Shelling: 'No village is too remote'

Invincible Strangers 7 - Chapter 2.1

Shelling: ‘No village is too remote’

Anglo-Americans were keen to bombard civilians.

At one o’clock on 15 March, Kautz opened fire. A six inch shell from Philadelphia went over Mulinu’ū and into Vaiusu. Philadelphia’s third shell destroyed a canoe. No record was kept of what happened to the people in or near it. Firing continued every few minutes. At around 4pm, Porpoise went out five kilometres, passing Philadelphia whose crew gave them a cheer as its band struck up ‘God Save the Queen’. Once out past Mulinu’ū and in Ross’ report, ‘began dropping shells on Vaiusu, and made beautiful shooting. I hear that the American officers admired it greatly, and they chipped in from the Philadelphia with deadly accuracy.’ He quoted a messenger at the English consulate: ‘My word, Porpoise break plenty at Vaiusu; smash all the huts, smash houses and set 'em on fire, kill lots Samoans.’

Punch Vol.116 p.194 April 26 1899

A gathering of whites at the Tivoli Hotel went up a tower to watch the shelling: ‘We could see where every shell exploded,’ Ross reported. ‘First would come a puff of smoke from the ship's side, then an ear-splitting report, followed by a hideous shrieking sound made by the shells, then a dull report made by the shell bursting, and finally a cloud of smoke showing where the shell had burst.’ Shells were dropped ‘wherever natives or native villages were known to be.’ Royalist’s five inch guns fired into the jungle slope of Mt Vaea and Magiagi, believed to be Mata’afa’s base. Porpoise and Philadelphia kept firing onto Vaiusu. Mata’afa men were said to be fleeing, but others, with ‘strong hearts’, remained in their trenches. A correspondent went to the base of Mulinu’ū peninsula, finding himself in the direct line of fire on Vaiusu: they could hear ‘shells roaring and screaming through the air just over our heads. Then they would burst inland, some to the left and some to the right of the Papase’ea waterfall. The smoke would drift away, and in its place would rise the smoke of a burning Samoan house.’ Further down Mulinu’ū US forces were firing a Colt machine gun across Vaiusu Bay. Forty five minutes after firing began, Philadelphia’s salvoes ended. English and American people in Āpia cheered.

USS Philadelphia 6-inch gun USN. Naval History and Heritage Command

Shelling across Āpia was wayward.