embroil the Yedo government with the treaty powers.

Accordingly on the 25th of June, 1863 the _Pembroke_, a small American
merchant steamer on her way from Yokohama to Nagasaki was fired upon by
two men-of-war belonging to the daimyo of Choshu. She was not hit or hurt
and escaped through the Bungo channel without injury. Shortly afterwards,
on the 8th of July, the French gunboat _Kienchang_ while at anchor in the
straits, was also fired upon and severely injured. And lastly the Dutch
ship-of-war _Medusa_, in spite of a warning from the _Kienchang_,
undertook to pass the straits and was fired upon by the ships and
batteries of the daimyo of Choshu, to which she responded with decisive
effect.

News of these hostile acts was brought immediately to Yokohama. The U. S.
Steamship _Wyoming_ was lying there, and was at once despatched to avenge
the insult to the American flag. She arrived at Shimonoseki on July 16th,
and in a conflict with ships and batteries sunk a brig and exploded the
boiler of a steamer. On the 20th inst. the French frigate _Semiramis_ and
the gunboat _Tancrede_ under the command of Admiral Juares arrived to
exact vengeance for the attack on the _Kienchang_. One of the batteries
was silenced, and a force of two hundred and fifty men were landed who
destroyed what remained.

These acts of signal vengeance were followed by negotiations for damages.
The shogun's government disavowed the actions of their rebellious
subordinate; but this did not free them from responsibility for the
injuries which he had inflicted. The American minister secured the payment
of twelve thousand dollars for alleged losses by the _Pembroke_, although
as we have seen the vessel got off without any damage. Negotiations in
regard to freeing the Inland sea from obstructions dragged along for
almost a year. The _bakufu_ promised to take measures to reduce to a
peaceful attitude the daimyo of Choshu whose territories bordered on the
narrow straits of Shimonoseki. But the growing political disturbances of
the nation and the impoverishment of the shogun's treasury made it
impossible to carry out its pacific designs.

Finally an expedition was organized by the treaty powers to visit
Shimonoseki, in order to destroy whatever might be in existence there. It
consisted of nine British(292) ships-of-war, four Dutch, three French, and
one steamer, chartered for the occasion to represent the United
States.(293) It sailed from Yokohama on the 2