There Seems No Reason To Question The Accuracy Of The
Estimate That More Than 300 Pieces Of Artillery And 10,000 Men Were
Holding This Position, Which Had Been Admirably Chosen And Carefully
Strengthened.
The force which Sir Michael Seymour had available to attack
this formidable position slightly exceeded 2,000 men, conveyed to the
attack in six gunboats and a large flotilla of boats.
The English advance
was soon known to the Chinese, who began firing from their junks and
batteries as soon as they came within range. Three hundred marines were
landed to attack the battery on the hill, which was found not to be so
strong as it appeared; for on the most precipitous side the Chinese,
believing it to be unscalable, had placed no guns, and those in position
could not be moved to bear on the assailants in that quarter. The marines
gained the top with scarcely any loss, and as they charged over the side
the Chinese retired with little loss, owing to the ill-directed fire of
the marines.
Meantime the sailors had attacked the Chinese position on the river. The
tide was at low water, and the Chinese had barred the channel with a row
of sunken junks, leaving a narrow passage known only to themselves. The
leading English boat struck on the hidden barrier, but the passage being
discovered the other vessels got through. Those boats which ran aground
were gradually floated, one after the other, by the rising tide, and at
last the flotilla, with little damage, reached the line of stakes which
the Chinese had placed to mark the range of the guns in their junks. At
once the fire from the seventy-two junks and the battery on Hyacinth
Island became so furious and well-directed that it was a matter of
astonishment how the English boats passed through it. They reached and
pierced the line of junks, of which one after another was given to the
flames. Much of the success of the attack was due to the heroic example of
Commodore Harry Keppel, who led the advance party of 500 cutlasses, and
who gave the Chinese no time to rest or rally. Having broken the line of
junks, he took up the pursuit in his seven boats, having determined that
the only proof of success could be the capture of Fatshan, and after four
miles' hard rowing he came in sight of the elaborate defenses drawn up by
the Chinese for the security of that place. At the short range of a
quarter of a mile the fire of the Chinese guns was tremendous and
destructive. Keppel's own boat was reduced to a sinking state, and had to
be abandoned. Some of his principal officers were killed, three of his
boats ran aground, and things looked black for the small English force. At
this critical moment, the Chinese, thinking that they had checked the
English attack, and hearing of the magnitude of their reverse down stream,
thought their best course would be to retire.
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