Scan or Photo Courtesy of Spink
Date
1842
Description
First Opium War The Eastern Expedition The Battle of Chapoo 1842 (22 May) entire Eastern Expedition letter from " Chapoo, China" to Weston Supermare " Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition" , rated " 8" and, on the flap, boxed Calcutta Ship Letter Bearing, Calcutta Ship letter date stamp, London straight-line " ship letter" , London (31.1) and Weston Supermare (1.2) c.d.s. Written by Capt. C. Edwards of the Royal Irish Regiment (18th); generally very fine. The letter give a graphic account of the battle including, " ... We landed near this town on the 18th inst. The town was protected by a range of hills, upon which a body of Tartar and Chinese troops were drawn up; most unaccountably they allowed us to land without any opposition, when a few gingals judiciously would have annoyed us much. From than I thought we should meet with no resistance. We then passed over two hills and through one of their entrenchments which we found deserted. The 18th and 49th on the left drove the enemy before them over the next hills and then down a steep valley at the extremity of which the Tartar took refuge in a large house into which they were speedily followed. Our Lieutenant Colonel Tomlinson leading, he I regret to say was killed at the door and all near him severely wounded. Here the enemy were regularly at bay which house they held for nearly three hours, making a most desperate resistance, and trying to escape by small numbers at a time. It was not till the house was burned down in the greatest part that we entered; we found it full of bodies ...The town of Chapoo was easily taken as they had relied upon the force on the hills. Our loss has been very great, in consequence of the resistance made in the house. Had it not been for that, we should scarcely fired a shot. This is the first time that we have met the Tartars in their own city ... Very few of the Chinese towns have Tartar garrisons ... The place is a large depot of arms, some of which are of improved construction ... We have also heard that reinforcements have reached Singapore, and that Lord Ellenborough intends to push this war on as much as possible. But I have no great hopes of seeing it shortly brought to a conclusion. Should we move to Pekin, the chance is that the Tartar dynasty would be overturned; there are rumours that some of the Chinese have offered to join us ..." . A very important eye-witness account from one of the officers provenance : Eddie Lawrence, September 2014 Before the attack, the British commander, Major General Hugh Gough divided his forces into three: a column of infantry on the left (863 men) and right (969 men), with artillery in the centre. Gough accompanied the right column, which landed first on May 16. The remaining troops moved round to the rear of the enemy thereby cutting their communications with Chapoo. Meanwhile, the accompanying steamers began a bombardment of the city's defences. In Gough's own words: "The enemy were completely taken by surprise; as usual, they were unprepared for anything except a frontal attack. They gave way on all sides and took to flight, with the exception of a body of some 300 Tartar troops who seized a small joss-house, and held it with indomitable pluck and perseverance. A gingal is a type of large musket firted from a rest. 1842年5月22日英國遠征軍由中國乍浦經Falmouth 寄英國信函. 函上寫"Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition", 遞送費為8d. 封舌蓋方框型 "CALCUTTA SHIP LETTER", Calcutta Ship Letter 日期印記, 倫敦無框 "SHIP LETTER" 印, 1月31日倫敦日戳及2月1日Weston Supermare 日戳, 信函書寫人是皇家愛爾蘭第18兵團愛德華茲指揮官. 保存良好. 信函的重要內容節錄如下: "....我們在這個月18日在這個城鎮附近登陸....一群韃子 (滿州人)和中國軍隊組建起來; 最無耻的是, 他們竟然讓我們没有任何抵抗情况下登陸....我方的中尉湯姆林森領導, 我很遺憾地說他在入口處被殺, 而他身旁的所有人都嚴重受傷. 在這裏, 敵人經常在海邊.....直到房子被燒, 我們進入最大部份, 發覺它充滿了屍體....我們也聽說增援兵已到達新加坡....有傳言說, 一些中國人已經提出要加入我們...." 來自一位英國軍官的第一身重要目擊證詞.
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Other recorded marks at Calcutta
183 marks183 other pre-1854 postal markings of Calcutta are recorded in the census. Compare their figure numbers, dates and colours to identify the mark on your cover.
- Calcutta HG 1handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 1ahandstampBlack1775–1786
- Calcutta HG 2handstampBlack1775–1787
- Calcutta HG 3handstampBlack1776–1789
- Calcutta HG 4handstampBlack1787
- Calcutta HG 5handstampBlack1788
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About this Calcutta pre stamp cover
COV-5578 is a Calcutta pre stamp cover of 1842 bearing the Calcutta SR45 handstamp, struck in black, recorded in the census of Calcutta postal history — the office known today as Kolkata, Bengal Presidency. What is a pre stamp cover?
First Opium War The Eastern Expedition The Battle of Chapoo 1842 (22 May) entire Eastern Expedition letter from " Chapoo, China" to Weston Supermare " Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition" , rated " 8" and, on the flap, boxed Calcutta Ship Letter Bearing, Calcutta Ship letter date stamp, London straight-line " ship letter" , London (31.1) and Weston Supermare (1.2) c.d.s. Written by Capt. C. Edwards of the Royal Irish Regiment (18th); generally very fine. The letter give a graphic account of the battle including, " ... We landed near this town on the 18th inst. The town was protected by a range of hills, upon which a body of Tartar and Chinese troops were drawn up; most unaccountably they allowed us to land without any opposition, when a few gingals judiciously would have annoyed us much. From than I thought we should meet with no resistance. We then passed over two hills and through one of their entrenchments which we found deserted. The 18th and 49th on the left drove the enemy before them over the next hills and then down a steep valley at the extremity of which the Tartar took refuge in a large house into which they were speedily followed. Our Lieutenant Colonel Tomlinson leading, he I regret to say was killed at the door and all near him severely wounded. Here the enemy were regularly at bay which house they held for nearly three hours, making a most desperate resistance, and trying to escape by small numbers at a time. It was not till the house was burned down in the greatest part that we entered; we found it full of bodies ...The town of Chapoo was easily taken as they had relied upon the force on the hills. Our loss has been very great, in consequence of the resistance made in the house. Had it not been for that, we should scarcely fired a shot. This is the first time that we have met the Tartars in their own city ... Very few of the Chinese towns have Tartar garrisons ... The place is a large depot of arms, some of which are of improved construction ... We have also heard that reinforcements have reached Singapore, and that Lord Ellenborough intends to push this war on as much as possible. But I have no great hopes of seeing it shortly brought to a conclusion. Should we move to Pekin, the chance is that the Tartar dynasty would be overturned; there are rumours that some of the Chinese have offered to join us ..." . A very important eye-witness account from one of the officers provenance : Eddie Lawrence, September 2014 Before the attack, the British commander, Major General Hugh Gough divided his forces into three: a column of infantry on the left (863 men) and right (969 men), with artillery in the centre. Gough accompanied the right column, which landed first on May 16. The remaining troops moved round to the rear of the enemy thereby cutting their communications with Chapoo. Meanwhile, the accompanying steamers began a bombardment of the city's defences. In Gough's own words: "The enemy were completely taken by surprise; as usual, they were unprepared for anything except a frontal attack. They gave way on all sides and took to flight, with the exception of a body of some 300 Tartar troops who seized a small joss-house, and held it with indomitable pluck and perseverance. A gingal is a type of large musket firted from a rest. 1842年5月22日英國遠征軍由中國乍浦經Falmouth 寄英國信函. 函上寫"Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition", 遞送費為8d. 封舌蓋方框型 "CALCUTTA SHIP LETTER", Calcutta Ship Letter 日期印記, 倫敦無框 "SHIP LETTER" 印, 1月31日倫敦日戳及2月1日Weston Supermare 日戳, 信函書寫人是皇家愛爾蘭第18兵團愛德華茲指揮官. 保存良好. 信函的重要內容節錄如下: "....我們在這個月18日在這個城鎮附近登陸....一群韃子 (滿州人)和中國軍隊組建起來; 最無耻的是, 他們竟然讓我們没有任何抵抗情况下登陸....我方的中尉湯姆林森領導, 我很遺憾地說他在入口處被殺, 而他身旁的所有人都嚴重受傷. 在這裏, 敵人經常在海邊.....直到房子被燒, 我們進入最大部份, 發覺它充滿了屍體....我們也聽說增援兵已到達新加坡....有傳言說, 一些中國人已經提出要加入我們...." 來自一位英國軍官的第一身重要目擊證詞.
Its recorded auction history runs through Spink The Opium Wars Collection (Sale 21042) lot 87 (14 January 2022).
1 image of COV-5578 is recorded; the Calcutta SR45 mark itself is recorded in use 1837–1859.
Questions about COV-5578
- What is COV-5578?
- COV-5578 is a recorded pre stamp cover of Calcutta, Bengal Presidency of 1842, bearing the Calcutta SR45 handstamp in black. First Opium War The Eastern Expedition The Battle of Chapoo 1842 (22 May) entire Eastern Expedition letter from " Chapoo, China" to Weston Supermare " Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition" , rated " 8" and, on the flap, boxed Calcutta Ship Letter Bearing, Calcutta Ship letter date stamp, London straight-line " ship letter" , London (31.1) and Weston Supermare (1.2) c.d.s. Written by Capt. C. Edwards of the Royal Irish Regiment (18th); generally very fine. The letter give a graphic account of the battle including, " ... We landed near this town on the 18th inst. The town was protected by a range of hills, upon which a body of Tartar and Chinese troops were drawn up; most unaccountably they allowed us to land without any opposition, when a few gingals judiciously would have annoyed us much. From than I thought we should meet with no resistance. We then passed over two hills and through one of their entrenchments which we found deserted. The 18th and 49th on the left drove the enemy before them over the next hills and then down a steep valley at the extremity of which the Tartar took refuge in a large house into which they were speedily followed. Our Lieutenant Colonel Tomlinson leading, he I regret to say was killed at the door and all near him severely wounded. Here the enemy were regularly at bay which house they held for nearly three hours, making a most desperate resistance, and trying to escape by small numbers at a time. It was not till the house was burned down in the greatest part that we entered; we found it full of bodies ...The town of Chapoo was easily taken as they had relied upon the force on the hills. Our loss has been very great, in consequence of the resistance made in the house. Had it not been for that, we should scarcely fired a shot. This is the first time that we have met the Tartars in their own city ... Very few of the Chinese towns have Tartar garrisons ... The place is a large depot of arms, some of which are of improved construction ... We have also heard that reinforcements have reached Singapore, and that Lord Ellenborough intends to push this war on as much as possible. But I have no great hopes of seeing it shortly brought to a conclusion. Should we move to Pekin, the chance is that the Tartar dynasty would be overturned; there are rumours that some of the Chinese have offered to join us ..." . A very important eye-witness account from one of the officers provenance : Eddie Lawrence, September 2014 Before the attack, the British commander, Major General Hugh Gough divided his forces into three: a column of infantry on the left (863 men) and right (969 men), with artillery in the centre. Gough accompanied the right column, which landed first on May 16. The remaining troops moved round to the rear of the enemy thereby cutting their communications with Chapoo. Meanwhile, the accompanying steamers began a bombardment of the city's defences. In Gough's own words: "The enemy were completely taken by surprise; as usual, they were unprepared for anything except a frontal attack. They gave way on all sides and took to flight, with the exception of a body of some 300 Tartar troops who seized a small joss-house, and held it with indomitable pluck and perseverance. A gingal is a type of large musket firted from a rest. 1842年5月22日英國遠征軍由中國乍浦經Falmouth 寄英國信函. 函上寫"Overland Mail, Via Falmouth, Eastern Expedition", 遞送費為8d. 封舌蓋方框型 "CALCUTTA SHIP LETTER", Calcutta Ship Letter 日期印記, 倫敦無框 "SHIP LETTER" 印, 1月31日倫敦日戳及2月1日Weston Supermare 日戳, 信函書寫人是皇家愛爾蘭第18兵團愛德華茲指揮官. 保存良好. 信函的重要內容節錄如下: "....我們在這個月18日在這個城鎮附近登陸....一群韃子 (滿州人)和中國軍隊組建起來; 最無耻的是, 他們竟然讓我們没有任何抵抗情况下登陸....我方的中尉湯姆林森領導, 我很遺憾地說他在入口處被殺, 而他身旁的所有人都嚴重受傷. 在這裏, 敵人經常在海邊.....直到房子被燒, 我們進入最大部份, 發覺它充滿了屍體....我們也聽說增援兵已到達新加坡....有傳言說, 一些中國人已經提出要加入我們...." 來自一位英國軍官的第一身重要目擊證詞.
- How scarce is the Calcutta SR45 mark on this cover?
- The census grades Calcutta SR45 as very common, counted from surviving recorded covers rather than estimated. The mark is recorded in use 1837–1859.
- What is the provenance of COV-5578?
- Its recorded auction history runs through Spink The Opium Wars Collection (Sale 21042) lot 87 (14 January 2022).
- When was COV-5578 posted?
- COV-5578 is dated 1842, within the recorded period of use of Calcutta SR45 (1837–1859).
About this record
This 1842 pre stamp cover of British India bears the Calcutta SR45 handstamp of the Bengal Presidency, a mark graded “Very common” in this census — one of 7 surviving covers with this mark recorded. It has appeared at auction with Spink, The Opium Wars Collection (Sale 21042), lot 87, (14 January 2022).