 As the need for troops in China became apparent, Liscum and his 1,350 men were dispatched to the Taku Forts, arriving on July 9, 1900, only four days before the assault on Tianjin was to begin.As Liscum and Robert Leamy Meade were among the last to arrive at the Eight-Nation Alliance fort, they were unable to participate in the planning of the attack and were instead subject to the will of British Royal Engineers General Arthur Dorward.Early in the morning of July 13, Liscum was to lead the 9th Infantry on the left side of an allied attack on the walled city.