China Relief Expedition
Encyclopedia
The China Relief Expedition was the name of an expedition in China
undertaken by the United States Armed Forces
to the rescue of United States
citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals
during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion
, which lasted from between 1898 and 1901. The China Relief Expedition was a multi-national military effort; the United States contributed troops to the effort between 1900 and 1901. Towards the close of the expedition, the focus shifted from rescuing non-combatants to suppressing the rebellion
. By 1902, at least in the city of Peking, the Boxer Rebellion had been effectively controlled.
resulting from the Spanish-American War
stimulated a growing American interest in China for both commercial and humanitarian reasons. A notable argument for retaining the Philippines advanced at the time posited that the island nation would serve as a convenient way point for trade with the Manchu Empire
; furthermore it was argued that the Philippines would be of use in the protection of American interests in the Pacific. The dominant problem in China at the end of the nineteenth century was its threatened partition by the Great Powers. Both the United States and the British
opposed this, and in September 1899 the United States announced it had secured agreement from the interested powers for maintenance of an Open Door policy
in their relations with China.
Many younger Chinese resented the extensive foreign intervention in China. This discontent coalesced into the nucleus of a secret group called the Righteous Harmony Society (義和團 - Yìhétuán); Westerners called members of this Righteous Harmony Society Boxers. The Boxers, with tacit support of the Empress Dowager Cixi
, undertook a campaign against foreign influences and foreigners. By early 1900 this movement had brought much of China to the verge of revolution. Boxers in the northern provinces attacked and killed hundreds of Chinese Christians and foreigners, mostly missionaries. The wave of unrest came to an apex following the assassination of Clemens von Ketteler, the German ambassador plenipotentiary, on June 20. Most remaining foreigners as well as many Chinese converts fled to the foreign legations in Peking,In fear for their lives in what appeared to be the beginning of a general uprising. The Foreign Legations were defended by a composite force of some 600 soldiers and civilians. The legations were soon besieged by a much larger force of Boxers, assisted by Chinese Imperial troops.
Although the McKinley administration disliked the idea of becoming involved in an international incident during an election year
with overtones of entangling foreign alliances, President McKinley agreed to join with the other powers in taking such steps as deemed necessary to rescue their beleaguered nationals.
stationed at Cavite
in the Philippines. This detachment steamed toward Taku aboard the USS Newark
, arriving on June 18, where the detachment was joined by another detachment of 32 Marines aboard the USS Nashville
. The Marine detachment, under the command of Major Littleton W.T. Waller, landed at Taku the next day and proceeded to advance toward Tientsin.
Although General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
, commanding in the Philippines, was reluctant to weaken his already overextended forces, he agreed to dispatch to China the 9th Infantry Regiment which would depart from Manilla on June 27. On June 17, the United States Navy's China Squadron, under Rear Admiral Louis Kempff
, declined to join foreign naval forces in the Battle of Taku Forts which guarded the river approach to Tientsin, the nearest port city to Peking. On July 6, the 9th Infantry Regiment arrived at Taku. Colonel Emerson H. Liscum
, commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment, disembarked the regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions and proceeded to march on Tientsin. On 13 July 1900, elements of this force, participated in the attack on Tientsin troops from several other nations. The city of Tientsin surrendered on the same day.
By the beginning of August, the American forces were reinforced by the 14th Infantry Regiment, and Battery F of the 5th Artillery Regiment.
Major-General Adna R. Chaffee, Sr
arrived in Nagasaki, Japan
on July 24. Within two days of his arrival, General Chaffee received orders to proceed to Taku and assume command of the American forces there; his new command was designated the China Relief Expedition.
Other units, including the 6th Cavalry Regiment, were deployed directly from the mainland United States. Using Manila
as a base and Nagasaki, Japan, as an advance port, the United States eventually assembled some 2,500 soldiers and marines in China, officially designated the China Relief Expedition,.
Formed into a rescue column, including more than a hundred Americans, this force had encountered overwhelming opposition and failed to break through to Peking. The powers then had taken immediate steps to organize a large relief expedition to drive through to the Chinese capital.
. A composite military force of 407 men (including 56 Americans) plus about 200 civilians defended the compound.
The Great Powers took immediate steps to organize a large relief expedition for Peking, to stamp out what came to be known as the Boxer Rebellion. Using Manila as a main base, the United States promptly dispatched to China Regulars intended for use in the Philippine Insurrection. The 9th Infantry and a Marine battalion landed at Taku Forts on 7 July 1900. Two battalions of the 9th joined contingents of other powers in an attack on Tientsin, which fell on 13 July, the Americans suffering 95 casualties.
On 4 August 1900 an allied force of eighteen or nineteen thousand men began an advance on Peking, 70 miles (112.7 km) distant. The American contingent, some 2,500 men under Major-General Adna R. Chaffee, Sr.
, consisted of the 9th Infantry and 14th Infantry, elements of the 6th Cavalry, the 5th Artillery
, and a Marine battalion. High points of the fighting en route were at Pei-tsang
, which fell on 5 August, and a severe engagement for American and British contingents at Yang-tsun
on 6 August.
's Light Battery F, 5th Artillery) blasted open the gates on the American front in the assault on the Inner City.
By early August, a multinational coalition of 19,000 soldiers, including British
, French
, Japanese
, Russian
, German
, Austrian
, Italian
, and American
troops, was ready to move out of Tientsin toward Peking, some seventy miles distant. Fighting a number of sharp skirmishes en route, this force reached the Manchu capital on 12 August 1900 and prepared immediately to assault the gates leading into the Outer City. Lacking effective central direction, the relief expedition's attack was poorly executed. The Russian contingent prematurely forced an entrance into the Outer City on 10 August only to be thrown into confusion and require rescue by other allied troops. The next day, in a more carefully coordinated assault, elements of the U.S. 14th Infantry scaled the so-called Tartar Wall and provided cover for the British as they entered the Outer City in force, relieving the legations compound. Then on 15 August, Captain Henry J. Reilly
's Light Battery F of the U.S. 5th Artillery shattered the gates leading into the Inner City with several well-placed salvos, opening the way for the allied troops to occupy the center of Peking. Although American troops had suffered comparatively light losses—slightly more than 200 killed and wounded—they did not take part in subsequent military operations, which consisted primarily of suppressing scattered Boxer elements and rescuing foreigners in the provinces. The McKinley administration, anxious to avoid further involvement in China, wanted to get Army units back to the Philippines before winter.
Most American units were withdrawn to Manila before winter, and mopping up operations in the provinces were left to the other Powers. A few American Regulars remained to form part of an allied occupation force and a small guard for the United States Legation in Peking.
In a few months all resistance had ended and the Dowager Empress sued for peace, offering to pay an indemnity and reaffirm previously existing commercial concessions. During prolonged negotiations an international army of occupation to which the United States contributed a small contingent of Regulars remained in north China. It was withdrawn in September 1901 under terms of the Boxer Protocol
. This agreement also provided that the powers maintain a fortified legation in Peking, garrison the Tientsin-Peking railway—an American contingent served as a part of this force until 1938—and receive reparations of $333 million. Of this amount the United States claimed only $25 million. In a few years it became apparent that even this sum was more than was needed to indemnify claims of American nationals and in 1907, and again in 1924, the United States returned portions totaling nearly $17 million to China, which placed the money in a trust fund for education of Chinese youths in both countries.
The participation of the United States in the Boxer Uprising at the beginning of the 20th century marked the first time since the American Revolution that the country had joined with other powers in an allied military operation. The intervention in China represented one more instance of the gradual change taking place at the turn of the century in the traditional policies and attitudes of the United States in world affairs as a result of the triumph of imperialism. Most Americans still believed, despite the acquisition of overseas colonies, the nation could continue to adhere to its doctrine of isolationism as the nation entered a new century. Developments in the early years of the 20th century would demonstrate, however, that the nation had to make changes and adjustments in many long-established institutions and policies—including those relating to military defense of the country—to meet the requirements of its new status as a world power.
and the China Relief Expedition Medal
.
US Units involved:
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
undertaken by the United States Armed Forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
to the rescue of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals
Foreign national
Foreign national is a term used to describe a person who is not a citizen of the host country in which he or she is residing or temporarily sojourning. In Canada, a foreign national is defined as someone who is not a Canadian citizen nor a permanent resident of Canada...
during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
, which lasted from between 1898 and 1901. The China Relief Expedition was a multi-national military effort; the United States contributed troops to the effort between 1900 and 1901. Towards the close of the expedition, the focus shifted from rescuing non-combatants to suppressing the rebellion
Rebellion
Rebellion, uprising or insurrection, is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors aimed at destroying or replacing an established authority such as a government or a head of state...
. By 1902, at least in the city of Peking, the Boxer Rebellion had been effectively controlled.
Background
The American annexation of the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
resulting from the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
stimulated a growing American interest in China for both commercial and humanitarian reasons. A notable argument for retaining the Philippines advanced at the time posited that the island nation would serve as a convenient way point for trade with the Manchu Empire
Manchu Empire
Manchu Empire may refer to:*Qing Dynasty , 1644–1912*Manchukuo , 1932–1945...
; furthermore it was argued that the Philippines would be of use in the protection of American interests in the Pacific. The dominant problem in China at the end of the nineteenth century was its threatened partition by the Great Powers. Both the United States and the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
opposed this, and in September 1899 the United States announced it had secured agreement from the interested powers for maintenance of an Open Door policy
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. As a theory, the Open Door Policy originates with British commercial practice, as was reflected in...
in their relations with China.
Many younger Chinese resented the extensive foreign intervention in China. This discontent coalesced into the nucleus of a secret group called the Righteous Harmony Society (義和團 - Yìhétuán); Westerners called members of this Righteous Harmony Society Boxers. The Boxers, with tacit support of the Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi
Empress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908....
, undertook a campaign against foreign influences and foreigners. By early 1900 this movement had brought much of China to the verge of revolution. Boxers in the northern provinces attacked and killed hundreds of Chinese Christians and foreigners, mostly missionaries. The wave of unrest came to an apex following the assassination of Clemens von Ketteler, the German ambassador plenipotentiary, on June 20. Most remaining foreigners as well as many Chinese converts fled to the foreign legations in Peking,In fear for their lives in what appeared to be the beginning of a general uprising. The Foreign Legations were defended by a composite force of some 600 soldiers and civilians. The legations were soon besieged by a much larger force of Boxers, assisted by Chinese Imperial troops.
Although the McKinley administration disliked the idea of becoming involved in an international incident during an election year
United States presidential election, 1900
The United States presidential election of 1900 was a re-match of the 1896 race between Republican President William McKinley and his Democratic challenger, William Jennings Bryan. The return of economic prosperity and recent victory in the Spanish–American War helped McKinley to score a decisive...
with overtones of entangling foreign alliances, President McKinley agreed to join with the other powers in taking such steps as deemed necessary to rescue their beleaguered nationals.
Seymour Expedition
An international column of sailors and marines, the Seymour Expedition, including 112 Americans, made a hurried attempt to go to the relief of Peking, but met with severe resistance after it left Tientsin and failed to get through (10–26 June).Skirmishes around Tiensine
As a result of the Philippine Insurrection, the United States had forces available nearby in the Philippines. The United States of America was therefore in a position contribute one of the larger contingents to the international relief expedition. The first contribution of American forces from the Philippines came on June 14 when it was deemed necessary to send a detachment of 107 Marines to China to protect American lives and property; this detachment was drawn from the 1st Marine Infantry Regiment1st Marine Infantry Regiment
The 1st Marine Infantry Regiment is a French regiment, that inherits from Colonial Infantry. It is one of the oldest regiments of the Troupes de Marine with 2e RIMa, 3e RIMa, 4e RIMa and 1er RAMa, forming the Blue Division during Franco-Prussian war....
stationed at Cavite
Cavite
Cavite is a province of the Philippines located on the southern shores of Manila Bay in the CALABARZON region in Luzon, just 30 kilometers south of Manila. Cavite is surrounded by Laguna to the east, Metro Manila to the northeast, and Batangas to the south...
in the Philippines. This detachment steamed toward Taku aboard the USS Newark
USS Newark (C-1)
The first USS Newark was a United States Navy protected cruiser, the first modern cruiser in the US fleet.She was laid down by William Cramp and Sons, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 12 June 1888, launched on 19 March 1890, sponsored by Miss Annie Boutelle, the daughter of Congressman Charles A...
, arriving on June 18, where the detachment was joined by another detachment of 32 Marines aboard the USS Nashville
USS Nashville
USS Nashville may refer to:, was a gunboat in service from 1897 to 1918, was a light cruiser in service from 1938 to 1946; sold to Chile in 1951 and scrapped in 1985, was an amphibious transport dock that served from 1970 to 2009See also...
. The Marine detachment, under the command of Major Littleton W.T. Waller, landed at Taku the next day and proceeded to advance toward Tientsin.
Although General Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
Arthur MacArthur, Jr.
Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, Jr. , was a United States Army General. He became the military Governor-General of the American-occupied Philippines in 1900 but his term ended a year later due to clashes with the civilian governor, future President William Howard Taft...
, commanding in the Philippines, was reluctant to weaken his already overextended forces, he agreed to dispatch to China the 9th Infantry Regiment which would depart from Manilla on June 27. On June 17, the United States Navy's China Squadron, under Rear Admiral Louis Kempff
Louis Kempff
-Early life:Louis Kempff was born in 1841 in Belville, Illinois, United States. After passing the entrance exams, he received an appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland on September 21, 1857.-Civil War:...
, declined to join foreign naval forces in the Battle of Taku Forts which guarded the river approach to Tientsin, the nearest port city to Peking. On July 6, the 9th Infantry Regiment arrived at Taku. Colonel Emerson H. Liscum
Emerson H. Liscum
Emerson Hamilton Liscum was a U.S. Army officer who was killed in battle at Tientsin, China during the Boxer Rebellion.He joined the U.S. Army in 1861 to fight in the American Civil War. After the war he remained in the Army and rose to the rank of Colonel. While assigned to the 9th U.S....
, commander of the 9th Infantry Regiment, disembarked the regiment's 1st and 2nd Battalions and proceeded to march on Tientsin. On 13 July 1900, elements of this force, participated in the attack on Tientsin troops from several other nations. The city of Tientsin surrendered on the same day.
By the beginning of August, the American forces were reinforced by the 14th Infantry Regiment, and Battery F of the 5th Artillery Regiment.
Major-General Adna R. Chaffee, Sr
Adna Chaffee
Adna Romanza Chaffee was a General in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish-American War, and was instrumental in crushing the Boxer Rebellion in China...
arrived in Nagasaki, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on July 24. Within two days of his arrival, General Chaffee received orders to proceed to Taku and assume command of the American forces there; his new command was designated the China Relief Expedition.
Other units, including the 6th Cavalry Regiment, were deployed directly from the mainland United States. Using Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
as a base and Nagasaki, Japan, as an advance port, the United States eventually assembled some 2,500 soldiers and marines in China, officially designated the China Relief Expedition,.
Formed into a rescue column, including more than a hundred Americans, this force had encountered overwhelming opposition and failed to break through to Peking. The powers then had taken immediate steps to organize a large relief expedition to drive through to the Chinese capital.
Battle of Tientsin
The movement against Westerners in Peking reached a climax on 20 June 1900 when the German minister was murdered. About 3,500 foreigners and Chinese Christians, fearing for their safety, took refuge in the foreign legation compound, where they were besieged by thousands of ChineseSiege of Beijing Legation Quarter
The Siege of the International Legations occurred during the Boxer Rebellion in the Chinese city of Beijing . Nine hundred military personnel and civilians, largely from Europe, Japan, and the United States, and about 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Beijing Legation Quarter and survived...
. A composite military force of 407 men (including 56 Americans) plus about 200 civilians defended the compound.
The Great Powers took immediate steps to organize a large relief expedition for Peking, to stamp out what came to be known as the Boxer Rebellion. Using Manila as a main base, the United States promptly dispatched to China Regulars intended for use in the Philippine Insurrection. The 9th Infantry and a Marine battalion landed at Taku Forts on 7 July 1900. Two battalions of the 9th joined contingents of other powers in an attack on Tientsin, which fell on 13 July, the Americans suffering 95 casualties.
Battle of Yang-tsun
Adna Chaffee
Adna Romanza Chaffee was a General in the United States Army. Chaffee took part in the American Civil War and Indian Wars, played a key role in the Spanish-American War, and was instrumental in crushing the Boxer Rebellion in China...
, consisted of the 9th Infantry and 14th Infantry, elements of the 6th Cavalry, the 5th Artillery
5th Field Artillery Regiment (United States)
The 5th Field Artillery Regiment was constituted as part of the Regular Army in January 1907. Individual battalions have lineages that date back further.-Distinctive Unit Insignia:*Description...
, and a Marine battalion. High points of the fighting en route were at Pei-tsang
Battle of Beicang
The Battle of Beicang , during the Boxer Rebellion, was fought August 5, 1900 between the Eight Nation Alliance and the Chinese army. The Chinese army was forced out of its prepared entrenchments and retreated to Yangcun. The Eight-Nation Alliance army at Beicang consisted of Japanese, Russian,...
, which fell on 5 August, and a severe engagement for American and British contingents at Yang-tsun
Battle of Yangcun
The Battle of Yangcun was a battle during the march of Eight-Nation Alliance forces from Tianjin to Beijing during the Boxer Rebellion. The Alliance was victorious over the Chinese forces.-Background:...
on 6 August.
Battle of Peking
In the seizure of the Outer City of Peking on 14 August, elements of the 14th Infantry scaled the Tartar Wall, planted the first foreign flag ever to fly there, and opened the way for British units to relieve the legation compound. On the following day "Reilly's Battery" (Captain Henry J. ReillyHenry J. Reilly
Henry J. Reilly was an American soldier and journalist. He graduated from West Point in 1904, commanded a field artillery battalion in France in World War I, edited the Army and Navy Journal, and wrote several books....
's Light Battery F, 5th Artillery) blasted open the gates on the American front in the assault on the Inner City.
By early August, a multinational coalition of 19,000 soldiers, including British
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Japanese
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Russian
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austrian
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
troops, was ready to move out of Tientsin toward Peking, some seventy miles distant. Fighting a number of sharp skirmishes en route, this force reached the Manchu capital on 12 August 1900 and prepared immediately to assault the gates leading into the Outer City. Lacking effective central direction, the relief expedition's attack was poorly executed. The Russian contingent prematurely forced an entrance into the Outer City on 10 August only to be thrown into confusion and require rescue by other allied troops. The next day, in a more carefully coordinated assault, elements of the U.S. 14th Infantry scaled the so-called Tartar Wall and provided cover for the British as they entered the Outer City in force, relieving the legations compound. Then on 15 August, Captain Henry J. Reilly
Henry J. Reilly
Henry J. Reilly was an American soldier and journalist. He graduated from West Point in 1904, commanded a field artillery battalion in France in World War I, edited the Army and Navy Journal, and wrote several books....
's Light Battery F of the U.S. 5th Artillery shattered the gates leading into the Inner City with several well-placed salvos, opening the way for the allied troops to occupy the center of Peking. Although American troops had suffered comparatively light losses—slightly more than 200 killed and wounded—they did not take part in subsequent military operations, which consisted primarily of suppressing scattered Boxer elements and rescuing foreigners in the provinces. The McKinley administration, anxious to avoid further involvement in China, wanted to get Army units back to the Philippines before winter.
Most American units were withdrawn to Manila before winter, and mopping up operations in the provinces were left to the other Powers. A few American Regulars remained to form part of an allied occupation force and a small guard for the United States Legation in Peking.
Aftermath of the China Relief Expedition
The Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901, negotiated by the Great Powers with China, included provisions for a fortified legation quarter, foreign garrisons along the Tientsin-Peking railway, and a large indemnity. In 1908 the United States remitted a portion of its share of the indemnity, which the Chinese Government diverted to educational purposes.In a few months all resistance had ended and the Dowager Empress sued for peace, offering to pay an indemnity and reaffirm previously existing commercial concessions. During prolonged negotiations an international army of occupation to which the United States contributed a small contingent of Regulars remained in north China. It was withdrawn in September 1901 under terms of the Boxer Protocol
Boxer Protocol
The Boxer Protocol was signed on September 7, 1901 between the Qing Empire of China and the Eight-Nation Alliance that had provided military forces plus Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands after China's defeat in the intervention to put down the Boxer Rebellion at the hands of the...
. This agreement also provided that the powers maintain a fortified legation in Peking, garrison the Tientsin-Peking railway—an American contingent served as a part of this force until 1938—and receive reparations of $333 million. Of this amount the United States claimed only $25 million. In a few years it became apparent that even this sum was more than was needed to indemnify claims of American nationals and in 1907, and again in 1924, the United States returned portions totaling nearly $17 million to China, which placed the money in a trust fund for education of Chinese youths in both countries.
The participation of the United States in the Boxer Uprising at the beginning of the 20th century marked the first time since the American Revolution that the country had joined with other powers in an allied military operation. The intervention in China represented one more instance of the gradual change taking place at the turn of the century in the traditional policies and attitudes of the United States in world affairs as a result of the triumph of imperialism. Most Americans still believed, despite the acquisition of overseas colonies, the nation could continue to adhere to its doctrine of isolationism as the nation entered a new century. Developments in the early years of the 20th century would demonstrate, however, that the nation had to make changes and adjustments in many long-established institutions and policies—including those relating to military defense of the country—to meet the requirements of its new status as a world power.
United States Military Medals
For serving during the China Relief Expedition, the United States military created the China Campaign MedalChina Campaign Medal
The China Campaign Medal is a decoration of the United States Army which was created by order of the United States War Department on January 12, 1905...
and the China Relief Expedition Medal
China Relief Expedition Medal
The China Relief Expedition Medal was a decoration of the United States military which was issued to members of both the United States Navy and the United States Marines for service in the China Relief Expedition between 1900 and 1901 during the Boxer Rebellion. The medal was authorized by General...
.
US Units involved:
Streamer
The China Relief Expedition streamer is yellow with a narrow blue stripe on each side.- The color yellow was restricted for use only by the Manchu rulers of China during the Ts'ing dynasty (1644–1911).
- The color blue is emblematic of the east and of the blue dragon depicted on the yellow imperial and other Manchu standards.
Sources
- American military history: Emergence to World Power, 1898-1902; Chapter 15; Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army
External links
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Theodore E. Peiser Photographs 140 images from the later part of the 19th century to about 1907. Includes images of troops preparing to embark from Fort Lawton to China in 1900.
- U.S. Army, 1st International Relief Expedition
- The Naval History and Heritage Command, Documents of the Boxer Rebellion (China Relief Expedition), 1900-1901
- America in the China relief expedition by Aaron Simon Daggett