Combat· China Operations
USS Mississippi Marines ashore at Shanghai
One of the recurring protective landings that marked the American presence in the Chinese ports through the turbulent 1850s.
In July 1859, with Shanghai unsettled by the disorders of the Taiping era, Marines and sailors from the steamer USS Mississippi went ashore to protect American lives and property and to guard the American consul. The landing was a precautionary measure rather than a battle: the force stood watch over American interests until the danger eased and then withdrew. No fighting and no casualties resulted. It was of a piece with the squadron's standing role on the China coast, where an American warship in port was expected to put a guard ashore whenever local violence threatened the foreign community, and where the protection of the consul and the resident merchants was a constant duty alongside the larger actions like Muddy Flat and the Barrier Forts.
Record no. 380