on a punitive mission to avenge the deaths of Catholic priests in Korea. He ordered governor of Pyongan Bak Gyusu to inform the crew that if they did not leave they would be killed. In the meantime, the General Sherman ran aground on the river when the tide receded, having misjudged the depth of the river due to a temporary rain swell. On August 27, the crew dispatched a dinghy to forage, which was intercepted by a junk carrying Korean official Yi Hyon-ik, a subordinate of Bak. The crew of the General Sherman took the occupants of the junk hostage. Bak attempted to negotiate for their release, with the crew responding by demanding a ransom of rice, gold, silver, and ginseng for the release of the hostages. A crowd of civilian onlookers, which had gathered near the stranded merchantman, grew so angered by the unfolding situation that they began attacking the General Sherman with arrows, stones, and Hwacha rockets. In the ensuing chaos, Korean soldier Park Chong-wun commandeered a dinghy and rescued Yi. In response, the General Sherman began bombarding the civilian onlookers with its twelve-pound cannons, killing seven. On September 2, Daewongun dispatched Korean troops equipped with matchlocks with orders to destroy the stranded merchantman. The Koreans initially attempted to destroy the General Sherman by constructing an improvised turtle ship, which was protected by metal sheeting and cowhides and equipped with a concealed cannon. However, the turtle ship's cannon proved unable to penetrate the armor of the General Sherman, and return fire killed a crewmember of the Korean warship. After the first attack failed, the Koreans then roped together three small boats loaded with firewood, saltpeter, and sulfur, lighting them on fire, and sent them drifting towards the General Sherman. Though the first trio of fire ships missed their target and a second wave bounced off the General Sherman, the third wave set the merchantman on fire. The crew and passengers of the General Sherman abandoned the ship but were killed by enraged civilian onlookers on the shore. The death of Thomas, which supposedly occurred while attempting to hand a Bible to his killer, was later portrayed as an act of martyrdom. The cannons of the General Sherman were salvaged by the Korean government, which celebrated its successful resolution of the incident. Aftermath After the incident, the U.S. government remained unaware of the fate of the General Sherman, as