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Battle of Sitka

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Pre 1900 Military

                    Battle of Sitka
   Part of the Russian colonization of the Americas
   Battle of Sitka by Louis S. Glanzman, 1988

     Date   October, 1804
   Location Sitka, Alaska
    Result  Decisive Russian victory
                       Combatants
   Russian Empire          Tlingit Kiks.ádi Clan
                       Commanders
   Alexandr Baranov        Chief Katlian
                        Strength
   150 Russians plus
   400 Aleuts              750–800 (estimated)
                       Casualties
   12 killed, many wounded unknown

   The Battle of Sitka (1804) was the last major armed conflict between
   Europeans and Alaska Natives, and was initiated in response to the
   destruction of a Russian trading post two years prior. The primary
   combatant groups were the native Tlingits of Sheet’-ká X'áat'l (
   Baranof Island) and agents of the Russian-American Company. Though the
   Russians' initial assault (in which Alexandr Baranov, head of the
   Russian expedition, sustained serious injuries) was repelled, their
   naval escorts bombarded the Tlingit fort Shis'kí Noow mercilessly,
   driving the natives into the surrounding forest after only a few days.
   The Russian victory was decisive, and resulted in the Tlingit being
   permanently displaced from their ancestral lands. The Tlingit fled
   north and established a new settlement on the neighboring Chichagof
   Island.

   Animosity between the two cultures, though greatly diminished,
   continued in the form of sporadic attacks by the natives against the
   Russian settlement as late as 1858. The battlefield location has been
   preserved at Sitka National Historical Park. In September 2004, in
   recognition of the Battle's bicentennial, a direct descendant of
   Russian battle leader Baranov joined with descendants of the Kiks.ádi
   warriors for a traditional Tlingit "Cry Ceremony" to formally grieve
   for their lost ancestors.

Background

   Members of the Kiks.ádi (Frog/Raven Clan) of the indigenous Tlingit
   people had occupied portions of the Alaska Panhandle, including
   Sheet’-ká X'áat'l (present-day Baranof Island), for some 10,000 years.
   Alexandr Baranov (Chief Manager of the Shelikhov-Golikov Company, a
   forerunner of the Russian-American Company) first visited the island
   aboard the Ekatarina in 1795 while searching for new sea otter hunting
   grounds. Baranov paid the Tlingit a small sum for the rights to the
   land in order to prevent "interlopers" from conducting trade on the
   island.

   On May 25, 1799 Baranov and 100 employees of the RAC (accompanied by
   their native wives) sailed into Sitka Sound aboard the cutter Olga and
   sloop-of-war Konstantin of the Imperial Russian Navy; accompanying the
   Russian settlers was a fleet of some 550 baidarkas, carrying 600–1,000
   Aleut escorts. Wishing to avoid a confrontation with the natives, the
   group passed by the strategic hilltop encampment where the Tlingit had
   established their Noow Tlein ("Big Fort") and made landfall at their
   second-choice building site, some 7 miles (11 kilometers) north of the
   colony. The location of the Russian settlement at Katlianski Bay, "
   Redoubt Saint Michael," is known today as "Starry Gavan" (Starrigavan)
   Bay, or "Old Harbour." The outpost consisted of a large warehouse,
   blacksmith shop, cattle sheds, barracks, stockade, block house, a bath
   house, quarters for the hunters, and a residence for Baranov.
   The Tlingit K'alyaan Pole, erected at the site of Fort Shis'kí Noow in
   Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives of those lost
   in the Battle of Sitka.
   Enlarge
   The Tlingit K'alyaan Pole, erected at the site of Fort Shis'kí Noow in
   Sitka National Historical Park to commemorate the lives of those lost
   in the Battle of Sitka.

   Though the Koloshi (the Russian name for the Tlingit) initially
   welcomed the newcomers, their animosity toward the Russians grew in
   relatively short order. The Kiks.ádi objected to the Russian traders'
   custom of taking native women as their wives, and were constantly
   taunted by other Tlingit clans who looked upon the "Sitkas" as the
   outsiders' kalga, or slaves. Perhaps the tribe was jealous of the
   Aleuts' superior skills at hunting sea otters as well. The Kiks.ádi
   came to realize that the Russians' continued presence demanded their
   allegiance to the Tsar, and that they therefore were expected to
   provide free labor to the Company Competition between the two groups
   for the island's resources would escalate as well.

   Despite a number of unsuccessful Tlingit attacks against the post
   during the winter of 1799, business soon prospered. Urgent matters
   required that Baranov return to Kodiak (then capital of Russian
   America) in 1800. 25 Russians and 55 Aleuts, under the direction of
   Vasilii G. Medvednikov, were left to staff the post. In spring, 1802
   the population of Redoubt Saint Michael had grown to include 29
   Russians, 3 British deserters, 200 Aleuts, and a few Kodiak women. It
   was rumored that the British (under the auspices of the Hudson Bay
   Company) staged a meeting with the northern Tlingit clans in Angoon in
   1801, wherein they offered muskets and gunpowder to the Tlingits in
   exchange for exclusive fur trading rights.

   On June 20, 1802 a horde of Tlingit warriors from along Kaasda Héen
   (the Indian River) and nearby Crab Apple Island, "painted like demons"
   and wearing animal masks carved out of wood, attacked the Russian fort.
   The natives were well-armed with spears and modern firearms (the latter
   acquired through trade with the British, French, Spanish, and
   Americans, whose ships frequented the waters of the Inside Passage).
   Led by Chief Shk'awulyéil, the raiding party massacred all of the men
   (20 Russians and close to 130 Aleut workers), looted and burned the
   barracks and storehouses, destroyed a ship under construction, and
   enslaved the surviving women and children.

   A few Russians and Aleuts who had been away from the post hunting, or
   who had fled into the forest, subsequently reached safety and relayed
   news of the attack to two foreign ships at anchor in the Sound. After
   brief negotiations, the Tlingit agreed to ransom a few of the survivors
   to the commander of the American ship Alert out of Boston. Captain
   James Barber of the British ship Unicorn, also anchored nearby, lured
   Shk'awulyéil and several of his raiders aboard and placed them in the
   brig, subsequently exchanging them for the remaining lone Russian and
   18 Aleut captives (along with some 4,000 sea otter pelts that had been
   plundered during the raid).

   The Unicorn then set sail for Kodiak, where it delivered the survivors
   and the news of the attack to Baranov on June 24. Barber extracted a
   ransom of 10,000 rubles for the return of the colonists — a mere 20% of
   his initial demand.

Russian reprisal

   Following the Kiks.ádi victory, Tlingit Shaman Stoonookw (confident
   that the Russians would soon return, and in force) urged the Clan to
   construct a new fortification that was capable of withstanding cannon
   fire, and provided an ample water supply. Despite strong opposition,
   the Shaman's will prevailed, and the Kiks.ádi made preparations for
   war. The Sitkas sent messages to their allies requesting assistance,
   but none was forthcoming; they would face the Russian fleet on their
   own.
   The Russian sloop-of-war Neva visits Australia in 1807.
   Enlarge
   The Russian sloop-of-war Neva visits Australia in 1807.

   The Tlingit chose to construct the roughly 240 feet by 165 feet (73 by
   50 meters) Shis'kí Noow (the "Fort of Young Saplings") at the high
   water line near the mouth of the Indian River to take advantage of the
   long gravel beach flats that extend far out into the bay; it was hoped
   that the shallows would prevent the Russian ships from attacking the
   installation at close range. Some 1,000 native spruce logs were used in
   the construction of 14 buildings (barabaras) and the thick palisade
   wall that surrounded them. The Kiks.ádi battle plan was a simple one:
   they would gauge the Russians' strength and intentions at Noow Tlein,
   then strategically retreat to the perceived safety of the new fort.

   Baranov returned to Sitka Sound in late September, 1804 aboard the
   sloop-of-war Neva, a 200- foot-long (61-meter), three-masted sailing
   ship weighing in around 350 tons (360 metric tonnes). The
   recently-launched, state-of-the-art warship was of English design and
   construction (it had been christened the HMS Thames), carried 14
   cannon, and was manned by a crew of 50 professional sailors; it was
   also the first Russian ship to circumnavigate the globe. The Neva
   (under the command of Lieutenant Commander Yuri Feodorovich Lisyansky)
   was accompanied by the Ermak and two other smaller, armed sailing
   ships, manned by 150 promyshlenniks (fur traders), along with 400–500
   Aleuts in 250 baidarkas.

   In this engagement, fortune favored the Russians from the outset. On
   September 29, the Russians went ashore at the winter village. Lisyansky
   dubbed the site "Novo- Arkhangel'skaya Mikhailovskaya" (or "New
   Archangel Saint Michael"), a reference to the largest city in the
   region where Governor Baranov was born. Baranov immediately sent forth
   envoys to the Tlingit settlement with offers of negotiation for the
   Noow Tlein site, all of which were rebuffed. The Tlingit merely hoped
   to stall the Russians long enough to allow the natives to abandon their
   winter village and occupy the "sapling fort" without the enemy fleet
   taking notice.

   However, when the Kiks.ádi sent a small, armed party to retrieve their
   gunpowder reserves from an island in nearby Shaaseíyí Aan ( Jamestown
   Bay), the group (electing not to wait for the cover of darkness,
   instead returning in broad daylight) was spotted and engaged in brief a
   firefight with the Russians. An errant round struck the canoe in which
   the Tlingit were transporting the gunpowder, igniting the cargo and
   causing it to explode. When the smoke cleared, it was evident that none
   of the expedition, comprised of upper- caste young men from each house
   (all future Clan leaders) and a highly-respected elder, survived the
   encounter. Baranov's emmissaries notifed the Tlingit that the Russian
   ships would soon begin firing on the new fort.

Day One

   On or about October 1, the Neva was towed into the shoals near the
   mouth of the Indian River. A Russian landing party, led by Baranov and
   accompanied by 400 Aleuts acting as light infantry, assaulted the
   Tlingit compound, only to be met by continuous volleys of gunfire. The
   Aleuts panicked and broke ranks, retreating to the shore where their
   baidarkas waited.

   The Kiks.ádi warriors, led by their new War Chief K'alyaan (Katlian) —
   wearing a Raven mask and armed with a blacksmith's hammer, surged out
   of Shis'kí Noow and engaged the attacking force in hand-to-hand combat;
   a second wave of Tlingit emerged from the adjacent woods in a " pincer"
   maneuver. Baranov was seriously injured and the Russians fell back to
   the water's edge, just as the Neva opened fire to cover the retreat.
   Twelve of the attackers were killed and many others injured during the
   melee, and the Russians were forced to abandon several small artillery
   pieces on the beach.

   That night, the Tlingit rejoiced at having repulsed the Russian
   onslaught.

Day Two

   A plan and elevation sketch of the Tlingit fort Shis'kí Noow drawn by
   Yuri Lisyansky after the Battle of Sitka in 1804. The Indian River
   flows through the upper right corner of Lisyansky's drawing.
   Enlarge
   A plan and elevation sketch of the Tlingit fort Shis'kí Noow drawn by
   Yuri Lisyansky after the Battle of Sitka in 1804. The Indian River
   flows through the upper right corner of Lisyansky's drawing.

   Inasmuch as Baranov’s battlefield wounds prevented him from continuing
   the battle, Lieutenant Commander Lisyansky assumed command, ordering
   his ships to begin shore bombardment of the Tlingit position. The
   initial barrage consisted mainly of "ranging shots" as the vessels
   attempted to determine the optimum firing range. Unable to breach the
   fort's walls, the Russians ceased fire in the early afternoon and sent
   a messenger ashore under a flag of truce.

          It was constructed of wood, so thick and strong, that the shot
          from my guns could not penetrate it at the short distance of a
          cable's length — from the log of Yuri Lisyansky, Captain of the
          Neva.

   Much to the Kiks.ádi's amusement, the message demanded their surrender,
   which they rejected out of hand. The Tlingit replied with their own
   demand that the Russians surrender, which was also rejected. The
   Russian cannon fire resumed until nightfall. After dark, the Kiks.ádi
   met to consider their situation. They all believed that the Russians
   suffered too many losses the day before to mount another ground attack.
   The Tlingit's goal had been to hold out long enough to allow the
   northern clans to arrive and reinforce their numbers, but the shortage
   of gunpowder limited their ability to remain under siege, a factor that
   made ultimate victory seem less likely. The Tlingit concluded that a
   change in tactics was in order: rather than suffer the ignominy of
   defeat on the battlefield, they formulated a strategy wherein the Clan
   would disappear into the surrounding forest (where they felt that the
   Russians could not engage them) and establish a new settlement on the
   northern part of the island.

Day Three

   The Neva and her escorts resumed their day-long bombardment of the
   Tlingit fort at sunrise. The Kiks.ádi responded with offers of a truce,
   hostage exchanges, promises of more talks, and even the possibility of
   surrender. Unbeknownst to the Russians, the Clan's elderly and young
   children had already begun the trek to Gájaa Héen (Old Sitka). At
   nightfall, the House Chiefs met again to discuss their planned march
   across the island. Mothers with infant children were to depart in the
   morning.

Day Four

   The naval cannon fire began at daybreak, halting periodically to allow
   the Russians to extend offers of peace to the Kiks.ádi, which were in
   turn rejected. That afternoon, the Tlingit's response was that they had
   tired of battle, and would accede to the Russian demands to evacuate
   Shis'kí Noow the following day. Once the sun had set, the natives held
   their last gathering in the sapling fort. The elders offered praise for
   their clansmen who had defended the Kiks.ádi homeland against a
   formidable enemy. The Clan gathered together for a last song, one that
   ended with a loud drum roll and a wail of anguish (which the Russians
   interpreted as a sign of their surrender).

   The Tlingit then departed undetected under the cover of darkness.

Aftermath

   It wasn't until October 7, days after the Kiks.ádi put forth their
   tragic " swan song," that the Russians landed a large contingent of
   troops to secure the beachhead and to reconnoiter the area in and
   around Shis'kí Noow. To their great surprise, none of the natives were
   to be found (unbeknownst to the Russians, the Tlingit had embarked on
   what is now referred to as the "Sitka Kiks.ádi Survival March").

   On October 8, Captain Lisianski visited the abandoned Tlingit
   fortification and recorded his impressions of what he saw as follows:

          Having come ashore, I observed the most barbaric sight that
          could bring even the most hardened heart to tremble and recoil.
          Assuming that we could trace them in the woods by the voices of
          infants and dogs, the Sitkans put them all to death...the entire
          set of circumstances led us to conclude that the fortress had
          contained no less than 800 persons of male gender.

   The fort was razed to preclude the possibility of its being used as a
   stronghold against the Russians and their allies ever again. Neva
   sailed out of Sitka Sound on November 10.

"Sitka Kiks.ádi Survival March"

   The first leg of the Tlingit's sojourn entailed a hike west from Gajaa
   Héen to Daxéit (the Clan's fishing camp at Nakwasina Sound, where each
   May the Kiks.ádi harvested herring eggs, a traditional native food).
   From there, the group's exact path across the mountains north to Cháatl
   Káa Noow (the Kiks.ádi "Halibut Fort" at Point Craven in the Peril
   Strait) is a matter of some conjecture. However, a coastal route around
   the bays of northwest Baranof Island appears to be the most likely
   course as it would have allowed the travelers to circumvent the
   Island's dense forests, based on significant firsthand research into
   the event conducted by Herb and Frank Hope of the Sheet'ká Kwáan —
   Sitka Tribe of Alaska. Canoes fashioned out of redcedar trunks
   facilitated the ocean crossing to Chichagof Island.

   Several warriors remained in the vicinity of Noow Tlein after the
   Battle as a sort of rear guard, in order to both harass the Russian
   settlers and to prevent them from pursuing the Kiks.ádi during their
   flight north. Shortly thereafter, eight Aleut trappers were killed in
   Jamestown Bay and another was shot in the woods adjacent to New
   Archangel. From that point forward, Russian hunting parties went out in
   force, ever alert to the possibility of attack. The Kiks.ádi encouraged
   other Tlingit clans to avoid contact with the Russians by any means
   possible.

Russian Alaska

   The Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (Noow Tlein) in Gájaa Héen (Old
   Sitka), circa 1827.
   Enlarge
   The Russian palisade atop "Castle Hill" (Noow Tlein) in Gájaa Héen (Old
   Sitka), circa 1827.

   Atop the kekoor (hill) at Noow Tlein, the Russians constructed a
   fortress (krepost') of their own, consisting of a high wooden palisade
   with three watchtowers (armed with 32 cannon) for defense against
   Tlingit attacks. By the summer of 1805, a total of 8 buildings had been
   erected inside the compound, including workshops, barracks, and the
   Governor's Residence. Aside from their annual expeditions to "Herring
   Rock" near the mouth of the Indian River, the Kiks.ádi by-and-large
   steered clear of the ever-expanding settlement until 1821, when the
   Russians (who intended to profit from the natives' hunting prowess, and
   to put an end to the sporadic attacks on the village) invited the
   Tlingit to return to Sitka, which was designated as the new capital of
   Russian America in 1808.
   A replica of Russian Block House #1 (one of three watchtowers that
   guarded the stockade walls at Old Sitka) as constructed by the National
   Park Service in 1962.
   Enlarge
   A replica of Russian Block House #1 (one of three watchtowers that
   guarded the stockade walls at Old Sitka) as constructed by the National
   Park Service in 1962.

   The Tlingit who chose to return were allowed to reside in a part of the
   village just below the heavily-guarded stockade on "Blockhouse Hill"
   (an area known as the Ranche until around 1965). Russian cannon were
   constantly trained on the natives as a reminder of their defeat at
   Shis'kí Noow. The Kiks.ádi supplied the Russians with food (including
   corn, or maize, which the settlers taught them how to cultivate) and
   otter pelts, while the colonists introduced the Tlingit to the various
   aspects of Russian culture and the Russian Orthodox Church. Occasional
   acts of Tlingit aggression continued until 1858, with one significant
   uprising (though quickly quelled) occurring in 1855. After Russian
   America was sold to the U.S. in 1867, all of the holdings of the
   Russian–American Company were liquidated. Following the transfer, many
   elders of the local Tlingit tribe maintained that "Castle Hill"
   comprised the only land that Russia was entitled to sell. Native land
   claims were not addressed until the latter half of the 20th century,
   with the signing of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.

   The 1880 census reported a population of 43 Tlingit living in and
   around the Indian River, the Kiks.ádi's traditional summer fishing
   camp.

Tributes

   U.S. President Benjamin Harrison set aside the Shis'kí Noow site for
   public use in 1890. Sitka National Historical Park was established on
   the battle site on October 18, 1972 "...to commemorate the Tlingit and
   Russian experiences in Alaska." Today, the K'alyaan (Totem) Pole stands
   guard over the Shis'kí Noow site to honour the Tlingit casualties. Ta
   Éetl, a memorial to the Russian sailors who died in the Battle, is
   located across the Indian River at site of the Russians' landing. In
   September of 2004, in observance of the Battle's bicentennial,
   descendants of the combatants from both sides joined in a traditional
   Tlingit "Cry Ceremony" to formally grieve their lost ancestors. The
   next day, the Kiks.ádi hosted a formal reconciliation ceremony to "put
   away" their two centuries of grief.

Historic designations

     * National Register of Historic Places #NPS–66000162 — "Baranof
       Castle Hill" site
     * National Register of Historic Places #NPS–66000164 — "Battle of
       Sitka" site
     * National Register of Historic Places #NPS–66000166 — Old Sitka
       ("Redoubt Saint Michael") site

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