Kanghwa Island Flag arrives in Korea on loan after 136 Years
by Richardson ~ October 26th, 2007. Filed under: History, U.S.-Korea Relations.The flag, on loan from the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Maryland for up to 10 years, arrived in Korea on Friday:
The flag of General Eo Jae-yeon (1823-1871), the garrison commander of Ganghwa Island during the latter years of the Chosun Dynasty, has returned home 136 years after it was captured by American troops. The flag was taken as a war trophy after American forces seized the island during the U.S. Expedition to Korea in 1871, or Shinmiyangyo.
The battle left 430 of General Eo’s soldiers dead and another 20 captured. The U.S. had three dead and 10 wounded.
October 26th, 2007 at 12:59 pm
What is the story behind this incident? I got to research this more. It sounds pretty interesting and painful at the same time.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
A bit more here;
http://www.dprkstudies.org/index.php?s=kanghwa island
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganghwa_Island
http://www.shinmiyangyo.org/nsynopsis.html
November 27th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Its good to see that the flag is finally back in Korea. Saw it at the Annapolis museum a few years ago with only limited labeling on and folded up in a bundle. There’s a great photograph taken in 1871 showing it unfurled behind three of the U.S. Marines who captured it. There were a few Medals of Honor handed out to the Americans after the expedition….