Expedition to Canton
British troops awaiting the arrival of Commissioner Keying at theBritish Factory in Canton
Date 2–3 April 1847 Location Pearl River,Guangdong, China 23°6′34.6″N113°19′58″E / 23.109611°N 113.33278°E /23.109611; 113.33278 Result British victory
Belligerents
United Kingdom British East India Company	Qing China
Commanders and leaders
John Davis George D'Aguilar	Keying
Strength
966 troops[1] 6 ships	Unknown
Casualties and losses
No casualties[2]	No casualties[3] 879 guns captured

TheExpedition to Canton was a Britishpunitive expedition that captured the forts along thePearl River,Guangdong province, China, on 2–3 April 1847. Beginning at theHumen Strait (Bogue), the British captured the forts leading up to the city ofCanton (Guangzhou). The operation was in response to British subjects being attacked by the Chinese near Canton.Hong Kong GovernorJohn Davis demanded redress from Chinese CommissionerKeying.

Unsatisfied with his reply, Davis ordered Major-GeneralGeorge D'Aguilar, the commander-in-chief of British forces in China, to seize the forts approaching Canton and to prepare for an attack on the city to force reparations on the spot.^[1] The forts were captured, but Canton was spared after Keying agreed to punish the culprits and to allow entry into the city.^[4]

On the afternoon of 1 April 1847, D'Aguilar received communication from Davis with orders to proceed to Canton with force. At midnight, the following forces were embarked:^[1]

• HMSVulture – 427 troops,18th Royal Irish Regiment
• HMSEspiegle – 149 troops, 42nd RegimentMadras Native Infantry
• East India Company steamerPluto – 280 troops, 42nd Regiment
• Hired armed steamerCorsair – 110 troops, 18th Regiment
• Hiredlorcha No. 1 – Armed as a gunboat, detachment ofRoyal Artillery with ordnance stores
• Hired lorcha No. 2 – Detachment ofRoyal Sappers and Miners with tools, scaling ladders, and other materials

British operations began with the capture of the Bogue forts. Listed are the number of ordnance captured at each site:^[5]

• Anunghoy Island – 208
• North Wangtong Island – 150
• South Wangtong Island – 109

Further up the Canton River pastWhampoa Island, the British encountered a staked barrier and captured the following locations:

• Pachow Fort – 64
• Wookongtap Fort – 41
• Napier's Island – 49
• Whampoa Creek – 65

In the final phase, the British captured the forts outside the city of Canton:

• FrenchFolly – 38
• Dutch Folly – 23
• Rogue Fort – 26
• Zigzag Battery – 20
• Segment Battery – 30
• Shameen Battery – 56

• 
  Map of the expedition
• 
  HMSVulture starting operations at the Bogue, 2 April
• 
  Capture of Anunghoy, 2 April
• 
  Attacking the batteries near the staked barrier above Whampoa Island
• 
  Attacking the forts of Wookongtap and Whampoa Creek, 3 April
• 
  Royal Sappers and Miners blow up the French Folly Fort

Wikimedia Commons has media related toExpedition to Canton.

• The Chinese Repository. Volume 16. Canton. 1847. pp. 182–203, 252–265.
• "Colonial News: China".The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser5 (312): 4. 26 June 1847. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

• 1847 in China
• April 1847
• Battles involving the Qing dynasty
• Battles involving the United Kingdom
• China–United Kingdom relations
• Conflicts in 1847
• Foreign relations of the Qing dynasty
• Military history of Guangzhou
• Punitive expeditions of the United Kingdom

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Coordinates on Wikidata
• Commons category link from Wikidata
• Pages using the Kartographer extension