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The Devil Soldier

3.39 of 5 stars 3.39 · rating details · 206 ratings · 25 reviews

s/t: The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China
A courageous leader who became the first American mandarin, Frederick Townsend Ward won crucial victories for the Emperor of China during the Taiping Rebellion, history's bloodiest civil war. Carr's skills as historian and storyteller come to the fore in this thrilling account of the kind of adventurer the world...more

Paperback, 384 pages

Published April 11th 1995 by Random House (first published 1992)

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Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Stephen R. Platt

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Dec 13, 2007 Patrick rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, americanhistory

Well researched and well written. Caleb Carr has written a couple of well known historical crime novels, THE ANGEL IN DARKNESS and The ALIENIST. However, prior to writing those he was best known as a military historian, and this book on an American mercenary operating in Imperial China during the 1860's falls in that category. Fans of his two novels moentioned above may not enjoy this book.

That said, this is an enjoyable read. Frederick Ward Townsend was a controversial figure in his own day who...more Well researched and well written. Caleb Carr has written a couple of well known historical crime novels, THE ANGEL IN DARKNESS and The ALIENIST. However, prior to writing those he was best known as a military historian, and this book on an American mercenary operating in Imperial China during the 1860's falls in that category. Fans of his two novels moentioned above may not enjoy this book.

That said, this is an enjoyable read. Frederick Ward Townsend was a controversial figure in his own day who was involved in a number of foreign adventures before ladning in Shanghai in the 1860's. Sizing up the reason for the lack of success that the Manchu Imperial Forces were having in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, he volunteered to raise a small army and fight on behalf of the Manchus. Despite some initial setbacks and a lot of hostility from the majority of the Westerners in China at the time, he eventually was able to recruit, equip, train, and fight successfully with a force of about 4000 Chinese "peasants," although the officers of this force were still Westerners. During his life his force, eventually named the Ever Victorious Army, was renowned as the most disciplined Imperial military organization in China, and he won several victories in a short period against much larger Taiping forces. Of course, this being China, the story ends tragically -- that's not a total spoiler, since the author foreshados that right from the start of the book.

To Carr, Ward represents a lost opportunity for China and also for American and Western relations with that country. Ward's real accomplishment was in slowly getting Chinese leaders to see that Western values, technology, and organizational concepts could be adapted and accepted by the Chinese people, and that this could be used to strengthen China in standing up to the Western powers. In addition, for those Westerners who knew him well, he was able to develop in them a new resepct for the potential of the Chinese soldier, which in time might have translated into better treatment of China's government and its people. But, with Ward's death, the Westerners and the Imperial forces quickly returned to their former ways, and this eventually led to the Boxer Rebellion about forty years later.

A couple of notes on the book:

This is a military history, and while the edition I had contained some basic maps in the frontspiece and endpiece, more maps throughout the book would have helped. Most of the "action" in book consists of military forces moving from one location to another to attack or defend, and it gets confusing as to who was going where, even with the maps that are included.

Second issue, about which really nothing can be done...Chinese place names and person names, when translated into English, all have a tendency to look very similar. That can get pretty frustrating and confusing. Caleb Carr includes an appendix with the names and descriptions of the major characters...you may want to read that first, as I would have found it helpful. What worked for me was reading the book without much regard to the locations, and just paying attention to the actions and motivations of the characters and the organizations being described.

In summary, a pretty good book. If you're a fan of Chinese or military history, you will probably enjoy it.(less)

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Dec 11, 2011 Ensiform rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: china, non-fiction, war

("The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China." A rather over-dramatic and not exactly true subtitle...) This often engrossing work is a biography of Frederick Townsend Ward, the first commander of the Ever Victorious Army. Carr does an excellent job, considering that the Chinese Communists downplayed Ward’s role in history, even paving over his gravesite, and that a distant relative of Ward’s destroyed all his personal papers after his death. Carr is no Sinologist and thus the Tai...more

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Jun 09, 2011 John rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Those interested in the Taiping Rebellion, 'Chinese' Gordon, Colonial History, or Military History

An intruiging bit of obscured history within a greater event largely forgotten in the west. I knew extremely little about the Taiping rebellion, and was utterly clueless that western officers played a notable role - let alone that Fredrick Townsend Ward raised, trained, and led a large force of Chinese soldiers in the western model which, operating independently, played a significant role in the downfall of the Taiping cause. I have enjoyed Caleb Carr's historical writing, as well as his fiction...more

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Apr 12, 2008 Raegan Butcher rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating true story of an american soldier of fortune who went to china during the taiping rebellion and made himself into the leader of the "Ever Victorious Army". I have a keen interest in men like this, men like Charles George Gordon (who inherited the Ever Victorious Army from Ward after he was killed in battle) James "Rajah" Brooke,real Lord Jim stuff and TRUE to boot. You can't beat it.

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Dec 07, 2012 Jayseth Guberman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Albeit a fascinating story, the book is drawn out far longer than it should have been. I kept having the feeling that due to the paucity of extant information about Ward, especially his destroyed personal correspondence of which we are time and again reminded, that Carr had to come up with filler for certain chapters of the text. Granted, Carr did his research and has contributed greatly to memorializing the life of F.T. Ward...(in Spence's history of the Tai Ping Tien Guo, Ward is mentioned in...more

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Dec 23, 2012 Zeke Chase rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, taiping

A fascinating biography one of the most interesting figures in the Taiping Rebellion, Frederick Townsend Ward. Ward was the American mercenary that formed the Ever Victorious Army in Shanghai and held the city by facing off against numbers several times his strength and became an indispensable piece of Li Hongzhang's Anhui Army that ultimately squeezed the Taipings back to Nanjing

I'm going to approach this review as though my reader has little knowledge of the Taiping. So, the Taiping Rebellion...more A fascinating biography one of the most interesting figures in the Taiping Rebellion, Frederick Townsend Ward. Ward was the American mercenary that formed the Ever Victorious Army in Shanghai and held the city by facing off against numbers several times his strength and became an indispensable piece of Li Hongzhang's Anhui Army that ultimately squeezed the Taipings back to Nanjing

I'm going to approach this review as though my reader has little knowledge of the Taiping. So, the Taiping Rebellion breaks out in 1850 led by a messianic madman claiming to be Jesus' younger brother and threatens to overthrow not just the ruling Qing Dynasty, but all established Confucian society. The Taiping rebels are iconoclastic, militaristic, theocratic and satirically puritanical (for a time, all sex was banned and punishable by execution). The ruling Qing Dynasty don't take the Rebellion seriously for a few reasons, namely the Emperor's libertine lifestyle in comfy Beijing. Xianfeng, the emperor, comes to power also in 1850, and proceeds to drink and eat and fuck himself to death. He dies of overindulgence in 1860, after a shameful defeat to the British in the Second Opium War. It is the Confucian general Zeng Guofan whom is ultimately responsible for quelling the Rebellion, by forming the provincial armies (Hunan Army under his command, Anhui Army under that of his student, Li Hongzhang), which forms a giant nutcracker to crunch from both east and west along the Yangtze River back to Nanjing. The Rebellion is put down in 1864, leaving a body count of 30 million, about twice the death toll of World War I. Shanghai, at the mouth of the Yangtze, holds out as a Qing enclave entirely surrounded by Taiping occupation and forms the base of operations for Li's Anhui Army and the port from which the West observes this war. Shanghai is held by an American mercenary, Frederick Townsend Ward, and his Ever Victorious Army.

This biography covers Ward specifically, and covers his childhood, his time as a ship's mate, a filibuster for William Walker during his Mexico campaign (Walker had the plan of forming his own kingdom or state in northern Mexico that could be admitted to the Union as Lower California, a slave state – Ward abandoned Walker after too long, not least because Ward was a diehard supporter of the North), his short campaign in the Crimean War, his service to the Mexican government and his eventual contracting in China. Banker Yang Fang and Taotai (basically a mayor) Wu Xu form a business arrangement to keep funds flowing for the defence of Shanghai. Carr is well aware that the average western reader has never heard of history's deadliest civil war, so he fills his reader in with a narrative following Loyal King Li Xuecheng, or the Chung Wang, the strategic genius of the latter half of the Rebellion. Through the Chung Wang, we get a sense of what is happening outside the Shanghai area and the religious politics that are driving the war.

This is the third book I've read on the Taiping Rebellion (the others being Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Stephen R. Platt and God's Chinese Son by Jonathan D. Spence), so it's hard to say if this is a good introduction to the war or not. Certainly there's enough in this war that an entirely encyclopedia could be written on it. For one to grasp the war without diving headlong into it, it's best done through using specific figures as looking glasses. Platt uses Hong Rengan and Zeng Guofan, Spence uses Hong Xiuquan. Carr uses Frederick Ward.

What I found fascinating about this book was that it explored, as much as possible, the notion that Ward perhaps had his own ambitions for a kingdom in China, or control of the entire empire. With the state of Chinese military technology at the time, a small force of say 25,000 (which Ward had hoped to accumulate) properly trained and equipped, probably could overthrow the ruling Manchus and establish a dynasty with Ward as emperor, or at the least a small kingdom in China with Ward as warlord. Sadly, Ward died in 1862 and whatever his inclinations were, he kept his ambitions quiet, so we get only a few glimpses of this notion through close confidants.

If there's criticism of this book, it's that reading about the loss and retaking of the same town around Shanghai again and again gets a little tedious. I understand that this is a biography and it wouldn't do Ward justice to cut out the repetitiveness of his career, but it does start to feel like you're reading the same thing over again at times. I found myself bored in the battle sequences and more interested in the squabbling fears of the Manchus.

I'll note that this book uses the Wade-Giles system of transliteration instead of the more commonly accepted Pinyin. Wade-Giles is more phonetic, whereas Pinyin is more uniform. This means that, for example, Hong Xiuquan (Pinyin) becomes Hung Hsiu-ch'üan (Wade-Giles), Li Xuecheng becomes Li Hsiu-ch'eng, Zeng Guofan becomes Tseng Kuo-fan, Li Hongzhang becomes Li Hung-chang, Prince Gong becomes Prince Kung and so on. I understand why Carr chooses this older more archaic system of transliteration – because it's easier for a Western audience to pronounce, and it's clearly written for the West. The problem, therefore, that arises is that his dramatis personae is lacking. There are many characters missing from this appendix, not the least of which is Li Heng-sung, the commander of the Green Standard Braves in Shanghai and the principal Chinese defensive force prior to the arrival of Li Hung-chang. Do you see the problem? Now add Li Hsiu-ch'eng into the mix. If this is for a Western audience, Carr should have realised that the West is a little Anglo-centric and will probably confuse
Li Heng-sung
Li Hung-chang
Li Hsiu-ch'eng
when read in quick succession, especially if one is missing from the dramatis personae. I'm not complaining about the transliteration, merely the lacking appendix. I spent at least a portion of this novel confusing Li Heng-sung and Li Hung-chang as the same person, and wondering why the brilliant commander of the Anhui Army was such a corrupt tool.

But that's just nitpicking. Ultimately, a fine book on the Taiping and a great addition to my growing wealth of knowledge on the subject. (less)

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Jan 29, 2013 Bruce rated it 3 of 5 stars

As civil wars go, the Taiping Rebellion was a more sordid, bloody mess than most. Pitting two corrupt, incompetent, ill-equipped, stumblebum regimes against one another, it dragged on for about 15 years in the mid-19th century and succeeded only in slaughtering tens of millions of Chinese peasants. Given this, it's but testament to mutual distrust that the Western colonial powers didn't conspire to carve up the Sino-shoreline into personal fiefdoms. Against this backdrop of anarchy and stalemate...more As civil wars go, the Taiping Rebellion was a more sordid, bloody mess than most. Pitting two corrupt, incompetent, ill-equipped, stumblebum regimes against one another, it dragged on for about 15 years in the mid-19th century and succeeded only in slaughtering tens of millions of Chinese peasants. Given this, it's but testament to mutual distrust that the Western colonial powers didn't conspire to carve up the Sino-shoreline into personal fiefdoms. Against this backdrop of anarchy and stalemate, it should come as no surprise that foreign adventurers would find a foothold as mercenaries and soldiers of fortune. I mean, if just anyone can loot and lop off the heads of entire village populations, why not get a piece of the action? You don't even have to learn the language.

It is this context that makes the history of Frederick Townsend Ward eminently forgettable. His accomplishments were personally remarkable: in the troubled Shanghai suburbs of the 1860's, the man successfully raised, trained, and led a modern, professional army. He inveigled funding and semi-official sanction from local Chinese authorities to procure legit weapons from Western manufacturers, and ultimately cadged the grudging participation of Western delegations in his various suburban Shanghai raids and skirmishes. A competent tactician, he built up, trained, drilled, and placed himself at the fore of a multiple-division corps that comprised 4-5,000 mostly native Chinese soldiers at the height of its influence (albeit led by foreign mercenary officers, of course). For about 3 1/2 years before falling victim to a Taiping musket ball in the abdomen, he built a resume that included the nearly single-handed capture, garrisoning, and fortification of a small provincial town (Sung-Chiang) all the while assisting in or leading what amounted to a series of victorious (if ultimately nondecisive) holding actions.

It's the start of March Madness as I write this, so perhaps a basketball analogy would be in order. "General" Ward's track record can best be likened to that of some mid-major basketball college. You know, the kind that goes 22-8 on the season, gets a 7- or a 10-seed in the NCAAs, and manages to string together enough wins to make the Sweet Sixteen. Not too shabby, but no big deal in the grand scheme of things.

The pathetic Manchus were too xenophobic and diffuse a power to adopt or implement Ward's military innovations, which primarily consisted of competence, discipline, contemporary equipment, and regular pay (so... with the possible exception of access to modern ordnance, low-hanging fruit, you'd think). Nor did Ward's exploits materially affect or alter the selfish designs of Britain, France, Russia, etc. in China. Thanks to his sister-in-law's deliberate incineration of his surviving cache of correspondence, little personal record of the man remains. His childless Chinese widow died in isolation and apparent paternal abandonment a year after Ward passed, so the petty warlord's legacy amounted to a big fat zero.

Oo-rah. None of this is the author's fault. Carr does an honest job of pulling together a traceable history from this deservedly obscure period of time. The one illuminating element: somewhere in the muddle of all the mayhem that threatened (or at least sporadically interrupted) trade in China's burgeoning Western eastern port cities, the would-be colonial powers eventually grew weary of imperial negligence/impotence. These impatient, inconvenienced profiteers began to bandy about the idea of "free" cities (to be administered by the Western powers, of course). Again, mutual distrust was probably the main disincentive to the sort of opportunistic wars of exploitation and aggression that might otherwise have dotted the Chinese coastline with an interconnected grid of Hong Kong-style city state protectorates. At least, it never happened for Shanghai.(less)

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Nov 30, 2008 Savinipop Savini rated it 5 of 5 stars

For history buffs, this is really a gem. I've read several books on the subject and this was by far the best researched and executed. It gets a bit long, but Caleb is also a fiction writer, so he is able to keep our interest, while not distorting the facts and the history.

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Aug 02, 2007 George rated it 4 of 5 stars

Non-fiction. The story of Federick Townsend Ward, an American soldier of fortune in the 19th century, who founded and led into battle a private army of European, Filipino and Chinese mercenaries in Shanghai that became known as the Ever Victorious Army and helped end the Taiping Rebellion, the bloodiest war of era. Travelling in Asia and China in the mid-19th century, Ward missed the American Civil War, but became a central figure in the far bigger Taiping Rebellion. He eventually became a princ...more

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Dec 17, 2011 Sheldon Lehman rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not everyone could have told this story. Carr's narrative style makes this sound almost fictional. It takes some discipline if you're not particularly interested in this era, but hey! everyone needs to build some character right?

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Aug 10, 2011 Caitlin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical, unfinished

Very boring at the beginning.. I couldn't finish it. I think I'll try it again sometime since it has some potential.

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Feb 03, 2010 Rick Smeaton rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was an interesting read of a period of time that does not get a lot of coverage in the history books.

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Mar 24, 2011 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Extremely technical, couldn't get into

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Aug 16, 2008 Gouty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

This is the biography of Frederick Townsend Ward. He was one of the truly larger than life characters of the Victorian era. As a young man he got his start a s filibuster with Walker in Mexico. In later life he went to China where he was hired by the Emperor as a mercenary to put down the Tai-Ping rebellion (in which 20 million people were killed, 2nd only to WWII, and nobody ever mentions it). It is a fascinating book about an incredible time and place. A look at a slice of history not many peo...more

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Feb 05, 2013 Ange rated it 3 of 5 stars

very detailed bio. interesting. explains a lot about the chinese gov't.

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Dec 31, 2011 Birch rated it 3 of 5 stars

I had heard that Carr's non-fiction was as compelling as his fiction. Not quite, but still a good history read.

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May 01, 2009 Morris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ward was a 19th century American expatriate in China who raised and trained a small but effective Chinese army to fight for the imperialists against the Taiping rebels. Much of his story had to be reconstructed from letters and papers of colleagues, since his own letters were destroyed. Somewhat slow going. Best in small doses. I finished several other books while reading this.

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Mar 29, 2010 Chris Doherty rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: asian-history, chinese-history

Great book about the little known role of an American on the Taiping Rebellion. The one thing I found missing were maps. Whenever I read a book with military tactics described in it, I need maps. Not just geographical maps, but maps that show the military tactics the author has spent so much time describing. Personally I think it would make a great movie.

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Dec 15, 2008 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, historical-non-fiction, didnt-finish

i thought this would read more like a story or novel than like a military history. it was very dry. this isn't bad, but it's hard to concentrate on all of the small details and all of the names when you're half-asleep (i read before bed). so, i'm putting it aside in favor of something that isn't quite so dry.

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Feb 12, 2008 John rated it 4 of 5 stars

Well-written, solid, and interesting bit of history. I only picked this up because of my respect for The Alienist, and wasn't disappointed. Carr uses this single historical figure to illustrate the time period, including England starting a war in order to sell more opium to the Chinese.

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Jul 04, 2011 Sonia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: have

I didn't actually realize this book was a biography. I really expected it to be more in the vein of The Alienist, but it was informative and mostly entertaining. It was a bit difficult at times, the Chinese naming conventions, but still a fairly good, and informative, read.

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Jul 15, 2008 Randi rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: could-not-finish

I so enjoyed reading the thrilling "Alienist" by Caleb Carr that I was excited to find this book. Was a dreary follow up. Nothing like the compelling novel he crafted.

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Sep 27, 2011 Angus rated it 3 of 5 stars

Very interesting historical book, and i learned a lot about China from back in the day...

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Jan 10, 2011 Bobbi Siegmann rated it 1 of 5 stars

Stopped reading it. Did not hold my interest. Topic was interesting. But writing was not.

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Jun 15, 2008 Bax rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: history

A can't-miss biographical story delivered with craft and insight.

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Caleb Carr is an American novelist and military historian. The son of Lucien Carr, a former UPI editor and a key Beat generation figure, he was born in Manhattan and lived for much of his life on the Lower East Side. He attended Kenyon College and New York University, earning a B.A. in military and diplomatic history. He is a contributing editor of MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History an...more

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