Expedition to Canton

Expedition to Canton
	; British troops awaiting the arrival of Commissioner Keying at the British Factory in Canton
Date	2–3 April 1847
Location	Pearl River, Guangdong, China23°6′34.6″N 113°19′58″E / 23.109611°N 113.33278°E
Result	British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British East India Company;	Qing China
Commanders and leaders
John Davis; George D'Aguilar	Keying
Strength
966 troops; 6 ships	Unknown
Casualties and losses
No casualties	No casualties; 879 guns captured

The Expedition to Canton was a British punitive expedition that captured the forts along the Pearl River, Guangdong province, China, on 2–3 April 1847. Beginning at the Humen strait (Bogue), the British captured the forts leading up to the city of Canton (Guangzhou). The operation was in response to British subjects being attacked by the Chinese near Canton. Hong Kong Governor John Davis demanded redress from Chinese Commissioner Keying. Unsatisfied with his reply, Davis ordered Major-General George D'Aguilar, commander-in-chief of British forces in China, to seize the forts approaching Canton and to prepare for an attack on the city in order to force reparations on the spot.^[1] The forts were captured but Canton was spared after Keying agreed to punish the culprits and allow entry into the city.^[4]

Operations

On the afternoon of 1 April 1847, D'Aguilar received communication from Davis with orders to proceed to Canton with force. At midnight, the following forces were embarked:^[1]

HMS Vulture – 427 troops, 18th Royal Irish Regiment
HMS Espiegle – 149 troops, 42nd Regiment Madras Native Infantry
East India Company steamer Pluto – 280 troops, 42nd Regiment
Hired armed steamer Corsair – 110 troops, 18th Regiment
Hired lorcha No. 1 – Armed as a gunboat, detachment of Royal Artillery with ordnance stores
Hired lorcha No. 2 – Detachment of Royal Sappers and Miners with tools, scaling ladders, and other materials

British operations began with the capture of the Bogue forts. Listed are the number of ordnance captured at each site:^[5]

Anunghoy Island – 208
North Wangtong Island – 150
South Wangtong Island – 109

Further up the Canton River past Whampoa Island, the British encountered a staked barrier and captured the following locations:

Pachow Fort – 64
Wookongtap Fort – 41
Napier's Island – 49
Whampoa Creek – 65

In the final phase, the British captured the forts outside the city of Canton:

French Folly – 38
Dutch Folly – 23
Rogue Fort – 26
Zigzag Battery – 20
Segment Battery – 30
Shameen Battery – 56

Gallery

Map of the operations leading to Canton
HMS Vulture starting operations at the Bogue, 2 April
Capture of Anunghoy, 2 April
Attacking the batteries near the staked barrier above Whampoa Island
Attacking the forts of Wookongtap and Whampoa Creek, 3 April
Royal Sappers and Miners blow up the French Folly Fort

References

^ ^a ^b ^c D'Aguilar, George Charles (1848). Correspondence Relative to the Operations in the Canton River. April, 1847. Brighton: Arthur Wallis. pp. 20–21.
^ The London Gazette: no. 20748 p. 2373. 25 June 1847. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^ "War with China". The New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian 4 (231): 3. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
^ Bard, Solomon (2002). Voices from the Past: Hong Kong 1842-1918. Hong Kong University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9622095747.
^ D'Aguilar 1848, pp. 23–24

Operations

Gallery

References

Further reading