (a contingent of sailors was landed too) (Boot 2014, 65). Having landed near Apia at Mulinu Point, the expedition marched to the American consulate where U.S. civilians and diplomatic personnel were stationed and presumably seeking shelter (Ellsworth 1974, 147). The expedition also secured the Samoan throne for the preferred Anglo-American candidate, Malietoa Tanu (Boot 2014, 65).

Primarily an infantry force, the Anglo-American expedition was also armed with a Colt’s gun and a 22-man artillery squad (Ellsworth 1974, 147). Having secured the U.S. consulate and the Samoan throne, the expedition ventured into the urban areas of Apia, while U.S. and British warships fired upon pro-German indigenous forces occupying forested areas near the capital. No doubt sensing that the Anglo-Americans outmatched them with superior technology, the pro-German indigenous forces retreated further into the jungle interior of Apia. Determined to crush pro-German indigenous resistance, on 1 April 1899 the Anglo-Americans decided to pursue their enemy further into the island’s interior (Ellsworth 1974, 147).

The expedition set off into the jungle with British Marines in the vanguard, American Marines, sailors, and loyal Samoans following, and American civilians in the rear (Ellsworth 1974, 148). This force, numbering no more than two hundred and fifty people, was eventually engaged in combat near the interior town of Faglii. After passing the town and entering a field of tall grass, the expedition received enemy fire from the left flank and rear: the column had stumbled into an ambush (Ellsworth 1974, 148). Chaos ensued as losses were incurred. The expedition retreated approximately three hundred yards to the rear, where a defensive position was taken up near a wire fence (Boot 2014, 65).

American Marines held the line against the attacking Samoans while the wounded were evacuated out of the area. The Anglo-American leadership quickly decided to retreat to the shore, where naval artillery would be able to protect them. Once back at the shore near the town of Faglii, a headcount was taken, and losses were recorded as two American sailors dead, and a further five American marines and sailors wounded. Three officers (two American and one British) were missing; their decapitated bodies were later found - a revealing example of how vicious guerrilla warfare can be (Ellsworth 1974, 148).

In the end, military force did not significantly alter the international situation in Samoa in favour of the Americans and the British. After the debacle in early April 1899, the pro-German rival to the Samoan throne agreed to a ceasefire while an international commission was called to end three-party colonial rule over Samoa (Boot 2014, 66). The islands were divided between the Germans and the Americans, while the British were compensated for their losses in Samoa with the acquisition of the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Soon after, the United States established a coaling station on Tutuila Island (Boot 2014, 66). Pago Pago Bay was able to serve as a hub for shipping between East Asia and the United States, as well as provide safety for American naval vessels patrolling significant sea routes. As a vestige of nineteenth-century great-power competition, the Samoan Islands would continue to provide strategic value to the United States well into the twentieth century.

Bibliography

Boot, Max. 2014. The Savage Wars of Peace: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power. United States: Basic Books.

Ellison, Joseph W. 1938. Opening and Penetration of Foreign Influence in Samoa to 1880. United States: Oregon State College.

Ellsworth, Harry Alanson. 1974. One Hundred Eighty Landings of United States Marines, 1800-1934. A Brief History in Two Parts. United States: History and Museums Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps; U.S. Printing Office.

Kennedy, Paul. 2015. Samoan Tangle: A Study in Anglo-German-American Relations 1878-1900. Australia: University of Queensland Press.