by Larry Clow with Karen Marzloff

When Commander Mike Gilmore talks about the days leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, you may think, for a moment, that he was actually there. Describing the arrival of the Japanese and Russian dignitaries at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in August 1905, Gilmore, the deputy base commander of the shipyard, talks about how "we did what we generally do. We brought them to Building 86 (the main site of treaty negotiations), gave them a tour of the building to see if the conference area was suitable and, following that, had a lunch to introduce them to the shipyard."

Of course, Gilmore wasn't in Portsmouth during the sweltering summer that marked the end of the Russo-Japanese War, but his easy recollections of the history surrounding the treaty negotiations are a reminder of how vibrant, and important, the event is to Seacoast residents.

"It's important to the Seacoast community, but more so to Americans," he said. "This was important stuff. This was the whole skeletal structure of the 20th century. After hearing it, you've got to sit with your mouth open for a while and say 'How could we not all know this?'"

Gilmore is just one of a legion of academics, artists and amateur history buffs who have joined together for the centennial celebration of the peace treaty. The hospitality of the people of Portsmouth is credited with keeping the Russian and Japanese delegates here in the city when negotiations were at their lowest points, and, like those residents who worked behind the scenes to keep diplomatic channels open, Gilmore and other members of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty 100th Anniversary Committee have been quietly planning this celebration since 2002. They've been collecting stories, tracking down artifacts and working with disparate members of the Seacoast's artistic community to commemorate the 30 days when Portsmouth sat at the center of the world.

"World War Zero"

Chuck Doleac calls the Russo-Japanese War "World War Zero."

The war began in 1904 when the Japanese attacked Port Arthur in China. Japan, newly industrialized and just emerging as a powerful force in Asia, had fought against China from 1894 to 1895 and had established a treaty that called for a high war indemnity (compensations for damages and losses), as well as the island of Formosa and Port Arthur. However, pressure from Russia and Germany caused Japan to give up its claim on Port Arthur, which became a sore spot in the eyes of Japan two years later when Russia leased the port from China. At the same time, both Japan and Russia were trying to expand their influence in Korea and Manchuria. Tensions mounted, and it wasn't long before the two countries were engaged in a vicious war across land and sea. The conflict lasted 18 months, with the Russians suffering major defeats in both naval and ground battles at the hands of the Japanese.

"For all intents and purposes, the Japanese won the war, but they were broke," Gilmore said. "They saw...(the war) as an impediment to their future."

In the summer of 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt was pushing for peace between the two nations and looking for a site for negotiations to take place. The location needed to be easily accessible and on the east coast of the United States, a geographic midpoint between Russia and Japan. The temperature was too high in Washington, D.C., to comfortably accommodate the various diplomats and other guests peace negotiations would draw. Newport, R.I., home to much of the country's affluent and powerful upper class, was also considered but ultimately ruled out because many prominent business and political figures in America were allied with the European powers. Neutrality was important-Russia was closely allied with France and Germany, while Britain and Japan had close ties, which meant that further escalation of the conflict could draw in all of Europe.

By mid-July, Portsmouth was a strong contender for the talks. It was easily accessible by boat, boasted relatively cool temperatures, and had the added benefit of a secure naval shipyard where negotiations could be held in private. Another draw to Portsmouth was the Wentworth by the Sea hotel, which was offered to the delegates free of charge.

The Russian and Japanese envoys arrived on Aug. 7, 1905 and were greeted at the Naval Shipyard by a host of federal, state and military personnel, as well as Seacoast residents. The international press also descended on the city, and for the next 30 days, the world's attention was focused on Portsmouth.

"It was like the Olympics were here, and more so," said Doleac, one of the principal planners of the centennial celebration.

When negotiations were going well, Doleac said the Russian and Japanese ambassadors would work until about 6 p.m., break for dinner at the Wentworth and prepare for the following day's talks. When the diplomats would reach an impasse, the hospitality of Portsmouth kept the talks viable.

"A lot of people went to a lot of trouble to be very cordial, to invite (the diplomats) to events and social gatherings," Doleac said. "Essentially the whole community became galvanized to create this atmosphere. They were, of course, pretty overwhelmed by their opportunity and the fact that they were the center of the world, and they rose to the occasion."

The diplomats were invited to dinner parties, church services and other social events. F.W. Hartford, owner of the Daily Chronicle and Herald (which would later become the Portsmouth Herald), gave all the delegates free memberships to the Portsmouth Athletic Club, where they would play billiards and talk informally. This kept the delegates from forming separate, isolated camps, which, in turn, kept even the tiniest diplomatic channels open when things were rough.

"You know they were trying real hard," Doleac said. "The atmosphere is extremely important, especially when the formal negotiations are not going well. That's what this peace process was like; it was day by day, with the negotiators trying hard to find middle ground."

By August 29, the conditions of the treaty were settled on. During the next few days, the document was translated into both Japanese and Russian and sent to each government for approval. On September 5 at 3:47 p.m., the treaty was officially signed.

"One of the administrative staff from the Japanese embassy hollered down to one of the Navy officers that the treaty was consummated," Gilmore said. The announcement made its way through the Navy Yard. Cannons were fired, signaling the signing of the treaty, followed by a ringing of church bells throughout the Seacoast region.

preparations for the celebration

Chances are you probably didn't hear much about the Russo-Japanese War in any of your high school history classes. The most notable nugget of historical knowledge to come out of the war is that President Theodore Roosevelt became the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict. But the role the city and people of Portsmouth played in the peace process is a side of history not commonly examined, something that Portsmouth attorney Chuck Doleac is looking to change.

"No one has properly, at least locally, for a long time looked at (the treaty's) significance. And when you look at its significance, it really energizes people," he said.

Doleac is president of the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire and one of the members of the centennial committee. Since 2002, the committee has been meeting monthly to coordinate a series of events surrounding the peace treaty.

"The major program is to get all the historical data together...and then to try and get different organizations to decide what they want to do," he said. "It's a basic community organizational device. This committee does not tell people what to do. It supports what you want to do. The synergy is profound."

This kind of collaboration has led to a plethora of activities, from a walking tour of significant peace treaty sites to a concert series and a theatrical recreation of the treaty signing.

cross-cultural connections, circa 2005

The Athenaeum was the starting point for much of the research, since it was the only historical repository in the city at the time and became home to much memorabilia, like the desk blotter upon which the treaty was signed. This summer they'll offer a lecture series and an exhibition of old lithographs from the private collection of Frederic Sharf, primarily Japanese but also Russian views of the war.

The Portsmouth Library offers a different view, which has been attracting pre-event curiosity. Special Collections librarian Nicole Cloutier has indexed a file drawer full of relevant materials, and the library decided to offer a public component as well, a series called "Prelude to an Anniversary."

"I first heard about all the events being planned maybe six or eight months ago," said Sherry Evans, head of adult services at the library. "We picked five topics as a way of introducing the public to the (war and the treaty), to what was happening, as a way to reach (people) who might not be aware of how important the events were." About 30 people have attended each of the two lectures so far, asking so many questions it's hard to turn off the lights at the end of the night. Along the way, the library made some discoveries of its own.

Sherm Pridham, former library director and member of the peace treaty celebration committee and part of the Japan-America Society "found a film in a container and had to blow off the dust, and it was a silent five-minute film that had the Japanese delegation landing in Portsmouth. We had that and didn't know it until he went looking for it," Evans said. The library has made a VHS copy available to the public.

Newspapers of the day, available at the library, were the primary source for "Peace of Portsmouth," a play created by Pontine Theatre.

"We don't write plays, we edit found text from historical sources. We need to have people who were there at the time talking about the events," said Marguerite Mathews, founder and co-artistic director. The newspapers provided that, with stories of f?¬tes and jiu jitsu demonstrations, delegates enjoying the swimming pool at the Wentworth and shopkeepers gossip about the clothing sizes of the remarkably tall Russians and the diminutive Japanese, all of which make their way into the play.

The script will also be part of a curriculum guide for the Green Acres Baha'i School in Eliot, which has been a force for peace since its founding, presenting peace forums in 1905 and this year as well. Mathews, with co-artistic director Greg Gathers, will also do some role-playing at the Portsmouth Historical Society's reenactment of a tea at Carey Creek Farm.

When Matthews and Gathers were looking at newspapers, they came across sheet music of the era published in newspapers in much the same way crossword puzzles are today. They connected with Colin Cabot, who had his own interest in music of the era. Cabot, who jokes that he goes by the nickname of "hammer fingers," came down to Jim Tierney's Electric Cave studio to record a CD of the music, which they're sharing with anyone who's putting on an event.

More music connections are being made by Terrie Harmon, founder of the Portsmouth's Men's Chorus and longtime church music program musician, who coordinated a 15-week series every Sunday at 3 p.m., starting July 10, at various churches throughout the Seacoast. "I'm so very pleased that 12 different churches from southern Maine and the Seacoast of New Hampshire have opened their doors for these concerts to happen," Harmon said. The programs, which include jazz piano, flute, chamber music and a Boston chorus that sings only in Japanese, aren't limited to the era. "Rather, we said to musicians, use as your central theme Russia and Japan generally, and world peace. So the big theme is world peace." The Portsmouth Men's Chorus has volunteered to staff the events, and the music committee will hold a gathering with all the musicians and venues later this month, where hosts will get to know the artists in an informal setting.

Another spontaneous project arose when Bill Warren, longtime documentarian of the Portsmouth landscape "then" and "now," contacted Art-Speak about a photograph that came into his possession, an unusual panoramic image of the Portsmouth waterfront, taken from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard circa 1905. Looking closely, you can see a stagecoach crossing the bridge to New Castle, the remnants of a fort at Peirce Island, pre-landfill waters of Puddle Dock at Strawbery Banke, and the empty space where the Memorial Bridge will be built, dedicated to the youths of 1905 who will give their lives in the first World War. A dredge is still taking stone off the bottom of the river from where Henderson's Point used to be, before it was blown to smithereens to clear the waterway for merchant traffic, and off Kittery Point are the Southery and Topeka, two prison ships, waiting for the shipyard prison to be built. The image ties together several Portsmouth stories in one remarkable moment, transporting the viewer to the world the delegates saw when they stayed here. Warren became aware of the panorama as a handful of photographs when he gave a talk at the Mark Wentworth Home and connected with Ruth Lines, daughter of the photographer. When he realized they fit together, he thought "what a wonderful example of what the town looks like," he said. Lines has given him permission to share it with the public. He hopes it can be mounted in an outdoor display for the summer. For now, it's on exhibit at Bank of America on Islington Street.

lasting impressions

Doleac has been studying the war and lecturing on Portsmouth's role in the peace process for 15 years. His interest in the topic was piqued when he was at a seminar at the Aspen Institute. When he told a group of Japanese visitors he was from Portsmouth, they immediately began asking him about the peace treaty.

"I did not know how much it meant to the Japanese and how important it was to them," he said. "It was a piece of New Hampshire history that I heard of, but then realized was not as well known as it should be."

Though the Russo-Japanese War is a footnote, at best, in most American textbooks, the conflict holds special significance to the Japanese, according to Dr. Richard Candee, a member of the Portsmouth Historical Society and professor emeritus of history at Boston University.

"It's always surprising to discover that most Japanese who grow up (in Japan)...all know Portsmouth because the peace treaty represents to the Japanese their entry into the modern diplomatic world. It's just part of the Japanese curriculum," he said. Candee is helping organize an exhibit of artifacts from the treaty signing at the John Paul Jones House in Portsmouth.

Since 1994, Doleac and the Japan-America Society have organized a series of forums, bringing together American, Russian and Japanese diplomats and academics to discuss the treaty.

The seeds for the centennial were planted during a peace treaty forum in 2000, when the concept of "multi-track" diplomacy was first discussed. While the war itself was a significant event, Doleac credits the efforts of citizens, businesses, the media and other elements, along with the official diplomats, as the driving force behind the treaty and a major moment in modern diplomatic relations.

"This whole concept, the underlying theme of this from day one to today, is understanding in this century the fundamental diplomatic principal that has been brought to the floor, that formal track diplomacy is not the only way to solve disputes. Multi-track diplomacy is the most advanced, the only way to begin to create relationships that allows you to resolve disputes on a formal level," he said.

But because World War I quickly followed and outdid the Russo-Japanese War in terms of bloodshed and international involvement, the significance of the treaty, and the background diplomatic efforts of Portsmouth residents, was, for the most part, forgotten.

"As the meaning of these events comes out, people say 'Ah ha, more happened here than really met the eye,'" according to Gilmore. "Now, looking at it from our point of view, (the treaty) has a tremendous amount of historical significance."

Though the celebration of all things peace treaty related will be big this year, it's not the first time the city has celebrated its brief time on the international stage.

"Ever since 1906, people have been commemorating this," said Dr. Candee.

The Shipyard has rung its bells every year at 3:47 p.m. on Sept. 5, marking the exact moment Japanese envoy Komura Jutaro and Russian ambassador Sergius Witte signed the treaty. In the 1960s, a plaque was erected and memorial china was released to acknowledge the treaty. The centennial has drawn a variety of groups into the celebration, Gilmore said.

"We hoped for that. In previous years, other commemorations have drawn out a number of different areas into the event. We knew there was an interest," he said.

To Gilmore, the merchants, residents and other Portsmouth denizens who aided the diplomats that summer are the real historical figures worth closer examination.

"It goes beyond Witte and Komura-it went so much further than that," he said. "What did the people of the Seacoast community do? What kind of magic did they sprinkle on the press, dignitaries, ambassadors, the United States government?"

The Portsmouth Public Library's "Prelude to an Anniversary continues Tuesday, April 19 at 7 p.m. with excerpts from "The Peace of Portsmouth" by Pontine Movement Theatre, in advance of its premiere at West End Studio Theatre on Friday, April 22.

Visit www.portsmouthpeacetreaty.com for continuously updated information on the centennial.