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Alexander Historical Auctions
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(KOREA) UNITED STATES KOREAN EXPEDITION AUTOGRAPHS
Good group
of nineteen signatures on fifteen oblong 8vo. pages, all excised from the same
autograph album. Most of the signatures are related to the United States' 1871
Korean Expedition, the first American military action in Korea. These include
the signatures of Rear Admiral JOHN RODGERS (1812-1882) commander
of the Asiatic Squadron, and FREDERICK LOW (1828-1894) American
ambassador to China. Also present are the signatures of: SAMUEL WELLS
WILLIAMS (1812-1884), American charge d'affaires in Beijing and a
translator on Commodore Perry's voyage to Japan; JOHN E.
PILLSBURY (1846-1919), sailing master aboard the squadron's
flagship, USS COLORADO; EDWARD T. NICHOLS (1823-1886), chief of
staff for the Asiatic Squadron; WILLIAM K. WHEELER (1859-ca.
1876), flag secretary for the squadron, who signs as "Lieut Comdr, Col, Major,
General Wm. K. Wheeler US Navy, That didn't go to the Great Wall"; admiral's
secretary H.G.B. FISHER; General A. VLANGALY of
the Russian Legation; Deputy Commissioner for Imperial Customs J.M. LEAVY
BROWN; three Chinese signatures identified as belonging to Y. Kway,
N. Tao, and C.M. Teh, all of Peking; Two further Chinese inscriptions,
identified only as "Shen" and "Tung"; and six further unidentified Chinese
inscriptions. Also present is the pencil signature of Olive Risley, who may have
been the owner of the autograph book from which these signatures were taken. The
U.S. Korean expedition was launched ostensibly to ascertain the fate of a
merchant ship, the General Sherman, but which carried a diplomatic delegation
which intended to establish a treaty for the protection of shipwrecked sailors
and to open the country to American trade. Korean forts fired on the American
ships as they sailed up the Han River, and the American forces retaliated by
capturing five forts and killing 243 Korean soldiers, including the commanding
general, EO JAE-YON (1823-1871). The Americans, in turn, lost
only three men. Korea would remain closed to Western trade until 1876. The pages
are chipped at the left edge, where they have been removed from the autograph
book, and bear slight toning at the edges, else very good.
