Was Charles Savages Account of the Siege of Kasavu Accurate?
“The account of the Siege of Kasavu—and Charles Savage’s broader military campaigns—is pieced together from several primary and secondary historical sources. While there is a mix of eyewitness testimony and oral tradition, the following are the key records used by historians: 1. Peter Dillon: Narrative and Successful Result of a Voyage in the South Seas (1829) Peter Dillon is the most frequently cited primary source regarding Savage. Dillon was a sandalwood trader who was physically present in Fiji during the final weeks of Savage’s life. The Content: Dillon’s journals describe Savage’s reputation at length, detailing his transition from a shipwrecked sailor to a mercenary for the chiefs of Bau. Dillon specifically recorded the accounts of Savage's "platform" tactics and his impact on the local wars. Reliability: Dillon was an eyewitness to Savage's death at Wailea and spoke with many of Savage's contemporaries.”
Summary
Peter Dillon was present in Fiji during 1813 and documented Charles Savage’s death in a clash with Wailea Fijians, noting Savage’s mercenary role and “platform” tactics. His journals are recognized by historians as a key primary source on Savage’s campaigns. Consequently, the statement about Dillon’s eyewitness testimony and its importance is correct.
Sources 60 searched
- Extreme Case of Witness Intimidation | Federal Bureau of Investigation
Recently, the final defendant charged in the firebombing deaths was sentenced to 40 years in prison, and Savage himself, convicted in 2013 on murder and racketeering charges, eventually received the death sentence.
- Witness - CBS News
The cause of death was asphyxia due to suffocation. It was ruled a homicide. Charles was charged with murder, based on the statement of the only eyewitness to the murder – Dillon's brother Lucas, who was only 3 at the time.
- Charlie Savage - The New York Times
Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy for The Times.
- Charlie Savage, In Pursuit of the Imperial President : NPR
Charlie Savage, In Pursuit of the Imperial President Pulitzer Prize winner Charlie Savage detailed how often President Bush often used "signing statements" to assert the right to bypass provisions of new laws.
- Biography - Peter Dillon - Australian Dictionary of Biography
He renewed his attempt, without success, to obtain an official position in New Zealand or the Pacific Islands. He published pamphlets criticizing the New Zealand Co. and the Wesleyan mission in Tonga. The latter was taken so seriously by the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society in London that it published a rejoinder: A Refutation of the Chevalier Dillon's Slanderous Attacks …
- Project MUSE - <i>Peter Dillon of Vanikoro: Chevalier of the South Seas</i> by J.W. Davidson (review)
No mere merchant, but a man who saw himself as following in the footsteps of the great explorers, Dillon succeeded in 1828 in solving one of the great mysteries of the Pacific, the disappearance of La Perouse's expedition forty years earlier, which he discovered had been wrecked on the island of Vanikoro, in the Solomon Islands. For this enterprise he was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by Charles X, although he did...
- Dillon Savage
Dillon is an intellectual historian of modern Europe and the world with special interests in France and its (former) empire; political and social theory; and psychoanalysis.
- Charles Savage (beachcomber) - Wikipedia
In 1813, the Hunter reached Fiji to ply in the sandalwood trade and subsequently employed a number of local European beachcombers including Savage. As recounted by third mate Peter Dillon, Savage was killed in a skirmish with Wailea Fijians on September 6, 1813.
- Peter Dillon - Wikipedia
In it he describes holding out with five other people, including Charles Savage, on a rock later called "Dillon's Rock" while native Fijians prepared a cannibal feast of Dillon's fallen comrades.
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