First Battle of Sitka (Old Fort Sitka) Tlingit victory

Serious Russian incursions into Tlingit territory began in 1799 when Baranof set out from St. Paul (Pribilof Islands) with the intent to set up a post near Sitka Sound. He lost about 60 men on the crossing and another 30 were attacked the first night he landed by local Native peoples. The Russians at the point wanted a post further south in what would become Alaska to compete with Spanish and British interests in the fur trade. After reaching Sitka, they built a stockade and fort and Baranof left in April 1800, to go to Kodiak which was then the capital of Russian America. On this day in 1802, a group of Tlingit warriors attacked the Russian fort at mid-day. Led by Skautlelt (Shḵ'awulyéil) and Kotleian, the raiding party massacred many, looted the sea otter pelts, and burned the settlement, including a ship under construction. The Russians never rebuilt at this site.