Abstract: In the late period of the First Opium War, the Qing army set Jiaxing and Zhapu as key defence areas after Dinghai,Zhenhai and Ningbo falling into the enemy’s hands. The battle of Zhapu was the last in Zhenjiang waged by British troops during the war. It is in this battle that over 7000 soldiers of the Qing army were defeated by 2000 British soldiers, and the key coastal region—Zhapu was occupied. Afterwards, The British conquered Zhenjiang and Nanjing where they forced Qing Government to sign The Treaty of Nanjing. Two historical documents discovered recently are the defence official documents of Jiaxing Camp before the battle of Zhapu. The first document is a official document written to change horsemen and war-horses. At that time, Zhapu is the defence area of the right green standard army. Green standard army has also taken part in the battle of Zhapu. The second file is a supplementary material for the former, since the troops need to be reallocated due to soldiers’ promotions, leaves, diseases and deaths. After studying these documents, we create a new sense of how the Qing Government fought an invasion from the British troops in the late period of the Opium War. It is also important supplements to the study of the Sino-British relations during the Opium War.

Key words: the battle of Zhapu, Jiaxing camp, green army, horsemen