January 5, 1858 · Pearl River Delta Theater
January 5, 1858
An Anglo-French force captured Canton at the opening of the Second Opium War following Commissioner Yeh Mingchen's defiant refusal to receive foreign ambassadors or make any concessions. Yeh — who had refused all communication with the British delegation for two years — was captured in his study surrounded by food, apparently believing in a prophecy that British forces would withdraw in fifteen days. He was shipped to Calcutta.
Commanders