Note 128 — Chapter V · 1817-1848. THE FIRST WAR WITH CHINA.

This distinction won for Grattan a brevet-majority, and incidentally caused him to become the hero of a curious adventure. The ship in which he was returning from Calcutta took fire in the Straits of Formosa. The boat to which Grattan had been told off was fortunate enough to reach the shore, where her crew, passing themselves off as Americans, were claimed by the United States Consul at Macao, and by him sent on to Hong Kong.