Wrangell Bombardment

Wrangell Bombardment

View of Fort Wrangell under construction in background, Stikine in foreground, 1868
DateDecember 25–29, 1869
Location
Wrangell, Alaska
56°23′06″N 132°05′11″W / 56.38500°N 132.08639°W / 56.38500; -132.08639
Result Stikine surrender of murderer to the U.S. Army, court martial, and execution
Belligerents
Stikine people
Commanders and leaders
  • First Lieutenant William Borrowe
  • First Lieutenant Melville R. Loucks
Units involved
Detachment from Battery I, 2nd Regiment of Artillery Irregular force of Stikine villagers, armed with muskets, spears, pistols.
Strength
26 soldiers, log wall fort, 12-pounder mountain howitzer, 6-pounder cannon 508 villagers
Casualties and losses
  • Leon Smith killed
  • Civilian woman, finger bitten off
  • 1 killed by gunfire, 1 executed
  • 1 severely wounded (possibly died of his wounds later)
  • Artillery bombardment casualties uncertain
Wrangell, Alaska is located in Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
Wrangell, Alaska
class=notpageimage|
Location within Alaska

The Wrangell Bombardment was the bombardment of the Stikine village of Old Wrangell (Tlingit: Ḵaachx̱aana.áakʼw) by the United States Army in 1869. The army issued an ultimatum to the villagers, demanding they deliver a Stikine named Scutd-doo to justice following the retribution murder of Leon Smith by Scutd-doo. Scutd-doo's son, Lowan, had earlier been killed by soldiers following an altercation in which he bit off a finger of the wife of the quartermaster of Fort Wrangell.

Following a two-day bombardment of the village and return musket fire by Stikine skirmishers, Scutd-doo was handed over to the army, court-martialed, and in the first application of the death penalty in Alaska under U.S. rule, was hanged before the garrison and Stikine villagers.