Arrow War Ends: China Forced to Open Its Ports

Captain McLane Tilton led 109 United States Marines and 542 sailors ashore on Ganghwa Island, Korea, on June 10, 1871, storming five fortified positions along the Han River in a punitive expedition that the Koreans never understood and the Americans quickly forgot. The engagement, known as the Sinmiyangyo, was the first armed conflict between the United States and Korea, and it accomplished nothing except killing approximately 243 Korean defenders at a cost of three American dead. The expedition had arrived to negotiate a trade and diplomatic treaty with the Joseon dynasty, which had maintained a policy of strict isolation from Western nations for centuries. Korea’s regent, the Heungseon Daewongun, had no interest in opening the country to foreign commerce and had recently expelled French missionaries and repelled a French naval expedition in 1866. When American survey ships entered the Han River in late May 1871, Korean shore batteries opened fire. Rear Admiral John Rodgers demanded an apology. When none came after ten days, he ordered the assault. The American attack was brief and one-sided. Marines and sailors stormed the Choji and Deokjin fortifications, then advanced to the Gwangseongbo citadel, the strongest position on the island. Korean defenders fought with matchlock muskets, swords, and stones against modern repeating rifles and artillery. The citadel fell in hand-to-hand combat. Korean general Eo Jae-yeon was killed defending the walls. The Americans captured 481 pieces of artillery, most of it obsolete. Rodgers expected the show of force to bring the Koreans to the negotiating table. The Daewongun responded by erecting stone markers throughout the country declaring that those who advocate peace with the West betray the nation. The expedition withdrew without a treaty. Korea remained closed until Japan forced it open with the Treaty of Ganghwa in 1876. The Sinmiyangyo became a footnote in American military history, largely forgotten until the Korean War eighty years later reminded the United States that the peninsula existed.