 He was charged with investigating Queen Pōmare's suzerainty claims to the other islands.His account of the closing months of the conflict are recorded in "The Polynesian Journal of Captain Henry Byam Martin, R.N".The guerrilla conflict came to an end with the defeat of the Tahitians at the Battle of Punaruu in May 1846 and the capture of Fort Fautaua on 17 December 1846.