On a voyage to the remote
settlements on Alaska’s southeast coast, the ill-fated Russian ship The Neva
ran aground during the brutally cold winter of 1813. More than 30 people aboard
the vessel died and another 28 limped ashore where two more died of hypothermia
in the harsh Alaskan wilderness before the remaining survivors were rescued
three weeks later.
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| Sloop of War Neva |
While the story of The Neva is well
known throughout Alaska, the location of the shipwreck and how the survivors
endured in that rugged landscape with little more than what was in their
pockets has remained a mystery for over two centuries.
But the recent discovery by an international team of researchers
funded by the National Science Foundation of a campsite used by the survivors
has shed new light on what life was like for the survivors and pointed the
archeologists to the Neva’s final resting place.
Axe heads found at the camp used by
survivors of The Neva (Courtesy of Dave McMahan)
“The Neva is almost legendary in
Southeast Alaska,” Dave McMahan, an archaeologist and the expedition’s chief
investigator, told Fox News. The Neva was one of the first Russian ships to
make an around-the-world voyage and participated in the Battle of Sitka in
1802, where the Russian navy bombarded the Tlingit indigenous people.
McMahan added that huge amounts of
kelp also cloud the water and that a drastic rising of the sea bed over the
last 200 years means that remains of the Neva were more likely in the island’s
interior than in the water.
“We were looking on the beach when
we should have been looking in the trees,” he added.
In 2016 – after years of searching
led to smattering of axes, fire pits and other discoveries – the team made one
of its most important finds to date when they uncovered a grave believed to
belong to Tertii Stepanovich Bornovolokov.
Bornovolokov, the highest ranking
member on The Neva, was set to take over as chief manager of the Russian
American Co. in the North American settlements and is believed to be one of the
wreck’s two survivors to die from hypothermia. The Russian American Co. was a state-sponsored
chartered company tasked with establishing new settlements in Russian America
and carrying out an expanded colonization program.
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| Leontiy Andrianovich, Captain Of Neva |
The sinking of The Neva was the last
in a long line of misfortunes to befall the Russian merchant ship. Before it
even left port in Siberia, the ship’s captain drowned during inspection and
harsh weather and lack of fresh water led to the death of 15 passengers and
crew members even before the ship ran aground.
Local legend states that a Tlingit
shaman cursed the ship for its role in the Battle of Sitka and the spot where
the ship ran aground is considered sacred ground to the Tlingit people.
“Because of the Battle of Sitka, the
Neva is still thought of with a lot of animosity from some people in Alaska,”
McMahan said.
With the discovery of the survivor
camps, McMahan hopes to not only shed light on what happened in the past but
also highlight how this discovery could help shape current events.
“With our country's poor
relationship with Russia right now, and all the negativity in the news, the
NEVA project is a good example of positive cooperation to study a little known
shared history,” he said. “In 2014 as we were trying to get off the ground, the
planned NEVA Project was adopted by the U.S. - Russia Bilateral Presidential
Commission as a worthwhile cooperative endeavor."
He added: “It was truly an
international project in that we had participating scientists from the U.S.,
Russia, and Canada.”
Interesting story. And there may be more to come!
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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