200-year-old Russian wreck found on Kruzov Island near Sitka

Courtesy of the Sitka History Museum

In July, an international team of archaeologists returned to the coast of Kruzov Island in their search for the lost Russian ship, Neva, wrecked in 1813 in one of the worst maritime disasters in Alaskan history. Following up on last year’s discovery of a Russian period survivor’s camp, researchers uncovered significant new wreckage and artifacts, and most somber, the grave of one of Neva’s forgotten crewmen or passengers who perished during the wreck. New finds leave little doubt that the elusive wreck site has been located after more than 200 years. The team has also begun piecing together the amazing story of its shipwrecked crew.

The demise of the Neva

The Russian-American Company (RAC) ship Neva was arguably one of most celebrated and reviled ships in early Alaskan history. Between 1803 and 1806 it was the first of two ships to circumnavigate the globe for Russia’s fledgling Navy. It also played the pivotal role in the 1804 Battle of Sitka, using her guns and crew to break Tlingit resistance to Russian settlement. For years the ship supplied the RAC with crucial supplies and personnel, and again made history in 1807 as the first Russian ship to sail to Australia. Yet Neva’s luck ran out during what would become her final voyage in late August, 1812.

Leaving the Siberian port of Okhotsk to deliver supplies to New Archangel (Sitka, Alaska), she was plagued by an unsettling series of misfortunes. Initial plans for the ship to visit Japan on an emissary mission were scrapped at the last minute, sending her into Alaskan waters late in the season. Ominously, Shturman Vasil’ev, Neva’s newly appointed captain, drowned when his skiff overturned during an initial inspection tour.

Fleet Lieutenant Iakov Podushkin assumed command of the vessel, sharing duties with Navigator Daniil Kalinin. Contrary to others’ advice to sail directly to New Archangel, Podushkin chose to sail down the Aleutian chain in hopes of re-supplying with fresh water. A fierce storm pounded the Neva, breaking the mainsail and damaging other rigging. Too sick to continue, Podushkin relinquished command to Kalinin. In late November, changing winds brought the battered ship to safe harbor in Prince William Sound. Already 15 had died on board during the voyage. Uncertain if the weak and shaken passengers could survive the winter there, Kalinin sailed for Sitka.

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