Mr. Washburn to Mr. Seward.
Buenos Ayres,
December 15, 1865.
Sir: I herewith transmit to you a sealed
communication from the minister of foreign relations in Paraguay, which
has been handed to me by the French minister plenipotentiary here
resident, and who is also accredited to Paraguay. He received a
communication similar in appearance for himself, which he said was a
copy of a letter addressed by President Lopez to President Mitre, the
commander-in-chief of the allied forces now advancing against Paraguay.
This letter was translated and published in the Standard here, together
with the reply of President Mitre, and I am therefore enabled to send
you a printed translation of both. You will see that General Lopez
complains that General Mitre has not observed the rules of war, as held
by civilized nations, and threatens retaliation on any Brazilians or
Argentines that may be in his power, unless the commander of the allies
changes his course and carries on war after a different fashion. General
Mitre, in his reply, denies the charges, and comes back on the marshal
President with interest, accusing him of the commission of unheard of
atrocities, not against prisoners taken in arms, for such he had none,
but on the inoffensive women and children, whose husbands and fathers
were beyond his reach, but who were themselves exposed to his savage
barbarities. In reply to Lopez’s threat to take vengeance on the
unoffending Brazilian and Argentine civilians that have remained in
Paraguay since the war began, he tells him that he shall be held
responsible with his life for any acts not recognized in the code of
civilized warfare.
It seems, however, that Lopez was not diverted from his course by the
reply of Mitre, for I have reliable information that, on the reception
of Mitre’s letter, all the Brazilians and Argentines in the country were
immediately seized and thrown into prison, some of them with heavy
fetters. Among these is the Brazilian consul, who has been for twenty
years in the country, and is married to a Paraguayan, and at the time of
arrest was in such feeble health that a Paraguay prison must soon put an
end to his troubles.
There is no recent news of importance here from the seat of war. The
allies are getting together a large force, and are steadily but slowly
moving towards the southern frontier of Paraguay. It is now thought a
collision will take place, and an important if not decisive battle be
fought within the next thirty days. And it looks, too, as if the
Brazilian government were so determined on the extinction of the rule of
Lopez, that no reverse that he can inflict could avert the final
catastrophe. His Majesty the Emperor of Brazil has at least learned not
to despise his enemy, for he is continually augmenting his forces with
raw recruits, that can be of little service for months, and making such
other preparations as show that, come what will of disaster, he will not
treat for peace till the conditions of the triple alliance are
fulfilled, and the Lopez authority is overthrown and destroyed.
At the date of my last despatch I was expecting to have been in Paraguay
long before this; but it has been utterly impossible for me to get
there. Before I left Rio, towards the last of October, Admiral Godon
told me that he should start for the Platte in the course of two or
three weeks, and on reaching here would furnish a steamer to take me to
my post. I have been consequently awaiting the arrival of such vessel
until now, but not one of our vessels of war has been in this river
since my arrival here. I have been informed, however, that several
vessels of our fleet left Rio, bound hither, on the fifth or sixth
instant. I may, therefore, reasonably expect to soon be at my post.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your obedient
servant,
Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.
[Page 552]
[Translation.]
President Lopez to President Mitre.
Headquarters,
Humayta,
November 20, 1865.
I have the honor to address your excellency the present note as
commander-in-chief of the allied armies at war with this republic.
In the imperious necessity which at times forces nations and
governments to settle their difficulties by the sword, a war has
broken out between this republic and the states whose armies you
Command. In such case it is customary for civilized nations to
mitigate the evils of war by stripping it of all acts of cruelty
which disgrace humanity and cast an indelible stain upon the
commanders ordering or tolerating the same, and this I had expected
from your excellency and your allies. Filled with this spirit, it
was my first care to order the fullest respect for all prisoners who
have accordingly enjoyed every convenience and even liberty
compatible with their position. My government has given the fullest
protection not only to Argentine, Brazilian, and Montevidean
citizens in our power, but even to the prisoners of war. The strict
discipline of the Paraguayan armies in Argentine and Brazilian
territories is proof of this, and even the families and properties
of those in arms against us have been respected.
Your excellency meantime initiated the war with atrocities such as
the arrest of the Paraguayan agent in Buenos Ayres, D. Felix
Egusquiza; the pursuit of our consul, General José Rufo Caminos and
his son Felix, who had to take refuge under the British flag; the
confiscation of public and private Paraguayan properties in bank and
elsewhere; the arrest of Cipriano Ayala, who was bearer of
despatches; the tearing down the Paraguayan flag and dragging it
through the streets; the shooting me in effigy at Rosario; the
assassinations by General Caceres of Lieutenant Ayala, at Saladas,
and Ensign Ferreyra, at Bella Vista, (both wounded;) the butchery of
the wounded at Yatay; and the sending a Paraguayan deserter, named
Juan Gonzales, to assassinate me. All these barbarous acts, however,
have been unable to alter my resolution or make me imitate your
excellency, nor did I expect that such new atrocities would be added
to the infamous catalogue of crimes with which the civil wars of the
river Plate have presented a disgraceful picture to the
universe.
I hoped that in this first international war your excellency would
impress on your subordinates that a prisoner of war is a man and a
Christian, and when surrendered, no longer an enemy; and that the
prisoners at least would be respected in their misfortune and
treated as generously as we treat those of the allies. But it is
with profound regret that I have to abandon such hopes in view of
the atrocities committed with the unfortunate Paraguayans who have
fallen into your power. Your excellency has obliged the prisoners of
Yatay and Umguayana to take up arms against their country, to swell
your ranks, putting aside all hope of an exchange of prisoners, and
at once cruelly immolating those who dared to refuse. Such as
escaped so sad a fate have been either sent as slaves into Brazil or
(some of whiter skin) sent as presents and rare curiosities to
people in Montevideo and Buenos Ayres. This contempt not only for
the usages of war, but for common humanity; this barbarous
alternative between death and slavery, stand without example in
history; and it is to your excellency, to the Emperor of Brazil, and
to the ruler of Montevideo, must be ascribed the infamy of
perpetrating such enormity. The Paraguayan government by no act,
either before or since the war, has provoked such barbarity. The
Argentine, Brazilian, and Montevidean citizens have been permitted
to retire with their effects from our territory or remain, as they
preferred. My government respected the usages of war, although our
treaty had expired, considering them of benefit to humanity and
national honor, and never so far forgetful as to allow the tearing
down of your flag or shooting your excellency in effigy, (even
though at war,) much less murdering any stray Argentines or
Brazilians in our encampment. Public opinion and history will
severely judge such acts. The allied powers have not waged war
according to civilized usages, but with atrocities that will forever
brand them with infamy. Such being the case, my position as general
of the armies of this republic obliges me to check such acts as far
as possible. I therefore ask your excellency, in the name of
humanity and decorum, to abandon this barbarous method of war; to
treat your Paraguayan captives as prisoners of war and to prevent
further atrocities. And I notify your excellency that in case you do
not reply, or that the Paraguayan prisoners be kept in arms against
their country, or that you hoist a Paraguayan flag in your ranks, or
commit any fresh enormity, I shall feel myself excused from any
further consideration and (however unwillingly) make all Argentines,
Brazilians, and Montevideans that may now or hereafter be in my
hands answer with their lives and properties for a rigorous
reprisal.
I will await your answer for thirty days. You can send it to Paso la
Patria.
May God preserve your excellency many years.
His Excellency the President of the Argentine Republic, Brigadier
General Don Bartolome Mitre,
Generalissimo of the allied armies.
[Page 553]
the president of
the argentine republic and general-in-chief of the allied
armies.
President Mitre to President Lopez.
[Translation.]
Headquarters, Bella
Vista,
November 25, 1865.
I have received the note which your excellency addresses me as
general-in-chief of the allied armies from your headquarters at
Humayta, dated 20th instant, wherein, after citing facts which you
suppose inconsistent with the laws of war committed by the allied
armies with the prisoners of Yatay and Umguayana, your excellency
invites me to observe those laws, intimating your intention to use
reprisals in a contrary event. On duly considering said note, I must
say, in reply, that the facts you allege as grave charges of want of
humanity and self-respect on the part of the allies towards the
Paraguayan prisoners fallen into our hands are in part wholly
untrue, and the rest distorted, probably owing to prejudiced reports
which have reached your excellency, and I regret that a moment’s
reflection did not suffice to show you the falsehood of such
statements.
The Argentine, Brazilian, and Montevidean governments being forced to
stand forth in defence of their honor, dignity, and territory, which
your excellency treacherously assailed in violation of all civilized
usages, seizing our towns and vessels in time of peace without
previous declaration of war and in a piratical manner, we had to
hasten to rescue the lives and properties of our fellow-citicens in
Matto Grosso, Rio Grande, and Corrientes from barbarous death and
spoliation, but always in conformity with the rules of international
war. And this we have fulfilled, not only for honor and duty, but
because the crimes and outrages perpetrated by your excellency’s
troops in Brazilian and Argentine territory during your brief
occupation had filled us with horror, and we could not fall into the
same iniquity; neither should we show the civilized world any other
conduct than becomes an army encharged with the noble mission of
vindicating national honor instead of sacking defenceless towns and
properties, as your excellency’s troops have done from first
entering Argentine and Brazilian territory on either side of the
Uruguay till reaching Uruguayane and Paso los Libres, completely
destroying all the towns and farms and carrying off a great portion
of the booty for your excellency in Paraguay, and by your order, as
appears from the note-book found in Colonel Estigarribias’s papers,
which book is now in possession of the Brazilian government.
At the same time, the army which your excellency poured into
Corrientes, as far as the Santa Lucia, committed still greater
atrocities, plundering thousands of cattle farms, burning the
houses, leaving thousands of families without roof or shelter on the
devastated plains, and even carrying its barbarity (or rather your
excellency’s, for it was by your order) so far as to tear from their
homes and convey prisoners to Paraguay the innocent wives and tender
children of several of our valiant officers. These poor women and
children had remained in the places occupied by your excellency’s
troops, trusting you would observe with them the same usages as your
excellency now invokes in favor of the Paraguayan prisoners, but
which you flagrantly violated in their case. All these acts are
notorious, and will stamp with undying ignominy those who have
authorized or tolerated the same. Your excellency will have to
answer for them not only to the allies who make war against you, but
to the whole world, which has uttered a unanimous cry of execration
on your head.
At the conclusion of those combats, resulting in the triumph of our
arms, the wounded and captured survivors were first looked after and
cared for in our hospitals on a par with our own wounded. Nay they
were often better treated, as objects of greater compassion, owing
to their nakedness and misery, and were regarded as the unhappy
victims of an ill-advised ruler who hurled them to meet death in a
war both unjust and unprovoked, the effect of an arbitrary caprice.
So far from being forced to enter our ranks or treated with rigor,
they have met with kindness and benevolence, some of them being set
at liberty, others drafted off to various towns, and the rest kept
for army servants, hospital work, &c. It is true many of them
have entered the ranks of the allied army, but this was their own
free will and request, a favor which could not be denied them, it
having been already conceded to Paraguayan refugees in our territory
who volunteered for the campaign.
I have answered the principal charges in your excellency’s note, and
not only controverted them but shown upon whom must fall the immense
responsibility of whatever barbarities may unhappily have occurred
in the present war. I might also descend to the isolated cases
mentioned by your excellency, but some are so notoriously false, and
others so exaggerated, that it is idle to refute them, especially as
we are now at open war, when arms must decide the question. Your
excellency will understand that this is not a season for
recrimination, and I should be led into such if I answered the other
charges of your excellency.
In conclusion I must add that I cannot understand how your excellency
came to believe the story of the Paraguayan deserter Juan Gonzalez,
if there ever really was such a man, and I regret, for the dignity
of the post you occupy, that you have seriously affixed your
signature to a letter stating your fear of a dagger treacherously
directed against you by an
[Page 554]
Argentine general. I declare to your excellency that I do not
believe you capable of making such an attempt against my life or
that of any of the allied generals, since I am accustomed to do this
justice to the chiefs against whom I have ever fought, and I must do
the same with your excellency.
In consequence of the above, and in order to prevent any excesses on
the part of your excellency, as foreshadowed in your note, I beg
formally to notify your excellency, for the protection of the lives
and properties of the Argentines, Brazilians, and Montevideans in
your hands, (taken by chance or treachery, for in fair fight you
have not yet taken a single prisoner,) that any act on the part of
your excellency or subordinates in violation of civilized usages
will be visited personally on your excellency, besides the other
satisfaction that may be deemed requisite. If, in spite of this,
your excellency take any measures unusual in war, you will have
deliberately placed yourself outside the bound of international law
and justify the allies acting towards you as your excellency
intimates, it being plainly your intent to aggravate the horrors of
war which the allies are doing their best to lessen; and in this
resolution we intend to continue, not laying down our arms till
obtaining the fullest reparation for our injuries, which we confide
for vindication to the will of the Most High and the strength of our
right arms—not to the cowardly and ignoble vengeance wreaked on
unarmed men, defenceless women, and innocent children.
Such is the only reply I have to offer your excellency, without
prejudice to whatever resolution may be adopted by the governments
of the triple alliance, to whom I will to-day forward a copy of your
excellency’s note and of this my reply.
God preserve your excellency.
His Excellency Marshal Francisco S.
Lopez,
President of the Republic of
Paraguay.
