The Austrian legation, after having been looted, was burned by the Chinese on June 21. On June 22, the fire extended to the houses on both sides of the barricade, and the latter had to be left. Another one was built near the corner of Customs and Legation streets commanding Customs street.
On June 22, owing to a false alarm, the Italian, French, and German legations were left, but were almost immediately reinhabited, with the exception of the Italian legation, which was already burning, as was also their wall of defense commanding the east end of Legation street.
From that date Captain von Montalman directed the fighting of both the French and the German legations, Sir Claude MacDonald having at that time been elected by the ministers as their commander-in-chief.
The attacks on the French legation were, from the beginning, extremely vehement, as the Chinese fully recognized the high importance of its position. Had it been lost, the German legation, the Hotel de Peking, and the Su Wang Fu would have been no longer tenable. The Austrians shared in all the various services which the garrison of the French legation had to perform. A strong barricade was built to command East Legation street, and a sort of block-house was erected at the main gate.
Together with the French and Germans several successful dashes were made in the neighborhood, killing and wounding a number of Chinese each time.
On June 24 a detachment under Midshipman William Boyneburg took part with the Germans in storming the city wall, which enabled the Americans to reoccupy their former position on the top. The Austrians constantly reinforced the Germans on the wall-front to the east, and after the 26th of June constantly had five men assisting Colonel Shiba at the Su Wang Fu. Their machine-gun did excellent service as long as the position behind the barricades could be maintained, and after this was given up it was sent from time to time to Russian, German, and English legations as needed.
When the French legation was under the hottest fires from north, east, and south, only the western side being protected by the other legations, the French took the northern and the Austrians the southern line of defense, and were each under constant rifle-shot at only twenty-five yards’ range. This they endured for weeks. On June 29 the Chinese succeeded in making a break in the eastern wall on Customs street, and set fire to the French legation stables; but they had not sufficient courage to follow up the advantage gained with a rush. But this necessitated relinquishing the barrier in the southern end of Customs street and easternmost line of cover in Legation street, the garrisons being under rear and flank fire.
The Chinese were gaining daily, or rather nightly, in making the breaches in the eastern wall larger and more numerous, until they had nearly razed the entire structure. Yet they gained no great advantage, owing to the breaches being so well covered from the windows of buildings and temporary defenses in the western part of the compound.
The fatigue endured by our people was most extraordinary. From July 1 daily shelling was endured, which riddled the roofs and walls of every building in the compound, until the principal building and main gateway, an imposing structure, were utterly demolished and became a pile of ruins.
On the 8th of July the Chinese brought into position at about eighty yards’ distance a three-inch Krupp gun, from which they commenced to pour in a destructive fire on the eastern wall. Captain Von Thornburg, with Captain Labrousse and Lieutenants Darcy and Kollar, all anxious to locate this gun exactly, left their main barricade and proceeded to a spot behind a low loopholed wall in their front, but had scarcely arrived when a shell burst in their midst, a fragment of which pierced Von Thornburg through the heart, causing him to fall dead into the arms of his friends. He was sorrowfully carried to the rear, and at 2 p.m. was buried with military honors, although the bullets were falling thick around those who were thus honoring their comrade and leader. The tears of sympathy on this occasion evidenced the sorrow of the men, and the general esteem in which the fallen had been held.