 He then commanded the 1st Division at the Battle of Taku Forts in August 1860 during the Second Opium War and took part in the burning of the Old Summer Palace at Peking in October 1860 as a reprisal for the torture and murder of British prisoners before being appointed Commander of British Troops in China and Hong Kong in 1861.He later commanded the forces in British North America playing a key role in the organization of the militia volunteers in resistance to the Fenian raids invasions in 1866.His last appointment was as Commander-in-Chief of Ireland in 1875.