page_title: 14th Infantry Regiment (United States)
section_title: China Relief Expedition, 1900
hierarchical_section_title: 14th Infantry Regiment (United States) / History / China Relief Expedition, 1900
caption_attribution_description: I'll Try, Sir!. American troops in the relief of Peking in China on 14 August 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. During the fiercely opposed relief expedition to Peking in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, when two companies of the U.S. Army's 14th Infantry Regiment were pinned by heavy fire from the east wall of the Tartar City and the Fox Tower between abutments of the Chinese City Wall near Tung Pien Gate, volunteers were called for to attempt the first perilous ascent of the wall. Trumpeter Calvin P. Titus of E Company immediately stepped forward saying, "I'll try, sir!" Using jagged holes in the stone wall, he succeeded in reaching the top. He was followed by the rest of his company, who climbed unarmed, and hauled up their rifles and ammunition belts by a rope made of rifle slings. As the troops ascended the wall artillery fire from Reilly's battery set fire to the Fox Tower. In the face of continued heavy Chinese fire, the colors broke out in the August breeze as the sign that U.S. Army troops had achieved a major step in the relief of the besieged Legations. For his courageous and daring deed in being the first to climb the wall, Trumpeter Titus was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
context_page_description: The 14th Infantry Regiment is a United States Army light infantry regiment. It has served in the American Civil War, Boxer Rebellion, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Operation Restore Hope, Operation Uphold Democracy, Operation Joint Guard, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Gothic Serpent, Operation New Dawn, Operation Resolute Support, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The 14th Infantry Regiment did not take part in combat during World War I. It has also conducted peacekeeping and humanitarian missions in the Sinai Peninsula, Guantánamo Bay in Cuba, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
  Only the 2nd Battalion of the 14th Infantry Regiment is currently active, assigned to 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York.
context_section_description: During the early years of the 20th century, the 14th Infantry Regiment was deployed to China to help put down the Boxer Rebellion.  The 14th was the spearhead in winning a victory over the Chinese army at the Battle of Yangcun.  At the Tung Pien Gate in Peking, the Regiment was taking heavy fire and was unable to effectively engage the enemy.  To counteract, volunteers were called for to scale the wall and lay down suppressive fire from the better vantage point while the rest of the regiment followed.  Corporal Calvin P. Titus, a band member and chaplains assistant from E Company, volunteered, and with rope slung over his shoulder scaled the wall and laid down the suppressive fire that allowed more and more soldiers behind him to follow.
  For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor as well as receiving an appointment to West Point.  For their conduct of the operation, the 14th Infantry Regiment was rewarded by the Chinese government a large amount of silver bullion which was later fashioned into an ornamented punchbowl with matching cups and other dinnerware that is still kept in 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment headquarters.
caption: Corporal Titus scaling the walls of Peking.
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