In November 1856, a minor incident in China's Pearl River escalated into a full-scale assault that captured four Chinese forts in less than a week. After Chinese batteries fired on Commander Andrew Foote's rowboat during an American withdrawal from Canton, Commodore James Armstrong ordered retaliation. On November 16, USS Portsmouth, USS Levant, and USS San Jacinto bombarded the Barrier Forts near Canton. When diplomacy failed four days later, 287 American marines and sailors stormed ashore, cap