Did you know that ... (45) Controversy of the General Sherman, a merchant ship

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Wed, December 6, 2023 | 20:53

Did you know that ...

Did you know that ... (45) Controversy of the General Sherman, a merchant ship

Posted : 2011-12-20 17:04

Updated : 2011-12-20 17:04

Part of a 1964 North Korean stamp depicting the destruction of the General Sherman / Courtesy of Robert Neff Collection

By Robert Neff

In August 1866, the General Sherman, an American merchant ship with a very checkered past, sailed from China and made its way up the Daedong River to the very gates of Pyongyang where it hoped to conduct trade with the Korean government. On board were three Americans: W.B. Preston (the owner), Captain Page, Chief Mate Wilson, two Englishmen ― George Hogarth and Rev. Thomas ― and a crew of 19 Malays and Chinese.

Ostensibly there for trade, the Koreans noted that the ship appeared more like a warship than a trader and that the Americans all appeared to be well-armed giants (they were described as being over seven feet tall). In addition, the crew allegedly committed several egregious offenses including kidnapping, piracy and murder.

The Koreans would not tolerate this. Pak Kyu-su (1807-1877), the governor of Pyeongan Province, ordered the ship be destroyed and the crew executed. Burning scows and boats were sent down the river towards the General Sherman and eventually managed to set it on fire. According to some accounts, a few survivors, including Rev. Thomas, managed to struggle ashore waving a white flag and begging to be sent back to China but were quickly executed.

Up until several years after the ship’s destruction, rumors circulated that some of the crew members were still alive and being held prisoner by the Koreans. Several fact-finding missions were sent ― the last one in 1885 ― and each confirmed that the entire crew had been killed.

Was the General Sherman truly a merchant ship? Prior to leaving China it reported that it carried cotton cloth, glass items and household goods but some believed the ship’s cargo was of a more nefarious nature. A British official in China speculated that the ship was carrying weapons to be sold to the Koreans to aid them in their impending war with the French. His speculation was apparently wrong. According to Korean records, three or four cannons (with ammunition), two rifles, two loads of iron, about 1,000 feet of chain and about 5,700 pounds of tin, wire and miscellaneous metal were recovered from the ship’s ruins.

But were the ship and its crew destroyed solely because of their transgressions into Korean waters? Pak Kyu-su was not only a practical man, he was a man with vision. He knew that the ship provided Korea with an opportunity to learn more about Western technology and ordered that the ship ― especially the steam engine ― be examined so that a Korean warship could be built patterned after the General Sherman. Some accounts claim that the remains of the vessel were brought to the Han River near Noryangjin, where Kim Ki-bo tried to reconstruct the wooden and iron steamship. He failed miserably ― the ship was barely able to float.

But controversy continues to surround the General Sherman. Some people believe that Korea did successfully rebuild the ship but, due to the Chinese government’s insistence, returned it to China in 1867. From there it was sent back to the United States where it was then resold and used as a coastal ship traveling between New York and New Orleans until it sank off the coast of South Carolina in January 1874.

If the General Sherman was rebuilt and returned, why did the United States continue to send fact-finding missions to Korea? Why did the regional newspapers ― those in Japan and China ― not report the return of the ship nor was there any mention of it in the major newspapers in the United States? To this day the General Sherman remains an interesting and controversial part of early American-Korean history.

robertneff103@gmail.com