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Kent Weekly (SS/DSV) (DBF), EMCS
to remember
Jewell, Theodore F., RADM USN(Ret).
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Contact Info
Home Town Washington DC
Last Address Washington, DC
Date of Passing Jul 26, 1932
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Description The “Korean Expedition” that steamed out Nagasaki, Japan in May 1871 with five U.S. warships and 1,230 men under the command of Admiral John Rogers had two goals. The first was to open Korea to American merchants. The second was to learn the fate of the U.S. merchant ship, The General Sherman. It had disappeared after sailing up the Taedong River (which leads to modern day Pyongyang) in August 1866. The ship disregarded warnings to stop, ran aground upriver when the tide receded, and then sent out raiding parties. The Koreans eventually attacked the ship and killed its crew. Americans knew none of this because the Koreans refused to say what had become of the ship. So when the Korean Expedition set sail, the New York Times assured its readers that the effort would produce a “Detailed Account of the Treacherous Attack of the Coreans on Our Launches” and deliver “Speedy and Effective Punishment of the Barbarians.”
On June 1, the American ships entered the Ganghwa Straits on the west coast of Korea. Their goal was to steam up the Han River, which led to the capital city of Hanyang (modern day Seoul). The Korean king, however, had barred foreign ships from entering the Han. So when the American ships passed by, the Korean garrison onshore fired. Their outdated weapons did no damage, but that didn’t matter to Admiral Rogers. He gave the Koreans ten days to apologize for what he regarded as an unprovoked assault.
The Koreans refused to comply. So Admiral Rogers made good on his threat. On June 10, the U.S. ships attacked the Choji Garrison on the island of Ganghwa-do. It was a mismatch from the start. The garrison was lightly defended, poorly equipped, and badly outnumbered. U.S. marines and sailors then went on to overrun several other Korean posts on the island. When the smoke cleared at the end of the day, the Americans controlled Ganghwa-do at the cost of three dead. The Koreans weren’t so fortunate. They lost more than two-hundred-and-forty men.
Koreans call the fighting on Ganghwa-do “Shinmiyangyo,” which literally means “Western Disturbance in the Shinmi Year.” The American victory marked the first time that the stars and stripes were raised over Asian territory by force. Fifteen Americans—nine sailors and six marines—earned Medals of Honor for their bravery during the campaign, making them the first Medal of Honor recipients to be honored for fighting on foreign soil.
The Americans hoped that their victory would persuade the Koreans to negotiate. It didn’t. Instead, they sent reinforcements in large numbers and armed with modern weapons. Recognizing that the odds had shifted, the U.S. fleet pulled up anchor and set sail for China on July 3. The United States would not get a treaty with Korea until 1882. That agreement came about in good part because the Korean king was hoping that U.S. support could help him preserve Korea’s independence from China.
The 1882 treaty established “permanent relations of amity and friendship” between the peoples of Korea and the United States. That amity with South Korea continues to this day. But most Americans don’t know that, as the historian Robert Kagan put it, “the self-proclaimed disinterested and peace-loving Americans
