The Battle of Ty-ho Bay was a significant naval engagement in 1855 involving the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
against Chinese
pirates. The action off
Tai O
Tai O is a fishing town, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The village name means ''large inlet'', referring to outlet for the waterways (Tai O Creek and Tai O River) merges as ...
,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
was to rescue captured merchant vessels, held by a fleet of armed
war-junks. British and American forces defeated the pirates in one of the last major battles between Chinese pirate fleets and western navies. It was also one of the first joint operations undertaken by British and American forces.
[Wombwell, pg. 114]
Background
Unlike the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
where piracy was largely ended by 1830, piracy in
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and the
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
continued to thrive as it had for centuries. Chinese and
Japanese pirates constantly fought each other throughout China's coastal regions. Hundreds of pirate hideouts existed along the Chinese coast by 1855. This prompted western naval forces to fight them when they attacked shipping. In September 1855, the pirates of Kuhlan seized four merchant vessels escorted by the
paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses we ...
HMS ''Eaglet''. The Royal Navy
sloop-of-war HMS ''Rattler'' was sent to rescue the merchantmen.
[Colledge, J. J. and Warlow, Ben]
HMS ''Rattler'' found the pirates in Kuhlan Harbor. When shallow water prevented her from attacking, she left to seek aid from the ''Eaglet'' and
USS ''Powhatan'', a sidewheel
steam frigate of the
East India Squadron
The East India Squadron, or East Indies Squadron, was a squadron of American ships which existed in the nineteenth century, it focused on protecting American interests in the Far East while the Pacific Squadron concentrated on the western coast ...
commanded by
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
William J. McCluney. ''Powhatan'' later played a significant role during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. ''Rattler'' was commanded by
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
William Fellowes and was manned by 180 officers and crew. The number of crew and armament of ''Eaglet'' is unknown. She was originally a civil vessel chartered for British naval service between 1855 and 1857, to tow British vessels through shallow water.
Battle
![Taio](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Taio.png)
On August 4, the steamer ''Eaglet'' arrived at Ty-ho Bay, she was towing at least six boats of different types, filled with British and American sailors and marines. Each boat was armed with a howitzer or cannon. The British first spotted a merchant junk that appeared to be fleeing the bay, so the
pinnace
Pinnace may refer to:
* Pinnace (ship's boat), a small vessel used as a tender to larger vessels among other things
* Full-rigged pinnace
The full-rigged pinnace was the larger of two types of vessel called a pinnace in use from the sixteenth c ...
of the ''Rattler'' and the
cutter of the ''Powhatan'' were sent to cut the junk out. Minutes later, when the pinnace and cutter disappeared from sight, the remaining British and American vessels sighted the pirate fleet, which included fourteen large junks and twenty-two smaller ones. Some 1,500 pirates crewed the vessels and they were armed with small cannons. Also in the bay were seven captured merchant ships, most of which were Chinese junks. When the Chinese sighted the approaching enemy, half of the pirate junks began to flee while the other remained behind to engage.
The pirates began a heavy fire on the British and Americans but most of the shot was not well directed and passed over the ''Eaglet'' and the armed boats. When the expedition was in range the boats started their return fire and six junks were sunk at this time. When the range decreased to close quarters, ''Eaglet'' detached the boats and they went off to board the junks. Fourteen were taken with heavy resistance and were burned just after. The seven merchant ships were also liberated but two were heavily damaged in the battle and subsequently burned as well. As result of the action, fourteen larger junks were destroyed along with six small ones while sixteen others escaped.
An estimated 500 pirates were killed in action, drowned, or were wounded. Around 1,000 pirates were taken prisoner. American casualties consisted of six wounded with five dead out of about 100 men, the dead were crewmen John Pepper, James A. Halsey, Isaac Coe, Landsman, S. Mullard and B. F. Addamson. The British suffered several wounded and four men killed, officer George Mitchell, and crewmen James Silvers, John Massey, and M. Oliff.
The battle is largely forgotten but a monument was erected at
Happy Valley in commemoration, it was later moved to the city of
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
See also
*
Battle of Fatshan Creek
The Battle of Fatshan Creek (佛山水道之戰) was a naval engagement fought between the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and the Cantonese fleet of Qing China on 1 June 1857. Rear-Admiral
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equ ...
*
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Opium War
Notes
References
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{{Pirates
Ty-ho Bay
Ty-ho Bay
Ty-ho Bay
Punitive expeditions of the United Kingdom
History of Hong Kong
Ty-ho Bay
Ty-ho Bay
1855 in China
Tai O
Ty-ho Bay
Piracy in the South China Sea
August 1855 events
19th-century pirates