Mr. Van Valkenburgh to Mr. Seward.
Sir: A report reached me from the seat of war which is so characteristic of the nature of the strife and of the combatants that I hasten to communicate it. I sincerely hope it will prove exaggerated, though the person from whom I received it is well educated, generally well informed, and has no leaning towards either party. It appears, then, that a grand concerted movement was undertaken on the part of the southern and western Daimios’ forces under the Mikado’s flag, to crush the Prince of Aidzu and his people.
The Prince of Aidzu, related to the Tokugawa family by intermarriage and adoption, has held from time immemorial the hereditary office of military commandant of Kioto under all the Tycoons of Japan. Aidzu soldiers guarded the Mikado’s palace until last spring, when, by Satsuma’s bold coup de main, they found themselves ousted, and were defeated by that Daimio’s riflemen in the battle of Yedo or Furhimi.
The territory of Aidzu, at a distance of about two hundred miles north from Yedo, is on high table-land at an elevation of probably four thousand feet, and surrounded on all sides by mountains. There are nine roads leading to it, and these are narrow, steep, and rough. The people are hardy mountaineers and used to those roads; to others these highlands are said to be almost inaccessible during the greater part of the year.
The southerners advanced in three bodies, one from the northwest, the second from the west, and the third or last corps from the south; the latter arrived first, slowly and cautiously approached the town and castle of Wakamatsu, and halted. This castle, the Prince of Aidzu’s residence, is situated near a lake, and is reputed capable of being long and easily defended. Aidzu was no doubt apprised of the approach of his enemies, as all the people who dwell along the road had vacated their houses and removed towards their prince’s stronghold, and on the roads by which the two other bodies of troops entered the territory the houses were also found deserted. As soon as the southerners came in sight, eighteen officers, in dresses of ceremony and preceded by a white flag, left the castle and proceeded to their enemy’s camp. They introduced themselves as superior officers of Aidzu, gave their names and rank, and stated that as they were the principal instigators of the action of their prince, than whom [Page 843] to serve well they had no higher ambition, they had come to lay down their lives in his behalf; and in accordance with established usage one of their number would lead the Kangung (enemy’s forces) into the castle and perform harakiri afterwards; the other seventeen officers begged to be permitted to do so at once. These seventeen men then seated themselves in line, and with perfect military precision went through their self-imposed doom, cutting deep, as that part of the ceremony which consists of a friend standing behind to cut off the head was on this occasion dispensed with. They soon expired, and it was then determined to dispatch a body of five hundred picked men in company of the only remaining Aidzu officer, to take possession of that prince’s castle. It appears that this body had scarcely left on that mission, when the skirmishers of the two army corps which had entered by the northwestern and western roads were perceived approaching, and therefore that a junction had successfully been effected between the different parts of the southern army. The five hundred picked men were seen entering the castle; the gates were closed, and then those men were all killed outright. This was the first result of Aidzu’s strategy. The southerners continued coming across the mountains, and, while waiting for some signal from those who had entered the castle, the waters of the lake were turned on the fields and roads, and the southerners, suspecting an ambush, began to retreat by the same roads by which they had come. On the way they met those who were still advancing; the retreat became a rout. Aidzu men of all classes, even women, it is said, joined in pursuit. Some of the southerners were killed, some wounded, many drowned, and many taken prisoners. Their total loss, it is estimated, cannot fall short of twenty thousand men. A heavy snow storm overtook them on the way; the snow was soon between five and seven feet deep, and this added considerably to the casualties.
I repeat that I sincerely hope the above account may prove exaggerated; horrible as it is in its details, it illustrates the determined and savage character of the struggle; it is quite in keeping with the mode of warfare as practiced among this people in ancient times, with this exception, if my informant is to be relied on, that many prisoners have been made, and that these prisoners will be treated with humanity and kindness.
I have the honor to be, sir, very respectfully, your most obedient servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.