Frederick Townsend Ward

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Frederick T. Ward, 1861

Frederick Townsend Ward (born November 29, 1831 in Salem , Massachusetts , † September 21, 1862 in Ningbo , China ) was a US adventurer and officer in the American merchant navy.

As the leader of the Always Victorious Army under the authority of Li Hongzhang on the side of the Qing Dynasty, he was involved in the civil war against the Taiping Rebellion . He died in 1862 after being wounded.

Origin and career

Ward came from a middle-class background and grew up in Salem. In 1846 he tried unsuccessfully to be admitted to the West Point Military Academy . He was then taught a year at Norwich University with the aim of a military career, but left the institution without a degree.

After leaving university, Ward was hired as a mate on a merchant ship . In 1847 he reached China on this trip . In 1850 he stayed in California for a year . In 1851 he visited China again. In 1852 he was the first officer on a merchant ship to reach Mexico .

Mercenary

In 1852 War joined the filibusters around William Walker , who operated in Nicaragua during the civil war . In 1853 he served as a training officer in Walker's troop.

In 1859 he returned to China as he expected a lucrative market for mercenaries due to the political instability and rebellions there. In 1860 he set up a mercenary force composed of around 200 deserters from various western countries. This was financed by the Shanghai banker Yang Fang . The aim of the troops was the defense of Shanghai against the Taiping and the capture of the city of Songjiang near Shanghai . In August 1860 Ward was wounded in the face in a failed attack by his force on the city. His mercenary unit was portrayed in the western press as a hodgepodge of amoral drunkards.

In 1861 he was arrested by British forces on the orders of Admiral James Hope in Shanghai because, as an American, he had broken the laws of neutrality towards China. The US consul, however, waived an indictment because Ward was able to demonstrate that he had become a Chinese citizen. In the course of this, he managed to escape from British captivity. After his troops failed to take Qingpu in 1861 , they were disbanded. The Anglo-American press speculated whether Ward might not want to join the Confederate in order to wage a trade war against the Union in East Asia . Ward defended himself as an opponent of secession against the allegations and wrote a reply himself.

In February 1862, Ward had completed his new military unit. This still had western officers from Ward. However, this time the soldiers were locals recruited in China. The unit proved itself in the fighting for Songjiang and received the title Always Victorious Army by the Qing Dynasty . After his military success, he married Yang Fang's daughter Changmei . After he stopped recruiting deserters, his relationship with the British armed forces in Shanghai improved. The Always Victorious Army even worked with the British to crack down on the Taiping.

On September 21, 1862, Ward was shot in the stomach while fighting near Ningbo . He died the following night. His successor as commander of the Always Victorious Army was Henry Andres Burgevine and finally the British engineer officer Charles George Gordon . Ward received a state funeral from his Chinese employer . The authorities also built a memorial temple in Songjiang.

By portraying the diplomat Frederick Bruce , who was active in China , Ward and his British counterpart Gordon were presented to the British public as the actual victors of the Taiping Rebellion.

literature

  • Hallet Evening: The God from the West - A Biography of Frederick Townsend Ward. Garden City, NY, 1947
  • Caleb Carr : The Forgotten Hero. The Adventurous Life of Frederick Townsend Ward; Roman ("The devil soldier", 1992). Heyne, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-453-15025-2 (biographical-historical novel)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 75-78
  2. ↑ Michael Sinclair: Ward, Frederick Townsend (1831-1862) in Yuwu Song (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations. Jefferson, 2006, p. 205
  3. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 75-78
  4. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 75-78
  5. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, p. 95
  6. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 187-189
  7. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 265-270
  8. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, pp. 314f
  9. ↑ Michael Sinclair: Ward, Frederick Townsend (1831-1862) in Yuwu Song (Ed.): Encyclopedia of Chinese-American Relations. Jefferson, 2006, p. 205
  10. ↑ Stephen R. Platt: Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom - China the West and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War. New York, 2012, p. 360

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ward, Frederick Townsend
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American adventurer and mercenary
DATE OF BIRTH November 29, 1831
PLACE OF BIRTH Salem , Massachusetts
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1862
Place of death Ningbo , China