Years of Decline

The rise and decline of American military interest in Alaska paralleled the rise and decline of American civilian interest in Alaska as well.  After the initial boom of trading for the goods of the departing Russians, a slump occurred in Sitka. Vessel traffic at Sitka paid $21,000 in customs duties between 1867 and 1869, but duties dropped to less than $500 in 1870.  By then, most Russians had left, and their property had been sold. They took with them the cash Americans had paid for their goods. 

Many Americans also left by 1870. An army officer who took a census of Sitka in 1870 believed that many people thought "there might be something in it (Alaska), came, looked, and went away." His census showed a nearly 50 percent decrease in the number of non-Natives in Sitka since 1868. The disappointment with Alaska coincided with an economic depression throughout the rest of the United States. Financial troubles in San Francisco, the chief trading port for Alaska, particularly affected Alaska and led many firms to close remote outlets and pull back representatives from Alaska.

There were Americans in other parts of Alaska. Whalers had continued their voyages into Arctic waters, the Pribilof Islands were awash with fur seal killers, and American traders began to establish posts along the Yukon River. But overall, most Americans who came to Alaska went to Sitka. Of those, many became discouraged and departed by the end of 1870. 

By then, a pattern of the early American occupation in Alaska had been established. It consisted of a scattering of permanent government outposts, such as forts and customs stations supported by navy and treasury department vessels; a small year-round civilian population; and seasonal visits by laborers in natural resource industries such as fur trading and fishing. 

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