  Printing is not known to have been undertaken by the Russians in Alaska, Despite the absence of a bibliography or trustworthy history of early Alaskan printing, it seems safe to say that the earliest imprints were the orders issued by the Military District of Alaska beginning with General Orders No. 1, dated October 29, 1867. The earliest Alaskan printing in the Library of Congress is a series of general orders dating from April 11, 1868, to July 1, 1870. These orders, printed as small sheets and leaflets, are mostly of a routine character, the majority reporting courts-martial held at Sitka. In the General Orders No. 1, of April 11, 1868, Jefferson C. Davis announces his assumption of command of the Department of Alaska, which superseded the Military District of Alaska on March 18, 1868, and he names the members of his departmental staff. The orders are printed on different kinds of paper, including blue-ruled, and many of them carry official signatures in manuscript. General Orders No. 13, of December 31, 1868, is stamped: "Received Adjutant Gen'ls Office Apr 6 1870." The whole series is bound into a volume, now destitute of both covers, which was weeded from the Army War College Library sometime after World War II. The National War College transferred it to the Library of Congress in or about 1953. Since the facts surrounding the Army press have yet to be documented, it may be well to consider the civilian printing of Alaska also. This apparently began with the initial issue of The Alaskan Times, dated April 23, 1869, and printed on a press obtained from San Francisco. Featured in the November 5 issue is "The Cavalry Fight at Brandy Station," an extract from L. P. Brockett's The Camp, the Battle Field, and the Hospital (Philadelphia, 1866). Following this is a forceful editorial on "The Indian Campaign," which advocates committing a greater number of U.S. troops to the war against the Sioux. Certain advertisements in this issue are noteworthy because they relate to the paper itself. One is on the fourth page: We wish to call the Attention of all BUSINESS MEN who intend to Trade in Alaska to the fact that The Sitka Post is the Only Newspaper PUBLISHED in the TERRITORY. It is devoted entirely to the Interests of ALASKA; will never be made the organ of any party [o]r ring, political, commercial, or otherwise; and will make it its object to give the news of the TERRITORY. ALL ENTERPRISING MEN who wish to bring their BUSINESS before the Public of Alaska Territory cannot do better than by ADVERTISING in The Sitka Post. Another appears on the last page: MEN OF ENTERPRISE! TAKE NOTICE! The SITKA POST Is the only Paper printed in Alaska. It is the best medium of Advertising. It circulates in Sitka, Wrangel, Stikeen, Kodiak; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, Cal; Baltimore, Md, and Washington, D. C. Send your Advertisements to J. J. Daly Editor, Sitka Post, Sitka, A. And there is a brief appeal at the end of the last page: Wanted—More subscribers and contributors to this paper. Orders issued by the Military District of Alaska (Orders issued by the Military District of Alaska) The Library of Congress file of the Post is in an old Library binding and extends from number 2 without break to the 14th and final number, dated June 5, 1877. The first page in the volume bears a Library date stamp of 1877. Also on the first page is the signature "M. Baker," preceded by the words "Purchased by" in a different hand. Thus the file was apparently assembled by Marcus Baker (1849-1903), a noted cartographer and writer on Alaska who was employed from 1873 to 1886 by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Some issues are addressed in pencil to individual subscribers, three of whom can be positively identified from company muster rolls at the National Archives as members of the 4th Artillery, U.S. Army, stationed at Sitka. They are "Ord[nance] Serg[ean]t [George] Go[l]kell"; "H[enry] Train," a corporal in Company G; and "W[illiam] J. Welch," a bugler in Company G. Transcriber's Notes |
|
