Sketch of the operations on the River Pei-ho on the 24th & 25th of June, 1859 [cartographic material]

Military sketch of the Chinese fortifications near the mouth of the River Pei-ho and flows into the Gulf of Pechili. Towards the end of the Second Opium War, the Chinese refused to admit foreign diplomats to the capital Peking [i.e. Beijing], British Admiral Sir James Hope attempted to force passage of the Peiho [i.e. Han] River on 25 June 1859 with eleven gun boats and a landing force of 1,100 men, but met severe resistance. He was himself twice wounded, and two ships were sunk beneath him. Of the eleven gunboats, six were sunk or disabled. The landing force became bogged down in mud and had to retreat. The British lost 89 killed and 345 wounded in this operation.; Also available in an electronic version via the Internet at: http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm375