| Summary: | Text accompanying photograph: Col. Thom. M. Anderson of the 14th U.S. Infantry, who had been assigned to the command of U.S. troops in Dyea, arrived with his staff the 1st wk. in March 98. Col. was veteran of Phillipine War and had qts. near Sealy & Welam Hotel. Indians at Haines Mission were in ugly mood June 25 - 98 & threatened lives of white settlers (blackfaces). Squad of 25 men sent in to look after them. Filed in Alaska--People--Military In 1898, Alaska's Territorial Governor, John Brady, complained to Washington that "gamblers, thugs and lewd women" were coming up Lynn Canal and taking control of Skagway and Dyea. Washington was receiving complaints of boundary and customs violations in the White Pass area. At the end of February, 1898, soldiers of the 14th Infantry arrived in Skagway to maintain order. They remained in Alaska for 15 months. In May of 1899, they were relieved by Company L of the 24th Infantry, one of the U.S. Army's four black units. Aside from peacekeeping, Company L's principal duty in Skagway was to "show the flag," to maintain a government presence near the border. The black soldiers spent three years in the area. Their good discipline and appearance made a favorable impression on all with whom they came in contact. During the Gold Rush era, the Army opened 6 posts around Alaska to keep order among the gold seekers. [source: Gold Rush Stories, web site, http://www.library.state.ak.us/goldrush/stories/military.htm]
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