Fort William H. Seward

Fort William H. Seward (1898-1943) - A U.S. Army post established as Haines Mission in 1898 near present day Haines, Haines Borough, Alaska. The post was made permanent on 3 Mar 1904 and named Fort William H. Seward for Secretary of State William H. Seward, who purchased Alaska for the U.S. in 1867. Renamed Chilkoot Barracks in G.O. 54, 13 Dec 1922. Abandoned in 1943. Also known as Fort Seward (3). Fort Seward (upper center) at Haines Alaska Fort William H. Seward History Fort Seward was the last of 11 military posts established in Alaska during the Alaska's gold rush (1896-1903). Established to preserve law and order in the gold camps, the fort also provided a U.S. military presence in Alaska during boundary disputes with Canada. The post was first garrisoned on 27 Sep 1904 by Colonel Thomas C. Woodbury (Cullum 2436) and three companies of the 3rd U.S. Infantry. Chilkoot Barracks was placed in caretaker status in 1943 and sold in 1947. Fort William H. Seward Partial Commanders List (edit list) Assumed Relieved Rank Name Cullum Notes 1902-09-22 1903-08-08 ”Capt. Summerall, Charles P. 3469 1907-01-16 1908-06 –Col. Greene, Henry Alexander 2777 1910-07-03 1912-06-13 –Col. Gardener, Cornelius 2504 1912-06-13 1913-11-19 –Col. McClure, Charles 2810 Dates are formatted in yyyy-mm-dd to sort correctly. The Cullum Number is the graduation order from the United States Military Academy by year and class rank and links to a page for the officer on the website version of the Cullum Register. Listings without a Cullum Number indicate that the person was not a graduate of the United States Military Academy. Current Status Near Haines, Haines Borough, Alaska. USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 863307 {"selectable":false,"width":"500"} Location: Haines, Haines Borough, Alaska. Maps & Images Lat: 59.226841 Long: -135.444131 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 0' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 20 Links: North American Forts - Fort Seward Visited: No