Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843 / And of the Combined Naval and Military Operations in China: Comprising a Complete Account of the Colony of Hong-Kong and Remarks on the Character & Habits of the Chinese. Second Edition

by Sir W. H. Hall; W. D. Bernard

The Nemesis, as soon as this was perceived, hastened on to join the ships of war, (the Calliope, Larne, and Hyacinth,) which had taken up their positions, nearly within musket-shot of the lower batteries, and were doing great execution. The works were however, constructed of strong material, comprising large blocks of the composition called chunam, very much resembling stone but less fragile. The Nemesis came up just in time to pour in several discharges of grape and canister from both the pivot-guns, and had then to witness one of the most dreadful spectacles of war. The Chinese in the battery had already been assailed by our troops from the fort above; and now, a party of the royal marines, and the 37th M.N.I., which had previously cleared the second camp in the valley behind, were seen coming round the hill, ready to pounce upon them as they attempted to escape out of the fort. The unfortunate men were thus hemmed in on all sides; and, being unacquainted with the humane practice of modern warfare, of giving and receiving quarter, they abandoned themselves to the most frantic despair.

Now were to be seen some of those horrors of war which, when the excitement of the moment is over, and the interest as well as danger of strategic manœuvres are at an end, none can remember without regret and pain. The Chinese, not accepting quarter, though attempting to escape, were cut up by the fire of our advancing troops; others, in the faint hope of escaping what to them appeared certain death at the hands of their victors, precipitated themselves recklessly from the top of the battlements; numbers of them were now swimming in the river, and not a few vainly trying to swim, and sinking in the effort; some few, however, perhaps a hundred, surrendered themselves to our troops, and were soon afterwards released. Many of the poor fellows were unavoidably shot by our troops, who were not only warmed with the previous fighting, but exasperated because the Chinese had fired off their matchlocks at them first, and then threw them away, as if to ask for quarter; under these circumstances, it could not be wondered at that they suffered. Some again barricaded themselves within the houses of the fort, a last and desperate effort; and, as several of our soldiers were wounded by their spears, death and destruction were the consequence.

The slaughter was great; nor could it be easily controlled when the men were irritated by the protracted and useless attacks which were made upon them from behind walls and hiding-places, even after the British flag was hoisted. It is wonderful that the casualties among the men were not more numerous.

The commandant of the fort was killed at the head of his men; and it is related that his son, as soon as he found that his father was dead, resolving not to survive him, and being unable to avenge his death, jumped into the sea, in spite of all remonstrance, and was drowned.

Those who have witnessed the individual bravery, be it courage or be it despair, frequently exhibited by the Chinese during the war, in almost every encounter, will be slow to stamp them as a cowardly people, however inefficient they may be as fighting men in armed bodies, against European discipline and modern weapons.

The most painful of all the scenes on this occasion was that of the bodies of men burnt perhaps to death when wounded.

It is well known that the bow and arrow is the favourite weapon of the Tartar troops, upon the dexterous use of which they set the highest claim to military distinction. The spear also, of various forms and fashions, is a favourite weapon both of Tartars and Chinese; but the matchlock, which in all respects very nearly resembles some of the old European weapons of the same name, except that the bore is generally somewhat smaller, is of much more modern introduction, and by no means so much in favour with the Chinese; this is occasioned principally by the danger arising from the use of the powder, in the careless way in which they carry it. They have a pouch in front, fastened round the body, and the powder is contained loose in a certain number of little tubes inside the pouch, not rolled up like our cartridges.

Of course, every soldier has to carry a match or port-fire to ignite the powder in the matchlock when loaded. Hence, when a poor fellow is wounded and falls, the powder, which is very apt to run out of his pouch over his clothes, is very likely to be ignited by his own match, and in this way he may either be blown up at once, or else his clothes may be ignited; indeed, it is not impossible that the match itself may be sufficient to produce this effect. At Chuenpee, many bodies were found after the action not only scorched, but completely burnt, evidently from the ignition of the powder.

In one of the latest encounters during the war, at Chapoo, where a few of the Tartars defended themselves so desperately in a house in which they had taken refuge, they were seen stripping themselves altogether, in order to escape the effect of the fire upon their combustible clothes when the building was in flames; and many other instances of a similar kind were noticed during the war.