[5] Finally, Sengge Rinchen ensured the Chinese defenders and their cannon were trained and equipped to resist the coming British ships and their landing parties.

“On the Admiral’s reaching the first barrier the forts suddenly swarmed with men, and a terrible fire from very heavy guns was opened... from all the forts.” - American Commodore Josiah Tattnall The first salvo decapitated the Plover's bow gunner.

That evening, when the rate of fire from the Chinese guns finally slackened, the British determined to bring up their reserve forces and launch landing parties for a direct assault.

Commodore Josiah Tattnall III, commanding the chartered steamship Toey-Wan which was also attempting to navigate past the forts, decided to assist and towed several loaded boats upstream into the battle.

Those British who were able to make it to the trenches found them filled with a mixture of mud and water too thin to walk on and too thick to swim through, soaking their ammunition and further exposing them to fire.

[citation needed] An American interpreter and missionary named Samuel Wells Williams wrote that this was possibly the worst defeat the British had suffered since the 1842 retreat from Kabul.

"[8] The Emperor was cautious, stating that the foreigners "may harbor secret designs and hide themselves around nearby islands, waiting for the arrival of more soldiers and ships for a surprise attack in the night or in a storm.