China Relief Expedition (Boxer Rebellion)

1900 – 1901

In the summer of 1900, a force of approximately 2,500 U.S. soldiers, sailors and marines joined a multinational force under British command to suppress a rebellion at the hands of a Nationalist antiforeign movement in China in order to enforce the “open door” policy articulated by Secretary of State John Hay. The Ch’ing government of the Manchu Dynasty supported the rebellious “Boxing Societies” who seized the Legation Quarter in Peking (Beijing). Some of the American troops were already resident in China, but a substantial number were diverted from duty in the Philippines while the Sixth Cavalry Regiment came directly from the United States to take part.

The foreign forces, known as the Eight-Nation Alliance of Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, prevailed at the Battle of Peking, 14-16 August 1900, leading to the ultimate defeat and capitulation of the Boxers in September 1901.

AMERICAN CASUALTIES