From San Francisco for Tientsin

Unlike the chaos that had prevailed during the Cuba troop deployment at Tampa Bay, efficiency, urgency, clear communications and disciplined organisation characterised the military operations that we encountered when we pulled in to the rail terminus at San Francisco. In a little over four weeks, more than 6,000 troops had been mobilised and were transiting through the port, thirty ships were already en route via Manila, Guam and the Philipines, and a further ten were set to depart within days.
Within an hour of our arrival, we learned that USS Yorktown had already sailed but we had been allocated alternative berths on USS Solace. We were also advised that there would be a press briefing at 6 o'clock, which gave me just over an hour to contact Adolph Ochs at the New York Times to clarify and confirm the details of my commission.
The briefing was a straightforward chronological summary of the facts and events to date; understated and unhindered by emotion or opinion, and it will serve well to simply repeat it here, verbatim:

Gentlemen, USS Solace will depart San Francisco at 04.00 tomorrow, 13th July for Tientsin, China. We will be travelling at top speed and it is expected that we will arrive on 27th July. I will now outline the details of the operation, beginning with the burning of a station on the Lu Han railway line on 17th May. This was the first indication that a move to expel foreigners from China had broken out. Previous to this, the Foreign Ministers at Peking had sent a joint note to the Chinese Government calling attention to the Boxer troubles, but it cannot be said that even the signatories themselves fully realised the extent of this.
   From the 17th May, events followed each other with startling rapidity. On 26th May, the Boxers burned the stations on the Railway between Peking and Paotingfu; Fengtai station and works were burnt; and railway communication between Peking and Tientsin was interrupted, while the Belgian engineers and other refugees from Paotingfu had to leave and make their way to Tientsin
   Communication with Peking was temporarily restored on the 29th May, at which time Foreign Ministers urgently requested military guards for their respective Legations. On the 30th May these forces began to arrive at Tientsin. On the 31st, British, American, French, Russian, Italian and Japanese guards for the Legations left Tientsin by rail. They reached Peking safely, but their presence triggered further outbreaks of increased violence. A fire occurred in Tientsin on the 1st June and on 5th, railway communication between Peking and Tientsin was finally cut.
   A large force landed at Taku on the 7th June and on the 10th Admiral Seymour left Tientsin with 2,000 Allied troops to attempt the relief of the Legations. At the same time all communication between the Legations and the outside world suddenly ceased. On the 11th June the Secretary of the Japanese Legation was murdered in the streets of Peking, and on the 20th, Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, who was proceeding to interview the members of the Tsungli Yamen about this, was killed in the streets by an officer of the regular Chinese troops.
   On 14th June Admiral Seymour was completely cut off, the railway having been destroyed behind him. Communication between his force and Tientsin was lost. At this time the position at Tientsin became critical, the city now being completely in the hands of the Boxers. All the Christian Chapels in the city were burned and many native Christians murdered.
   On the 16th June the Allied naval commanders demanded the surrender of the Taku forts, but in reply to this ultimatum, the forts opened fire on the foreign gunboats in the Peiho river early on the morning of the 17th. After a fierce fight between the gunboats and the forts, a magazine in one of the forts was blown up by a shell, and the other forts were taken by storm.
   On the same date the Chinese commenced the bombardment of Tientsin. Two attempts to reach Tientsin from Taku failed, but a third attempt on 23rd June was successful, although the Chinese Boxers and regular soldiers remained in force in the neighbourhood, and the bombardment from the city continued.
   Admiral Seymour, who had managed to force his way to within 25 miles of Peking, found further advance impossible, and was compelled to retreat. On 26th June, being joined by a small force from Tientsin, he succeeded in returning there in safety. Foreign troops had in the meanwhile been arriving at Taku, and it was possible to reinforce Tientsin.
   Messages from Sir Robert Hart, Sir Claude Macdonald and Mr. Conner were received through native runners on the 30th June and 1st July, all of which reported the situation of the Legations as desperate.
   On the 9th July the Japanese captured the Tientsin Arsenal, and yesterday, the 11th, the Allies made a combined attack on the native city, which was re-captured, but with heavy losses.
   Thank you Gentlemen, that is all the information we have at this time. We have some additinal information to analyse and, when this analysis is completed, there will be further briefings on board.

Although this filled in a lot of the gaps in our general understanding of the situation, it was clear - mainly from what was left unsaid - that for some considerable time no communication had been received from Peking. This ominous silence gave rise to the gravest fears for the safety of the besieged foreigners, and lent credence to the disturbing rumours of bloodshed and massacre that were circulating.
With one or two exceptions, we had all seen battle before but, in truth, on this occasion we had no real idea of what to expect, and it was with mixed feelings of fear and excitement that in the grey slivers of dawn, we slipped quietly from the San Francisco sea-wall, heading towards the unknown ...