The Battle of Iao Valley - Maui, HI
Posted by: 
silverquill
N 20° 52.981 W 156° 32.181
4Q E 756302 N 2311165
This "Territory Landmark" was placed here in 1928 to commemorate the battle in 1790 when King Kamehameha consolidated his control of the Hawaiian islands in a bloody battle. The Hawaii Nature Center is just above this site.
Waymark Code: WMM2HD
Location: Hawaii, United States
Date Posted: 07/08/2014
Views: 4
HISTORICAL LANDMARK
TERRITORY OF HAWAII
This monument commemorates
THE BATTLE OF
IAO VALLEY
1790
In which Kamehameha of
Hawaii defeated Kalaniki Pule
of Maui and Oahu
The battle extended from
Wailuku to the
upper end of the valley
It is said that the corpses of
the slain choked up the waters
of the stream of Iao and hence
one name of the battle is
KEPANIAWAI
("the damming of the waters")
Tablet erected 1928
by Superintendent of Public Works
IAO NEEDLE
From the Wikipedia entry for
Battle of Kepaniwai:
The Battle of Kepaniwai ("Battle of the Dammed Waters of ?Iao" or Ka?uwa?upali, "Battle of the Clawed Cliffs") was fought in 1790 between Hawai?i Island and Maui. The forces of Hawai?i were led by Kamehameha I, while the forces of Maui were led by Kalanikupule. It is known as one of the most bitter battles fought in Hawaiian history.
While Maui's king Kahekili II was on O?ahu, Kamehameha's war fleet landed in Kahului a few kilometers from the base of ?Iao Valley. An army consisting of around twelve hundred skilled warriors led by Kamehameha and Kekuhaupi?o, advanced on Kahekili's son Kalanikupule and other Maui chiefs blocking the ?Iao 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 Keopuolani 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. Meanwhile, Keoua Kuahu?ula, the last independent chief on the Island of Hawai?i, who had been raiding Kamehameha's territory, quickly returned to the Big Island. This resulted in the 1790 battles of East Hawai?i and the 1791 battle of Kawaihae.
Kahekili II resumed his rule of Maui and also acquired cannon. In 1791, Kahekili tried to invade the island of Hawai?i, but was defeated in a naval battle called Kepuwaha?ula?ula. Kamehameha had to wait for the civil war that broke out in 1793 after the death of Kahekili II, and the battle of Nu'uanu to finally win control of Maui.