Battle of Chuenpee The First Battle of Chuenpee was fought between British and Chinese ships at the entrance of the Bocca Tigris , China , on 3 November 1839 during the First Opium War . The British " Hyacinth " and " Volage " opened fire on Chinese ships they perceived as being hostile . Background . For foreign ships to be allowed to dock in Canton for trade , Chinese authorities required a signed bond agreeing not to trade opium . Captain Charles Elliot , Chief Superintendent of British Trade in China , ordered British ships not to sign the bond , since it stated that if opium was found , the cargo would be confiscated and the perpetrators executed . It also interfered with their free trade goal . In October 1839 , the " Thomas Coutts " cargo ship under Captain Warner arrived in Canton from Singapore . The ship carried cotton from Bombay , and , since Warner was not trading opium , he defied Elliot ' s request by signing the bond . He held a legal view that Elliot ' s ban on the signing was not valid under English law . Before Warner left China , Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu gave him a letter addressed to Queen Victoria in which he disapproved the use of opium and requested the opium trade to stop . After arriving in London , he handed the letter to a co - owner of the " Thomas Coutts " , who asked for an appointment with Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston . After Palmerston ' s office refused to see him , Warner forwarded the letter to " The Times " , which published it . Viewing Warner ' s defiance as a threat to his authority , Elliot ordered HMS " Hyacinth " and HMS " Volage " to be positioned south of the Chuenpee battery on 27 October for a blockade . Battle . After a second British ship , the " Royal Saxon " , tried to defy Elliot ' s blockade on 3 November 1839 , the " Volage " under Captain Henry Smith fired a warning shot across the " Royal Saxon " s bow . In response , Chinese war junks under Admiral Kuan T ' ien - p ' ei moved out to protect the " Royal Saxon " . After Elliot gave in to Smith ' s pressure for an attack , the more maneuverable British ships approached the Chinese vessels and fired broadside s at them from starboard . Smith wrote , " I did not conceive that it would be becoming the dignity of our flag , the safety of the merchant shipping below , and my own character , to retire before such an imposing force , sent out at that moment evidently for the purpose of intimidation . " According to a Chinese account by Wei Yuan , " five of our war - ships went to preserve order on the sea - board " and " the English mistook our red flags for a declaration of war , and opened fire ; — for in Europe a red flag means war , and a white one peace . " One Chinese fire raft immediately sank , and a war junk exploded after its magazine was struck . After the first run , the " Volage " and " Hyacinth " turned and repeated the same maneuver using their port broadsides . The stationary guns on the Chinese vessels could not be aimed effectively . One junk was blown up , three were sunk , and several others were damaged . Faced with superior firepower , the Chinese fleet sailed away , except for Kuan ' s 12 - cannon flagship , which returned fire . Since it posed a minimal threat , Elliot ordered Smith to stop firing , allowing the damaged flagship to sail off . The " Volage " sustained light damage on its sails and rigging , and the mizzen - mast of the " Hyacinth " was hit by a 12 - pound ( 5 . 4 kg ) ball . One British sailor was wounded and 15 Chinese were killed . Aftermath . The " Royal Saxon " sailed on to Canton and Elliot returned to Macau . According to historian Bruce A . Elleman , " the origin of this battle was not even between the British and the Chinese , but was really as a result of the British Navy fighting to stop one of Elliot ' s own British ships that had refused to uphold his free - trade principles . The ' Battle of Chuanbi , ' perhaps more than any other conflict during the Opium War , vividly revealed the underlying free - trade tensions . "