General Gordon having assumed command of the once despised mercenaries, that is to say, despised before the despisers were able to handle the loaves and fishes, he very wisely spent several months in thoroughly reorganizing his troops and raising his artillery to a strength and state of efficiency perfectly irresistible by the Ti-pings. During this period, besides the officers of the force, numerous drill-instructors were supplied by the British general at Shanghae, so that Gordon's, Kingsley's, Cooke's, and other legions, soon became formidable both as to numbers, armament, and discipline, à l'Anglais.
The first operations directed by Gordon were against Fu-shan and the beleaguered city of Chang-zu, the former of which was captured and the latter relieved, the Ti-pings losing some 1,200 men; Gordon's force, 2 killed and 3 wounded! These relative casualties afford a fair sample of the usual result of nearly every engagement. The immense loss of life upon the Ti-ping side during the years 1862-3-4, and part of the present, may easily be imagined, and will be found stated in detail in the approximate table at the end of this volume,[46] which has been compiled principally from official sources. Gordon, in his own report of the operations above referred to, states: "The number of guns was terrific, and although after every shot the rebels would fire from one or two loop-holes, it was evident they had no chance." The position exposed to this "terrific" fire was simply a few open stockades, undefended by artillery.
At this time Gordon's force mustered, all told, about 5,000 men; Kingsley's, 1,000; Cooke's, 1,500; and the Franco-Manchoo contingents, commanded respectively by Generals D'Aguibelle, Giquel, and Bonnefoi, from 3,000 to 4,000. Subsequently other legions and artillery corps attached to the irregular Imperial troops, about 2,500 in all, were formed and commanded by Colonels Bailey, Howard, Rhode, &c., while the total force of trained Chinese generally maintained the relative strength here given, viz., 14,000.
The disaster to the Ti-pings in the vicinity of Shanghae, the report of which, as mentioned before their victory at Tait-san, reached Nankin shortly after my return, consisted in their loss of the former city, and the still more important one of Quin-san, after a desperate and gallant defence at each.
General Brown, Commander-in-Chief of H. B. Majesty's forces in China, having, by every description of help and assistance, placed Gordon's troops in a state of complete effectiveness, the latter once more moved upon the devoted city of Tait-san.
Upon this occasion Gordon was supplied with a heavy siege train, including 8-inch howitzers and large mortars, all belonging to the British army; while General Brown sent a force of 550 men (including detachments of Royal Artillery, H. M. 31st regiment, Belooches, and B. N. I.) to look after his guns and take care that his protégé should not suffer a similar defeat to that experienced by General Holland. In fact, General Brown maintained a large force at Shanghae for the express purpose of assisting the Imperialists, supplying them with artillery and men to garrison the cities they captured.
The capture of Tait-san is one of the most desperate encounters on the records of the Anglo-Manchoo forces.
In addition to the trained troops, Sing, a Manchoo general, joined in the attack with 5,000 to 7,000 men. The strength of the garrison was not less than 4,000, including little boys, who, according to the usual custom, were stationed with heaps of stones to throw upon the assailants.
After shelling the Ti-pings from their outworks, Gordon arrived under the walls of Tait-san on the 2nd of May, 1863. In his report to General Brown, Gordon states:—"About noon fire was opened from two guns, and by degrees more guns were brought into action, till at 2 p.m. every gun and mortar was in action, the troops being under cover. As the defences got dilapidated the guns were advanced, and at 4.30 p.m. the boats were moved up and the assault commenced. The rebels swarmed to the breach, and for ten to twelve minutes a hand-to-hand contest took place, canister being fired into the breach from this side of the ditch, and a heavy musketry fire kept up."
From this statement we find that after crumbling the ancient city walls to dust, and pouring in the tremendous fire of his numerous artillery for four hours and a half, his own men being in perfect safety, while the unfortunate defenders were torn to pieces by the storm of shot and shell to which they could make no reply, General Gordon at last ordered the assault. This, however, was gallantly repulsed by the brave garrison, who, though almost decimated by the murderous artillery, despite the hail of "canister" from enfilading batteries and the "heavy musketry fire" poured upon them by the adverse covering parties, rushed into the wide-spread ruins of the breach and drove the assailants back in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter.