Documents of the Boxer RebellionDocuments of the Boxer Rebellion
Source: Report of the Secretary of the Navy. Miscellaneous Reports. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1900.
Contents:
NAVY DEPARTMENT,
Washington, D.C., November 17, 1900.
The PRESIDENT:
SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of the Navy Department for the past year:
The
fleet on the Asiatic Station has cooperated with the Army in the
Philippines, transporting and convoying troops, patrolling a wide
area of badly charted waters, sending out landing parties, and
keeping the coast clear of the enemy. The small gunboats have
been of great value in preventing the landing of arms for the
insurgents and cutting off illicit trade with and among the islands.
The
cordiality which has characterized the relations of the Army and
Navy is shown by numerous reports from officers on duty in the
Philippines, and is alike creditable to both branches of the service.
In
view of the disturbed conditions in Asiatic waters and of the
demands upon the Navy, the Department early in the year deemed
it expedient to augment the force in that quarter. The commander
in chief of the Asiatic Station, Rear-Admiral Remedy, was accordingly
given an assistant, Rear-Admiral Kempff, to insure under command
of an officer of rank and experience a division of the fleet,
if necessary, in quarters distant from the Philippines. Almost
immediately thereafter circumstances made it necessary to maintain
a separate force in Chinese waters, and the junior rear-admiral
was ordered to proceed with a squadron to Taku, China.
When,
therefore, an appeal for help came from the legations at Pekin,
this Government not only had an adequate naval force at the nearest
seaport town, but also was able to send forward immediately a
force of marines for the protection of the United States legation.
The small marine guard assigned to this duty under the command
of Capt. John T. Myers consisted of 56 officers and men, made
up of detachments from the U.S.S. Oregon and Newark.
They reached the Chinese capital in the latter part of May, only
a short time before the representatives and citizens of foreign
countries in that city were subjected to siege and cut off from
communication with the rest of the world.
The
annals of history present few examples of more dramatic interest
than the story of the beleaguered legations in Pekin, from June
20, 1900, the date on which the German minister was killed and
the siege began, until August 14, when the allied forces entered
the Chinese capital. Official and unofficial reports, and particularly
the dispatches of our minister, show that the American marines
bore their full share in the burdens of defense during this memorable
siege. The United States legation was situated just inside of
and near to the wall of the Tartar city. When the legations were
assaulted, the American detachment immediately occupied a position
on the city wall, a strategic point of great importance; established
an improvised sandbag fort there, which enabled them to defend
the section of wall immediately commanding the legations, and,
although repeatedly attacked by overwhelming numbers, and on two
occasions driven for a few minutes from the wall, they were never
permanently dislodged, but held this vital position until relief
came.
Some
days before the siege began, and while railway communication with
the Chinese capital was still open, arrangements had been made
for the prompt dispatch, for the protection of the lives and property
of Americans in the city, of another and larger detachment from
our fleet at Taku. This second detachment was made up chiefly
of seamen, under command of Captain Bowman H. McCalla, United
States Navy, and was ready in the early part of June to join such
expedition as the other governments interested might determine
to send forward from their fleets at the mouth of the river.
On
the night of June 9 Admiral Seymour of the British navy, the ranking
naval officer, received a telegram from the British minister at
Pekin, advising him that "unless those at Pekin were relieved
soon, it would be too late." At 9:30 the next morning a relief
column, under command of Admiral Seymour, started for the Chinese
capital by train, the expedition consisting of 915 British officers,
seamen and marines, 450 German, 312 Russian, 158 French, 112 American,
54 Japanese, 40 Italian, and 25 Austrian, a total of 2,066. Finding
at Langfang that the railway had been so much damaged as to render
it useless as a means of advance, this column, after ten days'
fighting in a difficult country, without the transportation, ammunition,
or supplies necessary to an extended campaign, encumbered by wounded
to the number of 230, and entirely cut off from communication
front and rear was obliged, June 20, to fall back, and having
on their return march captured the imperial armory near Hsiku,
a few miles above Tientsin, there awaited reenforcements. Of the
part borne in this hazardous expedition by the American sailors,
honorable mention is made in all reports. The British admiral
himself, in a letter to the senior United States naval officer
at Taku, says:
I can not conclude my letter without expressing to you, sir, the high admiration I have for Capt. B.H. McCalla, who accompanied us in command of your officers and men. Their post was usually in the advanced guard, where their zeal and go was praised by all. I regret to state that Captain McCalla was wounded in three places, but considering the gallant way in which he exposed himself I am only equally surprised and thankful that he is alive.
In
the meantime the foreign settlement in Tientsin itself was subjected
to attack, and communication between that city and Taku was interrupted.
On the 19th of June a detachment of 8 officers and 132 enlisted
men, chiefly from the first regiment of marines dispatched from
Cavite by the Newark and Nashville, arrived at Taku.
Instructions were immediately given that this force should take
part in the forward movement for the relief of the besieged at
Tientsin. This force, aggregating a little more than 500 men,
was, however, too small to accomplish its object, and was speedily
driven back by overwhelming numbers.
The
following day, June 22, British, Russian, German, Italian, and
Japanese reenforcements arrived, making a combined force of about
2,000 men. The foreign city of Tientsin was entered and the siege
raised. On Sunday morning, June 25, an advance was made to the
relief of Admiral Seymour's command, who were intrenched at a
point about 8 miles from Tientsin. This movement was accomplished
with little opposition, and early on the morning of July 14 the
walled city of Tientsin was captured by the allied forces.
In
this action, in which 22 officers and 326 men, under Col. R.L.
Meade, participated, Capt. A.R. Davis, U.S. Marine Corps, was
killed at the side of his commanding officer in the advanced trench;
Capts. William B. Lemly and Charles G. Long, First Lieuts. Smedley
D. Butler and Henry Leonard were wounded; a sergeant, a corporal,
and 2 enlisted men were killed, and a sergeant, 2 corporals, and
12 enlisted men were wounded.
To
record the instances of gallantry displayed by our officers and
men at the capture of Tientsin would almost be equivalent to a
publication of the entire roster.
The
Chinese stronghold at Tientsin was captured early on the morning
of July 14; on the same day systematic attacks upon the beleaguered
legations at Pekin ceased; an informal truce was arranged at the
instance of the tsungli yamen; communication between the besieged
and the outside world was partially reopened; the legations were
offered certain supplies by the Chinese authorities, and although
subjected to desultory attacks from time to time and to a fierce
final assault on the night of August 13 were on the following
day relieved by the entrance into Pekin of the allied forces.
During
the time of these events both rear-admirals were in Chinese waters.
Their prudence and efficiency are highly commendable.
BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, NAVY DEPARTMENT,
Washington, D.C., October 1, 1900.
The
year on the Asiatic Station has included, besides the operations
about the Philippines, the recent important operations at Taku,
whither a portion of the fleet having been promptly dispatched,
this Government was able to there put on shore a considerable
force of blue jackets and marines with the earliest of the foreign
troops landed.
The
first vessel near the scene was the Wheeling. At the end
of April she was withdrawn and the Newark relieved her.
A force of 25 marines and 5 enlisted men of the Navy, under Capt.
John T. Myers, U.S.M.C., left the Newark, off Taku, on
May 29 for the protection of the legations at Pekin. Captain McCalla
proceeded to Pekin, with this force and then returned. On June
5 a force was landed from the Newark under the command
of Capt. B.H. McCalla, U.S.N.; it consisted of 47 men and 4 officers,
and was afterwards reenforced to a total of 112. These, joining
at Tientsin the column under Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour,
proceeded toward Pekin. On the 19th, after heavy losses and severe
fighting, the senior officers of the nationalities present, presided
over by Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, unanimously decided that
the advance on Pekin must be abandoned. That day the return to
Tientsin began, but was soon checked. On the 22nd the force captured
the Siku arsenal and was there besieged by a large Chinese force
until the 25th, on which day the beleaguered column was relieved
by a relief column from Tientsin. The Americans on the relief
column were 100 marines, under the command of Major L.W.T. Waller,
U.S.M.C. These men had landed at Taku on June 19, and with other
national forces, after severe fighting, relieved the besieged
Europeans in the foreign concessions at Tientsin on the 24th.
On
July 13 the foreign forces took the native city of Tientsin. After
Col. E.H. Liscum, U.S.A., was killed the Americans were under
Col. R.L. Meade, U.S.M.C.; the fighting was severe and the losses
were very heavy. After the capture of Tientsin the American marines
joined in the relief column which, on the 14th of August, relieved
Pekin, where the American marines under Capt. John T. Myers, U.S.M.C.,
had been stationed, joining in the defense of the legation compound.
The
Monocacy was among the first of our vessels to reach Taku,
and on account of her light draft was able to take a useful part
in the operations. The Princeton, of this fleet, carried
our minister to China on a trip from Taku, leaving August 23,
1899, touching at Hongkong October 7. The loss of the Charleston,
about latitude 19 1' north, longitude 122 3' east, on November
2, 1899, on an uncharted submerged rock in the Balintang Channel,
north of Luzon and near the Guinapak rocks, is the one serious
loss of material which we have sustained on the Asiatic Station,
where the conditions are such that similar accidents might be
expected to be frequent. These waters are so far from being accurately
known that discrepancies of as much as 10 miles between charted
and actual positions are not infrequent. The grounding of
the Oregon arose from like causes. This vessel, making
a passage from Hongkong under orders to proceed to Taku with the
utmost dispatch, was obliged to anchor in thick weather on foul
ground near the Howki Light, Chang Shan Channel, Pechili Strait.
After sounding about the anchorage the vessel got under way and
grounded (June 28) on an uncharted submerged rock near by. Through
indefatigable work of her officers and crew she was saved from
a most perilous position, and even now is again on active duty.
The courtesy of the Japanese Government in generously extending
resources to make repairs should be highly appreciated by this
Government. It is important that this Government should construct
or acquire on this station a dock of its own for the largest vessels.
Under other circumstances foreign docks might not have been available
for the Oregon, or being available, might not have been
offered for use. The lack of a dock in the Philippines makes it
necessary to keep full crews on board such vessels as the Monadnock
and Monterey. These vessels are of little use in the
present state of the insurrection, but are needed in the Philippines
as a reserve for strengthening the fleet in case of threat or
attack from another power. Each six months, though, they need
docking and must then have a crew and convoy besides to get them
from Cavite to Hongkong, whereas with a dock in the Philippines
they could be put in reserve and docked as necessary.
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY,
BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY,
Washington, D.C., October 1, 1900
The
new naval hospital at Mare Island is now occupied and in every
respect meets the requirements of officers and men transferred
from the Asiatic Station for longer treatment than would be feasible
on that station, or treatment preparatory to discharge from the
service.
Temporary
hospitals were established at Taku and Tien Tsin at the time of
the advance of the allies on Pekin, and the patients from those
hospitals subsequently transferred to the Solace, which
vessel has sustained her reputation of always being where she
is needed. Sixty army wounded were also transferred to the Solace;
57 were transferred to the Thomas at Nagasaki, and 3 of
the more serious cases were left at the naval hospital, Yokohama.
Fleet-Surgeon
Persons took to Taku a large stock of surgical supplies, and an
additional amount is now on the Arethusa en route.
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13 March 2000