The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1858-03-19

the divisions OF our naval ongaoe hs Ueo'
ers are probably teaching them how 10 take
thst ave.sioried Isgods upon the north. west:
err vail. Alosg The city wall. and proiecfsd
by ito bsttlenshts. they pass, ! think. I'M
q atlsd, the DIE from Coughs Fort swsy to
Il cir right. and come in front OF cleaning
while battery, newly built and full Of guns,
erected upon . ledge Of the rock upon which
tie wall and Ase.sio,ied pssoda here stand.
II tie ASSISTANTS would only 90 to proper
distance. low these guns would riddle theml
hut, With . rush and . cheer. . detachment
strikes from the cover Of the wall, which the
gun' do NO, command. and houses itself SAFE
iy at the foot IL the very rock which bears
tie battery. Not Ashot can IL IRE.
The rihsmsn from the walls now play tiis
half. moon for some minutes, and In quarter
OF an hour the detachment at the foot Of tho
rock has gone round and taken the position
from behind. Relieved from thess guns,
which might have swept them down By hun.
drtds, our men In serred masses are now
swarniing along the wall. The Rve.storied
20 CODA (which Is no more psgoda, accord.
| Ing to our nation Of . psgods, than Il Il q
bum. boat, but an old square red building d.
yided into stories) 10 carried BY the bsyonet,
and the French and English colors are hoist.
cd simultaneously. Now Coughs Port
opens out sulkily upon its late ally /; but the
assailants, not waiting to reply, huny along
the Intervening wall westward. ] cen follow
them for some time from my position. and
hesr them cheering. whsu lose them In the
hollow. A few minutes Of sharp fusilade.
and blue jackets emerge from chs trees and
buildings upon Magazine hill. A moment
after and up 70 the two bits Of bunting which
tell that this key Of Canton 70 our own.
II Il now twenty minutes after ten. In
four hours, therefore. the hill dsfences Of this
city have been captured. We may hope that
the victory will be cheap one. state IL I.
within my own knowledge, that Capt. Bate
was killed while experimenting the placing
of the skaling ladders. Capt. Hackett was
also killed, and Lord Clifford 10 wounded in
the arm. How many others are Loot II 10 i'm.
possible to say. The Cinnamon are still
shooting at our men from the tops Of the
houses, and II this goes On fear it will DO
necessary to treat the city less tendsrly than
hitherto. While the Aleerine gunboat Lieut..
Forbes, IL with steam up taking the supple
nentary dispatches on board, 2.6 +. ~,
Coughs Fort y assaulted and taken
The Moniteur Of the 18th publishes tho
substance OF q dispatch from Rss: Admiral
Rigault de Genouilly, In command Of tho
French squadron in Canton river:-
"Ths landing Of the allied forces took place
on the 2sth Of December. In consequence
of the small number of men which Rear Adj
mirsl Rigault do Gsnouilly had At disposal
the head Of ono Of the columns Of attack
was allotted to the French troops by Rear
Admiral Seymour. commander Of the Eng.
lish forces. This mark Of sympathy great.
" pleased our sailors and soldiers. On
the 2sth, after some skirmishes With the
Chinese tr,ops, Fort Lin was Captured. n.
Martin des Psllieres, sergeant major Of the
marines, had the honor OF being the frat to
plant the French Gag on the walls. On the
10Th the attacking columns advanced against
the walls Of the town. The second mate OF
the CspIicieuse, Pellissier, was Arst In the
breach and planted onr colors on watch
house on the walls. He ~as closely and
bravely supported BY gunner OF the same
corvette by name Laurier. Every man did
of the emperor, which was maintained in all
4 its brightness"
The dispatch concludes ss follows:-
"Canton IL at the mercy Of the allied
forces. The north forts seem to have been
abandoned. The Gags Of France and Eng
land are hoisted on the fve.storied pagodA.
Our loss Is small for an attacking ioIce, The
fire from the allied feet was excellent, and
contributed In no small degree TO the success"
| The details Of the capture Of Canton show
that no resistance Of any consequence was
made by the Chinese, and the English and
French officers were completely puzzled by
the tenacious child.like, helpless obstinacy Of
the enemy. Although they did not aght.
they ran incredible risks to steal, and tho
blowing up Of the strongest Of the Chinese
forts was delayed . day because the Chinese
actually came at night and stole the powder
laid ready to charge the mines. They also
crept into magazine TO steal, where the roof
had caught Dire, and from which the men
had been Withdrawn In consequence.
When the troops entered the city they
found no obstacles In ito crowded narrow
streets except closed doors and gsteways,
Which gave way speedily TO their axes.-
When they reached the Governors residence
and Treasury buildings they found the guards
some Of them sleeping, SINE cool ing and
some smoking. and only two Of them made
even show Of resistance. They were com.
pletely surprised and mo,ionless under the
influence OF bsyonets brought within ak
inches OF their bodies.
For six days during which the city had
been invested. and commanded from the
heights so a. to DO completely at the mercy
Of the troops, and liable at any moment to DO
entered, the Western gate had been open and
ample opportunity given for the removal of
goods and treasure, 30 that there was not tho
slightest expectation Of finding anything OF
value to reward the captors. 1t was there
fore with the utmost ash nishment that tho
Treasury was found a. full of silver - proba-
bly, 1t ever was. Pifty.two boxes Of coin
which man could not sinsly lift were found.
and sixty EIGHT packages Of solid jngots.--
There was also sstore house OF the most cost
ly sables and rare furs.
A thousand Cantonese, hired at Q dollar
each, carried the silver before the British
soldiers to their encsmpment, and a. soon as
they had abandoned it, the Canton mob,
with loud shouts. proceeded to plumber what
the English had Lett.
Yeh was captured. after long chase. dur
ing which one mandarin gave himself up ~
Yeh, but he was not stout enough for him.
and the English officers were not deceived.
Al last, among the great numbers Of man.
dsrins running about. they discovered ono
who from his apparently contemplating tho
achievement Of getting over the wall in an
out Of the way place. they conjectured to DO
Yeh. Capt. Key seized him round the waist,
and the Coxs~ain twisted the august tail Of
the Imperial Commissioners around his fst.
There was no mistake now-this was the
veritsbls Yeh. Instinctively the blue jackets
felt 1t must be Ysh, and they tossed up their
hats aud gave three rafting cheers. He
tremblsd violently when he Was taken. and
strynuously denied his identity. A soon a.
he iet himself safe. oil his arrogance returned.