Etched in Memory: The Artwork of Vincent Colyer
Following the Bombardment of Wrangell, Vincent Colyer published detailed artwork of Fort Wrangel and Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw which challenged the Army’s version of events.
Colyer’s Trip to Alaska
Vincent Colyer was a hero of the American Civil War—not for fighting, but for his compassion. As a devout Quaker, Colyer refused to take up arms and instead dedicated himself to helping the dead, dying, and wounded. After the war, President Grant appointed him to the Board of Indian Commissioners, where he served as Secretary and traveled out West. Colyer not only documented the conditions of Indigenous life but also brought his reports to life through detailed artwork that helped convey the reality to leaders in Washington, D.C.
In October 1869, Colyer was sent to Fort Wrangel, Alaska to investigate accusations that the Army was responsible for debauching and demoralizing the Indigenous. Colyer visited every home in the village to conduct a census of the men, women, boys, and girls. During his visit to Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw, he aided a Tlingit man who had been severely beaten by U.S. soldiers and personally witnessed an attempt to smuggle liquor from a steamship. In his confrontations with the post’s commander, Lt. William Borrowe, Colyer found the commander to be dishonest, evasive, and unconcerned with the welfare of the Tlingit. In fact, Lt. William Borrowe had a reputation for dishonesty that started before, and continued after, his time in Alaska.
Before Colyer left Fort Wrangel, as he did wherever he traveled, he created detailed paintings of the landscape and daily life. His artwork provides a rare glimpse into Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw before the rapid changes of the 1870s. Along with photographs by Eadweard Muybridge in 1868, these images are among the earliest known depictions of Wrangell's history.
Bombardment of Wrangell
Two months after Colyer left Fort Wrangel, Lt. Borrowe hosted a day-long, drunken Christmas party inside the fort. Late at night, a Tlingit guest bit off the finger of a white woman, for which he and his brother were shot. In retribution, their Tlingit relative shot and killed post-trader Leon Smith. In the morning, when the village leaders failed to find and hand over Smith’s killer, Lt. Borrowe ordered Ḵaachx̱ana.áakʼw fired upon for two days until Smith’s killer surrendered and was hanged.
The first reports of the bombardment appeared in newspapers down the west coast, and many simply echoed the reports from Lt. Borrowe and Lt. Loucks. But Vincent Colyer was not buying it.
Though his time in Alaska was short, Colyer gathered enough evidence to confirm the Army’s debauchery. He personally witnessed liquor coming in, and he saw the first-hand effects of violence used against the Tlingit. He possessed detailed letters from independent eyewitnesses citing examples of the Army’s abuse of Alaska Native people. There was enough to confirm the worst rumors were true.
With Fort Wrangel still fresh in his memory, Vincent Colyer looked for something to capture the public’s attention. Among his papers were plenty of stories, but one piece of his collection told a story without words: his paintings. His serene scenes of idyllic life along peaceful shores conveyed a sense of beauty and dignity. They challenged the Army’s depiction of the village as a threat.
Harper’s Weekly
To ensure the public saw these images, on February 19, 1870, Colyer published a full-page spread in Harper’s Weekly, a popular magazine. In a short column accompanying the artwork, Colyer publicly criticized Lt. William Borrowe for the bombardment:
One month following the publication of Colyer’s images in Harper’s Weekly, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution in March 1870 requesting a report from the Secretary of War about the bombardment. Having established himself as an expert on the subject, Vincent Colyer was assigned the responsibility to write the report. One month later, in April 1870, Congress had its answer: The Colyer Report. The document included the Army’s official reports, alongside Colyer’s scathing rebuke, examples of what he witnessed, and copies of letters from eyewitnesses. On the cover, and inside the report, Colyer reprinted his etchings Harper’s Weekly.
The Artwork
Sketch No 1: KaachXana.áakʼw
In Harper’s Weekly, Colyer described this illustration as showing “the portion of the village recently bombarded, which is located on the bay nearest the United States post.” Colyer described a “well-built village” of thirty-five houses constructed from hewn timber, 30 by 50 feet, and inhabited by 450 men, women, and children.
Harper’s Weekly remarked, “The village, as our engraving shoes, was beautifully situated on the shore, within the edge of the forest, with a magnificent back-ground of mountains in the distance. The inhabitants were quiet, honest, and well-disposed toward the whites, and it is very much to be regretted that the commandant of the post should not have been more judicious in his treatment of them.”
Sketch No 2: Fort Wrangel
In contrast to the sunny, open spaces in Colyer’s other illustrations, this one is dark and flat. The angular silhouette of Fort Wrangel’s skyline stands against the dim skies, with shadowy buildings in the foreground. To the right, Colyer drew the log cabins operated by Smith & Lear as a trading post and bowling alley. Colyer collected a letter from Leon Smith and was shocked to later learn that Leon Smith was mortally wounded in front of his store before the bombardment.
Sketch No. 3: Skillat’s House Front
This image served as the cover of The Colyer Report. In the report, Colyer described this as “the residence of the widow of Skillat, the old chief of the Stikine tribe at Wrangel.” Harper’s Weekly commented, “Our sketch of the house of the Indian chief shows the style of architecture employed in the better class of dwellings in the village. It belonged to a chief named Skillat, and at the time of the bombardment was occupied by his widow. The front is curiously ornamented with paint and rude carving.”
Sketch No. 4: Inside Skillat’s House
Sketch No. 5: Shakes Island
Vincent Colyer visited Shakes Island, home of the Naan.yaa.áyi and their hereditary clan leader, Shakes. While his perspective is from the front of the house, he is set far back and below the horizon, likely on the north shore of Shakes Island. This low perspective causes the totems in front to appear taller than the building, while the mountain range in the background appears beneath the building’s peak.
Lt. Borrowe described his December 27 assault on Shakes Island, saying “after four shells had been fired, two bursting immediately in front of the houses, and two solid shots just through the house of the principal chief, Shakes, a flag of truce was seen approaching the post, and firing on my part ceased.” In his report, Colyer included this “picture of Shek’s house, through which a couple of six-pound solid shot were thrown.” This was another instance where Colyer’s ability to illustrate paid off, as he had documentary evidence of places included in the bombardment story.
Impact
Artwork from color-free versions of Harper’s Weekly.
For most Americans, Colyer’s feature in Harper’s Weekly was the first time they heard of a place called “Wrangel.” The Treaty of Cession with Russia was barely two years old, and Alaska was still shrouded in mystery. The images may have surprised people. This was not verdant farmland, it was all rocky coastline and steep hills. Despite having hardly any settlers, the Army paid for a large fort with officers and a detachment of soldiers. It called into question the Army’s purpose. Who were they there to protect? And from what?
One month after Congress and the President received The Colyer Report, the Army announced it would abandon Fort Wrangel and its other Alaskan posts, except for Sitka. The Colyer Report hastened the demise of the Army’s first attempt to control Alaska.
Vincent Colyer’s power was not just in his words. His ability to communicate visually helped to draw attention to his cause and brought humanity to the subjects of his artwork.
If you’d like to learn more, check out our Bombardment of Wrangell page for more details, resources, and visuals.