This comes from a series of photographs of the Korean Punitive Expedition of 1871. The United States had sent an expedition to Korea to establish trade. When the ships were fired upon and a requested apology was not received, the punitive expedition was launched. U.S. troops captured forts and killed Korean troops.
The original caption for this photograph reads: The Monocacy towing the boats on their return to the fleet with trophies of victory
