Fort Egbert was a U.S. Army base in

Eagle, Alaska Eagle ( in Hän Athabascan) is a city on the south bank of the Yukon River near the Canada–US border in the Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. It includes the Eagle Historic District, a U.S. National Historic Landmark. The ...

. It operated from 1899 to 1911.

History

Fort Egbert was established in 1899, during the Klondike Gold Rush, as U.S. Army headquarters in the

District of Alaska The District of Alaska was the federal government’s designation for Alaska from May 17, 1884 to August 24, 1912, when it became Alaska Territory. Previously (1867–1884) it had been known as the Department of Alaska, a military designation. ...

. It was named by U.S. President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in t ...

in honor of

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

Harry C. Egbert Harry Clay Egbert (January 3, 1839 – March 26, 1899) was an officer in the United States Army who served in the American Civil War, the Spanish–American War, and the Philippine–American War. He commanded the 6th Infantry Regiment during the ...

, who died in battle on March 26, 1899 in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

. The base was constructed next to Eagle Bluff, a rocky outcropping overlooking Eagle, a

Yukon River The Yukon River ( Gwich'in: ''Ųųg Han'' or ''Yuk Han'', Yup'ik: ''Kuigpak'', Inupiaq: ''Kuukpak'', Deg Xinag: ''Yeqin'', Hän: ''Tth'echù'' or ''Chuu k'onn'', Southern Tutchone: Chu Nìikwän, russian: Юкон, Yukon) is a major watercour ...

mining community near the Canada–US border. Eagle, which was established on a military reservation, was placed under the jurisdiction of the new base "until such time as some form of civil government may be established." Eagle was released from

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

on July 23, 1900. Fort Egbert was designated as the first station in the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS), a network of telegraph lines connecting Alaska with the contiguous United States. The first link in the system was completed in October 1900, running from

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

in the Canadian

Yukon Territory Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

to Fort Egbert. Another link, completed August 24, 1902, connected Fort Egbert with Fort Liscum in Valdez. In 1905, Norwegian explorer

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Amu ...

used Fort Egbert's telegraph station to announce his successful crossing of the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arct ...

. Fort Egbert was abandoned in 1911 except for an

Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army that creates and manages communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860, the brainchild of ...

contingent, which continued to operate a station until 1925, when the wireless station (which had replaced the land lines) burned to the ground. Five buildings of the original Fort Egbert have been preserved under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management.

Demographics

Fort Egbert appeared once on the 1910 U.S. Census as an unincorporated military installation. Owing to its deactivation in 1911, it was not reported again.

References

;General * ;Specific

External links

Fort Egbert National Historic Site (Bureau of Land Management)
*
Eagle Historical Society
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska Bureau of Land Management areas in Alaska Closed installations of the United States Army

Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...

History museums in Alaska Military and war museums in Alaska Museums in Unorganized Borough, Alaska National Historic Landmarks in Alaska Tourist attractions in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska Yukon River

History

Demographics

See also

References

External links