Security· Interwar China Expeditions
USS Tulsa Marines landed Foochow during civil unrest
In early 1934, a rebellion broke out in the Chinese coastal province of Fukien, where troops of the Nineteenth Route Army had turned against the Nationalist government.
As Nationalist forces moved in to crush the revolt, fighting reached the port city of Foochow. American citizens and the U.S. consulate there were suddenly at risk, so the gunboat USS Tulsa was sent to stand guard offshore. When conditions in the city grew dangerous, the Tulsa put a small armed party of Marines ashore at Foochow. They landed to protect the American consulate and the lives and property of Americans living in the area. Other foreign powers landed their own guards at the same time. Once Nationalist troops took control of the city and the threat eased, the Marines withdrew and returned to their ship.
Record no. 552