Chusan
Page 34
‘But at last…’ Noble, p.2.
15.
‘Her husband… at sea’ CWM MS380645/1 letter from Chusan, Jan 1841.
‘…United Service Institution’ Levien, p.72.
‘the Devonport Telegraph…’ NM, 1842 p.632.
16.
‘Anne was given two women…’ EMC, 25/5/1841.
‘…related to Queen Victoria’ EMC, 9/2/1841, letter written from Ningbo prison, 17/12/1840.
17.
‘Anstruther asked for… improved conditions’ EMC, 9/2/1841.
‘…bow, wow, wow’ ibid.
18.
‘In return… timber-yard in Tinghae’ EMC, 22/2/1841.
‘Captain Anstruther’s opinion…’ Ellis, p.279.
19.
‘You call yourself a great nation…’ Attachment to memorial of DG20/9/3 in YPZZZZS p.82.
Chapter 8
1.
Even those we do see…’ BL Monk, p.4.
‘high-caste Hindu troops’ ibid.
‘Bodies were forever… curtailed’ Cree, vol.4 25/9/1840.
‘Graves are forever open…’ EMC, 31/12/1840, letter of 7/11/1840.
‘I would rather spend…’ EMC, 30/11/1840.
2.
‘dysentery, typhus and cholera’ It is worth noting that the exact diagnoses are unclear: contemporary records call the most devastating sicknesses ‘agues and fluxes’, and the symptoms described are imprecise. Contaminated water, we can be certain, was behind much of the illness. The term ‘malaria’ was used to describe intermittent fevers, but the disease we now know to be transmitted by mosquitoes was not necessarily differentiated from other fevers.
‘the former pawnshop… filth’ Ellis, p.136 vividly describes the hospital.
‘primitive treatments’ BL Monk, p.16 lists various treatments tried by the fleet’s surgeons.
‘crystal clear intellect’ CR, vol.10 p.498; IJMPS, 1845, the course of the disease described by Alexander Grant.
‘The results of post-mortems…’ Wilson, Medical Notes on China p.46.
‘We are all tired of war…’ NAM Henderson.
3.
‘Governor Burrell grumbled…’ BL Nicolls, 18/10/1840.
‘In return… broiling sun by day’ Ouchterlony, The Chinese War p.53.
‘For all the regiments… degrees’ MacPherson, p.12.
‘But for the Cameronians especially…’ EMC, 31/12/1840, letter of 7/11/1840.
‘The Englishman adopted a scathing line…’ EMC, 1/12/1840, report of 25/9/1840.
4.
‘strong aversion to drinking unboiled water’ IJMPS, 1845 p.145.
5.
‘dysenteric fluid’ Levien, p.66 and Cree, vol.4 10/10/1840.
‘Even the Chinese were suffering…’ ADM101/105/2 (notes of HMS Iris’ surgeon); In JMA reel 580 24/11/1840, Gützlaff notes that the islanders too were suffering dreadfully from the ‘devouring epidemic’.
6.
‘Some suspected… for a while’ NM, 1841 p.696; Times, 13/7/1841; Wilson, Medical Notes p.17.
‘The animals at Chusan…’ BL Pears, 24/10/40.
‘like a man with smallpox’ Mountain, August 1840.
7.
‘At long last…’ BL Nicolls, 20/9/1840 and 1/10/1840 (where Burrell explains his reasons for not moving the men into quarters earlier: with the weather warm and the Elliots in the north, it had seemed inexpedient to go about a full-scale movement of troops).
‘On the first day… Bengal Volunteers followed’ EMC, 30/11/1840.
‘paper soaked in oil’ Times, 7/1/1841; Masefield, p.75.
8.
‘subalterns were limited to…’ EMC, 1/12/1840.
‘Indeed we live among the dead’ JMA reel 580 7/11/1840.
9.
‘plenty of hefty firewood’ MacPherson, p.55.
‘muster book’ The Cameronians’ muster book is now in the National Archives, Kew.
Chapter 9
1.
‘Qishan, the governor-general…’ Hummel, Eminent Chinese has biographies of Qishan and Yilibu.
2.
‘word of the peaceful interview…’ FO17/49(182), Diary of a Residence, 26/9/1840.
‘riding buffaloes bareback’ Cree, vol.4 20/10/1840 has a comical watercolour.
‘Four dozen head… owners’ protests’ FO17/50(39).
‘The arrival of junks from the mainland…’ FO17/49(182), Diary of a Residence, 27/10/1840.
3.
‘pride of China’s maritime provinces…’ see e.g. the report from the governor-general of Fujian-Zhejiang in YPZZZZS p.48, DG20/7/6.
‘His forces would instead have two goals’ YPZZZZS p.62, DG20/7/19.
4.
‘mostly farmers or fishermen… slow and expensive process’ Wakeman, Strangers at the Gate.
5.
‘On November 1st…’ YPZZZZS DG20/10/6, p.105; English translation in EMC, 31/12/1840.
6.
‘His optimistic offer… argue the case’ EMC, 1/12/1840; JMA reel 580 6/10/1840. The number of junks varies with the source, from just two to more than one hundred. They were clearly numerous enough to have been a feature of some note in Tinghae harbour.
7.
‘On November 6th… bound for Canton’ EMC, 30/12/1840; Bingham, p.353.
8.
‘It is a queer truce…’ JMA reel 580 19/10/1840. Gützlaff wrote to Matheson so frequently that his letters often opened with a joke about his being James’ ‘indefatigable correspondent’. Gützlaff had, of course, visited Chusan aboard an opium vessel before the war, and Matheson was a major figure in the trade. Matheson, too, was a proponent of Britain’s acquiring Chusan: in 1836 he had penned The Present Position & Prospects of the British Trade with China, arguing that if Britain were to bypass the Canton trade by annexing territory, that territory ought to be Chusan.
9.
‘An observatory’ Ouchterlony, Statistical Sketch. In NM, 1841, the surveyor, Collinson, gives the position as 30° 0’ 10” N, 122° 14’ E by chronometer, making his latitude almost perfect and his longitude just 9’ out.
‘The Engineers restarted work…’ EMC, 17/2/1841.
‘the least show of wanting to keep it’ EMC, 1/12/1840.
10.
‘dramatis personae’ FO17/14(142), letter of 20/7/1840.
‘I have never lived amongst…’ JMA reel 580 14/12/1840.
‘all the Chinese did was rob him…’ ibid., 25/1/1840.
‘Police stations’ WO28/300/MS4, General Orders, HQ, Tinghae.
‘If found guilty…’ CR, vol.10 p.500; Cree has a watercolour of such a flogging.
‘We are always able…’ Masefield, p.75.
11.
‘Burrell had outlawed its sale’ WO28/300/MS4, General Orders, HQ, Tinghae.
‘Chinese character yong’ CR, vol.10; Bingham, p.337.
‘one man who was caught…’ Ellis, p.290.
12.
‘fire broke out in a magazine’ FO17/49(182), Diary of a Residence, 26/10/1840.
‘Some of the barrels…’ Times, 15/3/1841; Cree, vol.4 26/10/1840.
‘In early December another blaze…’ CR, vol.9 p.641.
‘…help extinguish the flames’ Cree, vol.4 8/12/1840.
‘A near disaster… fire brigade raised’ WO28/300/MS4, General Orders, HQ, Tinghae.
‘United Service Club’ Cree, vol.4 30/11/1840.
‘But we miss ladies’ society’ Masefield, p.75.
13.
‘November of 1840 marked a turning point…’ WO28/300/MS4, 1/11/1840.
‘…the city’s thriving markets’ ibid.
‘the loopee and the tolah’ CR, vol.10 p.500.
‘reputation for debauchery’ Cree, vol.4 8/12/1840.
‘licence to marry his daughter’ CR, vol.9 p.641.
‘If your opinion…’ JMA reel 580 24/11/1840.
14.
‘rue it to the last’ ibid., 26/9/1840. Gützlaff repeat
ed the same point a fortnight later, and it became a frequent refrain in his letters to Matheson.
Chapter 10
1.
‘more than capable of holding on to Chusan’ EMC, 9/2/1841.
‘its breech burst’ Davis, China p.184.
‘conscription of all Zhejiang’s available metalworkers’ FO17/100(72).
‘They are completely puerile’ JMA reel 580 24/12/1840.
2.
‘an erudite Manchu named Yuqian’ Hummel, Eminent Chinese has a biography.
‘mere bulrushes’ Cited in Davis, China p.8.
3.
‘The British, he predicted…’ YPZZZZS p.161, DG20/12/13.
‘Yilibu wrote to Peking…’ ibid. p.164, DG20/12/17.
4.
‘By late January… sense of threat’ EMC, 20/3/1841.
‘Spies reported…’ Bingham, p.372.
5.
‘celebrated in rather low-key fashion’ Cree.
‘rumours of a fire-attack…’ JMA reel 580 24/1/1840.
‘Shutters were pulled…’ Noted in WO28/300/MS4, General Orders, HQ, Tinghae.
‘Chinese feast of lanterns…’ Levien, p.70.
‘events in distant Canton’ The following section on the impasse at Canton draws on Fay, The Opium War.
6.
‘It is the intention…’ FO17/40(136), 4/11/1839.
‘For permanent settlement…’ FO17/38(152) Elliot to Palmerston, 16/2/1840.
7.
‘With a British possession…’ FO17/38(158) Elliot to Maitland, 21/2/1840.
8.
‘Nothing can be more delightful…’ FO17/40(142).
9.
‘privately arrived at the opinion…’ FO17/61(93-105) contains Elliot’s justification for his actions.
10.
‘edicts issuing from the Forbidden City’ see e.g. the edict of DG20/12/18 in YPZZZZS p.167.
‘when Yilibu wrote back to Peking…’ YPZZZZS p.173, DG20/12/25.
11.
‘If the barbarians proved perfidious…’ ibid. p.193, DG21/2/4.
12.
‘…a scene of frenzied preparations’ WO28/300/MS4, General Orders, HQ, Tinghae.
‘…held its last meeting’ Levien, p.72.
‘The bakery was closed…’ EMC, 16/4/1841.
13.
‘Temple of the God of Wealth’ This was adjacent to Tinghae’s main gate.
‘a riot of looting’ CR, vol.10 p.504; Bingham, p.378.
‘…the Union Jack was struck’ CWM LMSMA, the digest of Lockhart’s journal has an account.
‘The prisoners… to the coast EMC, 17/4/1841.
‘struck up Rule Britannia’ Scott, Narrative.
‘Anne… to God for his mercy’ CWM LMSMA, letter from aboard Blundell 27/2/1841; in MS380645/1 Lockhart notes in passing that Anne was six months pregnant in mid-January.
‘cheers rang out’ Ouchterlony, The Chinese War p.127.
Chapter 11
1.
‘Still, the gaol in Ningbo held traitors…’ Memorial of DG21/3/20, YPZZZZS p.221.
2.
‘Yilibu was stripped of his position…’ Cited in Davis, China p.179.
‘in a parlous state’ see e.g. YPZZZZS p.200, DG21/2/21.
‘There is scarcely a chicken…’ YPZZZZS p.202, DG21/2/12.
3.
‘As for the barbarian invaders…’ ibid. p.207, DG21/2/19 (cited in Davis, China p.178).
‘six crates of Christian tracts’ YPZZZZS p.216, DG21/3/6.
‘evil teachings of Roman Catholicism’ ibid.
4.
‘estimated how many rooms’ YPZZZZS p.217, DG21/3/15.
‘If we are not very strenuous’ Cited in Davis, China p.172.
‘Yuqian ordered… goings-on’ YPZZZZS p.217, DG21/3/15.
5.
‘Two sally ports’ Guangxu Dinghai Tingzhi, p.277.
‘Under the Kangxi Emperor…’ YPZZZZS p.216, DG21/3/6.
6.
‘Three hand-picked and seasoned generals’ YPZZZZS has biographies and memorial inscriptions, from which salient facts can be extracted from amongst the formulaic eulogies.
7.
‘This trio… in the dark’ YPZZZZS p.217, DG21/3/15.
‘Where Tinghae’s arsenals… muskets’ ibid. p.232, DG21/r3/27 gives an exhaustive account of Yuqian’s fortification of Chusan.
‘I spent the whole of the voyage…’ ibid. p.220, DG21/3/20.
Chapter 12
1.
‘Throughout the whole course…’ FO17/45(36), Palmerston to Elliot, 21/4/1841.
2.
‘tender-hearted avoider of casualties’ Walsh, A History of Hong Kong p.114.
‘As for Hong Kong… closer still to Canton’ FO17/53(41ff), Palmerston to Pottinger, 31/5/1841.
‘George Eden for one…’ FO17/52(20), Auckland to Hobhouse, 11/8/1841.
3.
‘greeted with applause’ EMC, 19/12/1840.
4.
‘a wildish set of Irish boys’ BL Machell, p.85.
‘Though… southern India’ Noakes, p.73.
‘the Westmorelands exchanged… Hong Kong’ ibid.; EMC, 8/5/1841.
‘Chusan is to be retaken’ 4/9/1841, quoted in Harfield.
‘On the 25th… well defended’ YPZZZZS p.270, DG21/7/9.
5.
‘When word of the violence… hilltops’ ibid. p.278, DG21/8/6.
6.
‘Nemesis’ The iron steamship Nemesis was the British trump card. She belonged to the East India Company, a flat-bottomed gunboat (she drew a mere six feet) manoeuvrable enough to carry arms into shallow river deltas. Nemesis was equipped with 120hp engines to drive her paddlewheels, and sails to economise on coal. Bulkheads divided her into watertight compartments, making her all but unsinkable. She was formidably armed, with a 32-lber at either end and a platform for firing Congrève rockets. The Chinese had seen nothing like her before: though small by the standards of Britain’s wooden wall, she was still twice the size of their largest war junks. The Nautical Magazine published a description of her from a Chinese memorial: ‘On each side is a wheel, which by the use of coal fire is made to revolve as fast as a running horse…. At the vessel’s head is a marine god, and at the head, stern and sides are cannon, which give it a terrifying appearance. Steam vessels are a wonderful invention of foreigners, and are calculated to afford delight to many’ (1843, p.346). When they saw the destruction she could bring, the Chinese reassessed their coy appraisal, attempting to copy the steam-driven paddlewheels but succeeding only in making the British scoff incredulously at the result — a junk with a pair of hand-powered wheels and a funnel which blew smoke from a fire unrelated to its propulsion (Bernard, The Nemesis in China).
‘a glimpse of the fortifications’ BL Pears, p.367ff has an account of the skirmishes leading up to the second invasion.
7.
‘Parker counted the muzzle flashes’ USJ 1842, vol.1 p.412, Parker’s report to Auckland.
8.
‘The day after… target practice’ Bernard, Narrative p.193.
‘Sir Hugh Gough… dictated his orders’ WO28/300/MS4, 29/9/1841.
‘This time… respected’ Recorded in Carlisle MBR, General Orders for the Expeditionary Force, 29/9/1841.
9.
‘at sunset… matchlocks’ Murray, 30/9/1841. Murray, a lieutenant of the Royal Irish aboard the Sophia, provides interesting details which others fail to record, such as how his men could see the Chinese muzzle flashes in sufficient time to watch ‘with great delight’ for the balls as they approached.
10.
‘Friday, October 1st 1841’ There are accounts by eyewitnesses to the day’s fighting in EMC, 20/12/1841; USJ 1842, vol.1 p.412 contains Parker’s naval report; p.419 contains Gough’s army report; p.487 has an account of the skirmishing; BL Pears, 1/10/1841 has a detailed account from this observant and knowledgeable officer; Cree, vol.5 has extra insights; also Ouchterlony, The Chinese W
ar p.177ff and MacPherson, p.212ff.
11.
‘Ensign Richard Duell’ Vickers, Events of the War in China.
12.
‘Ensign Duell’s opposite number’ Murray.
‘Attracting the attention… Phlegethon’ Ibid.
‘with the certainty and rapidity…’ BL Machell, 1/10/1841 has another account of this gruesome event.
‘As the Chinese fled… swarmed over’ Carlisle, MBR, Record of the Services of the 55th.
13.
‘Ge Yunfei… took his own life’ FO17/54(225). Pottinger’s note on Ge’s death directly contradicts his Chinese eulogies, which insist that he died fighting. Pottinger’s account is on the whole the more believable.
‘With cold accuracy… mud’ Murray.
‘large wooden crosses’ Power, p.218; Murray.
‘As silence returned… caught light’ Murray.
14.
‘A party of officers…’ USJ 1842, vol.1 p.487.
‘A week after their deaths… mainland’ Edward Cree (vol.5) had watched Ge being buried on the beach in his handsome, green silk dress.
‘…beheaded for cowardice’ FO17/54(102), Pottinger to Palmerston, 19/10/1841.
15.
‘rambling and piecemeal account’ One memorial partially translated in Davis, China p.194; YPZZZZS p.284-92, DG21/8/15-24.
‘We read this with fast-falling tears’ CR, vol.11 p.60.
16.
‘In truth… no ships’ NM, 1842 p.190, circular from Pottinger.
Chapter 13
1.
‘announced in a circular’ FO17/54(92), Pottinger to Palmerston, 2/10/1841.
‘large amounts of the drug’ FO17/54(200), 16/11/1841.
2.
‘One officer of HMS Blonde’ Cree, vol.5 3/10/1841.
‘coffins had been disinterred’ Murray.
‘a basket… temple fort’ Cree, vol.5 3/10/1841.
3.
‘My first work…’ Smith, Physician & Friend.
‘One man… after five days he died’ Ellis, p.246.
‘Another tore away his bandages’ Smith.
‘I placed [the wounded]…’ Times, 26/10/1842.
4.
‘One shell had killed…’ Bernard, Narrative p.203.
‘One boy… live aboard the steamer’ ibid. p.xi.
5.
‘moved his men into shelter’ see e.g. BL Machell.
‘Surprisingly little had changed…’ CR, Nov 1841 p.625; Cree, vol.5 18/10/1841.
‘regilt and repainted’ Ellis, p.246.
‘A temporary officers’ mess… all too readily’ ibid., p.283.