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

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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

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where piracy was largely ended by 1830, piracy in

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and the

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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

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William J. McCluney. ''Powhatan'' later played a significant role during the

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. ''Rattler'' was commanded by

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

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

Notes

References

* * * * {{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

Background

Battle

See also

Notes

References