Customer Reviews

The Devil Soldier: The American Soldier of Fortune Who Became a God in China

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Caleb Carr's portrait of Fredrick Townsend Ward, an obscure American mercenary who rose to prominence during China's bloody Taiping rebellion, offers a fascinating look at a civil war that took place at the same time as the battle between the States, but in a completely different world. A far cry from Carr's previous thrillers, his historical work is still infused with the authors' powerful descriptive narrative. Readers will find themselves immersed in the Shanghai of the 1850's and 60's as quickly and totally as Carr plunged them into turn of the century New York, awash in the quasi-Christian Taiping rebellion, a massive and bloody attempt to wrestle power from millennia old Imperial China. Indeed, the city on the Huang-Pu river is as much a character in the story as any of the soldiers, rebels, merchants, peasants and Imperial Courtiers that lived in that turbulent time and place. Using western officers, often mercenaries, to train and lead Chinese troops in the western style of warfare, Ward raised up the "Ever Victorious Army" and turned the tide against the rebellion. He led his troops into battle in scenes as gripping as any taking place half a world away in our own Civil War, using battle strategies that would have held him in high rank amongst Grant, Sherman and Lee. In doing so he was awarded the status of Mandarin, the first westerner to ever enter the upper caste of the Confucian order. An epic tale of a long forgotten adventurer that offers a window into a remarkable time and place. It's too bad that Mr. Carr's success with fiction will most likely rob us of one of our most compelling and adept biographers.

The Taiping Rebellion in China was a very bloody affair. It cost the lives of over 25 million people. In addition it helped set the stage for the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the whole Dynastic System which ruled China for 1000's of years.

Though also a biography, the Devil Soldier is an interesting overview of the Rebellion and its eventual defeat. This book is much more readable than Spence's "Gods Chinese Son."

Carr is a great writer, his novels are great historical mysteries of early NYC. This book benefits froms Carr's ability to write and tell a story.

Anyone interesting in this time period will enjoy this book. Again it is much better than the one on basically the same topic by Spence.

In 1859 a 28 year-old sailing officer from Salem Massachusetts took service under the Chinese Empire to defend it from mortal danger. When this young man died in battle in 1863 he had put down the largest and bloodiest civil war in human history (the American Civil War raging at the same time pales in comparison), he had been made a general and a mandarin, he had married a Chinese princess, and he was interred in his own temple. Perhaps most impressively was the fact that he did all of this while retaining the reputation among his friends and foes of being a man of decency, fairness, honor and incorruptibility. And yet for all this, he is nearly forgotten in both his native and adopted country.

Frederick Townsend Ward's history was erased largely because he was feared by both his Manchu masters and by the European powers that were seeking to dismember China for their own mercenary ends. The author speculates that due to his contempt for the cruelty and corruption of the Manchu's, that had he survived, he might have turned the instrument of his "Ever Victorious Army" against them in order to restore the Ming Dynasty. Had that happened, the history of China could have far different in the century that followed. It is clear that Ward found the concept of ending the Empire as unthinkable- which is why the later republic never honored his memory.

One other thing struck me while reading this book: Ward wanted to attend West Point but was not able to obtain an appointment because he lacked "connections." In the long run this didn't seem to hurt him too much....

If this story were fiction it would surely be dismissed as too far-fetched to ever be believed.

It seems fitting that one of the most implausible films ever made should be based "loosely" on a book about one of the most implausible real-life figures of history. Frederick Townsend Ward, the Devil Soldier, had nothing to do with the civil war in Japan; neither did any other American officer. But Ward did play a huge role in the defense of the Manchu imperial government against the forces of Chun Wang, the syncretic Sino-Christian rebel, in the Taiping civil war, supposedly the bloodiest conflict of the 19th Century. My five-star rating of this book is contingent upon also reading Jonathan Spence's book about the Taipings, God's Chinese Son. Otherwise you will have less than half the story. Caleb Carr writes very well, but this is not a novel, and as a history it is far too partial.

In his prologue, Carr declares: "No man's life can be truly understood out of context, but in Ward's case the context is especially vital." No kidding, Caleb! In Ward's case, the context is virtually all we have, since nothing of Ward's own letters or thoughts has survived. Thus Carr is writing a biography so much as a social history of a moment in time, that moment when the vast culture of China first "discovered" the West. Carr's short moment of importance was his organization and training of the "Ever Victorious Army" of Chinese soldiers using Western military training and tactics. For better or worse, Ward's model army became the nucleus of the forces that destroyed the Taipings, though the man who replaced Ward as commander after Ward was killed, the scoundrel known as Chinese Gordon, has replaced him in historical memory also.

More novelist than historian, Caleb Carr might fairly be criticized for overdrawing his sources, or for not maintaining sufficient academic reserve. It would be wrong to ignore this book, however, if you have any interest in the history of modern China, in which FT Ward was a meteor in the sky, an omen of things to come.

I read the book because of my interest in history. I'm Chinese from Taiwan, recognizing Ward and "Ever Victorious Army" from text book. The book certainly is well researched and written, however, it will not be for general consumption. The writer tried very hard to elevate Ward's importance, such as the sub-title "The American became a God..." which he explained later "more like a saint". Ward did not become a God. Chinese respect deceased in general, it may appear to Westerner as worship, THEN and NOW. It is not right to down play his role, but at the same time, don't do the opposite. The idea of training Chinese soliders was a logical move, Ward was there and he did it first. However, to say his existence impacted modern China, will be self-serving. Read it as a page of interesting history if you're interested. By the way, Ward's standard was upside down in the picture insert. Just compare it with the cover picture on the lower part.

Due to the lack of surviving information concerning Ward, Carr's book is less biography and more historical portrait of the Taiping Rebellion from Shanghai. Excellent read.

This is a bit of a stretch for the conventional Western military history, but an excellent one. Most readers will probably think of General Ward's biography in terms of traditional 19th century nation state narratives. Let me propose a different one, the context is 'opium wars'. The story goal is defeating the merchants of opium, the English. The outcome is bittersweet. This requires the reader to do more 'reading between the lines' than usual, but the rewards are there for those interested.

While the book's focus is Fredrick Ward, a true soldier of fortune, the 'Chinese drug wars' are really more central. The period covered begins with the British winning the 'Opium War'. To make sense of this, imagine Columbian drug lords defeating the US Army and demanding control of an airport in Miami. By treaty right, the Columbian drug lords would we granted the right to fly cocaine to any airport in America. If you can imagine this, substitute Queen Victoria for the Columbian drug lords and Shanghai for Miami.

As should be required, the book begins by discussing hypocrisy. England's Royal navy is primarily in China to help the East India Company sell opium. The 'Christian' leader of the Taiping rebellion preaches puritanical virtues, but surrounds himself with concubines. Our hero emerges from the New England merchant class, a class that simultaneously smuggles slaves to the American slave states and finances abolitionist politics. Unfortunately, the theme is not followed throughout. The final chapter dwells on legal battles over Ward's treasures rather than the continuing twists in the drug wars and associated hypocrisy.

The narrative spends most of its time on Ward's invention, the 'Ever Victorious Army' or 'Ward's Chinese Corps'. As evidence that necessity is the mother of invention, the 'Ever Victorious Army' came into existence through the whim of fortune. Western powers in Shanghai had no desire to see it emerge, since it represented a threat to the British control of the opium trade. The Imperial Chinese were to entrench in tradition to accept the innovation. It was only the existence of a 100,000 man rebel army 30 miles from Shanghai that provided Ward his 'opportunity' to build his vision.

Fredrick Ward remains something of a mystery in his biography. He died in action before we could really tell what he was building. Few of his letters escaped destruction, so we rarely hear his own voice. Instead, Carr is forced to infer from events and news paper accounts. Most readers will have to overcome their skepticism about Ward's career being ample material for a full-fledged biography. In this context, Ward seems the forgotten inventor. Charles 'Chinese' Gordon won the publicity war and his buddies wrote the history books. Gordon 'China' role is limited compared to Ward. Gordon took over Ward's cross-cultural invention, the 'Ever Victorious Army', and won the army's last battle. His job was simply to maintain it long enough to win one battle, and peacefully disband the thing. For this, he gets his own big budget Hollywood movie, Khartoum, staring Charleston Heston. In contrast, Ward invents a modern Chinese Army and provides a working model to interested Japanese observers. Guess who I think more interesting.

In this involving and well-written account, Carr strains to elevate the importance of Ward, a historical footnote, a mercenary of questionable repute and eventual Qing dynasty functionary whose prime contribution was the cobbling together of the use of "superior and modern" Western weapons against backwards sword and spear carrying Taiping rebels. And by Carr's own account, Ward was only partially successful. To thank him for his assistance (which ultimately helped maintain both Western imperial domination of China, the opium trade, and the extension of the corrupt and weak Qing empire), in a relationship of dual purpose, the Manchu Qing regime (not the Chinese people)gave him an official title and a Chinese wife. Carr's pro-Western bias is strong, as is his strange love of the Ward myth, which he does his best to overblow. Carr's sourcing is spotty, and in too many places, he speculates---typically in ways that favor Ward. This book, and indeed the Ward story itself, presents a very enlightening model of how violent rogue mercenaries, terrorists, and intelligence cutouts are used to assist governments in "counter-insurgency" wars throughout history, such as the Phoenix Program.

who would think that a reject from west point would
rise up to the level of mandarin in china? if not for
this book, frederick ward would remain in deeper obscurity.
his epic journey from a soldier of fortune to the commander
of chinese forces against the taipings is the stuff of
movies. the ever victorious army, often related to
charles gordon of khartoum, was actually ward's brainchild. this is the
story of the man who is the epitome of a mercenary. i am surprise that today's
soldiers of fortune do not consider him an iconic figure. this book is a
must read for military history buffs. the story follows
ward from his formative years in salem to the battles he fought
against the taipings, one city to another,
leading a force that is a hodpodge of chinese, filipino
and western mercenaries. there are insights
into the tangled, political web between the imperial
family and the foreigners who controlled shanghai.
enjoy the book!

A very enjoyable tale of a colorful historical character. Carr has a real flair for bringing such a strange time to life, and making it feel familiar. He talks about the Taiping rebellion as if it only happened yesterday, which adds to the sense of reportage and realism. I'm looking forward to the reputed John Woo movie adaptation, although someone should have checked the illustrations before they were finalised. My copy prints Ward's battle-flag upside down -- doubly embarrassing since it is the right way up on the book's cover.