Combat· East Asia Operations
New Chwang 'Sword Rack Hoo' Affair
A treaty-port police action in northern China, one of the first Far East operations of the post-war years.
In 1866, with the country still unsettled in the wake of the Taiping rebellion and roving war-lord bands harassing foreigners, the American consul at New Chwang, Francis Knight, was assaulted by a party of ruffians whose leader went by the name "Sword Rack Hoo." Rear Admiral Bell, commanding the Asiatic Squadron, sent Commander Townsend in the Wachusett to secure the arrest and punishment of those responsible, the ship's Marines standing ready as the landing party. The offenders were taken and brought to trial, the affair settled by the arrest and punishment of the guilty rather than by any battle. No casualties resulted from the operation, though Commander Townsend died of illness in the course of it. It was characteristic of the era's naval work, a show of force to protect an American official and exact redress for an outrage.
Record no. 467