No. 181.
The undersigned, envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the North German
Union, has the honor in behalf of his government to transmit to the
honorable Secretary of State of the United States a copy of a dispatch
from the chancellor of the North German Union, in which a formal protest
is made to the Government of the United States against the violation of
international law by the French troops.
The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to the Hon.
Hamilton Fish the assurances of his most distinguished
consideration.
Hon. Hamilton Fish,
Secretary of State of the United States, Washington, D. C.
[Translation.]
Chancellor Thile to Baron Gerolt.
Berlin,
September 27, 1870.
By my telegrams of the 22d and 26th of last month your excellency was
requested to protest to the government to which you are accredited
against the Violation of international law of which the French
troops have been guilty, by attacking the bearers of our flags of
truce. The constantly increasing remoteness of the theatre of war
from Berlin, the slowness of communication, and the necessity under
which the various divisions of troops are of limiting intercourse
with headquarters only to the most urgent cases, these circumstances
have hitherto rendered it impossible for me to procure with
satisfactory completeness official information with regard to the
occurrences in question. I shall, however, delay no longer to
communicate to your excellency what has thus far been proved
concerning these occurrences.
On the morning of the 19th of August Lieutenant Colonel von Verdi,
and Captain von Winterfeld, both staff officers of his Majesty the
King, were sent to Metz as bearers of flags of truce. Letters were
to be delivered there from French physicians in high positions, who
had remained on the field of battle, and arrangements were to be
made to alleviate the sufferings of the wounded French soldiers, by
procuring medical aid from that town.
As soon as aforesaid staff officers had passed our outposts, they
rode, on a walk, a dragoon going before them waving a white flag,
and likewise a trumpeter, who blew signals at short intervals.
A patrol of the enemy’s hussars very soon approached from the left,
and, moving along at some distance from our flag-bearers, kept
watching them. When they (the hussars) were about one hundred paces
distant they fired. The lieutenant colonel (Ton Verdi) at once
ordered a halt and ordered the white flag to be waved and signals to
be sounded. The patrol then galloped away in the direction of
Metz.
The flag-bearers again rode forward, on a walk, and strictly
observing the formalities above indicated. A French infantry post on
a farm near Longeau, on the road to Metz, had doubtless been
informed of their appearance by the aforesaid cavalry patrol. This
post, from which the approach of the Prussians could be seen for a
long time before their arrival, could not have been in any doubt
concerning the peaceable intentions of the slowly-advancing riders.
On this side this post was only seen at a distance of eighty
paces.
Lieutenant Colonel von Verdi at once ordered a halt, and ordered the
proper signal to be sounded and the flag to be waved. The French
answered these peaceable signs by several shots. When at length a
division rushed out and commenced firing, the order was given to
retreat. The Prussian trumpeter, Berlin first squadron, eleventh
dragoon regiment, was wounded and fell from his horse, but finally
escaped in safety from the fire of the enemy. In this manner it was
rendered impossible to fulfill the mission, which was intended to
benefit the wounded French soldiers.
The circumstances of this case are such that the plea of a
misunderstanding cannot be raised, and only the presumption remains
that the French military men in question
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either intentionally violated the usages which
exist among all civilized nations, and which now form a part of
international law, or that they were entirely unacquainted with said
usages. The first case would indicate a strange want of discipline,
the second a singular neglect of duty on the part of the government.
In either case, however, there is good reason to protest to all
governments which recognize international law against so flagrant a
violation of the same.
I reserve to myself the preparation of a detailed account of the
cases mentioned in my telegram of the 26th ultimo, and most
respectfully request your excellency to be pleased to transmit a
copy of this dispatch to his excellency the minister of foreign
affairs.
The chancellor of the North German Union, by his representative.
