by a great distance from my main force,
and considering that sunset was approaching, I discontinued the action, and
recalled my main squadron by signal. As the enemy's vessels proceeded on a
southerly course, I assumed that they were making for Wei-hai-wei; and
having reassembled the fleet, I proceeded upon what I supposed to be a
parallel course to that of the enemy, with the intention of renewing the
engagement in the morning, for I judged that a night action might be
disadvantageous, owing to the possibility of the ships becoming separated
in the darkness, and to the fact that the enemy had torpedo boats in
company. However, I lost sight of the Chinese, and at daylight there were
no signs of the enemy."

There really were no ships of any importance available to join the Chinese
ironclads, so one is puzzled to imagine what Ito saw. It was only when the
firing died away that Admiral Ting sent orders to the "Kwang-ping," the
transports, gunboats, and torpedo craft to come out. Only the "Kwang-ping"
and the torpedo boats obeyed. As the sun went down he formed line ahead,
and steered for Port Arthur. First came the two ironclads; then the
"Lai-yuen," with her upper works still on fire in places; then the
"Ching-yuen," "Ping-yuen," "Kwang-ping," and the torpedo boats. Far astern
the abandoned "Chao-yung" blazed like a bonfire in the twilight. Ting
honestly believed he had beaten off the Japanese fleet, and on his arrival
at Port Arthur reported a victory. But though Japanese opinion was not
quite satisfied, Ito had so damaged the Chinese fleet that henceforth he
held command of the sea. He had won his success with comparatively small
loss. Of all the units of his fleet his flagship, the "Matsushima," had
suffered most. She had two officers killed and three wounded, and 33 men
killed and 71 wounded, a total of 109, and about a third of the losses in
the entire fleet. The "Hiyei" came next in the casualty list, with 56
killed and wounded. The losses of the other ships were trifling. The
"Ikitsushima" had 31 killed and wounded; the "Akagi," 28; the
"Akitsushima," 15; the "Fuso," 14; and the "Yoshino" and "Saikio," each 11.
The "Takachico" had an officer and two men wounded; the "Naniwa Kan"
(Captain Togo's ship) one man wounded. The "Chiyoda," which lay next to the
"Matsushima," in the main squadron, had not one single casualty. The
official return of losses gave these totals:--

Killed. Wounded. Totals