CO129-176 - Public Offices & Others - 1876 — Page 237

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I mentioned previously that the borders of Tonquin have for a long time been in a very disturbed state, being in possession of two clans of Chinese, distinguished as the Black and Yellow Flags. Now, while Garnier was over-running Tonquin, the Hwang Ki, or Yellow Flags, defeated the Hei Ki, or Black Flags, and obliged part of them to escape to Laoki, and part to descend the Song Koi and take refuge in Tonquin, and these fugitive Black Flags were enlisted by Hoang Ki-vien to fight the French.

On the 19th of December, the day after the arrival of Garnier at Nam-dinh, 300 or 400 of these Black Flags had joined the Annamites, but there was a rumour in Hanoi they numbered no less than 900, with 2,000 scaling ladders.

Garnier, having decided upon action, immediately arranged for an attack upon Hoang Ki-vien. Dupuis, with his steamer, the "Manghao," was to go up the river to prevent the descent of any troops. The "Espingole," commanded by Balny, was to go a little below Soutay to fire upon the Annamites if they retreated to that fortress, whilst Garnier himself was to attack the Black Flags in front, but Balny being ill the attack was deferred to Sunday, the 21st December, but the day before- the 20th-Tuduc's two Ambassadors arrived. They were received in the citadel with honours, had full powers, and were willing to grant all that was asked, and a Treaty would soon be signed, and war was over. But Garnier was only being lulled into security, for it was reported that the Ambassadors had remained several days in the neighbourhood of Hanoi, and had several interviews with Hoang Ki-vien.

The citadel of Hanoi is surrounded by a narrow path about 600 or 700 feet from the walls known as the city enceinte. Into this path, almost opposite the West Gate, runs a small road which leads to Phu Hoai, and crosses a thicket at a distance of about 1,800 yards from its beginning. About three miles further another road traverses the Phu Hoai road, also an offshoot of the enceinte, on this road there is a grove of bamboos enclosing some cottages, and this was the spot attacked by Garnier himself, and where he was killed.

On Sunday, the 21st December, 1873, after having divine service at 8 o'clock, the officers were talking of the cessation of the war and the early settlement of affairs, and Garnier had gone to see the Ambassadors, when at 10 o'clock the interpreters came in great haste to announce that Hoang Ki-vien's troops (Annamites and Black Flags) were attacking the citadel. When Garnier was informed of the attack, M. Perrin went with two men to the western bastions, whence he saw a large body of Annamites and Chinese who, under shelter of houses and bamboo groves, were firing at the gate from a distance of 600 feet; Garnier, who thinking the attack was from several sides, had ordered M. Bain to go with some men to the north, arrived some time after with a dozen men at the same spot and sent M. Perrin for a gun.

Ten minutes later the gun was placed on the south-western gate, and M. Perrin in charge of it received orders to fire upon the enemy, while Garnier himself went to prepare a sortie.

The Commander of the "Espingole," M. Balny, who, at the time of the alarm, was with his brother officers in the citadel, had rushed to his vessel to obtain reinforcements, and soon after he was seen with his small party of twelve men following the southern wall and passing the ditch of the fort.

Before the well-directed fire from the south-western gate, the Annamites had gradually fallen back to the high path or enceinte, and these dividing themselves into two lines, some continued to fire in retreating on the Phu Hoai road; while others turning to the right took the city road.

Balny began at once to pursue the enemy, while the shells of the fort passing over his troops were scattering the Annamites with great havoc. During the same time Garnier had organized his party and sallied out from the south-eastern gate with eighteen men and a gun. Balny pursued the enemy to a small grove on the Phu Hoai road, some 2,500 feet from the citadel, and was there lost sight of from a depression of the road. The fire of the south-western gun was then directed to the first wood, situated on the road which leads from the city path to the Phu Hoai road, describing a sort of semi-circle.

Towards that spot Garnier was proceeding, he was marching at the head of his men in a careless and excited manner. Before reaching the city path he left behind him the gun with two men and the master-at-arms of the "Decrès," a great mistake, since the gun was rendered useless while Garnier's men were in front of it. The gun of the south-western gate was firing all the time on the circular road, and had Garnier used his own gun the place would have been entirely cleared of the enemy, but his march onward again prevented the citadel gun from continuing to fire. The men also were permitted to stray among the bushes and behind the houses in search of the Annamites, and, as the event proved, this mistake was fatal to the Commander himself. Garnier could be seen leading the skirmish with his men armed with bayonets. When Garnier neared the wood, he divided his troop into two bands, one headed by himself and the other under the command of a Sergeant of Marines; each column was to follow one side of the wood and both were to meet again at the end of it.

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The Sergeant of Marines kept his men closely together; they were walking slowly and carefully, and when they arrived at the limit of the wood only one had been wounded, but Garnier was not there. The Sergeant then came back by the way his Chief was to have followed, and at a short distance he found two headless bodies, one of them being his Commander. It appears that Garnier's foot having caught in a hole, he fell to the ground, and, before his men could join him, was surrounded by Chinese from behind the trees and speared, and his head severed from his body and taken as a trophy of victory. Sergeant Dagome, shot near Garnier, was mutilated in the same manner, and had one hand cut off. M. Balny with his party were still ahead, running after the Annamites on the Phu Hoai road, as far as a temple built at the junction of that path and the circular road, about three miles from the citadel. Here he met some thirty or forty Chinese who, far from retreating, came boldly on. Balny fired the six shots of his revolver and drew his sword, but was seen to fall backwards, while a shot killed his quarter-master at his side, named Lorre. The rest of the party took refuge behind the temple, and the Chinese having retired, Dr. Chedan led his companions, two of them wounded, back to the citadel, picking up on the way the body of Bonifay, also headless.

By 2 o'clock every one had returned to the fort, with the loss of Garnier, Balny, Dagome, Lorre, and Bonifay. Six others had been wounded, including the head gunner of the south-western battery.

It would make this despatch too long to go into details of the circumstances following this event, so I will merely state that Garnier, Dagome, and Bonifay, were buried with military honours behind the Hall of Ceremonies, on the 23rd of December, but it was not until the 4th of January, 1874, that the bodies of Bonifay and Lorre were sent by the Annamites; on the 6th of that month the five heads, after being carried in triumph through all the cities of Tonquin, were restored.

After the capture of Hanoi Garnier sent the "Decrès" to Saigon with the prisoners, and asked for reinforcements. Admiral Dupré, embarrassed at the news, despatched, on the 7th December, M. Philastre, Senior Inspecteur des Affaires Indigènes, with one of the two Annamite Ambassadors, then residing at Saigon, to Hué to apologize for the capture of the citadel, and to obtain a Treaty of Commerce. At the same time the "Decrès" was receiving the reinforcements asked for by Garnier, and the news of her arrival in the Cua-cam reached Hanoi on the evening of the day of Garnier's death, the men being brought on to the citadel by the "Scorpion."

It would occupy too much space to follow the events which led up to the surrender of the citadel of Hanoi, and the towns held by the handful of French after being captured by Garnier. M. Philastre on his arrival reversed all that Garnier had done, surrendered to the Annamites all the occupied places, and concluded a Convention, a copy of which I annex. Finally, a Treaty was concluded at Saigon, on the 15th March, 1874, between the President of the French Republic and the King of Annam, supplemented afterwards by a Commercial Treaty, dated 31st August, 1874, and with these conclude an episode which may be termed a romance.

I have borrowed largely from M. Henri Cordier's pamphlet called "A Narrative of Recent Events in Tonquin," for when at Hanoi I found it confirmed in every particular, and I doubt if I could have given so graphic a sketch of M. Garnier and Mr. Dupuis proceedings as I found in that pamphlet. I had described to me on the spot the citadel and the points of attack, and I stood on the small plot of ground at the rear of the Hall of Ceremonies where Garnier and his four comrades were buried, and I lived, during my stay, in the Examination Hall, which he first occupied. That he was a man of great dash, courage and ability, is evident; whether, however, he was justified in the course he took or acted upon his own responsibility, it is impossible to say; the result, however, I venture to think, has not been either politically or commercially a success to the French.

Of M. Dupuis little remains to be said. The Saigon Government seized his vessels and he was ruined. His people, 136 in number, were supported for a few months by the Saigon Government, at a cost of 600 dollars a-month, and then dispersed. His debts amounted to a large sum, some say 100,000 dollars, which he had proposed to liquidate by his trade up the Songkoi to Yunnan. I heard, however, when at Haiphong,

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