The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-24 00:00:00

TilE SUN,

I A. -

(From the Times.)

THE EXPEDITION TO CANTON.

(FROM AN EYE-WITNESS
HONG-KONG, APRIL 26•

Immediately after the departure of the last mail, a
rumour of an expedition being projected, the destination
of which was unknown, gathered strength, and the unex-
pected arrival, on the night of the 31st of March, of the
Honourable Company's steamer Pluto, from Canton,
with dispatches from the Chinese Government, gave
currency to the report. In the course of the next morn-
ing it transpired that the communication from Keying
had been extremely unsatisfactory, and that the most
important points in Sir John Davis's last dispatch had
been contemptuously passed over, the Imperial Commis-
sioner not even deigning to notice them in his answer—
a line of conduct probably induced by the character of
the policy previously pursued by the Plenipotentiary,
and by the knowledge of the weakness of our force, both
naval and military, at present in China. Towards the
afternoon Sir John Davis decided upon proceeding at
once to Canton to demand redress, or (es he had in.
formed the Chinese Government), in the event of its
being refused, to take it. Without present reference to
the policy of this measure, it is proposed merely to give
a faitaful narrative of the events as they occurred—.
events not alone worthy of note from the immense in-
terests at stake, and from the boldness which charac-
terised them as military operations, but also from the
ultimate effect they may produce upon our future rela-
tions with the Chinese empire.
No sooner had the Governor come to a decision than
General D'Aguilar ordered the entire force available,
after providing for the safety of the colony, to embark
that night ; and, notwithstanding the lateness of the
hour, being then past four o'clock, the troops, including
the detachments from the outposts of Saiwan and Stan-
ley, respectively seven and nine miles distant, together
with the guns, materiel, provisions, and stores necessary
for the expedition, were all embarked with the greatest
order and regularity by soon after midnight. The mi-
-1 tary force under General D'Aguilar did not amount
to 1,000 men of all arms, and consisted of her Majesty's
18th Royal Irish, the 42d Madras Native Infantry, and
detachments of the Royal Artillery and Sappers. The
naval force, under Captain Macdougall, the senior naval
officer, was composed of her Majesty's ships Vulture
and Espiegle, the Honourable Company's steamer
Pluto, and the Corsair, a small merchant steamer
running between Hong-Kong, Canton, and Macao,
which having come in at ten o'clock P.M., was instantly
hired for the expedition. A lorcha was also taken up
by the Ordnance fur the artillery, and was speedily con-
verted by Colonel Brereton into a gun-boat. Several
Chinese boats were engaged for the transport of com-
missariat stores, &c., and followed the squadron up the
river. His Excellency the Plenipotentiary, the General
and staff, embarked at the same hour on board the Vul-
ture, and about two o'clock, A.M., the squadron was
under way, the Vulture towing the gun-boats and two
junks containing the sappers with scaling ladders,
powder-bags, &c. ; the Pluto and Corsair fallowing as
close as possible. The plan of operations arranged by
General D'Aguilar and Captain Macdougall, and ap-
proved by Sir John Davis, was that the defences of the
Canton river should be seized, and, owing to the im-
possibility of occupying them, disarmed, so as to secure
the safe communication of the force with Hong-Kong.
This object being attained as expeditiously as possible,
the troops were to land at the factories, thus placing
the British Plenipotentiary in a position to enforce
every demand of his Government for redress, or to carry
into execution the intention he had previ tusly intimated
to Keying, of punishing the aggressions upon unoffend-
ing Bri ish subjects by means of a British force, and also
to convince the Chinese that, however small the imme-
diate force at her command might be, England was
always ready to resent insults, and punish the breach of
solemn national engagements.
At nine A.M., the Vulture, entering the Bocca Tigris,
was anchored by Captain Macdougall, with three fathoms
of water under her stern, within pistol shot of the
Anunghoy Batteries, being also within range of the
forts on the islands of North and South Wantong. Not
an instant was lost, and the troops entered the boats as
they touched the water; a few seconds more and they
were landed; and the Chinese, taken completely by sur-
prise, offered no resistance. The General, accompanied
by Sir John Davis, entered the works, and the guns in
the three forts, to the number of upwards of 200, were
spiked, and the magazines, with all the arms' and am-
munition that could be collected, destroyed. Whilst
General D'Aguilar was thus employed, Col. Brereton,
with the force that had been told off for that duty,
crossed over to the strongly fortified islands of North
and South Wantong, mounting more than 250 heavy
guns. As at Anunghoy the garrisons at once yielded,
the guns were spiked, and the ammunition either blown
up or thrown into the sea. Property to a considerable
amount was found in each of these forts, but not an
article was injured, much less taken away, by the troops;
and, with the exception of the disabled guns and empty
magazines, not a trace was left by which it' could be
known that they had been in our possession. The ap-
pointed work had been speedily and effectually per-
formed. Five formidable forts, mounting upwards of
450 large guns, had been rendered useless, and thus far
the communication of the expedition with Hong-Kong
secured. _

Continuing their course up the river the three steamers
arrived late in the afternoon at Whampoa, and the
Espiegle, having been obliged to beat the greater part of
the distance, came up during the night. The size of the
Vulture formed an insurmountable obstacle to her fur-
ther progress—indeed, owing to the state of the tide she
had crossed the second bar below Whampoa, with only
18 inches to spare. Therefore, the next morning, the
3d of April, the troops she carried were transferred into
the Pluto, Corsair, and the armed boats of the Vulture,
which were to be towed by these steamers. The gene-
ral and staff, accompanied also by Sir John Davis, went
on board the Pluto, and the tide serving, the expedition
moved onwards, and at half-past nine o'clock arrived at
the barrier—a line of strong stakes extending nearly
from bank to bank of the river, with only a single open-
ing for the passage of ships, and defended by four ad-
mirably placed and well constructed forts.
As intelligence of the capture of the Bocca Tigris
must have reached Canton in the course of the night,
every preparation was made by General D'Aguilar and
Captain Macdougall to carry the forts by storm,_ and
overcome the expected resistance. In accordance:there-
fore, with the orders that had been given, the works to
the left, forts Pachow and Napier, were simul-
taneously attacked, the Pluto with her division of
boats leading through the barrier, and landing
her troops at the latter, under the immediate
orders of the General, whilst the Corsair dis-
embarked a portion of her force under Colonel Brere-
ton at the former. The massive gates, plated and
thickly bound with iron, were burst open with powder
bags. Their garrisons, astoundedi with the rapidity of
our operations, which, indeed, scarcely gave them time
to look round, went out by the landside as we entered ;
the magazines were blown up, and the guns spiked.
While this was going on it became evident that the
forts of Whatnpoa Creek and Wookongtap were prepar
ing to receive us, and, accordingly, as two divisions of
boats, supported by the steamers, pulled across to at-
tack them, the Chinese opened a sharp and well-sus-
tained fire from both the forts, at first of round shot,
and then, as the boats approached nearer, of grape.
The steamers and gun-boat instantly replied. The first
discharge of the Chinese was answered with a cheer
from the attacking parties, and then the boats pulled
steadily, and in silence towards the batteries, the firing
continuing on both sides until the troops were landed,
and f
the
rmedcloseto
enemy
erthleft their guns, and retreated
by our force
on shore,
by the rear of the works to a large town in the
vicinity. The Chinese fired remarkably well, and it
is inexplicable how the force e,capedwith put suffering
severe loss ; the round shot passed on
and funnels ny side of
around o f
the boats—several between the mastathe steamers and the grape-shot fell thickly
the boats of Colonel Brereton's division, both
before
and after a most judicious movement on the part of
that distinguished artillery officer, who, when close to
the Wookongtap fort, seeing that the guns were being
laid for the line of the advancing boats, changed the
direction of his division towards the angle of the fort;
and hardly had it been done when a shower of grape
tore over the surface of the water within a few feet of
the boats. Had even one boat been struck, the loss of
life would have been great, for the men had hardly
standing room, and the paddle-box boats of the Vulture
were carrying 70 men in each, besides their crew. Had
one been sunk, the fearful current and strong tide of the
Canton river, into which if a man falls he rarely rises
again t.) the surface, would have rendered assistance but
of little avail. The long gun of the Pluto was admirably
served, every shot taking effect upon the Whampoa
Creek fort, and a shell firedfreommfs it burst
A
st in the
the gunstheeentre
of the work, just behind the enemy's
in these four forts were spiked, in number more than
200, and most of them of very large size; one brass gun
was 24 feet in length, with an eight-inch_h
bore. Themagazines,
magazines, containing large quantities of _looesestepacTindeesrs,
ammunition, arms, &c., were blown U. T
and conduct of the men throughout these operations were
excellent ; not a musket was fired, although the enemy
nwoetrethseeesnligahttetshteiinr
jagruynds
otnherotuoghpritvhaeteerrobpraesrutyreosf,
any
description.
p e
di
tThisionport
proceededion ofthaes
rapidly
river s
being
ponsoswi
hle up h
disarmed, t
e r
it vheer etxo--
wards Canton, to provide for the safety of the h
CantonA t t the
stands
merchants and their property.
t'le str commencementstrong otyeatshteernnasmuebuorfbthoef
French Folly—a work both from position and construe-
Armed
tion one of the most formidable in the river.
fortt hken o south
l;
with double tiers of guns, the lower is " iifleur d'eau,"
and the upper is mounted on the summit of a strong cen-
tral tower of solidly-built masonry, completely com-
manding the reach of this river. It was, therefore, ab-
solutely necessary for the safety of our communications
that it should be disarmed. The troops were accord-
ingly landed, the gate blown in, the magazine destroyed,
and the guns spiked. Here again the rapidity of our
movements saved us; every preparation was making and
was nearly completed for the defence of this fort when
we entered it, and even half an hour's delay would have
cost us dear, for the small island upon which the fort
stands, connected only with the bank by a bridge, is so
covered by the works, that only a few feet of mud is
available whereon to place an attacking party, and even
that is commanded by the fort itself and the houses on
the bank of the river.
About four, P.M., the expedition was anchored off the
factories, and the four forts forming the river defences
of the suburbs and city of Canton were taken possession
theirof,
oy
satesdest blowned a total of
open,
formingthei rguns disabled,
upwardsand
the
magazines of
670 large guns disabled since the preceding morning.

Nothing could exceed the hospitality with which the
officers and men were received by the community of
Canton ; houses were placed at their disposal, and every
one seemed to exceed his neighbour in making the troops
comfortable. The force was immediately landed, and
quartered entirely in the new factories, the guns being,
piled in the garden near the English flag. The Consoo-
house, where a Chinese guard is usually stationed, was
made the main guard, from its position entirely command.
ing the street of the thirteen factories, which bounds
the factories to the northward, and also being at the end
of Old China-street, which separates the new and old
factories from the Hongs to the westward. Other
guards were also established, and regular chains of
sentries, most of them double, rendered surprise im-
possible.
It may be here as well to remark the extraordinary
improvements made by the Chinese since the late war,
not only in the construction of their batteries, but more
especially in their armanents. Not a gun was mounted
except on a regular ship or garrison carriage, after a
European model, and as capable of elevation or depres-
sion as our own ; many of the guns, moreover, were
furnished with wooden sights for correcting the dispart,
exactly, as was remarked by Colonel Brereton, upon the
principle of those invented during the last war by Gen.
Congreve ; numbers of shells were found (evidently not
of Chinese manufacture) ; much of the ammunition was
regularly made up in cartridges ; rockets were of a
much larger size than those used four years ago, and
many other improvements show that some foreigner
must have bean employed. Report (a greater liar, how
ever, in China, than elsewhere), says that all this is the
work of an American, who is naturalised and resident in
the city of Canton.
The night of our arrival passed with vigilance on our
side, and with quietness on the part of the Chinese : the
whole affair had been so sudden they did not know which
way to turn ; besides, trusting in our weakness, the Go-
vernment and people had thought themselves secure. On
the following morning the guns were drawn up, and the
troops under arms to receive Keying, but not to salute
him, the British: Plenipotentiary having insisted that
Keying should wait upon him at the English Consulate,
within the factories ; or, if he did not, that he would
not see him at all. To this, to him humiliating
proposition, Keying at last reluctantly agreed, and the
hour was fixed. Time passed, and two of the principal
mandarins having arrived without there being any signs
of Keying's approach, it became evident that his delay
was intentional; the troops were dismissed, and when
Keying did arrive he was received at the landing-place
by Captains Kennedy and Sargent, who conducted him
through a crowd of idle lookers-on to the Consulate.
Keying felt his situation bitterly, and although he be-
haved with dignity and composure, his mortification at
being obliged to wait upon Sir John Davis in the sight
of his own populace, was beyond his powers of conceal-
ment. The conference lasted some hours, and in the
afternoon it transpired that the Plenipotentiary had sub•
mitted to Keying the only conditions upon which he
would consent to suspend the operations of the force,
and that he had granted him until 6 P.M. the next day
for consideration. During the day a slight disturbance
took place in the outskirts of the factories to the west
ward, but it was soon quelled, and two of the mob pub-
licly flogged in the streets ; an officer's guard was
p sted near Mowqua-street, the scene of the disturbance.
It was thought advisable, on the morning of the sth, to
destroy the French Folly fort, as a few guns carried
from the city to the central tower would entirely com-
mand the passage of the river. Accordingly, at 9 A.M.,
the fort was blown up by Colonel Phillpotts and the
engineers, covered by a strong party in the armed boats
of the Vulture. Reports were current all day of at-
tacks being meditated by the troops and populace, and
of double-dealing on the part of the authorities, in con-
sequence of which every precaution was taken, the
streets barricaded, and the guard-rooms rendered defen-
sible by Captain Bruce, the Adjutant-General. At five
o'clock in the afternoon the Associate Gentlemen Vo-
lunteers were inspected by General D'Aguilar; 100 well
armed British gentlemen appeared on parade, and the
defence of the factories, aided by a detachment of troops,
was assigned to them during the assault of the city the
following morning. Keying now requested an extension
of the time allowed for consideration till the next morn-
ing, and Sir John Davis granted it to him. This evening
Captain Bruce's attention was drawn towards a large
building at the back of the factories, and on entering it
he found it occupied by a strong party of Chinese
troops ; many of them escaped, but upwards of 40 were
brought in prisoners with their arms. Captain Bruce
had a narrow escape, for one man, drawing his sword,
nade a sudden rush at him, and was seized in the act of
striking. Since the previous day the most indefatigable
exertions had been making by Captain Macdougall and
Commander Thompson to bring the Espiegle close to the
city, and they so far succeeded that they had brought
her up far beyond where any ship of the same draughtof
o ater had ever been before ; but she was still two miles
distant. Her boats were, however, armed, and, with her
crew and marines, were available for the attack. At
daybreak on the 6th Captain Clark Kennedy, the Quar-
termaster-General, and Lieutenant Da Costa, of the
Engineers, succeeded in mounting the city wall in two
places, and ascertaining that they were of sufficient
width for the proposed operations. At six o'clock all
the arrangements for the assault of the city at ten A.M.
were completed, and the following general order was
issued, detailing the plan of the attack:—
" GENERAL ORDER.

" Head•quarters, British Factories, Canton,
" April 6, 1847, 6 o'clock A.M.

" The following general order is issued to troops under
the expected contingency of their being called upon to
commence the attack on the city of Canton at ten o'clock
this morning. This attack is to be under the immediate
direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Brereton, C.B. and
K. 11., commanding the Royal Artillery. Two parties,
one headed by Colonel Brereton, the other by Major
Aldrich, RE., each having a detachment of Royal Sap-
pers and Miners, commanded by an officer of the Royal
Engineers, and a flank company of the 18th Royal Irish
Regiment, with such additional support as will be de-
tailed by the Assistant-Adjutant General, will march
out for the purpose of taking poisession of the Southern
or Petition-gate and the Western-gate of that part called
the New City. Colonel Brereton's party will attack the
Western, and Major Aldrich's party the Southern-gate;
and as the latter is more distant than the former, Major
Aldrich's part will set off first, in order that they may
arrive at their respective points about the same time,
Major Aldrich's party to cross the creek which forms
the eastern boundaay of the British factories at the first
bridge, and to proceed along the street which runs close
along the wall of the New City, taking care, on passing, to
stop up the two small entrances or sallyports which
enter the city from the river, in order to prevent all in-
gress or egress by them. He will proceed to the
Southern or Petition-gate, and haying taken it, will es-
tablish himself and make a lodgment upon the rampart
above. Colonel Brereton, with his party, will set off im-
mediately after Major Aldrich's, and crossing the creek
by a second bridge, he will proceed along Looking-glass-
street, close under the western wall, until he arrives at the
western gate of the New City, and having taken it, he
will effect a lodgment with the troops at his disposal
upon the rampart above the gateway; and the two lodg-
ments having been thus effected above the two gates, a
communication along the ramparts by the force em-
ployed is to be established. The guns will then be
raised and placed at the guard-houses above the gates,
and, by means of these guns and the 24-pounder rockets,
the bombardment of the city is to be forthwith com-
menced. After Colonel Brereton's party shall have left
the factories, Captain Macdougall has undertaken to
send a party of seamen and marines, under Commander
Thompson, of her Majesty's sloop Espiegle, by the
second bridge at the south end of Looking-glass-street,
and, passing through the archway in the Spur-wall, they
will scale that part of the southern wall of the New City
which lies between the Spur-wall and the sallyports
above alluded to; they will then form on the top of the
rampart, ready to assist either Major Aldrich or Colonel
Brereton, as may be required. At the same time a fourth
party, composed of five companies of the 42d Regiment
Madras Native Infantry, under Major Fitzgerald, con-
ducted by Captain Clark Kennedy, Acting Assistant
Quartermaster-General, will cross the creek by the first
bridge, and, marching along the street that runs south
of the Joss-house, they will proceed as speedily as
possible to the Petition-gate, support Major Aldrich's
party, and occupy the street which leads from that gate
to the river, immediately stopping all the avenues which
lead to it from the eastward, and thus secure completely
the eastern flank of our position. Previous to the de-
parture of the troops from the factories, Capt. Mac-
dougall, R.N., has undertaken to order the steamer Pluto
to run in as close as possible to the abovementioned street,
leading from the Petition-gate to the river, and which is
situated near the Dutch Folly fort, and when the Major-
General shall make a signal by hoisting a union-jack on the
top of the British factories, she will open as heavy a fire
as possible on that part of the town situated to the east-
ward of the Petition- gate, in order to check any attempt
that may be made to oppose Major Aldrich or to turn
our flank from that quarter. At the same time Captain
Macdougall has undertaken to have the gun-boats of the
Vulture, under Lieutenants Coote and Pascoe, anchored
as close as possible to Mowqua• street and Shoe-lane, and
as soon as the Pluto opens her fire, they will also open
as heavy a fire as possible on that part of the suburbs
which lies to the westward of the factories, particularly
up Shoe-lane, &c., in order to prevent any attempt that
may be made to turn our position from that quarter. It
is likewise Captain Macdougall's intention to have the
river entirely cleared of boats all the way from Shoe-
lane to the Dutch Folly, which will entirely protect the
rear of our position. The Associated Gentlemen Volun-
teers, assisted by a detachment of the 18th Royal Irish
Regiment, stationed in the Consoo-house, and a detach-
ment of the 42d Regiment of Madras Native Infantry,
stationed at llowqua-street guard-house, will maintain
the stockaded posts already established for the protection
of the factories. Lieutenant-Colonel Cowper, with four
companies of the 18th Royal Irish Regiment, will remain
under arms in the factories, close to the Major-General,
ready to advance as a reserve to any point where their
services may be required; the tops of the factories to be
occupied by the Associated Gentlemen Volunteers for
the purpose of putting down any attempts by Chinamen
from the roofs of their houses to annoy the troops ad-
vancing through the streets to the attack. These arcege-
menu; to be completed immediately after the meditative
had their breakfasts, so that the flag which is to be con-
sidered as the signal for the Pluto and the boats of the
Vulture to commence firing, as well as for the troops to
march out for the attack, may be hoisted at ten o'clock."
Between eight and nine o'clock, however, it was notified
that Keying had conceded Sir John Davis's demands,
and the assault was countermanded—thus averting the
bombardment of the city by little more than an hour.
For the remainder of the day a portion of the troops
were employed in pulling down the various buildings, so
often complained of, that had been erected against the
garden walls, &c., and the removal of which was in con-
formity alike with the old treaty and the new conven-
tion. A house, in front of which an officer (Captain
Sargent, aide-de-camp to Sir J. Davis) had been se-
verely injured by a large atone thrown front the