Gunboats and marines

the long version

"The 1920s were years of turmoil in China, as revolution and civil war spread throughout the country. The many Americans then in China -- primarily missionaries, businessmen, and diplomats -- were caught in this upheaval. Their safety often depended on the armed protection of the sailors and marines of the United States Asiatic Fleet. In the middle 1920s, however, this fleet consisted of one cruiser, two divisions of submarines, about twenty destroyers, a dozen gunboats, and assigned Marine Corps detachments. This book tells the dramatic story of the role the United States Navy played during this tumultuous period of Chinese history"--Jacket.