Battle of Ty-ho Bay

A model of an eight gun pirate junk.

Date	August 4, 1855
Location	Off Tai O, Hong Kong
Result	Anglo-American victory

Belligerents

United Kingdom

United States

Chinese Pirates

Commanders and leaders

William Fellowes

William McCluney

Unknown

Strength

1 steamer
1 sloop
1 screw frigate
~6 armed boats
sailors and marines

36 war-junks

Casualties and losses

9 killed
~6 wounded

~500 killed or wounded
~1,000 captured
20 war-junks sunk

Seven captured merchant ships were liberated by the British and Americans during the battle, two sustained heavy damage and were burned.

The Battle of Ty-ho Bay was a significant naval engagement in 1855 involving the United Kingdom and United States against Chinese pirates. The action off Tai O, Hong Kong was to rescue captured merchant vessels, held by a fleet of armed war-junks. British and American forces defeated the pirates in one of the last major battles between Chinese pirate fleets and western navies. It was also one of the first joint operations undertaken by British and American forces.

Unlike the Atlantic Ocean where piracy was largely over by 1830, piracy in Asia and elsewhere in the Pacific continued to thrive as it had for centuries. Chinese and Japanese pirates constantly fought each other along China's coastal regions, thus hundreds of pirate hideouts existed all over the Chinese coast by 1855. This prompted western naval forces to fight them when they attacked shipping. Sometime in September 1855, the pirates of Kuhlan seized four merchant vessels in that area which were under escort by the paddle steamer HMS Eaglet. In response the Royal Navy sloop-of-war HMS Rattler was sent to rescue the merchantmen.

HMS Rattler found the pirates in Kuhlan Harbor but shallow water prevented her from attacking so she left to seek aid from the Eaglet and USS Powhatan. Powhatan, was a screw frigate of the East India Squadron and commanded by Commodore William J. McCluney. Rattler was commanded by Commodore William Fellowes and was manned by 180 officers and crew. The number of crew and armament of Eaglet is unknown but she was originally a civil vessel chartered for British naval service between 1855 and 1857, to tow British vessels through shallow water.

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