Battle of Cixi
Part of theTaiping Rebellion (Eastern Expedition)
Date September 21, 1862 Location Cixi,Zhejiang Result Qing victory
Belligerents
Qing dynasty	Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Frederick T. Ward (DOW)	?
Strength
Ever Victorious Army	?
Casualties and losses
?	?

TheBattle of Cixi orBattle of Tzeki (慈溪之戰) was an armed engagement in theTaiping Rebellion fought between theEver Victorious Army of theQing dynasty and forces of theTaiping Heavenly Kingdom on September 21, 1862, atCixi. The battle, which was won by the Ever Victorious Army, resulted in the mortal wounding ofFrederick Townsend Ward, the American mercenary who founded and commanded the force. Ward's death after the battle led to the succession ofHenry Andres Burgevine as commander of the Ever Victorious Army and initiated a period of decline for the force.

When Shanghai was successively attacked by Taiping Rebels in 1862, foreign inhabitants favored removing the potential threat and cooperating with imperial forces; as a result, combinedBritish and Frenchnaval troops under the command ofAdm. James Hope were involved in military conflict with the Taiping Rebellion. One of the communities inhabited by the rebels wasNingbo, a port and walled city located south ofHangzhou Bay.

The imperialarmy laid siege to Ningbo's occupiers on 6 May. After afalse flag attack on the British ships docked outside Ningbo, the western ships began bombarding the Taiping.^[1] They then sent theircrews into the city, overpowering rebel forces and turning over Ningbo to the imperial army. With Ningbo secure, Ward'ssoldiers and the Qing forces began launchingattacks in the surrounding areas against the rebels. During this time Cixi was one of the encircling cities ravaged byviolence.

The Ever Victorious Army attacked Cixi on 21 September.^[2][3] As well as being trained in artillery and rifle usage, they were accompanied by the gunboats H.M.S.HardyandConfucius.^[4] Ward led from the front and was hit in the stomach by amusket ball. However, he remained on the battlefield until victory was certain.^[5]

Ward died from his wound the day after the battle.^[3] The death of Ward started a period of decline for the Ever Victorious Army.Henry Andres Burgevine, another American mercenary and Ward's second-in-command, succeeded Ward as commander, despite initial objections from the British army officerCharles Staveley and the Huai Army commanderLi Hongzhang. As commander, Burgevine allowed the soldiers under his command to become unruly, mismanaged the army's finances, and frequently quarreled with his superiors. The resulting disagreements between Burgevine, British officials, Li Hongzhang, and the army's sponsors led to his betrayal of the Qing Dynasty.^[6]

• Compton's Home Library: Battles of the World^{[ISBN missing]}
• Hahn Boxer, E. (1963).China Only Yesterday^{[ISBN missing]}

• Conflicts in 1862
• Battles of the Taiping Rebellion
• 1862 in China
• Military history of Ningbo
• September 1862

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