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AMERICAN DIPLOMACY IN THE ORIENT

the statement that after the occupation of Peking in 1860 by the allies, the emperor having fled to Tartary, Lord Elgin, the British representative, thought seriously of opening negotiations with the insurgent chief, but was deterred by the opposition of Baron Gros, the French envoy, who, adopting the views of the French missionaries, was prejudiced against the insurgents because their religion was reported to be of a Protestant type.[1]

Among the foreigners who lent their services to the imperial cause during this rebellion was an American, General Frederick T. Ward, born in Salem, Massachusetts. He organized, equipped, and drilled a body of Chinese troops, officered by Americans and Europeans. His successes were so great that his corps became known as "The Ever Victorious Army," and its influence was decisive in changing the entire aspect of the contest. In the height of his career he was mortally wounded while leading an attack upon a Taiping fortress. His fame has been somewhat eclipsed by that of Colonel Gordon, of the British army, who at his death succeeded to the command of his corps and carried forward to

  1. For the views and reports of American ministers—Marshall, H. Ex. Doc. 123, 33d Cong. 1st Sess. pp. 142, 184, 203, 265; McLane, S. Ex. Doc. 22, 35th Cong. 2d Sess. pp. 47-111; S. Ex. Doc. 39, 36th Cong. 1st Sess. p. 3; The Taiping Rebellion, by A. Egmont Hake, London, 1891; The Chinese Revolution, by Charles Macfarlane, London, 1853; L'Insurrection en Chine, Callery & Yvan, Paris, 1853, translation, London, 1853; Martin's Cycle of Cathay, pt. i. chap. ix.; Williams's Hist. China, chap. v.; A Short History of China, by D. C. Boulger, London, 1893, chap. xx.; China, by R. K. Douglas, London and New York, 1899, chap. xi.; Nevius's China, chap. xxvi.; N. A. Rev. July, 1854, p. 158.