The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-09-20 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—! send for your perusal, and insertion if you
think fit, an extract from a letter written by my
son, the senior lieutenant of Her Majesty's ship High-
dyer, present At the attack on the Chinese torts at
the entrance of the Peat°, and detailing proceedings.
I have the honour to be Sir,
Your obedient servant,
CEO. THOS. It. PURVIS, Captain, R.N.
Blackbrouk-cottage, near Farehani, Haute, Sept. 15.

" Her Majeitty's ship Hig!Ayer, June.2B.

. . .
" I little thought, my dear father, when I began
this letter what a tale of woe I Amnia have to tell.
It appears the Chinese would have nothing to say to
our Minister, so it I• 114 determined to attack their
forts and force the passage of the ricer. Alas for the
result I The gunboats Nimrod and Cormorant went in
to attack about 240 pin. on the 250 i, accompanied
some distance out by a hired (French) kind of tem-
porary screw gunboat and the Coromandel. The forts
both aides of the river were immensely strong, splen-
didly constructed by Russians from Pekin, and loads
of Russians fighting the guns. It took eight gunboats till
6 3Ula.m. to silence the forts, and then thy had got
thew completely under. At 7 p.m. all the marines
from Canton (about 400 odd), 100 sappers, the marines
and smallmrm men of the squadron were landed on a
mud fist at dead low water, close under the heaviest
fort (their guns all 66 and 42-pounders). I had the
counnand of the blue-jacketa, 84 strong, though, having
to replenish the gunboats out of them, they only
landed about 40 stnnig. We had to tramp up this
mud fiat, a lung quarter of a wile, up to, and in SOII/11
placed over our knees in soft, sticky nind. I
should think it took us 20 minutes, under a
most murderous fire of round shot, rifle, gingalls,
matchlocks, rockets, arrows, Lc., to get to the brat
ditch. The men were hewn down by dozens. They
(the Chinese) had laid all their guns, and the firing was
Accurate. The sealing-ladders could scarcely be moved.
There we stood within about eighty yards, being 'putted
like crows,' 41 our ammunition wet, waiting for
scalding-ladders to cross a second ditch, which we had
ultimately to swim, and then could nut gut the scald-

in-ladders op. The men were dead beat, and am-
munition on all wet. The men and officers were shot .
down murderously getting up the ladders. I was one
of four to get a ladder across the second ditch, up to
my shoulders in mud and water. klas ! it was no
good, they were too strong fur us; we could not get
in. and had to retreat. I got a blow on my leg, on
an old wound not healed, a lien I landed, that ' chewed
me up.' Thanks to one of our brave fellows of my
small-arm men I got off, having to swim to a boat, the
scoundrels keeping up a most murderous fire. Two
round shots went through the pirmace—my boat, killing
the boatkeeper, and smashing the boat; immediately
afterwards five more went slap through her, demolish-
ing her, 'chop-chop.' I lost my knapsack, haversack,
water bottle, waterproof coat, change of clothes, 1t..,
and a little silk ensign I intended to have planted Oa
the walls of the fort. Our loss is awful. In my party
1 have four -killed, three missing, and I think about
, 20 wounded, stone mines legs and souse MOM; arum,
and others badly and less badly wounded. Our
lieutenant of Marines—a nice fellow (at New-cross
with ine)—was shot through the leg, and put into
paddled): boat, that had her boatkeepers killed ; he
fell into the hands of the enemy. I truAt the poor
fellow was dealt (since his body lies been picked up and
buried), as the brutes came down in the morning and cut
off the heads of all they found left behind. after strip-
idng the bodies. Such a scene I never witnessed.
During the night the Corinoraut, despatch vessel; Lee,
gunboat, 80 horse-power ; Starling, GO ditto; Plover,
00 ditto; and Kestrel, 40 ditto, grounded under the
forts, and remained keel out ; the Chinese then retunied
to their guns, and smashed shot into them below the
copper ; and the tide flowing into them, they had to be
deserted. Since which we have succeeded in getting
starling and, I fancy Kestrel out and safe, hut (*onion
rant, Lee, and l'lover are going to be blown up; indeed,
Lee is burning now. 'I hey keep up a murderous fire
on them. All the gunboats are in a sinking state, keep-
ing the pumps going. Luckily they are out of range, ID
ShO.ti water. several have sunk and been got up again.
I am now on the sick list on board my ship, from icy log,
though its only stiff, and nothing, and will he all right
in is slay or two more. 1 ani the senior lieutenant
(landed) surviving. One only landed senior to me ;he
was killed. As yet there are three lieutenants (I know
fl killed,—Graves, first of the Assistance ; Rason (an
old shipmate in the Fox). of the Plover ; and Clutter.
buck, of the Coromandel. The Admiral is badly
wounded, and my poor Captain Shadwell, who com-
manded the landing party, has • bullet through his
instep, breaking some bones. The ball still rema:tas
there. He is doing well. Captain Vanstittart. of the
Magicienne has lost a leg. Colonel Lemon,
o'sn,u,aoshing marines, tri.ly wounded ; and in-
deed, all the Leads of departments are wonnasl,
the captain of the only Frenchman here to
boot. I never Saw or could hove dreamt of
such a smash. Many a poor fellow was drowned, from
sheer exhaustion, in shallow water arid mud, trying to
get off, and the groans of the wounded were soinething
awful. I hail numerous narrow escapes from round
idiot and rifle bullets—seemingly bearing a chinned life.
I don't know what can be done; we have not half force
enough to do anything, and I fancy we all go down to
Shanghai or Hongkong to make good damages and repair
gunboats, kc., that are all nearly sinking—such a wreck !
1 grieves! for our own poor men that I knew,— and some
fine fellows we have lost ; three of our marines are also
killed, poor fellows! Both our cutters shot through with
round shot, and our pinnace gone. Douldsare entertained
of the Admiral's ultimate recovery, poor old man ! Ohl
' Shadwell' does well. We've had an awful licking, and
there is no use trying to hide it. We all did what we
could, but fighting against such odds was something too
much. They had not less than 90 guns to our about 25,
and theirs were monstrous heavy ones. We all saw Rus-
sians in the forts, laying the guns end firing the rifles.
I wonder what they wiU say at home to such a 'go.'
I don't know the entire loss yet. I suppose about 80
killed and about 9:0 wounded. I can't write this all
over again, it is too painful • task, so I trust to you
to send extracts, Ito., to all inquiring friends. Our
loss alone in the Ilightlyer's men is 10 killed and 18
wounded. I am indeed very thankful for escaping
the storm of round shot, bullets, &re., on that fatal
mud flat; it was truly frightful. I-stepped out of the
way of several round shot. and was constantly spat.
tered over with mud from round shot and bullets."