Tentative Studies on Armed Steamboats during Xianfeng and Tongzhi Periods

During Xianfeng and Tongzhi Periods of late Qing Dynasty,steamboat in China began its use for military purpose due to the effect by west.Civil organizations and government employed and bought some armed steamboats in order to protect merchant ships,attack pirates and squash revolts.In the period of Taiping Rebellion,armed steamboats served for the Ever Victorious Army showed their great power in the battles at lower reaches of Yangtze River,while Taiping Army also seized several boats for itself use.As the original form of modern navy,armed steamboat played an important role in this period.Discussing the utilization of armed steamboat at that time would be helpful to understand the progress of military modernization in late Qing Dynasty comprehensively.