Your TR Source
There has been a considerable amount of activity in the past week near the railroad in Manchuria, and the Russians seem to be falling back rapidly. The key to the Russian position is Kirin, and the Japanese appear to be moving on it from the east, southeast, and south. Japan can now move her forces and supplies by sea with complete safety.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-23
The Office of Naval Intelligence reports on the status of armed forces in Manchuria and warships in the Sea of Japan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-16
No change in the positions of the Russian and Japanese armies were noted this week. It is rumored that Japan has occupied a strategic point eighty miles east of Kirin. The defeat of Admiral Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ in the Sea of Japan leaves the Japanese a more direct route through which to deliver troops and supplies to armies in the field.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-09
Russian troops bombarded the Japanese at Sandiapu, but neither took an advantage in the conflict and Japanese forces have been reinforced. Vice Admiral Rojestvensky’s fleet is believed to be near Madagascar, and the Japanese Navy is patrolling the South China Sea.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-03
The Office of Naval Intelligence reports on recent naval activity as well as the current status of the Russo-Japanese War. Things have been relatively quiet with the exception of damage to the Russian battleship Sevastopol, probably due to torpedo attacks. The writer also reports on the location and agenda of the Second Pacific Fleet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-12-23
President Roosevelt believes Sir Cecil Spring Rice’s informant was misguided regarding the events of the Battle of the Yellow Sea and discusses the actions of the Japanese and Russian fleets.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-27
President Roosevelt tells Ambassador to England Reid he believes “the Russian case is absolutely hopeless” after Japanese Admiral Heihachirō Tōgō’s “smashing” of Russian Admiral Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ. Roosevelt has encouraged Russia to negotiate for peace. In other news, the president has struggled with British Ambassador to the United States H. Mortimer Durand and gets along better with his chief secretary. Although Roosevelt believes Durand is an “honorable public servant” and does not want to hurt him, Roosevelt would rather have someone he knew as ambassador like Cecil Spring Rice.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-05
As requested by German Ambassador Hermann Speck von Sternburg, President Roosevelt asks Sir Cecil Spring Rice where he obtained his information regarding alleged international alliances and hostilities.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-26
President Roosevelt asks Ambassador Sternburg to thank Emperor William II for agreeing to send an expert to the Isthmian Canal Commission. Roosevelt was impressed by Russian Admiral Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ’s ability to get part of his fleet near Japanese waters in relatively good condition. He tells Sternburg that his wolf hunt has been very enjoyable.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-04-14
President Roosevelt agrees with John Callan O’Laughlin that Russian Admiral Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ deserves praise for his naval feats. Roosevelt believes that at present nothing can be done to bring about peace.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-04-14
President Roosevelt disagrees with an informant of Cecil Spring Rice’s regarding the comparative strengths of the Russian and Japanese fleets in a naval battle near Port Arthur, and details his reasoning. Roosevelt enjoyed seeing Spring Rice recently. He comments that he is having some troubles in Washington, D.C., and jokingly proposes sending “eminent statesmen at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue” to be bodyguards for imperiled Russian nobility.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-02-27
The French paper Moniteur de la Flotte states that their readers will not come across any new details about tactical movements within the reports provided by the Russian admirals and captains. It is still unclear what happened in the Battle of Tsushima between Russia and Japan. The Russian fleet was badly defeated and destroyed, and details about the battle are obscure.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-28
Secretary of War Taft instructs Governor-General Wright to inform the Russian Navy Admiral, Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rozhestvenskiĭ, that President Roosevelt will not allow battle-damaged ships to be repaired in the port of Manila unless they are interned there until the end of the conflict. It is United States policy to restrict the actions of belligerent parties in neutral ports. Taft further instructs Wright to turn over the orders to Admiral Charles Jackson Train after he delivers the message.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-05
The war in Manchuria has reached a stalemate with Japanese forces slowed by poor roads and the Russians fortifying along the Tumen River. The Japanese have won a great naval victory at the Battle of the Sea of Japan.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-06-02
General Zinoviĭ Petrovich Rennenkampf’s forces retreated northward while attacks were simultaneously made on the Japanese center. Japanese cavalry is currently in Mongolia. General Kageaki Kawamura’s forces are moving on Kirin as an objective. The Russian fleet has been spotted off the Batan Islands, and the British fleet has also increased in eastern waters.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-26
Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takahira wants to convey to President Roosevelt that the Russian battleship Knyaz Suvorov (also spelled Kniaz Souvoroff) went down. Takahira mentions that four additional Russian battleships have gone down. According to Takahira, the Japanese fleet seized a torpedo-boat destroyer, where they found the wounded Russian Vice Admiral Rozhestvensky (also spelled Rojestoeusky). Takahira urges others to keep this information quiet until publication.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-30
The positions of the Manchurian armies are as shown on the April 8 map. Interest has focused on the movements of Admiral Zinoviĭ Rozhestvenskiĭ’s combined divisions of the Pacific fleet.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-19
Ambassador Meyer writes to President Roosevelt regarding two enclosed articles about Germany, Japan, and France. Meyer gives Roosevelt updates on military operations and discusses land ownership rights being granted to the Polish.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-16
Ambassador Sternburg responds to a previous letter from President Roosevelt. He asks if he can forward a copy of the book Mit Blitzlicht und Büchse from the author, who enjoyed Roosevelt’s writings on hunting and big game. Sternburg has heard that the lull in the Far East is continuing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-06
No movements of the Russian and Japanese armies in Manchuria are reported. The approaching typhoon season will influence the movements of both fleets and render the work of scouting in small vessels dangerous.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-05-05