Mr. Denby, chargé, to Mr. Gresham.
Pelting, September 22, 1894. (Received October 31.)
Sir: I have the honor to state that the vague news which reached Peking some days ago of a battle at Ping-yang, in Korea, on the 15th instant, has now been confirmed.
It is reported that 16,000 out of 20,000 Chinese troops engaged were killed or captured and the remainder dispersed. The strength of the Japanese forces engaged is unknown, but they are supposed to have numbered about 40,000. The Viceroy Li is said to take a most despondent view of the outlook.
Some details of the naval engagement reported in my telegram of the 19th instant are also at hand. The events preceding this engagement were about as follows: On the 13th instant the Chinese fleet, 12 ships in number, left Wei-hai Wei for Port Arthur, and on the 15th conveyed from there some 4,000 soldiers to the Korean coast in the vicinity of the Yalu River. The troops are stated to have been safely landed when at about noon on the 17th instant the Japanese fleet approached and engaged the Chinese squadron. The battle lasted until 5 p.m., when for some unexplained reason the Japanese withdrew and the Chinese sailed for Port Arthur. Every ship of the Chinese squadron is reported badly damaged, so much so that the protection of the Gulf of Pechili is supposed to be no longer possible.
Mr. von Hanneken, a German military officer attached to the staff of the Chinese Admiral Ting, reports that in evolution, tactics, and discipline the Japanese showed themselves superior, but that the bravery of the Chinese was unquestionable. Mr. von Hanneken was wounded, as was also Admiral Ting, and several foreigners, among whom one American, were killed.
The losses of the Japanese are known to have included three ships sunk, but no detailed information is at hand. The Chinese lost, by sinking, the Chao Yang, 1,350 tons, built at Newcastle in 1881, and the two Armstrong steel cruisers of 2,300 tons, Chih Yuen and Ching Yuen. The Yang Wei, sister ship to the Chao Yang, is ashore and partly burned. The Chi Yuen, at first supposed to be sunk, has arrived safely at Port Arthur. She made the fifth of the five reported lost in my telegram.
No newspaper reports of these battles are as yet at hand.
I have, etc.,