''The Private of the Buffs'' (or ''The British Soldier In China'') is a
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
by Sir
Francis Hastings Doyle
Sir Francis Hastings Charles Doyle, 2nd Baronet (21 August 1810 – 8 June 1888) was a British poet.
Biography
Doyle was born near Tadcaster, Yorkshire, to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including his father, Ma ...
describing the execution of a British infantryman by Chinese soldiers in 1860.
Background
During the
Second Opium War
The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...
, an Anglo-French expedition landed in China and marched towards
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
in order to force the compliance of the
Treaty of Tientsin
The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then Postal Map Romanization, romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing Empire, Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Secon ...
. On 13 August 1860, during the attack on the
Taku Forts
The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts, also called the Peiho Forts are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary in the Binhai New Area, Tianjin, in northeastern China. They are located southeast of the Tianjin urban center.
History
The f ...
—大沽炮台, in Chinese, or ''dàgū pàotái''—Chinese troops captured two British soldiers and a group of
coolies
A coolie (also spelled koelie, kuli, khuli, khulie, cooli, cooly, or quli) is a term for a low-wage labourer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent.
The word ''coolie'' was first popularized in the 16th century by European traders acros ...
. (Some contemporary accounts record the latter as
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
soldiers from India, and indeed the poem refers to "dusky Indians")
The details of the subsequent events are not well-recorded, but according to reports in ''The Times'', one Private
John Moyse
Private John Moyse was a British soldier of the 3rd (East Kent) Regiment who according to popular legend was captured by Chinese soldiers during the Second Opium War and later was executed for refusing to prostrate himself before the Chinese ge ...
, of the
3rd (East Kent) Regiment (commonly known as "the Buffs") refused to
kowtow
A kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence ...
to his captors. Apparently he had "declared he would not prostrate himself before any Chinaman alive," and as a result, he was summarily executed. The poem refers to Moyse as a young Kentish farmboy; it is quite possible that he was, in fact, a middle-aged Irishman. However, the poem was written on the strength of newspaper reports, and it is likely that Doyle was unaware of the discrepancies.
The historical sources
Despite the report in ''The Times'', there is speculation concerning whether the incident took place as was popularly supposed.
Garnet Wolseley
Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a series of successes in Canada, We ...
, who was present at the taking of the Taku forts, insisted that "The man belonging to the Buffs was either killed, or 'died of drink,' as the Chinese say." The source of the information—a soldier in the
44th (East Essex) Regiment of Foot
The 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the Essex Regiment in 1881.
History
Early history
The regime ...
was, according to Wolseley, not reliable. "His mind, indeed, seemed to be unbalanced, as in addition to the untruths he told, he talked utter nonsense about what he pretended he had overheard his captors say."
D.F. Rennie, a doctor with the British troops, also denied that the incident took place. ''
The Manchester Times
The ''Manchester Times'' was a weekly newspaper published in Manchester, England, from 1828 to 1922. It was known for its free trade radicalism.
From 1828 to 1847, the newspaper was edited by Archibald Prentice, a political radical and advocate ...
'' reprinted Rennie's account on December 2, 1865, with the conclusion
Thus, it would seem that this unfortunate man, who, through the romancing propensities of his comrade of the 44th, and the ready ear for 'sensationalism of the ''Times'' correspondent, was believed by the deluded British public to have been decapitated because he would not kow-tow to Sang-ko-lin-sin
Sengge Rinchen (1811 – 18 May 1865) or Senggelinqin ( mn, Сэнгэринчен, ᠰᠡᠩᠭᠡᠷᠢᠨᠴᠢᠨ) was a Mongol nobleman and general who served under the Qing dynasty during the reigns of the Daoguang, Xianfeng and Tongzhi em ...
, died without ever seeing that personage at all."[1. “Miscellaneous Extracts, &c,” '']Manchester Times
The ''Manchester Times'' was a weekly newspaper published in Manchester, England, from 1828 to 1922. It was known for its free trade radicalism.
From 1828 to 1847, the newspaper was edited by Archibald Prentice, a political radical and advocate ...
'', December 2, 1865.
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Private of the Buffs
British poems