More on French war dead - Oct 8 1884

[Above: Insignia on the beret of a fusilier marin. In the morning of Oct 8, 1884, the French fusiliers marins landed at the beaches in northwest Tamsui to mount an attack and were beaten back severely by the defending Hunan Braves.]

A few notes taken from two Sino-French war contemporary sources are posted below. The two authors, Alexander Frater and John Dodd were both in Tamsui at the time of French invasion. Frater in particular had dealt directly over the French war dead issue with Gen Sun Kai-Hua, commander of Qing Army in Tamsui, and Liu Min-Chuan, the Imperial Commissioner then stationed in Manga (now Wanhua). One of John Dodd's household staff was also accused of spying for the French and had implicated the "Three-Legged" Dodd [who walked with a cane]. The staff member was later executed for treason; although Dodd emerged from the bad situation unscathed and who eventually went back home to Scotland to live out the rest of his life.

Source 1:

Alexander Frater, British Consul, in Volume 3: 1881-1885, Taiwan : political and economic reports, 1861-1960 (10 v.) Editor: Robert L Jarman, Publisher: Cambridge Archive Editions, 1997.

10/9/1884: …The above narrative has to be accepted with the reservation that we have no account from the French side. 14 Frenchmen’s heads were brought into the town [Tamsui] in the afternoon and it is said that four more were carried along yesterday morning. The Chinese make their own loss out to be 200 killed and wounded. The Missionary Hospital [the Mackay Clinic] has been crowded with injured soldiers, and it is noticeable that most of them have been wounded in two or three places. All day yesterday, the troops were engaged in burying their dead. Three of General Suns [Sun Kai-Hua] officers were killed.

P 458 Oct 13/ 1884: … It proceeds to say that the portion referring to the cutting off of heads applies only to cases of actual fighting; that the production of the head of an enemy as a proof of a deed of bravery was sanctioned by the law of the country; that the Imperial Commissioner [Liu Ming-Chuan] was just the man to follow the guidance of the law; and that General Sun and the TaoTai had issued similar notices. After stating that the heads after they had been produced for inspection were buried at once – about which I may remark that it is known that some of them were sent up to Bangka, probably to be shown to the Imperial Commissioner, who I find is still there – Li goes on to say that care was taken…

P 463: A friend of Li, the International Officer, states that the latter two days ago [Oct 11] buried thirteen bodies of Frenchmen at a cost of $4 each.

Source 2:

John Dodd: Journal of a Blockaded Resident in Northern Formosa, The Daily Press, Hong Kong,1888.

P 51 10/9/1884: 14 French heads, 6 in the market place [near MaZu Temple] and 8 at the camp [near the Hobe Gun Fort] were exhibited. “Fourteen left their bodies on shore…”

P 55 10/13/1884: It is said the Chinese buried the dead bodies of the Frenchmen after the engagement on 8th instant by order of General Soon [Gen Sun Kai-Hua].

P 112 2/24/1885: It is reported that the Chinese have found the head of the French officer who fell on the Downs in the engagement of the 8th October last [Lt Fontaine]. The head was buried at Banca; the body on the Downs, it is supposed.

龍年新年好

恭喜發財, 紅包拿來

[A day of children raking in red-envelop money]

[And the New England Patriots won! Next stop: Super Bowl]

Tamsui Peace Park (TPP) - update 2

[Praying Hands at TPP - for details of the inscription, see below]

[Contributed by Mr Sam Wu - click to enlarge]

Ft San Domingo - Part 3

This is an early letter from the British Far Eastern Department, dated Jan 18, 1980, detailing the history and the possible transaction for Ft San Domingo and the Consulate building.

Intriguingly, the lost documents, possibly records of the Foreigners' Cemetery in Tamsui, seem to have been found - despite the earlier denial, the AIT in fact had them all along. And it was up to the Political Officer in Hongkong to decide whether they were to be shipped to HK or destroyed. This letter, dated May 25, 1983, marks the end of the Ft San Domingo paper trail. Let's hope the PO in HK had the presence of mind and saved a bit of the history for all to see.


Prophetically, both Ft San Domingo and the Consulate building are now a tourist's attraction.

Ft San Domingo - Part 2

[Above: the British Consulate building in Tamsui/Danshui]

The handover of Ft San Domingo and the British Consulate building to Taiwan authorities occurred on June 30, 1980. In this letter sent to its Hongkong office [cc'd to PSA - Property Services Agency] on Nov 10, 1980, the FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth Office) was concerned about a few loose ends: (1) one set of keys still in the possession of the AIT (AIT had acted as the agent for British affairs since 1972); (2) the compensation for the remaining consulate staff, i.e., two watchmen and one caretaker; and most importantly, (3) the whereabouts of records of the Foreigners' Cemetery in Tamsui as well as some old Victorian files. The AIT, however, indicated that they had only kept admin records relative to the staff payment.

For those of us who have been looking for Lt Fontaine's head, these records would have provided crucial information. This paper trail appears to have run cold at this point; although a 1983 correspondence seems to suggest otherwise [to be posted in Part 3].

To enlarge the above: (1) in Firefox, click the images to open another window, right click to open menu and select "View image", click on image again to magnify; alternatively, click outside the left/right margin of the images and click again to enlarge; (2) in Chrome, same as in FF except when right click to open menu, select "Open image in new tab", then click to enlarge; and (3) IE? You'll need to download the images and view them with a graphics program, e.g., Windows Picture and Fax Viewer.

Ft San Domingo - Part 1

Knowledgeable tourists visiting Danshui (now reverted to its historical name "Tamsui") often come to the old 紅毛城 to marvel at the actual presence of the Brits in the relatively recent past. The Fort flew the Union Jack from 1867 onward until 1980 when the lease was terminated - eight years after the UK withdrew its consulate from Taiwan.

The handover of the British Consulate building and the adjacent Ft San Domingo to the Rep of China, however, was not without (bureaucratic) dramas. Here is a correspondence from the UK Far Eastern Department on the subject of Tamsui Consulate, dated April 1 and received on May 15, 1980, apparently by its officers in Hongkong, in which the lingering issue of disposing of the property was discussed:

To enlarge the above documents: (1) in Firefox, click the images to open another window, right click to open menu and select "View image", click on image again to magnify; (2) in Chrome, same as in FF except when right click to open menu, select "Open image in new tab", then click to enlarge; and (3) IE? You are on your own.

Happy New Year

Fresh from Taipei, celebrating the first day of 2012
[contributed by Mr Sam Wu].