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The Battle of Shimonoseki Straits (Japanese:下関海戦, ''Shimonoseki Kaisen'') is a little-known naval engagement fought on July 16, 1863, by a warship of the United States Navy, the USS ''Wyoming'', against the powerful feudal Japanese daimyo Lord Mori Takachika of the Chōshū clan based in Shimonoseki. The USS ''Wyoming'' under Captain David McDougal, sailed into the strait and single-handedly engaged the US-built but poorly manned Japanese fleet. Engaged for almost two hours before withdrawing, McDougal sank two enemy vessels and severely damaged the other one, and inflicted some forty Japanese casualties. The ''Wyoming'' suffered considerable damage with four crew dead and seven wounded. The battle was a prelude to the larger-scale 1863 and 1864 Shimonoseki Campaign by allied foreign powers. It took place among the troubled events of the Late Tokugawa shogunate from 1854 to 1868, associated with the opening of Japan to the European and American powers. ==Background== In 1863, the Japanese Emperor Kōmei, breaking with centuries of imperial tradition and dissatisfied with Japan's opening to the United States and Europe, began to take an active role in matters of state and issued on March 11 and April 11, 1863, an "Order to expel barbarians" (攘夷実行の勅命). The Shimonoseki-based Chōshū clan, under Lord Mori, followed the order and began to take action to expel all foreigners by the date fixed as a deadline, May 10 on a lunar calendar. Openly defying the shogunate, Mori ordered his forces to fire without warning on all foreign ships traversing Shimonoseki Strait. The Chōshū clan was equipped with mostly antiquated cannon firing round shot, but also some modern armament, such as five 8-inch Dahlgren guns which had been presented to Japan by the United States and three steam warships of American construction: the barque ''Daniel Webster'' of six guns, the brig ''Kosei'' of ten guns (originally the ''Lanrick''), and the steamer ''Koshin'' of four guns (originally the ''Lancefield''). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Shimonoseki Straits」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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