SITY OR
NIVERSI

AVERSION
THE UN
IGAN
CHIGAN
BRARIES








On Active Service with the
Le Chinese Regiment


The Truth about the
Chinese Question
THE CHINESE CRISIS
FROM WITHIN
BY WEN CHING
Edited by the Rev. G. M.
REITH, M.A.
Crown 8vo, Cloth 3s. 6d.
Of the many aspects in which the
recent upheaval in China has been
presented to the British Public, it
may be fairly said that a perfectly
independent Chinese view has not yet
been given. This book supplies the
want. It is the work of a China-
man who is equally at home in
Eastern and Western thought and
history, and whose familiarity with
both enables him to lay before the
European what is, in some respects,
a surprisingly new estimate of the
situation.


ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH
THE CHINESE REGIMENT
A RECORD OF THE OPERATIONS OF THE
FIRST CHINESE REGIMENT IN NORTH
CHINA FROM MARCH TO OCTOBER
1900. BY CAPTAIN A. A., S, BARNES
Arthur
LONDON: GRANT RICHARDS
LEICESTER SQUARE, MCMII


DS
772,5
B26
cop. 2
THE RIVERSIDE PRESS LIMITED
EDINBURGH


871141-190
TO THE
FEW OFFICERS AND COLOUR-SERGEANTS
WHO BY THEIR HARD AND UNREMITTING WORK
MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR
THE CHINESE REGIMENT
TO PLAY ITS PART IN THE
STIRRING INCIDENTS HEREIN
BUT INDIFFERENTLY
RELATED
I OFFER THIS LITTLE BOOK
“LEST WE FORGET'





CONTENTS
PART I.—THE TROUBLES ROUND WEI-HAI-WEI
PAGE
Chapter 1.
Chapter II.
Chapter 111.
PART II. -THE FIGHTING ROUND TIENTSIN
Chapter iv.
Chapter v.
Chapter vi.
Chapter VII.
Chapter VIII.
Chapter ix.
Chapter X.
Chapter XI.
Chapter xii.
PART III.-AFTER TIENTSIN CITY FELL
Chapter XIII.
Chapter xiv.
Chapter xv.
Chapter xvi.
Chapter xvii.
PART IV.—THE ADVANCE ON PEKING
Chapter XVIII. .
Chapter xix. .
Chapter xx. . . . . . .
Chapter XXI. . . . . . :
110
115
124
130
vii


viii
CONTENTS
PART V.-IN PEKING
Chapter XXII. .
Chapter XXIII. : : : :
Chapter xxiv. .
PAGE
135
142
152
•
PART VI.-OTHER OPERATIONS
Chapter xxv. .
Chapter XXVI. .
.
.
155
159
PART VII.-ON THE LINES OF
COMMUNICATION
·
·
·
Chapter XXVII. .
Chapter XXVIII. .
Chapter XXIX.
Chapter XXX.
Chapter xxxi. .
Chapter XXXII. .
Chapter XXXIII. .
·
·
·
·
203
212
APPENDIX A-Newspaper Cuttings . . .
APPENDIX B-Complimentary Orders issued with regard
to the Relief of the Peking Legations . .
APPENDIX C-Extracts of Telegraphic and other
Despatches . . . . . .
APPENDIX D-List of Casualties sustained by the Chinese
Regiment in North China, June to October 1900.
226


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
THE MEMORIAL STONE ON THE ROAD LEADING TO
THE NEW BARRACKS AT MATOU . . Frontispiece
CAPTAIN Watson's CAMP AT TSAO-MIAO-TZE : 12
MEN OF THE IST CHINESE REGIMENT IN FIELD
SERVICE ORDER . . . . . 22
THE Post OFFICE CORNER AT TIENTSIN . . 48
THE ENGINE SHED AT TIENTSIN RAILWAY STATION 80
The Post At Ho-HSI-WU, FROM THE SOUTH-EAST ..
THE POST AT HO-HSI-WU, FROM THE WEST .
THE MARKET AT HO-HSI-WU . . . .
Our STREET AT HO-HSI-WU.
. 184
LI HUNG CHANG en route to PEKING
· 196
DETACHMENT HALTED OUTSIDE TIENTSIN CITY .
PLANS
32
A SKETCH MAP OF TientsIN, IN JUNE AND JULY
1900. . . . · · ·
PLAN OF A PORTION OF THE MUD WALL AT
TIENTSIN . . . . . .
PLAN OF HO-HSI-wu . . . . .
66
120





INTRODUCTION
EVERY book, more or less, is written with an object
of some sort, and this little one is no exception
to this general rule.
So many unkind things have been said about
the Chinese regiment, by people with no know-
ledge of the matter, that it has seemed advisable
to place on record the doings of the regiment on
service, in the real hard fighting in Northern
China in 1900, as they actually occurred, in order
to show that, though a regiment in its extreme
infancy, fighting, under alien officers and for an
alien cause, against its own compatriots, its own
Emperor, and his Imperial troops, it bore its part
with the best, deserving none of the somewhat
nasty things that have been put abroad about it;
but, on the other hand, more than fulfilling the
high hopes formed of it by its officers, and by
those in high military authority who caused its
formation.
People, moreover, with memories of remarkable
brevity have, to all appearances, quite forgotten
that the regiment saw any fighting at all. The
X


INTRODUCTION
xiii
as I had, and that, in these matters, seeing is
believing.
It will be seen, from a perusal of these pages,
that, as a unit, the Chinese regiment was repre-
sented in more expeditions than any other corps.
To say nothing of the original troubles round
Wei-hai-wei, we had our part in Tientsin, the
relief of Peking, and the smaller expeditions, on
the 19th August 1900, that to Tu Liu, and the
abortive one to Peitsang. No other regiment was
represented in all these. In the Paoting-fu
expedition, it is true, we took no part, as we had
then returned to our own place, Wei-hai-wei; but •
we were, all the same, represented by Captain
Brooke, who was signalling officer to the force from
Tientsin.
Other corps, raised by our countrymen from more
or less promising material, have proved their worth
in the day of trial; but I do not believe anyone has
had to undergo its baptism of fire in conditions and
amid surroundings so hard as had the Chinese
regiment. Our officers have led aliens against
their own races often and often in our national
history, but I doubt if the circumstances were ever
before such as they were in North China in 1900.
Our enemy was no mean one; he was well armed,
well provided with artillery, and in every way our
equal, except, of course, in the important matter of


xiv
INTRODUCTION
officers. He had fanaticism, religion, and pride,
three of the strongest incentives to war, on his side,
and if he lacked patriotism, as we know it, he
possessed it, indirectly, in his hatred of, and his
contempt for, all foreigners.
The Chinese, as a soldier, has many sterling
qualities. He is very amenable to the discipline
and control of those he knows; he is stout and
well able to stand fatigue and hard work ; he is a
very good shot, taken all round; is no trouble to
feed, as he has no prejudices on the subject, except
it be in the matter of quantity; and, as I have
endeavoured to show, he is good on service, whether
on the actual field, or on those more frequent
duties of a more peaceful and less exciting nature
that fall to a soldier's lot at such times.
It may be asked how the excellence which I have
ascribed to the Chinese regiment is to be accounted
for, and here, of course, I can only give my
own opinion, which is, that the behaviour of the
men was due simply and solely to the steady drill
all the recruits had, and have, to undergo. I am
well aware that this same steady drill is regarded in
some circles as old-fashioned and out-of-date, but
without it, I am sure, no regiment of Chinese will
ever succeed, whatever may be the case with other
organisations more or less similar.
I have already referred to the assistance I have


ON ACTIVE SERVICE WITH THE
CHINESE REGIMENT
PART I
THE TROUBLES ROUND WEI-HAI-WEI
CHAPTER I
Who or what was responsible I do not consider
it within my province to inquire, or even to con-
jecture, but certain it is that early in 1900, when
all was quiet in other parts of China, the in-
habitants of our territory round Wei-hai-wei were
deeply affected with that bitter anti-foreign feeling
which, later in the year, led to the Boxer rising,
and its subsequent acts of war.
As soon as the approach of more clement weather
made such things possible-to wit, early in March
of that year-gatherings, whose sole and avowed
object was the expulsion of the British, began to
take place in two, if not three, sections of the
territory, some two or three thousand men of all
ages attending at each centre, on the average.
The local village militia, or trained bands, were


do
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
also called out, incense was burned, flags erected,
arms dug out or bought, and things began, gener-
ally, to look lively.
Rumours of these goings-on naturally reached
the ears of the authorities, and it was determined
to nip the thing in the bud. Accordingly, on
the 26th of March, information having previously
reached him, Colonel Bower struck what was prob-
ably the first blow of a long series which China
has since been dealt, to show her that the Western
barbarian has come to stay. With no hint to
anyone, the available men of the regiment, to
the number of some 420, paraded at the usual
hour, received ten rounds of ball ammunition per
man, and started out along the road to Chefoo.
At a temple, some five or six miles out, was
found a gathering of some six or seven hundred
men, who showed no signs whatever of enmity,
but allowed the regiment to march through them,
and quietly surround them. The ringleaders were
then invited to come to the front and account
for themselves. One of them requested Colonel
Bower to dismount before he deigned to enter
into conversation, but, needless to say, the Colonel
remained mounted. Some of the more truculent
members of the mob now began to shout and make
those noises peculiar to all such assemblies, and,
for a few minutes, things looked decidedly danger-


CHAPTER II
It has always struck me how providentially the
initiation of the Chinese regiment into the actual
mysteries of active service has been carried out.
We began, as has been already recounted, with
an absolutely bloodless, and almost friendly, dis-
persal of an unlawful gathering. At the time,
there was not an officer, down to the latest arrival,
who was not proud of the men, and of their be-
haviour on the occasion in question, or who was
not as sure as could be that they could be fully
relied on for sterner work, should the occasion
arise. None, however, had any idea how close was
the sterner work.
After the occurrence already related, things at
once resumed their normal state, and the drilling
of the recruit proceeded as it had done for the
last year. It is curious, however, that just about
this time (March 1900) we began to hear rumours
of probable concerted action by the Powers, owing
to the disturbed state of the country round Tientsin,
and about the middle of the following month we
had rumours that the said Powers had sent China
an ultimatum on the “ Boxer” business. It is also


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT
5
noteworthy that on Easter Saturday, April 14th,
a Chinese cruiser arrived with the Taotai for the
Wei-hai-wei Boundary Commission on board, and
fired no salute, which omission caused some com-
ment at the time.
On the 25th April the long-delayed Boundary
Commission started. It consisted of Colonel Bower,
Major Penrose, R.E., and Mr Schaller, Colonel
Bower's Chinese Secretary, on our part, and of
Taotais Li and Yen, and Captain Lin, Chinese
Navy, on the part of China. The escort was found
by No. 7 Company, under Captain Pereira, with
Lieutenant Brooke and Colour - Sergeant Brook,
and numbering some sixty men. Owing to some
appearance of hostility on the part of the in-
habitants, who had got some most extraordinary
ideas as to the true inwardness of the Commission,
No. 1 Company, under Lieutenant Toke, was sent
out on the 30th to strengthen the escort.
That same evening, when the officers were at
dinner, a message came from Major Bruce, who
was in command in the absence of the Colonel,
that he wanted to see all the officers at 9.30 P.M.
He then announced that the Boundary Commission
was in danger, and that he was going to their
assistance at once. Accordingly, at 1 A.M. the men
were roused, and at 3 A.M. Nos. 2, 4, and 5 Com-
panies, about 170 strong, started for the camp at


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Tsao-miao-tze, about eighteen miles due south.
Arriving about 9.30 A.M., we found all quiet, and
no immediate danger to be looked for. The
following morning the Boundary Commission, with
its escort further reinforced by some of No. 5
Company, moved on, No. 2 and the rest of No. 5
returned to barracks, while No. 4 remained at
Tsao-miao-tze as a sort of precaution.
It is impossible to leave this little scare without
a word as to the behaviour of the men. Roused
from their sleep at the dead of night and ordered
to march out, armed and equipped, against their
own people, by alien officers, not a murmur was
heard, and not a man was there but showed the
greatest zeal. On that long march, too, and in
all the discomforts of the bivouac at its end, their
cheerful alacrity and discipline were right good to
behold. It is impossible to imagine any troops
behaving better, and giving less trouble-in fact,
they gave none at all. This we may safely call
their second test-not a great one, perhaps, but
still a test.
Things remained in what one can best describe
as a neutral state, until Saturday the 5th May,
when, as Major Penrose, R.E., was out at work on
the boundary delimitation, accompanied by two of
his own corps, Mr Schaller, and twelve men of
the regiment, the party was suddenly attacked by


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT
7
a large crowd of Chinese, armed chiefly with
agricultural implements and stones. Major Pen-
rose was the main objective, and he was very
severely handled, especially with a bayonet,
wrested from him, and which he had taken
from one of the escort after emptying his own
revolver into the mob. Sergeant Pillay and the
other man of the Royal Engineers also put in
some good work with their pistols, while Mr
Schaller formed up the escort, and kept the
crowd off Major Penrose, who had, by that time,
fallen. Things now began to look very serious,
for the crowd, though losing rapidly, showed no
signs of giving way. Individuals, possibly imbued
with Boxer notions of invulnerability, repeatedly
tried to come to close quarters again, after once
being driven back, several with more than one
bullet in their bodies...
It should be mentioned that the attack first
took place in a dry river-bed, along which the
party was proceeding on its way back to camp.
As soon as things began to look serious they
withdrew up the hill on the right of their track,
and still maintained a running fight in the
direction of the camp, about half-a-mile off. The
Chinese had allowed for this, and a large number
now appeared above the party, and began to
throw great stones at them. Several were shot


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT
9
of the two companies, and a fresh crowd was
seen coming round the side of the hill on which
was Major Penrose's party, with the evident
intention of getting between it and the camp.
A few volleys, however, soon had the desired
effect, and it, too, dispersed. In this affair, Major
Penrose was severely wounded, Sergeant Pillay
was cut about the face, Captain Pereira was
slightly injured, and two men of No. 7 Company
were very badly knocked about with sticks and
stones. One of the latter, who belonged to the
escort, fell down off the hill to which his party
withdrew, among the mob, and, in addition to his
injuries, had his rifle and bayonet taken from
him. The Chinese left twenty dead on the field,
but it could not be ascertained how many were
wounded, though the number could not have
been few.
This attack, disastrous, as it was to its originators,
and, not impossibly, to many who had come out as
spectators and with the amiable intention of joining
in the spoiling of the “foreign devils” had they
been overcome, was the first actual occasion on
which the regiment had been “ blooded,” so to say;
and it must be admitted that their behaviour all
through was simply grand, especially that of the
escort to Major Penrose, but for whose staunchness
that officer and the other Europeans with him,


10
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
might easily have lost their lives. It is impossible
to withhold all praise from these men, or from that
brave man to whose ready bayonet Captain Pereira
possibly owes his life. No other soldiers could have
done better; many might have done worse.
It is a fortunate thing that this attack did not
take place at a greater distance from the camp, as
might easily have been the case, seeing that the
party had, at one time, been at least six miles away.
Had this been done, the party might have been
wiped out before it was even known in camp that
they were in danger. For some days, the natives
had shown an almost friendly and quite peaceful
disposition, which accounts for the smallness of the
escort, which, up till then, had consisted of an
officer and thirty men, but it is not impossible that
the Chinese had counted on this, or, at least, had
observed the diminution of the escort, and taken
advantage of it.
Whether this attack, and the general unrest in
the territory which was apparent at this time, had
any close connection with the anti-foreign rising
farther north, is a matter of doubt, and the general
consensus of opinion is that the two were quite
distinct, the fact that the local outbreak occurred
at that particular time being merely a coincidence.
This view is a good deal borne out by the most
peaceful attitude of the inhabitants later on, when
.


12
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
on the north, west, and south was covered with
Chinese, who commenced to wave their weapons
and shout. The company was about to move out
to meet the impending attack, when an old man,
apparently carrying all his worldly goods on a stick
over his shoulder, was seen running towards the
camp. He turned out to be the father of one of
the men, and he had come to warn his son that
thousands were on their way to wipe out the camp
and all in it, and that if his son had any regard for
his own skin he would get out as soon as he could.
The son replied that if there was going to be a fight
he preferred to remain where he was. The old man
continued his fight through the camp alone.
The mob was all this time closing in, so Captain
Watson moved out with half the company towards
the south-west, while Lieutenant Bray held the
rising ground above the camp on the north side.
Firing now commenced on both sides, and the
result of our men's fire was that two or three of
the mob were brought down. This caused them
some little surprise, and created some excitement,
at the same time checking the ardour of the
advance. After considering the fallen for some
time the mob came on once more, and our fire
was continued until they finally stopped, broke,
and then fled in all directions.
Their fire was more remarkable for its noise



Captain Watson's camp at Tsao-miao-tze. The attack of 6th of May 1900
was made from the hills in the background.





WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 13
than for any effect it had. Bullets, slugs, nails,
and odd bits of metal fell around in profusion,
but with no harm to any of our people. On their
right flank the mob had a wonderful piece of
ordnance, carried by several men. It made a
terrific noise and emitted an immense volume of
smoke, but no projectile ever seemed to come
out of it. If one ever did it must either have
fallen very short or gone far over the camp, most
likely the former, as nothing was ever seen or
heard of it. After about an hour of this the hills
were cleared, and the men were withdrawn into
the camp. They had hardly done so when a small
crowd was seen collecting on the south side, above
Tsao-miao-tze. Captain Watson ordered Colour-
Sergeant Purdon to fire one shot at them, as a
hint to go away. The bullet struck the ground
close to an old man, who thereupon opened an
old umbrella and made off as hard as he could,
under the impression, no doubt, that it afforded
him ample cover in case of another shot. These
misguided peasants were said to have had some
twenty men killed, and more wounded, but, as
the fallen were taken away, there was no chance
at the time to ascertain exactly what losses they
had actually sustained. On our side the losses
were nil.


CHAPTER III
It should be mentioned that on the 1st of May,
when Major Bruce proceeded to reinforce Colonel
Bower's party, a supply camp had been established
at Yang-chia-tang, in the south corner of the bay,
consisting of No. 3 Company, which had remained
there.
On Sunday morning, the 6th May, in consequence
of the attack on Major Penrose and party, No. 2
Company was ordered out to the supply camp, to
be ready to proceed inland when and where needed.
It was warned at 9 A.m., and started at 10.50, which
shows that the Chinese soldier does not take long
to get under way. Meantime came the news of the
attack on Captain Watson's camp at Tsao-miao-tze
on the same day, so this company was sent off the
following morning to either reinforce, relieve, or,
possibly, avenge No. 4, as it was quite impossible
to even conjecture what further developments might
have taken place after the first attack, no news
having been received. At the same time, No. 6
was sent out direct from Matou Barracks to reinforce
the Colonel's escort. Neither of these companies
met with any resistance, but several small gatherings
14


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 15
were seen en route, which at once dispersed, and, in
several cases, individuals and small parties were
come upon unawares, armed with sticks, iron bars,
and other seemingly unnecessary weapons. It will
be apparent, however, that the march of these small
bodies, through a country full of hostile natives, was
not without its excitements, the more so as neither
of the officers in command knew in the least what
he might be called upon to do at the end of his
journey. As it turned out, however, all was quiet
at both points. At the same time, these marches,
peaceful as they were, were still another test of
the men.
For the next day or two the interest is centred
round the camp at Tsao-miao-tze, formed of Nos. 2
and 4 Companies. It must be stated that for a
week or more the Chinese Commissioners had been
held prisoners-possibly not all unwillingly—at a
village, in Chinese territory, called Taotou, about
two miles to the south-west of Tsao-miao-tze, and
about this time the Governor of Shantung wired to
Colonel Dorward, the Commissioner, to effect their
release. On the afternoon of the 8th May, accord-
ingly, Major Bruce arrived with 100 Marines to
strengthen the two companies of the regiment, for
this purpose. Leaving the Marines in reserve on
the high ground overlooking both villages, he pro-
ceeded with the two companies to Taotou to inter-


16
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
.
U
view the prisoners and set them free. He found
them most singularly averse to availing themselves
of his kindness, although their gaolers had fled.
However, their coyness was of no avail, for they
were ordered to be ready at 10 A.M. next day, to
be conducted to Colonel Bower's camp.
The next day, accordingly, the same plan was
adopted, and this time the Taotai and his fellow-
Commissioners met the party. They were at once
handed over to No. 2 Company, Captain Barnes
having orders to conduct them to Colonel Bower's
camp, about thirteen miles away. Just at that
moment a regiment of Chinese troops was seen
approaching from the west, and, as it was uncertain
on what errand they had come, the Marines were
hurried down towards Taotou, and the Taotai and
his following in the opposite direction. However,
it was soon apparent that Colonel Wang and his men
had come, too late, to do what had just been done
viz. release the Taotai; so, after expressions of
mutual good feeling, the two forces separated,
Colonel Wang returning to Chefoo.
No. 2 left Tsao-miao-tze at 11.15 A.m., and arrived
at Colonel Bower's camp at 2.45 P.M., at which hour
the Commissioners were safely delivered over. On
the return journey, this company left at 4.40 P.M. and
reached Tsao-miao-tze at 7.30, which, considering
the distance, the hilly nature of the country, and


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 17
other circumstances, shows that the Chinese can
march, in addition to the other military attributes it is
the main object of these pages to show they possess.
After the incidents already recorded, all was
more or less peace, but still another test was to be
applied to our men. Finding, to all appearances,
that force was of no avail, the Chinese tried another
way to render the regiment at all events less of a
thorn in their sides. A proclamation was issued to
the effect that all of our men from the district, who
did not return to their homes, and leave us to our
fate, by a certain date, would have those same
homes destroyed, and their nearest relatives
punished, if not killed. To their eternal credit be
it recorded that not one man can be said to have
been enticed away on this plea, although many came
to their officers to know if they could rely on the
long arm of England seeing them righted in case
any of these threatened misfortunes overtook their
homes. So far as is known, this threat seems to
have been largely “bluff,” but anyone who knows
what a strong characteristic of the Chinese home
and paternal affection is, will realise that the test to
the men's loyalty was no mean one.
There were not a few instances of individual
loyalty, of which one or two deserve to be re-
corded. A man of No. 2 Company who was on
pass near Colonel Bower's camp, hearing that


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 19
part with the best, in the strife a few weeks
later, but it is certain that their behaviour against
their own folk about Wei-hai-wei is something to
be very proud of. It proved, beyond a doubt that
they were thoroughly to be relied on.
The newspapers were full of it all at the time,
and Sir Claude Macdonald, the British Minister at
Peking, wired to the Commissioner :—“Please con-
gratulate Colonel Bower on the splendid behaviour
of his regiment.”
Although all had now sunk into its normal state
of rural peace, and the farmers, who, not long
before, had thirsted for our blood now desired
only our hard-earned dollars, had returned to their
homes and their work on the fields, it was still con-
sidered advisable to make some display of force in
the affected regions, and so three camps were formed
round the boundary, in addition to the supply camp
already referred to, and the regiment remained out
for about a month, until the middle of June. The
Boundary Commission returned to Wei-hai-wei on
the 18th of May.
At this time the troubles farther north were be-
ginning to materialise, although out in camp we
heard but little of it all, except that ships were
constantly leaving the harbour for Taku, and that
every available Marine from the island and main-
land had been ordered north.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 21
to be ready to embark as soon as she arrived. This
party was made up as under :-
Lieut.-Colonel H. Bower in command, with
Capt. Montgomerie as Adjutant.
No. 2 Coy.—Capt. Barnes, Lieut. Layard, and
Col.-Sergt. Dunn.
No. 4 Coy.—Capt. Watson, Lieut. Bray, and
Col.-Sergt. Purdon.
No. 5 Coy.—Capt. Hill and Lieut. Fairfax.
No. 6 Coy.—Capt. Menzies, Lieut. Ollivant, and
Col.-Sergt. Whittaker.
Each company of the above finding fifty men,
more or less, according to their effective strength
of trained men.
The party reached the Orlando at 8 P.m., and left
at 5 A.m. next day. There was also on board a small
party of the Royal Engineers, who did yeoman's
work in Tientsin later on, under Captain Lee, R.E.


PART II
THE FIGHTING ROUND TIENTSIN
CHAPTER IV
It is often very hard to induce people, especially
if they belong to the Indian contingent, which,
unfortunately, arrived after all the real stiff fighting
was over, to believe that there was any fighting
worth talking about in and about Tientsin, and
harder still to get into their heads that the 1st
Chinese Regiment took any part therein. Still, a
glance at the contemporary prints of that time
will serve to prove, to the most unbelieving, that
both these statements are based on a solid founda-
tion of fact.
It is doubly unfortunate that the splendid con-
tingent that arrived subsequently from India was
not at Tientsin in the earlier days of the troubles
of that sorely-tried port, because it would have
given to Great Britain that right to speak with
decision, and to act, if need be, with independence,
which the smallness of our force denied to our
country. We were able to bear our share of all
that came along, but independent action was never
22



Men of the ist Chinese Regiment in Field Service Order.





WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 23
possible, as it was, to a certain extent, after the
troops from India arrived at Tientsin.
Let us now turn from conjecture to fact, and
follow the fortunes of the first party to leave
Wei-hai-wei, whose departure on board H.M.S.
Orlando has already been mentioned. Taku
anchorage was reached at 5 A.M., on the 22nd
June, after a somewhat uneventful voyage, which
was occupied to a certain extent by the officers
in cutting one another's hair, a luxury the con-
veniences of camp life on the boundary did not
run to, with varying success. During the short
stay of the Orlando at Chefoo, the Japanese flagship
arrived, and was received with the customary
salute, the guard and bugler being found by the
regiment, as all the Marines had been landed.
As soon as we arrived, preparations were made
to land us, and the destroyer Fame came alongside
for that purpose, and we began to load men, rations,
and ammunition into her, and into one of the
Orlando's barges. By 8 A.M. all was ready, and
we cast off. As things were a bit late, and the
tide was beginning to fall on the bar, we started
at the best speed compatible with the safety of
the barge, towing astern, for Tongku. We had
not gone far, however, when the men in the barge
began to make signals of distress, so that our
speed was very much reduced, However, when


24
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
we had got to the lightship, the barge was palpably
sinking. It was, accordingly, brought alongside
and emptied, the ammunition being added to the
things on the Fame's already crowded deck, and
the bags of flour and rice being cast into the sea.
However, we eventually arrived all correct some-
where about noon. As we were tying up at Tongku,
we had our first experience of the actual horrors
of war, in the form of three unfortunate Chinese
trying to escape from the Russians by swimming
across the Peiho. Their efforts were in vain, for
they were all shot in the water close to the farther
bank.
After some delay, owing to the difficulty of pro-
viding us with a train, we started, with a party
from H.M.S. Terrible, for the end of the railway,
near Chang-lien-cheng, about 4 P.m. There were
a few civilians, mostly connected with the railway
and the shipping, to see us off, and they promised
us a hot time on the way; but, beyond a few
scattered horsemen, who viewed us from afar off,
we saw no signs of any troops, bar a few of the
Allies, scattered along the line. Our train pro-
ceeded with a caution that spoke volumes for the
care for our safety on the part of the engineer, and
we finally arrived at the Railhead at 11 P.M., having
gone fourteen miles since 4 P.M. The country on
both sides of the line, and all about Railhead, was


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 25
quite deserted, and the whole horizon was blotted
with the smoke of burning hamlets. The Russians
got the credit for this destruction, but no one can
say whether they were maligned or not. It was
a most curious thing, and one that was always
noticeable during the advance of the Allies, both
on Tientsin and on Peking, how completely the
country people managed to disappear on these
occasions, and one could not but wonder where
they all got to, as that part of the country is, as
a rule, most densely populated. Many of the people
living between Taku and Tientsin took refuge in
junks and sampans on the Peiho, but it is a mystery
where the huge remainder went.
We got to work as soon as it was light, to unload
the train, which had to go back to Tongku to bring
up other troops, and when we were beginning,
could see the party of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers
and the Naval Brigade starting for Tientsin. Of
course, there was no help for it, so we had to
remain behind to guard the large quantity of
ammunition we had brought up, as there was
absolutely no transport of any kind to take it for-
ward. The day was spent under more or less
warlike conditions, with sentries and groups placed
at the various defensible points. There were one
or two alarms, fifteen hundred Chinese cavalry,
amongst other items, being at one time reported


26 ON ACTIVE SERVICE
to the south-west, who, however, gave us a wide
berth. In point of fact, the majority of us never
saw the shadow of an enemy, except one prisoner
who made good his escape from the Naval guard,
and caused a diversion by the number of shots fired
after him to persuade him either to stop or return
-in vain. Towards evening we heard, with great
thankfulness, that Tientsin had been relieved.
The next morning the detachment of the Hong-
Kong regiment arrived, and at noon two of their
companies, with our Nos. 2 and 4 Companies, the
whole under Colonel Bower, started for Tientsin,
escorting a naval 12-pounder gun and its ammunition.
Escorting guns very soon means dragging them,
as we have often found out, and it was so in this
case. No. 2 Company, as rearguard, had its hands
quite full with the three carts of ammunition and
odds and ends, and No. 4 had to take turns with
the four half-companies of the Hong-Kong regiment
at pulling the gun. It was a most trying march,
and only those who were present can have any idea
of the grand work our men put in. The men of
the Hong-Kong regiment, having been some days
on board ship, were in poor condition, and their
spells became shorter and shorter as the day went
on. With the best will in the world, and the
most willing spirit, their flesh was weak, and finally
the task of dragging that 12-pounder into Tientsin


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 27
fell entirely on No. 4 Company, which task, to
their eternal honour be it recorded, they right
manfully accomplished.
We passed through many deserted villages on
the way, deserted, that is, by the human inhabi-
tants only, for there were dogs there, and poultry
—some of which came along lost in wonder, to all
appearances, as to the departure of their masters.
Many, too, were the awesome sights we saw along
the river banks, whenever we struck it, and some
of them made us cease from wondering at the sleek
and contented looks of the village dogs, usually so
thin and starved. At one time, in the afternoon,
a bend in the river brought us suddenly in full
view of the tug Fa-wan feeling its way cautiously
downstream to Taku. Our appearance, where
no troops were expected, seemed to cause them
some excitement, for they stopped and cleared for
action, so far as a mere tug can perform this com-
plicated evolution. However, we met, and then
parted, both as friends.
Arriving at the outskirts of Tientsin Settlement
about 5 P.M., we came upon the Russians shelling
the Peiyang, or Eastern Arsenal, but without much
apparent effect. As we skirted their camp, much
interest was displayed by both parties, but they
carefully abstained from rendering us any assistance
in dragging our gun and carts up the steep, sandy


28
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
track from the plain, on which they were in camp,
to the railway line passing through the Mud Wall,
which seemed to be our only means of entrance
into the Settlement. The task was eventually
accomplished without their assistance, and the way
No. 4 got the gun up the railway embankment
was one of the grandest sights of the day.
By this time it was growing dark, and No. 2
Company, following the only apparent road, passed
through several villages burnt to the ground, and
eventually arrived on the enemy's side of the rail-
way station, the officer in command being brought
up short by a Russian sentry drawing a bead on him.
Fortunately, the Chinese were not then paying such
a close attention to the railway station as they did
subsequently, or things would not have been so
peaceably arranged. It was now quite apparent, in
the waning light, that the carts were on the wrong
side of the line to be quite safe, so Captain Barnes
climbed up the nearest signal-post to reconnoitre,
fortunately for him, escaping the attention of any
snipers. It being necessary to get the carts over
the six or eight pairs of rails running through the
station as soon as could be, and, as the Russians
confined their “ assisting” to the French interpreta-
tion of the word, there was no help for it but No. 2
must do the job unaided. And do it they did,
in the grandest way. Carts, rats of ponies, and all,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 29
were lifted bodily over the highest of the rails, and
dragged over the others. A large party of coolies,
piloted by Captain Burke, R.N., now arrived, and
relieved us of our charges.
As we marched through the French Concession,
almost entirely in ruins, we became aware, for the
first time, of the presence of snipers. I do not
think there is anything less agreeable than the
ordinary sniper; but when you hear him for the
first time at night, when his bullet goes “ping-
pinging” amongst telegraph lines and corrugated
iron buildings, he really has something of a romantic
touch about him. On our march through the
streets we were received with a large amount of
applause at various points, for, I fancy, the inhabi-
tants had not quite got over their joy at their first
relief, and were glad to welcome any reinforcements,
even though they belonged to the race that had
proved so bitterly hostile. The feeling against the
Chinese race as a whole was so great, as a matter
of fact, in Tientsin, that the good folk there did
not appreciate us a bit, and we even heard that
there were some who were opposed to our entry
into their sacred Settlement at all, though this does
not sound likely considering the danger the place
was in. There is little doubt, however, that much
of the totally false and unnecessary reports about
the regiment emanated from the fertile brains


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
of residents of the place, whose time during the
siege was spent mostly in cellars, for it is certain
that no one who was on the earth, and saw our
men in action, could have fathered some of the
lies that have since been written and spoken about
the Chinese regiment.


CHAPTER V
That night, and for the next few days, No. 2 was
accommodated in a godown next the Welsh Fusiliers
and men of the Barfleur, while No. 4 were put
up in a similar store on the Bund, the two having
got separated somehow in the march through the
French Settlement. The officers put up in a house
in Victoria Terrace. .
Next day, the 25th, No. 2 went on piquet duty
at the Recreation Ground and Woollen Mills, with
a company of the Hong-Kong regiment, but nothing
exciting happened that night. The following day,
owing to the number of snipers who were gradually
closing in on the defences through the villages
and ruins to the west of the Recreation Ground,
three sections of No. 2 and one half of the
company of the Hong-Kong regiment moved out
in the afternoon to drive them back, and to destroy
one or two small huts which seemed to have a
great attraction for an inordinate number of men,
who, being armed, could not have been peacefully
inclined. Quite a little battle was the result,
though no harm was done to our side, and not a
great deal to the enemy. It was just like stirring
31


32
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
up a hornet's nest, for Chinese, Boxers, and troops
seemed to crop up everywhere, and fire anywhere.
This was especially the case on the right of our
line of advance, where the French outposts on the
Taku Road were not far from the native city, and
the troops lining it and the salt heaps on their
side of the river. There, apparently, the Chinese
thought the French were leading a grand attack
against them, and vice versa, for both parties got
to work with a will, and a noise like Pandemonium
was the result. Meantime, the party which had
caused all this commotion quietly withdrew, having
effected its purpose in discouraging the snipers for
a day or two. Though the fire on them was but
ill-aimed, it was our men's baptism of fire, so to
say, under which they showed the greatest
steadiness.
This 26th June was a great day in Tientsin,
for on it Admiral Seymour's brave men returned
from their unsuccessful attempt to reach Peking.
The regiment had no hand in his relief at Hsiku
Arsenal, for, although we were warned to fall in
for this service at 11.30 P.M. on the 24th, as we
only marched in to the Settlement at 9.30 P.M.,
the authorities thought it would be trying the
men a bit high, after the great labours they had
gone through that day.
On the evening of the 26th, Colonel Dorward,





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WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 33
our Civil and Military Commissioner, who had been
appointed to command the troops in North China,
with the rank of Brigadier-General, arrived with
our No. 5 Company, under Captain Hill. At the
same time also arrived the Hong-Kong and
Singapore Artillery, under Major St John, with
which gallant band we were afterwards so closely
connected on more than one occasion. We were
very glad to see all these troops, few as they were,
as they all helped to give us a vote.
The 27th June will always be remembered by
us as the first time the regiment, more or less,
was on the field of battle. On that particular
morning the Russians, whose camp was close to
it, started out to take the big Eastern or Peiyang
Arsenal, somewhat to the dismay of some of the
residents of Tientsin, who averred that there were
enough explosives stored there to destroy the
whole of the Settlement and city if they were
let off. Two of us watched the attack from the
top of the Gordon Hall tower, and about 10 A.M.
could see that the Russians were being decidedly
worsted, for part of their line was retiring at no
mean speed, while the rest was halted. The
Chinese in the Arsenal, especially at its northern
end, seemed to have got the range of a small
hut in the plain in front of them, for every time
any of the Russians got near it a heavy fire,


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
whose bullets we could see kicking up the ground
all about the hut, broke out. It struck us, on
our tower, that reinforcements would soon be in
demand, and, sure enough, from all sides came
heated people seeking General Dorward, Colonel
Bower, and other officers.
So we all fell in, and, by great good luck, the
details of which need not be specified, we found
ourselves—that is, Colonel Bower and his adjutant,
Captain Montgomerie, No. 2 Company, with Captain
Barnes, Lieutenant Layard, and Colour-Sergeant
Dunn, No. 4 Company, with Captain Watson, Lieu-
tenant Bray, and Colour - Sergeant Purdon, and
No. 5 Company, with Captains Hill and Fairfax-on
the plain midway between the Settlement and the
Arsenal, advancing over the very ground where we
had, an hour before, seen the Russians retire, in
extended order, with the Naval Brigade, who had
gone out a good time before us, away to our front
and quite close to the enemy's position.
Very soon we could hear their cheers as they
rushed the place, and so, a further advance
seeming needless, the Colonel halted us. We had
only been halted a few minutes when, away on
our left, by the Lutai Canal, we saw a horde of
troops and Boxers pouring over the plain in the
direction of the Arsenal, with the evident in-
tention of taking our force there in rear. We


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 35
at once changed our front so as to face this new
development, and advanced, in the hopes of
coming, at any rate, within close range. Owing
to the absence of rain the plain where we were
was a regular khaki colour, which rendered us
quite invisible to the enemy, and we were all
convinced that had not a Russian company come
up on either flank of us in their white
coats and black trousers, and opened fire as
well, we should have had a pretty fight. As
it was, our fire had already had some con-
siderable effect on the enemy, the more so
as they had not the least idea whence it came, and
they seemed not at all sure what to do; for some
went on, others went back, and the rest stood still
and waved their flags. However, the advent of the
Russians gave the show away, and, for a time, we
came under a certain amount of fire, mostly over our
heads, for, beyond one man having a hole bored in
the slack of his trousers, and another one in the
heel of his boot, I heard of no casualties. Before
we had become regularly engaged, we had seen,
between us and the enemy, a dark figure approach-
ing us, waving his arms in such a way as to give
rise to the idea that he was a Boxer leader, and he
was nearly fired at for that reason. It was, however,
soon seen that he was a Marine, severely wounded
in both legs, escaping from the enemy. It appeared


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 37
for the beauty of its pure whiteness. It was soon
followed by two lesser ones, which must have done
a lot of damage among them.
Our men behaved like old soldiers on this day,
taking not the least notice of the bullets whistling
over them. The section commanders also main-
tained a perfect control over their men, and the
section volley-firing was very good, the objects being
clearly pointed out. It was very lucky for us that
the enemy brought out so many flags of so many
different colours and shapes, as these helped our
native non-commissioned officers wonderfully in
their selection of the object to aim at. We really
felt that they deserved our thanks, only that they
would not stay to receive them.
We were lucky enough to be mentioned in
General Dorward's despatch home by wire, as having
“repulsed a flank attack of Boxers, inflicting con-
siderable loss on the enemy,” which we certainly
did. Eye-witnesses on the Gordon Hall tower, who
were unable to see us on that khaki ground except
when we advanced, said that our fire knocked out
quite a number, an advantage of which the flatness
of the plain and a queer mirage, that troubled us at
times, deprived us ourselves.
On the 28th a big fire broke out in some large
stores towards the German Concession, and No. 2
Company was sent off at the double to try and


38
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
get it under. The appliances were, however, too
limited and the fire had too good a hold for their
efforts to be of much avail, so they were ordered to
procure a quantity of flour and other food stuffs out
of some bakers' shops near by, which were sub-
sequently destroyed by the same fire, palpably the
work of incendiaries. Quite a lot of valuable stuff
was saved and sent in carts to the Gordon Hall, for
the use of the women and children. I mention this
little incident (at which our men worked very hard
and successfully), because the regiment got the
credit of having set the place on fire in the first
instance-one of the uncharitable things said, and
readily believed by some, about our men. When
we heard the story we were all more amazed at
the nerve of those who started it, than anything
else, as it was our first experience of that sort of
mischief.
The remainder of the men were mostly employed
on fatigue unloading junks which the naval
authorities had collected to bring up stores, etc.,
from Taku, and which were full of salt and such
like.
The men moved into Collins & Co.'s godowns
on the Consular Road, and the officers mostly into
the Temperance Hall, on the corner of the Taku
road. General Dorward and his staff also took up
their quarters in the same building, and continued


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 39
to mess with us. The Hong-Kong gunners and the
officers of the Hong-Kong regiment were also in the
building, the General's idea being to get us all
together near that portion of the defences allotted
to his command, the Welsh Fusiliers being a little
farther east along the Taku road.
This fatigue work continued for the next two
days, unloading junks being alternated with collect-
ing coal across the river and bringing it over, not a
pleasant job, owing to the number of corpses in the
water, and to the fact that the coal-yard was much
favoured by snipers. No. 4 Company was sent down
the river on the 30th to Railhead Camp to help at
loading stores on lighters, returning on the 3rd
of July.


CHAPTER VI
The closing in of the snipers once more among the
ruins west of the Recreation Ground gave rise
to the idea that the enemy were pushing their
investing lines too close in that direction. A mixed
force, under Colonel Bower, was therefore sent out
on the 1st July to see what was going on, and to
drive back the bold, bad men. This force consisted
of two 2.5-inch guns of the Hong-Kong Artillery,
and the following, given in the order in which they
subsequently advanced, taken from right (the
Taku road side) to left : 50 Japanese Infantry, No.
2 Company, 50 men of the Hong-Kong regiment,
and 50 American Marines, with 100 of the Welsh
Fusiliers as a general reserve. We were extended
in the above order from the Taku road to the Mud
Wall, and advanced, clearing the houses of the
desperadoes there, who scuttled off like rabbits, not
a few being brought down. We went on like this
for, possibly, 500 yards, when we were brought up
against a regular little fort, which consisted of four
parallel rows of well-built brick houses, with the
openings at each end barricaded so as to form one
square work. This was stormed in great style by


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 41
Lieutenant Layard, at the head of his half-company,
he bayoneting two men in the assault. The other
half - company, under Colour - Sergeant Dunn, re-
mained on one flank, covering the assault, and
giving the enemy a hot fire as they retired.
While this was going on I was more or less
between the two half-companies, attended by the
faithful Liu, my interpreter, and my bugler, Li
ping chen, both lads of under eighteen. We
apparently attracted the attention of a man about
300 yards off, armed with a large bore weapon of
sorts, which fired evil-sounding slugs, with smoky
powder. We could see the smoke of his gun,
then hear the report, and presently the missile
came “bizz-bizz-bizzing” towards us. He was no
mean marksman, for all his old-fashioned gun, for
he sent half-a-dozen shots very adjacent to us, one
in particular passing between Liu and me. I said
to him: “This does not seem to be a very good
place we have selected,” but he merely answered:
“ No, sir,” with a smile, being quite unmoved by
the danger. The bugler, on his part, was trying
to pick off our friend. I mention this incident
merely as an instance of the cold blooded courage
of our men.
We now proceeded to set this abode of snipers
on fire, as it was full of ammunition we could not
possibly remove, and which rattled right merrily


42
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
when the place was well alight. The “Retire”
now sounded with a frequency that betokened some
urgency, so Lieutenant Layard drew off his half-
company, under cover of the fire of that of Colour-
Sergeant Dunn, into the shelter of a row of houses
in ruins, that had formed the side of a road at
right angles to our line of advance, I remaining
behind at the opening to cover, in turn, with
six men, the retirement of the Colour-Sergeant's
lot. By this time things were getting very lively,
for the Chinese had re-occupied the unburnt part
of their fort and the adjacent houses, and were
pouring in a hot fire on us from a very close range.
It was then that I saw one of the most daring
things it has ever been my lot to witness. The
Colour-Sergeant's men were in and among a lot
of grave mounds about fifty yards to my front,
when suddenly on one of the mounds there upstood
one of the men, Wang kwo hsing by name, loading
and firing as coolly as if on the range, whenever
he saw a chance. How he escaped being shot
through and through is a marvel, but he did.
In fact, strange as it may seem, we had not a man
hit, a bit of luck that I ascribe entirely to the
closeness of the enemy. This may seem a little
too tall, but it is a well-known fact that in most
of the fighting at that time the men in the firing
line were never hit, while those in the reserves,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 43
and beyond, lost most; and rifles picked up on the
field were always found with the back-sights as
high as they would go. I am, personally, of
opinion that these Boxers fancied that the higher
you put the sight the harder the bullet went,
and so, with the amiable intention of doing us the
maximum amount of injury, always kept them at
the top.
It appears that the party of the Hong-Kong
regiment, which was on our left and left rear,
found itself hard pressed, and the officer in com-
mand sent two messages to this effect to Colonel
Bower, who, thereupon, sent back to the General
for assistance, his whole force being by this time
engaged all along the line, in case the enemy,
emboldened by our retirement, should follow us
in such force as to threaten the Settlement, for
there were lots of them there by this time. Ac-
cordingly, other troops were hurried out, but
Colonel Bower's party had been withdrawn and
the Chinese showed no signs of coming on. Among
the troops that turned out to rescue us was No.
7 Company, which, with Major Bruce, Captain
Pereira, Lieutenant Brooke, and Colour - Sergeant
Brook had just arrived from Wei-hai-wei, and
which, with No. 5, extended outside the defences
to cover our retirement.
On this occasion, in one of the hardest tests


44
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
that a soldier can be put to-namely, retiring under
fire—the men, one and all, showed the most per-
fect courage, moving as steadily as though they were
on the hills round the barracks at Matou. There was
no sign of haste to get away, and never the least
confusion, the orders being obeyed with absolute
discipline. Far from showing any desire to retire
(the boot was on the other leg rather), they
did not at all see that it was necessary to retire,
and would have preferred to stay where they were,
and make the Boxers go. The Hong-Kong regi-
ment had two killed and three wounded.


CHAPTER VII
For the next day or two we were kept pretty
hard at work on fatigues of various sorts, among
them being the strengthening of our part of the
defences by means of a line of trenches connecting
the Mud Wall with the Taku road. This line was
never actually finished, as Tientsin city was taken
before this could be done, for our force was so
small that it was very hard to find men for the
various duties, and fatigues naturally came after
them.
About this time an order was issued that one-half
of each unit was to sleep with equipment on, all
ready to turn out at a moment’s notice. This was
a good thing, for on the 2nd there were two very
determined attacks on the railway station at night,
in consequence of which everyone was turned out
twice, and most of them only succeeded in getting
in one another's way, as is so apt to be the case
when a lot of people turn out suddenly in the dark
and the rain, and all want to do something, or to
know something.
It must be clearly understood that all this time
we were being subjected to a shell fire from the
45


46
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
city and forts round it, which increased very much
in severity as time went on and the enemy got
up more guns from Lutai and other places. For
some reason these attentions were not responded
to until the 6th July, although we had eleven guns
of sorts. At the time we used to hear that our
abstinence from what seemed to the ordinary run
of us only our just dues, was at the request of the
merchants of Tientsin, who realised the vast losses
that would accrue to them if much damage was
done, and this story may or may not be true.
Any way, we were all delighted when we heard,
on the morning of the 6th aforesaid, that the native
city was to be shelled that afternoon, for our guns
had hitherto confined their attentions to the Hai-
kwan-ssu, or Western Arsenal, and to any stray
bodies who appeared outside the city. At 2 P.M.,
accordingly, the first bombardment of the city
began, the following guns taking part: naval guns,
two 12-pounders, two 9-pounders, and one 6-
pounder; two Krupp guns captured at the Taku
Forts, and worked by men of the Royal Marines ;
four 2.5-inch muzzle-loading, smoky powder-guns
of the Hong-Kong Artillery, and a Japanese moun-
tain battery of smoky powder pop-guns, very handy
to move about, but of medium range only. This
formidable battery, then, began the attempt to
reduce Tientsin to civility, those guns that could


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 47
carry as far being directed at the Viceroy's Yamen,
and the fort near it, while the others were content
with the pagodas and things on and near the
city walls. The immediate effect of this fire was
to make the enemy leave off, although only for
a time.
I must, however, not run on too fast, but must
take things as they came along. On the 3rd July
we were treated to a very heavy shell fire, which
was directed mainly at the house where Admiral
Seymour was, and at the Temperance Hall, where
General Dorward and all of us lived. A small
shell burst in the room next to mine, which was
occupied by three officers of the regiment. For-
tunately, no one was in it at the time, for it made
most awful havoc, and would have knocked a man
to pieces, had there been one there.
We began the 4th of July at digging more
trenches, but in the afternoon various signs of
an impending attack of some size made us ex-
change the shovel for the rifle. It is safe to
say that on this occasion the Settlement was
attacked with vigour, from that part of the Mud
Wall where the naval guns were to the railway
station, the attack being everywhere repulsed.
We were ordered down to the station to re-
inforce the garrison there, which was being rather
roughly handled. On the same errand went a


48
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
number of bluejackets, who arrived a little before
us. We doubled through the French Concession,
up one road and down another, with the bullets,
which were all coming over the station, whistling
their vicious note over our heads as we ran. To
add to these pleasantries, it began to rain in
torrents, so thick, in fact, that we could only see
a short way in front. At most of the corners as
we went along, we came upon small parties of
French Marines from Tonkin, who had evidently
stopped to rest awhile on their way to reinforce
their comrades at the station, some of whom
would rise up and come on with us. My com-
pany being in front, I had hard work to keep
the Colonel, who was leading, in sight, as well
as an eye on my men to see that they did not
take a wrong turning, as few of them knew more
about the place than I did. Eventually we reached
the station, and here the din was appalling. Rifles
incessantly crackling all round, bullets pattering
on the corrugated iron or singing away over the
Settlement, and a perfect deluge of rain falling
impartially on the lot, made a combination of
noise that was bewildering, to say the least of it.
Some of the leading companies formed up behind
a brick wall, with a number of officers and men
of the Centurion, while the rest lay down behind
and under some trucks in rear of the station



The Post Office corner at Tientsin during the siege.





WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 49
buildings. The infantry attack had now been
beaten off, and, beyond their still heavy fire, we
could see no trace of the enemy. They were not,
however, going to let us down so easily, for as
soon as their foot-men had drawn off, and know-
ing full well that the station buildings were full
of troops, they started a very hot shell fire on
them and on the Bridge-of-Boats over the Peiho,
from no less than eleven guns, five of which at
what was called the Tree Battery, being not more
than 1800 or 2000 yards away to the north-east.
Having the range of the station to a yard, they
pitched shell after shell all about us, with an
occasional shrapnel over the bridge. They put
ten shots, in rapid succession, round the naval
maxim and knocked it out, which, as it was firing
black powder, is not to be wondered at. We
had an example of the surprising lack of effect
that attends even the best aimed shell fire, as
this was; for, during it all, we had only one
man hit, Bugler Li ping chen, who was hit in
the thigh by a fragment of a shell. The other
parties had a certain amount of casualties, but,
as far as one could see, they were mostly from
rifle fire. It was a merciful thing that a shell
did not strike that thin brick wall, for behind
it were men, bluejackets and our men, in some
places five or six deep. The behaviour of our
וס


50
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
men under these most trying conditions was
perfect, and, far from being “shaken” by the fire,
they seemed to regard it with indifference. I
saw one shell burst in some lime only a few feet
from the left of No. 4 Company, which was lying
down behind the row of trucks. It covered the
men about there with lime, which they appeared to
look on as an immense joke, judging from the shouts
of laughter which arose from them. After an hour
and a half of this, we received orders to return
to the Settlement, which we were not loth to
do, being wet to the skin. The enemy seemed
to get wind of our move as soon as we did, for
they burst a number of shell over the bridge,
one of which took off a large portion of the fore-
arm of a man of No. 2, just on the border of
the French Concession. The poor chap afterwards
died. Another man of No. 7 was shot through
the leg, whilst crossing the bridge, by an ever-ready
sniper. It will be seen that this day, though
without any very tangible results, let us see our
men under shell fire, and I am sure none of us
were disappointed at their behaviour under the
trying conditions of being unable to make any
reply at all, effective or otherwise.
The following morning General Dorward, accom-
panied by Colonel Bower and Major Bruce, visited
the station and its environs on a tour of inspection,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 51
being escorted by No. 2 Company. While they
were out to the front looking over the ground, we
were left behind another wall not much thicker than
our friend of the previous day, as the enemy's shell-
fire was being continued unabated. Beyond showing
a wise and natural preference for the thicker parts
of the wall, the men seemed to regard the fire with
the same indifference as before, except that, the day
being fine, they were more cheerful.
That same evening thirty men of the same com-
pany escorted the Admiral on a similar errand, being
in charge of Lieutenant Layard. Beyond these
little expeditions, and the usual shelling, there
was no incident of any particular moment that
day as far as we were concerned; but the enemy
placed two large guns in the Hai-kwan-ssu Arsenal,
with which they enfiladed our naval guns on the
Mud Wall, and a brisk duel ensued, the Chinese
after an hour or so retiring.
I have already referred to the bombardment of
the city on the 6th, and, beyond mentioning that
three Marines were injured by a premature burst
of a shell fired from one of the captured Krupps,
I need say no more about that part of the day's
proceedings.
We were very heavily shelled, and no less than
six different sorts of shells struck the Temperance
Hall, where the General and the rest of us lived, in


52
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
about ten minutes, clearly proving that the Chinese
spies had given us away. Two shells, fortunately
both “blind,” passed through the table where the
Royal Artillery officers were at lunch, without hurt-
ing anyone. They ceased lunching. Ashrapnel
burst in the main entrance hall, making a great
mess, but hurting no one. The next was not so
kind, for, passing through in the same flight, it
burst in the yard behind, and wounded Lieutenant
Browne, R.E., who was passing, in three or four
places, one in the sole of his foot being the most
troublesome. A big yellow bath, which was also
in the way, presented a curious sight when the
bullets had done with it, being more like a sieve
than its own more useful self.
Two of us had gone up to the Gordon Hall tower
to see the fun, and found there a Frenchman and a
Russian with the same object. We were enjoying
the view, when a shell from the “ Empress Dowager,”
as the big gun near the Yamen was affectionately
termed, came screeching over our heads at no great
distance and burst in the Victoria Road, about a
hundred yards behind. One of our foreign friends
remembered a very pressing engagement below, and
the other, after a second shell, had a similar recol-
lection. A third, in the same place, made us glad
enough to get out too, and, as we were descending,
a fourth struck the German Club to our right front.


CHAPTER VIII
ABOUT noon, on this same day, a mixed force, con-
sisting of Nos. 2, 5, and 7 Companies, four officers
and 100 men of the Royal Navy, and two officers
and 100 men of the American Marine Corps, the
whole under the command of Major Bruce, made a
reconnaissance westwards along the Taku road,
through the French Concession towards the river.
The object of the movement was to locate, and
silence, if possible, one or two Chinese guns which
had taken up a position in that direction, and were
causing us no little annoyance. Soon after passing
the last French barricade the advance party, with
whom was Major Bruce, became engaged, and
pushing on up to where the road debouches on to
the river, took up a position to cover the advance
of the remainder of the force. Parties, both of
our men and of bluejackets, continued the advance
under a heavy fire from the salt heaps across the
river, beyond the open river bank to some ruined
houses farther along. From this spot the enemy's
gun could be clearly seen, and was found, unfor-
tunately, to be on a spit of land across the river.
A brisk fire from each side went on for some time;
53


54
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
but, as the gun could not be damaged without
artillery, our troops were gradually withdrawn, a
movement which was carried out with steadiness.
In the afternoon Major Bruce, having been given
a naval 9-pounder gun, decided to renew the
attempt, accompanied by a somewhat smaller force
of infantry. It became apparent, shortly after
passing the French lines, that the enemy had made
additional preparations to dispute these attentions.
The advance party, under Captain Fairfax, was
again exposed to a heavy fire, which was much
more concentrated, sweeping down the only road
by which the gun could be brought up. Neverthe-
less, the force pushed on, taking advantage of what
little cover was afforded by the ruined and burnt-
out mud walls on either side of the road, until the
open space by the river bank was again reached.
Here the order was given for the gun to come
into action, Captains Hill, Fairfax, and Lieutenant
Brooke, with some men of the regiment, covering
the movement with their fire from a low parapet
along the river bank. Twice the gun's crew
endeavoured to come into action, and both times
were they driven back by the intensity of the
heavy fire poured in upon them at close range. In
addition to rifle fire, the enemy were also bursting
shrapnel all round the party, and the fire became
so murderous that there was no alternative but to



WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 55
withdraw the gun. This proved to be a very hard
task. The enemy had by this time come much
closer, and as soon as the gun's crew attempted
to hook on the drag-ropes and turn the gun, they
were met by such a concentrated fire that they were
driven back. However, you can trust the British
sailor to do what he starts out to do, and, in spite
of the heavy fire, the gun was eventually got under
cover and withdrawn. The solid pluck required to
face that fire in a great clump is only typical of the
British “Blue.”
The troops had now drawn off, except five or six
of our men, who, with Major Bruce, Captain Hill,
and Lieutenant Brooke, remained to cover the
retirement to the end. Owing to the nature of
the ground, which was covered with a mass of
burnt-out ruins, communication was very hard, and
some of the advance party, under Captain Fairfax,
became detached, but were soon found by Major
Bruce and Captain Hill, who at once went in
search of them. As they were rejoining the rest,
Captain Hill had a very narrow escape. A shell
burst, seemingly, just over his head. One of our
men, who was nearly touching him, was killed, and
another badly hit. Almost immediately after this,
as the retirement continued, Major Bruce received
a bullet through his helmet, and then one through
his body, it passing through his liver. The retire-


56
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
ment was concluded in good order, the Chinese
following it up almost to the French barricade.
Our men behaved exceedingly well under the
most trying ordeal to which they were exposed.
The losses sustained on this occasion were very
heavy. As we have seen, Major Bruce was severely
wounded, while two of our men were killed and
five wounded. The Naval Brigade also suffered
severely, Midshipman F. Esdaile, of H.M.S.
Barfleur, being mortally wounded, and four men,
more or less severely.


CHAPTER IX
It will excite no wonder in anyone's mind to be
told that the next day, the 7th July, we all left
the Temperance Hall for more retired quarters.
The officers of the regiment went partly into
the house of a Mr Emens, on Consular Road, and
partly into the house of Mr W. W. Dickinson, of
Collins & Co., whose house adjoined the godowns
of that firm in which our men were already quartered.
It is hard at this distance of time to appreciate the
change it was for us, from the mere empty squalor
of our previous surroundings to the luxury of our
new abode. In the former our comforts had been
non-existent, for we had nothing but the hasty
campaign kit we had arrived with; our food had
been of the least inviting: cold bully beef for
breakfast, stewed ditto for lunch, and curried ditto
for dinner, having been the daily menu, shared, as I
have said, by the General and his staff. Now we
rejoiced in all the comforts of a home, chairs, tables,
table-linen, and, best of all, a good cook and a conse-
quent variety of food. The General moved into the
house of Mr Cousens, of Jardine, Matheson & Co.
The shelling of the city was continued, and the
57


58
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
enemy replied with some success. One shell
entered the barracks of the men of the Centurion,
killing two and wounding three. In the afternoon
the enemy broke out in a new place, by opening
fire from four guns to the south-west of our guns
on the Mud Wall, which were thus under fire from
no less than three sides. These guns were after-
wards captured, as will be seen, on the 9th July.
Captain Dent, Lieutenants Toke and Johnson,
with Nos. 1 and 3, the remaining companies of
the regiment, arrived this day from Wei-hai-wei.
We had, that evening, an example of the excel-
lence of the Chinese Intelligence Department. The
house of Mr Dickinson had not, up to date, been
hit at all; but that evening, when we were at
dinner, a shell burst in the verandah of the dining-
room. It luckily did little harm, though a segment
of it grazed the top of my head. Shortly after,
another came into the bathroom of the room above
the dining-room, but did not burst. I am convinced
they both came from our friends we had essayed
to silence the day before. About the same time,
Mr Cousens, into whose house General Dorward
had moved, was hit in the leg by a sniper, while
he was in bed. The sniper, as many were, was
said to be in the Settlement. In fact, the whole
place was said to be full of spies, who alternated
that useful accomplishment with the more incon-


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 59
venient one of sniping. Anyhow, one could hear
the five shots of a Mannlicher at regular intervals,
certainly not outside the Settlement. I never heard
definitely that any were caught, for they seemed to
be mostly in the French Concession, where none of
us could seek them; but there was a story of two
“middies” catching two lying on a house-top, with
rifles and ammunition beside them, but I never
heard the story verified.
On the 8th July the situation had become rather
serious, for, as we have seen, the enemy had got
almost behind our guns on the Mud Wall, making
their position almost untenable. The Chinese
position at this time stretched, in a rough semi-
circle, from where the Lutai Canal passes through
the Mud Wall on the north-east to the ruins of
Mr J. Dickinson's and Mr Detring's houses near the
racecourse, about 2000 yards south-south-west of the
naval guns on the Mud Wall, the said semicircle
having the Settlement for its centre. Making the
most of their advantages, at daylight they opened
fire from all points, and the duel lasted till noon.
At 2 P.M., the Japanese guns having reinforced ours,
the shelling began again, the Chinese often lying
low when our fire was hottest only to start again
with renewed vigour as soon as there was a lull on
our side. This was one of the warmest days we
had had, and I counted, in the afternoon, no less


60
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
than thirty-nine shells from the “ Empress Dowager”
pass or burst over our house in half-an-hour, when
I happened to have the time and inclination to
count. How many passed in the aggregate, who
shall say ?


CHAPTER X
All this made it apparent that something had got
to be done to check the undue forwardness of the
Chinese, so at 3 A.M. on the 9th, a force of 1000
Japanese, 950 British, 400 Russians, and 200
American Marines, set out down the Taku road
so as to get well to the south-west of the enemy's
right, and thus roll them up. I have no intention of
describing this battle, except so far as it concerned
us, especially as the official account will be found
further along
We found two companies : Nos. 2 and 3, under
Captain Barnes, with Captain Dent, Lieutenants
Layard and Johnson, and Colour-Sergeants Young
and Dunn. The rendezvous was the Taku road,
just inside the gate, and while we were waiting
there, the Chinese, who doubtless knew all about
our movements as soon as we did, opened on us
with shell, without much effect, so far as one could
see. In a short time we were under way, and as
we passed the General, he said : “ You go as escort
to the Hong-Kong Artillery and lend them a hand
when necessary.” We therefore joined ourselves to
61


62
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
them, and in a short time they came into action to
cover the advance of the infantry. I have said
before that you are least safe at the longer ranges
in China, and we found it so this day, for bullets
came pretty thick round us, which were palpably
aimed at the attacking line of infantry, one grazing
the top of my helmet, while a man away behind us,
with the water carts, etc., was killed. After a while
we went on, and as the few gunners allotted to each
gun were getting rather done up, and as the ground
was very heavy owing to the recent rains, we had
to put some men on each gun to help. In this
way we passed through the ruins of the two houses
above mentioned, the whole ground giving evidence
of a hasty flight on the part of the Chinese. Here
we saw the four guns that all the trouble was about,
in the hands of the Japanese, and being turned on
their former owners. Away to the left the same
little men were having a lively battle of their own,
some of the spare bullets coming our way. A
civilian was walking with me leading a pony, when
it was hit in the neck, from this lesser battle, which
seemed at least two miles off. About now the
Japanese gave us a fine show in the form of a
cavalry charge among the fleeing enemy, in which
they claimed to have killed a hundred or so. They
made two other charges, one quite at the end of the
battle, when they caught some 500 of the enemy in


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 63
a village almost due west of the Hai-kwan-ssu, and
killed nearly the whole lot.
Meantime we were delayed in our advance while
the Japanese Engineers made a bridge for us to
cross a stream. Our guns were, nevertheless, in
action now against the Arsenal, and, for all their
smokiness and general unwieldiness, they were the
only ones that were able to reach it. Those of the
Japanese, which were as handy and as quick coming
into action as could be, were unable to reach as far.
At this time two or three little smoky guns of
the Chinese took a turn at us, from a range of
some 3000 yards. They had the range very well,
which, after all, is not surprising considering the
smoke we made, and burst shells all around us.
It was a curious experience. We could see the
flash, and the cloud of smoke; a few seconds later
the report would reach us, and later on still we
would hear the missile come “buzz, buzz, buzz”
towards us, so slowly that we could almost see
it, for we must have been almost at the extreme
limit of those little pop-guns. We saw one burst
quite close to a Japanese soldier, who was holding
one of their ammunition ponies, passing apparently
under the pony's head. As far as we could see
neither was hurt at all, and the plucky little man
simply brushed the dust off his coat in the coolest
way possible.


64
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
The necessary bridge having been made we went
on a little, and came into action once more a bit
nearer the Arsenal, the same little guns seeking
us out again, though without any damage being
done. The Japanese cavalry had in the mean-
time got round where our small friends were, which
gave them something else to think about; but
whether they were captured, or got away, we never
knew.
We had been having some stout pulling up to
this point, but we had a stiff job from here to the
Arsenal. I ought to mention that by this time
the enemy had had enough of it, and had cleared
out of the Arsenal, which had been occupied
at once by a party of American and Japanese
Marines, who had gone along the Mud Wall
while we were shelling the place from the
south. The course being therefore clear, a general
advance was made. The ground it was our luck
to strike, was a regular quagmire, being ploughed
fields saturated with rain, and, in some places,
under water. However, the guns had got to go
the same as anyone else, so we set about it. Any-
one who has ever seen one of these 2.5-inch
M.-L. guns on its three-foot-nothing wheels will
readily realise how soon it gets clogged up with
dirt, especially when it sinks a foot or more into
it. For half-a-mile or so we struggled along


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 65
through this Slough of Despond, things becoming
worse every minute, till at last every available
man had to be put on to each gun in turn. We
finally got on to the road leading north through
the Arsenal to the south gate of the city, when
things were better, although the mass of mud on
the gun-wheels made our progress very slow and
hard. All the same, we got to the Arsenal in
time to get two of our four charges in position to
shell the city, which was not slow to respond. In
fact, we again very soon heard the well-known
scream of the shells of our old friend the “Empress
Dowager," which naturally had the range to a
yard. We had at one time considered whether we
should hold this position in the Arsenal; in fact,
Colonel Bower, who had come into the place with
the Americans, went back to send out two more
of our companies to relieve us; but it was not
thought worth while, owing to the dilapidated
state of the buildings, so the order came for
us all to go back to the Settlement, after we
had fired all the still tenable buildings.
It must be understood that on the far side of the
Mud Wall there is a sort of moat or canal, and
between the two a path, mostly on a slope of about
forty-five degrees, about 3 feet wide in its widest
parts. Along this fine coach road imagine
some 2500 men, of various nationalities and arms,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 67
in addition to rifle fire, brought guns to bear on it
to such an extent that it was dangerous in the
extreme to even rush over it, much more to stand
about on it and pull, as our men and the gunners
had to do. The men could hear the firing and
see the bullets fall into the water the same as
we could ; but there was never a waver nor a
moment of hesitation as each lot went up and
over. If, after seeing this, anyone says the Chinese
are not as brave as the next men, he is referred to
the officers of the Hong-Kong artillery, who were
present. Of their own Sikhs it is needless to speak,
for no one ever questions their bravery ; but our
men did the same, and did it as well as they did,
to their honour be it recorded.
Among all the Sadducees, and such like, that
passed us by on the other side, we had, however,
one friend, and that was Major Waller and his
stout American Marines. He saw the difficulty,
and lining his men up along the wall beyond the
bridge, he opened such a heavy fire on the enemy,
who were on the city wall, and south of it, whenever
he saw a gun or limber about to make the crossing,
that the fire, at those anxious moments, was materi-
ally kept down. His practical action, no doubt,
saved some lives on our side, and was, therefore,
brought to the notice of Colonel Bower, who wrote
to thank him. Major Waller's reply was as nice


68
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
and as practical as his action had been. He said
that he and all his Marines desired to regard the
Queen's subjects, of all colours, as comrades, a
feeling, one may be sure, we all most heartily
reciprocated.
This formidable obstacle having been got over,
the men were lined up on the Mud Wall among
the Americans, from which position they had a
chance to get some of their own back. Whether
they hit anyone is open to conjecture, but at any
rate they thought they did, and after the pound-
ing they had had lately, it was as well to let them
believe so.
Our troubles were by no means ended yet, for
we had still a mile or more of this sloping path
to get over, to say nothing of the pull through
the Settlement to the artillery barracks,—another
mile at least. It is not too much to say that
the heat and labour of the day had by this time
quite knocked out the ridiculously small gun-
teams of Indian soldiers, so that our men had to
bring the guns in themselves, more or less
unaided. Luckily, as we saw at our first
arrival at Tientsin, the Celestial is a stout fellow,
and so was able to compete at a task that few
others could have taken on in that trying heat,
landing the guns, to the eternal gratitude of the
officers, at the Royal Artillery barracks. Major St


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 69
John, the Commander, Royal Artillery, took the
opportunity of writing a very nice letter to Colonel
Bower on the subject, wherein he said many nice
things, which, after all, he need not have done,
as we merely obeyed orders, unless he had been
convinced that our men's work fully deserved it.
The illustrated papers at home, or rather, the
Graphic and Daily Graphic, gave vivid illustrations
of the scene crossing that bridge with the guns,
which were wonderfully accurate as regards local
colour and surroundings; but, unluckily, put all
the soldiers in as Indians, whereas, as has been
said here, and as they themselves had it in their
letterpress, our men more than lent a hand. No
doubt it was thought that an Indian soldier, a
more or less familiar feature in modern illustrated
journalism, would look far more true to nature,
and would be far more taking to the public eye
than an unknown quantity like a man of the
Chinese regiment.
It was curious that in all that hot fire on the
bridge they only managed to hit two men of
our party, and they were two Chinese who were
carrying a stretcher, one of whom was killed and
the other very badly wounded. Besides these,
one man of No. 2 was hit in the stomach by
either a shell or a fragment of stone, while we
were in the Arsenal. He was really saved from


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
a more severe wound by a dollar piece which he
had in his pocket, and which was bent entirely
out of shape.
This battle, important as it was in its results
to us, was more of a spectacle than a hard fight.
In fact, it was just like a very stiff field-day, with
bullets and shell thrown in. There was the regular
good old artillery duel, the main infantry advance,
the flank attack, the cavalry charge, all, of course,
on a large scale, and repeated more than once,
and, finally, the race home to dinner, in which,
as I have tried to hint, we were a very easy
last.
General Dorward wrote: “13. The most arduous
work of the day was done by the Chinese regiment,
who, as escort to the guns, worked indefatigably
in getting them over broken and swampy country.”
It was a great day for us, showing as it did,
how our men combine solid pluck with solid en-
durance under most trying circumstances.


CHAPTER XI
The treatment they had received had the effect of
keeping our friends the enemy very quiet the next
day, for they left us in peace, though some stir was
seen about the Hai-kwan-ssu, as if they had some
new card up their sleeve.
There was an order for an attack on the city from
the Russian side on the 11th, and about 1 A.M. the
troops, including two of our companies, began to get
under way. They only got as far as the Russian
camp, however, when the Russians, having kept
them waiting ever so long, said that as they could
not get their pontoons, which were to carry the
Allies over the Lutai Canal, or the carts intended
for the job, the expedition must be off. We so
often hear how foolish we are at the game of war,
but I am very sure no British officer would ever
make such an error as this. However, there was no
help for it, and everyone came sadly back. The
Chinese, as usual, had full information of this move,
but not of its postponement, so at 3 A.M. on the 12th,
they made their most determined attack on the
station, as well as on the western defences.
At this time there was an order that the garrison


72 ON ACTIVE SERVICE
orderly officer was to sleep in the Temperance
Hall (condemned as a health resort, as has been
said), with orders to use his discretion as to
having the barricades reinforced, should a more
than usually vigorous attack be made. It
happened that on this night the duty fell to my
lot, and when I arrived there about 10 P.M. one of
the two sailors, who manned the 9-pounder gun
there, came to me in some anxiety and said that
the usual piquet had been withdrawn, and that
only he and his mate were there to guard this point.
To save trouble, I went and got out a corporal and
six men of my company, to find a sentry on each
barricade.
- About 3 A.M. I was awakened by the most
diabolical noise of the firing of every imaginable sort
of firearm, fire-cracker, and cannon, and so got out into
the street as soon as I could. It was lucky I did,
for I had hardly done so, when a shell came in and
burst not two yards from the sofa I had been lying
on. I found the two sailors and my own men
already in position behind the outer barricade, and
so, having sent two men to watch the Taku road
one, I waited developments. Nor had I long to
tarry. In a few minutes the shells began to hum
about us, crashing into the Temperance Hall and
the high houses south of it with a frequency that
was disconcerting. Very soon, too, from the west


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 78
and west-south-west came a hail of bullets, and we
could see the flashes of the rifles among the ruins
out that way, coming nearer and nearer in a way
that betokened a more than ordinary attack or
demonstration. On they came closer and closer,
while the bullets whistled and the shells shrieked
and hummed overhead. There is no more ghastly
sound than a shell, which has lost its fuse, makes as
it goes singing and whirling through the air above
you, and quite a number seemed to suffer that way
this night. Things were getting to look serious; in
fact, the head sailor had just said: “They seem to be
getting a bit too close,” when round the corner to
our left rear, or south-east of us, we heard the
welcome rattle of the maxim ; while a few minutes
later another arrived, under Lieutenant Lewis, at
our very barricade. A little of this soon persuaded
the Chinese to go away, and they drifted off towards
the French lines on the Taku road, where they
seemed to get another warm reception. It will be
readily seen that we were glad to see and hear our
old friends the maxims, which we had no idea were
anywhere near us, as they had gone off in the night
across the river to the Russian camp, only to return,
with the remainder of the force, as has been related,
the expedition being off. They came at just the
right time, for, although reinforcements in the shape
of some fifty men of the Royal Engineers and our


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
own men, were either close at hand or on the way,
the barricade was so short that only fifteen or twenty
rifles could be used at once, and a maxim was just
the thing.
That corporal and those six men behaved
with the greatest coolness and courage, never
showing the least sign of Alinching, but fired
away at the flashes as calmly as the two blue-
jackets with them; and the place was not far
removed from being a “tight" one.
This was a great day all over our defences, for it
is plain that the enemy, counting on most of the
force being out of the Settlement, had determined
on a finishing stroke. At the station many of them
actually got into the trucks in rear of the main
defence line and were only ejected at the point of
the bayonet by the men of the Hong-Kong regiment,
who behaved with a courage that elicited great praise
from the foreign officers there.
To make matters a little more even the city
was very heavily shelled at 1 P.M., a new element
being introduced on our side by a 4-inch gun
from H.M.S. Algerine, which, posted at the south
end of Meadows Road, about 500 or 600 yards
behind the other guns, fired Lyddite shells for
the first time, with considerable effect, if the dust
and smoke that resulted, went for anything. The
Chinese reply was rather feeble.


CHAPTER XII
Besides the guns on the Mud Wall we had mounted
another 4-inch and a 12-pounder behind the raised
road leading to the Peiyang or Eastern Arsenal,
so that our artillery was more than a match for
that of the enemy. It was therefore decided
that the time had come for the city to be taken,
the first step towards relieving the Europeans
besieged in Peking.
Accordingly, at 3 A.M. on the 13th, the force
on our side, in conjunction with a Russian force
on the north-east, paraded for this grand attack,
and, moving over much the same ground as we
had done on the 9th, worked round near to the
Western Arsenal, with, however, hardly any
opposition at all except on the extreme left. We
were on this occasion represented by Nos. 4 and
5 Companies, under Captain Watson, with Captains
Hill and Fairfax, Lieutenant Bray, and Colour-
Sergeant Purdon.
In crossing the plain from the south towards
the Arsenal and Mud Wall the force came under
a fairly heavy fire, both shell and rifle, from the
city walls. The force halted for about one hour
75


ON ACTIVE SERVICE
and our party, now received orders to hold their
ground, and to place themselves under the direct
orders of the Japanese General. About 4 A.M. on
the 14th, a message came from that officer to the
effect that his men had succeeded in blowing in
the south gate, and asking our men to advance to
the assault of the city. The Chinese were still
keeping up a heavy fire from that portion of the
wall east of the gate, which died away during the
advance.
The Japanese now spread all over the city, and
all resistance was soon practically at an end, the
Japanese behaving with the greatest moderation
to the inhabitants.
It will be seen from the above that the Chinese
regiment had the honour of being the only re-
presentatives of the British Army who took part
in the final assault and capture of the city of
Tientsin.
Our party, with the Naval Brigade, now pro-
ceeded to the west gate, and, after being there
for a short time, received orders to go to the north
gate, that part of the city having been assigned
to the British. Shortly after this the Naval Brigade
returned to the Settlement, and thus the remnants
of our two companies that had started the previous
day were left, with two British officers, Captains
Watson and Hill, as the sole representatives of


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 79
Great Britain in Tientsin city. While here, and
before the rest of the regiment arrived, they were
exposed to some sniping from some Boxer barracks
near by, which are referred to later on.
It was during the advance to the houses where
Captain Watson and his party took cover for the
greater part of that eventful day that Colour-
Sergeant Purdon was shot through the leg. Our
total losses were : killed, one officer and three men ;
wounded, one officer, one British non-commissioned
officer, and thirteen men, one of whom died.
We cannot all be in every battle, so it was my
fate to be a more or less passive spectator of this
one, and it was a sight worth seeing. From the
crenelated walls of the city, and from every house
and ruin beneath them, came the puffs of blue
smoke made by the smoky powder two-man gingals,
giving the whole thing the appearance of a battle
in the Middle Ages. All this time our guns, which
had the range to a nicety, were sweeping great
chunks off the top of the city wall, with, no doubt,
a due portion of its defenders, but the fire never
seemed to slacken, or give the Allies a chance to
get up to the wall. As the evening approached a
certain gloom seemed to come over the Settlement,
and there were those that pointed to the day and
the date as an indication of failure—it was Friday
the 13th_though their pessimism was quite at fault.



The engine shed at Tientsin railway station, after the siege. The side in
shadow directly faced the enemy's attacks.





WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 81
a supply, on a mule led by one of our men, for he
would take no more. The little party had not gone
far when the man was shot dead. Captain Ollivant
then took the mule himself, which was also shot
almost at once. With no thought of turning back-
he had had his orders—he then essayed to carry
some of the load himself, for he was a very powerful
man. The Fates, however, were against him, and
he had only gone a few steps when he was shot
through the head. We laid him quietly to rest the
next day, in the little cemetery near the Recreation
Ground. His loss was very keenly felt by us all, for
his genial good heart and his cheery, never-failing
sweetness of disposition had endeared him to
us all.
To us—Nos. 2 and 3 Companies—on piquet at
the Recreation Ground, it was an anxious time, more
especially when night came on, and the odds and
ends of wounded and sick who came by, depressed
and shaken by their sufferings, assured us that the
force was going to be withdrawn at nightfall. We
could guess that if this was done the enemy would
not be slow to discover the move and to follow up
the retiring troops, which, in the dark, would have
made it hard to distinguish friend from foe. How-
ever, as is well known, that retirement never came
off, the troops holding their ground.
During the night the greater part of the Chinese


82
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
troops seem to have made good their escape, and
the few that put up a last despairing fight next
morning were probably the local men and some of
the more fanatical Boxers.
Shortly after 3 A.M. on the 14th, the Japanese
Engineers, who had been busy at a bridge over
the moat running along near the south wall of the
city, got across and blew in the south gate, and
after an hour or so of street fighting Tientsin city
was ours, and the tide had turned in favour of
the forces of Christendom. It is none of my in-
tention, nor does it properly come within the four
corners of this dry record of facts as they came
before me, to moralise; but one cannot refrain
from a glance at the results of this great victory,
bought as it was at such a heavy price. Without
doubt the teeming millions of China were watch-
ing, with eager eyes, for the outcome of this
rude arbitrament of war, either to rise in their
strength and expel the “foreign devil” once and
for all, or to lie low, perhaps, for another oppor-
tunity. Nor must we forget the anxiety of Europe,
either merely commercially, or for the safety of
friends, not only in Peking and Tientsin, but all
over China. The issue was, of a truth, far more
momentous than can be gauged by the blood that
was shed to bring it about.
As a recognition of the services of the regiment


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 83
through this stirring time, culminating as it did
in our appearance at the final assault and capture
of the city, it has been authorised to wear as its
badge, a representation of Tientsin city gate, in-
scribed “Tientsin.”
I have before this referred to the danger to those
in rear, from fire directed at those nearer the enemy.
There was a good instance of this while our party
and the rest of the British force was lying down, as
stated, on the plain south of the Hai-kwan-ssu, in
the earlier part of this action. The force was abso-
lutely hidden from the city wall, from which it was,
at the very least, 1700 yards distant; but still, as I
have said, the Naval Brigade lost heavily, while we
had one man killed and one wounded, by fire un-
doubtedly directed at the Japanese between the
city wall and the Mud Wall.


PART III
AFTER TIENTSIN CITY FELL
CHAPTER XIII
BEFORE going on to recount the doings of the
regiment after the city was in our hands, it is
as well to glance at one or two of the facts that
were borne in upon us, and to hear a few of the
stories with which we were regaled.
The most salient fact, and one that was most
prominently brought to our notice, was, no doubt,
the excellence of the Chinese gunners. There
were several solutions offered. One was that be-
fore hostilities actually broke out, the Chinese
forcibly detained eight of their Russian gunnery
instructors, and compelled them, at the point of
the bayonet, to lay their guns for them. It was
even asserted one day that one of these luckless
individuals had escaped into the Russian camp,
more dead than alive, with the story of his woes;
but I never saw him, nor heard the story actually
verified. What is more likely is this explanation ;
84


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 85
that most of the foreign-trained gunners from the
Taku forts made their way, when these fell, to
Tientsin, and served the guns there with that
accuracy of which we had daily demonstration.
That Tientsin Settlement was overrun with spies
I have already mentioned, and these men, no
doubt, gave their friends in the city early and very
accurate information of all our plans, our move-
ments, and the exact position of all our guns,
which made it an easy matter for the enemy, with
their accurate maps and knowledge of the ground,
to make things lively for us.
Another thing, rather of a pantomimic order,
was the love of the Chinese for fire-crackers. I
have already mentioned the danger of being in
reserve in the attacks, owing to the almost chronic
oversighting of the enemy's rifles; but there was
another advantage in close quarters, and that was
that when you got there the Chinese would go
away, having lighted a big train of these noisy
but harmless weapons of defence, in the hopes of
frightening you.
In spite of all this, there were many instances
where the Chinese showed themselves full of
pluck, and they never failed to follow up a retire-
ment, as long as you preferred to take that pas- |
sive part, or to stand and be fired at. What they
could not stand was you going for them, and the


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ON ACTIVE SERVICE
consequent chances of cold steel. They are
adepts at taking cover and sticking to it, and
from it often proved themselves unpleasantly good
shots. No one who has served on the same side
as Chinese, as we did, will ever allow it to be
said, as it is so often by the ignorant, that they
are cowards.
We heard, of course, many rumours in Tientsin,
but I only propose to refer to one, and that because
the garrison of the Legations at Peking had it about
the same time, which makes one wonder how it
arose. It was that the Russians from Siberia had
got into Peking in great force. As I have said,
those in Peking heard that there was a strong
force of them at Tungchow long before any foreign
troops had even left Tientsin.
Yuan-shi-kai, and no one could have acted more
wisely, was also the hero of many yarns, and
hardly a day passed but he was on his way
to Tientsin, or was, indeed, already there, with
his fine troops. Had not Tientsin city fallen
when it did, he might have been there. Who
can tell ?
Having already followed the fortunes of Nos. 4
and 5 Companies on this eventful 14th of July,
let us return now to headquarters. About 2 P.M.
the two companies on piquet were relieved by a
sergeant and about a dozen men of the Hong-Kong


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campaign. Once when we got into the suburbs
and the city proper, which had been exposed to
our fire on the one hand, and the depredations of
the Boxers on the other, we came upon some of
the most appalling sights. Corpses there were,
naturally, in large numbers, most of them in fairly
advanced states of decomposition, and covered with
flies. In one place we came upon an entire family,
from all appearances, huddled together and almost
hidden by a perfect canopy of flies. Most of them,
children of tender years, had received wounds of
a nature such as to put all hopes of recovery out
of the question, even had the victim been a strong
man, and out of which the mother, herself badly
hit, was striving, in vain, to keep the swarms of
noxious fies. . It was a sad and gruesome sight,
but there were worse, the mention even of which
can serve no useful end.
We reached the north gate at last, where we
were right glad to see Nos. 4 and 5 once more,
In the meantime, No. 1 had been sent as escort
to a commissariat train which was bringing us our
food and baggage, and having nothing with us, we
could only sit and wait for them. By this time
the greater part of the city was in flames, and we
were, in point of fact, actually cut off from all
communication with the outer world on our gate,
except, possibly, along the wall westwards. As no


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 89
carts could come that way under any circumstances,
and as our carts were in an exactly opposite
direction, themselves surrounded by fires, it will
be apparent that we fared but ill that night.
Much of our time was spent in trying to compete
with the more dangerous of the fires. At one
time we came on the outside of a strong concrete
storeroom, under which we all were, and which,
with its iron doors all backed with brickwork, and
its general appearance of strength and security,
had every look of a magazine. Add to this that
a stray European, who had somehow joined himself
to us and had adopted our own particular equip-
ment as his own, stoutly averred that he knew
that the Chinese had a large magazine somewhere
under the north gate, and you may be quite safe
in assuming that we hastened to get the place open
before the fire, which was rapidly approaching from
the east, should settle the matter for us. We
eventually secured an entrance, and found that,
instead of munitions of war, it was full of mer-
chandise of various sorts, silks and furs and
buttons, and many other articles, all of which we
had to clear out to see if there were any explosives
as well. There were none. There was no doubt
that the place was meant for a magazine, and was
built as such; but I suppose the officer in charge
of it had the usual commercial mind of the Chinese


CHAPTER XIV
It would now seem to be the time to attempt
some vague description of the looting of Tientsin
city, of which we have all heard, even if we
were not present. That the city was fairly and
squarely looted is an absolute fact, although
there are not wanting those who say it was not.
However, it was looted mainly and most system-
atically by ex-Chinese soldiers, Boxers, and other
ragamuffins, who took advantage of the encour-
agement held out to the inhabitants to return,
to enter the city in disguise as coolies, etc.,
and regularly clean the place out. Of course, it
must not be imagined that the troops looked on
passively at this, for this is rather more than flesh
and blood can be expected to stand. On the
contrary, there was not one, I venture to think,
who did not come away with one or two or even
more, unconsidered trifles, that were, at the moment,
ownerless. It was an understood thing that all
Sycee silver and bullion was to go into the Public's
pocket, some said to defray the expenses of the
war, and others, more sanguine and more confiding,
to be divided among the troops who had had all
92


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 93
the danger and trouble of the last few weeks. I
have even seen it asserted that the money has
been so divided ; but unless it went into the
Peking Prize Fund, which was shared among men
who had not yet landed in China, we never saw
it. So far as one could judge, everyone was quite
satisfied that it should all go into the coffers of our
much-taxed Exchequer, if they could not have it
themselves that is. I wonder how much the silver
that was taken out of Tientsin city amounted to,
for there must have been millions of dollars there
that one actually saw, and any amount more that
others saw.
The houses themselves, too, were a sight one
can never forget. In some, the profusion of rich
furs, silks, wearing apparel, clocks, watches, musical
boxes, looking - glasses, chinaware, cloisonné, and
other articles of priceless worth, was something
to live for and to see but once. I verily believe
that one could have taken a few cart-loads of
the above-mentioned away from many houses, and
then failed to identify that particular house on
one's return, for all the difference in its internal
aspect one would have made. We had no carts.
I met a French soldier with a big handful of
watches, and he thrust two into my hand. They
were cheap silver articles, but I knew less of the
possibilities in this line than I soon did, so prized


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 95
I have met people since who have said: “Well,
all I can say is that I never looted a single thing.
All that I have got I bought from Cossacks and
people.” There is one quite obvious reply that
will occur to most. At the same time, when
people take this high moral standpoint, and
assert with rudeness and hauteur that the looter
is only a common thief or next door to it, it
always makes me remind them of what they
seem to have conveniently forgotten, that the law
makes little difference between the thief and the
“receiver.”
Regarded from a military point of view, looting,
unrestrained and unfettered, is the worst possible
thing that can happen to any body of disciplined
men, however good their discipline; for with it
the common military virtues find it hard to exist,
and the longer it goes on in its unlicensed state
the more moribund they must become. I have
seen officers, of foreign troops, be it well under-
stood, wrangling with soldiers of their own and
of other armies over articles that possibly neither
wanted. No doubt foreigners say this sort of thing
went on in our force; but I am proud to think
that such could never have been the case, for our
discipline was, on all points, far away above that
of our Allies as a whole.
There was one place near our gate that proved


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a never-failing source of interest to us, and that
was an old Boxer barracks. We got out of it
quite a large number of arms of all sorts, besides
a big red flag, which now adorns our officers' mess.
The place was full of discarded uniforms, belts,
and other equipment, besides an immense amount
of all sorts of small-arms ammunition. Very inter-
esting, too, were the many documents in the various
rooms. Receipts for money, lists of men, details
of casualties, and of valiant deeds done by some
of the members of this pleasant fraternity. It
was most likely a barracks of Imperial troops in
normal times, but the number of red bands and
trappings on the spears and other weapons left
no room to doubt its latest use. Wandering through
its classic precincts was not an unmixed joy, owing
to the unavoidable presence there of three or four
corpses, which, as time went on, became more
noticeable and less attractive. The place caught
fire just before we handed our gate over to the
French, which was a pity, especially as the wind
blew all the smoke and stench into the building
on the top of the gate.
I have said that the four nations that took the
city shared in its government and other advantages
that its possession gave them. This was, naturally,
to the exclusion of the Russians and others, who
had had but a minor part in the show. Well, one


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 97
day two Russian soldiers essayed to enter by our
gate, and were pulled up by our sentry, in accord-
ance with his orders. With a promptness which
was misplaced, if somewhat surprising, in one of
his race, one of the “ Ruskis” fired at the sentry,
but luckily missed him. Nothing daunted, our
man shouted for the guard, and at the same time
closed with his assailant, taking from him his cap
and his rifle. The two then made off. Some
hours later they came back, and, with every
demonstration of friendship undying, requested
that the articles might be restored to them. They
were, but in the comparative retirement of the
guard - room, whence they only emerged under
escort, on their way to justice.
We had orders very early to put a stop to as
much looting as we could, and to this end officers'
patrols went frequently through our portion of the
city. This duty fell mostly to my lot. At the
same time there was an officer continually on duty,
at the outer gate with the guard, to stop any
palpable looters from taking their plunder out.
Along came a European with ten rickshas full of
stuff, and was pulled up by the sentry. He tried
bluster, but as the man could not understand a
word he said it did not matter much. The officer now
emerged to help, and at him rushed the now furious
looter, crying : “Ze sentry vill not let me to pass !”


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“No,” replied the officer, “he is not likely to,
for he has orders not to allow any loot out of
this gate."
“Do you know, sir, who I am ? I am ze Consul
of Timbuctoo!”
“I don't care if you are the King of Timbuctoo ;
you don't pass out of this gate with all those
rickshas.”
And he didn't either.


CHAPTER XV
No. 4 returned to the Settlement on the 16th, No. 5
going out to a fort to the north-west, where a large
supply of artillery harness and all sorts of saddlery
had been discovered, as well as gun-carriages and
other things.
On the 17th No. 1 relieved No. 5 at the fort, that
company returning to the Settlement, as did Nos. 6
and 7 from the gate, Nos. 2 and 3 remaining there.
I found a good deal of employment in the early
part of the day, owing to the large number of
merchants, mostly outside the wall, who came or
sent to complain of looters. I went out with a
party on several occasions, and was the means of
inflicting summary punishment on a lot of palpable
scoundrels who seemed to be not behaving nicely.
All these merchants wanted British protection, and
as this seemed to be a free issue, consisting merely
of a notice to that effect in English and French, and
as the petitioners were, to all appearance, quite
peaceful and law-abiding, most of them got their
wish. One house I visited belonged to an old
Chinese artillery Colonel, Wang-te-sheng by name,
99


100
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and there we were received in regular Chinese polite
style, and hospitably entertained.
It was curious to notice the profusion of flags that
came out at this time. The most popular was that
of Japan, being the easiest to make: a bit of white
cloth, or even paper, with a red-ink blob in or near
the middle doing the trick. The three nations
boasting various combinations of the tri-colour were
also much in request, although, indeed, the Russian
combination was rare. You hardly ever saw a
Union Jack, and when you did it was the merest
travesty of the real thing; and as for the “Old
Glory” of our cousins, I never saw a solitary one.
Our two flags are so hard to make that, much as
they would have liked them, the people could not
spare the time to make them.
One saw the oddest notices, too, to indicate the
general desire for peace on earth and goodwill to-
wards men that the local gentry were now beginning
to feel. Some were comic in the extreme, and some
quite simple. A favourite one of the latter class was :
“Great Japan.” Whatever their tenor and whatever
their length, one could not but note with pride that,
bar a few in French or Chinese, they were all in our
language, or an imitation thereof.
I have seen other reasons given for the lack of our
flag on the streets, but they are all wide of the mark,
the only one being the difficulty of making even a


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 101
presentable likeness of it in the brief time allowed
by the inhabitants' laudable and natural desire for
safety from promiscuous molestation.
On the afternoon of the 17th I was informed that
as soon as I was able to report the south-west quarter
of the city clear of corpses, I could hand over my
gate to the French, and return to the Settlement
with the two companies. As this was where most of
the fighting had been, I foresaw no sinecure. I
sallied forth with half my company on this most
grisly job, but found it not so bad as I had expected,
for some of it had been done already by someone
else. I had orders to bury them outside the south
wall, but, as the ground was as hard as a road, I
had to burn them, in all, some thirty. Selecting
a fine open yard, we set to work to build a pyre,
while parties of twos and threes went out collecting
and dragging these melancholy remains on matting,
or carrying in the same useful article those whose
condition would not stand rough handling. It was
no inviting or garden-party job, and I propose to
go into no details. Near by, in a small hut, we
found a large store of Mauser ammunition, which
had to be burned too; and, as there was no time
to make a special job of that, we just put it in on
the same fire in small quantities. Most of the
corpses had other cartridges on them, so that at
times there was such a fusilade as to bring the


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French and Americans to the wall of the city to
see if a fresh battle had begun. Some enterprising
foreign gentleman came and took a couple of
photographs of this attractive scene, but I have
never come across any result in publication.
That afternoon, having fulfilled the conditions of
our return, we handed our gate over to the French,
and returned to our former place. Never having
been much in the habit of handing gates over to
foreign powers, I was in some trepidation as to my
ability to carry out the correct procedure. How-
ever, on approaching my relief on the matter, he
put an end to my fears by announcing his wish for
“pas de cérémonie,” so that he and his lot just came
in and we went out, with no fuss, the flags being
changed in the same simple way.
We were a curious procession that came in that
day. I have said that we had been stopping all
looting, and this naturally meant the amassing of
a large amount of loot that had been taken from
its unlawful owners at the gate. This we did not
hand over with the post. Some carts had been
sent out for our kits, and in addition to these, we
commandeered a long string of rickshas — labour
was cheap in those days—and set out. What with
carts, coolies, and rickshas, I think that, without
exaggeration, our column was over a mile long, and
a tedious job it was to get them along. However,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 103
we arrived at last, and very glad we all were to
get out of that city, with its smells, its sights, and
its vermin.
On the 19th the first of the troops from India
arrived, in the form of a party of the 7th Bengal
Infantry.
The following day, the war being over for the
present, we once more resumed our daily drill-
parades, which did not come amiss, for the majority
of our men were not far removed from being raw
recruits, and there was no reason that their legiti-
mate instruction should not be continued.


CHAPTER XVI
That night, about ten o'clock, General Dorward
came round and told the Colonel he wanted one
company, with three officers, to go down the river
next morning, with a small party of the navy, to
collect as many junks as possible for the advance
on Peking. No. 2 was told off for this duty,
Captain Fairfax being attached to make up the
required complement of officers.
We left the Bund next morning at 7, the party
consisting, in addition to us three, of Lieutenant-
Borrett, R.N., Mr Smith of the Consulate, and a
midshipman, who was in charge of the steamboat,
and went down river about ten miles, till we came
to an immense park of junks. Here we established
our headquarters in a convenient house - boat of
sorts that we found there, and began our work.
We had hardly arrived when a sad accident
occurred to one of my men, called Sung-te-gung.
He was bathing, it seemed, some way from one of
the farthest junks, when he was seen to throw up
his hands and sink. The current was very strong at
the time, so that he must have been carried down at
once. It was some time before we heard of the case,
104


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 105
and though we then went a long way down the river,
we could find no trace of the body.
It was on this occasion that our men proved their
immense value to the force, for in the four days we
were employed on this duty we sent up close on one
hundred junks of large size, with boatmen and all
appliances, a feat that no one not speaking the
language could have done. Our men, after a little,
inspired the villagers and others with great con-
fidence, so much so that large numbers naturally
preferred to take service willingly with us and be
certain of pay, rations, and good treatment (points
on all of which our men were well able to reassure
them), to continuing their present riparian existence
with no certainty of any of these good things, and
the constant risk of visits, the reverse of friendly,
from other less well - disposed “foreign devils.”
Naturally, all our crews were not entirely volunteers,
some requiring a little more or less gentle persuasion
to get them to join our glad throng, and to remain
once they had come, but the majority were quite
glad of the chance.
We suffered a good deal of discomfort from the
heat and the plague of flies while thus employed,
because our work naturally necessitated our being
out in the open air all day. We found the decks of
the junks no pleasant place to walk on, exposed as
they were to that burning sun all day.


106
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Not only did the men prove themselves of much
value as persuaders of the people, but many of them
were quite able to manage the junks themselves, an
ability which was often very useful.


CHAPTER XVII
We returned to Tientsin on the 24th, and found
things much as we had left them, except that a good
many reinforcements had been arriving all the time.
There was much talk about the coming advance on
Peking, but it is not necessary for me to go into
the labyrinth of reasons and arguments as to the
delays that they say arose. Suffice it to say that the
expedition was not yet.
On the 27th July General Sir Alfred Gaselee
arrived. A guard of honour of No. 2 Company,
with some of No. 4, was detailed to attend at the
Bund to receive him; but, owing to a mistake in
the announcement of his arrival to the military
authorities, he had arrived before we fell in. How-
ever, we marched to his temporary quarters, where
the usual ceremonies were gone through. He in-
spected the men, and asked many questions about
them, and the regiment in general.
It seems that the coolies and boatmen we had
procured, as above recorded, were not sufficient, so
on the morning of the 28th two of us were sent,
each with ten men, on an expedition into the neigh-
bourhood to collect more. I took the river bank
107


108
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
towards Taku, where were a number of villages
containing likely men, while Captain Dent went
up the river, through the city and suburbs. I
roped in eighty-three of sorts, who were mostly
junkmen, while Captain Dent got a good many
more. Between us we manned the whole flotilla.
It was about this time that we began to feel
we were being put into the background, as was,
I suppose, only natural, there being now so many
other troops on the spot. We had filled a gap, and
filled it, as I hope I have proved, not without
success, and now that the main body of the China
Expeditionary Force had arrived, there was really
no very adequate reason why we should not have
resumed our legitimate business of regiment-rais-
ing. This, however, was not destined to be the
case, for, on the 29th, we heard that we were to
find a hundred men to accompany the Peking
Relief Force, and the following day Nos. 2 and
3 Companies were warned for this, the finale of
the whole war.
For the next few days we were busy getting
ready, all the time “standing by” for the orders
for the advance, which did not come. It is for
the historian of these days to explain the delays,
which we all understood to be due to the unwilling-
ness to advance of some of the foreign generals,
the advance being finally made when General


PART IV
THE ADVANCE ON PEKING
CHAPTER XVIII
ABOUT 10 A.M. on the 4th August orders came for
our party to be ready to march off at 2 P.M. the
same day, so that there was some final hustling
to be done to get the junk, that was to carry our
kits and our rations for eight days, started off up
the river.
At 2 P.M., accordingly, our contribution to this
historic march fell in. The party consisted, as has
been stated, of Nos. 2 and 3 Companies, under
Captain Barnes, with Captain Dent, Lieutenants
Bray and Layard, and Colour-Sergeants Young and
Dunn. About twenty men of No. 4 were attached
to No. 3, to bring the total up to a hundred.
Towards the end of the long column, we set out
on our march, out past the Temperance Hall, across
the once shot-swept lands between the old Mud
Wall and the city, across the city from south to
north, over the Grand Canal, and on to Hsiku
Arsenal, the scene of Admiral Seymour's victory.
ΙΙΟ


112
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
to be derived therefrom. It rained a great part
of the night, and what with Japanese infantry and
cavalry running about, and mosquitoes, there was
little peace or comfort to be had.
We were up the next morning at three, and as
soon as it was getting light the advance began. I
have no intention of attempting to describe the Battle
of Peitsang, my only comment being to wonder
how the enemy were ever turned out of their
position, for both their flanks were secure, and the
attackers had to advance over a plain as flat as
a pancake, against what looked an almost impreg-
nable position, most strongly and carefully in-
trenched, and which the Chinese had been at work
on all the time we were waiting in Tientsin. It
is true that the “ kaoliang” and other crops gave,
from their height, a certain cover from view, but
the undue agitation of these caused by the troops
advancing through them, at once gave the said
troops away.
The Japanese bore the brunt of the attack, and
their impetuous advance caused them to lose heavily,
and as we came along we saw many of them dead
and wounded, more, in fact, than we saw of the
enemy, who had either got their dead away in bulk,
or had not had many. I incline to the latter idea,
for their cover was very good, and they did not
stay long enough to lose very heavily.


114 ON ACTIVE SERVICE
meant someone else, for our shot had barely had
time to hit anything when he arrived. However,
firing was stopped, and thus it was that we took
only 999 rounds of 12-pounder ammunition into
Peking!
There is nothing more to add. The Chinese
went away, and we went on, through villages
showing too plainly the scourge of war, until at
about noon we reached the bivouac at Peitsang,
and took up our abode close to the river.
In all their well-intrenched position, I noticed
one very curious thing, which seemed to show
the extraordinary “cussedness” of the Celestial
in the midst of his modern military training. All
along the river bank near Peitsang he had dug
good trenches parallel to its course, as if he had
expected we might come gaily up the river in our
junks, and afford him some fine shooting at close
range.


116
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
altogether. The unfortunate animals invited to
drag them soon gave out, and our men had again
to “ lend a hand ”—or two. We got rid of them
as we went along, the last two being cast, on the
10th, just outside Ho-hsi-wu. Their places were
taken either by common, flat, country carts, or by
Peking carts, both of which kinds we were lucky
to find, as we went along, in the villages near the
road. We all hoped that one, at least, would get
the Peking medal, but it broke down about a
mile and a half short. It belonged, as far as
I remember, to the Marines, who made a gallant
struggle on its behalf.
We on our junk toiled up the river, the sounds of
the distant battle coming to us ever and anon. No
one who has never gone up the muddy Peiho has
any idea of its monotony, our only excitement being
an occasional shot from someone in another reach of
the river at some stray dog or escaping junk coolie.
We were very lucky over our coolies all the way
up, and none ever tried to get away, or even evince
any desire to do so. Naturally, our men were
somewhat of an attraction to them, and they pre-
ferred to serve with men who could speak to them
than with those who could not. The British junks,
as a rule, were well served, for, of course, the men
were treated well and justly; but I think that,
somehow, the Japanese were even better served.


118
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Cantonese, named Ah King, the servant of Captain
Duff, R.A. A report was sent to regimental head-
quarters from Yangtsun the next day, and, in due
course, Lieutenant Layard received the Royal
Humane Society's Medal, a reward his signal act
of devotion most richly deserved.
About 9 P.M. we reached the camp and tied
up to the right bank of the river, there not
being enough water to allow us to do so near the
left one, where the rest of the force was.
The following morning we moved up stream a
bit, and, passing under the railway bridge, moored
to the left bank.
Owing to the great heat of the last few days,
and to the great fatigues which the force had
undergone, it was decided to halt at Yangtsun
for a day. This gave us a chance to have a look
round this historic place. The most salient feature
was the railway line, with its rails removed bodily,
and either hidden in the fields around, or in the
water, the sleepers having, of course, been all
burnt. The most extraordinary feature was, how-
ever, the remains of Admiral Seymour's trains,
which, as everyone will remember, were abandoned
at this point, when he decided to return to
Tientsin. There was nothing whatever left of
them but the car-wheels, just as one sees them
come out of the factory or stored in railway yards,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 119
and the merest frames of the locomotives. The
cars had, as we know, all been burned, but fire
alone could not have gutted the engines so
completely. Not a nut, not a bolt, not a
fire-bar, not a handle was left in its place,
nothing, in fact, but the solid framework and
the mere shells of the boilers. The Boxers and
Imperial troops who had done the work had
performed their job with a thoroughness that
nothing but the wildest fanaticism could ever have
instilled into the Celestial mind. Every bolt and
other movable part must have been carefully picked
out, for one cannot imagine that that rabble had
all the necessary appliances at hand to do their
fell work in any other way. There was the track
stretching away along the embankment, and there
were the car-wheels and the skeletons of the
engines, and nothing else. It was a melancholy
sight. The great bridge, too, had one span all
tilted up out of the straight, which showed that
a determined effort had been made to throw it
into the river. One of the yarns we had at
Tientsin was that this had actually been done,
to block our advance by that route.
We had a great struggle to get the carts over
the sandy tracks to our bivouac, each requiring
all the available men to pull it along. Owing to
his great difficulties, Captain Dent had been unable


120
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
to get them into camp overnight, and had had
to stop for the night some three miles out.
At this place some thirty men of No. 5 Com-
pany, under Captain Hill, arrived with a long
train of wheelbarrows, each pushed and pulled
by three or four coolies, containing additional stores
for the force. This was one of the most wonderful
items in a wonderful campaign. No matter how
bad the roads were, or how great the heat, right
straight ahead went this column, passing all the
other transport, for it never seemed to need a
rest. The Chinese coolie is one of the best in
the world, and here you saw his value, for this
train never failed. This party went on as a
separate unit to Peking, and there, their work
being done, they joined the rest of us.
The next day was, for us, merely a repetition of
its predecessor, except that most of us marched, only
a small guard being in each junk. As we arrived
at the next halting-place, Tsaitsun, we had another
unlucky accident. A man of No. 2, by name
Liang liu, a most expert swimmer, was bathing in
the dusk and got into difficulties. His cries were
not understood by those on shore, who fancied he
was merely someone wanting to get across the
river. One of the Royal Artillery junks coming
up the stream passing near him, an Indian
bombardier grasped the situation, and gallantly


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WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 121
more
leapt into the water to his rescue. The poor man,
however, fought so much in his terror, that his
would-be rescuer was compelled to let go to save
his own life, and he went down.
The 9th of August was remarkable chiefly for
its great heat, which knocked out the white
troops a great deal, the Americans seeming to
be the chief sufferers. We reached Ho-hsi-wu
on this date, some of the 1st Bengal Lancers
being lucky enough to come up with a body of
Tartar cavalry, of which they made short work,
killing quite a number, and capturing several
banners.
This Ho-hsi-wu, of which we shall hear more
anon, was, after Yangtsun, the most interesting
place between Tientsin and Tungchow, for it was
here that the Chinese made their most determined
effort to drain the river and flood the country on
the right bank, up which we were now advancing
since crossing at Yangtsun. Had they been able
to do the latter, as they seemed to want, to the
west of the raised road, which at Ho-hsi-wu comes
close to the river bank, they would have forced
the Allies, in their attack on the position there,
to wedge themselves up between the road and
the river in such a way as to entail countless
losses, or to have been content with a distant
bombardment. The place could not have been


122
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
rushed from the east, for the river was there, the
west would have been under water, and only the
south remained open, the ground there being in
the form of a triangle, of which the enemy's
position would have formed the apex. A wide
turning movement might have been made to
threaten their line of retreat, a thing they do not
like, but that might have entailed a loss of time,
and it is even possible that the troops were not
sufficient. However, this is all conjecture, for so
rapid had been our advance that the Chinese had
not time to complete their work. We found an
immense ditch, about 1000 yards long, running
west from the right bank of the river, and in it
the implements just as the Chinese had left them
in their hurried flight. At times the river even
ran a few feet into this ditch, and, to the lay eye,
it looked as if another two or three hours' work
would have enabled it to flow there almost in its
entirety. The effect of this on the advance can
be imagined. The river proper would have been
made so shallow as to effectually stop our junks
coming any farther, while, as long as the Chinese
held on to their position, the country to the west
would have gone on being flooded, and the said
position would have had its front protected by a
broad moat. It was a great scheme, but the best
part of it was its frustration.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 123
Except for the cavalry charge already mentioned,
none of our troops took any part in the capture of
this place, the enemy having been driven away by
the Japanese after a brief resistance.


CHAPTER XX
We now come to the more or less “forced” portion
of the march to Peking. The main body of our
force was ordered to leave Ho-hsi-wu at 3.30 P.M. on
the 10th August, by which hour it was hoped that
the great heat of the day would be over. We,
however, were sent off at 10 A.M., preceded by the
cavalry and the field battery, whom we soon lost in
the dim distance. It had been ordered that, as the
river above this took many large sweeps, which
made its distance from the more direct route to be
followed by the column a matter of some import,
half our party was to go with the junks and guns,
and the other half with the limbers by road. Half
of each company was with each lot, Captain Barnes
and Lieutenant Bray on land, and Captain Dent and
Lieutenant Layard with the boat-column, the colour-
sergeants being also divided, Young going by water,
and Dunn by land.
We spent a good deal of time in the outskirts of
this collection of hamlets roping in all the country
carts we could find, and we soon had the pleasure
of trundling our last two Shanghai models down
each side of the raised road. And it was lucky we
124


126
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
got on a road that took you to one or two other
places first; for, having marched till 11 P.M. and not
having yet arrived at anywhere in particular, we
decided to halt for the night in the middle of a
“ kaoliang” field where the stuff had been all cut
down. Sentries were put out, and everyone made
the best of it. It was funny to see how we became
a regular nucleus for all sorts of odds and ends of
apparently lost sheep to gather round. The first
was a small party of Americans, who asked if they
might share our “ kaoliang" with us. Then came a
party of the Naval Brigade, and, at intervals, a few
stray Japanese. Last of all, the Commander, Royal
Engineers, who had been in charge of the explosion,
arrived, with another officer, and shared our very
humble bully beef, and tent.
Nothing of any moment happened that night, but
we heard afterwards that there had been a Chinese
steam-launch and junk full of ammunition on the
river not far from where we were. I hardly credit
the story, as I do not see how they could have been
there, with our forces both above and below them
and still escaped, unless, indeed, they had vanished
into thin air. If it was a true yarn, and we had had
it sooner, we might have had a nice capture.
We got on to Matou the next morning, it being
some four miles from where we had bivouacked.
Here we stayed for the day. We had fully ex-


128
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
while any clump of trees, in addition to the well,
made the temporary garrison far larger. There you
saw collected, in various stages of collapse and
exhaustion, men of every nation and of every arm,
British infantry, Marines, Sikhs, Americans, Punjabis,
Japanese, and Russians. Much has been written
about the hardships endured on this march to
Peking, but I think this was the worst day, it was
so airless, and the troops had done a night-march
the night before. Our men bore it all wonderfully,
only two falling out, and they only right in Tung-
chow itself, where they were speedily retrieved. It
was said that as they were in their own country one
would naturally expect them to compete on favour-
able terms with the other troops; but, after all, the
heat was not a patch on that of most parts of India
at that time of year, although, of course, no one
takes the violent noon-tide exercise we were in-
dulging in, during the hot weather in India. The
fact remains that our men made a very good show-
ing as regards their powers of physical endurance
during all these trying marches.
We reached our appointed place close to the
river, at about half-past one, and put up in some
deserted houses, where we were soon quite com-
fortable.
We were gladdened the first thing in the morning
of the 13th of August by the appearance of our


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 131
willing, have done the work our men did that
day. Finally, the foremost gun got stuck up to
its axles in some two or three feet of water and
mud in a village street, and nothing we could do
could get it out. Some time before this, Major
St John, realising that the work was beyond both
his ponies and our combined men's efforts, had
gone on to get two teams of horses from the
ammunition column. These very soon arrived,
much to our joy, as we fancied their advent meant
a quieter time for us. Here we were somewhat
in error, for no sooner had they hooked on and
got the guns, one by one, out of the mess, than
they set off down the road at about five miles an
hour, the already over - cooked men following as
best they could, for we could hear the battle going
on to our right front, and naturally wanted to have
a look in. However, it would not do, for the men,
having pulled these guns since soon after 4 A.M.-
it was now about 1 P.M.—were knocked out by this
killing pace, and fell out in numbers; so much so,
that by the time we had walked and run about
two miles more there was not much escort left,
and we had to call a halt by a well. A short
rest and a plentiful application of water, externally
as well as internally, soon got them together again,
and we were able to proceed at a more gentle-
manly pace.


132
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
I ought to mention that our old friend, Yuan-shi-
kai, came to the front once more on this day, for
rumour had it that he was going to fall upon the
left flank of the Allies while they were heavily
engaged in front with the men of Tung-fu -
hsiang and the other Peking crowd. As we —
the British-were on the extreme left, our posi-
tion would have been one of some anxiety had
this come off.
After a most toilsome march, under a burning
sun, we suddenly came round a corner upon an
immense arch which seemed to block our further
progress. We duly reconnoitred it, and found,
somewhat to our surprise, that it was the Sha-
huo Gate of the Chinese, or southern city of
our goal, Peking. This was at 4 P.M., and by
5 P.M. the detachment, guns, ponies, limbers, carts,
mules, and all complete, had arrived,—no mean
performance, considering what the men had been
through.
Some of us were resting on the inner portion
of the wall above the gate, when we were not a
little amazed to see approaching us along the top of
the wall from the south, a party of Chinese Imperial
soldiers, about forty or fifty strong, evidently
unaware of our presence. We had only some six
or seven men up there, the rest being in the street
below eating and resting, so we lay low in order


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 133
to get the men under arms, and, if possible, bag
the whole lot. When, however, those men got
some 300 yards from us they halted irresolute, and
then turned and ran away. We opened fire at
once, and killed two, while others were seen to
fall, and then go on again, as if hit. One half of
No. 3 now arrived and fired a volley at them, but
as they had, by that time, reached the south-east
corner of the wall, we could not see if their fire
had any effect beyond accelerating the other
people's flight. A patrol was sent along the
wall, but could find no trace of them, as they had
probably got over the wall into the country be-
yond. Our old friend, Major Waller, of the United
States Marine Corps, now arrived with offers of
assistance, which, on this occasion, we did not
need. We had one muleteer shot dead, through
the head.
Portions of the Tartar city wall were still flying
Chinese flags, and a vigorous bombardment was
proceeding ; so our old guns were taken up the
street a bit, and added their voices to the tumult,
shelling some of the more prominent buildings in
the Imperial city, which made us feel we had not
laboured altogether in vain.
I cannot close this account of our march to Peking
without some reference to the water supply en route.
We found everywhere wells of the most delicious


134
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
water, especially at a distance from the river, and
although there was, at first, a scare that they might
be poisoned, in no case was this done. Whether
the enemy had no time or no inclination to inflict
this disaster on us, will, I fancy, never be known.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 137
them some 40,000 rounds, of which, on the day of
the Relief, they had expended some 19,000, so that
they, at all events, were not in any great danger
of running out, owing to their foresight in taking
plenty at first, and then husbanding it afterwards.
The food was rather different, for five or six days
more would have seen them on short commons.
Here, again, great foresight had been displayed ;
for, during the twenty-four hours the Chinese gave
them to clear out, they had gone out into the
streets near at hand and collected all the rice and
grain they could lay hands on, for which they were
very thankful as time went on-and no relief came.
During the next few days the work of the
detachment consisted mainly of those necessary con-
comitants of military life, whether in peace or war
-fatigues. We made a large opening in the wall
between the Carriage Park and the Board of War,
where the general hospital and the headquarters
of the 1st Brigade were established. We had
another spell of burning corpses near the south-
east corner of the Imperial city, where the enemy
seemed to have lost heavily, not only in men, but
in horses and dogs. On the 16th Captain Dent,
and on the 19th Lieutenant Bray, took parties to
Tungchow, as escorts for supply columns.
We made some fine roads, connecting General
Sir Norman Stewart's quarters and the 1st Brigade


138
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Office with the outer world, razing a number of
houses to the ground in the process. At this demo-
lition work our men proved themselves very adept.
We also collected numerous coolies, to assist the
Provost-Marshal in keeping the Carriage Park and
its environs clean, and provided a party to go out
and collect cart-drivers and other specialists, who
were difficult to come at by other means.
We found four or five guards at different points
about the British assigned district, the manner in
which the men performed their guard duties, their
smartness on sentry, and their general behaviour
being very favourably noticed and commented on
by many officers.
One sergeant and two men were employed as
garrison police, and gave every satisfaction to the
Provost-Marshal, who expressed his regret at having
to part with them when the detachment left Peking.
When things got straightened out a bit, we
resumed our daily drills with whatever men were
not on other duties, somewhat to the astonishment
of some of the force. Two staff officers, in fact,
seeing a squad at bayonet exercise, inquired, one
of the other, as to “ what they were playing
at?” They probably forgot, if they ever knew,
that we were trying to compete — and not
altogether without some small measure of
success—with regiments who numbered as many


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 139
years to their lives as we could count days. An
old-established regiment can afford the luxury of no
drill during a campaign of short duration, and, in my
experience, they do; but with us it was far other-
wise; for it must never be forgotten that at this
time the regiment had not been in existence for
eighteen months, and that many of our men had
not six months' service, and some not six weeks.
The unavoidable necessity of looting being recog-
nised, organised parties were, for a time, sent out
to collect stuff from unoccupied houses, which was
sold at auctions under the supervision of a prize
committee, the proceeds being afterwards divided
among the troops in shares by rank. As far as
one could judge, the loot in Peking was of more
value from a curio point of view, but of less value.
intrinsically, than that in Tientsin. Sycee silver
there was, no doubt, as I have heard lots was
found, but I fancy this was chiefly by the French,
the Russians, and the Japanese. Books, records,
pictures, ancestral tablets, and such-like matters of
interest to the sinologue and the student there were
in plenty; but, as those species were rare, I fancy
most of these treasures are still there. There are
the usual tales of fortunes made and lost over loot
in Peking, but these refer mainly to the more
astute, who came up later, and did some good
“ deals.”


140
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
On the night of the 25th a serious fire broke
out on the south of the quarters occupied by the
26th Baluchis, where some Russians were living.
A strong south wind was blowing when the fire
was first seen by our troops, and, as it endangered
a large part of our lines, orders were given to the
Baluchis to put it out even though it were in
Russian territory, so to speak, for the Moscovites
displayed not the least intention of doing anything,
an attitude which caused nasty things to be said
about the origin of the fire, in view of the direc-
tion of the wind. We were called out to assist
and relieve the 26th, and had a certain amount
of demolition to do, although the Baluchis had
worked like galley-slaves and done almost all
that was required, and had really got the fire
under before we came at all. After an hour or
so we were able to return to our lines.
Many accounts of the Legation defences, the
Chinese camps all over Peking, the horrid sights,
and the general squalor and desolation that reigned
supreme in most parts of the capital of China, have
already appeared from the pens of those whose
business it is to dilate on such things. At the
same time, I do not not think anyone has given
full credit to this long-suffering city for its beauty.
To those whose recollections of Peking are restricted
to the streets, knee-deep in mud or dust and name-


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 141
less filth, the idea of the place being called beautiful
will seem a grim joke. Those, however, who have
journeyed to the top of Coal Hill, on the north of
the Forbidden City, will bear me out that the view
from that elevation, if it can be equalled, can never
be surpassed elsewhere. In the foreground the
blue-and-yellow tiled roofs of the buildings in the
Forbidden City, with their graceful curves and
points, form a striking contrast with the duller
hues of the other cities beyond, and with the
brilliant greens of the many trees scattered with
no mean hand throughout the houses; and yet the
whole combine somehow into a grand, almost
harmonious picture, whose rare beauty can never
be forgotten. Till one goes up the Hill of Coal
one can never realise how richly Peking is wooded.


CHAPTER XXIII
It must be understood that all this time, that is,
until the 28th of August, the Imperial Palace, or
Forbidden City, inside the Imperial city, had been
kept inviolate, though why such consideration was
shown to the Chinese, when we consider how they
had behaved, and more especially how the Celestial
mind is apt to misconstrue anything in the way of
kindness into fear, is not readily apparent. There
were, no doubt, the soundest of political reasons for
this abstinence from what, to the ordinary humble
military mind, appeared but a just retribution for
all the ills and sufferings that had been inflicted on
our countrymen and their families. If the usual
inhabitants of the Palace were not directly re-
sponsible for those same ills, they had at least
been fully cognisant of them, and the efforts they
had made to stop or end them were not visible to
the naked eye. The Americans had, on the 15th,
been within an ace of taking the sacred place, but
were called off at the last moment, after they had
lost heavily; and since then the gates had been as
jealously guarded as ever the Chinese themselves
could have done.
142


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 143
There were many stories going round the camps
about the Palace and its inmates. One day we
heard that the Emperor and the Empress-Dowager
were still there, surrounded by a devoted band
whose last drop of blood would be shed to keep the
foreign invaders on the outside of the gates; and
another, that the Russians were inside and had
ransacked the whole place; both of which yarns
were, as events proved, very wide of the mark.
There seems no doubt, however, that the inmates
held communication with the outer world; for one
evening two of us riding along the wall, near the
north-east corner, saw a rope dangling from the top
to within a few feet of the ground. It may have
been there by accident, but ropes do not, as a
rule, hang accidentally from the walls of beleaguered
cities.
Early on the morning of the 25th a false alarm
that the inmates had announced their intention of
surrendering sent a party of British troops hurrying
out to be present at the function, only to return in a
short time as wise as they had gone.
Eventually, however, in some mysterious way,
this exclusiveness on the part of the Chinese was
overcome, and, to show that we had in very deed
conquered China, it was decided to make a formal
entry into the Palace, in the shape of a triumphal
march, of ten per cent. of all the Allied troops who


144
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
had taken part in the Relief, from the south gate to
the north. It was settled that the nations should be
paraded in the order of numbers so employed, which,
we all thought, would give the Japanese the pre-
cedence-a right they might justly have claimed,
apart from mere numbers—considering that they had
borne the brunt of all the fighting on the way from
Tientsin. However, the Russians seem to have
proved their right to first place, although it is
interesting to look at General Gaselee's despatch
of the 19th August for the truth as regards the
numbers that left Tientsin. At one time we heard
that the Russians and Japanese would go in side
by side ; but in the end the Russians were first, a
matter of no little significance in the eyes of the
Chinese.
Accordingly, at 7 A.M. on the 28th August, the
percentage above mentioned paraded in the open
ground south of the Forbidden City.
The troops were all drawn up facing north, and
were inspected by General Linievitch, the Russian
General, who was the senior General present. This
function over, a salute of twenty-one guns was
fired by the 12th Field Battery, and the march
began, the order of nations being : Russia, Japan,
Great Britain, America, France, Germany, Italy,
and Austria.
Our force was represented as follows :-


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 145
Naval Brigade.
Royal Marines. (Legation Guard in front.)
12th Field Battery, Royal Artillery.
Hong-Kong and Singapore Battalion, Royal
Artillery.
Detachment Royal Engineers, and No. 4
Company Bengal Sappers and Miners.
1st Bengal Lancers.
Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
7th Rajputs.
26th Bombay Infantry (Baluchis).
1st Sikhs.
24th Punjab Infantry.
Hong-Kong Regiment.
1st Chinese Regiment.
Medical Services.
Commissariat-Transport Department.
General Sir Alfred Gaselee and staff headed the
British portion, and Brigadier-General Sir Norman
Stewart and his staff were between the 1st Bengal
Lancers and the Royal Welsh Fusiliers.
The regiment was represented by
Captain A. A. S. Barnes.
Colour-Sergeant C. J. Young.
No. 167 Private Liu-chang-chun
404 , Fang-kwan-ling No. 2 Company.
„ 407 , Wang-te-sheng
„ 601 » Liu-hung-kwei)
-
.
.
.
.


146
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
No. 200 Private Tung-chang-chu v
No. 3 Company.
» 239 „ Wang-chen-pao s
Hsung-ching-chi No. 4 Company.
Yang-wei-ching
Chang-tze-shen No. 5 Company.
Chio-tien-ying )
| ,
VISOP
I suppose one's ideas of palaces are imbibed
chiefly in one's extreme youth, from those glowing
accounts of the doings of our childhood's heroes
which are considered fitting mental pabulum for
our tender years. To my mind a “Palace” has
always seemed an immense building, possibly of
glass or crystal, with fairies in every room to do
the honours, and precious stones galore. I must,
therefore, confess to a feeling of great disappoint-
ment when I saw the low, one-storied buildings,
the dirty, uncared-for courtyards, and the general
impression of disuse and neglect that pervaded
the residence of the Son of Heaven.
The various throne rooms through which we
passed had little of the grandeur that one usually
associates with such apartments, and but for the
thrones in them, might have been in any well-to-
do Celestial's house. The thrones were certainly
far in advance of their surroundings, some of the
vases and other ornaments on them being especially
fine.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 147
The courtyards were really splendid, but their
splendour was much marred by the long rank grass
with which they were overgrown. Their steps and
the low walls round the various halls were all of the
finest marble, and were most beautifully carved with
figures of horses and various other animals, some
more or less mythological. In these yards, too, there
were a large number of bronze storks, elephants,
turtles, and other animals less easy to recognise,
the whole menagerie being chiefly remarkable for
the disregard of its owners for the proper relative
sizes of its members.
I imagine we saw about one hundred men of sorts
during our march, chiefly attendants, no doubt,
although towards the end there were some who
looked like high grade Mandarins.
Naturally, in a hasty promenade of this sort, one
has but little chance to get much of a grasp of the
details of what one passes, so that the whole thing
is now more or less confused in my mind, though
one or two things stand out. One was the appear-
ance of the Chinese we saw there. No doubt at
the time I regarded these with some interest, so
that their appearance remains with me. Their
salient feature was sadness, and a certain smug-
faced submissiveness, especially when alone; but
when there was any number of them together, as
was the case towards the end, as we neared the
.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 149
Once outside we were hustled unceremoniously
away back to our lines, while the more lucky, or
the more favoured, made a tour of the whole place
at their leisure, before it was shut up once more.
When that was done, it was a matter of some diffi-
culty to get a pass to even see through it.
TRIUMPHAL MARCH THROUGH FORBIDDEN City,
PEKING, 28th August 1900
In his account of this unique ceremony, in “China
and the Allies,” Mr Landor makes the following
somewhat odd statement with regard to the feelings
of the Allies : “ The pipers remained in the court-
yard . . . until ... and at last the Wei-hai-wei
regiment, all passed through, all received with
thundering cheers, moderated slightly towards the
Chinese regiment, for it seemed to go against the
grain, even with the Allies, that Chinamen should
have been sent to fight against Chinamen. One
felt rather sorry at their present position, for as a
regiment they are a wonderful body of men.”
With regard to these surprisingly lofty feelings,
which, if they existed at all, otherwise than in the
writer's lively imagination, may be safely ascribed
to jealousy, it is needless to say anything, but, so
far as any diminution of enthusiasm goes, a word


150
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
or two may not be amiss. The numberless “checks"
and subsequent “rushes” which are inseparable
from a long column winding round corners, up and
down somewhat slippery stone steps not constructed
for the martial tread of armed men, had finally
caused a large gap of nearly fifty yards between
our party and that of the Hong-Kong regiment
immediately in front of us, just as we came to the
end. The Russians and Japanese, who were
cheering more or less “by order," seeing no one
following the party in front of us, as we were still
in the previous courtyard, and therefore out of sight,
not unnaturally “eased off” a little, rather than
cheer at nothing. I know, from my own senses,
first of hearing, and then of seeing, that this was
an absolute fact, and also that as soon as we appeared
in their yard the cheering burst forth with, I fancy,
the renewed vigour born of a short breathing space.
In all those cheering masses I doubt if there were
ten men who knew our men were Chinese; for,
dressed as they were, in khaki, with their “queues"
rolled up under their straw hats, and nothing
whatever Chinese about them, they might have
passed for any race, and were, no doubt, supposed
to be another Oriental corps. If they were known
to be Chinese, which I doubt entirely, we may
take the fact of our reception, whether good or
bad, as an immense compliment, as proving that


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 151
we had attracted an amount of notice of which I,
for one, had no idea at all. With all their en-
thusiasm, I do not suppose the ordinary Russian
soldier cared a jot for whom he cheered, so long
as he cheered someone.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 153
with the necessary instruments to make it noon at
the right time, and when he gave the word a match
was duly applied to the old gun's vent, but with
no other result than a little fizzle there. Nothing
daunted, another attempt was made, this time with
far more startling results. There was the same
fizzle, then a much more pronounced and more
prolonged one, ending in an explosion midway
between a puff and a bang, and a great spherical
ball went cavorting and hurtling through the air,
striking the side of the main gate of the Carriage
Park with no mean violence. Luckily the rain of
the previous night had run down the gun's muzzle,
and damped the ardour of the charge therein, which
might otherwise have propelled that ball much
farther afield.
We had, by this time, received orders to rejoin
the regiment at Tientsin, and were expecting to
leave any day with the Naval Brigade, our move
being postponed for a day at least owing to the
heavy rains. On the 29th, however, we received
orders which upset our previous ones. There had
been left, at various points along the Peiho, parties
of Marines, and as these had to be relieved, we
were detailed for this duty. One officer and thirty
men were told off for Tungchow, one officer and
twenty men for Matou, and the rest for Ho-hsi-wu,
Captain Barnes being appointed Post Commandant


154
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
at the latter post. Captain Hill was detailed for
Tungchow, and Lieutenant Bray for Matou, Lieu-
tenant Layard going to Ho-hsi-wu, and Captain
Dent being left behind at Peking sick.
We left Peking at 6.30 A.M. on the 31st August,
and reached Tungchow, after a very tiring march
over heavy roads, about 5 P.M.
Before leaving, Major St John told Captain Barnes
that he had had great pleasure in sending in a
report of the excellent way in which the men had
worked, without a grumble, throughout all that
trying march, and made several nice remarks about
them.
It is only fair to add, moreover, before we finally
leave Peking, that throughout our stay there no
complaints were received from any person as to
the behaviour of any of the men.


Part VI
OTHER OPERATIONS
CHAPTER XXV
BEFORE going on to account for the doings of the
various parties scattered along the Peiho, let us
return for a little to Tientsin and follow the
fortunes of the headquarters of the regiment there.
Information having been received by a patrol
of Bengal cavalry that some 2000 Boxers and
Imperial troops, with two guns, were established
in a village about seven miles south-west of Tientsin,
a force, under the command of General Dorward,
went out against them on the 19th August. It
was composed as follows :—200 Japanese Infantry,
300 Native Infantry drawn from the Bombay
Sappers, 1st Sikhs, and 1st Madras Pioneers, 50
of the Chinese Regiment, 30 Bengal Cavalry, and
17 Austrians.
Our party consisted of 40 men of No. 1 and 10
of No. 7, under Major Pereira, with Lieutenants
Toke and Brooke, and Colour-Sergeants Brook and
Bunting.
155


156
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
The troops assembled at 4 A.M. outside the Hai-
kwan-ssu Arsenal, and moved off at 5 A.M. About
7 A.M. a very heavy fire was opened on the right
of the infantry, in the direction taken by the
cavalry. The infantry at once deployed and ad-
vanced in extended order through the “ kaoliang,"
of which there were several fields, and which
completely hid them from the enemy. The cavalry
was all this time heavily engaged and was fighting
a dismounted action, in which it sustained some
few casualties. Owing to the heavy nature of the
ground the advance of the infantry was painfully
slow, but they eventually came into action on the
left of the cavalry. Seeing this, the enemy made
as if to stop the further advance of the infantry,
but were met with such a fire as to compel them
to retire themselves.
When our people first emerged from the high
crops they saw the enemy in disordered masses
of cavalry and infantry, doing their best to oppose
the dismounted cavalry. The advance was con-
tinued at a steady double, the Bombay Sappers
on the right, Chinese regiment party and the
Austrians in the centre, the Japanese on the
left, with the remainder in support. It was at
this stage that the enemy essayed to check the
advance by a counter-attack, in which the Boxers
were given the post of honour in front, the Imperial


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 157
troops keeping well in rear. As has been said,
a few volleys from our people and the Bombay
Sappers drove them off, and they retired on a small
village to their right. To prevent them from
occupying this village the firing line advanced at
the double, and the enemy, after firing a few shots,
continued their retirement, with the Allies in full
pursuit.
At this point the “ cease fire ” was sounded and
the troops ordered to halt, the Chinese, meanwhile,
streaming away over an open plain to a position
about a mile and a half away among some trees.
The casualties on our side were, one killed and
seven wounded, all among the cavalry; while the
Chinese losses were estimated at about 300. After
burning five villages, which had clearly been
perfect hot-beds of Boxerdom, the force returned
to Tientsin, our men having marched and worked
under fire to the satisfaction of everyone.
As a battle, this affair was somewhat spoiled by
the cavalry, who usurped the functions of the
infantry by leading the attack on foot, and leaving
the duty of following up the retiring enemy to the
infantry, a manifestly unfair division of labour, but
caused by some differences in training and ideas
on the part of the United States cavalry. Had
they, on discovering the enemy's position, returned
to the main force with that information, instead of


158
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
dismounting and getting heavily engaged, the
infantry would, in all human probability, have done
their own work their own way, leaving the cavalry
free to threaten the enemy's flanks and to fall
heavily upon them when they fled. This was
especially the case, as General Dorward's idea had
been for the cavalry to make a wide detour and
seize a bridge in rear of the enemy's position, and
so cut off their retreat while the infantry attack
was pressed home in front.


CHAPTER XXVI
The defeat above recorded had the effect of keeping
the enemy in the vicinity of Tientsin quiet for a
time; but, towards the end of August, and in the
early part of September, news began to arrive of
gatherings farther off than the last. The city of
Tsing-hai, on the Yün Ho, or Grand Canal, about
thirty miles to the south-west of Tientsin, was
reported to be full of Boxers and Imperial troops,
and it was decided to proceed against it.
Accordingly, on the 8th September, three
columns, under the supreme command of General
Dorward, left Tientsin for that purpose. Owing to
the large numbers of Chinese said to be in this
city, considerable opposition was anticipated, the
more especially as it was reported that they had
been mounting heavy guns on the walls.
Our party went with that column commanded
by General Richardson, and consisted of fifty
men of Nos. 1 and 6 Companies, under Lieutenant
Toke, with Lieutenants Brooke and Stoddart,
Sergeant - Major Cook and Colour - Sergeant
Whittaker. General Richardson's column consisted
of “B” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, one
159


162
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
to assist the Russians and Germans, who were to
attack the said Peitsang Forts, on the 19th
September.
The other portion of the British force consisted
of 300 men of the Australian Naval Contingent,
100 of the 24th Punjab Infantry, and 100 of the
34th Pioneers. The whole party was kept talking
and arguing on the river-bank till 11 P.M., owing
to the unwillingness of the Russians to open their
bridge to allow the junks to pass down. It may
be imagined that this extraordinary action on the
part of one of our Allies caused no little unfavour-
able comment and a large amount of bad language.
At one time our own little party was told that
there was no room for it on the few junks available,
and that it could follow by train next day. This
plan, however, did not commend itself, and, eventu-
ally, the others having started off in a lighter, towed
by a tug, our people “commandeered” a junk, and
by dint of most determined efforts on the part of
everyone on board, and with the help of a gale of
wind, caught the rest of our force up about 6 A.M.,
just as they were disembarking.
Owing to some unfortunate mistake, this dis-
embarkation took place some eight miles from the
point arranged as a rendezvous for the whole of
the forces, instead of at one only two miles distant
therefrom, causing an unnecessarily long march,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 163
the rendezvous not being reached till 10.30 A.M.
Here General Lorne-Campbell, commanding the
British force, met his party, having come on by
train. It was found that the Russians and Germans
had gone on over-night, instead of waiting for our
contingent, but, according to rumour, had been
driven back by the mines laid by the Chinese.
The force did not move off till about noon, having
to wait for 300 of the 20th Punjab Infantry, who
were coming up from Taku, and also for a further
contingent from Tientsin. It was a perfect day,
and the force marched across a beautiful open
plain for some two or three miles until they
struck the main Taku road. Continuing along this
for another ten miles, they arrived within sight of
the Peitsang Forts about 4 P.M., just in time to see
the last mine exploding in the far distance. There
being no further use for their services, the men were
ordered to bivouac where they were for the night.
In this affair, of which the most charitable thing
that can be said is that it was wofully mismanaged,
the Russians were said to have lost about 100 in
killed and wounded, and the Germans about ten,
all by the explosion of mines during their advance.
The losses on the Chinese side were very trifling,
only five bodies being found inside the forts, the
enemy, as usual, having evacuated them long before
things really got interesting.


PART VII
ON THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION
CHAPTER XXVII
We left the Peking detachment at Tungchow, where
they put up, for the night of the 31st August, in a
wood-yard on the river, all except Captain Hill and
his thirty men, who were at once quartered in the
British post.
Next morning, having drawn eight days' rations,
the rest of us left at 10.20, en route for Matou. On
the way we passed a number of Japanese with a
large convoy, and also a number of the French
17th Infantry, all on the way to Peking. We
reached Matou, some eighteen miles, about five in
the evening. Here we dropped Lieutenant Bray
and his twenty men of No. 4 Company, leaving
about 8.30 A.m. on the 2nd September. On the way
we passed a lot more French strung out along the
road in a way that seemed to indicate excessive
fatigue. It was, at this time, popularly supposed
that from Matou to Ho-hsi-wu was about ten miles ;
but we, who had marched over that road before,
165


166
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
knew better, and so were not disappointed when it
ran into eighteen or nineteen. The French, how-
ever, had not had our advantages, and when we met
their commandant about six or seven miles south
of Matou, he was looking for that place, and was
most horror-struck when he found how far it still
was off.
We reached Ho-hsi-wu at 4.30 P.m., and having
got the men fairly settled into the huts where the
Marines had been living, they going on board their
junks in readiness for an early start next morning,
the business of taking over the post commenced.
This consisted largely in visiting the officers of the
other Allies, and in being entertained by them.
It often causes wonder how such diverse people
as Russians, Japanese, and English communicate on
these occasions, and if my experiences can throw
any light on the matter, here they are. The
Japanese was the worst officer to tackle, as he had
no language but his own. He had, however, a
sergeant who could write English and could read
written English, though he could neither speak nor
understand a single word. When I called upon the
said Captain Nagatani, the sergeant arrived and
produced a penny note-book, which he handed to
me, and something of this sort went on. I wrote,
in my best schoolboy round hand: “I am the new
post commandant. I have come to visit you. I am


168
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
nominal, and would only have been exercised in
case of an attack or of any combined action, and
one never dreamed of even asking how the other
parties went along, or of attempting in any way
to “boss" them. It had been arranged on the
way up that each Power should have the Post
Commandant at at least one international post on
the lines of communication, and Ho-hsi-wu was
ours. So far as I now remember, a Frenchman
commanded at Peitsang, a Russian at Yangtsun,
a Japanese at Tsaitsun, an Englishman at Ho-
hsi-wu, an American at Matou, Tungchow being
nominally under a Russian General.
At Ho-hsi-wu the garrison in our time was :-
British - one native officer and 35 sowars,
16th Bengal Lancers (after a time relieved by 3rd
Bombay Cavalry), 12 of the Hong-Kong Artillery
with a maxim, and some 70 of our men.
American—Company “C” of the 9th United
States Infantry.
German - one Company of the 2nd Marine
Battalion.
Russian — nominally a Company, but often a
great many more.
Japanese—much the same, as they had a very
large supply camp on the river bank. Their main
post was, however, some 800 yards to the north,
in a joss house surrounded by a high wall.


170
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
We have later news than that. The Chinese have
retaken Peking.” He then went on.
The Americans were, as was the case all through
this queer war, our great friends, and for all that
politicians may say and papers write, I am convinced
that the campaign has done more than fifty old
treaties to bring the two nations together.
Both the Russians and the Japanese were too
busy after their own affairs for us to see much
of, to say nothing of the linguistic difficulties in
the way of close intimacy.


CHAPTER XXVIII
A BRIEF description of our new station and its sur-
roundings may not be out of place at this juncture.
Situated on the right bank of the Peiho, about
midway between Tientsin and Peking, it will be
seen that its position made it a post of some import-
ance to the Allies, for the storing and forwarding of
supplies, and for keeping up communications in each
direction. It really consists of a collection of small
villages, some six in number, which, scattered over
a wide area, render a large garrison necessary for its
defence. For this reason the post was confined
(except as regards the Japanese) to a small hamlet
on a slightly rising ground almost in the apex of the
triangle formed by the convergence of the road and
the river, and very handy for both. The road
embankment was intrenched, forming the line of
defence on the north and west, the river protected
us from any rush on the east, and on the south the
crops were cleared away for half-a-mile or so, and
a breastwork built at that part of the post. The
Japanese were responsible for the northern defences,
the Germans for those on the north-west, the
Russians came in between them and the Americans,
171



The International Post at Ho-hsi-wu, from the south-east, British section,
with the crowd at the market.





174
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
on the south, came the British post, its few houses
also eked out with matsheds, until, as will be seen,
we turned to and built. Opposite us were the
Americans, by far the worst off for houses, most of
them living under canvas, or in matsheds. The
Russians were to the west of the United States
men, between them and the road, entirely under
canvas and matsheds of their own manufacture,
although after a bit we gave them a small shanty
in the German post as a hospital.
As has been said, the road formed the line of
defence on the west and north. On the river side
there was a mud wall, which we continued to the
south, and round to the west, so as to embrace the
whole of our post.
As the weather began to get colder we found
that matsheds were not enough for the men, so
we started them on to build brick huts in place of
them. There were thousands and thousands of new
bricks all over the town, which we brought in in
cartloads, for we found among our men quite a
good many who were regular bricklayers, and every-
one did so well that in a very short time all the
men had good sound tiled buildings over their
heads. It was quite an eye-opener even to us,
who might have been beyond being surprised at
anything our men were able to do, and people
used to come and look with wonder at our works.



The International Post at Ho-hsi-wu from the west, showing the huts and
mat-sheds occupied by the German detachment.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 175
The main one was called “Barnes Buildings,” on
the other side of the front door being an inscription
to the effect that the whole had been put up “by
Nos. 2 and 3 Companies, 1st Chinese Regiment, in
September 1900.” Our own house was so small
that we had taken our meals in the open air up
to date, but now we had the men add on a dining-
room for us, and some sportsman found a huge
pane of glass which we put in as a window. Un-
fortunately we forgot it till rather late, and built
the wall gaily up without leaving a space for it.
When we remembered it, rather than tear down
the wall, we put it in at the height the wall then
was, the result being that it was rather near the
roof. Still, you cannot have everything on service.
We also started to put up stables for the cavalry
detachment, but our relief came before we had got
very far.


178
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
There was a ford some ten miles north of us,
and we were constantly getting rumours of troops
crossing the river there. One party came by and
told us that their junk had grounded near this ford
late at night, and could not be got off till daylight.
Nearly all night long, they said, a battle had raged
about them, with big guns, musketry, and all the
latest modern improvements. This is one of the
stories we used to get, and with which our spirits
were kept up.
On the 30th September two Indian grass-cutters,
who had strayed across the river, were attacked in
a village on the other side only a few hundred yards
higher up, by, as they said, some 200 men, and
rather roughly handled, only escaping by swimming
over. We at once fell in all our available men,
but, unluckily, owing to the patrol duty, there
were only twelve of the cavalry to be got. In
addition to these we had twelve of the Hong-Kong
Artillery, with their maxim, and fifty of our own
men. I asked the Americans if they would care
to send a party, but as they were just leaving the
post, and expected their junks any moment, they
did not come. I then asked Lieutenant von Brinken
to bring twelve men, which he gladly did. We
crossed the river, and scoured the country for some
miles round, but without success. The cavalry
saw in the distance some eighty men, armed


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 179
with rifles, etc., but they dispersed into the still-
standing crops, and we could find no trace of
them. After a little we returned to the village,
and piling all the inflammable stuff we could
find in the houses, we set it on fire. Just before
this, one of the men had disappeared, and we had
very strong suspicions that he had been killed.
These were confirmed by information I afterwards
received, that his body had been seen in that very
village, the people, in fact, thinking that that was
why we had destroyed the place as we did. There
is no doubt that all this time there were many
pretty loose fish about the river; for more than one
unfortunate Indian was reported missing, having
strayed a little way off the towing-path.
Beyond this little fracas, our relations with the
people, as I have said, were of the very best; but
we confined our attentions to our own side of the
river, our only visit to the other side being that
above mentioned. After we had been in the place
about three weeks, a large deputation came from a
town called Fu-ching-hsien, some ten or twelve
miles away, to express the townsfolks' appreciation
of the kindness of England, and to ask to be taken
under our protection. This seemed a bit outside
our powers, but it showed that the presence of our
men was not without its result.
The greatest triumph, however, that we achieved



A scene in the market at Ho-hsi-wu.


182
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
A few days later another incident of the same
sort occurred, and one of the men brought me
another cap. Close at his heels came the same
interpreter man, thinking to recover the property
in the same simple way. However, I was not
taking any, and told him an officer must come for
it this time; and, as he seemed disinclined to take
“no” as his answer, he was ejected, as gently as
his offence permitted, from our yard. Shortly after
an officer duly arrived, immaculately dressed, to
apologise. He did so so nicely that I almost felt
as if I was the offender, but took the opportunity
of telling him that, if this sort of thing went on,
and the natives were ill-treated by his men when
they were so peaceably employed, I should be com-
pelled to stop his men using the market altogether.
It appeared that the offender was a cavalry man, on
his way home, and that his spirits—and those of
the canteen man—had got the better of him. After
that we had no more bother at all.


CHAPTER XXX
DURING the time the Marine detachment were at
Ho-hsi-wu their medical comfort was attended to
by Surgeon Hall, R.N., who went away with
them, and for some time we were left with the
hospital assistant who had come down from Peking
with us. This, however, was not considered
sufficient, in view of the numbers of sick, and;
possibly, wounded, who would pass down; so on
the 8th September, Section D of the 39th Native
Field Hospital arrived from Tientsin, under
Lieutenant G. H. Stewart, Indian Medical Service.
Owing to the lack of accommodation they had
to be put under canvas; but in a short time our
energetic “P.M.O.” got them started likewise at
house-building, and they put up some very pass-
able huts under his supervision, called “Stewart
Terrace.” The kahar's well-known propensity for
strong waters caused us some little trouble at one
time, and we found that a regular grog-shop had
been opened in one of the shops in the town.
As I had only allowed these shops to open on
the distinct understanding that they sold no liquor
to any British troops or followers at all, this was
183


186
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Among them, I may mention General Dorward,
Sir Walter Hillier, the Civil Adviser, Mr Reginald
Tower, · Secretary of Legation, Admiral Alexieff,
Generals Chaffee and Wilson, U.S.A., General
Richardson and the Indian Cavalry Brigade, who
made us feel very proud of ourselves and our
country, the Italian Chief of the Staff, and all sorts
of special artists and correspondents, besides numer-
ous officers with convoys and detachments, either up
or down, so that our days were full up at times with
new and interesting faces.
I have already referred to the Indian Field Post
Office, which for some time forwarded and received
letters by British junks going up and down. This
arrangement was plainly not in keeping with the
usual excellence of the Indian Field Post Office; so
towards the end of September a regular system of
mule-dâks was arranged, to run twice a week.
Each left either Peking or Tientsin in the early
morning, both arriving at Ho-hsi-wu about seven
at night, and starting off again the next day early,
the mules and escort from the north returning there,
and those from the south going with the southward-
bound mails. It was a very good arrangement, and
insured a regular and rapid service of letters.
Almost at soon as the Legations were relieved the
Chinese Imperial Post Office resumed its couriers
from Peking. One day I received a visit from my


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 187
friend Lieutenant Yakomovitch, to ask if I could lend
him an interpreter, as he had got a strange Chinese
prisoner. There being no interpreter in at the
moment, I went myself, and there I found, to my
great astonishment, an apparently stray Celestial
with a bag full of registered letters addressed to
every country in the world almost, containing, no
doubt, graphic and glowing accounts of the siege
and relief, and possibly far more important matter.
This man, who had nothing to distinguish him from
an ordinary coolie, was apparently a postal runner,
and had been captured by a Cossack patrol and
brought in for examination as to his antecedents.
He was handed over to me, and as I thought his
method of progression was somewhat slow, and
none too sure, for he had left Peking on the
28th August, and this was the 3rd of September, I
sent him on by the next British south-bound junk,
so that that mail, at all events, got down safely.
The man was also wounded in the hand, by Boxers,
he said. It will be noted that he left Peking
three days before we did and arrived a day be-
hind us, so that his rate was not excessively fast.
The Germans seemed to send their mails per
officer, for these were continually passing through
on that errand. No doubt they got them all the
better for this plan; but I can well remember the
alarm and despondency that was caused when



186
ON ACTIVE SERVICI
Among them, I may mention Ge
Sir Walter Hillier, the Civil Advi.
Tower, Secretary of Legation,
Generals Chaffee and Wilson,
Richardson and the Indian Ca
made us feel very proud of
country, the Italian Chief of t)
of special artists and correspon
ous officers with convoys and
or down, so that our days w
new and interesting faces.
I have already referred
Office, which for some ti
letters by British junks
arrangement was plair
usual excellence of th
tower is the end of
muleiks was arr:
Each left either
morn both ar
at ni and star
the
and
bou



APTER XXXI
n to the other parties of the
how and Matou, although very
is forthcoming as regards the
er place, owing to an unfortunate
obbed the regiment of one of its
the officers of one of their greatest
lmost wiped the detachment out.
ever, the best possible authority for
he inhabitants of the neighbouring
eciated the presence of our men as
is the case at the other posts, and
en did an enormous amount of good in
of conciliating them. It is only natural
should be the case, when one thinks what
ous race the Chinese are and how impossible
get them to place any reliance in what they
1. The ordinary “foreign devil” may assure
of his good-will, and may make them all sorts
omises, at which they will only “wink the
eye"; but show them one of their own race,
fed, well cared for, and generally full of con-
nent, and they must realise that there is
hing in the ways of the nation that can
189


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 191
who was directing the operation, and eleven of
our men were most severely burned, so severely,
in fact, that all but two men died within the next
few days, the other two being fit for very little
afterwards.
Besides our men, the Welsh Fusiliers had ten
men injured, the 7th Rajputs, four; the 1st Sikhs,
eleven-in all, one officer, one native officer, and
36 rank and file.


CHAPTER XXXII
Matou, a long straggling village on the right bank
of the Peiho, midway between Ho-hsi-wu and Tung-
chow, was an international post on the lines of com-
munication, commanded by an American officer, as
has been said already, and there Lieutenant Bray,
with twenty men of No. 4 Company, arrived on the
1st September 1900. It was the headquarters of
the squadron of the Indian cavalry told off to patrol
the line from Tungchow on the north to Ho-hsi-wu
on the south. The other British troops there were,
ten of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, thirty men from
the native Indian regiments, a few telegraph
operators, and Indian sappers, besides our own
men. There were also parties of Americans,
Russians, Germans, and French.
After his arrival Lieutenant Bray set to work
to fortify the British section by means of shelter
trenches, loop-holed walls, and other recognised
methods, besides clearing away the high crops for
some 500 yards to the front.
Owing to the orders we had to cultivate friendly
relations with the surrounding people, Lieutenant
Bray got the officers of the other Allies to prevent
192


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 193
their men going into the villages round about, at the
same time informing the head-men that their people
would receive full protection if they would come in
and establish a regular market for the sale of eggs,
vegetables, etc. This they readily did, with the
result that there was always an ample supply of such
commodities, and the best relations were entered
into with the people. It will thus be seen once
more that our men were instrumental in doing much
good in the way of reassuring these unfortunate
people, who, in reality, were probably far more
sinned against than sinning.
On the 9th September an American patrol was
attacked by Boxers, a little over a mile to the north
of Matou. As soon as news of this was received,
Captain Browne, commanding the party of the 1st
Bengal Lancers, went out with twenty-five of his
men, and coming upon the Boxers about four miles
out, killed about fifty of them, without losing a man.
About this time the same sounds of furious battles
raging near at hand perturbed the Matou garrison,
heavy firing having been heard in a south-westerly
direction. The prevalent idea seemed to be that on
many occasions this firing was either the villagers
fighting with the bands of robbers who seemed to
infest the country side, or merely firing off their
ancient pieces to discourage those same bands and
encourage themselves at the same time.


194
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
On the 22nd a German patrol was fired on at a
village some miles to the south, and the following
day a composite force went out to see about it. The
force consisted of forty British cavalry, twenty-five
British infantry, mainly composed of our men,
seventy-five Americans, twenty-five Germans, and
forty Japanese. The defaulting village was found
to be deserted, and to all appearances looted.
Though cleared of most other things, it contained,
curiously enough, a considerable quantity of weapons,
including Mauser rifles, which were all removed.
Lieutenant Hunter, of the 3rd Bombay Cavalry,
which had by this time relieved the 1st Bengal
Lancers, came upon some 2000 Boxers, with carts
laden with loot; but, owing to some mistake, this
good news never reached the main body until it
was too late to go after them.


CHAPTER XXXIII
All things are bound to have an end, and so it was
as regards our sojourn on the Peiho. I shall not
attempt to disguise the fact that I liked being there,
in spite of the few disadvantages, due to an absence
of proper accommodation as the weather got colder,
and to the fact that we had but slender raiment.
The advantages far outweighed all this. As regards
that portion of our anatomy on which an army is
said to march, I doubt if anyone in China, on service
or in peace time, was better off. The food of our-
selves, our colour-sergeants, and our men, was first-
rate in quality and quantity, and we wanted nothing
except a regular supply of bread, which we did not
always get, being just about midway between two
bakeries. The place was, moreover, exceedingly
interesting owing to the constant stream of traffic
of troops, stores, and people of importance, by road
and river. It was a very liberal education—as indeed
was the whole campaign-on the ways of various
nationalities who may not always be on our side,
but any reference to these ways does not naturally
enter into these pages.
On the 6th October a party of the 1st Madras
195


196
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
Pioneers, under Captain Batten, arrived to relieve
us, and we left the next morning. The local people
were, naturally, sorry to see the last of us, and so
were the remainder of the British garrison. In some
mysterious way peculiar to soldiers, our men had
become great friends with the Indian soldiers, and
there were many somewhat amusing partings to be
witnessed between them, although neither knew a
word of the other's tongue. It was curious also to
see how friendly one or two of the German soldiers
were with our men. I daresay they came from
Kiao-chau, where they had picked up a few words
of Chinese, and were improving the occasion by a
little practice.
On the 7th we marched right through to Yangtsun,
some twenty-one miles, halting at Tsaitsun en route.
In the forenoon we met Li-hung-chang going north
under Russian escort, and I was able to take a snap-
shot of the astute old man as he went by. He may
be made out sitting in the shade of the junk's deck-
house. His junk, with its immense dark blue sail
and Chinese flag, was a very conspicuous object for
miles in that flat country.
It rained all that night at Yangtsun, and all next
day, for that matter; but as the men had no proper
shelter, we started once more at noon, having waited
in vain for it to fair up. We passed over the former
battlefield, and halted, in heavy rain, for about an



Li Hung Chang en route to Peking, under Russian escort, 7th October 1900.


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 197
hour in the afternoon, making an immense bonfire
for the men to dry their clothes. We finally halted
for the night in an outlying portion of a village on
the river, taking possession of a large house with
two courtyards, which held us, mules and all, com-
fortably. As it was detached from the remainder,
and stoutly built with a wall all round, a couple of
sentries gave us all the security from any sudden
attack that we needed. In the evening we saw
thousands and thousands of duck Aying over our
heads in a southerly direction. I should be sorry
to hazard even a guess at their numbers, for no one
who has never seen this sight would believe me,
but they were countless. The next day, when near
Tientsin, we saw the same thing away to the north,
and they were like great long clouds.
We went on next morning, and after a short
halt at the bridge at Peitsang, and another out-
side Tientsin city, arrived at our old billet in
Collins & Company's godowns shortly after 2 P.M.
Tientsin we found much changed. The place was
full of soldiers of all sorts, more or less pleasant
to meet on a dark night, and everywhere we
could see the signs of improvement in the place
due to the exertions of the local provisional
government, at that time consisting of only three
members, Colonel Bower, Colonel Wogack (Russia),
and Colonel Aoki (Japan). Bands played in the


198
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
gardens nearly every evening, causing great and
notable gatherings of the élite. A Zouave band
was specially fine and large, and, from its number
of reed instruments, was preferred by most people
to an almost equally fine German band with whom
brass predominated.
The regiment was very largely employed on
guard duties, and we found no less than nine,
besides our own quarter-guard. It was this alone
that kept us on at Tientsin, as we could not be
spared from that garrison until the arrival of the
majority of the Fourth Indian Brigade, who helped
our old friends, the Hong-Kong Regiment, in these
guard duties after we had left.
We finally left the scene of our early struggles
on the 20th of October 1900, being played to
the station by the band and drums of the Hong-
Kong Regiment, a kindness that was very deeply
appreciated by us all. It was an awful day. First
the dust was appalling; and, just as we arrived at
the station, to hear the glad tidings that our
train from the north was some two hours late, it
began to rain and snow, with that bitter North
China north wind, which has to be met to be
fully appreciated. The men were by this time
packed in empty open trucks, and amidst these
pleasant surroundings we awaited the arrival of
our train. We were but little better off then,





200
ON ACTIVE SERVICE
ships in those waters, and did not get off for
twenty-four hours. It is one of the queerest sights
in a queer land to see steamers of all sorts and sizes
sitting on the Taku mud at low water, with only
three or four feet of water under them, and all
their lines exposed as if in dry dock. We got off
the next afternoon, after a great struggle, and were
soon alongside the P. and O. s.s. Sumatra, which,
after an uneventful voyage, brought us the next
evening to Wei-hai-wei. We were disembarked
the next forenoon, and in the fulness of time
arrived at Matou, where no one had expected us,
but where we were, nevertheless, very welcome.
One can never hope to penetrate the Chinese mind,
but I have no doubt there were many glad hearts
that day, for, after all, human nature is the same
all the world over.
There remains but little now to tell, for since
then our life has been one of peace and daily
routine, such as is the same everywhere. Early
in May 1901, the note of war was once more
sounded over some more or less fancied troubles
in Korea, and we were warned to stand by with
600 men, for conveyance to Chemulpo in H.M.S.
Terrible. We did so for about a week, till the
scare died a natural death.
All this time we have not stood still. At the
moment, we have 12 companies of over 1200 men,


WITH THE CHINESE REGIMENT 201
and, should there be another call for our services,
we can easily find a party far in excess of the little
one of 200 men that first left Wei-hai-wei for the
front on the 20th June 1900.


APPENDIX A
205
Globe, 8th May.-... Two possible risks might have
occurred to the commandant of the Wei-hai-wei regiment, when
the camps were assailed by, no doubt, largely superior numbers.
His men, scarcely inured to discipline, might either break their
formation or give way to disloyalty. Happily, the battalion
proved both trustworthy and courageous; standing its ground
as firmly as seasoned troops could have done, it emerged from
its baptism of fire in a highly creditable manner.
Londoner, 12th May.— ... More significant is the admir-
able steadiness, under English officers, of the little body of
Chinese troops who beat them off. Once again Englishmen
have shown their unique power of manufacturing admirable
soldiers out of native material, and their success may prove
important in future times of trouble.
The Times correspondent (15th May 1900). — Peking,
13th May.—Much satisfaction is felt in British circles at the
admirable coolness and discipline of the soldiers of the Chinese
regiment, which prove the complete success of the experiment
of forming a Chinese force under British officers.
(Many more there are to the same effect, but the above should
suffice to show that the men's conduct at that trying time elicited
much favourable comment in papers of all kinds.)
CENTRAL NEWS TELEGRAM (8th July 1900).-TAKU, 28th
June. —The ist Chinese Regiment at Wei-hai-wei at the com-
mencement of the crisis eagerly begged to be sent to the front to
fight under their adopted flag, and as time went on without the
arrival of the desired orders dissatisfaction was openly expressed
by the men. Finally it was decided to give the new regiment a
chance, and there was wild rejoicing at Wei-hai-wei when the
orders came to hand.
Daily Mail correspondent (11th July 1900). — TIENTSIN, 5th
July.-... There is general satisfaction at the conduct of the
Ist Chinese Regiment, which has already been under fire two or
three times . ... The accuracy of the Chinese artillery is
simply incredible. Many of their guns quite outrange those of


208
APPENDIX A
Chinamen, however, paid no attention to him, but trotted on
until they reached their goal. Out of twenty-three of these
brave fellows eight fell.
The Manchester Guardian correspondent (14th September
1900). —TIENTSIN, 14th July.-... The ist Chinese Regiment,
raised in Wei-hai-wei, has behaved admirably under both shell
and rifle fire, without much dash, but with a stoical composure
which is often of quite as much value. The conclusion come to
by those who have watched their conduct here in the field is
that they are capable of anything under good leading, but that
with them it is very much a case of devotion to and belief in
their officers.
The Broad Arrow, 22nd September 1900.-, .. The differ-
ence between the English and German soldier is not spiritual, but
national. ... The individuality, capacity for initiative and
independence of the Englishman have made him supreme in
the world; the German, who readily submits to authority,
and lacks self-reliance, has been forced to play a lesser part.
Apparently Colonel Maude has mistaken a national character-
istic for duty at its best. If not, how is it that Germans
so signally fail to rule foreign peoples? Their Chinese
regiment, raised in Shan-tung, went over in a body to
their own people at the first opportunity ; the Chinese
regiment raised in Wei-hai-wei has proved its devotion to its
British officers over and over again. That our system of
education is defective may be admitted ; that the sense of
duty is more highly developed in Germans than in ourselves
must be denied. By their works ye shall know them.
Standard special correspondent (11th October 1900). —WEI-
HAI-WEI, Ioth August.-, . . It is also gratifying to know that
another experiment in connection with Wei-hai-wei, the raising
of a Chinese regiment under British officers and non-commis-
sioned officers, has been attended with success. Thanks to
the forethought of our high military authorities, it has been
proved that Chinese picked from certain parts of the country,
and carefully trained by British officers, make excellent fighting


APPENDIX A
209
material. And the trial has been no light one, when the
time available for training for active service, and the circum-
stances, are remembered. If in the future more should be
required, there is little doubt they will be forthcoming ; but
that they should be willing, as they have now shown they are,
to lay down their lives, not for their own country, but for those
now fighting against their compatriots, is inexplicable. But
China is a land of contradictions, and, now more than ever, of
great mysteries.
The Army and Navy Gazette, 29th September 1900.-...
The New York Sun offers some criticism of the Wei-hai-wei regi.
ment on this occasion (the final assault and taking of Tientsin
City by the Allies), and says that, though some of the men were
raw recruits, all showed what the Chinese can do when well
led and well organised. “With the eyes of the fighting men
of eight nations watching to see them show the first sign of
wavering, they followed their gallant officers with hardly a
duck, and swung across that fire-spattered field with almost
as much precision as the superb little Japanese.” The gallant
officers are given great credit for the intrepidity with which
they advanced and led their men, but the correspondent of
the Sun censures them for having “ stalked along ahead of
the men as unconcerned as if only on parade, instead of helpless
under a hell fire of Mannlichers to which they could not
reply.” The correspondent apparently overlooked the fact
that these officers had not only to lead their men, but to
do so conspicuously, for it is not likely that the Chinese are
yet such trained soldiers that they can recognise the leadership
of officers who hide themselves.
North China Daily News, SHANGHAI, Ist September 1900.-
(Extract from correspondence from Wei-hai-wei.)... There
has been a good deal of prejudice against the regiment exhibited
in one way and another, largely born of the conviction in many
minds that Chinese are no good anyway. Certainly, these
prejudices do not seem to have been justified so far. They
fought bravely and well under the walls of Tientsin ; let it
be remembered that they fought with our troops, and on the


APPENDIX A
211
Peking itself, the spectacle of well-fed, contented Chinese did
much to conciliate and attract to us the inhabitants of the
various districts; and the use these men were to the authorities
in many ways, where the most intellectual foreigner would have
been at fault, has only to be reflected upon to be fully realised.
The Times, 17th July 1901.-... The record of the
Chinese regiment is equally remarkable. After two years
under their British officers, all but a handful of them volunteered
to fight against their own countrymen and the Imperial troops.
They were true, without wavering for a moment, to their
colours under extraordinarily trying circumstances. They ignored
the jeers and the allurements of their own race, and steadily did
their duty. The success of our officers in this instance is the
more remarkable because it is set off by the failure of the
Germans to organise a similar corps. They had devoted about
a year to raising a native regiment at Kiao-chau ; but, the
moment the rank and file learnt upon what errand it was pro-
posed to despatch them, that regiment ceased to exist. After
all, there is something in tradition and experience, and in the
tact they bring, in the handling of men, and these are advantages,
as the events of this year prove, we still possess in a degree
which is not only signal but unique.


APPENDIX C
215
2. At 3 A.M., on 9th July, a combined force of Japanese,
Russian, American, and British troops moved out from the
Taku Gate at the southern end of the foreign Settlements,
with the object of clearing the Chinese Imperial troops and
Boxers and their guns from the villages south of the Mud
Parapet, and also from the Western Arsenal.
3. The force consisted of 1000 Japanese, including three
troops of cavalry, a battery of mountain artillery, and a party
of engineers, under General Fukushima, and of 950 British
(two companies and Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, two
2.5-in. guns, two maxims of the Hong-Kong Royal Artillery,
half-company Hong-Kong regiment, two companies ist Chinese
Regiment, 400 Marines and Bluejackets), 400 Russians, and
200 American troops, under my command.
4. The whole force, with the exception of the Americans,
who advanced on the Arsenal along the Mud Parapet, pro-
ceeded south for one and a half miles by the main road to
the village of Tung Lou; there the force turned to the west,
and half-a-mile further on deployed, when opposition from
the enemy was met with, the Japanese being on the left and
the British troops on the right. The Russians acted as reserve
to the British Column.
5. Four guns, that for several days had annoyed the
Settlements by their fire from the village of Hei-niu-chuang,
were quickly silenced and captured, and the Japanese cavalry
were able to execute three successful charges among a consider-
able body of flying enemy, who had made but slight resistance
to our attack.
6. The line then wheeled to the right and attacked the
Western Arsenal.
7. The Japanese Engineers had to make a bridge across
a small stream before the artillery could advance. The bridge
was made under cover of our combined artillery fire, slowly
replied to by the enemy's guns left at the Arsenal.
8. At 7.30 A.M. the artillery crossed the stream and took
up positions on the further side ; the remainder of the force
followed, the left of the line resting on the road leading to the
Arsenal and the city. The whole of the country to the west


APPENDIX C
217
From the GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING BRITISH FORCES,
TIENTSIN, to the SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR
TIENTSIN, 19th July 1900.
SIR,-On the afternoon of the 11th inst. I arranged with
General Fukushima, commanding the Japanese forces, to carry
out as soon as possible the capture of Tientsin City. Owing to
our heavy losses during the daily bombardment of the Settle,
ments, we considered this movement necessary.
2. The Russian General was approached on the subject and
said he would co-operate in the movement by an attack on the
Chinese batteries and fort to the north-east of the city. He
desired to get his pontoon-train in readiness, and said that as
soon as he had done so he would give me notice of his readiness
to move. His staff-officer gave me that notice at 5 P.M. on the
12th inst, and it was arranged that the Russian forces, who had
the longer march, should move out in time to deliver their
attack about 10 A.M. on the following day, and that the
Japanese-British force should deliver their attack on the city as
early as possible, in order to attract the bulk of the Chinese
troops to their side, and so facilitate the capture of their
batteries by the Russians.
3. I then called on Colonel de Pelacot, commanding the
French forces, and Colonel Meade, commanding the American
forces, and together with them visited General Fukushima to
discuss the plan of operations.
4. It was decided that the Allied forces should parade at
3 A.M. and move in three columns-about 500 yards apart-on
the Western Arsenal.
5. The French force, 900 strong, was to form the right
column, and, crossing the Mud Parapet in the British Extra
Concession, was to move on the south side of it, and under its
cover, direct on the Arsenal, timing its movement to agree with
that of the other columns. Two companies were detailed to
advance from the French Settlement and clear the houses
between it and the city of troops. They were unable, however,
in the face of a heavy fire, to make much headway.
6. The Japanese column, 1500 strong, under General


218
APPENDIX C
Fukushima, was to move out from the Settlement by the Race-
course Gate at 3.30 A.M. and move parallel to the Mud Parapet,
about 500 yards from it.
7. The left column, consisting of 800 British troops (500
military, and 300 naval), 900 Americans, and 30 Austrians,
moved out of the Taku Gate at 3.30 A.M. under my command,
and marched parallel to the Japanese column and about 500
yards from them. About 500 yards on the left of the left
column were the Japanese cavalry, 150 strong.
8. The left column was somewhat delayed in clearing villages
of small parties of the enemy, and its head arrived at the road
leading to the Arsenal and South Gate of the city about a
quarter of a mile behind the head of the Japanese column.
9. The French column suffered a check at a bridge in the
Mud Parapet, about a quarter of a mile from the Arsenal, in
crossing over which their troops were exposed to fire. The
Arsenal was cleared of the enemy principally through the
agency of the Japanese troops.
10. The advanced British troops, consisting of the detach-
ment and Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and the American
Marines, moved forward and lined the Mud Parapet west of the
Arsenal, the gth American Infantry being also brought forward
under the parapet as support. The reserve, consisting of two
companies of the Chinese regiment and the Naval Brigade, were
halted about 2500 yards from the city and suffered some loss from
long range fire.
11. All the artillery of the combined force, consisting of
mountain guns, with the exception of three 3.2-inch guns be-
longing to the Americans, formed up a short distance south of
the Mud Parapet and bombarded the city. (5-30 A.M.)
12. One 4-inch gun, three 12-prs., and a few 9-prs, and 6-prs.,
worked by the Navy from a position in the British Extra Con-
cession, did excellent service in keeping down the fire from the
city walls.
13. After an hour's bombardment it was decided to attack.
The French were to be on the right, the Japanese in the centre,
and the British on the left, the centre of the attack being the
South Gate. Owing to the attack being pushed on somewhat


220
APPENDIX C
the fire on the right had been so heavy that the French attack-
ing line could not be formed.
20. At the Arsenal I met the acting Adjutant of the 9th
Regiment, who said he had been sent back with news that his
regiment were in a very exposed position, which from his
description I made out to be near the French Settlement, and
that they had lost heavily, their Colonel, amongst others,
being mortally wounded. He said he had been ordered
to ask for reinforcements, and I directed 100 of the Naval
Brigade, under Lieutenant Phillimore, R.N., to proceed to
their assistance.
21. I signalled in to Lieutenant-Colonel Bower, who was in
command of the forces left in the Settlement, to send me out
two more companies of the Chinese regiment, with all the
stretchers he could collect; and on their arrival sent the
stretchers forward, carried by the men of the regiment, under
Major Pereira. Major Pereira made two trips out to the
American position and brought back many of their wounded
under a very heavy fire, losing several men, and being himself
wounded. He told me, on returning from his second trip,
that the Americans and the men of the Naval Brigade had got
into a fairly safe position, so I decided to leave them there
till nightfall. They detained a considerable body of the enemy
in front of them, and prevented any attack being made on the
right flank of the Japanese.
22. Major Pereira also informed me that the Americans were
very badly off for ammunition, so I directed Captain Ollivant
and a party of the Chinese regiment to take a further supply to
them. While performing this service I regret to say that
Captain Ollivant was killed.
23. A Japanese staff officer afterwards told me that he had
seen the 9th Regiment moving along the right rear of the
Japanese attack in column of fours, and that he was afraid they
must have suffered heavy loss.
24. The naval guns were all this time making splendid practice,
keeping down the fire from the city walls, and we were
anxiously waiting for the sound of the explosion which would
tell that the Japanese sappers had reached the city gate and


APPENDIX C
221
blown it in. Shortly after I P.M. I received the following note
from the Japanese chief staff officer :-
“ Mon Général,--Nos soldats sont déjà entrés dans la cité.
Je vous prie donc de faire cesser le feu de vos canons immédiate-
ment.
Aoki, Lieutenant-Colonel.”
25. Orders were accordingly given for the cessation of all
artillery fire, and the advance of all our troops to support the
assault on the city. The advancing troops were met with a
very heavy fire from the walls, which continued to increase in
intensity, and it soon became apparent that the Japanese troops
had not entered the city. The troops were then forced to take
cover close to the canal round the city. I shortly afterwards
heard from the Japanese general, that he had been misinformed
and that his troops had not entered the city.
26. Orders were sent for all guns to open fire again, and
owing to the beautiful practice of the naval guns, very little
loss was suffered by the troops in the advanced trenches.
27. Towards evening, the 1500 troops on the left flank again
advanced and began preparing a long line of shelter trenches.
I received a request from General Fukushima, asking me if
I could undertake arrangements for the protection of his troops
and the French, while in their advanced positions, from attack
from the left flank or rear, as his cavalry had informed him
that bodies of the enemy were threatening us from those
directions.
28. The naval guns were then requested to direct their whole
fire on the enemy facing the extreme left of our position,
and under cover of that fire and of volleys from the detachment,
Hong-Kong regiment, directed on the various points from which
the enemy were harassing the retirement, the Fusiliers and
American Marines were withdrawn with very slight loss and
formed up behind the Mud Parapet. The movement reflected
great credit on Colonel Meade, commanding the Marines, and
Captain Gwynne, commanding the Fusiliers.
29. The more delicate manoeuvre of withdrawing the 9th
American Infantry and the company of the Naval Brigade had
then to be undertaken. The naval guns were directed to sweep


APPENDIX C
223
Royal Welsh Fusiliers.-Killed, 5 men ; wounded, 12 men.
Hong-Kong regiment.-Wounded, 8 men, of whom I after-
wards died.
Hong-Kong companies, Royal Artillery. ---Killed, 2 men ;
wounded, 5 men.
Chinese regiment. — Killed, Captain Ollivant; slightly
wounded, Major Pereira, and i European non-commissioned
officer ; killed, 5 men; wounded, 13 men, of whom I afterwards
died.
American forces.—9th Infantry,-Colonel Liscum and 22
men killed, 3 officers and 70 men wounded. Marines, 5
killed, and 27 wounded.
French forces.—110 killed and wounded.
Japanese forces.—400 killed and wounded.
Austrians.-5 wounded.
43. Captain Watson, of the Chinese regiment, led his men
well, and the two companies with him were among the first
troops to enter the city. He has specially brought to my
notice the conduct of No. 94 Sergeant Chi-dien-kwei, who was
in command of a half-company without any European.
44. The artillery, under Major St John, was very well handled,
and managed to make their ammunition last considerably longer
than the artillery of the other nations did. As they were firing
black powder, they were at a distinct disadvantage with the
artillery of the enemy, who were using smokeless powder, thus
rendering the exact location of their guns very difficult.
.
.
.
.
I have, etc.,
A. R. F. DORWARD, Brigadier-General.
From SIR A. GASELEE, General Officer Commanding China
Expeditionary Force, to the SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
INDIA.
No. 36S. HEADQUARTERS, CHINA EXPEDITIONARY FORCE,
PEKING, 19th August 1900.
MY LORD,–Now that the first and paramount duty of
relieving the Legations has been successfully performed, I am


294
APPENDIX C
in a position to address to your Lordship a preliminary De-
spatch, describing the operations of the British forces in
Northern China from the 27th July, the date on which I
arrived at Tientsin, to the 14th August, the date on which we
entered Peking.
2. On my arrival at Tientsin I at once put myself into
communication with the general officers commanding the
American and Japanese forces, and soon came to a satisfactory
understanding with them. We decided to collectively impress
on the Allied commanders the absolute necessity of pressing
forward towards Peking at the earliest possible moment, and,
happily, our views were eventually accepted.
At a conference held on the 3rd August, it was arranged to
commence the advance on the 4th, with approximately 20,000
men-viz.
10,000 Japanese, with 24 guns.
4000 Russians, with 16 guns.
3000 British, with 12 guns.
2000 Americans, with 6 guns.
800 French, with 12 guns.
200 Germans.
100 Austrians and Italians.
20, 100, with 70 guns.
4. In pursuance of the above agreement, the British troops
Naval Brigade, 4 guns.
(marginally noted)
Royal Marine Light Infantry, 300. moved from Tient-
12th Battery, Royal Field Artillery, sin to Hsi-ku on
6 guns.
the afternoon of
Hong-Kong Artillery, 2 guns, 4 the 4th, and bivou-
maxims.
acked. . . . .
Detachment, Royal Engineers. The British were
Ist Bengal Lancers, 400.
followed by the
Royal Welsh Fusiliers, 300.
Americans and
7th Bengal Infantry, 500.
Japanese, who
24th Punjab Infantry, 300.
bivouacked. . .
ist Sikh Infantry, 500.


APPENDIX D
LIST OF CASUALTIES SUSTAINED BY THE
CHINESE REGIMENT IN NORTH CHINA, JUNE
TO OCTOBER 1900
KILLED.
Captain L. O. E. Ollivant, killed in action, 13th July 1900.
Captain A. J. Hill, died of injuries received at Tungchow, 18th
September 1900.
No. 593 Private Yu-yung-hua, died of wounds received in action
at Tientsin railway station, 4th July 1900.
No. 751 Private Ma-ming-chen, killed in action of 6th July 1900.
No. 846 Private Kan-yung-shun, killed in action of 6th July 1900.
No. 507 Private Chau-te yin, killed in capture of Tientsin City
13th July 1900.
No. 428 Private Hsu-chang-sheng, killed in capture of Tientsin
City, 13th July 1900.
No. 363 Private Kuan-wei-ting, killed in capture of Tientsin
City, 13th July 1900.
No. 672 Private Liu-fu-yung, killed in capture of Tientsin City,
13th July 1900.
No. 461 Private Liang-hung-en, killed in capture of Tientsin
City, 13th July 1900.
No. 893 Private Tsung-te-gung, drowned in the Peiho, 21st
July 1900.
No. 597 Private Liang-liu, drowned in the Peiho, 8th August
1900.
No. 5 Sergeant Chi-dien-kwei, killed at Tungchow, 15th
September 1900.
No. 678 Interpreter Li-yi-fan, killed at Tungchow, 15th
September 1900.
226


228
APPENDIX D
No. 431 Private Su-te-sheng, bullet wound, right breast and
arm, 13th July 1900.
No. 524 Private Wang-tsung-ho, bullet wound, abdomen, 13th
July 1900.
No. 337 Corporal Hsu-ting-fa, bullet wound, arm and hip, 13th
July 1900.
No. 302 Lance-Corporal Li-fu-yi, bullet wound, right shoulder
and right side, 13th July 1900.
No. 236 Private Hsu-te-sheng, bullet wound, left shoulder, 13th
July 1900.
No. 842 Private Chin-tso-hsun, shell wounds in both legs, 6th
July 1900.
No. 880 Private Tung-wu-ching, shell wounds in shoulder, 6th
July 1900.
No. 257 Lance-Corporal Tsau-feng-mau, burned at Tungchow,
15th September 1900.
No. 686 Private Chi-lau-ho, burned at Tungchow, 15th
September 1900.
Note.-There were at least five more men wounded at the
taking of Tientsin City ; but, owing to the rapidity with which
they recovered, it is not now possible to give their names, but
their injuries were probably only slight.
It should be stated that the total strength of the regiment
that went to the front was, all told : 14 officers, 8 British non-
commissioned officers, and 363 Chinese non-commissioned officers
and men, so that our percentage of losses was very high.
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