James R. Wasson
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James Robert Wasson (1847–1923) was a
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
officer hired by the
Meiji government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji o ...
of the
Empire of Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitu ...
as a foreign advisor and later as officer in the fledgling
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
. He is noted as the first non-Japanese to be honored with the Order of the Rising Sun.


Biography

Wasson was born in Ohio on January 11, 1847, and moved to
Hartford, Iowa Hartford is a city in Warren County, Iowa, United States. The population was 733 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Hartford was laid out in 1849 by John D. H ...
, in 1854. In 1864, during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, he joined the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...
by enlisting in the 34th Iowa Infantry Regiment, serving until being mustered out with the unit in August 1865. Two years later he became a cadet at the
United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point. One of his classmates he befriended was Frederick D. Grant, son of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
U.S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, forming connections to both. Wasson graduated in 1871, ranking first in his class. With President Grant's influence Wasson went to Japan as a secretary of the American diplomatic legation. In the next year he, briefly returning to the United States, resigned his commission. Back in Japan he initially was a teacher and surveyor for a school of the
Hokkaido Colonization Office is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...
, during which time he introduced and taught methods of triangulation to survey large areas. During the
Taiwan Expedition of 1874 The Japanese punitive expedition to Taiwan in 1874, referred to in Japan as the and in Taiwan and Mainland China as the Mudan incident (), was a punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in retaliation for the murder of 54 Ryukyuan sailo ...
Wasson, who just had been commissioned as a
colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...
of engineers in the
Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
, accompanied General
Saigō Tsugumichi Saigō may refer to: Places * Saigō, Shimane * Saigō, Miyazaki People * Saigō-no-Tsubone (Lady Saigō) (1552–1589), consort of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the samurai lord and shōgun * Saigō Takamori * Saigō Tanomo * Teruhiko Saigō was a ...
as his chief of staff. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' reported that, in 1875, he was recognized by Emperor Meiji with "the decoration of the Rising Sun, of the
Imperial Order of Meiji The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...
, a distinction no other foreigner ever enjoyed" as a consequence of his conduct during this military campaign. The order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government. It is the second most prestigious Japanese decoration after the
Order of the Chrysanthemum is Japan's highest order. The Grand Cordon of the Order was established in 1876 by Emperor Meiji of Japan; the Collar of the Order was added on 4 January 1888. Unlike its European counterparts, the order may be conferred posthumously. Apart fr ...
. A number of others have been traditionally known as the very first non-Japanese to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, including French-born Charles LeGendre, a naturalized American citizen since 1854, who was reported to have been awarded the Order of the Rising Sun in 1875. In 1877, Wasson returned to the United States, and with the help of Grant was reappointed to the Army as a major in the Paymaster Department. By returning to the US Army, Wasson's annual earnings dropped to $2,500—a sharp decline from the $6,000 he earned as a colonel in the Japanese Army. He could no longer support the lifestyle which he had come accustomed while working in Japan and amassed gambling debts, eventually embezzling $24,000 by faking a robbery. However, Wasson's scam came to light and he was court-martialled. He was dismissed from the army and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment. He served his time in the
Kansas State Penitentiary Lansing Correctional Facility (LCF) is a state prison operated by the Kansas Department of Corrections. LCF is located in Lansing, Kansas, in Leavenworth County. LCF, along with the Federal Bureau of Prison's United States Penitentiary, Leavenw ...
, eventually being pardoned by President
Chester A. Arthur Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...
. He was thus released in November 1884, after 16 months of incarceration. During the
First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the ...
of 1894–1895, ''The New York Times'' reported a rumor that Wasson has again been called upon by the Japanese government to lead Japanese forces in combat after the Battle of Pyongyang, but the report was only a rumor. Wasson later worked in insurance and various fields of engineering without ever gaining much success. Beside service in the
Iowa National Guard The Iowa National Guard consists of the: *Iowa Army National Guard and the * Iowa Air National Guard The Iowa National Guard headquarters is at Camp Dodge in Johnston, several miles north of the state capital Des Moines. The facility serves do ...
Wasson, now in his 50s, joined the US Army for a third time; enlisting for the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...
. He served in the Philippines with the 46th U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and was promoted several times. Reaching the rank of color sergeant, he again was court-martialled and demoted to private. On the way back to the homeland, he met again his old friend Frederick D. Grant, who now was a brigadier general of volunteers. Wasson mustered out in early 1901. Wasson worked and lived in various places and businesses, from mining in Mexico to engineering along the east coast. In 1917 the 70-year-old offered his services for
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
but was rejected. He spent his last years in the Iowa Veterans Home in
Marshalltown, Iowa Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...
, dying on February 17, 1923. Wasson was buried back at Hartford, Iowa.Cunningham, p. 18


Notes


References


Gordon, Leonard. (1965). "Japan's Abortive Colonial Venture in Taiwan, 1874"
''The Journal of Modern History'', Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 171–185. * Yen, Sophia Su-fei. (1965). ''Taiwan in China's Foreign Policy, 1836–1974.'' Hamden, Connecticut: Shoestring Press
Ph.D. dissertation, Yale, 1962.
*


External links


Gordon, Leonard. (1965). "Japan's Abortive Colonial Venture in Taiwan, 1874"
''The Journal of Modern History'', Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 171–185 * Japanese government official web site



{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasson, J.R. United States Army officers Foreign advisors to the government in Meiji-period Japan American expatriates in Japan 1847 births 1923 deaths People from Sedalia, Missouri Imperial Japanese Army officers Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun United States Military Academy alumni American military personnel of the Spanish–American War American military personnel of the Philippine–American War Union Army soldiers United States Army paymasters