East India Squadron The East India Squadron , or East Indies Squadron , was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century , it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coasts of the Americas and in the South Pacific Ocean . Part of the duties assigned to this squadron was serving with the Yangtze River Patrol in China . The East India Squadron was established in 1835 and existed until it became part of the Asiatic Squadron in 1868 . History . Shortly before Senator Levi Woodbury of New Hampshire became secretary of the Navy in 1831 , Edmund Roberts had sent him a letter detailing the neglected state of Far Eastern commerce and whaling . Near the end of that year , American pepper trade r " Friendship " returned to her home port of Salem , to report that Sumatran pirates had killed the first officer and two crewmen , and plundered the cargo . In response to public outcry , President Andrew Jackson dispatched the " Potomac " on the first of what were to be two punitive expeditions to Sumatra . The sloop - of - war " Peacock " was also dispatched , and , on the recommendation of Woodbury , carried Roberts as envoy to Cochin - China , Siam and Muscat , to negotiate treaties to place American commerce on a surer basis , and on an equality with that of the most favored nation s . Roberts succeeded with Siam and Muscat . " Peacock " returned in 1835 - 37 with Dr . W . S . W . Ruschenberger bearing ratifications of those treaties . " Peacock " , which in 1828 had been broken down and rebuilt as an exploration vessel , joined the United States Exploring Expedition in 1838 . East India Squadron " Columbia " and " John Adams " had also joined the circumnavigating Expedition , and , without having to detour , executed the Second Sumatran Expedition . Formation . Except for whaling and pepper , US trade with the Far East was limited , but for those who risked long voyage to trade fur , sandalwood , and cotton goods for Chinese silks and tea , the results were very profitable . Indeed , stories about the riches of Far East created the national myth about the vast potential of the China market . In an effort of turn the myth into reality , the US sent envoy Roberts to Cochin - China in 1835 aboard the " Peacock " , escorted by schooner " Enterprise " under command of Commodore Edmund P . Kennedy , first called at the port of Canton , and Roberts ' account gives a vivid description of the state of affairs there . Kennedy subsequently established the East India Squadron . First Opium War . Some Americans in China suffered during the first Opium War of 1839 as Chinese indignant about British opium traders failed to distinguish between English - speaking people of European ancestry . Commodore Kearny was given command of a squadron consisting of the 42 - year old frigate " Constellation " and the sloop " Boston " . Kearny arrived in China in March 1842 and the Opium War soon ended . Kearny first learned of the Treaty of Nanking when he arrived in Hong Kong . Kearny observed the treaty ' s provisions opening five Chinese ports to British trade , and sought equal trading opportunity for Americans . Viceroy of Guangzhou offered Kearny a treaty giving Americans fair treatment . Kearny did not have authority to sign such a treaty , but tactfully informed Ke agreement would be forthcoming as soon as authorized negotiators arrived . Caleb Cushing reached China in 1844 , and the Treaty of Wanghia was signed on 2 July . Opening of Japan . In December 1845 , Commodore James Biddle exchanged ratifications of the Treaty of Wanghia at Poon Tong ( 泮塘 ) , a village outside Guangzhou . The treaty was the first treaty between China and the United States . On July 20 , 1846 , he anchored with the two warships USS " Columbus " and USS " Vincennes " in Uraga Channel at the mouth to Edo Bay in an attempt to open up Japan to trade with the United States , but was ultimately unsuccessful . Biddle delivered his request that Japan agree to a similar treaty to that which he had just negotiated with China . Biddle eventually received the shogunate ' s response and was told that Japan forbade all commerce and communication with foreign nations besides that of the Dutch ; also , he was informed that all foreign affairs were conducted through Nagasaki and that his ships should leave Uraga immediately . In 1852 , Commodore Matthew C . Perry embarked from Norfolk , Virginia for Japan , in command of a squadron in search of a Japanese trade treaty . Aboard a black - hulled steam frigate , he ported " Mississippi " , " Plymouth " , " Saratoga " , and USS " Susquehanna " at Uraga Harbor near Edo ( modern Tokyo ) on July 8 , 1853 . His actions at this crucial juncture were informed by a careful study of Japan ' s previous contacts with Western ships and what could be known about the Japanese hierarchical culture . He was met by representatives of the Tokugawa Shogunate who told him to proceed to Nagasaki , where there was limited trade with the Netherlands and which was the only Japanese port open to foreigners at that time ( see Sakoku ) . Perry returned in February 1854 with twice as many ships , finding that the delegates had prepared a treaty embodying virtually all the demands in Fillmore ' s letter . Perry signed the Convention of Kanagawa on March 31 , 1854 and departed , mistakenly believing the agreement had been made with imperial representatives . The agreement was made with the Shogun , the de facto ruler of Japan . Johanna Expedition . The Johanna Expedition was a naval operation that occurred in August 1851 during the American anti - slavery patrols in the Indian Ocean . It began in response the seizure of the merchant ship " Maria " and her captain , a man named Moores , in the small Sultanate of Johanna . The United States Navy sent the sloop - of - war USS " Dale " , under Captain William Pearson , to free Moores and to demand compensation for the incident . When the sultan refused , the Americans briefly bombarded a fort and blockhouse protecting the harbor of Matsamudu . Anti - piracy operations . In July 1855 , Chinese pirates in the Hong Kong area captured four merchant ships , apparently of British subject . In response on 4 August 1855 , armed boats from the East India Squadron frigate USS " Powhatan " and the Royal Navy sloop - of - war HMS " Rattler " attacked the pirates at the Battle of Ty - ho Bay . HMS " Eaglet " towed the boats into position which then proceeded to destroy twenty of thirty - six junks . Seven merchant ships were also rescued . An estimated 500 pirates were killed or wounded and over 1 , 000 taken prisoner compared the an allied loss of nine dead and about a dozen wounded . Second Opium War . The United States would see action again during the Second Opium War from 1856 to 1860 . Four of the squadron ' s ships were involved in at least two battles . At the beginning of the war , the United States Navy frigate , USS " San Jacinto " and two sloops - of - war , USS " Portsmouth " and USS " Levant " , launched an attack against a series of Chinese fort s along Pearl River . The engagement became known as the Battle of the Pearl River Forts and was fought in 1856 . The second involvement of an East India Squadron ship was during the Second Battle of Taku Forts in 1859 . The American warship , USS " Powhatan " , assisted an Anglo and French attack by bombarding the Taku Forts . No further engagements between Chinese and American forces during the war are known to have happened though American citizens living in Canton fought as militia at the 1856 battle at Canton . Bombardment of Qui Nhon . On June 30 , 1861 , USS " Saginaw " , under James F . Schenck , silenced a fort at the entrance to Qui Nhon Bay , Cochinchina . This was after a Vietnamese artillery battery had fired upon her while she was searching for the missing boat and crew of an American merchant bark named " Myrtle " . After an engagement lasting just under an hour , the Chinese fort was destroyed and a large explosion was observed by the Americans . It became the only battle of the Cochinchina Campaign involving the United States which deployed the East India Squadron to protect American interests in the region . Formosan Expedition . Following the Rover Incident of March 1867 in which the American bark " Rover " was wrecked and massacred by the Paiwan people of southern Formosa ; the East India Squadron under Rear Admiral Henry H . Bell launched a punitive expedition in retaliation . On June 18 , 1867 , 181 officers , sailors and marines from two screw sloops - of - war landed with the intention of destroying the hostile threat . After six hours of marching through the hot tropical Formosan mountains and after several skirmishes , the Americans turned back to their ships . The expedition failed after the death of an American commander and the loss of several men due to the humid climate . They boarded USS " Wyoming " and USS " Hartford " and then set sail for Shanghai . A year later the squadron was merged into the new Asiatic Squadron . Ships . USS " Powhatan " , under Commander William J . McCluney , was assigned to the East India Squadron and arrived on station via Cape of Good Hope 15 June 1853 . Her arrival in Chinese waters coincided with an important phase of Commodore Matthew C . Perry ’ s negotiations for commercial relations with the Japanese and the opening of two ports . She was Perry ’ s flagship during his November visit to Whampoa . On 14 February 1854 she entered Yedo Bay with the rest of the squadron and the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed on her deck on 31 March 1854 . Assigned to the East India Squadron under Commodore Matthew Perry , the USS " Macedonian " with Capt . Joel Abbot in command , was one of the six American ships arrayed off Uraga , Japan , 13 February 1854 during Perry ' s second visit to negotiate the opening of Japan to foreign trade . After completing her trials , which she began in January 1851 , the side - wheel steamer USS " Susquehanna " sailed on 8 June for the Far East to become flagship of the East India Squadron . The USS " Dolphin " got underway 6 May 1848 to join the East India Squadron , protecting American citizens in Asiatic waters . Recommissioned on 12 August 1850 , USS " Saratoga " got underway on 15 September and proceeded to the western Pacific for service in the East India Squadron . USS " Levant " sailed 13 November for Rio de Janeiro , the Cape of Good Hope , and Hong Kong , where she arrived to join the East India Squadron 12 May 1856 . On 1 July she embarked the U . S . Commissioner to China for transportation to Shanghai , arriving 1 August . Departing Norfolk 4 August , the USS " Germantown " sailed via the Cape of Good Hope to Ceylon , where on 22 December she joined Flag Officer Josiah Tattnall ' s East India Squadron off Point de Gala . For 2 years she cruised Far Eastern waters and visited the principal ports of China and Japan , where she found " uniform friendly reception " as the squadron guarded American interests in the Orient . Sailing via the Cape of Good Hope , she returned to Norfolk in April 1860 After a four - day stop at Singapore , where Commodore Armstrong relieved Commodore Joel Abbot in command of the East India Squadron , the frigate USS " San Jacinto " reached the bar off the mouth of the Me Nam ( later the Chao Phraya ) River . The new side - wheel steamer USS " Saginaw " sailed from San Francisco Bay on 8 March 1860 , headed for the western Pacific , and reached Shanghai , China , on 12 May . She then served in the East India Squadron , for the most part cruising along the Chinese coast to protect American citizens and to suppress pirates . She visited Japan in November but soon returned to Chinese waters . On 30 June 1861 , she silenced a battery at the entrance to Qui Nhon Bay , Cochin China , which had fired upon her while she was searching for the missing boat and crew of American bark , " Myrtle " . On 3 January 1862 , " Saginaw " was decommissioned at Hong Kong Commanders . Successive Commanders - in - Chief of the East India Squadron were as follows . Served in squadron . Also serving in the squadron at one time were :