Formosa Expedition
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Formosa Expedition | |||||||
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Attack of United States Marines and Sailors on the pirates of the island of Formosa, East Indies, Harper's Weekly | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Paiwan |
United States | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Tok-a-Tok |
Henry Bell Alexander MacKenzie † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
22[citation needed] |
181 2 sloops-of-war | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Minimal, if any | 1 killed |
The Formosa Expedition (
Background
On 12 March 1867, the United States
Upon Febiger's arrival,
At this point, diplomatic pressure proved a failure. After a delay of three months and "a good deal of red tapeism in Washington", a punitive expedition was decided on.[4] Bell, with the screw sloop-of-war Wyoming and his flagship Hartford, left Shanghai in June for southern Taiwan.
Expedition
The passing from Shanghai to Taiwan was uneventful, and the two American warships arriving off the southeastern coast on 13 June 1867. The sloops anchored a half-mile off the shore and made preparations for landing. 181 officers, sailors and Marines landed by boat. They were commanded by Commander
After nearly an hour, the Paiwan attacked with
It was not until the last action that the only American casualty was sustained: the Paiwan warriors fired a musket volley and a ball hit Lieutenant Mackenzie, mortally wounding him. After the volley the Paiwan retreated again but the Americans chose not to pursue. By this time, after six hours of marching, several men had either grown delirious or passed out from the heat, so the expedition returned to the ship.
Aftermath
When they arrived back at shore, the sailors and Marines boarded their ships and then sailed back to the Chinese mainland, having failed to complete their objectives. Paiwan casualties were minimal, if any; the Americans found no bodies.
Rear Admiral Bell and other American officers stated in their reports that the only way to make the region safe would be to drive out the Paiwan and put the area under control of a powerful ally.[4] C.W. Le Gendre persuaded the Governor-General of Fujian and Zhejiang to send his own expedition to Taiwan (then a part of Fujian Province). He also requested that Rear Admiral Bell send a gunboat to support the operation but this was denied. Le Gendre took command of the Chinese troops and left Fuzhou for southern Taiwan on 25 July 1867. In September, Le Gendre arrived at the prefectural capital Taiwan (now known as Tainan) to announce the object of his visit and take delivery of the Governor-General's promises of assistance. According to his report,[5] Le Gendre marched to the Paiwan capital and negotiated a Memorandum of the Understanding [6] (南岬之盟) with Chief Tok-a-Tok[7] (c. 1817–1874)[a][8] to assure the safe conduct of shipwrecked sailors throughout Paiwan territory.
However, indigenous Taiwanese continued to attack wrecked merchant ships. The
See also
- Japanese Conflict
- Japanese invasion of Taiwan (1874)
- Korean Expedition
Notes
- Hokkien. These names were also transcribed into English as Toketok or Tauketok.
References
Citations
- ^ "WASHINGTON.; AMERICAN OFFICERS IN THE JAPANESE FORMOSA EXPEDITION.REPRESENTATIONS BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT COMMUTATION OF DOCKRAY'SSENTENCE IN CUBA. THE DOCKRAY SENTENCE. WORK IN THE NAVY-YARDS. DISTRICT FINANCIAL MATTERS. THE LANCASTER. POSTAL APPOINTMENTS. TREASURY BALANCES. NEW BONDED WAREHOUSE FOR PITTSBURG" (PDF).
- ^ http://www.greendragonsociety.com/Military_History/Taiwan_Formosa_page.htm Archived 10 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2010/12/rover-incident-of-1867.html http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html "Search Results THE PIRATES OF FORMOSA. - Official Reports of the Engagement of The United States Naval Forces with the Savages of the Isle" (PDF). The New York Times. Washington. 23 August 1867."THE PIRATES OF FORMOSA.; Official Reports of the Engagement of the United States Naval Forces with the Savages of the Isle". The New York Times. 24 August 1867."European Intelligence: Garibaldi at Sienna Preparing to March Upon Rome Rumored Resignation of Omar Pasha as Turkish Commander in Crete Adjustment of the Difficulties Between Prussia and Denmark Bombardment of the Island of Formosa by American Ships of War CHINA Conflict Between United States Ships-of-War and the Pirates of the Island of Formosa Mexican Dollars Coined During the Reigh of Maximilian Uncurrent ITALY Garibaldi at Sienna Preparing for the Attack on Rome PRUSSIA Prebable Settlement of the Difficulties Between Prussia and Denmark CANDIA Rumored Resignation of Omar Pasha as Commander of the Turkish Forces Who Case of the Ship Anna Kimball Satisfactorily Settied IRELAND Sentence of the Fenian Capt. Moriarty Marine Disaster Attitude of the French and Italian Governments Toward the Garibaldians The Mission of Gen. Dumont from a French Point of View The Interference of France in the Affairs of Schleswig JAVA The Terrible Earthquake in the Island The Approaching Visit of Francis Joseph of Austria--Movements of the Emperor Napo". The New York Times. 14 August 1867. LONDON, Tuesday, Aug. 13–Evening "NEWS OF THE DAY.; EUROPE. GENERAL. LOCAL". The New York Times. 24 August 1867."The American Fleet in Chinese Waters--Avenging National Insults". The New York Times. 15 August 1867.
- ^ Davidson (1903), p. 115.
- ^ a b c Davidson (1903), p. 116.
- ^ Davidson (1903), p. 117-122: reproduction of Le Gendre's report
- ^ "CHINA-FORMOSA. FORMOSA. Reports of Mr. C. W. Le Gendre". Annual Report on the Commercial Relations Between the United States and Foreign Nations: Made by the Secretary of State for the Year Ending September 30, 1869. Government Printing Office. 1871年. p. 92. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
- ^ Baynes, T. S., ed. (1879). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. IX (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. .
- ^ See also his article on the Chinese Wikipedia.
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- OL 6931635M.