China: Victorious British forces at Pehtang Fort, 1860. Second Opium War (1856-1860), Felice Beato (1832-1909)

The Taku Forts or Dagu Forts (Chinese: 大沽炮台; pinyin: Dàgū Pàotái; literally 'Taku batteries'), also called the Peiho Forts (Chinese:白河碉堡; pinyin: Báihé Diāobǎo) are forts located by the Hai River (Peiho River) estuary, in Tanggu District, Tianjin municipality, in northeastern China. They are located 60 km southeast of the Tianjin urban center.

In 1856, Chinese soldiers boarded The Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship registered in Hong Kong flying the British flag and suspected of piracy, smuggling and of being engaged in the opium trade. They captured 12 men and imprisoned them. Though the certificate allowing the ship to fly a British flag had expired, there was still an armed response. The British and French sent gunboats under the command of Admiral Sir Michael Seymour to capture the Taku Forts in May 1858. In June 1858, at the end of the first part of the Second Opium War, the Treaties of Tianjin were signed, which opened Tianjin to foreign trade.

In 1859, after China refused to allow the setting up of foreign legations in Beijing, a naval force under the command of British Admiral Sir James Hope attacked the forts guarding the mouth of the Peiho river. During the action US Navy Commodore Josiah Tattnall came to the assistance of the British gunboat HMS Plover,– commanded by Lt William Hector Rason, who was killed in the action – offering to take off their wounded.

Plover's commander, Hope, accepted the offer and a launch was sent to take off the wounded. Later, Tattnall discovered that some of his men were black from powder flashes. When asked, the men replied that the British had been short handed with the bow gun. His famous report sent to Washington claimed 'Blood is thicker than water'. This was the first time the British troops needed American assistance after suffering major casualties from the Taku cannon barrage, and the first time that British and American troops fought side by side.

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