USS Mendota, during the American Civil War - ca. 1864 , U.S. Navy river gunboat, on the Yangtze Patrol, in service, for one year, in 1874, to protect American interests, in
Shanghai, China, and as an exploring expedition, along the upper
Yangtze River, photograph, circa 1874
19th century 1854–1860 As a result of treaties imposed on China by foreign powers after the
First (18391842) and
Second Opium Wars (18561860), China was opened to foreign trade at a number of locations known as "
treaty ports" where foreigners were permitted to live and conduct business. Also, created by the treaties was the doctrine of
extraterritoriality, a system whereby citizens of foreign countries living in China were subject to the laws of their home country.
Most favoured nation treatment under the treaties assured other countries of the fact that the same privileges would be afforded to them as well, and soon many nations, including the United States, operated merchant ships and navy gunboats on the waterways of China.
1860–1900 During the 1860s and 1870s, American merchant ships were prominent on the lower Yangtze River, operating up to the deepwater port of
Hankou inland. The added mission of anti-
piracy patrols required U.S. naval and
marine landing parties be put ashore several times to protect American interests. In 1874, the U.S.
gunboat, , reached as far as
Yichang, at the foot of the Yangtze gorges, from the sea. During this period, most US personnel found a tour in the Yangtze to be uneventful, as a major American shipping company had sold its interests to a Chinese firm, leaving the patrol with little to protect. However, as the stability of China began to deteriorate after 1890, the U.S. naval presence began to increase along the Yangtze. ,
Model 1928 Thompson submachine guns with L drum magazines, a
Model 1918 Browning automatic rifle, and a
Model 1917 Lewis Mark IV machine gun Mark. L. Bristol (left), Commander of the
Asiatic Fleet and
Rear Admiral Yates Stirling Jr., Commander of the Yangtze Patrol (center) along with a
U.S. Marine Corps colonel and other officers, conducting an inspection of the fleet landing force in 1928 at the racetrack in Shanghai, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Note the standard-issue, dishpan,
Brodie helmets, worn by the navy personnel, which were used by U.S. military from 1917 to 1942.
20th century 1900–1920 In 1901, American-flagged merchant vessels returned to the Yangtze when
Standard Oil Company placed a steam-powered
tanker in service on the lower river. Within the decade, several small motorships began hauling
kerosene, the principal petroleum product used in China for that company. At the same time, the United States Navy acquired four Spanish vessels (the gunboats , , , and ), which it had seized in the
Philippines during the
Spanish–American War. These vessels became the core of the Yangtze River patrol for the first dozen years of the 20th century, but they lacked the power to go beyond
Yichang onto the more difficult stretches of the river. and were the first American gunboats built specifically for service on the Yangtze River. The
Mare Island Naval Shipyard in
Vallejo, California built them in 1913. The U.S. Navy then had them disassembled and shipped to China aboard the American
steamer Mongolia. The
Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai reassembled them and put them into service in 1914. Later in 1914, both vessels demonstrated their ability to handle the rapids of the upper river when they reached Chongqing, which was more than from the sea, and then went further to
Jiading on the
Min River. In 1917, the U.S. entered
World War I. The U.S. rendered the guns of
Palos and
Monocacy inoperable to protect Chinese neutrality. After China entered the war on the side of the
Allies, the U.S. Navy reactivated the guns. In 1917, the first Standard Oil tanker reached Chongqing, and a pattern of American commerce on the river began to emerge. On 17 January 1918, armed Chinese men
attacked Monocacy and she was forced to return fire with her 6-pounder gun. Passenger and cargo service by American-flag ships began in 1920 with the
Robert Dollar Line and the American West China Company. They were followed in 1923 by the Yangtze River Steamship Company, which stayed on the river until 1935, long after the other American passenger-cargo ships were gone.
1920–1930 In the early 1920s, the patrol found itself fighting the forces of warlords and bandits. To accommodate its increased responsibilities on the river, the United States Navy constructed six new gunboats in Shanghai during 1926–1927 and commissioned them in late 1927–1928 during the command of Rear Admiral
Yates Stirling Jr. to replace four craft, originally seized from Spain during the Spanish–American War, that had been patrolling since 1903. All were capable of reaching Chongqing at high water, and all year-round. Collectively referred to by the U.S. press as "the new six", and were the largest, and next in size, and and the smallest. These vessels gave the Navy the capability it needed at a time when operational requirements were growing rapidly. In the late 1920s,
Chiang Kai-shek and the
Northern Expedition created a volatile military situation for the patrol along the Yangtze.
1930–1942 After the Japanese took control of much of the middle and lower Yangtze in the 1930s, American river gunboats entered into a period of inactivity and impotence. During the early-1930s,
National Revolutionary Army took control of much of the north bank of the middle river. The climax of hostilities occurred in 1937 with the
Rape of Nanking and the sinking of
Panay by the Japanese. The
USS Panay incident was the first loss of a U.S. Navy vessel in the conflict which would soon become
World War II. Just prior to the
Attack on Pearl Harbor, most of the ships on the Yangtze River Patrol were brought out of China, with only the smallest gunboats,
Wake (the renamed
Guam) and
Tutuila remaining behind.
Wake, at Shanghai, was subsequently captured by the Japanese.
Tutuila, at Chongqing, was turned over to the Chinese. When the other gunboats reached
Manila, the Yangtze River Patrol was formally dissolved when, on 5 December 1941, Rear Admiral Glassford sent the message, "COMYANGPAT DISSOLVED". Subsequently, the evacuated ships were all
scuttled or captured with their crews and imprisoned by the Japanese, after the fall of
Corregidor in mid-1942.
Luzon was later salvaged and used by the Japanese. was sunk in battle on 3 March 1942 and
Mindanao was scuttled on 2 May;
Oahu was sunk in battle 5 May 1942. During different periods of time, Naval and Marine Corps personnel, who were in the patrol, were eligible for either the
Yangtze Service Medal or the
China Service Medal.
1945–1949 After the surrender of Japan, some patrols on the river were resumed in September 1945. A few days after
Japan's surrender,
Admiral Thomas C. Kinkaid, commander of the
United States 7th Fleet, sailed south aboard to rendezvous with
Task Force 73 and continue on to Shanghai. However, they were delayed due to a large
typhoon and the river being swept for
mines. They finally proceeded up the river and arrived in Shanghai on 19 September 1945, with the first
Allied ships in over three years. The American
flotilla included the command ship (USS
Rocky Mount), two
light cruisers, four
destroyers, twelve
destroyer escorts, and many
PT boats and
minesweepers along with a British naval contingent of three light cruisers, six destroyers, six destroyer escorts, and some minesweepers. In November the new
heavy cruiser joined the unit. When the Chinese Civil War finally reached the Yangtze Valley, in 1949, the U.S. Navy permanently ceased operations on the Yangtze River and officially disbanded the Yangtze Patrol. ==Yangtze River Patrol gunboats==