Royal Welsh Fusiliers leaving H.M.S. “Terrible” on board the “Fame.”
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Author and Detachment from H.M.S. “Barfleur” for Duty in Tientsin.
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“Fame” landing Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
[page 100.
To revert to the relief force: The “Terrible” had on board 300 Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and 40 of the Royal Engineers; and these, with 250 English bluejackets from the North-west fort, and 23 Italians, entrained for Tientsin on June 21st under the command of Commander Craddock. An hour or two previously, about 1000 Russians, 150 Americans, and 250 Germans had entrained for the same destination, bringing the total force up to just 2000 men. With the British train was a specially constructed water tank, and provisions sufficient to last five days. Bad luck pursued the train from the beginning, for not five miles from Tong-Ku the engine left the rails, and a mishap occurred which might have had extremely serious consequences. In the course of its erratic wanderings the engine upset the first two trucks, on one of which was the water tank, the other being full of officers and men. The damage to human life and limb was happily nil, beyond a few more or less severe contusions, but the precious water tank had to be left, and it was only by dint of hard work, and the loss of a couple of hours’ time, that the expedition was able to resume its journey. Without further incident the train arrived at a point eighteen miles from Tientsin, where the line had been slightly destroyed, passing on their way the garrison of Russians at Chin-Liang-Ching. This place, it will be remembered, had previously been the object of a train expedition from Tientsin which failed at first owing to the state of the line, but which had succeeded at length in reaching it. They had remained undisturbed during the whole of the past very exciting week. Here the force spent the night, and received the news that the Russians and Americans, who had attempted to push their way through to the settlements without waiting for the British, had been defeated and repulsed with the loss of an American machine gun and some men.
The next morning the force was engaged in clearing all the neighbouring villages, which were full of Boxers. These it was not safe to leave on the rear of the column’s advance, which had been fixed for the morrow (23rd). The trains also managed to get six miles nearer Tientsin, reducing the distance to be marched to twelve miles. On the same day another train left Tong-Ku with two 6-pr. Q.F. guns, a quantity of ammunition and provisions, and with orders to convey details to the respective forces. It was a mixed crew who took their places in it; five British, with a naval engineer officer running the engine, five American marines, and seven Russians, the whole under the charge of an English midshipman. They stopped at the scene of the disaster of the previous day, and took on board the eleven men who had been clearing the line, and who had done wonders, even to the righting of the overturned water cart. Some six miles further on Boxers were seen burning the line; fortunately they did not see the train until too late, when they bolted into some rushes near the line. A lesson was necessary, so the train was stopped, the midshipman and several men detrained and, after a short search, discovered and slew one of the delinquents, who had a can of oil on his person besides several boring implements for damaging the sleepers. From the moment of re-starting till Chin-Liang-Ching was reached, nothing happened worthy of recording; but on arriving there those in the train could for the first time hear continuous firing, and the burning villages, and dense clouds of smoke, proved to be an infallible index to the position of the main body.