In February 1831, Malay raiders attacked the American merchant ship *Friendship* off Kuala Batu, Sumatra, killing three crew members and stealing its pepper cargo. Captain Charles Endicott escaped with help from a friendly local chief, Po Adam, and eventually recovered his vessel before returning to Salem, Massachusetts. The attack triggered public outrage in the United States, prompting President Andrew Jackson to order a military response. One year later, the USS *Potomac* under Commodore John