Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

It was not likely that the land forces would have much to do; but it was directed that detachments of the 26th and 49th regiments, with the 37th M.N.I. and Bengal volunteers, under the command of Major Pratt, of the 26th, should be placed on board the steamers and the transport-boats, together with a few Chinese boats collected for the purpose, and they were to remain off the southern end of South Wantung, protected from the fire of the enemy's guns, until the Chinese should be driven out of the batteries, when their subsequent movements were to be directed by signal. The royal marines also, under Capt. Ellis, were to be held in readiness to land with the troops, and were to be accompanied by the two 6-pounder field-pieces of the Wellesley and Druid, with seamen to work and drag them; scaling-ladders were also to be carried with the force.

Soon after mid-day, on the 25th, the Nemesis took on board a detachment of one hundred and thirty of the Madras Native Infantry, for the purpose of assisting the royal artillery, under Capt. Knowles and Lieut. Spencer, in the erection of the mortar battery upon the top of South Wantung; and they were accompanied by Lieut. Johnson and Lieut. Rundall, of the Madras Engineers, with the same object. On her way across, the guns of the large Anunghoy Fort opened upon her, and were fired with tolerable precision, many of them passing quite near her, but fortunately without doing any damage. On arriving at the southern end of South Wantung, it was found that Sir Le Fleming Senhouse, had already arrived in his own boat, together with a detachment of the Royal and Madras Artillery. The Anunghoy Battery continued firing, but without effect, and it was not returned for some time, by the orders of the commodore. However, as soon as the detachments were landed, Sir Le Fleming Senhouse himself gave Capt. Hall permission to return the fire. No time was lost in landing ammunition and warlike implements upon the island, and parties were busily employed filling sand-bags preparatory to the erection of the battery above, the whole working party being perfectly protected from the fire of the Chinese.

In the meantime, the batteries on North Wantung began to open on the Nemesis; and, in order that she might get completely under cover of the island of South Wantung, she was run full in upon the shore, which was somewhat steep in that part; and thus she lay literally with her head out of water, and her stern deep in it, without receiving any injury; her light draught of water enabled her to approach closer than any other vessel could have done. In this manner, all the shot of the batteries passed over her, without doing any mischief. The fire was not returned, both owing to the position in which she was, and because it could only have served to point out, in the darkness of the night, the situation of the working parties upon the island.

At daylight the battery was quite completed, and the Nemesis was ordered to withdraw; not long after which, the new battery opened fire in beautiful style, against North Wantung, under the direction of Capt. Knowles. The rockets were thrown into it with great effect, and, together with the shells, could be seen to fall directly within the forts; this was shortly followed by a blaze of fire, from the burning of the Custom House and other buildings; soon after which, the outworks and sand-batteries were abandoned, and the Chinese took refuge principally in the upper fort. Their loss must have been considerable at all points; and the panic created by the bursting of the shells and rockets, which were quite new to them, evidently threw them into great disorder. It was reported, and there is reason to believe with truth, that the Chinese officers abandoned the place at the first commencement of the firing, and ran down to their boats, having locked the gates behind them, to prevent their own troops from following their example.

The grand combined attack was to have commenced early in the morning, and the troops were ordered to be in readiness at seven o'clock. The morning, however, was perfectly calm; the sun shone brilliantly, and lighted up the scene of impending destruction and slaughter, as if it were to be a scene of rejoicing. Until ten o'clock there was not a breath of air; when, a light breeze springing up, the Melville and Blenheim, accompanied by the Queen steamer, got under weigh, attended by three rocket-boats, the Blenheim being the leading ship. They stood in for the southern Anunghoy fort, running along towards the Anson's Bay side of it, in order to be out of range of its guns in front, so that they could throw in shot and shell upon its flank, without any risk of receiving injury themselves. The hill of Anunghoy was crowned with Chinese troops, their numerous silken banners floating gaily to the now reviving breeze. Some of their guns were discharged at a great distance; but the fire was kept up with spirit, though frequently out of range.

Not so, however, our own majestic ships, which slowly glided up to their positions without wasting a single shot, until, having anchored with springs on their cables, they could bring their broadsides to bear. The Blenheim, although the leading ship, was either carried by the tide, or else slightly touched the ground, and was soon overtaken by the Melville, which succeeded in taking up a more advantageous position in very gallant style. In the meantime, the Queen had commenced throwing shell into the sand-batteries and other works upon the hill's side; and, at the same time, the terrific broadsides of the Melville and the Blenheim opened upon the great battery; the rocket-boats also did their full share in the work of destruction. The Chinese could not long withstand these simultaneous attacks.²⁸

At about the same time with the attack on Anunghoy, began also that upon the batteries on the western and north-western side of Wantung, partly under the commodore in person, and partly under Capt. Herbert. The ships²⁹ waited to receive the fire of the forts pretty close, and then at once poured in their iron shower upon the devoted batteries, with destructive effect. It would have been impossible for any troops to have long defended the island of Wantung, bristling though it then was with cannon, against the powerful force arrayed against it. Our battery of howitzers had been playing upon it for several hours; and now six or seven men-of-war, including one line-of-battle ship, the Wellesley, were battering it at the same time. But the defenders could not run away, being shut in on every side by the river; and it was perhaps fortunate for them that the Nemesis, which had already been engaged with the different batteries, was sent down to fetch the troop-boats from the southern island, under which they had been sheltered.

The land force was under the command of Major Pratt, of the Cameronians, who was already well known to the Chinese at Chuenpee. The detachments of the 26th and 49th were under Major Johnson, the marines under Capt. Ellis, the 37th M.N.I, under Capt. Duff, and the Bengal Volunteers under Capt. Mee.

The scene on all sides at this moment was extremely imposing. The light breeze, which had barely served to bring the ships into position, had quite died away when the thunder of artillery commenced, as if it were unwilling to take them back again until their work was fully done. The heavy, curling smoke, scarcely broken by an occasional flash, hung gloomily on every side, as if to veil from sight the scene of destruction which was going on. For a time the firing ceased, in order to allow the smoke to rise; and, just at that moment, the troops were hastening towards Wantung, to take possession of the works, the firing of which had also ceased. At the same time, Sir Le Fleming Senhouse, with the marines and a party of blue-jackets, landed, to the attack of Anunghoy.

At half-past one the troops were landed on Wantung by the Nemesis and Madagascar, assisted by boats. The object was of course to reach the hill fort as quickly as possible, and had the Chinese been better acquainted with the rules of European warfare, they would probably have at once surrendered themselves, seeing the utter hopelessness of resistance. Probably the fear of being put to death as prisoners prevented this timely sparing of blood. Our gallant troops and seamen pushed rapidly up the ascent over the ruined outworks, and might have suffered severe loss before they could have taken possession of the upper fort, had not the Chinese been almost panic-struck, or had they possessed weapons better calculated for the purpose of defence. But, instead of surrendering or accepting quarter, they again ran out of the fort and down the hill, and many of the poor fellows were shot in their vain attempts to fly, without any possible means of escape. The greater part of these took refuge in the lower Custom House fort, where many of them were killed and wounded before the rest surrendered, which, however, they at length did, to the number of about one thousand. The prisoners were soon afterwards taken to the mainland, and set at liberty, equally astonished as they were rejoiced at our leniency.

The Nemesis, in the meantime, had gone over to Anunghoy, to render assistance, if required, and there observed the marines and seamen of the Blenheim and Melville, under Sir Le F. Senhouse, in the act of taking possession of the forts. It appears that they landed without much opposition, though they were only three hundred in number; and not only passed through the southern fort, driving the Chinese up the hill above, but also proceeded along the beach towards the northern fort, of which they also made themselves masters, the Chinese having fled.

Whatever doubts Keshen himself had entertained concerning the defensibility of the Bogue, he had too much discretion to communicate them either to his officers or troops. They had little anticipation of the total defeat which they were soon to sustain, for they had made rude sketches delineating the entire destruction of our ships by the terrible fire of their artillery.

The British flag had by this time supplanted that of China upon all the defences of the Bogue. It was little past two o'clock, and ample time yet remained to turn the victory to the greatest possible advantage before the close of the day. The Nemesis once more crossed over to Wantung, and as she drew so little water, was enabled to run close in, and make fast to the lower fort itself. Nothing, however, of a hostile character remained to be done in this quarter, but there was yet ample room to perform the more humane duty of assisting the unfortunate Chinese. Many of these poor fellows were floating about in the water, clinging in despair to any small piece of wood or bamboo they might have the good fortune to find. Many were drowned, as had before been the case at Chuenpee, but many yet remained to be saved. Boats were sent out for this purpose, but the Chinese notions of warfare were of such a barbarous nature, that they seemed to think the only object of any attempt to save them was to reserve them for slow torture, mutilation, or death.³⁰ The poor fellows dived their heads under water as the boats approached them, attempting to drown themselves, and thus escape falling into our hands. Many were, nevertheless, dragged out, and carried on board the steamer, where they appeared bewildered by astonishment more than by fear, when they found that they were kindly treated. All of them were soon afterwards liberated without any conditions, and they then appeared thankful for their escape.

The day was now far advanced, but there still remained a fort and encampment to be taken possession of on the opposite side of the river, usually called Little Tycocktow, facing the western side of Wantung. There was every probability that these would be carried without resistance, for the Wellesley had already seriously damaged the fort, by her beautiful firing of shells, in the morning, and the Modeste had also contributed to silence it. A party of the Wellesley's marines were embarked in her own boats, about four o'clock, under Lieut. Maitland, and proceeded across, in company with the Nemesis, in order to complete the day's work. A few shots were fired by her as she approached the fort, but, finding they were not returned, the boats pushed off to land, including the boats of the Nemesis, with Capt. Hall and Lieut Pedder. The fort was found abandoned; and having taken possession of it, they advanced up the hill in the rear with all speed, as they observed a body of Chinese in disorder, close to an encampment upon the top of it. However, on the approach of the little party, they fled into the interior, abandoning their lines, magazines, &c. These were all set fire to and destroyed, and the effect of the blaze, which lasted for a considerable time, becoming more vivid as the night closed in, spread far and wide, among the distant inhabitants of the country, the general panic which had already seized their troops. The conflagration extended itself on all sides, much beyond the original site of the encampment, and threw its lurid glare over the scene of slaughter and confusion of the day. Having spiked the guns in the fort, the boats returned with their crews to their respective ships.

Thus closed the eventful day of the capture of the famous Bogue forts, and the total dispersion of their unfortunate defenders. Had the Chinese been better armed, and more experienced in the important science of gunnery, the capture of the forts would have cost us a much greater sacrifice of human life. On this occasion, so trifling was the latter, that at 3 P.M., when Captain Elliot issued his circular announcing the fall of the batteries of the Bocca Tigris, to her Majesty's forces, he added, that "no loss on our side had been reported up to that hour." Sir Gordon Bremer had only subsequently to report, that "five men were slightly wounded, throughout the whole force." Much surprise, however, was created by this announcement, for the firing was for some time kept up with spirit from the forts. It was also recorded with the utmost minuteness, "that the main-topmast and fore-yard of the Blenheim were shot through, one gun was rendered unserviceable, and there were several shots in the hull; that the Melville had also a shot in one of her top-masts; that the Calliope was struck; and that other ships had just a rope cut here and there." No one could dispute the triumphant declaration of the commander-in-chief, that he was "convinced that almost any number of men the Chinese could collect, would not be able to stand against the animated gallantry of his men for an instant."

It is to be regretted that the loss on the side of the Chinese, in killed and wounded, should have been so considerable. Thirteen hundred prisoners were taken, but were set at liberty soon afterwards; and, altogether, upwards of five hundred were killed and wounded during the day. Many of the Chinese officers boldly and nobly met their death, some even courted it; they dreaded their master's wrath and their own degradation more than the loss of life at the hands of their country's foe. Among these, the most distinguished and most lamented, was poor old Admiral Kwan, whose death excited much sympathy throughout the force; he fell by a bayonet wound in his breast, as he was meeting his enemy at the gate of Anunghoy, yielding up his brave spirit willingly to a soldier's death, when his life could only be preserved with the certainty of degradation. He was altogether a fine specimen of a gallant soldier, unwilling to yield when summoned to surrender, because to yield would imply treason.

Kwan's body was claimed and recognised by his own family the following day, and was of course readily given up to them. A salute of minute-guns was fired to his honour from the Blenheim, as a brave but fallen enemy. It will be remembered that he was the same distinguished personage who lost his red button or ball during the engagement with the war-junks in Anson's Bay, and obtained it back again, at his own request, through Capt. Elliot's intercession.

The resistance which the Chinese might have offered to our forces will be seen from the following account of the ordnance captured during the day. On the southern Anunghoy fort, were 107 guns, of various calibre; one being a 68-pounder, one a 42, and a good many of 32, 24, and 18. Four of them were very large brass guns, made by the Portuguese, in 1627, two of these being upwards of eleven feet long, and ten inches and three-quarters in diameter of the bore; three of the iron ones were of English manufacture, and the remainder were heavy Chinese guns. On the northern Anunghoy fort were 40 guns, about half of them varying from 18 to 42-pounders. All of these were Chinese. At the two sand-bag batteries, erected to the eastward of the southern fort, were about 30 guns of small calibre; so that there were altogether on that side of the river one hundred and seventy-seven guns. Again, upon the little fortified island of North Wantung, were planted upwards of one hundred and sixty guns, of which, however, one third were very small, and of little service; and another third of them varied only from six to twelve pounders. The remainder were mostly very good, and some very heavy guns; one being a 68, and another a 42-pounder. Several of these bore a curious inscription, similar to some others subsequently taken on Lord Napier's fort, near Canton.

On the fort and works, on the mainland, on the western side of the river, facing Wantung, were also mounted about forty guns. Thus, the whole number captured in this day's operations amounted to three hundred and eighty pieces of cannon; to which, if we add eighty pieces more, captured on the preceding day by the Nemesis and boats, under Capt. Herbert, at the masked battery and stockades in the river, at the bottom of Anson's Bay, we shall find the whole number taken and destroyed in these two days alone, at the first resumption of hostilities, to have amounted to four hundred and sixty pieces.

Immediately after the British flag was planted triumphantly upon the forts of the Bogue, or at any rate before the close of the day, a notice was issued by Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer, by which the blockade of the river of Canton was raised. British and foreign merchant-ships were now permitted to proceed as far as the Bogue, and were to be allowed to go further up the river, as soon as the obstructions to the navigation could be removed.

FOOTNOTES:

CHAPTER XVII

The great event which has now been described, the capture of the Bogue forts, though purchased at a very small sacrifice on the part of the victors, derived an immense importance from the greatness of the sacrifice in reference to the Chinese. Although the cautious discernment of a few men like Keshen might have appreciated the strength of their enemy, and the comparative weakness of their own defences, the fact of the fall of the Bogue forts, which were considered by the Chinese throughout the empire, as well as by the government, to be impregnable, created a degree of alarm in the public mind without parallel since the Tartar conquest. Whatever reliance the authorities on the spot, and the overweening arrogance of a population accustomed only to the "submission" of foreigners, may have placed in the efficiency of other recent preparations of a different description higher up the river, these could never inspire confidence in the mass of the nation, or even in the government, to whom the nature of them could be little known.

The fall of the Bocca Tigris at once destroyed the charm of its supposed strength, and the loss of a feudal tower of old could hardly have spread more consternation among a host of vassals, than did the fall of the Bogue forts among the Chinese nation. Totally inexperienced in the horrors of war, they retained a sort of hereditary pride in the Bogue, as their great bulwark against the inroads of the foreigner. The whole nation was at that time unprepared for war, and the government without any organized system of defence. Hence it is not difficult to perceive, that advantage might have been taken of their momentary state of alarm, to have urged them at once to the conclusion of some kind of peaceable settlement. The whole difficulty, however, at that time, seems to have turned upon the question of the supply of tea. The Chinese saw clearly the anxiety which we shewed to obtain the year's crop, and they quickly boasted that "their tea and their rhubarb were as necessary to the foreigner as air itself." However, it was resolved at length, that we should dictate the terms of peace at Canton, rather than at the Bogue, and, accordingly, the fleet prepared to proceed immediately up the river.

It will be remembered that a large chain cable had been thrown across the river, supported by rafts, between Anunghoy and a little islet close to South Wantung. It served them no good purpose whatever; and after the ports were taken possession of, nothing was easier than to remove this impediment to the navigation. The forts were next blown up, or damaged as much as they could be, though not without great labour and difficulty, arising from the heavy masses of stone and chunam of which they were constructed. Chinese powder was, moreover, used for the purpose, which, being less strong, though made as nearly as possible with the same proportions and of the same materials as our own, but with less care, added somewhat to the difficulty of the task. Several days were occupied by the engineers, sappers, and miners, assisted by seamen, in this laborious operation. It was, however, effectually done at last, scarcely one stone being left standing upon another.

On the morning following the action, the light squadron under Captain Herbert was ordered to proceed without delay up the river, in order to follow up the advantages already gained by the panic created by the capture of the Bogue. It consisted of the Calliope, Alligator, Herald, Sulphur, and Modeste, with the Nemesis and Madagascar steamers. The principal objects and the general aspect of the river, as far as the second bar, (which is below the first one,) have been already described, in connexion with the account of the grand conference between Keshen and Captain Elliot.³¹

The whole of the neighbouring country on both sides is almost one continued tract of swampy rice-ground, an additional proof of the endless water-communications. Above the first bar, the river becomes more intricate in its navigation, having its channel broken and divided by several islands, and ceasing to be navigable for vessels even of moderate size beyond Whampoa, at least by any channel which had been at that time discovered. But it will be presently seen that another passage was soon afterwards found. The anchorage at Whampoa had heretofore been the resort of all the foreign trading ships, and the surrounding country at all times presents a very picturesque and refreshing appearance. The Canton river would seem at various times to have been subject to a great rise in its waters, and thus, overflowing the country through which it passes, to have formed for itself new passages and lines of communication, which in some parts give it the appearance of dividing itself into numerous distinct rivers, at other times merely separating its waters for a very short distance, leaving a few picturesque islands between its branches, and speedily re-uniting its numerous streamlets again.

Whampoa is, perhaps, the largest of several islands, which lie in the main course of the river. It is about four miles in length, and has a rather shallow channel on either side, navigable only for vessels of very small draught of water. On its north-eastern side, quite towards its lower end, lies the much smaller island called Junk Island, a long narrow strip of land, which with its shoals greatly impedes the navigation on that side. The channel between it and Whampoa is generally known by the name of Junk River.

Nearly all our merchant-ships used to anchor towards the bottom of Whampoa Island, in what has been called Whampoa Reach; but smaller ones could proceed up as far as the village of that name, beyond which the channel has become known by the name of Fiddler's Reach. Some, however, of our largest ships were formerly accustomed to take in their outward cargoes as low down as the "Second Bar," which occasioned an additional charge for lighters or cargo boats, and other inconveniences; but these now anchor in what has lately been called the Blenheim Reach, to the southward of Danes' Island. (See map and plan of Canton.)

It is not a little remarkable, that the Chinese authorities should have been able to keep foreigners so long in complete ignorance of some of the most important branches of their magnificent river, which for two centuries had witnessed the yearly increase of foreign commerce. This no doubt was effected by the jealous orders which were issued to their pilots, who dared not follow any other than the old prescribed track. Yet it is also remarkable that, among so many ships which have annually visited the river, none should have been found whose commanders were led by curiosity, or stimulated by the tiresome sameness of an everyday life during the dull season, to explore in open boats some of those large and tempting passages, the openings of which could be seen. Had not the war stimulated our exertions, or awakened our curiosity, we should, without doubt, have remained as ignorant as ever of the capabilities of the river, the extent of which was scarcely even surmised.³²

No wonder that smuggling in every form has been long carried on to such a notorious extent by the Chinese at Whampoa, and in other parts of the river. The communications by water from one point to another, and with the interior of the country, are so numerous, and so interwoven with each other, that it would be impossible for any system of fiscal regulations which the Chinese could adopt to act efficiently against the complicated machinery of evasion which could so easily be put in operation. This, among other reasons, may have contributed (always secondary, however, to their jealousy of foreigners) to the strictness of their orders respecting the anchorage for our ships.

The light squadron proceeded up the river early on the morning of the 27th of February. It was not yet perfectly ascertained what obstacles were to be met with, although it was well known that the Chinese had been making extensive preparations to impede the advance of our forces. The wind was light throughout the day, and the Sulphur, which was to have been the leading vessel, fell behind; the Nemesis, therefore, now took the lead, and proceeded with caution, giving the soundings by signal to the squadron, by means of flags fastened to the ends of long bamboos; by which contrivance the signals could be made with the greatest rapidity.³³

No new defences or hostile preparations on the part of the enemy were discovered, until the squadron had passed up a considerable distance beyond the second bar shoals. The Nemesis being still ahead, it could now be made out distinctly with the telescope that a large ship, probably the Cambridge, (a late British ship, purchased by the Chinese,) was at anchor near the first bar. This was immediately signalized to the squadron, which came to anchor about three miles from the position indicated; but the Nemesis, having previously taken the plenipotentiary and Captain Herbert on board, proceeded to reconnoitre, and to ascertain if a clear passage existed for the ships, as the channel was supposed to have been partially obstructed by sunken junks.

On arriving sufficiently near to observe accurately the dispositions of the enemy, it was discovered that a considerable mud battery had been constructed on the left bank of the river (the right in ascending) above the first bar, near the Brunswick rock, below Whampoa; and that in order to obstruct the advance of the squadron beyond it, a very strong and broad raft, formed by large masses of timber secured well together, had been carried quite across the river, from one side to the other, precisely opposite the battery. Behind the raft lay the ship Cambridge, (previously known as the Chesapeake,) with an admiral's flag at the main, moored head and stern in such a way that only her bow guns could be brought to bear for the defence of the raft. A number of war-junks were also under weigh not far from her. It was evident that the Chinese were quite prepared for resistance; and, had the Cambridge been anchored with springs on her cable, so as to enable them to bring her broadsides to bear alternately upon the raft, she might have fired with very great effect upon any of our ships as they approached. But the Chinese are not sufficiently acquainted with naval tactics to be able to make the best use even of the resources at their command.

The war-junks looked much more formidable in the distance than when more nearly viewed, and there was much more probability of their making their escape after the first shots were fired, than that they would offer any serious opposition. The fort itself consisted of a strong line of mud batteries along the river front, and was afterwards found to mount no less than forty-seven guns, which were principally intended to protect the raft. On the left flank of the battery were also mounted several guns, which bore directly upon the ships as they advanced up the river; and beyond this, further on the flank, was a small battery or field-work, mounting four or five guns, and connected with the former by an embankment, with a small ditch before it, upon which were planted a great number of ginjals, or wall-pieces. These latter, from being more easily managed, and more accurately pointed, were often calculated to do more injury than the great guns.