Murray Maxwell - Voyage To China and Shipwreck

Voyage To China and Shipwreck

In 1816 Maxwell was ordered to escort Lord Amherst on a diplomatic mission to the Chinese Emperor Jiaqing. Alceste was accompanied by the small sloop HMS Lyra, under Captain Basil Hall, and the East Indiaman General Hewitt, which carried gifts for the Emperor. The small convoy called at Madeira, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Anjere and Batavia, and arrived at Peiho after nearly six months at sea in July. Amherst went ashore with his party, instructing Maxwell to meet him at Canton once his diplomatic mission was complete. The mission was expected to last several months, so Maxwell and Hall agreed to use the time to become the first British sailors to explore the Yellow Sea and beyond. Between them, Lyra and Alceste visited the Gulf of Pecheli, the West coast of Korea and the "Loo-Choo" (Ryukyu) Islands—in some cases as the first European ships known to have sailed these waters. During the journey, Maxwell saw the Great Wall of China and discovered serious inaccuracies in the charts of Western Korea, finding it lay 130 miles west of its supposed position. The expedition also made the first known British government contacts with both the Koreans and the Ryukyu Islanders, who ignored instructions from Chinese officials not to communicate with the British ships.

Maxwell arrived off the Pearl River in November 1816 and prepared to sail to Whampoa for his reunion with Amherst. Amherst's mission had foundered on the British party's refusal to kowtow to the Chinese Emperor and offer him tribute as overlord, and Amherst and his retinue had to retire to Whampoa with their mission incomplete. At the mouth of the Pearl, Alceste was refused permission to enter the river and perfunctorily ordered to halt by a local mandarin, who threatened to sink the frigate if it tried to force passage. Responding angrily that he would pass the river with or without the mandarin's permission, Maxwell attacked the Chinese defences, breaking through a blockade of junks and firing on the forts guarding the river mouth, scattering their defenders. He sailed on to Whampoa without further impediment, having suffered no casualties; Chinese losses were reported to be 47 killed and many wounded. Maxwell himself had fired the first cannon as a statement that he took personal responsibility for the exchange of fire—reportedly, the first cannon ball was ironically marked "Tribute from the King of England to the Chinese". Collecting Amherst and his party from Whampoa, Maxwell sailed back down the Pearl River and, in January 1817, began the return journey to Britain, visiting Macao and Manila.

On 18 February 1817 Alceste entered the Gaspar Strait between Bangka and Liat, traversing largely uncharted waters. Some hours later the frigate struck a hidden reef and grounded, sustaining severe damage to her hull. Despite Maxwell's best efforts to free his ship the carpenter reported that Alceste was taking on water and would rapidly sink if refloated. Ordering the ship to be abandoned, Maxwell gave the ship's barge to the ambassador and supervised the construction of a raft which, with the remaining boats, safely convoyed the crew, passengers and a quantity of supplies to a nearby island, formed largely of impenetrable mangrove swamps. The last to leave Alceste, Maxwell arrived on shore on the morning of 19 February. A council of officers subsequently decided that Amherst would take the ship's boats and 50 men and attempt to reach Batavia, four days sail away. It was essential that Amherst reach Batavia quickly, as the supplies salvaged from the wreck, especially of drinkable water, would only last a few days shared among all 250 survivors.