Firefly (steamer)

Firefly (Chinese: 飛而復來; pinyin: Fēiérfùlái; Wade–Giles: Fei Erh Fu Lai or Chinese: 飛來福; pinyin: Fēiláifú; Wade–Giles: Fei Lai Fu) is an armed steamer of the Ever Victorious Army, who fought for the Qing Dynasty against the rebels of the Taiping Rebellion in 1860 to 1864.

Lithograph of Firefly under Taiping service, published in 1866
History
Ever Victorious Army
Name: Firefly
Launched: 1854[1]
Acquired: 1863[2]
Fate: Destroyed, 25 December 1864[3]
General characteristics
Class and type: Armed steamer
Displacement: 502 long tons (510 t)[1]

History

Firefly was an armed steamer of the Ever Victorious Army, purchased into the army in 1863 by Li Hongzhang.[2] Under the command of one Captain Ludlam,[4][5] she participated in the retaking of Kahpoo (Zhapu) on 27 July 1863 and Wokong (Wujiang) on 28 July 1863.[6]

While moored in Shanghai, on 15 November 1863, Firefly was stolen by British adventurer Augustus Frederick Lindley.[5] Lindley was offered £20,000 by the Taiping government for the steamer.[7] At midnight, Lindley, along with around 30 Europeans, were guided on board by one of Ludlam's Cantonese servant.[8][4] At that time, Firefly was "filled with ammunition" and was also carrying a 24-pounder gun intended to be installed on another ship, the Tsatlee. The quartermaster of Firefly managed to escape by jumping overboard, and brought the news to Ludlam.[8] Also on board was four European crew of the Firefly: Dolly, Martin, Perry and Easton.[4] Lindley promised to deliver the men as prisoner-of-wars to Ludlam, but their bodies were later found burnt and mutilated with signs of torture.[9]

The theft and deaths were eventually reported to the British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston, who claimed that the men were "roasted to death" and used the incident as an example of the Taiping's cruelty. Lindley would later deny direct involvement in the men's deaths. [10]

In any case, the steamer was presented to Li Xiucheng.[4] With Firefly, the Taiping Army captured the town of Benniu in Changzhou.[11] Firefly was recaptured by Qing forces in 1864,[12] and subsequently destroyed in another battle in Changzhou on 25 December 1864.[3]

Citations
  1. Curwen 1976, p. 285.
  2. Di & Huang 2017.
  3. Liu 2005, p. 131.
  4. Wilson 1868, p. 189.
  5. Hart 1986, p. 391.
  6. Wilson 1868, pp. 168-169.
  7. Lindley 1866, p. 669.
  8. Hart 1986, p. 315.
  9. Wilson 1868, p. 390.
  10. Lindley 1866, p. 762.
  11. Lu 2015, p. 290.
  12. Wilson 1868, p. 210.
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References
  • Curwen, C.A. (1976). Taiping Rebel: The Deposition of Li Hsiu-ch'eng. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521210829.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Di, Jinhua; Huang, Weimin (2017). "Zǔzhīyīfù, shuāngbiānyùsuànyuēshùruǎnhuàyǔqīngmòlúnchuánzhāoshāngjúdefǎzhǎn" 组织依附、双边预算约束软化与清末轮船招商局的发展 [Organizational Attachment, Softening of Bilateral Budget Constraints, and Development of China Merchants Shipping Bureau in the Late Qing Dynasty]. Open Times (in Chinese) (6). Retrieved 2019-12-29.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Hart, Robert (1986). Entering China's Service: Robert Hart's Journals, 1854-1863, Volume 1. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 9780674257351.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lindley, Augustus (1866). Ti-Ping Tien-Kwoh. London, UK: Day & Son.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Liu, Gengsheng (2005). Tóngzhìshìdiǎn 同治事典 [History of the Tongzhi Era] (in Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan: Yuan-Liou Publishing Company. ISBN 9789573255642.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Lu, Shih-ch'iang (2015). Zhōngguózǎoqídelúnchuánjīngyíng 中國早期的輪船經營 [Early Steamer Operations of China] (in Chinese). Taipei, Taiwan: Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica. ISBN 9789860459111.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wilson, Andrew (1868). The "Ever-Victorious Army". William Blackwood and Sons.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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