The Capture of the French Folly Fort by British forces in China occurred on 6 November 1856 during the Second Opium War. The British dispersed 23 Chinese war junks and captured the French

Folly fort A folly fort or just folly is a specific type of fort built in shallow water, near the shore, in the second half of the 19th century. The main characteristic of a folly fort was that it was built on the water, very close to the edge, very small, ...

in the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

near the city of Canton (Guangzhou) in

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

province. The battle lasted nearly an hour. The British consul Harry Parkes described the Chinese as putting up "a very hot resistance" and the engagement as "exceeding creditable to the bravery not only of our men, but of the Chinese also."

Gallery

File:Plan of Action of 6 Nov 1856.jpg, Map of the battle File:Capture of French Folly Fort - Termination.jpg, End of the action, showing the explosion of the junks File:Barracouta & Calcutta's pinnace engaging junks.jpg, ''Barracouta'' and a pinnace from the ''

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

'' engaging junks File:A battle at French Folly Fort.jpg, ''A battle at French Folly Fort'' by a Chinese painter

Citations and references

Citations {{reflist, 30em References *
Bulletins and Other State Intelligence for the Year 1857
'. Part 1. London: Harrison and Sons. 1859. *
Papers Relating to the Proceedings of Her Majesty's Naval Forces at Canton
'. London: Harrison and Sons. 1857. 1856 in China French Folly Fort French Folly Fort Military history of Guangdong French Folly Fort November 1856 events