Unfortunately Mr. Lobschied had private business which possessed greater charms for him than this, although success was certain if the effort were made. The Manchoo-Imperialists, una.s.sisted by foreign mercenaries, would have fled before the progress of Ti-ping tien kwoh like fine chaff before a gale of wind. The ultimate results would have been the sure establishment of Christianity, freedom, and modern civilization, throughout the vast Chinese empire.
Private affairs overpowered all other considerations, and so, after a few days spent at Nankin, I placed the rev. gentleman on board a pa.s.sing steamer and bid him adieu.
Soon after my return to Nankin, reports of disaster to the Ti-ping forces in the Shanghae district were received; but previous to noticing these I must describe the complete defeat the Anglo-Manchoo legion experienced before the city of Tait-san.
Shortly after being placed in command of the drilled force, Captain Holland was ordered by the Fu-tai, Le, Governor of the province, to advance upon Tait-san and wrest it from the Ti-pings. Burning to distinguish himself, and probably not averse to the _bonus_ it is believed the Fu-tai offered for the capture of the city, besides the prospect of much _loot_, the newly-fledged _general_ led forward his men.
This expedition was accompanied by British volunteers, and the British officers belonging to the force, besides which General Staveley lent several large howitzers, the property of the English nation, to the commanding officer. Attached to _General_ Holland, as body-guard, was a motley brigade of European mercenaries, consisting of almost every nationality. The whole strength of the disciplined division inclusive was considerably over 3,000 men, with 22 pieces of heavy artillery, field-pieces, and mortars, supported by an army of 10,000 Imperialists.
The legionaries, and a great proportion of the irregular troops, were well armed with English rifles and muskets, well equipped in every way, and supplied with abundance of ammunition.
After driving the Ti-pings from several small outworks and tearing from a neighbouring village all its "doors, windows, tables, &c.," as one account states, the Imperialist forces took up a position under the walls of Tait-san. Of course the Ti-ping maligners, who followed upon the track of the allies, raven-like croaked forth from the destroyed village about the "ruthless devastation" of those "bloodthirsty monsters." They should have seen the village, or rather those who have been misled by their howling should have done so, _before_ the gallant Anglo-Manchoo forces stripped it of furniture and partially pulled down the houses. Undoubtedly many who have accused the Ti-pings of wanton devastation have unintentionally mistaken the ravages of their own friends for that of the people they condemned, though it is hard to believe that any one could credit such opinions, when, in every account of the Imperialist operations, the destruction of some Ti-ping city, village, or store of grain, is prominently set forth.
Rows of stakes had been driven into the creeks by the Ti-pings, and the boats carrying the siege train of the enemy were delayed in their advance upon Tait-san until they could be pulled up. In spite of obstructions and a strong sortie made by the garrison, which was not repulsed without a sharp fight, the guns were landed during the night of the 13th of February, 1863, and placed in position.
Early on the following morning the garrison received strong reinforcements from the Ti-ping army investing Chang-zu, distant less than twenty-five miles, which were welcomed with immense cheering.
Shortly afterwards the besiegers opened fire from their numerous artillery.
In about five hours a large and practicable breach was made in the city wall, and Captain, or rather _General_, Holland ordered the a.s.sault. Now it so happened that the defenders had wisely sheltered themselves from the deadly artillery fire to which they had only one or two small 6-pounders to reply, and instead of recklessly exposing themselves in the usual Ti-ping style, had remained perfectly silent behind their defences.
Led by a party of the body-guard and their European officers, the trained troops rushed gallantly forward to storm the city. At this moment the defenders suddenly manned the breach, and although fearfully thinned by the enfilading artillery fire, kept up a fusillade which told with terrible effect upon the dense ma.s.ses of the enemy. A few crossed the moat by their bridges, only however to be shot down, and the whole division of stormers wavered and hesitated on the brink. A sergeant-major of the disciplined rifle regiment here performed an act of bravery that no European could have outdone. Seizing the colours of the regiment, Ward"s old flag, he rushed to the front with it, and calling on the men to advance, stood there alone, a mark for the fire of the besieged. It is remarkable that, though six bullets pierced his clothes, not one injured him, or even cut his skin.
Unable to advance against the shower of missiles directed from the breach and city walls, where even the little boys were stationed with heaps of bricks to throw upon them, the Imperialists fell back on their guns in confusion. _General_ Holland then ordered the artillery to the rear, and a rapid retreat commenced. This, however, they were not allowed to effect so easily, for the Ti-pings dragged a 6-pounder into the breach, where it was worked by some Europeans, and directed upon the men endeavouring to remove the siege guns, with deadly effect. At the same time the garrison sallied forth from two gates, while others rushed through the breach and attacked the enemy with vigour.
For some time the rifles and 1st regiment of the British contingent, together with the European company, fought desperately to save the guns.
Meanwhile the main Imperialist army was routed with much slaughter, and, with all the other regiments of disciplined troops, fled in every direction from the field. The troops who so gallantly protected the retreat of their comrades, managed also to save all the artillery, except two heavy 32-pounders and several light howitzers. Upon these guns the Ti-pings incessantly charged, and both sides lost heavily in killed and wounded. _General_ Holland had left the field, and it was entirely due to _Colonel_ Barclay and _Major_ Cooke, who jointly conducted the retreat, and well animated and kept their men together, that only a few pieces of artillery, instead of the whole park, were captured by the Ti-pings.
Seeing that his men were falling thickly, and that they were in danger of being surrounded, Colonel Barclay abandoned the guns and made a pretty orderly retreat. The Ti-pings marked those guns for their especial prey, and concentrated on them such a hail of shot that no one could approach them from the hostile ranks and live. The enemy found that it would be impossible even to spike them without a terrible loss of life, and so left them uninjured as trophies for the victorious garrison of Tait-san.
The day following their defeat only 1,500 of the British contingent mustered at their head-quarters, but stragglers shortly came dropping in. The same force lost 5 officers killed and 16 wounded. The co-operating Imperialist army was totally dispersed, and lost more than 2,000 men _hors de combat_. The Ti-ping casualties were also very heavy, for the men had rushed gallantly into the breach under withering volleys from the disciplined and well-armed a.s.sailants, and at least 1,000 were killed and wounded during the defence and subsequent fighting.
_General_ Holland, upon reaching Shanghae, resigned his command in disgust, and was superseded by one Major Gordon, of the Royal Engineers, a cold, calculating man, who possessed qualities far more conducive to successful operations against the Ti-pings than even brilliant and dashing generalship. His tactics were to destroy them from a distance by his long-range artillery, which was a thing to be done generally with perfect impunity, because the Ti-pings were almost entirely without cannon.
The aim of the revolutionists is to get at close quarters with the enemy, and wherever they have been able to accomplish this, even the disciplined and foreign-officered troops have been beaten. Unfortunately they have seldom been able to effect their favourite manoeuvre against the latter, the overwhelming artillery and regular volleys of musketry sweeping away every attempted formation of the Ti-ping troops long before it could be completed.
_General_ Gordon having a.s.sumed command of the once despised mercenaries, that is to say, despised before the despisers were able to handle the loaves and fishes, he very wisely spent several months in thoroughly reorganizing his troops and raising his artillery to a strength and state of efficiency perfectly irresistible by the Ti-pings.
During this period, besides the officers of the force, numerous drill-instructors were supplied by the British general at Shanghae, so that Gordon"s, Kingsley"s, Cooke"s, and other legions, soon became formidable both as to numbers, armament, and discipline, _a l"Anglais_.
The first operations directed by Gordon were against Fu-shan and the beleaguered city of Chang-zu, the former of which was captured and the latter relieved, the Ti-pings losing some 1,200 men; Gordon"s force, 2 killed and 3 wounded! These relative casualties afford a fair sample of the usual result of nearly every engagement. The immense loss of life upon the Ti-ping side during the years 1862-3-4, and part of the present, may easily be imagined, and will be found stated in detail in the approximate table at the end of this volume,[46] which has been compiled princ.i.p.ally from official sources. Gordon, in his own report of the operations above referred to, states: "The number of guns was terrific, and although after every shot the rebels would fire from one or two loop-holes, it was evident they had no chance." The position exposed to this "terrific" fire was simply a few open stockades, undefended by artillery.
At this time Gordon"s force mustered, all told, about 5,000 men; Kingsley"s, 1,000; Cooke"s, 1,500; and the Franco-Manchoo contingents, commanded respectively by _Generals_ D"Aguibelle, Giquel, and Bonnefoi, from 3,000 to 4,000. Subsequently other legions and artillery corps attached to the irregular Imperial troops, about 2,500 in all, were formed and commanded by _Colonels_ Bailey, Howard, Rhode, &c., while the total force of trained Chinese generally maintained the relative strength here given, viz., 14,000.
The disaster to the Ti-pings in the vicinity of Shanghae, the report of which, as mentioned before their victory at Tait-san, reached Nankin shortly after my return, consisted in their loss of the former city, and the still more important one of Quin-san, after a desperate and gallant defence at each.
General Brown, Commander-in-Chief of H. B. Majesty"s forces in China, having, by every description of help and a.s.sistance, placed Gordon"s troops in a state of complete effectiveness, the latter once more moved upon the devoted city of Tait-san.
Upon this occasion Gordon was supplied with a heavy siege train, including 8-inch howitzers and large mortars, _all belonging to the British army_; while General Brown sent a force of 550 men (including detachments of Royal Artillery, H. M. 31st regiment, Belooches, and B.
N. I.) to look after his guns and take care that his _protege_ should not suffer a similar defeat to that experienced by _General_ Holland. In fact, General Brown maintained a large force at Shanghae for the express purpose of a.s.sisting the Imperialists, supplying them with artillery and men to garrison the cities they captured.
The capture of Tait-san is one of the most desperate encounters on the records of the Anglo-Manchoo forces.
In addition to the trained troops, Sing, a Manchoo general, joined in the attack with 5,000 to 7,000 men. The strength of the garrison was not less than 4,000, including little boys, who, according to the usual custom, were stationed with heaps of stones to throw upon the a.s.sailants.
After sh.e.l.ling the Ti-pings from their outworks, Gordon arrived under the walls of Tait-san on the 2nd of May, 1863. In his report to _General Brown_, Gordon states:--"About noon fire was opened from two guns, and by degrees more guns were brought into action, till at 2 p.m. every gun and mortar was in action, _the troops being under cover_. As the defences got dilapidated the guns were advanced, and at 4.30 p.m. the boats were moved up and the a.s.sault commenced. The rebels swarmed to the breach, and for ten to twelve minutes a hand-to-hand contest took place, canister being fired into the breach from this side of the ditch, and a heavy musketry fire kept up."
From this statement we find that after crumbling the ancient city walls to dust, and pouring in the tremendous fire of his numerous artillery for four hours and a half, his own men being in perfect safety, while the unfortunate defenders were torn to pieces by the storm of shot and sh.e.l.l to which they could make no reply, _General_ Gordon at last ordered the a.s.sault. This, however, was gallantly repulsed by the brave garrison, who, though almost decimated by the murderous artillery, despite the hail of "canister" from enfilading batteries and the "heavy musketry fire" poured upon them by the adverse covering parties, rushed into the wide-spread ruins of the breach and drove the a.s.sailants back in a desperate hand-to-hand encounter.
Rallied by their officers, the division of stormers again returned to the a.s.sault, only, however, to be met with equal determination by the Ti-pings, who again successfully repulsed them.
_General_ Gordon now placed his men under cover, inflicting heavy loss upon the defenders of the breach by pouring continual discharges of grape and canister shot into their dense ranks. For some time this artillery practice was resumed; a fresh storming party was then told off, and the breach again attacked with much bravery, and again defended with equal courage. The trained troops wavered and were nearly driven back a third time, but being reinforced by fresh men, rallied, and finally carried the breach. This, however, was not effected until the commandant of the city had been severely wounded, and a great proportion of his officers killed or disabled. The Ti-pings then gave way and escaped, carrying off many of their wounded, with their wives and children, through the gates at the other side of the town. The snake flags of Tsah, the commandant, remained in the breach until the summit was in possession of the enemy, when they were carried off in safety.
The Imperialists were a.s.sisted by the steamer _Hyson_ in their attack upon Tait-san, which vessel caused no little alarm to the garrison by steaming along the creeks encircling the city, and throwing heavy sh.e.l.l among them, besides seriously menacing their line of retreat. Another great help to the besiegers consisted in the presence of the British _corps de reserve_, stationed at the village of Wy-con-sin close by, and which the Ti-pings fully expected would attack them should the disciplined Chinese be defeated.
The loss of the Anglo-Manchoo force upon this occasion was about two hundred; the Ti-pings, soldiery and civilians, killed in action, or afterwards caught by the Imperialists and cruelly put to death, cannot have been less than two thousand.
At Tait-san, as at Kah-ding, Tsing-poo, and every other city wrested from the Ti-pings either before or subsequently, the capture was followed by the perpetration of most revolting barbarities by the Imperial troops and Mandarins, whenever the attention of the British officers who a.s.sisted them to capture the places was withdrawn.
_General_ Gordon and the commanding officers of other contingents saved some of the Ti-ping prisoners who had been captured; but for the destruction of many thousands of innocent men, including country people, non-combatant inhabitants of the cities, and women and children, they are criminally responsible.
Upon the first capture of Kah-ding by the British forces, when General Staveley"s _humane_ disposition led him to station the Imperialist troops so as to intercept the flight of the garrison from his artillery fire, the following scenes were enacted, as appears by a letter from the Rev. Mr. Lobschied, published in the _Hong Kong Daily Press_ of June 28th:--
"A small gate being the only issue through which the women and children could escape from their _deliverers_, they rushed upon the wall, and threw themselves down a great height, rather than fall into the hands of the combined forces. Those that were immediately killed were lucky enough; for they were saved from the sufferings that awaited the survivors. Whilst looting and killing was going on within the walls, until darkness threw her veil over the scenes of horror, several hundreds of men, women, and children, whose only crime was that of being citizens of Kah-ding when taken by the rebels, were lying outside the city walls with broken limbs, helpless, and parched with thirst. When morning arrived, a few gentlemen pa.s.sed outside the wall through the narrow gate, in order to take a retrospect of the field of action. What did they see? The Imperialists, having become aware of the large number of sufferers outside the wall, had resorted thither long before the rising of the sun, were just stripping the poor people, and cutting off their heads, which they would take with them as trophies of their victory, when the two gentlemen (one of whom was an officer) happened to disturb them."
The unfortunate people above referred to were a portion of those ma.s.sacred by the troops of the Chinese general Le, the same worthy who, when reporting to General Staveley his execution of the duties a.s.signed him, offered to produce the left ears of 1,300 rebels.
At Tait-san similar atrocities were committed by the forces of Sing, the Manchoo commander. Hundreds of civilians were killed for the sake of their heads, and some prisoners were actually taken to the camp of the British _corps de reserve_, formed in conjunction with an Imperialist one, and there cruelly tortured to death. The execution of seven victims in particular is fully attested by Dr. Murtagh,[47] 22nd B. N. I.; other "eye-witnesses," including the Bishop of Victoria, have personally a.s.sured me of their positive knowledge as to this and other atrocities more revolting, and upon a more extensive scale, that have been inflicted upon Ti-pings captured by means of the British alliance with the Manchoo. The following is an extract from a letter published in most of the Shanghae papers, and vouched for as being true by Dr. Murtagh:--
EXTRACT FROM THE "NORTH CHINA HERALD" OF JUNE 13, 1863.
_Treatment of Ti-ping Prisoners._ (To the Editor of the _Daily Shipping and Commercial News_.)
"... About 11 o"clock a.m. on the day following the capture of Tait-san (_Sunday_, May 3rd), seven prisoners were brought into the Imperialist camp near Wy-con-sin; being stripped perfectly nude, they were each tied to a stake, and tortured with the most refined cruelty. Arrows appeared to have been forcibly driven into various parts of their bodies, from whence issued copious streams of blood. This mode of torture falling short of satiating the demoniacal spirit of their tormentors, recourse was had to other means. Strips of flesh were cut, or rather hacked (judging from the appearance presented, the instrument seemed too blunt to cut), from different parts of their bodies, which, hanging by a small portion of skin, presented an appearance truly horrible....
"For hours these wretched beings writhed in agony. About sunset they were led forth more dead than alive by a brutal executioner, who, sword in hand, thirsting to imbrue his hand in blood, seemed the very incarnation of a fiend. Seizing his unfortunate victims, he exultingly dragged them forth, mocking and insulting them, and then, by hewing, hacking, and using a sawing motion, he succeeded eventually in putting an end to their sufferings by partially severing the head from the body.
Such are the bare facts, which can, if necessary, be fully substantiated by other eye-witnesses....
"(Signed) AN EYE-WITNESS."
As further evidence of the atrocities which were committed in these fearful times, the following letter will speak emphatically. It was written at the time, and addressed to the editor of the _Shanghae Recorder_, by Mr. J. C. Sillar, a merchant of high position, by whose permission it is now published:--
"NO MORE MURDERS.
"(To the Editor of the _Shanghae Recorder_.)
"SIR,--A gentleman who was present at the capture of Tsingpo informed me that he held the heads of fourteen women with his own hands while their throats, which had been cut by the English or French soldiers (perhaps both) were being sewn up. There were many more, but he held the heads of fourteen with his own hands.
"I trust that, in the event of the capture of Kading, steps may be taken to prevent such atrocities either by our own men or the "disciplined Chinese."
"Your obedient servant, "J. C. SILLAR.
"Shanghae, October 18, 1862."
"The women stated that their throats had been cut by the English soldiers; but, upon being asked to identify them, pointed to the French.