It is related that, at the battle of the Nile, when the French admiral's ship, L'Orient, blew up, both of the fiercely-fighting foes paused in horror at the dreadful catastrophe, and neither side renewed the fight for at least ten minutes afterwards. So here also, although the explosion was far less violent, and the contending parties comparatively trifling in number, and far less excited by the contest, there was a momentary pause; the very suddenness of the catastrophe added something to the awe and rejoicing, combined, which it excited. The rocket had penetrated into the magazine of the junk, or had ignited some of the loose powder too often scattered carelessly about the decks by the Chinese gunners. They naturally felt that the same fate might readily befall any of the other junks; and, after some discharges of round shot had been thrown into the nearest junks, (four of them were afterwards found lodged in the admiral's junk,) their crews were observed endeavouring to escape on shore, some upon the little island, and others upon Chuenpee; while, at the same time, the junks were all cut away by those remaining on board, in order that they might drift on shore, and enable the rest to escape.
The Chinese hauled down their colours on board their junks at about half-past eleven, but continued firing afterwards. At about twelve o'clock, the boats of the Nemesis, in company with the others which were present, put off to board the junks. Only two of the smaller ones succeeded in getting away up a small branch of the river, while two more escaped for the moment up another principal branch to a large town, but were subsequently captured.
Some of the junks drifted on shore; and, as there could be no utility in saving them, they were all successively set on fire, by order of Captain Belcher, and ultimately blew up. In some of the junks which were not yet quite abandoned by their crews, the poor Chinamen, as the English sailors boarded them on one side, rushed wildly over on the opposite one, or let themselves down by the stern chains, clinging to the ship's rudder. Others, as the fire gained upon their junk, retreated before it, and continued hanging to the yet untouched portions of it, until the flames advancing upon them rapidly, they were obliged to throw water over their own bodies to enable them to bear the intense heat, still desperately clinging to their fate, more from fear of ill-treatment, if they should be taken prisoners, than from any rational hope of being saved. In many instances they would not be saved; in others, they could not, and were destroyed as their junk blew up.
On the following day, the principal part of the guns were recovered, altogether upwards of eighty in number, of which eight or ten were handsome brass Portuguese guns, 6, 9, and 12-pounders.
Altogether, eleven junks were destroyed on the spot. Scarcely had this duty been completed by the different boats engaged, when the Nemesis hastened on up the river, and at the distance of about three miles, came upon a large town, where she found two war-junks moored close to the shore, but abandoned by their crews. The consternation of the people was extreme; they were seen running away from the town in all directions; the surrounding hills were crowded with the anxious and astonished gazers, wondering what was going to happen next; never, of course, having either seen or heard of a "devil ship" before, and well knowing that her visit could only be a hostile one. It was enough that they had already heard of the total destruction of their fleet at the river's mouth. The place was not at all fortified, not a shot being fired on either side.
The tide was now beginning to fall, and as the water was not deep, and the bar would soon become impassable, and the day was already far advanced, it was thought better to return without exploring the river higher up. Accordingly, taking in tow the two junks, the Nemesis again descended the river; but one of the junks getting aground on the bar at the entrance, was obliged to be left behind, while the other was taken safely down, and soon after five p.m., the Nemesis joined the squadron off Chuenpee, and received the thanks of the commodore for the services she had rendered during the day. She had received no important damage, the paddle-box only having been injured by a well-directed shot from one of the junks.
It must have been a fine sight for the troops who were in possession of Chuenpee, to witness from the top of the hill the encounter with, and total destruction of, this fleet; the numerous burning masses, and the loud explosions as they blew up; with the boats pulling about among them, lighted by the glare of the fires. All this, added to the excitement which always attends the being a looker-on while others are actors in deeds of danger, must have formed a most animating spectacle. The scenery about Anson's Bay is moreover bold and picturesque, and the limited space in which the affair took place, must have added something to the interest it awakened.
To the Chinese this had been, in all respects, a most disastrous day. Their stone walls and their wooden walls had been alike destroyed; and, although they might before have dreaded us by sea, they had never until now had an opportunity of testing the power of Europeans on land.
On this day, the 7th of January, 1841, the native Indian troops and the Royal Marines constituted considerably more than two-thirds of the whole force employed on shore.
The loss of many hundred killed and wounded on the Chinese side, with something less than forty wounded and none killed on our side, shews rather that the Chinese were deficient in proper weapons to match their foes, than wanting in personal bravery to meet them in the fight; and, as they were not yet acquainted with the European mode of sparing an unresisting enemy, they suffered great loss from unsupported and useless resistance, when timely submission would have saved many lives. They exasperated our troops without a chance of benefiting themselves.