Atlas of Battles

battle, nineteenth century

Battle of Muddy Flat

Battle of Muddy Flat was a battle fought in 1854 at Shanghai, in what is now People's Republic of China. Its exact site is not recorded; the atlas places it at Shanghai. It was part of the Taiping Rebellion, which ran from 1851 to 1864.

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Fought1854
WhereShanghai, People's Republic of China31.233N, 121.469E, placed at the location, approximate
OutcomeAnglo-American-Rebel victory; Qing forces retreat a mile away from the foreign concessions area; Adherence to foreign extraterritoriality status maintained; Yangtze Patrol, Shanghai Municipal Council, Shanghai Municipal Police, and the Chinese Maritime Customs Service established
BelligerentsUnited Kingdom; United States; Shanghai Volunteer Corps; Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (Small Swords Society)againstQing dynasty; (A-Pak pirate mercenary fleet)
Part ofTaiping Rebellion1851 to 1864

Where it sits in the Taiping Rebellion

Jintian Uprising, 1851Battle of Changsha, 1852Battle of Wuchang, 1852Battle of Nanjing, 1853Battle of Muddy Flat, 1854Battle of Sanhe, 1858Battle of Jiangnan (1860), 1860Battle of Shanghai, 1861Battle of Anqing, 1861Occupation of Ningbo, 1861Battle of Cixi, 1862Siege of Suzhou, 1863Third Battle of Nanking, 186418511864Battle of Muddy Flat, 1854
13 placed engagements of the Taiping Rebellion in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date1854 (year precision)
to 1854
PlaceShanghai, People's Republic of China
31.233N, 121.469E
KindBattle, nineteenth century
StrengthLand: ~200 British marines and sailors; ~75 American marines and sailors; ~75 Shanghai volunteers; ~30 American merchant sailors; ~Unknown number of British merchant sailors; ~Unknown number of British and American police; ~3 artillery pieces; ~3,000–4,000 Small Sword soldiers; Sea: ~2 British sloops of war; ~1 American sloop of war; Total: 380–400 foreign fighters, 3,000–4,000 Small Sword soldiers, 3 artillery pieces, and 3 sloops of warLand: ~10,000–30,000 Qing soldiers; Sea: ~At least 8 pirate junks
Casualties and lossesBritish: 1 dead; American: 1 dead; S.V.C.: 2 dead; Combined injured: 14Qing: At least 30 killed and 2 captured inside the camp; Unknown casualties inside the camps (likely high); Pirates: Unknown
Commanders
  • Rutherford Alcock
  • Robert C. Murphy (colonel)
Battle of Muddy FlatBattle of Muddy FlatBattle of ShanghaiDefense of Sihang WarehouseBattle of WoosungBattle of LizeBattle of ChapooBattle of ShanghaiBattle of WoosungBattle of LizeBattle of ChapooHangzhouWuxiSuzhouChangzhouHuzhouJiaxingNantong100 km31.233N, 121.469E
Placed at Shanghai; the exact site is not recorded. with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1854

Battle of Muddy Flat is one of 3,507 engagements of the 19th century in the atlas and one of 339 in present-day People's Republic of China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q31821016, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Muddy Flat, revision 1370450722, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.