At the commencement of the month of May, 1842, it became generally understood, that a movement was very soon to be made upon Chapoo, which was to be followed by the advance of the whole expedition up the great Yangtze river. Ningpo, however, is deserving of one or two further observations, for it is one of the most important trading cities in China; and, from its position, and its vicinity to several large and wealthy cities, such as Hang-chow-foo, Soo-chow-foo, and others which border upon the Imperial Canal, there is every reason to believe, that an extensive trade will soon be opened there. Ningpo lies at the distance of only fifty miles from the trading town of Chapoo, which possesses a monopoly of the whole trade with Japan and Corea. Hence there is reason to believe, that our manufactures will soon find their way into these latter countries, (which have hitherto excluded the foreigner, more pertinaciously even than the Chinese,) indirectly by way of Ningpo; and, that, in a few years, many articles expressly adapted for the Japan market, will be ordered to be manufactured in this country, and sent to Chinese merchants at Ningpo. This city is famous for its silks, which are very beautiful of their kind; and the shops are elegant, and well supplied with all kinds of Chinese manufactures. It is a wealthier and much handsomer town than Amoy, and is much superior in commercial importance, to Foo-chow-foo, another of the newly-opened ports. Large junks are even built on the Ningpo river, and the people have always shewn a great disposition to trade with foreigners. Indeed, this is the case in every part of China where the people have not been held back by their mandarins. Mr. Gutzlaff, in one of his early voyages, obtained a list of all the foreign ships which had formerly visited Ningpo, and found their number to be considerable; and it was stated to him that some of the very old people still retained a faint recollection of the foreigners. The Portuguese traded at this place in the sixteenth century, and the English had a factory there as late as the middle of the last century. It was finally pulled down in 1759, and all foreign trade was then absolutely prohibited, by express orders from Pekin. The principal objection made by the government at that time to permit trade at Ningpo, was simply "the loss of the It was at Ningpo that the Jesuit missionaries first set foot in China; and thence, making their way to Pekin, succeeded, by good policy, scientific acquirements, and conciliatory demeanour, in winning the good-will of the people, and the toleration of the government. This was towards the end of the seventeenth century. For a time they possessed great influence; and sanguine expectations were entertained of the valuable results of their labours, and of the rich fruits which would ripen to maturity, as soon as the tree of Christianity which they planted in China, should spread its roots throughout the land. Various causes conspired to produce their downfal in China, principally connected with the political state of Europe at that time. But it has been well observed by Sir George Staunton, in his preface to the translation of the Penal Code of China, that "the extinction of the order of Jesuits in that country, caused the adoption of a plan of conversion more strict, and probably more orthodox, but in the same proportion, more unaccommodating to the prejudices of the people, and more alarming to the jealousy of the government. Generally speaking, it threw the profession into less able hands, and the cause of Christianity and of Europe lost much of its lustre and influence. The Jesuits were generally artists or men of science, as well as religious teachers." Ultimately, the teaching of Christianity at Pekin was strictly prohibited, and particular objection was made to the printing or translation of books into the Chinese and Tartar languages; and, in 1805, all books of this kind were ordered to be seized and destroyed, and the Tartar subjects were specially exhorted to attend to the language of their own country, and the admonitions of their own government; and, above all, to practise riding and archery, and to study the works of the learned and virtuous, and particularly to observe all the social duties. On the 7th of May, 1842, the city of Ningpo was given up, it was impossible to spare a garrison for so large a city. Neither was it any longer necessary to retain possession of it, for the occupation of Chinhae at the river's mouth, would command the whole trade of the city. Some of the principal inhabitants, merchants, and others, were assembled by Sir Hugh Gough, and into their hands the custody of the city was given over, in the absence of all the constituted authorities. As might be expected, our evacuation of Ningpo was represented The reinforcements which had already arrived in the Chinese waters had not all yet joined the main body to the northward; in fact, they did not leave Hong-Kong until a month afterwards, but Sir Hugh Gough decided on proceeding to the attack of Chapoo without waiting for them. All the troops, however, which could possibly be spared from Chinhae, Chusan, and Kolingsoo, (Amoy,) small garrisons only being left at each of those places, had been called in, and the transports were, therefore, tolerably crowded. The anchorage close to the small island called Just-in-the-Way, lying nearly midway between Chusan and Chinhae, was the appointed rendezvous for the ships; and owing to various circumstances they were unable to leave it before the 13th (May.) The whole force which the General had now at his disposal, exclusive of the naval brigade, was about two thousand two hundred men, including the artillery and the gun lascars, and sappers and miners. To this must be added about one hundred and ten officers. The force was divided into three columns: the right, composed of the 18th and 49th regiments, each being from four to five hundred strong, together with a few sappers and miners—in all about nine hundred and twenty men and forty-eight officers—was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Morris. The centre, under Lieutenant-Colonel Montgomerie, (Madras Artillery,) was composed of a small detachment of the Royal Artillery, (twenty-five men only,) with the Madras Artillery and Sappers, and the Madras Rifles, (one hundred men,)—in all about four hundred and sixty men, (including lascars,) and fifteen officers. And the left, composed of the 26th and 55th regiments, (the latter only half the strength of the former,) together with twenty-five sappers, in all eight hundred and twenty men, and two hundred and thirty officers, was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Schoedde. On the 13th, the ships of war, the Cornwallis, Blonde, Modeste, Columbine, Starling, Algerine, and Plover, with the troop-ship Jupiter, and several transports, got under weigh with a light breeze; they soon passed the hill of Chinhae, (the Pelican being at anchor in the river,) and afterwards neared the Teshan Islands, and then, hauling up to the westward, No information upon which reliance could be placed had been obtained as to the actual strength of the Chinese force at Chapoo, but the general belief was, either that a very large body of troops would be found there, or that the place would have been abandoned altogether by the enemy, for the purpose of concentrating their forces for the protection of Hang-chow-foo. This question was soon set at rest. The view of Chapoo and the adjacent hills from the sea, as you approach the coast, is very remarkable. The town and its extensive suburbs are situated near the western extremity of a small promontory, stretching east and west for the distance of between four and five miles. The suburbs, which appear to be the principal resort for merchants and traders, and contain the most wealthy shops, run along the edge of the beach, partly at the foot of the hills which rise up on either side, and partly occupying a low flat between them. The actual walled town stands about half a mile in the rear, and the nature and extent of its defences could not be accurately ascertained. As the steamers were running in, so as to get near enough to observe the nature of the Chinese defences, and the works thrown up on the adjacent hills, a large fishing boat was brought-to, to get information, and three of the fishermen, being brought on board of the Nemesis, were questioned as to the numbers of Chinese troops, &c., on shore. One of these men stoutly denied that there were any soldiers there at all; but, upon a threat that they would all be hanged if they were found to conceal the truth, the other two men declared that there was a large force assembled for the defence of the place. On a nearer approach it was observed that there were three principal hills extending along the coast to the eastward of The anchorage was completely surveyed by Commanders Kellett and Collinson, who carefully sounded without any interruption along the whole coast at night, thus enabling the Cornwallis, Blonde, Modeste, and the other vessels before named, to take up advantageous positions against the enemy's works, and to cover the landing of the troops, which it was decided should take place in the bay to the eastward, before mentioned. From that point it appeared to the General that the heights could be turned, and the enemy cut off before they could make good their retreat upon the walled city. At daylight, on the 17th, the whole of the men-of-war and transports got under weigh, and stood in towards Chapoo, with a light breeze from the southward, the Nemesis and Phlegethon leading, and giving the soundings by signal to the Cornwallis, the Algerine having dropped astern, owing to the light wind. At eight, A.M., they came to anchor about four miles off shore, it being nearly calm and high water. The positions had already been assigned to the respective ships, and particularly to the steamers, who were to land the troops. The fleet got under weigh again soon after one o'clock, with a fresh breeze from the south-west, and beat in towards the anchorage of Chapoo, which they reached in the evening, when each ship took up its allotted position without any obstacle. The Nemesis anchored close in shore, in three fathoms water, and from her deck every movement of the Chinese could be seen, even without the aid of a glass. The transports were anchored near the islands, off the little bay to the eastward, where the troops were to land, under cover of the Starling, Columbine, Plover, and Algerine. The Cornwallis and Blonde took up The sun set clear and brilliant on that evening, the last which many a brave man on both sides was doomed to look upon. The Chinese were on the alert during the night, and brought down some large ginjals, which they planted upon the hill-side, abreast of the Nemesis, but did not make use of them. At daylight next morning the Nemesis went alongside the transports, to take in the 18th Royal Irish, under Colonel Tomlinson, and, having landed them in the appointed bay, returned immediately to fetch part of the 55th, together with the rifles; the remainder of the 55th, with the 26th, 49th, and artillery, being landed by the Queen and Phlegethon, assisted by the boats of the squadron, the whole under the direction of Commander Charles Richards, of the Cornwallis. Sir Hugh Gough landed with the first or right column from the Nemesis, and at once occupied a height which commanded the landing-place, without meeting with any opposition. As usual, the Chinese had neglected their flanks, as if an enemy could only think of attacking them where they were most prepared to defend themselves. As soon as the whole of the troops were formed, Colonel Schoedde was directed to move with the 26th and 55th regiments, forming the left column, and Colonel Montgomerie, with the artillery and rifles, forming the centre, as rapidly as possible round the base of the heights, in the rear of which there was a broken valley, leading up in the direction of the walled town, from which, by this means, the retreat of the Chinese would be cut off. Sir Hugh Gough moved with the left column, composed of the 18th and 49th regiments, under Colonel Morris, along the crest of the heights, driving the enemy before him from one point to another. As soon as the advance was sounded in that quarter, the ships of war opened fire upon the enemy's right flank, near the town, and after a few rounds, the Chinese fled from their field works, and from the joss-house upon the summit of the hill. The Nemesis, in the meantime, having united her fire to that of the other ships, was signalized to close the Cornwallis, The Sesostris threw some shells in upon the Chinese centre, as our troops advanced upon them from their left; but, owing to the rapid movement of the left column round the base of the hills, and the dangerous direction of the line of fire of the steamer, there was at one time more chance of danger to our own men than to the Chinese. The sides of the hills were covered with a great number of tombs, which, together with the broken nature of the ground, afforded shelter and rallying points for the enemy, behind which they occasionally made a stand, and suffered severely in consequence. Many of the Tartars were even seen deliberately cutting their own throats, as our men were advancing upon them. But the most terrible scene, and the point at which the greatest loss on our side occurred, was a large house partly enclosed with a wall, situated at the end of a little valley, about a mile from the walls of the town. About three hundred resolute Tartar soldiers, finding their retreat cut off, took refuge in this building, determined to sell their lives as dearly as possible, expecting no quarter from their enemy. The defence of this large building was no part of their original design; but as they were driven into it, one after another, without any means of escape, they were forced to defend themselves. The number who might be inside was not at first known; and two small parties of the 18th and 49th, under Lieutenant Murray, of the former corps, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Browne, of the latter, attempted to follow them in, but were unable to effect an entrance. Of the 49th party, Lieutenants Browne and Mitchell were the only two who escaped untouched. One man was killed and the rest wounded. This little check was now reported to Lieutenant-Colonel Stevens of the 49th, who soon came up. Perceiving that there were a great many of the enemy in the house, and that they were firing from the windows and doors, he ordered our troops to be withdrawn under cover, until the guns were brought up. Colonel Tomlinson, of the 18th, having overheard some injudicious remarks which he thought reflected upon himself, instantly put himself at the head of a few of his own regiment and of the 49th, and rushed in at the door of The failure of this second attempt to enter the building, added to the exasperation occasioned by the death of Colonel Tomlinson, rendered it very difficult to restrain the men from recklessly exposing themselves. Just at this time, one 6-pounder gun was brought up by Major Knowles, and some rockets were also thrown into the house, but did not succeed in setting it on fire. The field-piece made very little impression upon the walls; but it was important that the place should be destroyed and the Tartars captured. In the meantime, it was blockaded by two companies of the 18th Royal Irish. While this was going on, Sir Hugh Gough had marched on towards the city wall, and was joined there by Sir William Parker with the naval brigade. As soon as the Admiral had landed, Captain Hall, with three of his officers (including the surgeon) and sixteen men, (eight seamen, and eight of the Bombay artillery,) also landed as volunteers, and, after clearing a hill in their front of some straggling Chinese soldiers, they advanced directly up the hollow, at the extremity of which stood the large building just mentioned. Already Colonel Tomlinson was killed, and several other officers wounded; both the rockets and the small field-piece had failed to clear the house of its defenders. Captain Pears, the field engineer, had also come up, and proposed to endeavour to blow in a portion of the outer wall by means of a bag of powder. Seeing a small side-door open, Captain Hall, followed by Lieutenant Fitzjames and one of his own men, got close to it and fired into it, wounding a Tartar mandarin, but it was too hazardous to try to force a passage in; and, as the defenders kept up a smart fire from the windows above, it was necessary to retire under cover. An attempt was then made to set fire to the building, by throwing combustibles in at the principal door; and Captain Hall rushed in towards it, with a bundle of straw in one hand and his sword in the other, followed by several of his men and one or two officers. Scarcely had he reached the doorway, when a smart fire was opened from within, by which two of his men were shot dead close by his side, but he himself escaped as if by a miracle. The bodies were instantly removed to a place of safety, and this attempt failed, as the others had done. Three or four of the Tartars now made an attempt to escape, by rushing out of the doorway, and ran the gauntlet of ten or a dozen shots directed at them. They ran for their lives and escaped, although, from the traces of blood, it was thought that more than one of them must have been wounded. Captain Pears at length got a powder-bag fixed to the northern wall of the building, which blew it in; and a small party of the 18th again attempted to enter it, but one of them was killed, and two wounded, and the rest withdrew. In fact, it was so dark inside the building, and the space was so narrow, that it was impossible to make a rush at it. It was next proposed to set the place on fire, for on one side the upper part of the building appeared to be built of wood. Another powder-bag was fixed to that side of the house, just below the wood-work, in the hope that it would knock it all down together, or else set it on fire. The explosion was so powerful that it not only destroyed part of the wall, but brought down the wood-work above it, and thus many of the Tartars above became exposed, of whom some were shot, and others succeeded in getting down below. But, wherever a Tartar shewed himself at a window in any part of the building, several muskets were levelled at him; and, on the other hand, so well did the Tartars take aim with their matchlocks, that one of the Royal Irish, who would persist in merely peeping round the doorway "just to see if he couldn't pick off a Tartar," received a shot in his knee, before he had himself time to fire. The fragments of the wood-work, which had tumbled down, were now collected into a heap by the sappers, and set on fire, which soon communicated to the rest of the building. Gradually, as it spread, the matchlocks of the Tartars (probably of the fallen) were heard to go off, and loud cries were uttered. The rest of the defenders must evidently surrender; and, on entering the doorway, the poor fellows could now be seen stripping off their clothes to avoid the flames, and running about in despair from one side to the other. About fifty were taken prisoners, but two or three, who tried to escape, were shot; and so exasperated were the 18th at the loss of their colonel, and some of their comrades, that it was not without difficulty they were prevented from putting several of the prisoners to death. These were now tied together by their tails, in parties of eight or ten, so that they could not well run away all together; and they were marched off, under an The walls had been scaled near the east gate, by the grenadiers of the 55th, without opposition; and the other gates of the town were soon occupied by passing round the ramparts. There were few guns, or even ginjals, mounted on them; and the Chinese, having been once driven from the heights, and cut off from the city, were dispersed all over the country, a large body of them taking the direction of Hang-chow-foo. Between Chapoo and that city there is a good canal communication, supposed to be connected with the grand canal itself; and, in addition to that, the communication by land, along a good causeway, broad enough for artillery, gave many facilities for an immediate advance upon the capital. It was said also, that a curious Chinese map of the road, and of the adjacent country had been obtained; but, with so small a force, it was not thought advisable to march further inland. If the loss of the Chinese was great on this day, so was it on our side much greater than on any previous occasion. The high spirit of the Tartar soldiers, the descendants of the conquerors of China, and soldiers by birthright, could not brook a total defeat; and, when they were further stimulated by the excitement of opium, their self-devotion and stubbornness tended to increase their loss. When they could no longer fight, they could die; and the instances of mad self-destruction, both within the city and without, were perfectly horrible. Many of the Tartars were with difficulty prevented from cutting their throats, which they attempted to do with apparent indifference. On visiting the large building, or joss-house, which had resisted so long, and had cost so many lives, a number of dead and wounded men were found huddled together in a horrible manner, in one of the out-buildings attached to it. The ruins of the house were still smoking, and our object was to drag out the wounded and put them under cover until they could be properly attended to, for, on all occasions, the Chinese wounded received every attention that could be shewn them from our medical officers. Just as our men began to move aside the dead bodies, a Tartar soldier, who had until now concealed himself among them, literally rising from the dead, stood up suddenly and drew his sword. But, instead of making a dash for his life, or giving himself up as a prisoner, he began deliberately to hack his own throat with the rusty weapon, and inflicted two wounds upon himself before his hand could be stopped. Another man was found concealed in a deep hollow in the earth, where there was a sort of oven, A large building in the city was specially set apart for the Chinese wounded, and the great kindness and attention they received at Chapoo produced important effects afterwards upon the authorities, and induced them to treat our prisoners with kindness, instead of torturing them to death, as had frequently been the case. The veteran Elepoo, who was, in fact, at that time governor of Chapoo, (having been partially restored to favour by the Emperor,) expressly thanked the General and the Admiral for their humanity, in a letter written about a month afterwards. "On inquiry," said he, "I found that you gave the hungry rice to eat, and allowed to the wounded medical attendance, and we feel obliged for your kindness and courtesy." But this was not the only mark of their gratitude, as we shall presently relate. Too much praise cannot be given to the superintending surgeon, Dr. French, (often mentioned in the despatches,) and the other medical officers, for their constant attention to the Chinese wounded, whenever they had an opportunity. Occasionally, however, the Chinese refused all assistance. Among the Tartar population, who were here for the first time met with, living entirely separate from the Chinese, and preserving their own habits and privileges, it is admitted by all that the most shocking scenes were witnessed; and the similar barbarities which were afterwards observed at the Tartar city of Chin-keang-foo confirm all that has been said of the cruel and revolting practices of that remarkable people in time of war. All accounts concur in giving their testimony to the fact of the self-destruction of whole Tartar families; the women destroying their children, drowning them in wells, and throwing themselves in afterwards; the husbands hanging and poisoning their wives, and deliberately cutting their own throats. Every effort was made to put a stop to these barbarities, and every means were used to pacify and soothe the people; but as the greater part of the Tartar population had abandoned the Tartar portion of the city, the Chinese rabble set about plundering it, and frightened the few who remained, even more than our own people. The Tartar town, which was separated from the other by a wall enclosing about one-fourth of the space within the city, It is worthy of remark, that the conquerors imposed upon the conquered the practice of shaving the head, excepting the back part, with its long tail; but they themselves took care never to adopt the absurd Chinese custom of preventing the growth of the female foot, and even deforming it, in such a way as to render it nearly useless to its owner. From the Emperor's court to the lowest soldier's wife, no Tartar woman ever has her foot tortured into deformity. At Chusan, I remember seeing a Tartar woman walking about with her natural undeformed feet, and she was looked at as a curiosity by the Chinese inhabitants, who stared and smiled as if they thought it a strange piece of barbarism. The attention of children to their parents, for which the Chinese as well as Tartars are remarkable, was shewn in many instances, even amid the trials of war, at Chapoo. The aged and infirm were of course unable to fly from the city, and many of these were found in the Tartar houses, carefully tended by their daughters, who stayed behind and braved the expected horrors of an enemy's approach, rather than abandon an aged parent. There were some touching scenes of this kind, and when they found that they were not treated harshly, their fears, which at first were distressing, gradually disappeared. The country about Chapoo is perhaps one of the richest and most beautifully cultivated spots in the world. It in some respect resembles the prettiest parts of Devonshire. The low hills immediately adjoining the town—the rich, luxuriant, well-watered plain beyond, interspersed with numerous hamlets and villages, with their curiously-shaped blue-tiled roofs, and It was not the object of Sir Hugh Gough to occupy the city longer than was necessary for the purpose of destroying the arsenals, and property belonging to the government, including, of course, the iron guns, ginjals, &c. The brass ones, some of which were very good, were sent over to Chusan. Several horses, or rather ponies, which had belonged to mandarins, were captured by our officers, and one of these, a stout grey, was carried up to Calcutta in the Nemesis, after the war was over. The number of Chinese engaged at Chapoo has been estimated at between seven and eight thousand men, of whom about one-fourth were Tartars. It is difficult to estimate the number of their killed and wounded, but it must have been very great; it has been estimated that nearly one-sixth of them suffered more or less. On our side, two officers, one sergeant, and ten men were killed, including three of the naval brigade, of which two belonged to the Nemesis; six officers, one sergeant, and about forty-five men were wounded, many of them severely. The following were the names of the officers killed and wounded: Killed—Lieutenant-Colonel Tomlinson, 18th Royal Irish, and Captain Colin Campbell, 55th regiment, died two or three days after, from a severe wound in the head. Wounded—Staff, Lieutenant-Colonel Mountain, C.B., Deputy-Adjutant-General, severely, (three balls in his back;) Lieutenant A. E. Jodrell, 18th; Lieutenant A. Murray, 18th; Captain T. S. Reynolds, 49th; Lieutenant and Adjutant W. P. K. Browne, 49th; and Lieutenant J. G. Johnstone, Madras Sappers and Miners. There were ten brass guns taken, together with eighty-two iron ones, and a number of ginjals, &c. |