Capture of Tourane - Cumberland and Westmorland Newspaper Transcriptions

Capture of Tourane

The 'Moniteur' publishes the following report received by the Minister of
Marine from Vice-Admiral RIGAULT de GENOUILLY, the Commander-in-Chief of the
expedition in China:

Bay of Tourane, Sept. 17

Monsieur le Ministre, - I have the honour to inform you that the orders of
the Emperor have been executed as regards the capture and occupation of the
forts of Tourance. The French navel division, which had been joined by the
Dordogne, and by the Spanish steamer El Cano, having on board 450 troops
from the Phillipine Islands, left Yu-li-Kan on the morning of the 30th ult.,
and anchored at Tourane on the evening of the following day. On the 1st of
September, I sent a written summons to the governor of the forts to deliver
them up, and gave him two hours to consider of it. Not receiving any reply,
I attacked at the same time all the forts which command the anchorage, and
the two, built by French engineers, which defend the entrance of the river.
All the positions pointed out for the different vessels were taken up in the
most perfect order.

The moment the signal to commence firing was seen at the masthead of the
Nemesis the Phlegeton, and the Primauguet, under the command of Captain
REYNAUD, immediately landed, and scale the walls and carried them, amid the
cries of "Vive l'Empereur" ! I accompanied this column. A short time after
the Spanish and French troops landed, and I formed them into line, close to
the forts. While these forts were being attacked by the large vessels,
three of our gunboats, the Mitraelli, Fesee, and Alarme, and the Spanish
steamer El Cano, cannonaded the forts at the entrance of the river. The
easternmost of those forts blew up in about half an hour after the
commencement of the attack, and the greater part of the curtain was thrown
into the ditch. After having personally reconnoitred, under the escort of a
company of Spanish chasseurs, a place suitable for a camp near the largest
of the forts, I therein established all the French troops, under the command
of Lieut-colonel REYBAUD, and the Spanish battalion under Colonel OSCARITZ.

The principal works were occupied by the seamen under the command of Captain
RIBOUT. Although I had taken the precaution not to move any of the troops
until sunset, and they had only two hours' march, the heat was so severe
that several of the soldiers died from fatigue. In the night of the 1st
Sept., Com. REYNAUD, assisted by the sub-engineer and hydrographer PLOIX,
sounded the south-western part of the bay, in order to be able on the
following morning to bring the gunboats close to the Western, which still
held out. At daybreak, the five gunboats, the Alarme, Aalanche, Dragonne,
Fusee, and Mitraelli, and the Spanish steamer El Cano, under the direction
of Captain REYNAUD had taken up their new positions,and in about half an
hour after their fire had been opened, the fort blew up.

Immediately afterwards, Commandant JAUREGUIBERRY advanced up the river at
the head of a flotilla of armed boats; which had remained stationed near the
eastern fort. The Dragonne and the El Cano then left the bay of Tourane,
and anchored near the camp between the peninsula and the Island of Cham
Callo, thus covering the left of the expeditionary corps, which had its
right supported by the eastern fort. Being strongly fixed in this position,
I waited the approach of the Annamite army, which, according to information
collected by our missionaries, was to march on us with a force of 40,000
men.

Up to the present time this army has not made its appearance. The western
fort and all the other works were, previous to the attack, in a perfect
state of repair; all of them were mounted with very heavy bronze and iron
guns. The former are the most numerous, and in general they are very fine
pieces. All of them are fitted with the elevating screws, and the whole
'materiel' is far superior to any we have seen in China.

The western fort, in addition to its armament, contained a number of bronze
six and nine pounders field pieces, and they are all mounted on high wheeled
carriages, well suited for the bad roads of the country. All the bronze
guns have been removed on board the vessels, but the iron ones have been
destroyed, I have put aside two magnificent bronze pieces, one to be
presented to the Emperor and the other to the Queen of Spain. The small
arms found are not worthy of remark; all of them are the common muskets
manufactured in France and Belgium. the powder, of which we have taken a
considerable quantity, is of English manufacture, and has probably been
either purchased at Singapore or Hong Kong. All the preparations which had
been made show that the Annamite Government expected an attack.

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