[KS] the General Sherman

[Matthew Smith]

Greetings all. I've a question that I'm sure someone more knowledgable than I can answer.
 
I recently read Don Southerton's "Intrepid Americans, Bold Koreans" and discovered a curious mention to the ill-fated General Sherman. I was under the impression that after the crew was killed, the beached ship was burned just outside Pyongyang on the Taedong river in August of 1866.
 
However, Southerton cites the ship as refitted and renamed "Warship Number One" then sent downriver of Seoul to Mangwonjung. However, for whatever reason, it was mysteriously returned to America and reportedly sunk off the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina in January 10th 1874. 
 
U.S. Navy archives seem to agree: ( http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/pr-royal.htm) The city of Wilmington directed me to this interactive wreck map ( http://wreckhunter.net/InteractiveWreckMap.htm ) but I couldn't find a reference to the General Sherman or the Princess Royal (a previous name). As noted in Southerton's work, there were several ships named the General Sherman. Are we even talking about the same ship? http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/pr-royal.htm versus http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-g/gn-shrmn.htm
 
Does anyone have any convincing reference? Was it indeed sunk in Korea or refitted and returned to the U.S. only to sink in Cape Fear eight years later? Any insight would be helpful.  

*Matthew Smith*
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://koreanstudies.com/pipermail/koreanstudies_koreanstudies.com/attachments/20111201/fd83c2f1/attachment.html>