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Frederick Townsend Ward was one of William Walker's filibusters and Crimean War veteran who organized a private Chinese army to help the Qing suppress the Taiping rebels. His Ever Victorious Army was exceptionally well equipped at the time, being armed with Sharps breechloading rifles and never lost a battle. Unfortunately Ward was killed in action and his unit was handed over to Charles "Chinese" Gordon.
Ward married the daughter of a Chinese mandarin and was buried as a general of the Chinese army in full regalia. However the Qing abandoned his military reforms when the Taiping Rebellion ended and they failed to follow through with modernization.
Tom Cruise and John Woo teamed up to make a movie about Ward, but it didn't happen. The project was re-invented as "The Last Samurai" with Cruise playing a fictional character.
So what happens if Ward wasn't killed in battle? Does he change the history of China by modernizing its army? Does he distinguish himself in the American Civil War? He was certainly one of the most experienced American soldiers alive in 1861.