Field Survey of the United States 1871 Line of March in Korea

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 영남대학교 민족문화연구소
· 수록지 정보 : 민족문화논총 / 48호 / 485 ~ 521페이지
· 저자명 : 토머스 듀버네이

초록

In a relatively unknown, but historically significant action, American and Korean forces faced each other for the first time. In June 1871, American naval and marine forces traveled overland on Ganghwa Island, which is located off the northwest coast of present-day South Korea. While the approximate route has been known since the time of the action, the exact path was never formally studied. The main waypoints the American forces stopped at－the fortresses－still exist, so they are known, but the route in- between was not certain. By studying the map United States troops used in 1871, along with modern maps, old photographs, satellite images, and a review of the literature, including the American officers' reports, together with several on-site historical land surveys, the author was able to determine, with relative certainty, the route they took. The determination of what weaponry both the American and Korean forces used, along with their maximum and effective ranges, helped in the discovery of relics, which aided in determining troop positions. In the first survey, conducted in 1999, the author was able to establish the approximate route American forces took by comparing the 1871 map with the Ganghwa Island terrain, along with reports of the participating American officers and historical photographs. The original reports, submitted by Rear-Admiral John Rodgers to the Secretary of the Navy, and photographs taken of the 1871 action by Felice Beato, are in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States; the author has an original 1871 edition of the reports and copies of the negatives of the photographs, which were used in this research. Many of the places described in 1871 were still extant, including the areas on Ganghwa Island where American forces camped overnight on June 10 of that year, which added points of reference to the survey. The author conducted a second survey in 2001 and, using a metal detector, found a shell fragment on the hill directly west of the main fortress. In the third survey, conducted in the fall of 2010, the author searched the areas using a metal detector and GPS; the search turned up several relics, including bullet casings, bullets, and shell fragments that helped pinpoint American troop positions. The fourth, fifth and sixth surveys, conducted by the author in the spring of 2011, resulted in the recovery of many more important relics, including bullets, bullet casings, shell fragments, and canister shot, that further supported the author's hypotheses regarding both American and Korean troop positions. With a high degree of certainty, the route the American and Korean forces took on Ganghwa Island in 1871 was ascertained. Further investigation is necessary in order to preserve important historical data before it is destroyed by development of the corresponding areas.

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