Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-07-04
Defenses OF Taku.

Ho river, and is well protected by
old forts of great dimensions and
mounting, as rule, obsolete guns.
The object of its Notifications is TO
forbid the passage of ships up the
river and across bar at its mouth,
which can be passed only at very
high water by light draught ships.
The defenses consits of three forts,
one large one onright shore and two
smaller ones on the left, built in the
Chinese style, which is characterized
by enormous dimensions. All the
forts are armed with numerous guns
of the most diversified types and
calibres. The large fort has three
bastions, equipped with large callibre
guns for freing over the parapet.
These bastions are so high that they
can be easily seen from the sea, and
hence the guns installed there can be
easily dismounted.
In the construction of all the forts
in this region the soft clay of the
coast is used, which in the dry sea-
son cracks and easily crumbles. For
this reason the garrison of these forts
may be seen constantly at work re-
pairing them, as otherwise serious
injury would threaten the forts even
from their own guns. At Taku is
stored the material for closing the
mouth of the Pei-Ho river, consisting
OF logs and chains, as we'll as of the
floating mines for the same purpose.
The inner Notifications, extending
along the Pei-Ho river from the sea
TO Tien-tsin, consist of old forts and
fortified garrisous of the Ii HING
Chang army. These are from east to
west as follows. Lataj, Sing-Stcheu.
Slao-Tschang, Ma-Tscheu, Tsiu-
Tscheu, Tien-tsin. The only one of
these worthy of notice is Sing-Tscheu
being the only one armed with mod
ern guns All these points are con-
nected with Tien-tsin by the sea by a
gravel military road, the railroad
from Tien-tsin to Shan Hai-Kwan
also passing near.
The forts at Taku, which the for
eign fleets have occupied, are the
real protection of Pekin and Tien-
tsin, and consist of North Fort No. l
at the mouth of the left bank; North
Fort No. ?, several hundred yards
up on the left bank; South Fort, at
mouth on right bank; new South
Fort, south of South Fort; Maratime
Arsenal, 1000, yards west of South
Fort.
The Taku forts occupied on Sat
urday by the international forces,
just II years ago were the scene of
an episode which gave to the world
that famous phrase, "Blood is
thicker than water" a British fleet
Of i small gudboats, under Admir-
al Hope, was engaged in an assault
on the mud batteries just inside the
Pei-Ho river bar on June %, 1859.
when the tide went down and left
them helpless in the mud under the
fire of the Chinese smoothbores.
Captain Tatnall, the flag officer
commanding the United States Chi
ma squadron, which was anchored off
the bar, nominally guarding Ameri-
can interests, perceiving the plight
of the British Admiral, lowered his
barge, and, with his flag lieutenants
and twenty men, rowed up the river
to show the Englishmen how to poi mt
his guns. The flag lieutenant
Stephen Decatur Trenchard, was
badly wounded, and one man in the
barge was killed in passing through
the fire from the forts. Once on
board, however, the British guns were
80 we'll served by the Americans
that the forts were silenced, and
Tatnall himself piloted the gunboats
by channel he had discovered un-
til they found protection in the fleet
outside.
Tatnall's action was regarded by
the authorities at Washington as
tatamount to disobedience to orders.
as he had been strongly cautioned by
DIS government to preserve neutrality
and limit his activity solely to the
protection of Americans. He was
detached from command and brought
home where he only avoided a
cOurt-martial throu0h fha orraot NV,