US Troops Disguised as Traders Attack Aceh, 500 Killed

While sailing in Brazilian waters, the United States Navy frigate USS Potomac, captained by John Downes, received an unusual message. The instruction came not from his direct superior, but from the top man in the United States, President Andrew Jackson (1767-1845). The message was brief but firm: ‘combat alert’. The reason was that in February 1831, the American merchant ship Friendship was attacked by residents of Kuala Batu, Aceh, while purchasing pepper. The incident infuriated Jackson. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Jackson ordered Downes to assess the situation and was permitted to take any measures necessary to teach a lesson and ensure the safety of US merchant ships in East Indian waters.

Downes was no ordinary figure. In the book America’s Forgotten Wars (2021), he is described as a tough combat commander who had repeatedly led and won military operations in the Pacific region. Following up on the order, Downes immediately moved. He loaded 300 troops and cannons onto the ship. From Brazil, the Potomac continued its voyage thousands of kilometres to South Africa, then crossed the Indian Ocean to reach Aceh. During the two-month voyage, Downes devised a strategy. He realised he could not arrive in Acehnese waters with cannons openly on deck and soldiers visible, as such an approach would only trigger resistance. Therefore, he tried to change his strategy.

‘All cannons were pulled back behind the deck and the cannon doors were closed,’ wrote Farish A. Noor in ‘Attack, Reprisal and Dealing with the Media Fall-Out: The Battle of Quallah Battoo in 1832’ (2014). Instead, the USS Potomac would disguise itself as a Dutch merchant ship. This was a clever choice because the Dutch were accustomed to trading with Aceh. This trade relationship meant the presence of a foreign ship flying the Dutch flag would not arouse suspicion. It should be noted that although the Dutch had a large colony in the archipelago, Aceh was not part of their domain. Aceh at that time was a strong and sovereign independent kingdom. In fact, as explained by Lee Kam Hing in The Sultanate of Aceh (1995), the Aceh Sultanate had official relations with the Ottoman Empire in Turkey and the British Empire in the 19th century.

When the USS Potomac arrived in Aceh, Captain Downes executed his ruse. The warship was disguised as a Dutch trading vessel. No one was suspicious. After docking, soldiers were ordered to disembark under the pretext of trading. In reality, they were mapping the area and kidnapping local traders to gauge the defensive strength of Kuala Batu. From this intelligence, Downes planned the attack. At dawn on 6 February 1832, 300 United States troops launched a surprise assault on the residential area of Kuala Batu. The residents were clearly not prepared for war. They thought the foreign guests had come to trade. Although they eventually fought back, they were completely defeated.

‘Captain Downes landed 300 men in the town, and in less than three hours succeeded in capturing three forts and killing between 80 and 100 local residents,’ wrote the New York Observer (7 July 1832). The report stated that US casualties were only two dead, with 80 to 100 local residents killed. However, other reports cited a much larger number of victims, namely 500 civilians. According to Farish A. Noor, the USS Potomac’s attack on the Sumatran settlement triggered a surprising shift in American public opinion. Initially, the US troops were hailed as heroes, but were later condemned as savage murderers. This was because the US military employed a strategy of disguising themselves as traders, launching an attack while residents were asleep, conducting no negotiations, and killing women and children.

Although the wave of criticism grew, President Andrew Jackson managed to quell it. However, history still records the wound. It was only hundreds of years later that it became known that the Acehnese were not entirely at fault. In Death on an Empire (2011), historian Robert Booth explained that the attack on the Friendship was triggered by residents’ frustration over unfair trading practices. US traders often reduced measures and disadvantaged the Acehnese people. When the Friendship arrived, the long-suppressed anger finally exploded. Ironically, the retaliatory attack by the USS Potomac actually paved the way for the Dutch invasion of Aceh several years later. The attack became the beginning of a long and bloody war that subsequently changed the history of Aceh.