Osprey [MAA] 275.Taiping.rebellion.1851-66

7/25/2019 Osprey [MAA] 275.Taiping.rebellion.1851-66

1/50

i\IE:\ \T \R:\lS

S R S

275

THE

TAIPING

REBELLION

85 66

: 1

\ : \

ilL \ \ p pooIs l id

PrtIJIedhr.

_

..1litd Pd:llI8-.

oorll '1jing: Ilung li u_ch'uan_

00111 8

Xi , ,, :

Kwan ,

001 GuangxI:

and J()

OIL

Publ >her', Olc

R.od . may wi' to

. .

ooy ,bi> ,itl. in cnojlUlC'i ,,'i'

b

f n l l o Y t , ~ Os p ) public ion

MAA

'I'l n 1J / , M I ~

MAA

198 n Brio ,h '01)'

Of

C t , nott

R;. '-

....

nur can' '0 ' th the

..

'......

'

by tlo p

N U1gh:lm

NG9613U

The

publi,hcrs ,h,. they ' ' .>tt' lto no

c ,,,

..pnndcncc POD thi, m n.


4/50

THE TAIPING REBELLION 1851-66

THE TAIPING

REBELLION

1851-66

1lle

T.ip;ng

Rebellion was only

In.

first, albeit

(he

rro:o;l daog ,

o f .

spale

of

insurre

hi: ailino; goyernmenl

of

China in In. mid [9Ib

. tury.

Bel ,,,,, 1850

and 1877 tbe Moslems

in (lie

ond

oonbwesl of

thoe COWlI/)', In. Triads and

Ire

il >original

Mioou

in

Ibe sooth, .lId It>. Nicn

and

Ire Taipings in the eaS aJl lM up arms .gain> their

H IlCkI

oycrlonk in

a . . ,ies

of ...... Its

th.t nearly

brrughI:

the eh'iog dynasty

to

an end. The


5/50

theT.iping fon:es, who remained highly mobile .nd

thereby ' ained the in;lialiye. They iIandooing Iheir oonq sts

and fOO ing

on.

(No

an.mpt

-as tn:ldor lO

ocnpy

captured lerritory

I nnanrmly unl11 mucb lal ....) Despile some se\_

backs _

the

Nan Wang

and

Si Wang

were

I>olb

kilk-.,j

du.ing

1851 - the

T.iping

alYllY had grown fiom

some

O lXXl

lO

I ,h.ps h.lf .

mHlioo by the lime

il

.rri d

at

Lake Tung_1 ing on the

Yangtze. There

the

Taipings

captured.

mass; -e

Iml 'riaUSl fIoIiUa. and

....

ilb tlUs they ..... re able to iIby.

E...n Ihis succeeded

in

coming wilhin tllret- miles of

TienlSin. refore inadequale supply-lines. lhe

. .

....

cold of the oonbern wimer .nd the

w.m

of ca, oUy

(Taiping armies in'-ari.bly consiSling .Imo

. .

entirely

of

fOOl soldiers) obliged

it

10

taU back. in FeblUary

1854.

The

failure 10 send suflicient

forces

10 the nonh

resulted from Ihe Taipings' IIoI. ed to dofe,' tl cir

conquoSlS.

in panicula.

lhei.

,, '

capi1a1. This

.n onerous burden.....hich cun.iled lheir earlier

mobiJiIy. Thereafte. their field armies

had

to be

rec.lled

lO N.nking

I .tedly

10

flUStrate .neffiplS

at encirclemem moumed frem 1\0.-0 Iml '.i.lisl head

qu.rters Ihal

had

been est.blished 'IOnh and south

of

the

y ~ z

lale in

1 53.

usually

f

red lO .s dr

NOllhern o. Kiangpei. and Soulhern or

Kiangn:ll1

Imperial BJrrncks. The Impe.ialist blockades

broken in

1 56,

1858. 1859 nd twicc in 1860

(die

Northern camp was o e. , in

Septembe.

1 58.

the Southern in

1856.nd

ag.in. d.-..cis; -ely. in

1 8 6 0 ~

HO\\-' ye. lhe T.ipings f.ilure 10 break. ,rewed

blockade

in

1861

was to .esult

in

Nanking's

,'COOI:I.l

faU.

M meamime the ide.lism and diseipline

of

the Taiping mOyeme l'S early days

n ded in

internal

strife. Recognised

fiom

the oolse1 as mililJry ern>-

mande._in-cbi.f. {he Tw g Wang

or

EaSle.

King

Yang Hsiu_chi g. steadily

s t r e n ~ t h e n e d

his l'O'itioo

by c1.iming isions ak; lO lhose of Hung Hsiu

ch u.n. EYemually. in the summer

of

1856.

it

bocanle

.pparem th.l preparations br lhe lrnnsfe.

of

p:1M.T

in

lhe capllal were

afOOl. bUI

Y.ngs riyal. Ih

Pa

Wang or Nonhern King. mowd f t. surp.ising n:l

killing Yang and 20.(0)

of

hi, s ppoMers

in

bto.Jy

\\-o-w k I '.ge. Alarmed allhi. recaUed

kinsm.n. lh Wang Shih T._k .i. to the capital.

Iu

lhe Pel Wang J11acked Shih's family. furdog him 10

fIe,e

br

IUs life.

It was no umil Noyembe.

1M

Hung's

O\\-'n

troops were

.ble 10

reg.in control

in

capital. defe.ting

and

killing Ih

Pel Wang

.fter

11'0

day. of streel_fighting. Sbib T._k .i SWsequenlly

niltll

,

J_/9 .

ce ry


6/50

re IIIlled as heod

ofgo'-em 'nI, bUI he was unable 10

'l

along 'lh

Hung and e ..nlUally Slmek olll

on his

,. , inlo the Weslem prm-inces

in 1857,

laking as

nmy as ()-'XI,O)) Taiping sold ,,., wilh him. After

ca lXlignin2; wilh nrying success

in

eight prm'inces,

OCC3:lionaUy

in

U i ~ Wilh regular Taiping Army

units, he

,,:IS

e entually Caplured

.nd

exocut


7/50

tool; Anking in Seplcmber.

A Ta;ping thrust towards Shanghai in

January 1862 was repulsed bylM combined effons

of

Imperialists .nd Anglo-French lroops. coupled with

a proloogcd

foil

ofSllOW. To guarantee the

safety of

tM f.,...igo communily lhere.fter. Ihe British .n d

French amoor;lies

leh

obliged

10 oppose the

Ta;p;ng, wilhln .lO-mile radius

of

lhe dly

Toough

their 0\0011 regular lroops consequemly < the l\ei.i

on numerous ,, sions during

1862. OOlh

countries

were reluctanl 10 becon , too direclly ItlYol ,d In the

coofticl. and favoured SI ,nglhenlng

lhe

Imperial;sts

by

pro liding them wilh mUitary instruclors .n d

estern .rms.

The

Brilish. Iherefore. openly sup

poned WCSlem-om red mereenary

fo ,.

Fred

Mid Ward s her-ViClorioos Army.

or EYA (wl>o:se

exislence they

had

p ,viously opposed)

and

;n

1863

they .,. n proYided w;lh new comm.nd ~ as SlICnl

with its muchreduced garrison

woak

from

sum.,...

tion. leU ,, hen a nUnc

bre.ched its

walls in July.

By

this lime Hung

Hsiuch uan

was already

dead.

hO'-

ing .pp.rently comm;l1ed suicide three weel;s

e.dier.

bm his eldest son escaped Iong with the

Chung

Wm,g. 801h were subsequently coplured and

, m

marilyexccUled.

There

were S1iU numerous Ta;ping .rmies seal

tered round the coonlry. The principal

of

thc.st.

holding Hoochow in

h e ~ i J n g

was driycn out in

AuguSl 1864 and deSlrO} Cd the following ,pring as it

relreatoo soUlhwards.

In

October

1864

some 10

IUXXl Taiping, lII>dcrthe Shih Wang seized Chang.

cllO' in Fukien pro ince and remained

III

large umU

10

surrender ltle following summer. The .lot

organised Ta;ping remnants were destroyed

at

Chia

yillj In

Kiangsi;n Febru.ry

1866

Though

numerous

Taipings remained

at

lJrge among the Nien rebels

SlUi

active Ilorlh

of

tile Yangtzr the Taipillg Rebel

1;00 ,. , oyer.


8/50

S101i.tics reblmg to tlUs COIlflicl .re tlllreHabl.,

bul ,here i, 00 qUi.'Stion tllJl tbe Taiping Rebellion

as war on lhe large't ,ale the world Iud yCl A

1 ai

of abool

10

million lroop. had

tun

in ,IY.d,

nd

as lllJJly as

600 eities IIJd


9/50

X ~

a

a

M

1Allt

1 ~

~

.

.l ;j

l\

.lffli'aryjac S ala

T p i n g r r i ~ lifii a

pom

,from T.i

p inf Chun_m .

rience, e;tl>....,. as 'bona fide T.ipings wilb six

or

more

years'

ire,

'ad,oowledged

bre1bren' wilb Ihree

10

six years' . ..i . or, mosl nun

of .11.

'lie'

levies'. In 'Clion. IlIe .. .

Ihre and bra,- t' s.,,'-;og ... muskC1eeir male relolives

in tbe

fleld. ,rule

tbe

men them ,,, . lallooed Wilh the no , of ll>e

T.ip;n8

dynasly on

their

cheeks. were clooely

guarded by tlle .nny , regulars. 10 1860 L.urence

Olipllanl

recoro.. e Taipin who .l1ackod

NinWO in 1861 :r e 'Ulagers pressed inlo lheir

se ice , as ere 95 per

cent

of

lhose captured at

Kajol>

in

1862.

This app,U\'ol shonage of reli.ble manpower was

gradually rompensaleten

lakeo by foo:e

in

conquerc d 1errilories. Adopted and reared by anny

personnel. especially officers, they were ' imbued

wilh ferocity ofdisposition and

callCJll5roeSS

of feeling,

10

execute the behests of Ihclr maSle,, . Seyeml

WOSlem 00... .. ,

ooted Ihem being

giYC

'pri,,;_

leges beyood lheir years' in exchange kT

their

fidel_

ity, and

were

commissioDed

as

officers.

Though T.iping regulations staled Ihal children

e re nOllO engage in acliye ntilitary dUlles, iI soon

became conlmn practke j ;x those omplyed by

off to accompany lhem into

b.llie

to reload lheir

f

.lId

by 1861

children were

Ioeing

fielded

ill

,-or_iocreasing nllffibcrs. Undk--y,

wOO

cOllSidered

Ihat boys

agod

hetween

12

and

15

COllstilUled 'the

br.m'51 soldiers

.1Id

mosl

daring

spirils

in the s

oflhe Taiping soldiory', reckonod lllat in the spring

of

1861

l:lrgo pall

of

the Taipinjl

Anny

coos

iSle< of

more

boys', while

R.J.

Forrest, isiling Nanking

in

Ma ,h

tllal year, wrole Illal 'w >ere lhere

is

ooe

growo_up man

there .re

two

or

Ihree

boys of liom 12

to

18 years of age'. adding

th.t

he 'ney r

saw. rcb


10/50

* n.:h

t i d, ,* 'I l: u ..IKhr$ and

COIlSINCI'O/

nnl .'DIb. bul

duno/

lboe

nrly

Rebotlion penod

d Y blpl l 0Il1boe batldtr

II

N a n i : ~

I u

lhtfIo. 10 . .odmcc )

fWWolW

aIIcr

1&51.

C.n'n

....d urue'ur.

Thce.I, -d1UJi

rommallltirl llJl

army

corps had mJy

admJni5lr.ll,,' and 113mlng

' I ' 5 ' b i l ~ ; ' : in ....m

1he Clll JlS wu

Ccipal cou..

of disaff: on

.nlOngs T.iping orTkcrs towards tbe C'nd of

,be

Rehollion,

r wlling

in

a

d e s p ~ a d

l:>ct of

00_

oporal;OOl

at rommand

1e> C1.

Lindley ob5cn'Cd

lilac

by the

180605 ungs h.>d

' ' ' O l l ~ conlrol'

o-a-

the troop.

lII>Ikr lhe

corn.

mand,

cIcO ng Ihc '

.....

,..,., abIe OIlly Co 11M:

l-b 'nJy

K'1lI h moclf

or 10

tho

C


11/50

his personal

uoops.oo

Slopped

us liool

calling lhem

Ollf

own'. lndependem action

lht

. .by

bec.me lheor

e1icalty a lreasooab' otrence.

Wesl:learner

lOr

lhe

T.iplngs (the Kajmv .lId lhe EVA's Firefly fe'pee

liycly). tl>oogh bolh we. . lOS wililin i:\< months.

Burge i ,,'s

K,lj w

beino; blown up

in

aclion Ihrough

lhe clumsiness of ils drunken crew.


12/50

T

IMPERIALISTS

Chi ,,', milil 'ry esl.blislunem

passive, parochial,

Jk

and

.00>

011 OUtdated '...,

In. product of lh.

coonlly'-m;Utal)' cullUre. It comprised boIh

.gu_

WaM irregul>r

troops,

(he f , ,, con,i,ling

oflhe

Eighl BJJUl

....

Ipoch }.lId lhe Army

of 1M

Green

SiJ.nd:ud III..yingj, aDd lhc I.ller

oflhe

milili.

(I\ IM.

lien;, Bra ,. ping) and. lale. 'Bra'-. Ballalion.'

yllng-Jing . The

in:ldeqU3Cy oflhe regular elemems

:I S confirmed early in

lhe

Rebellioo. and by

(he

lime

the Taiping. we... mlly crushed il

was

J,mg-ying

,nidi bore Inc bn l

oflne

figlUing.

The

Eight

Banners

Th. origin oflhe Eight Ba ne. . daled to

I60J.

hen

Nurhoehu.

fOOr.dtf

of

11K- Manchuri,n

Ch ;ng dy_

m;l;)

organised

his

troops imo tour un;l under

bannolS

coloured

respecth eiy yellow, while. red

and

bU,. In 1615

ll>ese

units were eoch Sjllil in 1 0> 0.

whence the ighl Banners. The flags

of

the four new

w1its

had coloured borders. ach Batlre IUJlly

comprised Ihre.

kusai

or di\-isions

Ol>e

.ach of

MJnchus. Mongols and Chinese. bUi IlK- Eighl Ban

ners ; IS essemially a

Manchu

army. siDee MallchU S

oUlnumbered

It>


13/50

...m.iDder w.. .. di st ribm.d in Manchuri. .lId

TurkeSl.n. Banner g.rrisons omside Peking con_

sistM of In. Chi-fu ChI< Fang, lhe galTisons ofllle 25

cilics ne.rest 10 Peking, tOia/ling some 4O,lXXl men,

lnoSily infanl ) ; the LJng.erefore oominally

comprised

- 00

men. but was so often under>lrenglh

Ibal in 1851 was genernJly considered 10

number

only 150, alld in reolily ofIe ll comprised 11 moo

Iban 40 or so Lower ranking company offICe' were

the fang.y or caplain, lllehsiao-dl 1 hslao or lieUlen

.nl nd h e Ung_ls ul or corporals. Pri,- .tes were

generally called ma-chia, teclmically 0 term indic.t-

ing armoured canlrymen. lhougb

In.re

were 01,.,

).wg_)l1 ping.

supernumeraries aw.iting appoimment

10

the ranks

oflbe

ma-re

: t S

the Paid fot


14/50

H,e

A r , ~

of the

Gre,

Stnlldord

Unlike tile Eigh' B.otlets, tlli, .rmy (in 'ClUJlity 18

individual P'O inci:ll armies lha Yalied considerably

in size) consis1ed emirely of Cllinese 1r0000s. By tile

J9Ih OIII -

B.nnermen)

000 tile corruplion

of

tile

YaS

m.jority

of

il. off In

p.nicular, oft , . ts

wen:

guilly of filching a considerable ponion of lbeir

soldiers' pay

( .

practice kool'TI .. . 'squeezing'), 000 of

foiling to keep un;ls up

10

sl ,nglb in

order

thol lhey

could pocke1lhe pay of abs.-. tees. hldeed, some nits

ere as much .s lwo--tllirds

below

lbeir offlci.1

iu

and by the J&lIs

mosl were.l

1=1 40 or 50 I 'r cenl

ndersltenglb, i th an eS1imaled 20

per

cent of the

men in many un;ls either too old or too feeble

10

fight

When , , 'ry.

number.

were made

up

y

temporarily taking on Yag.boo


15/50

Green SlaOOJrd lmops comprised shall-ping

(prrison infamry), pll-ping (infant )') and mil-ping

(c ,-alry)' In n>OS1 places

~ a r r i s o n

infant )' oulnum_

bered lhe Olr.er 1\0. 0 pul Iogelber, and pl

..

ping 001_

numbered

ma-ping

almosl ,-erywr.ere.

T.E Wade.

w r n ~

in

1&51.

gi '-'l 10lals

kJr

lhe Ihree cal W'ries

(excluding 7,400 offICers)

.. .

some 321

,900

garri_

son infanlly, 194,800 infanlry and 87.100 ca,..Iry Of

lhese, only 10 per cem III mosl were kepi regularly

on

aclive sel'dce. These

fogw-es

pUI lhe

,,,,-a11

infantry

10 ,-airy ralio

al

nearly 6:1. close

10

tile offlciJl

figure of

5:1,

lhough Ille p ..-ping 10 rna_ping ralio

,lied belween

1:1

and 10:1. In sealxtard p ,inces

up to a Ihird of lhe men might be 'water soldiers' or

marines, lhough lhey were

SlUi based

.,hore,

a,1d

a

smaU

number

of

lh


16/50

0 direcl conl ,1 of the bulk ofllle p ,vince's foro:s

excepl Ihrough

offtcerS web

billl9>lf. I addition.

lhe wmg-ping. I'i/II

.00

W 'emor alike

Iud

pi

IIDder

lheir 0 Ugh

sm.1I

omits

were Ileyenheless bigger tha

tOOse

of any

Olbcr Green Standard comlll:ll>loSl ng units comprised

oniya 1eI hundred men, lbough some

100alled

II

oyer LtO:> Organisalion IOltmed 'imilar lines to

that of Grc. .n Standud units excepl Ih., ciyilian

o rills

we

... f l mly appointed 10 coounaoo

lhem.

The

)'Iing-ying or 'Bra,,,, Ba .lions' con'titUled a

loEicai

progression in lhe de\'elopmem of ng

forres, becoming coosiderably larger. mo... perm.

nen,

and

Stlbjeclto mo... rigorous lection processes

.nd higher 'tandard

of

training. From tbe C.lrly

JI An.... I ... .. I n , .. J i

,.., pol ._ ... ,.., =


17/50

18: O.'

jachl

of lheir inunedial. superiors.

nd junior grades had jU'1 lhe j.ackel (somelimes wilh

a broad

scar1oe1

border). Senior

off ,

often dressed

e'ing singled olll by Ihe

enemy. One is recorded as ha ing SUbslilUled black

lurban

b

hi, coo,pieuoo, } < 11ow

ODe

nOlher as

Iw';ng dre,sed

in wry

common ..

101hes

when going

oUllo figbl'. Eno III. Chung Wangcuslom.rily re

only quilled scark'ljockel

and

a scarloe11urb.n.

Th. ,jorily

of

Taipings w. . . . . rmed wilb no

more lhan

an

.ighl.

10

IS-ft pear

.nod

a knife or

somelimes a s,,ni Some subSl;Wled. I'Ole.rm,

arod

a ld bow.

Fire.rm,

ere

.1

firsl uncommon

alld initi.lly comprised

m lcblock, .nod

jing.II,. TIle

from.opeoing, and ouler jacloes ...... usually l.ken 0/1 , and

Ihe 1..,.,,,,,,, w

....

rolled

up

or

lucked inlo lile waiSl

band when in 'CliOfl.

In

lile summer a ...w coolie

II:ll added.

Unifonm, compri,ing coloured lunic wilb a

comrasling edge om '.. . Ih.ir e, Cl)'wy cloll ,

wen:

nOi

common

.mong

Ihe T.ipings, alld w.....

D T.gofQ TQ ping

'gQ.d SlQ.dacd_bro, ,

Imm lite biltJiltg f

L i M I . . , ~ T;_Ping Tien

KwOO:

11COr

co,ldilion (Weslem descripliot\'

of

Cllinese arms

in, riably iney

...rely had ll1i, many

(lindley

reckoning lhat 1101 0 ... ill ten' had a matchlock).

In

Ille right h..mds lbe 00.... w' ' ' ti ll con,idered a

more effe


22/50

compeICI1 In ilS use l ~ n d d O come fiom nnnhern

China 001 lne SQUlhern pro,-In s wn.re mosl nr In.

Rrl'cllioo look place. Banoer ca,..1ry in

pankular

spi cialised in an:hery. e lilough many.1>o carried

llJlclIIoct.. Some ca,-.Iry unils equipped

wih cemin number or jingalls; .1 lhe Bailie of

Cli.ln@;iaw.n

in

1800 lhey

were

eilher carried slung

be1w.... lWo 1101 SOs SQ ll1al lhe ulpOO SlaOO lrniled

aImg

lhe ground. o. dlsmamled. wilh In. jingall

carried on one horse .nd ilS s(atid on al Olller.

Tile im.oducllon o f W ~ s e r n fireanns beg.n o

small scale during lhe 1850:s. but

commcllCed in

eameSl from 1861. signlficamly l a l ~ lhan f O Ihe

T.iping. Enn lhen lhey w..... limlloo principally

10

lne Hunan 000 Hu.i .nnles. The I l ~ r had .1 leaS

100

muskels,oo rilles by Sepleml>e.

1862. 10.lXXl

by mid

1863

and

15.lXXl

by

spring

18M.

i

Hung_

chang wrole Ibal

he

eycmually II3d

m .m

muskc1s

r

ing

compared 10 lhe HUllJn Army . 120. (Spe.rs

.00 'Chinese lances'. or lridems. Slill

b

oulnum_


23/50

boored

muske1s among

lhe SO,lXXl

HutIJn

Anny

,n

encamped before

Nanking

in JUI

. .

18 1.)

Less con,,,mionaJ wealX flS in use 00

ooth

sidbows capable of

firing

eiglll10 len boks in rapid succession: ,hIs, usually

in

lh ..

ml of barbed

.,rows

fined

,jlh

a rm:wod

propellJm;

,, '< e,_IxIg'rge

nod

l I ~ v y in relation 10

their calibre were m.de liom brass. iron. copper

and

woed.

occ.,ioo.lly

ornmely consm,cloo

10

, .. .mble dragon> (the Taipings OC1ually called can

oons long drngons j. Cilles and fons were provided

Imp

ial

su s

fielded

against

1M

nglo Frmch

1861


24/50

WMh large quantities

of

anillel) ', , lIy moonted on

carriages witlloot whecls

or

any me.ns of

depression or - lion beyond 'a 1 1

of

rough

wedge.s'; Chinese:

pmcti

was 10

l.1y lheir

guns 10

fire

I

a poim lbey

I>oped

the enemy wookl h....

to

pass.

In consc:qu.--nre their fue was often higilly i n a c ~ m t e ,

n l

the

]XXIr

qwlily

of

Chi ,

gunpowder

0Ild

the

'-''''' co, casti ., of their cannon_ball, comributed 10

lh is

\mcen.in

gunnery'. Under fire, 110m.. ......

,

tile

aune..e

Slood resohnely to IlIeir guns, more often

th.n 001 10 the

laSl

man.

Wilen f..ld-anillery was called for, gun, ,uu1d

be

moumed on l ,o_whelid

Chinese guns

s mle

Itry

had

DO

f

. .

ld

.nillel) beyooothree

or

four

s ,11

pieces ('rarely reeding. 6 pdr in

size)

moumed on

the e.nhworXs oflhcir numerous stockaded camps.

In aboul 1860, 11 \ ..

.....

, Lindley pUI toge1her

b.nel)

for the eh,mg Wnng Ihal comprised ,,-ern

ClUnese guns .nd

three WeSlern pieces (a 31 pdr. an

18 pdr and a 'large French cannon') whkhl00k p.n

in

the Banle

ofHu_kau.

After

1&53

tile Imperialists purchased much

Western aniller; , alld they were coSling imitalions by

1 8 5 ~ From

1861

both sides also tried to copy West

ern explosi

...

e shell5, but Wilh limiled success;

Gordon

OOIed

thai of lhose lhe Taipings mallufac_

tured. 'nOl one in

20

burslS'.

French sou ,s

nOled

the use

of

org.n_gum

by

the Imperi. lists al lhe B.nle of Paliakao. These .re

described

as comprising a frnmel'-orX fmed with

eighl

or

ten jingalls that w..... fired eitller simultan

e


25/50

FLAGS

Chinese armies were accompanied by huge quamities

of

in .ssoned sizes.oo colours. mostly lriangu.

lor bUl sometime' square

or

,,,n, amoog'l lroe im_

perialisls, 'nf.lon_shape< .

They

were mode

of

dyed

ilk.

usually wiln dcq>ly scalloped

or

serTalOO edges

in a contrasling 00100

.

filloo

pole. J. lamprey. present

io

Shanghai in 1862.64.

said

th l

among

1M I

,,,peri.lislS OIl llag as carried

per len men, and lh.l some were up 10 11 feel long

and

eighl frel ~ Imperialisl Oogs were uniform to

each un;l

.00

were .,ioosly described as plain. or

~ l e wiln drngollS. lige,,;,

piC1ures

of gods. 'yin

.nd yang' symbols, clouds, circle: . zig_zag

Unes

l>orizomal stripes

or

inscriplions. FlJgs of )1mg.ying

for cUSlolnlrily

boo'

jusl

the

firs glyph

of

lheir

.nny c o m m e ~ s

name.

T.ipiog

f1:Igs

appear (0

ha

been

1M

more

colourful: 'esler..., were

daz:zled

by lheir displ.y.

of lhoosa lds of f :lgs. of every colour fron' bL>ck 10

crimson . TI,.,.., of H uo ': Hsiu_cb'uan's origin.1 the

co ,.

were o

common

colour and panern (yelkM'

wilh differem-coloored borders KJr each corps), but

ilS Taiping numbers 1J1 W,

tlK-

colours of unil fugs

prolirer:lted.

h,, Y

unil leader fron Ihe sergeam

upwards as accompanied by a uiangular fI:lg, Ihe

sire of whkh increased

in

6-in. incremems according

10

his rank (l iom

101'

II

by

1,1'

II

lOr

a sergeanl

up

10

7,1 i\ by 7,1' i\ fC eh e.g-Josiang). W 1f and Ih .

IOOSl senior

commanders

SU >stiMed larger square

flags. Technkally

they were supp s.--d 10 displ:ly In.

off ,s name, p ,, ince,

and

unil delails, but some

bore religious slogons and

by tlK-

1860s

it

appears

thaI many were actually plain.

In

addition 10 I ir

fomul

anny

f\ags,

,.,ngs were also innliJbly

accom

panied by a dr:lgon.;:mbroidered

snake.banner .

ItS

wore senior ImperialiSl mandarins.

One

1)l'C

of

Taiping

flag

thai

.hould

be

men_

tioned is In. huge, plain blac\; one which. ooce

o e ofMo ake-runners

eapl fro , 'he

Ta plngs d prue

Chari GQd_ by ;

E peror.

NDI; I.f

.If,oe ,)

>oisled, obliged men

to

K>lbw

it to IlK-

dealh.

Those

who

lurned

back were

cut

< own

by

off 'rs placed

in

lhe rear. Lindley obse -ed Ihal the Im[X'1ialiSl'

rarely.

if.,.

.......tood

befure

a 'black flag' allack.

T EVER-

VICTORIOUS

ARMY

The

EVA

'


26/50

l:T p; .w. o

1 ; 0 _ . .m n

T ,p


27/50


28/50

\

JO l riol ~ o ,

Sm

, 0.1

Jo I l an

,

, ..l )n>an in

armuu

c


29/50


30/50

I 1 ,.,, oogb ,I

'lL'Cdoles liom 18liI----6l n'fer

10

companies

of

100

men). In .dditlon tile'

-as

ooe Chinese interpreter

per regimenl. lhougb

comtn:U1ds

we...

gh

exclu

slYely

in

English

..

Id had '0 be leann by role.

In addilioo 10

,be

Infant )' n-glment' Ihere as

separnle Bodyguald f r the EVA's commander.

Under card tlti' con'isted emirely

of

Manll.men

(FiUploos). Their strength peaked al 200.300, but

hlgb casuahy rate (I>olh W.ld and Gordon .......

led

Iheir

men from the

front) IlOO

reduced

their numbers

to

50 by the time W.ld die< . Under Holl.nd

.nd

Gordon. lhe Bodyguald comprised f -o distincl ele

ments, 'company of foreigners' consiSling of '.1

most every ,-.riely of lhe human race,

from

lhe

FreJlchm,n to the Negro' Id 100 Chinamen, de

scribed .s elite

of

tile

COlpS'.

The ,\rtiller}

Tbe

EYA's

SlJpcrior Westem anillery. 'lIich coukl

punch holes tllroogb the walls of >loclades and cities

alike, was.n essential Ingredient in

it

success. Ward

is saki to

ha'

.ssembled f\O.-o

12

pdrs

arid

several 6

pdrs

as e..-Iy as

July 18W. and

b:m' had

ba le , by .u umn I861. However,

in

'00>1 .ctlons

he

f...lded maximum

of.boot

dozen

pie .

Only

aficr

Brillsh iO\-ol\-ement in tile force

iDCre d

fol

lowing his death did

.nillery

become more readily

accessible; then gun, of

all

shapes

and

sizes '

made ,, ilable

to

Holland

.nd

Gordon by lhe

....

,horllie, in Shanghai.

By April

1863

lhe EVA's .nillery part comprised

f --o

S-in. howitzers,

four

3J.pdrs. tbree 24.pdr how.

itzers dozen 12.pdr howllzers. 18 12.pdr moon

taln.howltzers, four 8

in

bras monars. ten

4 1

in

5'1,.in. monars, and thl or six rockel.tubes, with

250500 romld' per gun. There were

six

bal1enes,

four

constllUllng tile Hvy Anillery

.nd

the remain

ing f --o tile Light Anillery. wllb e b b.1tery con,ISI


36/50

in2;,

in

lheol)', of

f1ye

foreign

ollkers,

19

Chi

NCOsand 120-ISOgunners,

h ~ riwr_l>o.l

Ikol

MI..,. lhe anillel)', Ihe ..,.t imlX'r am elemeot

of

tile

EVA as

its

flOlilia

of armed paddle_steamers backed

by

~ Chinese guoboats, The hung

Wang

amibuted

IUs

dere,

in

the Soochow area almoSl

exclusi\... to the EVA's paddl._steamers. (lindley

wrol. that any on. of them as mort effi:cIi . tllan a

greal anny;n In. fleld.) Ward

l>oughl

and chJnered

up to dozen, toough under Burgp i . tlleir num_

Ix were reduced to

six

and uDder Gordon flfSl

diminish.d to 1 0 and ..... It>ekiang, began

Wilh

It>

local Brilish

l l n

ronunander,

Roderick

Dew.

By ~ p l e m b e r it tOialled LOCO men,

organised in sill companies of ~

under

Royal Ma

rine NCOs plus an artill.1)' conlingem of 5Q..IOO

men. Comm'U1d

a s

transferred to the

EVA

in Octo_

ber,

and

its strength re bed ISXl by .malgamation

with the EVA cooling.em alrc-ady

in

NinglX'. Par

of

this combined , .....

sen

to Sungkiang.

al

Ihe end

of

]862,

becoming tile EVA's

h

Regimom

(ref.rred

to

in

Gordon s

time as

lbe

'Ning.po Ballalion'), but

I OCO

men remained in Chekiaog,

and in

March 1863

again became independent

oflbe

EVA as the

h

aMg-

art

h or

Enr_Secur.

Am\y'. Its conun'llId.r was

an Ameriore were l they were already

w.aring green, like

It>


37/50

T h ~

F r ~ n < o _ C h i . . Corps

of

Ki

This

SlnaU

unil. e ,,,nlU.lly comprising

-100

men plus

40 off rs provided by French army NCOs. was

raised in Shanghai

inJu

1861.

II

inilially included

an

millery k... .,m Ih.1 serwd

in

lhe :J.O.-ntile

ra_

dius' campaign ,im

m

6-pdrs. bul subsequenlly il

appe,rs 10 na,,, become emirely inf.nlly.

lis

flrsl

commander. Tardif

de

Moidrey.

wem

on

10

become

comm:l.Ilder of

1M

'Ever_Triumph.m Army' in Janu_

'Y 1863.

alld

,as

suc=dCCCSS of lhe British-backed E\A lhe

French eSI'blishod similar

fon e

al

Ni 01'

in

ntid

1862.

Wilh

an

cquaUy eXOlic mixlUre of

Iionalili

represenled a ,ng

ils

omeers, lhough lhe m.jorily

were French 'n. Loc.1 Chinese

hams

pro ided

Ihe finance . lId lhc French aUlhorilies .1 Sh,nghai

suppUed insHuclors. Quickly koo .. Ihe

h ang-

chich hun or 'Ever_Triumphalll Army il com

prised

1,20)

men Inc time ils

firsl

comm.nder.

A.E.

e Brelooll de Caligny.

was kiUed

in an allack

on

Shows ling

in

Jan ry

1863. His

replace ,nl.

Tardif de Moidrey. was killed allacki 2' the same

1 11 a monlh lat.... Under

r.ul

Neveuc

d'Aiguebellc.

ilS

nexl commat>der. the

furre as

increa-;od 10 oome 2.500 men by M.y 1863. Then lhe

provincial govemer. Tso Tsung_l.ng. orde '-d

Ihal

il

be reduced 10 1,500.

bUI

il still 'bonl m -

slrong in AUgu>l 18 l

when

; paMkipaled in lhe

caplure of Hoochow.

The Enr_Triumph,m Army and the

EYA e re

similar

in

many w.ys. They bolh

included.

'Euro_

pe.n Company'

and

a bodyguard ofManil. ,n: lhey


38/50

boIh used .mwd S e.m.... (lhe ETA

bad

(\>u hy mid

18(4): .00 lbey bolh used

Wes1em

.nillel)', lhoogb

lhe ETA see to h ,e f 'lde

EVA

for a proposed expedllion

againS Nanking.

By

July I863,

001

1,1

oo.srrollg .nd

commanded

by

Licll1ellanl Cardew, rhe

fur e

was

III

Quinsan,.nd in lhe aulumn alleasr pan

ofil

accom_

panied Gordon

in

rile

-.nce

towards SoocIlO '.

Wben rhe EVA'. 3ni Regimenr, disbanded because of

miscondocl in AuguSl 1863. was reconsliluled

in

Oc1ober, Kingsley's fon:e

pro ided rile men.

ANGLO FRENCH

INVOLVEMENT

Unh.ppy

wirh llle Ch'ing

Gowrnmenl s refltSal

10

consider addilion.1 lrading cooces,ions 10 rhose

.greed III rhe elld

oflhe

Opium War.

ll>e

seizure of

llle

crew

of

a ship

M

Arro j

regisrered in Hong

Kong and llle murder of a Caloolic missionary

by

Ch'ing oltki:lk ere used by Brirain.nd france

as

an

excuse 10 declare .... on

ClUna in 1857.

Variously

rdened to as rhe AITOW War rhe Seoood China War

and lhe Sec


39/50

the h 00 king in August.Seplember 1860.

Two 11 00 on the coast,1 fo 1.'l

T ku _ success_

fully

in

1858 .00 disa>lroo,ly in 1859 eonSliwted

mo l of whJl

ca ,

be w n. Th.

1860

camp ign

, '' 'h ed , sizeable Ang]o.Fr.nch anny, bUl only,

LW

loou ,nd ,n were

;'11 01' ed in

Ihe rapid _

quence ofviclOries

scored,

Sinbo,

T,ngku

and

th.

T ku

Fons

in

August, and Chilllgkiawan and

r.lial.:ao

in

Sepwnber.

Coofwingly, ll .xaclly the l ime lhey

were fighting ag.insl > Imperialisls

in

the Nonh.

Anglo.Freoch troops Sl,lionod .1 Sh.ngh:l.i found

thomsel' s

in

alliance wilh Imperiali>l forces defelKl_

ing the dly again'l the Taipings. Umil then a sl ',y

tloe'U1rality

had

been

obse ed in

China's

dvil

war.

despite

th.

Brilish 1Ia ing considered inte 'ention on

beh.1Jf

of

the M.nehus as early as

1&53.

was lhe

Toiping threat 10 tbe sizeable W.Slern conununilies

in

Shanghai

00

Ningpo,

.00

101M

uJde

Ihol lhey

represc:ntc-d, tllal fin:d y pel SUJded Ih. British and

Freoch

10

beron. . OCli ,1y i ,,,I\ ed. albeil only

wilhin 30 miles

of

each

of

lhese dlies. In pankular

the , ,,'al

of

the Ch,mg Wang's ad ,nce on Sh,ng_

hJi prompted. number of Anglo_French opornlions

.galtlS1 T.iping forces in Ihe Ioc,UI) be w n Febru

'Yand

Nonmber

1862, noIably in the ,.Ued '30_

mHe radius' cao'P ign of March_May which r. ,lted

in the ,e''' ''1) of t.n dlies for the Imperiali>ls.

Dur ing 18ffi-61 garri n forces

in

Shanghai

generaily comprised some

I .c ro

Brilish and

similar. bUi

uSUJUy

smaH.r, number

of

French

Iroops, largely sean

. .

n and mari s. Afl ... second

T.iping

'l1 k, inJaml.1/)' 1862, heM....

er,

lhe Brilish

elemenl as increased dramJlie. ily, and a ,raged

.bout 2,500 men until mid 1863. A subslOnti.1 ,-.1

brig.de

wo;; a promi ..m f.alUn:

of

this forre: some

450 or mor. Brili'b and

:l(X)..400

Fr.neh seamen 00

marinos look pan in most operaliotlS oflhe '3Q.mHe

r.diu,

camp ign. aoo

ll>oir

overall eom nders

wen: also ,-.1 men - Admiral Hope tor British

and

Admiral PrOle (umil

bo

was killed

in May 1862)

tor lhe French. Indi.n troops provided by Ihe 51h

Bombay Nat,,'e

Infantl) oo

the 22nd Pwlj.bis con_

Sl;Med anolher ,jO ingrediem long,ide

ele-

menlS

of

> Brilish 3151,

671h

and 99th Regimoms

and the Freneb 3m

Ughl

Infaml) ' Banalioo

d'A riq e. Unlil March 1862 ooly.

leY

u n r ~ of

those i iedtroops had lWily been ;n,,,h-ed in fi.ld

operal;o ,

.g.inSl

the Ta;pings, but ,ft.r Aprillbeir

numbers were increased

10

arour.d 2,lXXl. They were

suppon.d by up to 30 guns, .nd lhe Bri ti 'h in,-.ri


40/50

ably

oulnumbered lhe

fr.nch.

In all lheir engagemems in In. SlIangh.i are.lhe

:illie.'l

acted

in

concen wilh Iffilli rialisl foo:e,. usually

represemed by lhe herVicloriOU S Army

and

occa

sioo.llly

local ),mg.ying fOn:es. In

.lIied operalions

in

lbe NinWO disuicl. h


41/50

wrole lhm Chine , sokliers did 001

c ,ider lhem

,yes 10 have 'any self.respec110 lc

enemy by oumbers,

qu.mity of

fu2;s..

size of guos .nd olwlIe of noise. ratller trnn by

ac1i

y

ely engaging in combal.

On lhe banlmy s

from

alld flanks simull.lneotlsly.

When

O aillble ca alry

fOfllled

tile wings

or

lhe rese ,

wid

.Millery

was

eitller , ,sed in lhe cenll\' or

dimib

Uled

along tile enlire froor.

The

T.ipings placed

Iheir I OOl\ sr lroops - usually spearmen - in lhe from

ranks

and

lheir '-er ,n,

.nd

guard.uoir, in the

rear.

probably bccnu lhe ImperialiS froot rnnks usually

coosisled of matchlockmen alld arcllers. Troops

ooth sides maooeu red 10 signa' Iran,mined y

drums. gongs and flag llKI\-e m,.

They

often

opero>e T.iping,

wen.'

recognic Taipings ,,,,,ged 10 get to close

quaners

lhey were ictorious, eveo against foreign.

off. ,..,.j Imperialists such as lhe EVA. HowevC1 , y

h t 1860s hey re raldy abI< 10

close

Wilh

the

enemy before 'oyerwhelntillg .nil, ,ry and ...gular


42/50

' 011..1 of muskelry' mowed them down. Conse

e

Rebellion the T.ipings in

pankul ,

depended

he,,

ily on Iheir f1eld.worl.:s.,

and

Ille Imperi.list. rarely

anacked

'bern

ssfully unless supponee

fon-ign..,mcered contingents

Wilh

their

P'O 'erful

Western anlilery.

TH PL T S

I Tail ;I1/i ~ I I / 1

Wangs ll y wore y IIoI>.' and red. Though depicled

on foo here.

ll>ey

. . .

moWlled

on ltle Dallleflekl.

and

their standard.l>earers. inYari.bly on

fOOl.

had

to

run to keep up wilh them.


43/50

A2:

TO;I';nx .'fI m,,,,,

The

greales' number

of

Taiping spe '

y fur

were

simply.n

iron s p ~ filled 10 a bamboo pole. A ShOll.

n... . y sword akin lei a cUllass .. . oft carried

secondary

arm.

men', eilher srulkd 'h.rough IIIe

waisJ.sa5h or slung across ,I>e b a c ~ in ,.Dbard.

AJ: TO;I';nx /tIu, - ,,,r

This man is armed wi'h a Brilish T o w e ~ muskel.

Taipings

wily

oouined ,lIeir

Wes1em fire_

am

from

unscrupuloll5 Shanghai

raders

( 11y

America ,) unable 10 resis' ,I>e 'fabl,lou;; sums' _ up

lei

$100

for

a single

m u s ~ e I

_

offell.>d

for

'-err

inf


44/50

83:

Mongol cocolr), on

Mongol c',, 'ally w ~ r e frequently ~ m p k i e d during

eme'll ies, e:wedally lhose of Ihe Chahar tribe,

which could r,,--ld 8,())) men, (In lheory lhe

Mongols could mu> a quaner of a million

-ling each ofnomin'dly JO(I nli some Bannermen 'Id mOSl

offICers,

more as a

m ~ i l a r y

insignia Ihan a foml

of

dele , II consisled of < e


45/50

2: Chillese rd ll

The

dress

of

EVA

OftkelS .

arie< . Cen.inly

unifonn exisle< by April 1861. perhJps lhoe same bluo

jackel. lrousers

.00

cap , comprised lhe unifonn of

lhe force while il

W 'S Slill

entirely composed of

foreigners. Howe,,,r. one sioologisl. H.B. Morse.

'\'I'OIe earUer this century lMl off wore green

unifonns wilh bl:lck braid round lhe cuffs. PhOlo

graphs show jacke1S similar 10 a Brilish Anny

palrol.

jack

or

frock-cOOI.

Am rican officers

in

panicular.

home

...... appear 10

1\ ,,

remained un.uniformed.

we. . iIlg 'bucc.neerillg. brigand.like dress . . .

slriped Imed and booted Uieatrical oondini'.

Wil/d ore 00 unifonn; inslead he usually wen:

eilller a dark blue English frock-coal

and

sOOn

cape. or loose. blue

serge

lunic.

Gordon

wore

I\is

0\\11 RE uooress uniform.

I

DJ: III/am ,,,,,,,,_

,UIII

m /flIT/1I

The

wimer uniform

of

(he Inf.ntry

dart. green.

;lh scark1 r>clogs. and shoolden regiment .1Id 'slamped'

wilh

Ill


46/50

: I m l , r ; ~ l i s t 8rt

This figure, from

.00111...,.

Lamprey skelch, depict.';

lho' ch.rocleriSlic appeam,,,,,,

of

such irregul.1'S, lypi.

fied y

lho'

large lUlban a,id lile

gait.r.d

or bandaged

shins and bare h-1.

1 2:

~ n

c h ; ~ n g w ; ; n f ~ n l r ) m Q n

This ;s .n infall1ryman

of lho'

Huai Army's

Q g-

ch ;mrlt wi or 'foreign arms plaloons'. lrained and

occasioo.Uy h:d by foreign oflkers. Unlike mosl

T.ipinV. such [ml 'ri.liSl unils adopl.d lb. b.yonel

along

Wilh

lheir

WOSlern

flre'nTIs,

c.rrying

il

fixod

10

lhe musk'

.1

all lim

since lhey poss ss

00

= .

3: knf ; c R Q l r ) m ~ n

The 'Nien bandils '. rebels Jeli ,

m:l.inly

in

Sh.n

lung, Hon.n.

Anhw.i .od

K;angsu provinces, r -

opernled wilh 1M T.ipings ill1erminell1ly Iron 1&53:

some of lhclr Ie.ders

' ' ':re

'' '0 appoill1ed lmngs

Their

Slrenglh by

in

tho siz.e.b1e 'a lry th. l lhey

coold field by

tho'

1:l1e

185Qs

(lOl.lIing

OIl

avel Jge

20.(0) men

.ft

.... 18(0). mainly .rmed ;lh swords

.nd long bamboo laoces, Ihough had fireanns.

Infamry were also

Jrme0 Fr.noch

lroops

wOO lOOk pan in

lhe

'J.O..mlle

radius' cam

paign of spring 1862.

They .1>0

panicipaled in oper

'lions

ag.insl the Imperialisls in 1857.60,

noIOOly

lhe eaplure ofC.nlon.

G2:

/ n f R n l f m ~ n . roncoChines,


47/50

only koo 'o picture thai tbeir jackelS 'ere ,hile.

lller colours .re hypol >etic.l. a1beillikely.

GJ:

Prb Shunghul ~ ; , I ' , , r

Corp,

Volumeers were responsible for providing their

0\0011

uniform, which appears

10

have

comprised.

red

shin

.nd

,Wte lrousers

in

summe., .

a skined

red

jacket

.nd black lrousers ' ilh red mipe n imer, and

black trilby ,ilh cockfealher plume. Hc '.......r, pho.

logrnphs

1J.ken in

tbe

1870s

indicale Ihal ele ,ms

of

summer and 'im.... unifonns ,ere often om

,.

Norll C ~ i n . 1860

11/:

S o ~ r

l une , 1/ ,-,

Fane's Ho ,as ooe

ofm

Sikh ca alry regi ,ms

th':l1

d

in

this campaign.

The

oll>er was

Probyu's, -hose unitorm comprised a

dart.

bl .grey

tunic, red cummerbund, slale.;;oloored Imoon .nd

wlUte

brees.

BOlh regimenlS were .rmed ith

piSlOls, carnine, lance and ml ,.r.

Fm.ch K f Ihe

br;,lge,, P U,u,,,,,. 2/

September 86e drawings of lUI.

erealock.

Th.

Chinese are said to :

..

nicknamed

British iof.mrymen 'H.,S' n ref.re , to tbeir dis

tinct;v. while .irpipe > e ~ ' l e t s . Similar helmc1s ..re

m

by

some FretlCh

lroops during lhis campaigo,

and

Illere exists a picture

of

111ow;ng

tbem being

om

by French guoners.

lI..commc.Md R c . d i n ~

W.l.

les

T'ro Ts gr aMg (1937); Lin


48/50

Cu , en, Taiping Rebel (1977); WiUiam Hail. Tseng

Ku-fim md rhe Toiping II:rll< ;;;on (1927): Egmont

Hake. E ;>ms

in Ihe

Tneping lI:ebelUmr (1891); ktl

Yu_wen. 7 e Tniping lI:emllltionary Moremrm,

(197J): Augustus F, lindley, Ti-Ping

Tien KOI oh

(1886): Thomas Meadows. 7 < Chinese an d rheir

lI:ebdUons

(1856): Richard

Smilh.Mercena ies and

Mnnda'ins (1978) and

Chi ,

MmIJry Institutions

Dra..... by s< h

if5m


49/50

NQ

ICIl

rl,ncnc. en


50/50

l .m]]]

M UT RY

.\IE -.\T-.\R:\IS

SERIES

rm:ml

M L T RY

An unri..... l ~ oou=

of

Informa.ion on .he unifonns, insigrti.a and appear-anee

of

lhe wid' . lishting

men

of

pas'

and

presen . The Me.._a,_AITR> rille. . . et 5ubjecu ... di,'e , .. . the Imperiol Roman army,

tho:

Napolc:ooie

..v a

and

Gcnnan

Ilitbol'lle 'roop> in a

popular

48-p.Ige format i....,Juding-..:

0phorogroophl

.nd diaJnou,

and ,,;,h' fuU-eoJour

pla'e.

COMPA...

lON

SERIES FROM OSPRE1'

EUTE

Detailed

infom,a'ion

on .he

unifonn.

and inoiJltia of the world'.

I ll

famou. mili\lU)' fo;el.

r...eh

6 _ p

book

rontaiM

,,,ne

50

photograph ; and diagrams. and 12 pag.. . of fuU-roloor . ''' ' '''.

WAllIl.1QK

t>efinitive analy.;

of

the armour, -em ,,n., .acti and mo.h ,;o01

of

,he foghting

fTM n of h i,

...,..

Each 64_1' 1

1> 1

Documents

Osprey [MAA] 275.Taiping.rebellion.1851-66