項次 1743

1859 (7 Jun) England to 65th Regiment N.I. at Canton, China A cover of Surgeon Alexander Gibbon correspondence sent to its stationed 65th Regiment Native Infantry. The cover was attached with UK stamp 4p x2 and 1p x1 cancelled byt Aberdeen c.d.s. dated June 7, 1859. On the front side, it marked the receiving manuscript on 24 July (1859). This cover, dated 7 June 1859 and addressed to Surgeon Alexander Gibbon of the 65th Regiment of Native Infantry (N.I.) stationed at Canton, captures a critical period between the failed Second Battle of Taku Forts (25–26 June 1859) and the subsequent intensification of Anglo-French military preparations. The 65th Regiment N.I., likely part of the British Indian Army’s reinforcement contingent, was deployed to Southern China as part of the ongoing effort to maintain control over treaty ports and secure strategic positions following earlier successes in Canton. The manuscript arrival mark of 24 July 1859 places this letter’s delivery just weeks after the Allied defeat at Taku, a moment when British command was reorganizing and reinforcing its presence in the region. This correspondence thus reflects the critical military positioning and transcontinental communications that underpinned Britain’s shifting strategy in the lead-up to the decisive 1860 northern campaign.

1859年6月7日 英國寄往中國廣州 — 軍醫 Alexander Gibbon 致第65本地步兵團（65th Regiment N.I.）之信封 郵票貼有4便士2枚與1便士1枚，蓋有英國亞伯丁（Aberdeen）日戳，信封正面手寫收件時間為1859年7月24日。 此封郵件寄至駐中國廣州的第65本地步兵團（65th Regiment of Native Infantry）。寄出時間為1859年6月7日，信件抵達時間為1859年7月24日，正值第二次鴉片戰爭第二次大沽口戰役（1859年6月25日至26日）失敗前後的軍事關鍵期。 第65本地步兵團隸屬於英屬印度陸軍體系，極有可能作為英軍駐守華南地區的增援部隊，協助控制包括廣州在內的通商口岸。此信的寄達時間距離聯軍在北方大沽口的失敗僅約一個月，當時英軍正處於重新部署與戰略重整的過渡期。 此件郵品除具備戰地郵件實寄的文物價值外，亦體現英國與其殖民地部隊之間在鴉片戰爭期間前線通訊、後勤與軍事動員的實際操作情況，為研究第二次鴉片戰爭戰事演變及駐華英軍結構提供佐證。