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Book/Printed Material Journal of the USS "Ossipee," the Transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.

About this Item

Title

  • Journal of the USS "Ossipee," the Transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States.

Summary

  • The Ossipee was a United States Navy ship, built by the Portsmouth Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, launched on November 16, 1861, and commissioned on November 6, 1862. After service with the Union navy during the Civil War, it was decommissioned in July 1865. The ship was recommissioned in October 1866 under the command of Captain George F. Emmons, and in that month it sailed from Philadelphia into the Atlantic. Presented here is the ship's log for the period from October 27, 1866 to December 31, 1867. It contains the daily entries, orders, reports, muster rolls, maps, and newspaper articles concerning the voyage and places visited. Beginning on the east coast of the United States, the Ossipee proceeded to the Canary and Cape Verde Islands, from there to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, then southward and through the Straits of Magellan. It then proceeded up the western coast of Chile to Valparaiso, sailed on to Callao, Peru, and then continued to San Francisco. There, in September 1867, it collected the Russian commissioners to be present at the ceremony, held on October 18, 1867, at which Alaska was formally transferred to the United States. The Ossipee left San Francisco on September 27, 1867, and continued on to Vancouver and to Sitka. The ship subsequently remained on duty in Alaskan waters. The pages of the journal are numbered, and the transfer ceremonies at Sitka are described on pages 147-48. The journal offers numerous insights into life on board a warship in the mid-1800s. The lists of the crew at the beginning of the journal are noteworthy for the large number of desertions and disciplinary actions they record. The volume includes photographs of Emmons and of the Ossipee and several appendices, including one containing the orders from Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to Rear Admiral H.K. Thatcher regarding the transportation of American and Russian commissioners to Sitka. Another appendix consists of the report made to Emmons by one of his officers concerning the injuries sustained by members of the crew in the gale of Sitka on October 27, 1867.

Names

  • Emmons, George F. (George Foster), 1811-1884 Contributor.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1866-10-27 to 1867-12-31]

Headings

  • -  Cape Verde
  • -  Spain--Canary Islands
  • -  Brazil--Rio de Janeiro
  • -  Chile--Magallanes y Antártica Chilena--Puerto del Hambre
  • -  Chile--Valparaíso
  • -  Peru--El Callao--Callao
  • -  Canada--British Columbia--Vancouver
  • -  United States of America--Alaska--Sitka
  • -  United States of America--California--San Francisco
  • -  United States of America--Pennsylvania--Philadelphia
  • -  1866-10-27 to 1867-12-31
  • -  Alaska -- Annexation to the United States
  • -  Logbooks
  • -  Ossipee (Sloop of war)
  • -  Ships
  • -  Voyages and travels

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 267 pages : maps, newspaper articles ; 33.9 x 21.8 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Sitka Historical Society.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021671102

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Emmons, George F. , Contributor. Journal of the USS "Ossipee," the Transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -10-27 to 1867-12-31, 1866] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671102/.

APA citation style:

Emmons, G. F. (1866) Journal of the USS "Ossipee," the Transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -10-27 to 1867-12-31] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021671102/.

MLA citation style:

Emmons, George F. , Contributor. Journal of the USS "Ossipee," the Transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -10-27 to 1867-12-31, 1866] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021671102/>.