In 1926, after Vautrin returned from a brief visit to her family in America, the Nationalist government's Northern Expedition troops under General Chiang Kai-Shek captured Nanking. While in Nanking, the army perpetrated the Nanking Incident, which involved the destruction and looting of the city and the slaughter of native citizens as well as foreigners. Ginling College was not harmed during the looting, and Vautrin hid in the College's attic with a few others while Chiang Kai-shek's troops were on Ginling's campus. The Nanking Incident deterred many American missionaries from serving in China, and many left the country.