 |
| War Council, Korean campaign 1871, Admiral Rogers on right leaning over table, |
OUR WAR IN KOREA.
THE GUNBOAT AND MARINE ATTACK ON THE RIVER SEOUL.
The Navy Tried
Demands and Then Diplomacy to Get Satisfaction for an [Outrage] upon American
sailors—Defiance [Furnished] by Shot and Shell.
(Copyright 1894, by American Press
Association. Book rights reserved.)
The "Hermit Nation,"
which caused the [war] between Japs and China, had her thrashing at the
hands of the United States. It occurred in 1871, and it was administered by our
seamen as punishment for outrage upon [men] of their craft.
In the early fall of 1866 a
trading vessel, called the General Sherman, officered by
Americans and flying the stars and stripes, was attacked in Ping Yang [Pyongyang]
river in the interior of Korea, and destroyed. According to the
last accounts, her crew was murdered and the ship burned, but there were rumors
among seafaring men for a long time afterward that some of the General
Sherman people were alive and held as prisoners by the Koreans. About that
time a party of French missionaries in Korea were murdered, and when the French
navy attempted to sail up the river Han to seek redress, the Koreans drove
them away with so good a showing of warlike stuff that the outside world
began to respect them. Admiral Bell, commanding the Asiatic squadron of the United
States navy, reported that the proper place to seek redress for the General
Sherman outrage was at Seoul, and that, judging by the experience of the French
tars, he would require a fleet of light draft boats to ascend the shallow
Han and 2,000 fighting men for service on land.
Nothing came of Admiral Bell's
suggestion, but in 1867 and again in 1868 the captains of American warships
cruising in Asiatic waters attempted to get satisfaction from Korean authorities
for the Sherman affair. Two accounts were offered, one by the people and
another by the officials. The former said that the unfortunate party on the
Sherman had been massacred in a melee on shore by Korean natives without
instructions from the Chinese mandarins, whose authority they acknowledged. An
official calling himself, among other lofty and poetic titles, "district
magistrate" and exercising control over the country along the Ping Yang
river, stated that the General Sherman was a pirate, her people disrespectful to
the customs of Korea, and that they finally made war upon the vessels, and cities
of the Ping Yang. At last she was destroyed and her officers and men killed.
The matter then rested until
1870, when Admiral John Rodgers went out from America to assume command of our
Asiatic squadron. His instructions were anti-belligerent. Negotiations were to
be conducted by the United States minister to China, and the admiral was
instructed to carry upon his flagship, the Colorado, the members of the
diplomatic commission, who would join him at Shanghai. The object of the
expedition was to be a treaty for the protection of American "seamen who
might come to grief in Korean waters." A show of power was to be made for the
sake of effect.
The fleet consisted of the
Monocacy, Palos, Alaska, Benecia and Colorado, and was accompanied by the
United States minister to China, Mr. F. W. Low. It arrived off the Korean coast
in May, 1871, and proceeded to enter the mouth of the Han. The Koreans had
evidently heard of the expedition through Chinese sources, for as soon as the
fleet anchored in the river off the capital a deputation of officials moved out
in a boat and made signs, asking for a communication. Interpreters met them and
welcomed them on board the flagship, and the next day another party came on
hoard, but having no credentials Minister Low and Admiral Rodgers refused to
see them. They declared that the General Sherman was a pirate; that they (the
Koreans) wished to be let alone and have no intercourse with other people. Both
deputations carried back word to the Korean authorities that the presence of the
American navy had no hostile object, but would make some surveys of the river
above the city.
In order to give time to the
Korean authorities to prepare for negotiations the survey was delayed a week,
and on June 1 the Palos and Monocacy preceded by several steam launches, sailed
up the river. Passing several batteries, they came within sight of Fort du
Conde on an island completely blocking the passage of the river. The fort was
decorated with flags, and all was astir there, but the expedition kept on as
before without suspicion of danger, the unprotected launches in the lead. These
launches were four in number, manned by 11 men each. They were armed with cutlasses,
pistols and Remington rifles, and three of the launches carried a 12 pounder
boat howitzer each, while the fourth had a 24 pounder. These were
supplied with shell, canister and shrapnel. Taking advantage of the flood tide,
the launches steamed rapidly on, all abreast, making soundings as they
proceeded. The Palos and Monocacy followed.
The men in the launches counted
nearly 2,000 Koreans in martial array upon the bluffs and cannon mounted on the
parapets of the batteries and the fort to the number of 50 or 60. At the point
of the island on which the fort stood the river makes a sharp turn, and above
the bend the current moves in a rapid whirl. The movement the boats encountered
the whirl, a signal gun was fired on the summit of a hill behind the fortifications,
and simultaneously scores of guns opened upon the launches. Admiral Rodgers’
orders had been that the surveyors should not fire unless fired upon, and the
attack having been begun by the Koreans the boat howitzers were at once turned
against the forts. Seeing that, all the batteries on both sides of the river
joined in bombarding the launches, but the showers of missiles had little effect
because the guns could not shift their muzzles to follow the movements of the
boats. The firing continued until the gunboats Palos and Monocacy steamed up and
shelled the Koreans out of their works. When the last gun had been silenced,
the party returned down the river, not having lost a man killed and only one
hit by Korean missiles.
When the expedition rejoined
the fleet below the city, the admiral wanted to avenge the insult promptly, but
the expedition being a diplomatic one he decided to wait for an apology from the
Korean authorities. None coming, a warlike expedition sailed up the river on
June 10. It consisted of the Monocacy and Palo and four steam launches. On
board was a party of marines from the several gunboats, numbering 750 men. The
ships and boats moved up the river, the bands playing the popular sailor airs
of America and the crews singing and cheering. The Koreans looked on in
amazement when the handful of men put off in boats and made for land on a mud
flat half a mile wide and over which the mud and water stood waist deep.
Meanwhile the ships opened on the fortifications. The Koreans did not wait to
accept the land attack, but abandoned everything to our men, who dismantled the
works and spiked the guns. A reconnaissance showed a second line of
fortifications, with a granite work surrounded by a rampart. All of the
fortifications encountered had been well planned, but the Koreans seemed to
lack men to fight in them, or else their courage was gone.
Finding a road practicable for artillery, Commander Kimberly, in charge
of the land party, brought forward a 12 pound Dahlgren gun and planted it
opposite the granite fort. A strong line of pickets was stationed as outposts,
and night coming on the troops bivouacked on their line ready for an early
morning attack. Next day was Sunday, and at daylight the Monocacy opened her
guns upon the second Korean line, while the marines advanced as before.
Although Korean troops on the surrounding heights annoyed Commander Kimberly's men by long range musketry firing, there was so little opposition
that they quickly carried the fort and dismantled it, as they had done with the
first. The garrison retreated without firing a shot and joined their main body at
the citadel, a lofty position decorated with flags and apparently occupied with
the flower of the Korean soldiery, led by their commander-in-chief. Commander
Kimberly left two companies of marines with four howitzers at the granite fort
to cover retreat in case his assault on the citadel should fail. A similar
force was stationed on the rear of the citadel, and the remainder moved
directly on the fort, preceded by skirmishers.
The Americans had shown their
customary pluck in landing on a swampy shore and hauling the guns through the mire.
They now marched to the attack on the lofty citadel with equal grit and valor. The
heavy guns were rolled up the steep slopes and planted within range. The
storming column moved up near the crest of the hill and halted a moment to take
breath. After a short rest the party leaped from their shelter and made a
tremendous rush for the fort, from which the Koreans opened a furious fire. But
as usual their artillery practice was bad, and their small arms had no effect,
owing to their poor construction. The daring Americans rushed on until they
reached the parapet, on which Lieutenant Hugh McKee of the navy leaped at a
bound, followed by his men. At close quarters the Koreans, who are really brave
in savage warfare, could fight. The gallant McKee was shot with a rifle ball
and at the same time stabbed with a spear. The latter blow killed him.
Several company leaders of the
marines imitated McKee, and their men followed the lead. The Koreans resisted
to the last, but were finally routed with great slaughter. The Americans lost
three killed and six wounded.
The fort and its walls and
ditches showed the terrible effect of the vigorous shelling from the Monocacy's
guns preceding the land attack. The ditches and pits and the parade ground
around the center of the fort contained numerous bodies mangled by the exploding
shells. In all 243 dead Koreans were buried from the citadel alone. The commander-in-chief had killed himself in chagrin at the loss of his stronghold and was
found in the river below the forts with his throat cut. The second in command
lay among the wounded and dead apparently a corpse, his haggard, uncovered face
being upturned to the sun. He was finally lifted by the marines and placed in a
trench for burial, but as he could no longer sham death in safety he set up a
yell, unmistakably that of a live man. A bad wound in the thigh caused some of
the appearances which helped on the ruse.
The capture of the citadel
completed the victory. It was called by the natives Sun-Fol-Mot, and on hoisting
the stars and stripes over it the Americans christened it Fort Palos. The
granite fort, the second one captured, was likewise christened Fort Monocacy,
and the first, Marine Redoubt. In the three forts 480 guns were taken and 60
flags. More than 1,000 Koreans lost their lives, chiefly by the gunboat firing
previous to the attacks of the marines.
The expedition did not take a
warlike turn a moment too soon, for the 10 days' inactivity between the attack
by the Koreans and the retaliation by the navy had been passed in preparation
for war. Soldiers were on the march from all parts of the peninsula
concentrating on the river around Seoul.
GEORGE L. KILMER.
Says He's Coming Back.
 |
| John L. Sullivan. |
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 16.—John L.
Sullivan said to-night: "I expect to challenge the winner of the
Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight. I can get into condition by that time to enter the
ring again. I never said I thought Fitzsimmons could whip Corbett."
Sullivan was 36 years old
yesterday, and to celebrate his natal day, he swore off drinking!!!
 |
| Daniel S. Lamont. |
The Cabinet at Niagara
NIAGARA FALLS, Oct. 14.—The Cabinet
party consisting of secretaries Gresham, Carlisle, Smith and Postmaster General
Jones, and Fourth Assistant Postmaster General Maxwell spent to-day in visiting
the various attractive spots about the Falls, under the escort of
Superintendent T. V. Welch of the State Reservation. Secretary Daniel Lamont
and Mrs. Lamont arrived from Buffalo this afternoon and joined the party.
After luncheon at the Cataract
House a brief reception was held in the hotel parlors. Secretary Lamont left
shortly after two o'clock for the East, intending to visit his mother before
returning to Washington. Mrs. Lamont remains with the party, all of whom left
early this evening, Secretary and Mrs. Gresham going to Chicago, the rest to
Washington.
A Cortland Boy Wanted to Die.
MARCELLUS, Oct. 17.—Richard
Dickerson, aged 20, who attempted to commit suicide on Saturday night, was
sufficiently recovered to be removed to his home at Cortland yesterday morning.
Dickerson was employed by a lightning rod company at Marcellus and boarded at
the Powell House. The doctors extracted the bullet, which almost passed through
Dickerson’s body under his heart. He refuses to tell why he wanted to die.
Kill It!
(From the Syracuse Courier, Oct. 17.)
The proposed Republican gerrymander by means
of the revised Constitution, gives to each county except Fulton and Hamilton, whatever
may be its population at least one Assemblyman. There are 60 counties in the
State and 40 of them are counted upon as Republican.
This would give the Republicans an unfair advantage
from the start, to the disadvantage of the Democrats. The apportionment of the
other members of Assembly is such as to increase the Republican advantage—as is
shown by the fact that the annexed district of New York, with 116,000
population, is given two Assemblymen, while Cattaraugus county, with a
population of less than 60,000, is also given two Assemblymen.
The Senate under the proposed apportionment
is to consist of 50 members, and it is determined that 115,817 votes shall be
the ratio of apportionment. But in Erie and Monroe counties additional Senators
are allowed for less than half that number.
Albany county with a population of 156,000
is to have one Senator, while Monroe with a population of 181,000 is to have two.
The former county is Democratic, while the latter is Republican, and hence the
disadvantage to Albany county.
The Democratic counties of New York and Kings,
to secure an additional Senator must increase in population 115,817, while a
Republican county must show an increase in population only half that number to
secure an extra Senator.
A more vicious plan was never conceived by
any party to disfranchise a large portion of the voters of the State.
The people of New York will abandon all control of public affairs if they vote
to put the Legislature in the hands of one party so completely as the
Republican apportionment scheme contemplates.
The proposed gerrymander is an outrageous one
and should be defeated at the polls.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
The charge of stealing the state senate comes
with very bad grace from a party that in 1876 stole three states of the Union
and then stole the Presidency. Fraud was written
all over the Republican party then and the brand was burned so deep that it
never has been effaced.
The Standard's arguments
against David B. Hill consist in calling him a thief and all the other vile
epithets that its editor can think of. Such are the argument's used by
fishmongers and people whose acquaintainship is avoided by respectable people,
and should have no place in newspapers that have any claims to common decency.
In the late constitutional convention General
Jenks, Democrat, offered an amendment to allow the honored old soldiers at the
Bath Soldiers' Home to vote there. The Republicans voted the amendment down. No
Governor, according to Secretary of State Palmer, "ever did more for the
soldiers than David B. Hill."—Syracuse
Courier.
The genial Ed. L. Adams, editor of the Marathon
Independent, has been nominated for member of Assembly by the democrats
of Cortland county. Mr. Adams is a gentleman in every way qualified for the
position and would ably and faithfully represent the county. We only regret being
unable to vote for him. If good wishes, however, count for anything we will
elect him by a handsome majority.—Tully Times, Rep.
When Hill was criticizing the
Gorman bill in the senate last summer the Cortland Standard was loud in
its praise of his course. The editor of the Standard evidently thought
that he was going over to the Republican party and of course, he was a
gentleman, a scholar and a statesman, but since he was nominated by the Democrats
for Governor, he has fallen from grace and is now, nothing but a common thief,
a rascal and a scalawag generally.
HERE AND THERE.
There are now about five miles
of sewer pipe laid and the work is being pushed as rapidly as rainy weather
will allow. Work will be continued until the cold weather freezes the ground.
At a meeting of the hose boys
of Active Fire company No. 1 of McGrawville, last Tuesday evening, the members
were very much elated over the reception of a communication from the Secretary
of War, Daniel S. Lamont, inclosing a check for twenty-five dollars as a
donation. This will give the boys quite a boost toward the purchase of a new
hose cart. A vote of thanks was unanimously accorded to the secretary for his
kindness and his name was placed on the honorary list of the company.—McGrawville
Sentinel.
How We Shall Vote.
One of the last acts of the
Constitutional Convention was a resolution carrying out the caucus action on the
manner of the submission of the amendments to the voters. It provides for three
separate ballot boxes at each polling place, one for the Thirty-one Articles,
one for the Apportionment and one for the Canals. There shall be six ballots,
one for and one against each of these articles. If a majority of the votes cast
on any of these are in favor, it shall be deemed carried without regard to the
vote on the others. If the vote on any article is against it then the proposed
article shall be deemed lost and the present one shall remain in force.
