and ten other armed ships on October 25. A shore party was landed and they claimed the island for the United States and constructed a small village, named Madisonville. A fort and a dock was also built, the latter to refit the Essex. Almost immediately Porter became involved in the tribal conflict. The first expedition into the jungle was led by Lieutenant John Downes. He and forty others captured a fort held by 3,000 to 4,000 Happah warriors with the assistance of several hundred Te Iis. The victory forced the Happah to terms and they allied themselves with both the Americans and the Te Ii. A second expedition was led by Porter himself and he made an amphibious assault against the Tai Pī held coastline. 5,000 Te Iis and Happahs accompanied the fleet in at least 200 war-canoes. Though the landing was unopposed, Porter's force of thirty men and a cannon led the march inland where they found another, more formidable, enemy fort. Thousands of natives armed with rocks and spears, positioned in a formidable mountain fortress, were able to fend off their enemies. The victory was short-lived however and Captain Porter followed up his landing with an expedition overland, bypassing the fort, to threaten the Tai Pī's village center in Typee Valley as the Americans named it. When the column arrived at their destination it was November 30 of 1813. The first shots fired occurred after the Tai Pis attempted to ambush the column, the attack was beaten off and the Porter issued a messing warning that if the Tai Pi did not cease their resistance at once, he would destroy the villages. After a little while of waiting, the hostiles seemed to ignore the demands so the expedition advanced. An engagement ensued as the villages were burned. In the end, the Americans and their Te Ii and Happah allies had won at severe cost to the enemy, who sued for peace soon after. The next few months were peaceful until May 1814. The War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom was in its third year most of the American fleet was captured British privateers. At least six British prisoners were at Nuku Hiva during the American operations against the natives, not including a number who volunteered to fight for Captain Porter. But in December 1813, Porter left Nuka Hiva to continue raiding British whalers.