Battle of Kepaniwai 1790
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1790 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Early modern (1500–1799) | derived from year |
| Location | United States | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Oceania | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Unification of Hawaii | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | House of Keoua, Maui | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 20.8808, -156.5450 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Kepaniwai ("Battle of the Dammed Waters of ʻĪao" or Kaʻuwaʻupali, "Battle of the Clawed Cliffs") was fought in 1790 between the islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The forces of Hawaiʻi were led by Kamehameha I, while the forces of Maui were led by Kalanikūpule. It is known as one of the most bitter battles fought in Hawaiian history.
While Maui's King Kahekili II was on Oʻahu, Kamehameha's war fleet landed in Kahului a few kilometers from the base of ʻĪao Valley. An army consisting of around twelve hundred skilled warriors led by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupiʻo, advanced on Kahekili's son Kalanikūpule and other Maui chiefs blocking the ʻĪao valley. The two armies were evenly matched and neither side broke after two days of fighting. On the third day, Kamehameha's army was helped by the use of two cannons (named "Lopaka" and "Kalola") operated by John Young and Isaac Davis, two of Kamehameha's royal advisors. Although none of Maui's major chiefs were killed, many people died resulting in the "damming of the waters" by the corpses floating in the river. It was said that the river "ran red with the blood of the dead." Chiefess Kalola and her granddaughter Keōpūolani were able to escape west through the valley to Olowalu and north to Lahaina.
After the battle, Kalola offered her 11-year-old granddaughter to Kamehameha as a future wife.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Kepaniwai (revision 1370445053), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
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Other battles of the Unification of Hawaii
- Battle of Mokuʻōhai 1782
- Battle of Nuʻuanu 1795
All 3 battles of the Unification of Hawaii →
Browse more: battles in United States · Oceania · Early modern battles