the "general sherman" set sail on 9 august 1866 and was first spotted at the mouth of the taedong river on 16 august. as the ship sailed up the river loaded with cotton goods, tin and glass, thomas tossed gospel tracts onto the riverbank. korean officials repeatedly ordered the american boat to leave immediately. on or around 25 august, the crew kidnapped hyon-ik yi, a korean government official, who was in charge of communications with the ship. an ex-military officer, chun-gwon park, eventually managed to rescue yi and reinstated him to his former position. however, yi's two subordinates, soon-won yoo and chi-young park, who had also been taken hostage, perished during the scuffles. on 31 august, the crew of "general sherman" fired cannons and guns at the nearby civilians, resulting 7 deaths and 5 wounded. both the korean government and the early korean christian community agreed that it was the "general sherman" that had initiated hostilities. governor gyu-su park of pyong-an province finally declared the "general sherman" as an enemy vessel and ordered his troops to prepare for battle.