Soon after the end of the Civil War, the U.S. sent the ship to Korea as part of its moves for aggression on Korea.

With more than 90 armed sailors on board, the ship General Sherman intruded into the estuary of the River Taedong in mid-August 1866, disguised as a merchant vessel.

While it was sailing up to the Yanggak Islet in Pyongyang, the aggressors sounded the river and landed in its vicinity to rape women and commit other outrages.

In a talk with the then representative of the administration office of Pyongyang, they demanded their landing in Pyongyang and large amounts of rice, gold, silver and insam (ginseng)

As their gangster-like demand was refused, they openly committed robbery and killings.

Enraged at such arrogant acts of the Yankees, inhabitants in the walled city of Pyongyang turned out in a struggle against the aggressors, in response to the call of Kim Ung U, great-grandfather of President Kim Il Sung.

As a result, the ship was engulfed in flames by a fire-attack tactics and was sunk into the river on September 2.

This was the first time the U.S. suffered a disgraceful defeat in its history of overseas aggression.

The ship General Sherman incident shows that the U.S. scheme for aggression on Korea was started in vain 150 years ago.