Vam Nhut Tao

This river holds a victory written in smoke, fire and water.

On December 10, 1861, on a quiet stretch of the Nhựt Tảo River, in the old Long An region, something happened that the French had not expected. The small warship Esperance lay at anchor there. It carried weapons and guns, and it had guards on watch. Yet it was sunk by men who came in rice boats.

That is the story of the Vàm Nhựt Tảo historic site.

To see why this battle stands out, it helps to picture the year 1861. The French had recently taken hold of the eastern provinces of Nam Kỳ, the name then used for southern Vietnam. People in many places had begun to rise against them. The two sides were far from equal. One had warships, rifles and trained soldiers. The other side was farmers from a land of rivers, armed simply but knowing the ground like the back of their hand.

Nguyễn Trung Trực did not meet the French head on. He worked out another plan.

His volunteer fighters prepared a fleet of boats and made them look like rice traders' boats. They loaded rice aboard and moved about as ordinary people would. They approached the Esperance like harmless merchants. Once they were close enough, they attacked all together. They used flammable materials and set the ship alight. The Esperance sank in the Nhựt Tảo River.

In Vietnamese the event is called Hỏa hồng Nhựt Tảo, a vivid name for the feat of burning the ship. It is not the name of a festival or an official title. In a few words it holds a fire, a lost ship and the unyielding spirit of the river people.

Today the site covers about 6.1 hectares. Work began in 2003, and it opened in October 2010. It includes a stele house, a memorial temple, an exhibition hall and a green park. In 1996, the site was ranked a national historic site. That ranking recognized that this land is tied to an important turning point in the history of the southern region of Vietnam.

The site stands where two rivers meet, the Vàm Cỏ Đông and the Nhựt Tảo. Looking toward the water, one sees a quiet current, with nipa palms and trees along the bank hanging over the surface. It is hard to imagine that a clash shook the whole region here. But it did. The odds were reversed partly because the Vietnamese fighters knew how to use the terrain and the element of surprise. They fought with wits, not only with strength.

For nearly 120 years the Esperance lay on the river bed, the last trace of a bold plan. Then it was raised, and 89 objects were recovered, made of wood, iron, copper and glass. They are now in the exhibition hall, physical evidence that does not lie.

Now to the man behind the battle.

Nguyễn Trung Trực was not a famous commander from the royal court. He was born in 1838 in Bình Nhựt village, in the old Long An region. His birth name was Nguyễn Văn Lịch, and people there also called him Chơn. He grew up while the French were taking over Nam Kỳ. He joined the volunteer forces under Trương Định and was sent to work in the Tân An prefecture. The battle at Vàm Nhựt Tảo made his name known across the southern region.

For years after that battle, Nguyễn Trung Trực kept fighting. He was captured and executed in 1868. Tradition says he was asked whether he would surrender to be spared. He answered, in essence, that only when the Westerners had pulled up every blade of grass in the land of the South would there be no more Southerners to fight them. The line is remembered not for any flourish, but because it is plain and true.

Every year, around the 11th and 12th days of the ninth lunar month, people gather here for the memorial ceremony for the national hero Nguyễn Trung Trực. It is a tradition of the community, a way for the people of the southern region to honor those who did not yield.

The river where this happened, more than 160 years ago, was the stage of a strange battle. There was no fortress and there were no trenches, only rice boats, the water, and people who knew what they were defending.

Hỏa hồng Nhựt Tảo is the story of ordinary people, in an ordinary place, who chose to do something out of the ordinary.