Marine amphibious landing in Korea, 1871

Sea Power, Nov 1999 by Winkler, David F

Nearly two decades after Commodore Matthew C. Perry's diplomatic triumph of opening Japan to foreigners, the United States sought to establish relations with Korea. This effort was notable--especially in the wake of incidents in 1866 in which Koreans treated the U.S. crew of the shipwrecked vessel Surprise with kindness, yet slaughtered the crew of the visiting merchantman General Sherman after it was stranded in the Han River.

Cdr. Robert W. Shufert steamed to the "Hermit Kingdom" in the USS Wachusett to investigate this contrary behavior in January 1867. He carried a letter of inquiry for the Korean rulers. A year later, Cdr. John C. Febiger returned on the corvette USS Shenandoah to receive the reply and to survey the Taedong River. The Korean response was statesmanlike, explaining that the General Sherman had provoked a confrontation. However, one of the Shenandaoh's survey boats was fired on, prompting Febiger to call for an expedition to avenge this affront to the American flag.

Three years passed before a flotilla arrived off Kangwha Island near Seoul under the command of Rear Adm. John Rodgers. The ships of the Navy's Asiatic Squadron consisted of the frigate USS Colorado, corvettes USS Alaska and USS Benicia, and gunboats Monacacy and Palos. Embarked was the American Minister to China, Frederick Low, who hoped to obtain an apology for the firing incident and to negotiate trade and shipwreck conventions.

Due to the comparatively shallow waters of the Salee River, only the gunboats could advance to survey the approaches to Seoul. On I June 1871, the Monacacy and Palos moved forward and were fired on. The Koreans then ignored an ultimatum from Rodgers and Low. Consequently, on the 1 Oth and the 11 th, a punitive landing party of mostly Marines was placed ashore to storm and destroy the Korean forts. Backed by cannon fire from the gunboats, the Marines overwhelmed defenders at the first three forts. Marines encountered the fiercest resistance while attacking the Kwangsong citadel, which was perched atop a 150-foot hill. After hauling howitzers into ideal firing positions, the Marines isolated the bastion from reinforcements. They then scaled the wall and engaged the Korean defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Armed with superior weapons, Marines pushed their attack forward to capture the bastion-killing 243 of the estimated 300 defenders. Three Marines were killed, 10 were wounded, and two corporals were awarded the Medal of Honor for heroism.

Unfortunately, this magnificent feat of arms did not achieve U.S. diplomatic and trade objectives. Realizing his forces were too weak to pursue any further military options, Rodgers withdrew on 3 July. Except for praise for the Marines, the press castigated the government for the conduct of the operation. One newspaper wrote, "They sent a force altogether too large for the delivery of the message of peace and too small for the prosecution of war." However, in the Navy's defense, the drastic reductions from the 600-ship fleet of the Civil War clearly limited its strategic options.

Korea halted hostile actions against Americans, but it would be Japan, not the United States, that opened Korea diplomatically in 1876 with the Treaty of Kangwha. The United States eventually became the first western power to have a treaty with Korea, with an accord dated 22 May 1882.

Sources: David F. Long, Gold Braid and Foreign Relations: Diplomatic Activities of U.S. Naval Officers, 1798-1883 (Naval Institute Press, 1988) and Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871 (Naval Historical Foundation, 1966). The latter contains the detailed correspondence of Capt. McLain Tilton, USMC, and illustrations of the expedition. Copies can be obtained by contacting the Foundation at nhfwny@msn.com or (202)678-4333. N

By DAVID F. WINKLER

Dr. David F Winkler is a historian for the Naval Historical Foundation.