COIIEA. 



243 



corner of Kanghoa Island, there was another 

 fort commanding the channel. Both these 

 forts were built of stone, and have been erect- 

 ed since the French expedition of 1866. From 

 this point upward the channel narrowed to 

 about three hundred feet between the main- 

 land of Corea on the east and Kanghoa Island 

 on the west, the current being deep and strong. 

 About two miles above the last-named fort is 

 a place marked on the French chart "difficult 

 passage." Here a peninsula about one hun- 

 dred and fifty feet high projects in the form of 

 a horseshoe into the river, while from its base 

 a shoal ledge of rocks runs nearly half-way 

 across the stream. As the launches approached 

 this place it was observed that at a height 

 of about one hundred feet above the river 

 there was a crenelated wall, from embrasures 

 in which were seen the muzzles of from forty 

 to fifty guns. Above this battery the hill nar- 

 rowed as it rose, till it ended in a flat circular 

 top, about forty feet in diameter. Around this 

 there ran a wall about six feet high, an awn- 

 ing over the top of which transformed the 

 place into a tent, from the centre of which 

 rose a pole on which was floating a large yel- 

 low flag, the characters on which were inter- 

 preted to mean " the commander-in- chief." 

 Between this tent and the battery below were 

 observed large numbers of soldiers bearing 

 matchlocks, and displaying an immense array 

 of flags. At a moderate estimate there were 

 not less than 2,000, and the demonstration 

 seemed intended to induce the surveying-party 

 to retire. The launches, however, steamed on, 

 and, as they began to sweep round the bend of 

 the river caused by the projection of the pen- 

 insula, they observed, on the main-land on their 

 right, a small fort so situated that its fire would 

 converge with that from the battery on the 

 opposite side. They had scarcely noted this 

 ominous fact when the report of a gun was 

 heard from the commander's tent on the hill- 

 top. It was a signal-gun. Next moment fire 

 opened on the United States flotilla from the 

 main-land and island simultaneously. The can- 

 non seemed to be the old-fashioned long small 

 bores, carrying balls of six or eight pounds or 

 so. There seemed to be half a dozen of them 

 securely fixed side by side on a log of wood, 

 and, from the simultaneousness of their dis- 

 charge, appeared to have a common touchhole. 

 After the first startled surprise, a sensation of 

 eager enthusiasm took possession of the sur- 

 veying-party. As the launch of the Benicia had 

 got four or five miles behind, there were thus 

 only three launches within range when the 

 Coreans opened fire. They were about two 

 hundred yards from the island battery, and 

 only one hundred from the one on the main- 

 land. It seemed as if they must be at once 

 cut to pieces. The Palos and Monocacy had 

 difficulty in coming into position on the flood- 

 tide, but only a minute or two elapsed when 

 their eight-inch shells were seen tearing vast 

 rents in the wall of the battery, and the flames 



and smoke of their explosion inside came roll- 

 ing out. For ten minutes only the struggle 

 lasted, and then both forts were silent. But, 

 from the peculiar style in which the Corean 

 guns were lashed together and fired, the fire, 

 while it lasted, was so rapid that the water 

 was dented with the shot as if a gigantic hail- 

 shower had been falling. Captain Blake de- 

 clared that, though he had his vessel sunk un- 

 der him in the late war with the South, he 

 never witnessed such a tremendous fire. And 

 yet, the casualty of the surveying-party was 

 one man wounded. The fact seems to be that 

 the Corean guns were fixed to sweep a cer- 

 tain point, and the launches, not happening to 

 pass at that particular spot, escaped almost 

 unscathed. When the smoke cleared away, 

 not a Corean was to be seen, though the yel- 

 low flag still floated over the commander's 

 pavilion. 



The Monocacy sustained some damage, 

 though not from the enemy, and began to 

 leak. But a little temporary arrangement 

 soon made her water-tight, and she followed 

 the Palos and the three launches up to the 

 northern side of the peninsula hill, where they 

 anchored. The launch of the Benicia, which 

 was commanded by Ensign Schroeder, when 

 coming up, also ran the gantlet of the two 

 Corean forts, and rejoined the party, being hit 

 in many places by shot, though not seriousiy 

 damaged. 



At 3.50 p. M. the party weighed anchor and 

 proceeded down-stream. Not a Corean was 

 to be seen, and without further incident they 

 reached the anchorage and reported to the ad- 

 miral what had occurred. The latter expressed 

 great satisfaction with the manner in which 

 they had conducted themselves. At nine in 

 the evening, the landing-order for next day 

 was countermanded, and the Palos was or- 

 dered to proceed to Chee-foo with Captain 

 Boswell and others, with dispatches for Amer- 

 ica and orders for the supply of coal and other 

 stores. 



The following ten days were used for repair- 

 ing the damages suffered by the ships, while 

 the admiral was waiting for an apology from 

 the Corean Government. As the force was in- 

 sufficient to advance as far as the capital and 

 to capture it, it was resolved to punish the 

 Coreans as severely as possible for their treach- 

 erous attack upon the surveying-party. Ad- 

 miral Rodgers, therefore, gave orders to take 

 the forts, from which the Coreans in June had 

 fired upon the launches, and to demolish them. 

 For this purpose, the Palos, accompanied by 

 the Monocacy and the steam-launches, left, on 

 June 10th, the anchorage. The force of the ex- 

 pedition numbered 945 men, of whom 644, with 

 7 guns, were to be landed. A landing was 

 effected below the first forts, in order not to 

 expose the crowded boats to the fire from the 

 shore. After occupying a few forts which the 

 Ooreans had abandoned almost without resist- 

 ance, the troops during the night bivouacked on 



