General Sherman incident

File:USS Princess Royal.jpg

USS Princess Royal

The General Sherman Incident designates an attack in Pyongyang of United States merchant marine schooner visiting Korea in 1866. The attack heightened tensions between the United States and Korea while serving as a catalyst to end Korean isolationism in the 19th century.

Background

In the mid-19th century, European nations and the United States moved to open up trade in Asia as well as establish colonies in China and southeast Asia. Japan opened to trade after Commodore Matthew Perry sailed into Uraga Harbor near Edo (modern Tokyo) on July 8, 1853 and, under the threat of attacked, forced Japan to sign the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. As early as 1840 Korea had engaged in discussions to open trade relationships with the United States; in 1844 the United States Congress shelved a draft due to lack of interest.

The first contact between the US and Korea was not in any way hostile, and in 1853 the USS South America, an American gunboat, visited Busan for 10 days and had amiable contact with local Korean officials there. Several Americans who were shipwrecked on Korea in 1855 and 1865 were treated well and sent to China for repatriation. However, the Joseon court which ruled Korea was well aware of the colonization of China and the Opium Wars, and maintained a strict policy of isolationism.

The incident

Determined to open up Korea to trade, the British trading firm Meadows and Co., based in Tientsin (present day Tianjin), China, sent the General Sherman into Korean waters in an attempt to meet with Korean officials to begin negotiations for a trade treaty. The 187-ton side-wheel schooner allegedly carried a cargo of cotton, tin, and glass and was heavily armed. The crew consisted of Captain Page, Chief Mate Wilson, and 13 Chinese and 3 Malay sailors. Also on board was the ship's owner, W.B. Preston, a British trader, and Robert Jermain Thomas, a Protestant missionary acting as an interpreter. They departed Chefoo (present day Yantai), China on August 6, August 16, or August 18^{[citation needed]} 1866, and entered the Taedong River on Korea's west coast sailing towards Pyongyang. The depth of the Taedong River changed frequently due to rains and the tides, but the ship was able to navigate it and stopped at the Keupsa Gate, lying at the border between Pyungan and Hwanghae provinces.

Local officials then met the crew and were able to communicate well enough to learn the ship was purportedly interested in trade. The Koreans refused all trade offers but agreed to provide the crew with some food and provisions. The ship was told to wait while higher level government officials could be consulted. However, the ship then departed again and went further up river, until it became stranded near Yangjak island near Pyongyang. The governor of Pyongyang then sent his deputy, Lee Hyon-ik, with food and told the ship that it was supposed to stay at the Keupsa Gate and again to wait while the Korean ruler was consulted. At that time Korea was ruled by a Prince Regent, the Daewongun, in the name of his minor son King Gojong. The Daewongun sent orders that the ship was to leave immediately or all the crew would be killed.^{[citation needed]}

There are several discrepancies as to what happened next, but one eyewitness noted that as troops were sent towards the ship, hostile actions followed. The crew abducted Lee who was attempting to pursue a small boat launched from the General Sherman containing six men attempting to reach shore. After Lee was not released, the Koreans opened fire but were unable to cause any damage. The ship then fired its cannons onto the spectators, hitting several and forcing the troops to retreat where they were ineffectual. Fighting continued for the next four days, with a Korean turtle boat dispatched, but causing no damage. The Koreans then tied several boats together filled with wood, sulphur, and saltpeter. The first two boats failed to inflict any damage, but the third boat set the General Sherman afire. Unable to stem the flames, the crew jumped into the water where they were all hacked to death. The incident was one reason why the US returned in 1871 in what is called the 1871 US Korea Campaign, or Sinmiyangyo, resulting in the deaths of about 350 Koreans. Five years later Korea signed a trade treaty with Japan, and in 1882 signed a treaty with America, ending several centuries of isolationism.

Disputed account

Although the purported reason for the journey was to conduct trade with Korea, the Koreans contend that the actual intention was to find treasure buried in the royal tombs near Pyongyang. Further, the Americans' trade claim is specious as the General Sherman may not have even carried the necessary cargo for trade; the Meadows Company never specified a quantity of cargo in the manifest documents sent to the authorities after the destruction of its schooner. Koreans also felt the use of a heavily armed, tin-plated gunboat belied the desire for peaceful trade.

See also

• History of Korea
• Joseon Dynasty
• List of Korea-related topics

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Cable, E. M. 1938. The United States-Korean relations, 1866-1871. Seoul, Korea: Y.M.C.A. Press. OCLC: 29145170
• Field, James A. 1962. History of United States Naval operations: Korea. Washington: [U.S. Govt. Print. Off.]. OCLC: 1131205 [1]
• Grimmett, Richard F. 2007. Instances of use of United States Armed Forces abroad, 1798-2006. CRS report for Congress, RL32170. [Washington, D.C.]: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. [2]. OCLC: 122348156
• Utz, Curtis A. 1994. Assault from the sea: the amphibious landing at Inchon. The U.S. Navy in the modern world series, no. 2. Washington: Naval Historical Center, Dept. of the Navy. ISBN 9780160452710[3]

External links

• The Hermit Kingdom And the General Sherman Incident. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• USS General Sherman Incident. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• Sinking of the General Sherman A US Marine Merchant Ship. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• The General Sherman Incident of 1866 and Rev. Thomas' Martyrdom. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• Some Comments on "The General Sherman Incident of 1866 and Rev. Thomas' Martyrdom.". Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• The Strange Sage of the Princess Royal. Retrieved September 19, 2007.
• Naval Historical Center: USS Princess Royal (1863-1865). Retrieved September 19, 2007.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• General Sherman incident  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "General Sherman incident"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.