Mr. Sill to Mr. Gresham.
Seoul, August 3, 1894. (Received September 13.)
Sir: Referring to the naval engagement between Japan and China mentioned in my dispatch of July 26, I have now the honor to inform you that the Japanese unofficial report of the same, is as follows:
On July 23 three Japanese men-of-war coming to Chemulpo with an admiral on board on passing Prince Jerome Gulf met two Chinese men-of-war, who passed by without saluting the Japanese admiral, and acted in a suspicious manner.
Japanese men-of-war followed them some distance and firing took place between the two fleets. At the same time the Japanese fleet noticed a Chinese gunboat and a transport steamer with a large number of soldiers. They were stopped and boarded by a ship’s boat and captain told he could not land these troops, but must follow the Japanese fleet.
This the captain agreed to, and he lowered a boat to go to the Japanese man-of-war, but was prevented from doing so by the Chinese soldiers on board.
The transport then began to move, and opened firing with rifles. Thereupon the Japanese ship fired into her and sunk her.
Three Europeans jumped overboard and were rescued by a boat which was lowered by the Japanese ship.
The Chinese gunboat, after exchanging some shots, surrendered.
The two Chinese cruisers above mentioned also exchanged shots for sometime with the Japanese fleet, when smoke and fog enveloped the whole fleet, and the Chinese disappeared, but one of the Chinese of the Canton fleet was found afterwards burning on the beach at the entrance of Prince Jerome Gulf, at which place her crew probably landed.
Two of the Japanese men-of-war received one shot each. One was struck on the boom and the other in a tank, but no men were wounded.
I also inclose a copy of the sworn statement of Major von Hanneken, a German officer in the employ of the Chinese Government, who was on the British transport Kowshing above referred to. His report is of great interest. He is the only one of ten European officers on board who escaped with life and liberty. He was several hours in the water before being picked up by a Korean junk.
[Page 45]His report in the main confirms the Japanese report, but shows further that the transport, which, by the way was the property of the British firm, Jar dine and Matheson, was flying British colors at the time, and that she was at anchor when fired into. He also shows that the men struggling in the water were fired upon by their own people on the sinking transport as well as by the Japanese soldiers.
An extensive land/battle has been fought near Asan, some 40 miles south. As all telegraph communication is interrupted, our reports of this are rather vague.
The Japanese report that the battle took place on the 28th and 29th, between 3,000 Japanese and 4,500 Chinese, of which the Japanese loss was 70 killed and wounded, while the Chinese lost 1,200 and all their artillery and stores. The English give the figures as Japanese loss, 200; Chinese, 800.
The British representative, here has charge of Chinese interests, as all Chinese officials have fled.
I have, etc.,
Mr. von Hanneken’s statement.
We have been favored with the following copy of the affidavit sworn by Mr. von Hanneken before the British consul at Chemulpo:
The steamship Kowshing left on the 23d July with a number of soldiers, all told, 1,220 men and 12 guns, besides rifles, ammunition, etc. She arrived in the morning of the 25th in sight of the islands of the Korean Archipelago outside the Prince Jerome Gulf. At this time she sighted a big man-of-war on her port bow. This man-of-war was moving very fast toward the west, about the direction of Port Arthur. She looked to me like the Chen-Ting-yuan type. She passed us on a great distance and we did not see any more of her. At about 7 o’clock we sighted on our starboard bow a vessel under sail bound in the direction of Chemulpo, so that she would have had to cross our bow or stern if & large man-of-war coming out from behind the island of Hsütan, and she kept on her course for Loan-Shan. At about 8 o’clock we sighted some ten minutes later we saw first one, then two, altogether three more big ships coming out from behind the same island. All these vessels were of large iron-clad type, as far as we could make out. At about 9 o’clock we made out on the most forward vessel the Japanese flag, above which was flying a white flag. She moved rapidly toward us, and upon passing us she saluted us by dipping her flag. Our position at that time was this:
[Page 46]
The ship which we had sighted under sail, and which had turned out to be the Tsao-Chiang, had meanwhile lowered sail and turned back in the direction of Wei-hai-Wei. If we had been somewhat uneasy about this large display of the Japanese fleet, we were quite reassured about their peaceful intentions toward us when the passing ship dipped her flag to us, and we thought that they were chasing the Tsao-Chiang. Ships Nos. 4, 5, and 6, which had also turned out to be Japanese men-of-war, had been following their course, and such was our position,
when signals were hoisted on No. 4 Japanese ship and two blank shots told us to stop and drop anchor. We did so. The next signal was, “Stop where you are or take the consequences.” No. 4 Japanese ship then returned to port and approached No. 5, which was, together with No. 6, moving on. All three ships moved on probably to Semaphore to each other, being puzzled what to do after recognizing the British flag on a ship which was evidently a Chinese transport. The No. 4 ship then turned up to us with all her guns run out and pointed at our ship and stopped at a distance of about a quarter of a mile. We saw a boat leave and coming toward us. The commander of the Chinese troops on board told me, and asked me to tell the captain, they would rather go down on the spot than be made prisoners.
They were very excited, and I had difficulty to appease them and to impress on them that it was utterly necessary to keep order on board as long as parleying was going on. I told Captain Galsworthy what the intentions of the commander were. The Japanese boat arrived and several officers came on board. The men in the boat were armed with rifles and sabers. The Japanese officers repaired to the captain’s cabin; he had to show his papers, etc., and to prove that he really was in charge of a British vessel. He then was curtly told to follow the Japanese man-of-war. I was not present at their interview. I had told the captain to send for me if need was. I was busy keeping the commander and soldiers at peace. We had arranged (Captain Galsworthy and I) before the Japanese boat came alongside that he should insist on being allowed to return to Taku, the port from which we started, since we had started from there before any declaration of war. It seems that the Japanese parlementaire did not give any time to Captain Galsworthy to insist on anything, when he told him to follow the Japanese man-of-war, and neither did I hear of this order before the Japanese officer had left the ship. When, then, Captain Gals worthy told the result of the parley, which I interpreted to the Chinese commanders, there was a great uproar amongst them and their soldiers. They menaced with swords and rifles captain and crew and all Europeans on board in case the captain dared to get up his anchor. Again I had to do my utmost to appease their [Page 47] turmoil, and then I told the captain to hoist a signal for the parlementaire boat to come back. She came, and this time I myself went to the gangway to speak with the Japanese officers.
We could not risk to let them come on board, because soldiers with rifles and swords were flocking about and surely would have made short business of them, if they had shown any signs of our giving in to their request. I told the Japanese officers who arrived on the gangway ladder with their right hand to the sword hilt: “The captain’s hands are bound; he is not able to obey your order; the soldiers oh board would not allow him to do so. Commanders and soldiers insist to be allowed to return to the port where they started from.” The captain said: “I think that this is a just and fair, request, even if war should be already declared, considering that we started in time of peace.” I made sure that the parlementaire understood me. They left, saying that they would refer the matter to their captain. After the boat had arrived at the Japanese man-of-war we had to wait some time for an answer. At last a signal was hoisted, “Quit the ship as soon as possible.” This could only be meant for the Europeans and crew, but there was no chance, and perhaps no intention, to follow this advice. The Chinese soldiers had taken charge of every davit. Captain Galsworthy then hoisted the signal, “We are not allowed.” The only answer which we got was an answering pennant. Then we saw the Japanese man-of-war moving and coming around, leaving us quite at a miss about her intentions. She came around, and when she was at a distance of about 150 meters, exactly alongside of our port side, she stopped. I saw a torpedo leaving from her torpedo port, and immediately afterwards all six guns opened fire.
They discharged their guns once before the torpedo arrived at its aim. It hit the ship amidships, probably exactly at her coal bunkers. The day became night, and coal, splinters, and waiter were filling the air. I believe we then all jumped and swam. When swimming I saw the ship going down. She went stern first. During this the firing continued, which was bravely answered with rifles by the poor wretches who knew they had no chance in trying to swim. I saw a Japanese boat, heavily armed, with men. I thought they were coming to the rescue, but I was sadly mistaken. They fired into the men on board the sinking ship. I do not know what their purpose was in doing so. The fact is that swimming men were fired at from the Japanese man-of-war and from the sinking ship, the men on board the latter probably having the savage idea that if they had to die their brothers should not live either. The Kowshing went down entirely after about half an hour or less from the time when the torpedo was fired. There would have been plenty of chance for her to try for a better fate by flipping her chain when she had been told to stay where she was or to take the consequences, and again by having recourse to a ruse, showing intentions to carry out the order of the Japanese man-of-war and running, to the island. This had all been suggested at the proper time; but the perfect confidence of the captain and officers in the protection of the ship against any warlike undertakings by the fact of her being a British vessel flying the British flag sealed her fate, and, I am grieved to say, also the fate of the officers, crew, and soldiers, of which, as much as I know till now, only about 170 men saved their lives by swimming. So far, I do not know of any other European who reached the shore.
Sworn to before me the 28th day of July, 1894.
Her Britannic Majesty Consul, Chemulpo.