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Captain McLane Tilton
USMC
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| May 16, 1871
My dear Nannie,
We are really on our way to Korea. I hope
what you have read in the papers about the Expedition has
not allarmed (sic) you as I do not think we are to have any
trouble to speak of, our mission being a peaceful one, and
for the purpose only of exacting a reasonable promise from
the Korean Govt. that Christian seamen wrecked on their
coast may be treated humanely. We have no knowledge of
the country, and only very unreliable information in regard
to the coast.
We are all quite jolly, and every day the crews of
our fleet are exercised in the Infantry drill & firing
with small arms. Some months ago a Schooner came up
here to trade, and the natives are said to have cut
them up, and pickled them, took thgem in the interior and
set them up as curiosities! The French came 3 years
ago to avenge their priests, who had been murdered, when
they skinned a french (sic) doctor, and crucified him on the
beach under the eyes of the Frenchmen who had been driven
off, and who were unable to help their friends.
Whether this is positively true or not I can't say; but you
may imagine it is with not great pleasure I anticipate
landing with the small force we have, against a populous
country containing 10,000,0000 of savages.
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Note:
The letters of McLane Tilton as used here have been edited
for brevity. Notwithstanding, however, the text is
presented exactly as the Marine commander wrote them in his
letters home.
(From the personal papers
of Captain McLane Tilton, USMC - Archives and Library,
Historical Branch, HQ, USMC) |
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The Shinmi Year
(1871)
The traditional Korean calendar was based on two
sets of zodiac cycles (which make a complete cycle every 60 years), and
is counted starting from the beginning of the king's reign. Five years
had passed since the year Byungin. The year 1871 was the year called
"shinmi".
In the intervening period, the United States
government took a personal interest in the unknown fate of the General
Sherman. Six months after the incident on the Tae-dong River, the USS
Wachusett was dispatched to Corea under Captain Robert Schufeldt to
inquire into the merchant ship's fate. The mission was aborted due to
bad weather. Then in 1868 Captain John C. Febiger steamed the USS
Shenandoah to the mouth of the Tae-dong River, again seeking
information on the fate of the General Sherman and issuing
demands for reparations.
Corean officials were hesitant to release very
much information about the destruction of the ship, fearing any
acknowledgement might require them to pay those reparations. They did
send an official letter to Captain Febiger confirming the death of the
ship's crew. The Coreans also asked Captain Febinger why the Americans
wanted to come so far to make a treaty.
"We have been living 4,000 years without
any treaty with you, and we can't see why we shouldn't continue to live
as we do." They stated.
 Finally,
in April 1870, the U.S. State Department instructed its foreign minister
in China Frederick F. Low to depart for Corea to negotiate the safe
treatment of shipwrecked sailors. He was also empowered to establish a
trade treaty with the Hermit Kingdom, and to pursue the investigation
into the loss of the General Sherman. Rear Admiral John Rodgers,
commander of the Asiatic fleet based in Japan, was tasked with
supporting the diplomatic mission. Minister Low was perhaps the ideal
diplomat to negotiate with the elusive Hermit Kingdom, having gained
uncommon understanding of the Orient after serving an apprenticeship
with the Boston firm of Russell, Sturgis and Company that traded
extensively there. Perhaps because of this insight into the Oriental
culture, Low was not optimistic about his mission but dutifully set
about to increase the chances of success by enlisting the support of the
Chinese government.
By May of 1871 Admiral Rodgers had assembled the
five ships of his fleet and a force of 1,230 men. The USS Colorado,
a pre-Civil War steam screw frigate that had seen action in the Union
blockade off Mobile, Alabama, served as the Admiral's flagship. Also
quartered on the Colorado were Minister Low and Captain McLane
Tilton who commanded the Asiatic Fleet's Marine Guard.
 
 
The Alaska and Benicia were near
sister ships, each 250 feet in length, heavily armed and boasting a
powerful 60-pounder, rifled gun. Only two years old, they were the most
modern ships of the fleet. Palos, an iron-hulled, screw-driven
tug had been converted to a gunboat and joined the Asiatic Squadron in
1870. En route it became the first U.S. Warship to pass through the
newly constructed Suez Canal. The Monocacy was a side-wheel
gunboat that mounted six big guns and was capable of heavy bombardment.
In 1854 less than 20 years earlier Commander
Matthew Calbraith Perry had steamed into Japan with a far less
impressive fleet of warships. He had intimidated the Japanese into
negotiating the Treaty of Kanagawa which opened Japanese ports to
American shipping and guaranteed the safe treatment of shipwrecked
sailors. Minister Low's misgivings about the success of negotiating a
similar treaty with Corea aside, Admiral Rodgers had certainly developed
an armed force capable of intimidating the Hermit Kingdom into acceding
to the American demands.
The Alaska and Benicia
were near sister ships, each 250 feet in length, heavily armed and
boasting a powerful 60-pounder rifled gun. Only two years old,
they were the most modern ships of the fleet. Palos, an
iron-hulled, screw-driven tug had been converted to a gunboat and joined
the Asiatic Squadron in 1870, becoming the first U.S. Warship to
pass through the newly constructed Suez Canal en route. The Monocacy
was a side-wheel gunboat that mounted six big guns and was capable of
heavy bombardment.
Less than 20 years earlier, in
1854, Commander Matthew Calbraith Perry had steamed into Japan with a
far less impressive fleet of warships, intimidating the Japanese into
negotiating the Treaty of Kanagawa opening Japanese ports to American
shipping and guaranteeing the safe treatment of shipwrecked
sailors. Minister Low's misgivings about the success of
negotiating a similar treaty with Corea aside, Admiral Rodgers had
certainly developed an armed force capable of intimidating the Hermit
Kingdom into acceding to the American demands.
Shortly after Captain Tilton penned his May 16th
letter home the five ships steamed out of Japan. They sailed around the
Corean peninsula, past Inchon, and towards the mouth of the Han River
leading to Seoul.
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| May 26, 1871
My dear Nannie,
We moved a little nearer our destination since I
last wrote, and are now at anchor in a sort of Bay filled
with islands where we will remain until we find out by
surveying, which is the most practicable way to get over
the next 20 miles, which will bring us to our journey's
end. The middle of next week will no doubt find us
in communication with the (Corean) authorities. The
islands in our vicinity are inhabited by a few people
only, living in thatched huts in the valleys, and all
dress in white. They are seen every day
clustering on the hilltops, where they squat and I suppose
wonder what we are about to do. When our boats are
sailing about & meet native boats, the latter always
change their course, not appearing to desire any
communication; and upon our boats landing on the beach,
they get in theirs. |
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Captain Tilton wrote this letter
from the squadron's temporary anchorage near Eugenie Island (Ipp'a-do),
where the ships arrived on May 23. For several days after arrival,
soundings were taken and the unstable waters off the western Corean
coast were charted for safer navigation. On May 29 Admiral Rodgers
steamed his ships north, past Inchon and towards the entrance to the Han
River. The squadron reached Boise Island the following day. As Captain
Tilton had surmised in his letter home, the Americans received their
first official visit from the Coreans.
That first visit was cordial but
tense. Three Corean diplomats of the 3rd and 5th ranks were welcomed
aboard the Colorado. Minister Low opted not to meet with them
himself, deputizing his acting secretary Edward B. Drew to conduct the
interview. Mr. Drew assured the Coreans that the American squadron's
mission was of the "non-aggressive disposition". He also
informed them that "Only (Corean) officials of the first rank,
who were empowered to conduct negotiations, could be received (by
Minister Low) and to such alone would a full statement of the objects of
the expedition be made."
Before the Corean delegation departed, Mr. Low
further informed them that the Americans intended to take soundings of
the nearby waters and survey the shores. He advised that the effort
would not commence for 24 hours, enabling the inhabitants to be notified
of the purpose for which the Americans were entering their waterways.
When the Coreans failed to protest this intrusion it was erroneously
perceived as acquiescence to the American plan.
The Kanghwa Strait (also known as the Salee River)
flows between Kanghwa Island and the Korean mainland. It was this area
of the Corean coast that Admiral Rodgers wished to sound and chart. On
the morning of June 1, assuming he had the consent of the Corean
officials, Rodgers dispatched a survey party aboard steam launches from
the USS Alaska, Benicia, and Colorado. Joining the steam
launches was a steam cutter from the Colorado, and tailing the
survey crew at a safe distance were the Palos and Monocacy.
The remainder of the squadron remained at anchorage some six miles away,
the draft of their hulls too deep to safely navigate the straits or the
shallow waters around Kanghwa.
All seemed well when the steam launches entered
the strait and began taking soundings and measurements. Along the coast
of Kanghwa Island to the survey party's left ran a series of Corean
fortifications, but all were quiet...at first. Slowly the survey party
continued northward past a sharp bend in the river. Then, without
warning, cannon fire erupted from an elbow shaped fort on the island. An
intense fifteen-minute volley of Corean bombardment followed it. Looking
to their left the survey party could see the walls of the Kwangsungbo
Fortress. Known to the Americans as the Citadel, the heavily armed fort
sat at the top of a conical hill providing an unobstructed view of the
straits below. Fortunately for the American survey party, the big guns
that protruded from the edges of the fortress were anchored with huge
logs, making it difficult for the Corean gunners to lower their barrels.
The enemy fusillade, for the most part, sailed harmlessly over the heads
of the Americans.
Two seaman from the USS Alaska's launch
were slightly wounded in the attack, but during the opening volley the Palos
and Monocacy steamed rapidly up the strait and around the bend to
rake the Kwangsungbo Fortress with their heavy guns. The fire from the
American gunboats drove the Coreans from the walls and the shelling
stopped. Then the steam launches, along with the Palos, returned to the
rest of the squadron's anchorage. The fearless Monocacy had
pushed its attack too far and was carried by the swift currents around
the bend beneath Kwangsungbo. There it ran aground on the rocks. A small
hole in the hull of the Monocacy was quickly repaired so when the
water rose with the incoming tide, the valiant side-wheel warship pulled
back to anchorage near Boise'e Island.
Admiral Rodgers initially considered preparing his
forces for a ground assault the following day upon the return of his
survey party and after hearing about the attack made on them. "Preparations
for this were made," he later wrote in his official report, "but
upon consideration it was concluded to wait for the next neap tides,
when the currents will be less violent than during the prevalence of the
spring tides, which are now running." After conferring with
Minister Low, Rodgers elected to set aside a brief period of time for
the Corean government to offer an official apology. The time limit set
was TEN DAYS, after which, if no apology was forthcoming, the
fortifications on Kanghwa Island would be assaulted and destroyed.
On the island itself, Colonel Ching sent a courier
to Seoul with a message for the king. It stated:
"Two sailing vessels with
two masts (Palos and Monocacy) have suddenly forced
their way into Sun-shih Passage. As this is a most important
pass leading up into the river, ever since the attack on our troops in
Byuing in, we have increased the guard, and done everything to make it
secure: even our own public and private vessels, if they have no
river pass, are not allowed to go rushing about...The forces stationed
in the Pass accordingly opened their guns to prevent them going
by."
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| June 4, 1871
My dear Nan,
We are all as hearty as bucks, and full of
having a bang at the Koreans before very
long. On June 1st we started our Gunboats
"Palos" and "Monocacy", with four
little steam launches, to make soundings higher up the
River Salee, and when they reached a mud fort on a point
of the River, the Koreans opened on them without a moments
warning.
Their guns are very rude, seemed to be lashed
to logs, and cannot be trained except on a point
beforehand, which, when the vessel nears, they touch them
off! The vessels were not struck at all.
I was not with the party, but you may be sure we
all will be, when we make our next advance up the river,
which we probably will very soon, and give them a good
drubbing too, for firing on our little vessels,
without giving any warning.
Most affectionately Your husband,
McLane Tilton |
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Yangyo
