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

A company of the 49th, under Captain M'Andrew, was immediately ordered up by Colonel Morris towards the south gate, which they were to retake, if it was found to have been carried by the enemy. At the same time, Colonel Montgomerie, with two howitzers, and a party of artillerymen armed with fusils, commanded by Captain Moore, and reinforced by a strong patrol of the 18th, under Lieutenant Murray, proceeded also towards the south gate, which he now found in the possession of Captain M'Andrew and his company, who had gallantly retaken the gate, after charging down the street which led to it, driving the Chinese before him with the bayonet, and killing a great many of them. The Chinese had penetrated as far as the market-place; many of them had scaled the walls, and were seen upon the ramparts; but upon being challenged, and seeing the troops advancing, most of them jumped back again over the ramparts, and in this way many were killed, or were shot at random as they were seen running away. Thus the south gate was completely cleared.

There is reason to believe that a good number of the Chinese soldiers must have previously come into the town in disguise, for the gates were attacked simultaneously both from within and from without. The movements of the Chinese were so well concerted, that their approach was not discovered until they actually attacked the gates, and gallantly succeeded in scaling the walls. Had not the alarm been given by the firing of the ships in the river, and had the Chinese been well officered, it would have caused us heavy fighting to have ultimately dislodged them from the town, a part of which was, for a few minutes, in their possession. But even their successes, such as they were, only served to embarrass them, for they did not know how to turn them to account. It should be remarked, however, that Sir Hugh Gough had skilfully disposed his troops long before this event, by concentrating them in one part of the town, where their quarters were close to each other, and where they could be mutually supported in case of attack.

It was afterwards discovered that the attacking party were a new body of picked men, from a distant province, who had never yet come into contact with our troops. Money was also found upon the persons of those who were killed, four or five dollars upon each, which had probably been given to them either as arrears of pay, or as a sort of bribe or extra allowance to induce them to fight. But other incentives were also employed, for some of the wounded prisoners were evidently under the excitement of opium. Many of them were remarkably athletic, fine-looking men, and everything tended to prove that this was a grand and desperate effort.

Daylight was beginning to dawn, and the west gate was at this time found to be the principal scene of action; indeed, it was in that direction that the main body of the Chinese seem to have advanced. Orders had been sent to reinforce the guard at the west gate with the grenadiers of the 49th, and Colonel Morris also hurried up to it in person, with another company of the 49th; while Colonel Montgomerie, with the artillery, having been joined by Colonel Mountain, with a party of the 26th, proceeded on in the same direction.

On arriving at the west gate, it was found to have been gallantly and successfully defended by Lieutenant Armstrong, who commanded the guard of the 18th, assisted by a small detachment of the 49th, under Lieutenant Grant. The enemy had attacked it in great force, rushing boldly up to the very gate, which they attempted to force, while others were endeavouring to scale the wall. The grenadiers of the 49th arrived just in time to assist in completing the repulse of the Chinese.

Colonel Montgomerie, having now come up with his reinforcement, dashed at once through the gateway in pursuit, the enemy having been driven across a small bridge into the suburbs. Numerous dead bodies of Chinese were found close to the gate, but they appeared to be in great force in the suburbs, from which a smart but ineffectual fire of matchlocks was kept up. A few shells were thrown into the suburbs from the two howitzers; but it was evidently necessary to continue the pursuit through the suburbs, for the Chinese appeared to be in full retreat across a bridge at some distance down, which seemed to be the principal thoroughfare.

Our force on the spot was extremely small, amounting, when they had all fallen in, including artillerymen, to not more than one hundred and twenty-six rank and file, and ten officers. But with this small force Colonel Montgomerie determined to dash on, being assisted throughout by Colonel Mountain, C.B., Deputy-Adjutant-General; and, accordingly, they immediately advanced up the principal narrow street of the suburbs. Having followed it for about half a mile, they came upon the main body of the enemy, who crowded the whole length of the street in a dense column, but without appearing to be at all wavering or inclined to give way. On the contrary, a high officer on horseback was seen to encourage the men, who set up a great shouting, and brandished their swords and spears in defiance. But in a narrow street the dense mass was necessarily incommoded by its own numbers, and the steady fire of the head of our column, as they advanced upon them – one section delivering its fire, and the next taking its place for the first to reload – brought down all their foremost and boldest men, every shot telling with unerring certainty. They could neither advance to charge our column, nor could they retreat, as long as the rear of their column chose to hold their ground.

On coming up within about fifty paces of them, the two howitzers were ordered up to the front, while a party of the 18th, under Lieutenant Murray and Lieutenant Molesworth, of the artillery, were ordered round by a side lane to act upon the enemy's flank; Colonel Mountain and Colonel Montgomerie also went round, (having first waded across a canal,) and witnessed the terrific effect of the fire of three rounds of grape, in quick succession, from the howitzers, which dealt terrible havoc among them. At the same time, the detachment of the 18th fired upon them down the lane as they fled, and a more complete scene of discomfiture and slaughter could not be imagined.

The Chinese were soon in full flight in all directions across the country, the main body of them retreating along the banks of a canal in a continued line, not less than a mile long, while numerous smaller parties broke off from the main body, and tried to escape the best way they could. Many were supposed to have been drowned in the canal. The pursuit was followed up for about seven or eight miles, and the loss of the enemy was estimated altogether at not less than from five to six hundred men, and only thirty-nine prisoners were taken. On our side, one man only was killed, and a few were wounded. The principal loss of the Chinese was inflicted by the fire of the howitzers upon their dense masses, in the narrow street, and the sustained fire of our column as it advanced upon them. Not a few, however, were killed inside the walls of the city. The force they brought against us is supposed to have exceeded five thousand men, consisting of their best soldiers, and a great part of them were evidently under the excitement of opium.

Early in the morning, the boats of the Modeste and Sesostris moved up the south-west branch of the river, in search of fire-boats, but found none. In the afternoon, however, the boats of the Columbine, under Captain Morshed, together with the Queen steamer, proceeded up the other, or north-western branch, and discovered, not far up, thirty-seven fire-vessels. They were all in a state of perfect preparation, being filled with combustibles and jars of powder, and also provided with leather caps and fire-proof dresses for the men who were to have the charge of them; each of them had also a small punt, or sampan, attached, for the escape of those on board. The early discovery of those which were first sent down, or probably their having been sent adrift too soon down the other branch of the river, had evidently disconcerted this part of their plan. The whole of these boats were scuttled and destroyed.

Some miles higher up, near Tsekee, many more junks, of every size and shape, were found filled with combustibles; and still more were discovered higher up, moored on each side of the river. It was also observed, that on the hills opposite Tsekee, there were three Chinese encampments, one of which was set on fire by the soldiers, as the boats approached. In fact, it became evident that preparations of a much more extensive kind than we could have anticipated, had been made, for one grand combined effort to drive us into the sea, before reinforcements could join us.

The attack upon Chinhae took place about the same time, but was much less important in its nature, and conducted with less vigour and resolution, than that on Ningpo. Early on the morning of the 10th March, the alarm was given that ten fire-vessels were floating down the river towards the ships of war and transports at anchor off Chinhae. The boats of the Blonde and the Hyacinth, under Commander Goldsmith of the latter vessel, and Lieutenant Dolling of the former, immediately dashed at them, and drove them on shore, out of the way of the shipping, where they exploded.

About the same time, a body of Chinese soldiers got up close to the west gate of Chinhae, without being discovered, until they opened a fire of ginjals, and attempted to force their way in. But Captain Daubeny, with a company of the 55th, immediately sallied out of the gate, and pursued them into the suburbs, whence they fled towards a joss-house, or temple, about a mile from the walls, where they joined the main body, about twelve hundred strong. Colonel Schoedde, with three companies of the 55th, now joined Captain Daubeny, and immediately charged them, and put them to flight. But it was very difficult to follow, or come within musket range of them, owing to the peculiar nature of the ground, which was cut up in all directions by water-courses; although the labyrinths of paths and causeways were, of course, perfectly well known to the retreating enemy. About thirty of the Chinese and two of their officers were killed, but the number of wounded could not be ascertained. A quantity of military weapons and some powder were captured.

The plans of the Chinese had thus signally failed at all points of attack; but it must be admitted that at Ningpo they shewed a great deal of determination and personal courage, and their plans were, in reality, very well arranged.

Information of these important attacks was immediately sent over to Sir Hugh Gough and Sir William Parker, who were at Chusan, and induced the General instantly to return to Ningpo. Sir William Parker also returned as soon as he had completed his examination of the island of Tai-shan; and he brought with him the Phlegethon and Nemesis, merely stopping at Chinhae on the way, to pick up a few marines and small-arm men from the Blonde. No time was then lost in pushing up the south-western branch of the river above Ningpo, whither the General had preceded him with part of the 18th and 49th regiments, and two guns, in order to learn if the enemy were in force there.

Tidings had been brought to Sir Hugh Gough, that a strong body of several thousand Chinese troops were posted not far from Fungwah, preparatory to another descent upon Ningpo. But as soon as he had marched about six or seven miles up, the Sesostris steamer moving parallel with him by the river, with part of the 26th regiment on board, positive information was obtained that the enemy had retreated over the hills the preceding night, and that it would be useless to attempt to follow them.

It only now remained to advance against the strong body of the Chinese who were known to be posted along the banks of the other branch of the river, and who were reported also to have thrown up strong entrenched camps upon the Segoan hills, at the back of the town of Tsekee, and to be commanded by three of their most famous generals.

CHAPTER XXXII

A heavy blow had now been inflicted upon the Chinese, by the severe reverses they had met with at Ningpo and at Chinhae, and by the defeat of all their designs against Chusan. It was, therefore, a favourable opportunity to follow up our successes and turn them to the best advantage, before the effect of the impression already made could have time to diminish. It was ascertained that their troops had with difficulty been kept together after their late defeat; and it was reported that they were about to retreat towards Pickwan, a town situated about forty miles higher up the river, at which point they were said to be concentrating their whole force.

Besides the force said to be encamped above Tsekee, on the Segoan hills, it was also ascertained that another body of five or six thousand men was posted in a fortified camp, about seven miles further along the hills to the north-east, close to what is called the Chungkie Pass, and that the military chest of the army was in charge of this division. A Chinese military chest is generally not very well filled, but still there is to a soldier something very tempting in the idea of an enemy's military chest, particularly when there is a prospect of capturing it.

On the morning of the 15th of March, the force destined for the attack, comprising altogether little more than a thousand men, including the battalion of seamen and marines, were embarked on board the steamers Nemesis, Phlegethon, and Queen, from the north gate of the city; the General and his staff, accompanied by the Admiral and other officers, taking up their quarters on board the Nemesis, which had been dexterously brought close into a wharf near the city gate; so that on this occasion the troops were embarked without the necessity of using boats. The naval brigade was commanded by Capt. Bourchier, of the Blonde, assisted by Capt. P. Richards. There were four 8-pounder guns of the Madras artillery, for which ponies had been trained, and these were now sent early in the morning across from Ningpo by land, escorted by a party of the Madras rifles; by these means the distance was materially shortened, by cutting off a great bend of the river above Ningpo. On reaching the nearest point, opposite Tsekee, the artillery swam their horses across the river, and were then drawn up in readiness to advance upon the town, which was about four miles distant. The road to Tsekee and the nature of the country were already well known, from the previous visit in the month of December.

Before twelve o'clock, the troops were landed from the steamers near a village, where there was a sort of jetty convenient for the purpose; they then formed, and marched direct up towards the city. At the same time, the Phlegethon was sent higher up the river, together with the Nemesis and two boats belonging to the Cornwallis and Blonde, to endeavour to get near enough to the flank of the Chinese army, to harass them in their retreat.

The Phlegethon started first, because the Admiral and the General, who were on board the Nemesis, were unwilling to land, until they had seen all the rest of the force on shore before them. But the moment the Admiral had left the vessel, she was backed out from the landing-place, and went up the river for some distance, stern-foremost, at full-speed, until she could be conveniently turned.

Having passed round a considerable bend in the river, some miles above the landing-place, they turned up a small branch or creek close to a village, which appeared to lead round nearer to the enemy's positions. The Phlegethon, which was some distance ahead, suddenly came upon five gun-boats, armed and manned, at anchor close to a mandarin station, which proved to have been used as a depôt for powder and military stores. Fourteen fire-rafts were also discovered, and the whole of these warlike preparations were destroyed.

As soon as the troops had marched up pretty close to Tsekee, they proceeded to occupy a small hill directly in front of the town, and commanding the southern gate. A few ginjals and two guns were fired at them from the walls of the city, but at such a distance as to make it evident that no serious defence of the place was intended. The main body of the Chinese army was to be seen encamped upon the heights to the northward of the town, called the Segoan Hills; and it was equally evident that the shortest and best mode of advancing to attack them was by first escalading the walls of the town, and then marching straight through it to the northern gate, whence it would be easy to attack the enemy both in front and on the flank. It was necessary to ascertain whether the town was occupied by any considerable force (which there was little reason to expect), and at the same time to deprive the enemy of having the advantage of falling back upon the town when driven from the heights. Orders were therefore given, that the naval brigade, with a party of sappers, covered by the guns under Colonel Montgomerie, should escalade the walls at the nearest point, while the 49th were to blow open the south gate, and immediately join them upon the ramparts.

The 49th, on approaching the gate, found the bridge over a canal just outside recently destroyed; but, as the water was shallow, and there appeared to be no likelihood of meeting with any serious opposition, they quietly crept along the canal itself, which led into the town, and so got under the walls, upon the ramparts of which they now found the naval brigade already drawn up.

The 18th, in the meantime, had been sent round, outside the walls, to dislodge a body of Chinese troops who occupied a hill a little to the north-east of the city; and they were directed to join the rest of our force as soon as they reached the north gate. The 26th had been held in reserve to protect the guns, and support the 49th, if necessary. The town was, however, carried without any resistance; and the troops having marched round the ramparts, the whole force was then concentrated at the north gate.

It should here be noticed, that the town of Tsekee lies in a sort of cup, or basin, surrounded almost entirely on three sides by steep hills, being open only towards the river, or to the southward; from the northern hills, a low spur is sent down towards the northern gate, and terminates in a small hill within the walls. The Chinese forces were posted upon these heights, a little to the westward of the spur just described, but in such a position that their left was commanded by other hills. On their right they had a second encampment, a little in advance, on the north-western side of the town; but it was evident that their left could be easily turned, and that they could be defeated and completely routed, without much difficulty.

The General's first movement was to direct the 18th, with the rifles, to proceed to occupy a hill on his right, which could only be got at by passing through a steep ravine, but which quite commanded the Chinese' left. As soon as they succeeded in crowning its summit, and had thus turned the Chinese position, the naval brigade (who, in the meantime, were to occupy two large buildings under the walls, a little on the north-western side of the town) were to carry the hill in their front, on which the Chinese were encamped, while the 49th were at the same time to attack the centre of the Chinese position.

It is worthy of remark that the Chinese, with one or two trifling exceptions, seem never to have made use of field-artillery. Of course, where they had forts, they had guns mounted; but they did not appear to regard artillery as a necessary part of a regular army.

On this occasion, our loss would probably have been severe, if the heights had been defended by a numerous artillery; but they opened a smart fire of ginjals upon the naval brigade (the Admiral himself being at their head), as they marched across the paddy-fields outside the walls, with the object of occupying the two large houses, under shelter of which they were to form, in readiness for the attack. They suffered some loss; and, as it appeared that the 18th and rifles, being impeded by the steepness and difficulties of the gorge they had to ascend, were longer in reaching the summit of the hill than had been expected, the General determined to commence the attack in front without waiting for the 18th to turn the flank of the Chinese. The advance was sounded, and the 49th, with the General at their head, rushed up the hill; while the naval brigade, led by Captains Bourchier and Richards, and Commander Watson (the Admiral himself taking part in the attack), made a dash at the other hill, upon the Chinese' right.

Some rockets were fired with great precision into the enemy's position, by Lieutenant Fitzjames and Mr. Jackson, of the Cornwallis, but the Chinese poured in a heavy fire of ginjals and matchlocks upon our troops as they advanced.

The marines and seamen dashed across the paddy-field, and charged up the hill, which was steep and rugged, with great spirit, but were boldly met by the Chinese, who did not shrink from the contest. The leading division soon gained the summit, and the remainder of the brigade pushed round the sides of the hill, to cut off the retreat of the enemy. In this encounter two officers of the Royal Marines and two officers of the naval battalion were wounded; eleven men were also wounded and three killed.

The General, at the head of the 49th, in the meantime carried the hill in his front with great spirit, and detached the grenadiers, under Major Gough, to cut off a body of Chinese who were attempting to get up the rear of the other hill, which had already been carried in front by the naval brigade. This division of the enemy was, therefore, completely hemmed in, and the slaughter was unavoidably great in the hollow at the foot of the hill.

The 49th now continued to press forward, driving the Chinese before them in great disorder across the plain at the foot of the hills; and the 18th and Rifles, having by this time succeeded in turning the enemy's position on the heights, descended into the plain, and joined the 49th and 26th in the pursuit. The whole Chinese army was now in full flight across the plain, towards the Chungkie Pass, and just passed within range of the Phlegethon and Nemesis, who had taken up an excellent position in the creek, for the purpose of cutting them off. Their guns opened fire upon the scattered fugitives, who suffered severely.

From eight hundred to one thousand men are supposed to have been killed, wounded, or drowned, in this engagement; every attempt was made to spare them, but as most of these troops came from distant provinces, and were reputed to be their best soldiers, they refused to surrender themselves prisoners, with few exceptions. Many officers or mandarins were killed, but only three were taken prisoners. Many of them deliberately cut their own throats, when they saw that the day was irretrievably lost.

Some curious and interesting documents were found, relating to their plans and the disposal of their forces, amongst which were some public proclamations to be distributed among the people. Upon the bodies of many of the slain, pieces of Sycee silver were found, as had been the case at Ningpo, a few days before.

The strength of the Chinese army was estimated at from seven to eight thousand men, part of which appeared to be a picked body, said to belong to the Emperor's guard; they were fine, athletic, powerful men. It was also remarked that their arms were of a superior description; several improvements had been adopted; and the bow and arrow, once the favourite weapon of the Tartar soldier, had been laid aside on this occasion.

As usual, several personal encounters took place; the Chinese not fearing to engage single-handed with their foe, or to measure their sword with that of our officers. In one of these combats, Mr. Hodgson, mate of the Cornwallis, was wounded, not far from the Admiral. Colonel Mountain was in some danger of being run through, but was saved by a timely shot from one of the 18th. The clothes of the slain were in some instances ignited by their matches, and produced, as on some other occasions, a revolting spectacle.

The night was passed, by our gallant little force, in the tents from which the Chinese had been driven, and which were found to contain plenty of warm coverings and provisions, &c. There were stores of rice, and bread (cakes), and flour, in abundance.

Besides the loss already mentioned, the 49th had three officers and four men wounded. Some of our officers were wounded severely, Lieutenant Lane having had his arm amputated upon the field.

On the following morning, at daylight, the grain magazines in the town, belonging to government, were opened to the people, and, as might be expected, were rapidly emptied. A large quantity of ginjals, matchlocks, and other warlike implements, were also collected upon the battle-field, and were nearly all destroyed. Among other curiosities were nine newly-invented brass tubes, of about three pounds calibre, and thirty-nine pounds weight, each with two handles; they had never been used, but were apparently intended to fire grape-shot. They were curiously bound round with catgut, and were probably to be fired while held between two men, as they were provided with handles for the purpose. One of them was given to Captain Hall, by the Admiral, and has since been deposited, with other Chinese weapons, at Windsor. Twenty-three guns were also captured, principally upon the walls of the town.

As the enemy had retreated towards the Chungkie Pass, about six or seven miles distant to the north-west, where it was reported that another fortified encampment had been formed, Sir Hugh Gough moved in advance, about one o'clock on the following day, the 16th; but having reached the foot of the hills, the position was found completely abandoned, although it was by nature a strong one. Dispositions were made for the attack, but none of the enemy were discovered, and consequently the hoped-for military chest was not captured. The Chinese had only just withdrawn, for they had left behind them some ammunition, and a supply of inferior bread, which is tolerably eatable, however, after a long march.

Having halted about two or three hours for rest, and after setting fire to all the buildings, our little army returned to the town of Tsekee the same evening.

It is proper here to remark that the peasantry, and the inhabitants generally, except where they happened casually to be intermingled with the soldiers during the flight, shewed little concern as to the fate of their countrymen. They appeared to be more astonished than frightened, particularly at the swimming of the horses of the artillery across the river, and then seeing them harnessed to the guns.

The town of Tsekee suffered very little. A large pawnbroker's shop was one of the greatest curiosities, being filled with furs, silks, &c. It was a large, extensive building, like a warehouse, as is commonly the case in China, and it afforded excellent quarters.

This engagement upon the heights of Segoan has been considered, by military men, as the most scientifically conducted affair which occurred during the war. Its success, at all events, was complete; and the Chinese army, which was now concentrated to the southward of Hang-chow-foo, for the purpose of covering the provincial capital, against which we were expected to advance, was said to be with much difficulty kept together, and to be in great want of supplies. The orders of the emperor, that the province which was the seat of the war for the time should defray all its expenses, excited much discontent, as might be expected.

Any proposed plan of advancing upon Hang-chow-foo which might have been thought of was now abandoned, and the great river, the Yangtze-Keang, was designed to be the principal seat of operations during the ensuing campaign. The vast inland trade passing through this main artery of the empire would be stopped; the traffic by the Grand Canal would be at our mercy; and there seemed every reason to expect that the presence of a large military and naval force, in the heart of the country, would lead the haughty Chinese cabinet to listen to terms of peace, which we hoped to dictate under the walls of the ancient Chinese capital, the imperial Nankin, the depository of the ashes of many of the ancient Emperors of China. Some, however, looked forward to a hoped-for advance upon Pekin, the great Tartar capital, by the river Peiho. The result, however, ultimately proved the wisdom of the former plan of operations.

During the months of April and May, reinforcements continued to arrive to strengthen the expedition, and the belief was general that it was determined to put an end to the war as soon as possible, by some means or other. A fresh corps of Bengal volunteers, a remarkably fine body of men, arrived from Calcutta; the 41st and the 2nd native infantry arrived from Madras, with a reinforcement of artillery, and a few horses for the guns. Several steamers and ships of war, with transports, continued to join in succession – namely, the Vixen from England, and the Tenasserim, Auckland, Ariadne, Medusa, and the little Hooghly steamers, belonging to the East India Company, from Bombay and Calcutta, all well armed, and some of them peculiarly adapted for river navigation.

The Chinese, finding that they met with no success against us in the open field, turned their attention more strongly than ever to their two most notable schemes, of kidnapping our men, one by one, and destroying our ships by means of fire-rafts. Large rewards continued to be offered for the capture of our high officers; but their successes in this system were confined to the men, some of whom were occasionally carried off and a few were put to death in the most barbarous and inhuman manner. Indeed, it was not till after the capture of Chapoo (the next engagement to be described) that the Chinese began to treat their prisoners with a little kindness and mercy.