Photograph of Mann's Battery and the Picquet House in Canton, taken from outside the entrenchment. Mann's Battery is on a raised area, with a flagpole at the centre. The Picquet House is on the hillside to the left. Below these are the city walls and in the foreground there is a building to the left. Several men are standing on the rough area of ground beside this building.
This is one of a series of photographs taken in the aftermath of the Battle of Canton. British and French soldiers captured the city of Canton at the start of January 1858 with relative ease. This victory was a contributing factor in the Chinese signing the Treaty of Tientsin, ending the Second Opium War.