Mandingo War - 1831

A powerful tribe of Mandingoes, occupying a tract of country on the northern bank of the river, had, for some time past, manifested a spirit of restlessness and daring which excited in the minds of some of the colonists feelings of apprehensions as to what might be their ulterior intentions. These suspicions appeared afterwards to have been well founded; for they had fortified the town of Yassou, by surrounding it with a strong double stockade, and by making other warlike preparations.

On Monday, the 22nd of August, about eight o’clock at night, two Mandingoes came down to Fort Bullon, a small British fort on Barra Point, directly opposite Bathurst, across the river, about three miles distant, and manifested a disposition to quarrel with the few English settlers that resided there. They were arrayed in their war dresses, and armed with muskets and cutlasses. They entered the canteen at the fort, and demanded rum; but it was refused, because it was past the hour of serving. One of the men fired his musket at the spirit-vendor; after which they both disappeared, running off in the direction of the native town from which they came. The officer in charge of the fort, believing that there was some wicked design in all this, and that the natives were planning mischief, immediately fired an alarm-gun.

The governor immediately dispatched an officer with a detachment of soldiers to the relief of the fort. These were accompanied by a number of seamen, captains of vessels, and other persons who volunteered their services on the occasion. Hearing of the outrage which had been committed by the two Mandingoes, they marched up at once to Yassou, the residence of the King, and incautiously commenced firing upon the town, although they saw that it was in a position of complete defence. They had no sooner done this, than the natives poured out upon them like a hive of bees, being evidently prepared for the attack. After a fruitless and unsuccessful attack on the native town of Yassow, which they found in a state of complete defense, being surrounded with a double stockade, the handful of English troops and volunteers were obliged to flee for their lives.

The few English found it necessary to retire to the fort, having already lost some of their number. They were hotly pursued by the Mandingoes; and so unequal was the struggle, that the fort was ultimately abandoned, and the whole of the colonists made for the boats. Those who succeeded in reaching the beach before the boats moved off made off from the shore, and made their escape; but several failed, and were massacred on the beach by the infuriated natives, who pursued them in overpowering numbers into the deep waters. All this occurred during the night; and the news which reached St. Mary’s the next morning, produced the greatest consternation and dismay.

When the next morning dawned, and revealed the appalling fact that the infant British settlement was actually at war with a powerful tribe of savage natives, whose home was within three miles, and that a number of the colonists were already slain, a scene of mourning, lamentation, and woe was exhibited which witnesses would never forget. Wives were heard weeping and lamenting the loss of their husbands; and parents were anxiously inquiring for those of their children who were missing.

Among those who fell in this contest, was the Captain of an English vessel just arrived from Liverpool, whom the natives had mistaken for the Governor. On finding his body afterwards among the slain, they cut off his head, and erected it upon a pole as a monument of their cruel victory.

The contest in which the settlement was thus suddenly involved continued for nearly five months, at the most sickly season of the year, when most of the Europeans were prostrated by fever, and when every thing was unfavorable to either offensive or defensive military operations. These were months of great toil and frequent suffering. Through the trying ordeal of the “seasoning fever” much time was occupied in visiting the sick, the wounded, and the dying in the hospital, and in burying the dead, for which it was soon found impossible to find coffins in sufficient numbers.

Then followed the noise and commotion occasioned by a preparation on the part of the English for the defence of the colony, and for making an attack upon the enemy, so soon as a favorable opportunity should offer. All who could carry arms were drilled, and enrolled in a militia force; a strong stockade was erected across the island near to Bathurst; and a new fort was built in a commanding situation just behind the Mission-House. Sentinels were also appointed to keep a strict look-out, and to walk the streets during the night, that they might give an alarm, in case the enemy should attempt to land on the island.

The services of every person who could render any assistance were required in the common defence of the settlement. Even the native women and children carried stones for the erection of the new fort, singing, and clapping their hands, as they walked along with their loads upon their heads, in a manner which showed their enthusiastic and loyal attachment to the British Government.

In the month of November 1831, a French man-of-war came to the assistance of teh British; and an attempt was made to land a company of soldiers on Barra Point, with a view to re-take the fort; but the enemy were found so strongly intrenched, and so well defended, that this object could not be accomplished without a stronger force. Additional aid was therefore called in from Senegal, Sierra Leone, and other parts of the coast.

On the 10th of December 1831, when the season had become more favorable for military operations, a movement was made for a grand attack upon the enemy. In the afternoon, twenty vessels of various kinds, including two or three regular men-of-war, weighed anchor, and sailed across the river, having on board a force of about five hundred men. During the night, shells were occasionally thrown from the ships into the Mandingo intrenchments.

At daybreak on the morning of the 11th, the soldiers, under the command of Captain Berwick, effected a landing, being protected by a heavy fire from HMS “Plumper,” after a severe contest with the natives, in which considerable loss was sustained on both sides, in killed and wounded. The roaring of cannon, and the firing of musketry, continued during the day; and those who remained on the island, felt anxious to know the result. Towards evening a messenger arrived, bringing the intelligence that the Mandingoes had been completely routed, and driven into the woods; and as the smoke cleared away the British flag was once more waving over Barra Point. This feeling of joy soon subsided, however, and, in some instances gave place to sorrow and anguish, as boat after boat came across the river, filled with the dead and the wounded.

Although the Mandingoes were dispersed, and driven from their intrenchments on the Point, they were not entirely vanquished, as at first supposed. It was soon found that they had only retired to Yassou, the capital of their country, which was strongly fortified. On Thursday, the 17th, the British troops, having fortified their encampment on the Point, moved forward, and made an attack upon Yassou, hoping to reduce the enemy to entire submission. In consequence of various untoward circumstances, as the want of a sufficient supply of ammunition, and the breaking down of gun-carriages, this attempt proved an entire failure.

Not only were the natives vastly superior to the colonists in numbers, but their mode of warfare was peculiar and irregular; consisting in ambuscades, firing from behind the trees, and then scampering off, and other stratagems peculiar to savage warfare; so that the English, finding themselves engaged in an unequal struggle, were obliged to return to their encampment, with a loss of eleven killed, and fifty-nine wounded, several of whom died shortly afterwards.

While the English were preparing for a more vigorous attack upon Yassou, the Mandingoes came with a flag of truce, and requested that the war might cease. In view of the feeble state of the colony, surrounded by a dense population of warlike savages, the authorities were but too glad to comply with the request, if it could be done on honourable terms. Conditions of peace were therefore proposed and agreed to by both parties.

On Thursday, the 5th of January, 1832, Governor Rendal signed and ratification the treaty of peace, at Barra Point. When the terms had been duly discussed, and satisfactorily arranged, they were ratified in a formal manner in a grand ceremonial gathering, which took place on the other side of the river, on the scene of the contest. The Mandingo king was late in making his appearance; but, when he did come, it was with true African pomp and parade. He was attended by about two thousand of his warriors, fully armed, and arrayed in their war dresses. They seated themselves on the ground in a circular line of three deep, and vied with each other in their eagerness to shake hands with teh British as they passed along their ranks. When the announcement was made that the treaty was duly signed in English and in Arabic, the vast assembly discharged their muskets into the air in token of joy, and all returned home with thankful hearts.