The Prince de la Tour D’auvergne to the minister of France at Washington, August 31, 1870

The minister of foreign affairs to the minister of France at Washington.

Sir: The Prussian government has pretended, in documents of which we have had knowledge, that our soldiers have disregarded the rules of international law, by voluntarily firing on ambulances and hearers of flags of truce. Before even calling the attention of the minister of war to these allegations, I protested in the name of the traditions of our army, and as soon as my colleague was informed of them, he warmly approved of the language which I had used. Mistakes may occur in the heat of battle; we, more just than our adversary, admit that neither of the two armies is sure of not committing such errors. But Prussia will persuade no one that our soldiers have deliberately set at naught the sacred privilege of ambulances and the freedom of flags of truce, and we have no need to defend ourselves against such accusations.

It seems, moreover, that the Prussian government has shown so much eagerness to avail itself of facts, regrettable indeed, though hitherto not proved, and at all events isolated, in order to have some pretext to justify itself for much graver acts with which we have to charge it, and for which the corps commanders are much more directly responsible.

Every one knows the incident of the ambulance called “de la Presse,” which was seized with the persons and supplies which it contained, and which was obliged to pass through a part of Germany, and through Luxemburg and Belgium, in order to reënter France. The same thing is stated to have occurred again in the neighborhood of Metz.

Near Strasburg the Baron de Bussière was taken prisoner in the midst of the ambulances which he had organized, and to which he was giving his attention. It is equally notorious that a French surgeon was killed on the field of battle by a Prussian soldier, while in the act of attending to the injuries of a wounded man.

It further appears from the testimony given by one of our physicians, in the presence of witnesses whose declaration has been received at the vice-consulate of France, at Basle, that explosive bullets have been used against our troops, and have been found in the bodies of some of our wounded. These are so many violations, not only of the usages of all armies in modern times, but also of the formal stipulations of diplomatic conventions to which Prussia was a contracting party.

Finally, the public journals have announced that the peasants near Strasburg have been required to dig the trenches opened by the Prussians before the place. We at first refused to give credit to these rumors. We could not regard as possible an act of violence no less repugnant to the laws of war than to those of humanity. The certain proofs which have since reached us leave no longer any doubt concerning the entire accuracy of these statements. The Prussian authorities have not hesitated to adopt a measure which obliges the defenders of Strasburg to fire on Frenchmen.

If Prussia should continue these odious proceedings she would stamp her military operations with a character for atrocity which would place her under the ban of civilized nations. We protest in the name of universal conscience against such abuses of power, and in requesting you to call to them the particular attention of the Government to which you are accredited, I feel confident that public opinion will visit them with just condemnation.

Receive, &c.