Angoon bombardment
| Angoon Bombardment | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Department of Alaska | |||||||
USRC Thomas Corwin | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Edgar C. Merriman Michael A. Healy | |||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| USRC Thomas Corwin, detachment from USS Adams, marines. | Tlingit villagers | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 1 cutter, 1 tug, 1 howitzer, 1 Gatling gun, company of marines | one village | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| none |
Six children killed in bombardment An undetermined number of starvation deaths due to loss of winter supplies | ||||||
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The Angoon Bombardment was the destruction of the Tlingit village of Angoon, Alaska, by US Naval forces under Commander Edgar C. Merriman and Michael A. Healy in October 1882.
A Tlingit shaman was accidentally killed while working on a whaling ship. Tlingit villagers demanded two hundred blankets in compensation from the North West Trading Company. The Tlingit allegedly took two hostages to secure the compensation, and the US Navy went to Angoon to rescue them. The hostages were released upon the arrival of the naval expedition. Commander Merriman demanded four hundred blankets from the Tlingit in tribute. When the Tlingit delivered just eighty-one blankets, Merriman's forces destroyed the village.
Public reaction to the bombardment was instrumental to the passage of the First Organic Act of 1884 which transferred Alaska from military to civilian control.
The Navy did not apologize for its actions until 2024.