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Lot 417
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1868 Large Archive USS Shenandoah Seeks Answers about Missing American Merchant Ship in Korea
1868 Large Archive USS Shenandoah Seeks Answers about Missing American Merchant Ship in Korea
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Description:

Korea
Taedong River, North Korea, ca. April-May 1868
1868 Large Archive USS Shenandoah Seeks Answers about Missing American Merchant Ship in Korea
Archive
[KOREA.] Archive of letters from the USS Shenandoah, April-May 1868. 131 pp.+ 2 envelopes in English; 2 pp. + 1 envelope in Seoye (Korean calligraphy). Includes multiple handwritten copies of some letters; pencil is faint on some pages; ink on blue paper lacks contrast on a few pages; general toning; very good.

This fascinating archive presents copies of letters sent and received by the commander of the USS Shenandoah in his efforts to obtain answers from Korean officials in the Joseon dynasty about the fate of an American merchant ship that had disappeared nearly two years earlier.

In April and May 1868, the USS Shenandoah, commanded by John C. Febiger, was ordered to the mouth of the Ping Yang River (modern Taedong River) on the western coast of the Korean Peninsula (now North Korea). The purpose of Febiger's mission was to investigate rumors that four members of the crew of the American merchant vessel General Sherman had survived an attack on that vessel in September 1866. The crew of the General Sherman had made an illegal attempt to open trade with the Joseon dynasty of Korea, and enraged civilians killed the crew after setting the General Sherman afire.

The United States government sent the USS Wachusett to Korea in 1867 to investigate the destruction of the General Sherman. This archive of copies of correspondence between Commander Febiger and various Korean officials offers a unique view of the follow-up efforts of the USS Shenandoah to determine the fate of the crew of the General Sherman. Dissatisfied with the answers Febiger received, the United States in 1871 sent U.S. Minister to China Frederick Lowe and the U.S. Navy's Asiatic Squadron to investigate the disappearance of the General Sherman and negotiate a treaty opening Korea to foreign trade. After failing to negotiate a treaty and confirming the fate of the General Sherman, the American expedition attacked and occupied a series of Korean forts. Despite this minor military victory, Korea remained isolationist until the signing of the Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876.

Excerpts
Correspondence between Commander John C. Febiger and Officials in Korea, April 15-May 4, 1868:
"The following is a Translation of a Communication found attached on one of our Flag Staffs on Station Island on the morning of the 15th of April.
"To wit:
"Of what Country are you? For what purpose do you come here? On what month and day did you start and from what place did you come all the way here? Are you all well after your journey of Ten thousand li (3 li 1 mile) through winds and waves? Is it your plan to barter merchandise, or is it simply your plan to take a general view of the hills & rivers, or do you rather wish to pass by to other places and so return to your native land? All under the whole heavens are of one original nature. Clothes and hats are very different and language is not the same yet they can treat each other with mutual friendship. What your wish is, please make known, and do not conceal anything. A particular reply returned to this Island will be very acceptable.

Febiger to Local Magistrate, April 19:
"My present object being the recovery of Four of the Crew of the Sherman (two of whom are Europeans and the others Chinese) reported to be still living, and held as Prisoners at the Provincial City, I shall proceed slowly and peacefully harming no one, until I either reach the Provincial City, or the persons of those Four people be placed under my authority. In enclose herewith a letter to the King of Corea, which I hope you will forward with as much dispatch as possible."

Local Magistrate of San [Hoa] to Febiger, received April 20:
"I desire to express my profound respect to your exalted virtue and to offer my hearty congratulations for your perfect safety after your long voyage on the profound and wide expanse of waters. All that the Sun and Moon illumine, all within the bounds of the four seas, are one family yet every one has his own proper bounds, which heaven has set and which have scarcely been transgressed for many myriads of years. But now suddenly with the space of a few years various things have come to pass producing mutual implications, but a drop at first, it presently spreads as spilt water, and its advancing footsteps sharp and bitter. The road by which the dispatch referred to must be forwarded to our Sovereign, is vast and wearisome, in length, and if for await the imperial will, requiring for such a length of time within these poverty stricken borders without spreading your lofty sails to the winds, the village people will be filled with fear.... You will see at a glance that the spring waters of the Ping Yang river are exceedingly shallow and the lofty sails being hard to manipulate your stay cannot but be attended with danger. With the road of the vast waves you are quite familiar—its coming and going. It would therefore I presume be most convenient for you to await there the answer from the capitol and a vessel with a single bamboo would suffice to carry it to you."

[Febiger] to "The District Magistrate of Lung Ching," [April] 21:
"I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of your communication of today asking for what purpose I have come to this place. I beg to say in reply that I am an American, my country lying to the far west some fifty thousand li (10 li=3 miles) distant. I have not been driven here by adverse winds nor have I come to trade or to see the country, but have been appointed and sent for the special purpose of investigating thoroughly the matter of the destruction of an American vessel in this river some two years ago."

[Febiger] to "the Intendant of the Ping An Circuit having charge of the naval forces stationed at Ching Nan and also Prefect of San Hwo," [April] 21:
"I have the honor further to inform you that one of my boats while passing a point some three or four miles from my present anchorage was fired upon twice this afternoon by persons appearing to be soldiers but fortunately no one was injured. As my mission is a peaceful one the fire was not returned. As such conduct if repeated must be considered hostile I shall be ready to resist it by force of arms, the responsibility resting on those who have authorized this outrage on the flag of my nation. I shall on a proper occasion demand an apology for this offence and that the persons guilty of firing the shots be punished."

Febiger to Local Magistrate of San Hwo, April 21:
"I earnestly hope the Sovereign of your honored country will speedily attend to this affair. Meantime pending an adjustment, I will continue to ascend on the tide, this however peacefully and desiring to harm no one. Accompanying this I send a pocket knife and my carte de visite which I hope you will do me the honor to accept."

Febiger to King of Korea, April (no day):
"During the month of August of the year 1866 an American trading Schooner named the Gen Sherman entered this river for the purpose of traffic. To this time she has not returned and it is reported that the crew were murdered by mob violence the cargo stolen and the vessel destroyed. About a year since one of our Government vessels visited the coast of Corea to the South of this river for the purpose of investigating this matter but did not get into communication with the proper authorities to receive information satisfactory to my government. Recent information has been received by the commander in chief of the United States Naval Forces in these seas that a number of the crew of the Sherman are living and held as Prisoners by Corean Authorities. I have therefore been directed by him to proceed to this Point with the vessel under my command and to demand that all persons so detained be given up to my authority on the Deck of this Ship. I further earnestly request that your majesty will appoint a proper officer with full authority to settle this matter.

Febiger to King of Korea, April 22:
"I shall remain in this River as long as my stock of Provisions will allow, in the hopes of a final settlement of the business that has brought me here. Should I be forced to leave without such settlement my Superior Officer will probably be here during the summer with his Squadron to attend to the affair."

Intendant of the Ping An District to Febiger, ca. April 23:
"The dispatch brought by the men of your honored vessel has been received and the accompany dispatch addressed to my Sovereign I have already forwarded. I hope you will make allowance for the fact that the journey from this place to the capital and back requires over ten days. It is necessary that the matters concerning which your honored vessel has come should receive a distinct reply that so your doubts may be thoroughly removed. Please do not be offended at a little delay, but by all means anchor in a place safe from the winds and waves and await a reply. Do not by any means I pray you depart as did the Wachusetts which came to Chang Uyen last year."

Febiger to the Prefect of San Hwo, April 27:
"The mistake in regard to the distance of my Country in answer to your queries on that subject, occurred in translating the original letter into Chinese. The distance we are forced to sail is about 50,000 li not 500,000. The dispatch was prepared in haste & by night which probably occasioned the oversight."

Febiger to the Prefect of San Hwo, April 27:
"Further by the direction of our Government a spacious building has been erected for the collection and reception of various seeds from foreign countries, and those who visit foreign lands are expected to collect and carry home as specimens all kinds of grain vegatable and flower seeds. If not to[o] much trouble, I would earnestly request you to furnish me with a little of each kind for all which I shall be under everlasting obligation to you."

Intendant of the [Hwong? Hoc?] District to Febiger, "Fifth year of the Emperor Tring Che 12th month – day":
"With reference to the affair which transpired last Autumn in the Ping Yang River I would state that at that time there was a foreign vessel entered the lower waters of the Ping Yang river and the local magistrate of that place supposing that the vessel was driven hither by distress of weather and coming in to seek a vessel to transship to, proceed to make inquiry into the matter, but the men on board of the vessel became greatly outraged at the messengers and refused to make any reply shutting their eyes and lying down at their ease, clearly intending to offer insult. Our people restrained their anger and by the most humble address and earnest entreaty found out that they were not driven here by storms. There was one man named ? ? and another said to be an Englishman. They said that a large number of French men of war was about to come to this place and that if the local magistrate would suffer them to open trade with the people it would secure the dispersion of the soldiers of the two countries. The local magistrate replied that the permission to trade was not a thing which a local magistrate could assume to promise. The man [Ysny?] however refused to regard it, becoming more & more unreasonable and violent.
"The water in the Ping Yang river is shallow and unfit for running large vessels but he disregarded this and every day riding in the tide went up a few miles further. Our people were specially anxious that the affair not become a serious and so presented him with rice meat vegetables fruits & such &c he (ie the man Ysny) replied that they would leave the next day, but when the next day came instead of leaving they advanced again evidently intending gradually to push his way to the Provincial City. The adjutant general of the Provincial City went out in a vessel every day and escorted him in order to guard against trouble from a collision between his people and ours. One day he threw out grappling irons & ropes and captured the vessel of the adjutant general seizing him with his official seal and confining him on board his vessel.... How extreme was the disgrace of the adjutant general thus to be seized before hostilities had begun nevertheless he still resorted only to mild words and earnest entreaty that the adjutant general should be given up but the reply was wait till we enter the city and we will restore him. This man Ysny could speak Chinese and was without a match in fierceness and haughtiness and seemed determined to force his way into the provincial city though we did not know what his intentions were. The whole city including Several ten thousands of soldiers and people yielding to their indignant rage came out in a mass to the river and commenced an attack with all their might intending to rescue the adjutant general. Several tens of people were killed by the cannon balls when all becoming infuriated rushed on in a mass the force of which was irresistible. Fre was opened on both sides & masses of burning wood were sent for. Finally the powder stored in the said vessel exploded rending it to pieces and sending the black smoke up to the heavens. The vessel was entirely burned up and the men all killed. We do not still know whether this vessel belonged to your honorable country or not. This many Ysny without cause pushed his way into the interior of another country and provoked this affair, and examination to this time failed to discern his object in acting thus.... That your honored country & customs greatly tend to produce propriety in intercourse with others is well known to all the province as well as to our illustrious neighbor, China."

Febiger to Magistrate of Chung Lein, Korea, May 2:
"As you state you will not forward my dispatch to your Sovereign dated the 28th ultimo. there can be no further necessity of a correspondence between us."

Calvin W. Mateer, Statement, May 4:
"The undersigned has just been on shore in company with Mr Sandford for the purpose of seeing a man named Kim Tsg Ping declared by the Corean authorities to be the man from whom the report comes that four of the crew of the Gen Sherman are still alive and held as prisoners.... The man Kim Tsg Ping is bowed down with age and evidently an unlettered and obscure man. He came before us with a large & heavy wooden board or [cangue?] on his neck and was altogether a pitiable sight. The strong impression made both on Mr Sandfords mind and on my own is that this is not the man at all from whom our information in reference to the Sherman comes.
Dr. Calvin W. Mateer, a veteran Presbyterian missionary from Shantung Mission, accompanied the USS Shenandoah on its mission to Korea. While awaiting responses from the Korean government, Mateer visited coastal villages to distribute Bibles in Chinese and proselytized.

Historical Background
From 1392 to 1897, the Joseon Dynasty ruled the peninsula of Korea. Known in the West as the "Hermit Kingdom," Korea under Joseon rule adopted several isolationist policies in response to Chinese and Japanese invasions. Western imperialist traders and Christian missionaries began to travel to the region, causing conflict with the ruling Joseon dynasty. In 1866, regent Heungseon Daewongun, who ruled in place of his underaged son Emperor Gojong (1852-1919), began a series of persecutions of Korean Christians, in which 8,000 were killed, including several French missionaries. In response, the French sent an unsuccessful punitive expedition to Korea in October-November 1866, which only reconfirmed Korean isolationism.

Earlier that same year, Boston merchant W. B. Preston took his armed schooner General Sherman to Asia. The ship carried Preston, Captain Page, and another American, thirteen Asian sailors, including an interpreter, a Welsh missionary, and a money changer. They purchased cotton textiles, tinware, mirrors, and glassware from British merchants in northern China and traveled to Korea in August. On August 16, they entered the Taedong River, stopping to hand out Bibles to Korean villagers. Korean officials repeatedly informed Captain Page that the ship could not trade in Korea. Regent Daewongun believed the ship was French and was on a punitive mission to avenge the deaths of the French Catholic priests. Ignoring the warnings, the crew of General Sherman eventually ran aground in the river and dispatched a dinghy to forage. When a Korean junk intercepted the dinghy, the crew of the General Sherman took the occupants of the junk hostage, including a Korean official. When the Koreans attempted to negotiate, the General Sherman crew demanded a ransom of rice, gold, silver, and ginseng.

A civilian crowd began attacking the General Sherman with arrows, stones, and rockets, and the crew of the General Sherman returned fire with its cannons, killing seven Koreans. On September 2, Korean troops attempted to destroy the General Sherman with a turtle ship, but its cannon could not penetrate the armor of the American vessel. Eventually, the Koreans launched fireships that set the General Sherman on fire. When the crew abandoned the ship, enraged civilian onlookers killed them.

In 1867 and again in 1868, the United States sent naval vessels to investigate the fate of the General Sherman and to address rumors that some of the crew had survived and were prisoners. In May 1871, the Asiatic Squadron sent five warships to accompany U.S. Ambassador to China Frederick Low in his investigation of the General Sherman incident and related attempt to open trade with Korea. The Korean officials they met rejected their efforts to negotiate a trade treaty, and Korean troops ambushed the expedition as it was sailing up the Han River. The Americans repulsed the ambush and attacked and destroyed a series of Korean forts. In the conflict, three Americans were killed and perhaps 350 Koreans. Unsurprisingly, the attacks did nothing to convince the Koreans to negotiate, and the American expedition sailed back to Japan on July 1. Korea did not establish a trade treaty with the United States until 1882. Fifteen American sailors and marines received the Medal of Honor for their actions in this brief but bloody expedition.

USS Shenandoah (1862-1887) was a wooden screw sloop built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard for the United States Navy and launched on December 8, 1862. It was commissioned on June 20, 1863. From September 1863 to December 1864, the Shenandoah was part of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. After investigating reports of Confederate privateers in the Bahamas, the USS Shenandoah participated in the attacks on Fort Fisher in December 1864 and January 1865. Decommissioned for much of 1865, the USS Shenandoah joined the South American Squadron late in 1865 and then joined the Asiatic Squadron in 1866. Rounding Africa, the ship visited ports in India and Singapore by the end of 1866. The Shenandoah visited Bangkok and received a greeting from the King of Siam before sailing for Saigon and Japan, arriving in Yokohama in April 1867. The ship participated in General Robert B. Van Valkenburgh's mission to open more Japanese ports to foreign trade, visiting several cities that no American ship had ever visited. The USS Shenandoah participated in the opening of Osaka and Hyogo on January 1, 1868. In late February, Commander John C. Febiger (1821-1898) assumed command of the Shenandoah at Shanghai. It sailed to Korea to attempt the rescue of the crew of the General Sherman, an American schooner destroyed in the Ping Yang River. Although Commodore John R. Goldsborough, in command of the Asiatic Squadron, concluded that none of the General Sherman crew had survived, the Shenandoah was able to make surveys of part of the Korean coast. Rejoining the Asiatic Squadron, the ship patrolled against Chinese pirates that had attacked American merchant vessels. The Shenandoah left the Asiatic Squadron in November 1868 and returned to Boston by August 1869, where the ship was decommissioned. The USS Shenandoah was recommissioned several more times, with service in Europe (1870-1874), the South Atlantic (1879-1882), and the Pacific coasts of South America and Central America (1883-1887). The ship was sold in San Francisco, California, in July 1887.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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