Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

Many of our ships were now found to be missing, having been driven out to sea during the fury of the gale. Among the latter was H.M. schooner, Starling, about which great apprehensions were entertained. It was feared that she might have foundered, with all hands on board.

On the following morning, at daylight, the Nemesis was ordered to go out and render assistance to any vessels in distress, and to bring off people from the wrecks; and particularly to look out for the Starling, in case she should have gone on shore upon any of the neighbouring islands. In every direction immediate assistance was required, and many poor fellows were rescued by the Nemesis from a watery grave.

It was curious to remark how completely every vessel that had gone on shore was torn to pieces, and in so short a space of time; every part of them was broken up, and the fragments were floating about the harbour and lining the shores on every side, above high-water mark. A number of artillerymen and sappers were taken off the wreck of one of our prize war-junks which had gone on shore; and the whole crew of the Prince George merchant ship were likewise saved from one of the neighbouring islands upon which they had been wrecked; but the captain of the vessel refused to leave the island, where he vainly persisted in seeking for the body of his unfortunate wife, who was drowned when first the vessel struck.

Not being able to gain any tidings of the Starling, the Nemesis proceeded on through the Capsingmoon passage, towards Lintin, in the hope that she might have taken refuge under that island. Fortunately, she was now descried beating up gallantly through the passage towards Hong-Kong, and, as soon as the steamer ran alongside, there was a general cheer of congratulation. The tale was very soon told. During the height of the typhoon, the Starling had parted a cable, and, as she was now drifting fast, Captain Kellett at once slipped the other, in the hope of being able to run through the Capsingmoon passage, as his only chance of safety. With very great exertion and good seamanship, he fortunately succeeded in the attempt, even in the midst of the typhoon, and had even managed to lie-to and pick up some unfortunate Chinamen, who were floating past him upon the wreck of their shattered junk. At length, he succeeded in getting under the lee of the island of Lintin, where he brought up with a common boat's anchor, having a couple of guns fastened to the cable. By the aid of this contrivance, he rode out the gale, until it moderated sufficiently for him to get under weigh, and attempt to return to Hong-Kong. The Nemesis, however, now took the Starling in tow, and great was the surprise and joy of every one at Hong-Kong, when the two vessels were seen standing in together in safety.

In this typhoon, H.M.S. Sulphur, Algerine, Royalist, and the schooner Hebe, were dismasted; and at least twenty merchant vessels and transports were either driven ashore or were dismasted, and suffered other injuries.

Five days afterwards, on the 26th, there was a recurrence of the typhoon, which the Nemesis rode out very easily in the Typa anchorage at Macao; but it was not so severe as the first one, and comparatively little injury was caused by it. There is reason to believe also, that, had all the ships at Hong-Kong been moored in proper berths, and early precautions taken, before the commencement of the first typhoon, the danger and the damage inflicted would have been much less severe.

No time was lost in refitting the ships, and preparations were now hastened for the advance of our forces upon Amoy, and for pushing on our operations further northward, while the favourable season lasted. Sir Gordon Bremer had returned from Calcutta, in the Queen steamer, on the 18th of June, having been invested with the functions of joint-plenipotentiary, in conjunction with Captain Elliot. This high honour was, however, of short duration; for, on the 9th of August, Sir Henry Pottinger arrived from England, via Bombay, having been appointed sole plenipotentiary and chief-superintendent of trade in China: he was accompanied by Vice-Admiral Sir William Parker, by whom all the subsequent naval operations were conducted.

CHAPTER XXVI

At the end of July, the H.C. steamer Phlegethon, Lieut. M'Cleverty, nearly the exact counterpart of the Nemesis, arrived at Hong-Kong, bringing the intelligence that Captain Elliot's treaty of Chuenpee had been disapproved of by the home government, and that Sir Henry Pottinger had been appointed to succeed him, as sole plenipotentiary. Shortly before this, also, her Majesty's 55th regiment had arrived from Calcutta, and everything indicated that a movement upon Amoy would take place as soon as possible, after the expected arrival of Sir Henry Pottinger as plenipotentiary, and Sir William Parker as admiral. The season for active operations was already advanced, and even for the sake of the health of the troops, it was the anxious wish of all the officers that a change of some sort or other might speedily take place.

In the afternoon of the 10th of August, the arrival of the H.C. steamer Sesostris, from Bombay, in the Macao roads, was announced, and great was the joy of every one when it was made known that both Sir Henry Pottinger and Sir William Parker were on board. They had come from London in the wonderfully short period of sixty-seven days, ten of which had been spent in Bombay.

At daylight next morning, the Nemesis went out to convey these high functionaries from the Sesostris, in the roads, to the town of Macao, where they were received with every demonstration of respect, under a salute from the Portuguese forts. A conference was held in the course of the morning, between Captain Elliot and Sir Henry Pottinger, together with the Admiral and Sir Hugh Gough. Energetic measures appeared to be at once resolved on. Sir William Parker went over to visit the fleet at Hong-Kong, and as soon as visits of ceremony had been exchanged between the new plenipotentiary and the Portuguese authorities, Sir Henry Pottinger lost no time in publishing the notification of his appointment, as minister extraordinary and sole plenipotentiary, and also as chief superintendent of trade in China.

In order to communicate officially to the Chinese authorities the fact of his arrival, and the nature of his powers, Sir Henry now despatched his secretary, Major Malcolm, to Canton, as the bearer of letters to the provincial government. The Nemesis was, as usual, employed to carry the officers up the river. No little sensation was created among the Chinese officials by the announcement which was now made to them. They therefore resolved to welcome the plenipotentiary with all ceremony; and probably, also, in the hope of being able to form some estimate of his character, they despatched the prefect of the city, or kwang-chow-foo, on the 18th, to Macao, with a numerous retinue. He landed at Macao, upon the Praya Grande, near the governor's palace, attended by a great number of followers, and proceeded in state to the residence of the plenipotentiary, thinking, no doubt, that he was conferring a great honour upon his Excellency, and that he would accordingly be received with every mark of distinction. Alas, how are the mighty fallen! The ceremonious prefect was not even received. He, who had hitherto been courted as an officer of distinction, and had been the medium of communication, and in some sort the ambassador, between the high Chinese authorities and Captain Elliot, was now absolutely rejected. Sir Henry Pottinger, acting with an intimate knowledge of the Oriental character, and fully impressed with the high duties he was called upon to perform, and the high station he had to maintain as her Majesty's representative, declined to receive or hold any direct intercourse with an officer inferior to himself in rank and responsibility, and still less with one of comparatively inferior grade, such as the Prefect of Canton.

Major Malcolm, the secretary of legation, was, however, deputed to receive the prefect; and, after a short interview, the would-be great man withdrew, and returned in some dismay to Canton, to report the circumstances to his superiors. The sensation created by this little characteristic incident was very remarkable. It became the subject of conversation in every quarter, and tended to awaken much greater respect for the dignity of the new plenipotentiary. The same cautious and dignified bearing was maintained with the greatest advantage throughout the whole of our subsequent proceedings.

At Hong-Kong, the most active preparations were now being made for the immediate departure of the expedition. Excellent arrangements were introduced by Sir William Parker for the proper guidance of the fleet, and especially for the distribution and management of the numerous transports and store-ships. The advantage of this systematic regularity soon became evident; and it is deserving of notice that, from this period to the close of the war, the transport service was conducted with the utmost regularity and efficiency, in spite of the endless difficulties arising out of our imperfect knowledge of the coast of China, and the inaccuracy of most of the charts. Add to this, that owing to sickness and other causes, the transports were often under-manned, and had frequently the most arduous duties to perform.

By a general order of the 19th of August, issued only nine days after the arrival of the admiral, the fleet was directed to be ready to put to sea at daylight on the 21st. It was to be formed in three divisions: the centre commanded by Captain Herbert, in the Blenheim, assisted by Commander Clarke, of the Columbine; the starboard division, under Captain Bourchier, in the Blonde, assisted by Commander Gifford, in the Cruiser; while the second, or port division, was placed under Captain Smith, of the Druid, assisted by Commander Anson, of the Pylades.

The whole fleet consisted of thirty-six sail, including transports – namely, two line-of-battle ships, the Wellesley and the Blenheim; seven other ships of war – namely, the Modeste, Druid, Columbine, Blonde, Pylades, Cruiser, and Algerine; the Rattlesnake troop-ship, and the Bentinck surveying vessel; four steamers belonging to the East India Company – namely, the Queen, Phlegethon, Nemesis, and Sesostris; and twenty-one hired transports and store-ships, most of them of large size, several of not less than a thousand tons burden. The force stationed in the neighbourhood of the Canton river comprised five or six vessels of war, including the Herald and Alligator, and was under the command of Captain Nias, senior officer.

Early on the morning of the 21st, the fleet got under weigh. Sir Henry Pottinger came over from Macao, in The Queen, on that day, just as the fleet had sailed; and, as he stopped some time at Hong-Hong to inspect the place, and examine the various arrangements which had already been made, he did not join the admiral until the following day. The general rendezvous, in case of separation, was to be Chapel Island, not far from Amoy. The weather was extremely favourable during the whole passage up, and, on the 25th, the whole squadron reached the outer harbour of Amoy, having preserved the order of sailing remarkably well throughout.

The late plenipotentiaries, Captain Elliot and Sir Gordon Bremer, sailed from Hong-Kong, and finally took leave of China, three days after the departure of the expedition, on board the Atalanta steamer, which had become completely knocked up by her work in the Canton river. Their intention was to proceed as quickly as possible to England, by way of Bombay.

The distance of Amoy from Hong-Kong is scarcely three hundred miles, and there were many good grounds for making it the first point of attack, as the expedition proceeded northward. It could not be doubted that the capture of this flourishing commercial city would be seriously felt by the Chinese government. The authorities had, within the last twelve months, spent enormous sums of money and incredible labour in the construction of batteries, which they deemed impregnable, and which were certainly capable of being stoutly defended.

The harbour of Amoy is situated in the south-western corner of an island of the same name, which, together with another called Quemoy, occupies a considerable portion of a large bay, in which, however, there are also numerous smaller islands. Of these, the most interesting, in connexion with our present subject, is that of Kolingsoo, which is separated from Amoy by a narrow passage, leading directly up to the harbour. In fact, the possession of this island, which we still retain, gives us the complete command of Amoy itself, or rather of its town and suburbs.

The scenery within the bay and about the town of Amoy is exceedingly picturesque, the appearance of the country being very mountainous and striking. Several considerable rivers pour their waters into the bay, and facilitate the communications with the interior of the country. The superiority of the harbour much exceeded the expectations of the officers.

The town of Amoy, although possessed of great commercial importance, and very wealthy, is by no means a first-class city – it ranks, indeed, only as a principal third-class town – but its inhabitants are exceedingly enterprising and intelligent, and are remarkable for a certain disposition for emigration and colonization, as well as for their love of commerce. They were the principal colonizers of the flourishing island of Formosa, which lies opposite Amoy, extending itself along the coast for a distance of little less than two hundred miles; and they are to be found in great numbers in more remote islands, subject even to foreign dominion, such as Java, Singapore, Manilla, &c.

The city and suburbs of Amoy can hardly be less than eight or ten miles in circumference, and they are in a great degree commanded by a fortified hill or citadel in the rear, which, however, is again commanded (as is very commonly the case in China) by unfortified heights beyond it to the eastward. The suburbs, or outer town, are separated from the principal or inner town by a line of steep, rocky hills, which run transversely down to the beach; but a paved road or narrow causeway leads into the city, through a pass which is protected by a covered gateway at its summit. As there is, therefore, what may be called a double town, so is there also a sort of double harbour – the outer one running along the face of the outer town, and the inner one extending along the front of the principal town, and joining a large estuary, which runs deep into the island across its centre, and skirts the northern side of the city. In this manner, nearly two-thirds of the city of Amoy are washed by the sea. In fact, it stands upon a corner or tongue of land, having a line of bold mountains in its rear and on its flank. The walls are castellated at top, and vary in height, according to the nature of the ground, from twenty to thirty feet. There are also, as in other places, four principal gates, having each an outwork or outer wall, with a court or open space between them, and a second gate leading from this, and placed at right angles to the inner one, so that the approach to it from the outside is commanded by the principal wall of the town.

The citadel of Amoy was afterwards found to contain a large supply of military accoutrements – ginjals, matchlocks, swords, shields, and spears of all kinds; there was also an immense quantity of gunpowder, and materials for making it; in short, there was every reason to believe that Amoy had been made use of as the great military depôt of the province.

It is impossible to form even a tolerable estimate of the number of troops collected for the defence of the place, but the different accounts which were received varied from six thousand to eight or ten thousand men. It was also known that the high officers of the province had come down to Amoy purposely to encourage the defence, and to witness, as they hoped, the utter discomfiture of the barbarians. It was, however, upon their newly-constructed works that they placed their great reliance.

Numerous forts and field-works had been erected upon nearly all the smaller islands which stretch across the mouth of the great bay; and upon the island of Amoy itself a succession of batteries and field-works had been built to command the approach to the town. The principal of these was a long stone battery, well built of granite, faced with earth, extending along the shore nearly up to the suburbs of the city, and designed to command the passage to the harbour. It presented a line of guns a full mile in length, the embrasures being covered with large slabs of stone protected by earth heaped upon them, and mounting no less than ninety-six guns. In the rear of this battery there was a range of steep, rocky heights, up the side of which the Chinese had carried a strong castellated wall to serve as a flanking defence to the battery.

Still further to defend the approaches to the city, they had also strongly fortified the little island of Kolingsoo, between which and Amoy the passage is not more than six hundred yards across; this island is, in fact, the key of Amoy, and was retained in our possession when the city and the island of Amoy were restored to the Chinese. At that time the Chinese had already mounted upon the works, either completed or in progress, no less than seventy-six guns. Indeed they had spared no labour to endeavour to render Amoy capable of easy defence; although, from want of skill and discipline, the resistance which they offered was comparatively trifling. If the number of guns alone could indicate the strength of a place, the Chinese might have had some grounds for confidence; for, as Sir Hugh Gough remarked, "every island, every projecting headland whence guns could be made to bear, was occupied and strongly armed." In fact, there were altogether not less than five hundred guns captured at Amoy and the adjacent islands.

Early on the morning of the 26th of August, everything was in readiness for the projected attack. The captains and commanders repaired on board the flag-ship for orders; the steamers were all smoking and blowing off their spare steam, and the officers were all anxiously looking for the expected signal to stand in and engage the batteries. Before active operations commenced, however, it was thought right to make a reconnoissance of the defences which were to be attacked. With this view Sir Hugh Gough, Sir William Parker, and the plenipotentiary, stood in on board the Phlegethon, and were able to approach sufficiently close to the works to observe all that was necessary, without having a single shot fired at them.

In the meantime a messenger, supposed to be a Chinese merchant, came off from the town, under a flag of truce, requesting to know the object of the visit of so large and formidable a squadron. The answer to this question was simple enough, and was sent in the name of the plenipotentiary, the general, and the admiral, to the effect that "they required that the demands made last year at Tientsin, (near Pekin,) by Captain Elliot, should be complied with; and that hostile measures would, if necessary, be adopted to enforce them. Nevertheless, that as the plenipotentiary and the commanders-in-chief were moved by compassionate feelings, and were unwilling to cause the death of so many officers and soldiers as must perish, they were willing to allow all the officers and troops in the town to retire with their personal arms and baggage, in order to save the people from being hurt, upon condition that the town and fortifications of Amoy should be at once delivered into the hands of the British forces, to be held for the present by them." A white flag was to be exhibited from the fortifications, if these terms were acceded to; otherwise, hostilities would commence. As might be expected, the white flag was not displayed.

The morning was very hot and sultry; but about one o'clock a steady, favourable breeze set in, and the squadron got under weigh. The plan was, to make a simultaneous attack upon all the batteries at once, both against those upon Amoy and those upon Kolingsoo. The troops were also to be landed, with the object of taking the batteries in the rear; and the Nemesis and Phlegethon steamers were to be employed to convey them to the appointed place of debarkation.

The ships were likely to bear the chief brunt of the engagement; but Sir Hugh Gough made every disposition for the employment of the land forces, and his general order, issued just before the attack was to take place, deserves especial notice. He directed his remarks very strongly to the question of plundering; and observed, that "as Amoy was a large commercial port, and there had once been an English factory there, it was highly important that no act should be committed which could tend to embarrass our future friendly intercourse. The government and the military were to be overcome, and public property taken possession of, under certain instructions, but private property was to be held inviolable; and that which in England," observed the general, "obtains the name of robbery, deserves no better name in China." The camp followers were made liable to be put to death for plundering; and orders were issued to punish on the spot any man straggling from his corps.

This alone will suffice to point out that the expedition was very far from possessing that buccaneering character which some persons, particularly foreigners, attempted to cast upon it. Indeed, it may safely be asserted, that war was never carried on with so little infliction of suffering upon the people generally as in China. Generally speaking, the people soon learned to appreciate our motives; and unless prevented by their own officers, they commonly shewed a friendly, or at all events a neutral feeling towards us. Besides the English, the privilege of trading at Amoy was formerly held by the Spanish also; and, at no very remote period, a regular intercourse was kept up between Amoy and the Spanish colony of Manilla.

It was probable that the nature of the country round Amoy would render brigade movements inadmissible; but the troops were to be prepared to form in three brigades, if necessary. The men were to land in jackets, caps, and coats folded; and were to carry, each man, one day's cooked provisions. The artillery were to be in readiness to land their light, mountain guns.

About half-past one, the attack commenced on our side; but the Chinese had already begun the engagement, by firing occasional shots at our ships, as they proceeded with a steady and favourable breeze to their respective stations. The Sesostris and Queen steamers led in; the former commencing the action, but receiving a heavy fire before she returned it. The line-of-battle ships, Wellesley and Blenheim, under Captains Maitland and Herbert, proceeded to the extremity of the long stone battery, nearest the suburbs, where they anchored by the stern, about half-past two P.M., within four hundred yards of the works, and at once opened a heavy fire upon the principal battery.

The next in order along the front of these works, from the suburbs towards the outer extremity, were the Pylades, Columbine, Cruiser, and Algerine. Simultaneously with this attack upon Amoy, the Blonde, Druid, and Modeste, reached their allotted stations, against the works of Kolingsoo; but, owing to the shallowness of the water, they were boldly carried on, in little more than their own draught.

The roar of the artillery on every side, echoed by the mountains around, was now terrific; and in one hour and twenty minutes the three principal batteries on Kolingsoo were silenced, and the marines under Captain Ellis, about one hundred and seventy in number, were landed on that island, and took possession of the heights in the rear, without any loss. Three companies of the 26th regiment had also been appointed to this service, but the distance of the transports only permitted a small detachment of them, under Major Johnstone, to land in time to assist in clearing the batteries. The small detachment of the Royal Artillery, under Lieut. the Hon. R. E. Spencer, were actively employed on board the Blonde, during the attack.

While these operations were being carried on against the batteries on Kolingsoo, and against the long battery on Amoy, the Phlegethon and Nemesis were speedily brought up with the troops ready to land. The Nemesis had taken on board the general and his staff, together with the 18th Royal Irish, under Colonel Adams; and had also to tow up a number of boats, with the sappers and miners, followers, &c. Considerable delay was therefore occasioned by having to run up to the different transports to embark detachments, and also to pick up the boats; and it was not until half-past three that the Nemesis could get into action. She then opened fire at the long battery with her heavy guns and rockets, as she approached the lower angle of the fort for the purpose of landing the troops.