De Caxias to Marquis de Caxias, Commander-in-chief, May 25, 1868

Marquis de Caxias to Lieut. Commander W. A. Kirkland, U. S. N.

S. Sa. Lieut. W. A. Kirkland, Commander of the North American Steamer Wasp:

I have to acknowledge the receipt of the note dated the 24th instant, sent me by Lieutenant Commander W. A. Kirkland, commander of the North American steamer Wasp.

In reply, I communicate to you, to-day, that, as you will perceive by the accompanying copy of a report made to me by the Baron of Passage, commander of the advanced division of the Brazilian squadron, the note directed to Mr. Washburn, American minister at Asuncion, was delivered to-day to a Paraguayan officer appointed to receive it, at the enemy’s fort in front of Timba.

As soon as a reply comes to hand I shall hasten to transmit it to Lieutenant Commander W. A. Kirkland, to whom I reiterate the assurance of my consideration and esteem.

Baron of Passage to Marquis de Caxias.

Illmo. Exmo. Sr.: In execution of your excellency’s order of yesterday, inclosing a letter from Commander Kirkland, commanding the North American gunboat Wasp, to the American minister, residing in Asuncion, which order reached this division at 4.30 p. m., I set out immediately in the monitor Para; but arriving at night at the camp in front of the island Guayacaru, I returned in the monitor, and this morning I went in the Tamandaré to the enemy’s fort fronting Timba, near which I delivered the letter in question to a Paraguayan officer who came in a boat to receive it.

God keep your excellency.

Mr. Washburn to Lieutenant Commander Kirkland.

Sir: Your interesting letter, bearing date of the 23d instant, has been received. In it you advise me that you had asked permission of the Marquis de Caxias to pass through the allied squadron, which request had not been acceded to, but that he had promised that if myself and family would go down the river in a Paraguay steamer as far as Pilar or Tagy, he would provide all the vehicles necessary to transport us to Curupaiti. In answer to this proposition of his excellency the marquis, I have only this to say, that the state of Mrs. Washburn’s health is such that it is quite out of the question for her to think of making the proposed journey by land. Besides this, I consider that the Marquis de Caxias has no right whatever to prevent the passage of the Wasp above the squadron. I had supposed that all questions of that sort were settled by the case of the Shamokin. It is true that the Brazilian government on that occasion said it would protest, but when our government was informed of this, the Secretary of State, Mr. Seward, wrote to our minister at Rio, Mr. Webb, that he “would not even consent to argue the question.” Since the passage of the Shamokin, the French, English, and Italian gunboats have all been allowed to pass above the squadron, and, so far as I know, without any protest or other objection being made. By what authority of law or justice do they deny to the United States rights and immunities that are freely granted to other nations?

The proposition of the marquis, that if we are so disposed we may go by land, is similar to that which was made to me by the Paraguayan government, in the case of the Brazilian minister, Senhor Vianna de Lima, after the taking of the Marquis de Olinda and the suspension of his diplomatic relations. When I interfered in his behalf, I was told he could go by land. But I rejected the proposition as absurd, and my conduct in that matter was highly approved by the Brazilian government and press, while that of Paraguay was universally condemned by both. Does the Marquis de Caxias expect me to accept terms for myself and family that I would not accept for a Brazilian minister? Will you please call his attention to this, if you have the opportunity?

You inform me that the admiral is in Rio, and that he has sent you no orders. Probably he did not anticipate that the allies would renew their discourtesy and unlawful proceedings towards the United States after the lesson they received at the time of my coming to Paraguay. He could not suppose that after the question of right had been established, and the allies had repeatedly conceded it by allowing the war vessels of other nations to pass unquestioned, that the Marquis de Caxias would have the assurance to deny to the Wasp the same right. In my opinion, your legal rights to pass were so clear and well established, that you were under no obligations to ask his permission, but only, as a matter of courtesy, to notify him of your arrival, and that in fulfillment of your instructions you would find it necessary to pass above his squadron. Of course, not knowing what your instructions were from the admiral, I therefore am not competent to give a definite opinion. But if they were similar to those of Captain Crosby when he came up with the Shamokin, you would have been justified in taking that course. And if you had no instructions at all, it would have been the same, as since the passage of the Shamokin the Brazilians have repeatedly recognized the right of neutral gunboats to pass the blockade. Under all the circumstances, therefore, unless you have positive orders to the contrary, my opinion is that on receipt of this you should advise the Marquis de Caxias that, for the reasons I have given, his proposition that we should go by land from Pilar or Tagy to Curupaiti cannot be accepted, and that therefore you will be under the necessity to pass through the squadron. Should he reply that he will not permit it, but will stop you by force, I should nevertheless start, and if he fires across your bows, then I should come to and fall back below the squadron and wait further orders. But do not on any account leave the river, or go below Corrientes, till so ordered. After having vindicated our rights a year and a half ago so effectively, let us not abandon them and have the whole work to do over again. It is a national question, and your position is one of great responsibility; and the government, I am satisfied, will sustain you in a firm and determined course. So far as I may and can do it, I take all responsibility of the course which I have recommended. If, after all, you should fail to pass the blockade, will you please advise the admiral of our situation here: that the family of the United States minister resident in Asuncion are, by the act of the Marquis de Caxias, virtually detained as prisoners in Paraguay. I say the family, for, of course, were I alone, I could go through the Chaco, or by any route through which there is military communication, and my departure would depend on emergencies or on instructions received from the State Department, as it must finally in any case.

You inform me that my correspondence referred to in my letter of the 14th ultimo has been returned to Consul Hollister. That is certainly a very strange proceeding, and looks like a trick so that I should not get it. You might, however, I would suppose, have sent us a few newspapers, or clippings from newspapers, to inform us of what is transpiring in a world from which we have heard nothing for the last seven months. If, however, you do not come up, you will probably write me again very soon. In that case do try and send us some news. Very likely the dispatches returned to Mr. Hollister will have come back by that time, with others additional. Also try and learn something of the provisions, and bring or send all and everything of mine that you can, Our necessities are very great.

Your obedient servant,

Commander Kirkland to the Marquis de Caxias.

Sir: I yesterday received a communication from his excellency Charles A. Washburn, minister resident of the United States at Asuncion, Paraguay, extracts from which I herewith submit for your excellency’s consideration.

His excellency Mr. Washburn writes as follows, viz:

“In answer to the proposition of his excellency the Marquis de Caxias, to furnish all necessary transportation by land from Pilar or Tagy to Curupaiti, I have only to say that the state of Mrs. Washburn’s health is such that it is quite out of the question for her to think of making the proposed journey by land. Besides this, I consider that the Marquis de Caxias has no right whatever to prevent the passage of the Wasp above the squadron. Since the passage of the Shamokin, the French, English, and Italian gunboats have all been allowed to pass above the fleet. By what authority of law or justice do they deny to the United States rights and immunities that are granted to other nations? In the case of the Brazilian minister to Paraguay, Senhor Vianna de Lima, after the taking of the Marquis de Olinda, when I interfered in his behalf, I was told he could go by land, but I rejected the proposition as absurd. Does the Marquis de Caxias expect me to accept terms for myself and family that I would not accept for a Brazilian minister? Since the passage of the Shamokin the Brazilians have repeatedly recognized the rights of neutral gunboats to pass the blockade, and if you should not be allowed to pass through the allied fleet, you will please advise the admiral of our situation here, that the family of the United States minister resident are, by the act of the Marquis de Caxias, virtually detained as prisoners in Paraguay.”

Having thus brought to your excellency’s notice the situation as set forth in Mr. Washburn’s letter, I shall await for twenty-four hours, or longer if necessary, any communication which you may wish to direct to me in reply.

And assuring your excellency of the continuance of my high esteem, I remain your obedient servant,

The Marquis de Caxias to Commander Kirkland,.

I have the honor to submit the following reply to the note of this date, addressed to me by Mr. William A. Kirkland, commanding the American gunboat Wasp.

I have read with due attention the letter of his excellency Mr. Washburn to Lieutenant Commander Kirkland, a copy of which was transmitted in the note to which this is a reply, and it gives me pain to perceive that Mr. Washburn declines to accept the plan which I had the honor to propose to him for conveying from Paraguay his family, his servants, and his effects, with every convenience and perfect security.

Lieutenant Commander Kirkland will oblige me if he will have the goodness to communicate to Mr. Washburn my regret that among the reasons assigned for his rejection of my proposition is the ill health of Mrs. Washburn, for whose recovery I sincerely pray.

With regard to the conclusions drawn by Mr. Washburn from the passage of the United States steamer Shamokin, and of the French, English, and Italian gunboats, it appears to me that they furnish no grounds for the opinion expressed by Mr. Washburn, that it is the intention of the allied powers to deny to the United States that which they have conceded to other neutral nations.

In order that Mr. Washburn may agree with me, it will be sufficient for his excellency to recall the prevailing circumstances at the period to which he refers, of the actual state of the operations of war, and also the point to which these vessels were allowed to ascend, which was Curusir, beyond which they did not pass, and where they were always in sight of Brazilian men-of-war. Moreover, I did not then direct the operations of war.

The generous conduct of Mr. Washburn in behalf of the Brazilian minister, Vianna de Lima, in Paraguay, and his kind interposition, based upon the clearest and most definite provisions of the laws of nations, cannot be adduced by his excellency as a motive by which I am to regulate my conduct at the present juncture, and in the distinguished position which I occupy as commander-in-chief of the allied armies and director of the war. His excellency must remember that the existing circumstances at that time were very different from the present.

The capture of the steamer Marquis de Olinda, and of her passengers and cargo, and the violence attempted against the Brazilian minister in Asuncion, without any previous declaration of war, show the unscrupulousness of the Paraguayan government in violating, in order to injure Brazil, all the laws and principles unanimously accepted by refined and civilized nations.

Mr. Washburn himself must admit, in his own mind, that the act of reciprocity on my part, which, in recalling the past, he appears to expect, would lose this character and assume the proportions of the most flagrant dereliction of the duties imposed upon me by my position.

Happily, the ground of my action in the proposition which I made to his excellency, through Lieutenant Kirkland, is independent of the judgment or will of any individual, and recommends itself to the impartial discrimination of all who examine it.

His excellency Mr. Washburn must be aware that the allied forces on shore and afloat occupy at present, and operate in, all the territory which extends from Paso da Patria to Tebicuari, conflicts actually occuring in all the intermediate space, and showing that the operations of war are in the greatest activity. It is but a few days since some of the iron-clad steamers of the advance division ascended the river, and they ought to be now at Tebicuari, or past it, while at the same time a column of the army marched in the same direction. This proves undeniably all that I have before said, for it is a fact that they are in the territory of the belligerents, and not in that where Mr. Washburn is, who resides in the capital of one of the belligerents.

Were it not for the painful information which Mr. Washburn furnishes us of the unsatisfactory state of his wife’s health, malevolence might attribute to his excellency intentions, which I take pleasure in being the first to deny the possibility of his excellency entertaining.

My desire to fulfill the wish of Mr. Washburn to leave Paraguay with his family is so great and so sincere, and so far am I from concurring in the slightest degree in his excellency’s remaining with his family and his servants in this situation, which his excellency calls that of prisoners in Paraguay, that I am going to offer him the only means which occurs to me which is in my power, and which, with my best judgment, I place at his disposal.

I will give orders that one of the Brazilian vessels of war above Humaita shall go up the river with a flag of truce to receive his excellency, his family, his servants and effects, at the point on the river previously indicated by his excellency, and this steamer on its return shall disembark his excellency at the nearest possible point to Humaita, or pass that fortification with the consent of the government of Paraguay, so that his excellency may be able to move immediately from her to the United States gunboat Wasp.

Lieutenant Kirkland, to whom I renew the assurances of my esteem and consideration, will transmit this answer of mine to his excellency Mr. Washburn, with the well-founded hope on my part that his excellency will accept the arrangement I propose to him.

Commander Kirkland to the Marquis de Caxias.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s note of June 8, in which you say that you still offer to Mr. Washburn the only means that are within your attributes, and which you place at his disposal with the greatest cordiality. The means are, as I understand it, these: That your excellency will send one of the Brazilian war steamers which have passed Humaita, with a flag of truce, to receive his excellency Mr. Washburn, and family, at that point of the Paraguay river which Mr. Washburn shall previously indicate to you, and that this steamer shall land Mr. Washburn either at the nearest point possible to Humaita, or that it may pass that fortification, with the necessary concurrence of the government of Paraguay, and that his excellency Mr. Washburn can then pass on board the United States gunboat Wasp.

Your excellency undoubtedly gives me credit for a knowledge which I do not possess, of that usage of warfare which permits one of the belligerents, by the use of a flag of truce, to pass by the fortifications and into the heart of the enemy’s country without molestation. I know that the Paraguayan government would be guided by a very false sense of courtesy did it permit such an act by a Brazilian vessel of war.

His excellency Mr. Washburn, the United States minister, could not embark in a Brazilian vessel in the enemy’s lines without being fired into, and perhaps attacked in other ways, which event would at once create a difficulty between his own government and that of Paraguay, and I must therefore decline any such proposition as the one which your excellency now wishes me to forward to the representative of the United States.

Your excellency makes an allusion to intentions which you say malevolence might well attribute to the United States minister at Paraguay, but your excellency does not explain those intentions. A conversation, however, sought by one of the members of your staff, leads me to believe that your excellency thinks that the family of President Lopez might seek protection under the American flag, and that to prevent such an occurrence you will not allow the United States steamer Wasp to pass through your fleet. The fact of virtually detaining as prisoners the United States minister and family in Paraguay, in order to prevent the suspected escape of the feminine and infantine portion of President Lopez’s family, is so unreasonable that it savors strongly of extending the dangers and difficulties of war to women and children.

I have already pointed out to your excellency the reasons why I decline your proposition of the 8th instant, and I have only to add that my vessel was sent here to remove the United States minister and his family with the least delay. I am now no nearer the accomplishment of that end than on my arrival, owing to the unsatisfactory and temporizing nature of the correspondence which I have had to carry on. I shall, therefore, unless your excellency grants permission for the Wasp to pass the allied fleet, proceed to-morrow, the 10th instant, at 3 p. m., to lay before my government the actual state of affairs, in order that prompt and active measures may be taken for the removal of his excellency, the American minister, from Paraguay.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

Commander Kirkland to the Marquis, de Caxias.

Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith a communication for his excellency the United States minister to Paraguay, in which I have stated to him your excellency’s proposition of the 8th instant, and also my reasons for declining such proposition.

I also forward to your excellency a box and a package for Mr. Washburn, from the United States, which I have not hitherto sent to him because I expected to receive him on board. As your excellency’s action has thwarted such expectation, I have the honor to request that you will cause to be forwarded to his excellency Mr. Washburn, at Asuncion, the accompanying letter, box, and package.

And assuring your excellency of the continuance of my high esteem, I am, your obedient servant,

Lieutenant Commander Kirkland to Mr. Washburn.

Sir: Your note of June 3 was received on the 7th instant. On the 8th I wrote to the Marquis de Caxias, giving him all your opinion, and calling his attention to the delicate state of Mrs. Washburn’s health. On the 9th I received an answer, in which he says:

“The report of the delicate health of Mr. Washburn’s worthy spouse might arise from malevolent intentions, which I will not venture to attribute to his excellency.

“As Mr. Washburn expresses the desire to quit Paraguay with his family, and complains that he is kept a prisoner there, I freely offer him the only means in my power to escape from his unpleasant situation.

“I will order one of the Brazilian war vessels to pass Humaita with a flag of truce, and go up to receive Mr. Washburn, his servants and baggage and family, at any point he will indicate in Paraguay, and then return with them, passing Humaita, with the consent of the government of Paraguay, and place them on board the United States steamer Wasp.”

To which I replied:

“Your excellency undoubtedly gives me credit for a knowledge which I do not possess, of that usage of warfare which permits one of the belligerents, by the use of a flag of truce, to pass by the fortifications and into the heart of the enemy’s country without molestation. I know that the Paraguayan government would be guided by a very false sense of courtesy did it permit such an act by a Brazilian vessel of war. His excellency Mr. Washburn, the United States minister, could not embark in a Brazilian vessel in the enemy’s lines without being fired into, and perhaps attacked in other ways, which event would at once create a difficulty between his own government and that of Paraguay; and I must therefore decline any such proposition as the one which your excellency now wishes me to forward to the representative of the United States.

“Your excellency makes an allusion to intentions, which you say malevolence might well attribute to the United States minister to Paraguay, but your excellency does not explain those intentions. A conversation, however, sought by one of the members of your staff, leads me to believe that your excellency thinks that the family of President Lopez might seek protection under the American flag, and that to prevent such an occurrence you will not allow the United States steamer Wasp to pass through your fleet. The fact of virtually detaining as prisoners the American minister and his family in Paraguay, in order to prevent the suspected escape of the feminine and infantine portions of President Lopez’s, family, is so unreasonable that it savors strongly of extending the dangers and difficulties of war to women and children.”

The Marquis de Caxias wishes to temporize and gain time. Your suggestions about what I am to do cannot of course be attended to; I shall therefore leave this at 3 p. m. to-day, provided nothing happens to prevent; and if Caxias does not say “yes” to the passing up, I shall proceed as rapidly as possible to Buenos Ayres, where I hope to catch a steamer bound to Rio. It will give more force to the affair than if I remain quietly here, and the admiral can at once act up to the emergencies of the case.

I imagine Caxias cannot take Humaita, and therefore wishes to be removed from command for some other cause; and if our government takes up the matter as it should, the allies will have to “eat dirt” very soon.

I know nothing, of your correspondence, or of your provisions. I send to Caxias to forward to you a box of papers and books, and one package from Washington.

I should recommend adherence to your plan not to embark in a Brazilian vessel within Paraguayan lines, as I think this vessel will be sent back immediately, with orders to pass the allied fleet; and besides, they have no right to hoist a white flag inside of Lopez’s lines for the purpose of traversing almost the half of his territory.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,