Life of Philo Norton McGiffin

Born in 1860 in Pennsylvania, Philo Norton McGiffin entered the US Naval Academy at the age of 17. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and his father served in the Mexican War and the US Civil War.

After graduation, McGiffin failed to receive a commission in the US navy, so he went to China's newly founded fleet for employment.

China's Viceroy Li Hongzhang interviewed him for the post.

In a letter to his mother after the interview, he wrote that Li "looked at me and asked, 'How old are you?'"

"When I told him I was 24 I thought he would faint - for in China a man is a boy until he is over 30. He said I would never do - I was a child. I could not know anything at all. I could not convince him, but at last he compromised - I was to pass an examination at the Arsenal at the Naval College, in all branches, and if they passed me I would have a show."

McGiffin indeed passed all the tests and got a position commanding a training ship. He also hired a Chinese instructor and was able to converse fluently in Chinese in a year and a half.

Before the Battle of the Yalu River in 1894, he was deployed on the battleship Zhen Yuan. In his memoir and essays, McGiffin told many stories of fighting alongside Chinese soldiers, and described details of the battle, which are rare in official documents.

Suffering from mental instability due to wounds received at the battle of the Yalu, McGiffin committed suicide in a US hospital in 1897.

The back of his tombstone carries the inscription:

"This tablet is erected in memory of a Brave Man who loved his own but gave his life for an alien flag."

(China Daily USA 01/13/2015 page5)