Russians in Hawaii | Images of Old Hawaiʻi

February 28, 2019 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Fort Kekuanohu

Russians arrived in Hawaii in 1804 on ships associated with the Russian-American Fur Trading Company stationed at what is now Sitka, Alaska, to obtain fruit, vegetables and meat.

During this timeframe, Hawai‘i served as an important provisioning site for traders, whalers and others crossing the Pacific.

On O‘ahu, in 1815, Kamehameha I granted Russian representatives permission to build a storehouse near Honolulu Harbor.

But, instead, directed by the German adventurer Georg Schaffer (1779-1836,) they began building a fort and raised the Russian flag.

They built their blockhouse near the harbor, against the ancient heiau of Pākākā and close to the King’s complex. There are reports that the Russians used stones from Pākākā in building their facility.

As a side note, Pākākā was the site of Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i’s negotiations relinquishing power to Kamehameha I, instead of going to war, and pledged allegiance to Kamehameha, a few years earlier in 1810.

When Kamehameha discovered the Russians were building a fort (rather than storehouses) and had raised the Russian flag, he sent several chiefs, along with John Young (his advisor,) to remove the Russians from Oʻahu by force, if necessary.

The Russian personnel judiciously chose to sail for Kauai instead of risking bloodshed. On Kauai, there they were given land by Kauai’s King Kaumuali‘i; the Russian Fort Elizabeth was built soon after on Kaua‘i.

The partially built blockhouse at Honolulu was finished by Hawaiians under the direction of John Young and mounted guns protected the fort.

Its original purpose was to protect Honolulu by keeping enemy or otherwise undesirable ships out. But, it was also used to keep things in (it also served as a prison.)

By 1830, the fort had 40 guns mounted on the parapets all of various calibers (6, 8, 12 and probably a few 32 pounders.) Fort Kekuanohu literally means ‘the back of the scorpion fish,’ as in ‘thorny back,’ because of the rising guns on the walls. In 1838 there were 52 guns reported.

The fort protected Honolulu Harbor and also housed a number of administrative functions, including many years of service as Honolulu’s police headquarters. The first courts of the islands were held here until a new courthouse was built in 1853, adjacent to the fort.

Barracks, Officers’ quarters, the Governor’s House, prison cells, a guardhouse and several powder magazines were inside the 340-by-300-foot long, 12-foot high and 20-foot thick walls. The main entrance faced mauka, up Fort Street.

The fort’s massive 12-foot walls were torn apart and the fort dismantled in 1857 and used to fill the harbor to accommodate an expanding downtown.

Fort Street is one of the oldest streets in Honolulu and is named after this fort. Today, the site of the old fort is the open space called Walker Park, a small park at the corner of Queen and Fort streets (also fronting Ala Moana/Nimitz.)

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No._1._View_of_Honolulu._From_the_harbor._Burgess-(c._1854)

Louis_Choris_-_'Vue_du_port_hanarourou'-Port_of_Honolulu-1816

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Fort of Honolulu-John_Colburn-visited Honolulu twice during the voyage-July 8-23, 1837 and May 31-June 10, 1839

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Dr. Thomas T. Waterman inspecting old cannon from the old Fort, Honolulu.-PP-37-4-008

Canon from Honolulu Fort (Kekuanohu) (1816) which was demolished 1857.

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September 3, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Bering

“(A) direct acquaintance of the Russians with the islands occurred only in June 1804, when the ‘Hope’ and ‘Neva’, under the command of IF Krusenstern and Yu. F. Lisyansky, visited the archipelago in during his world tour.”

“Although Lisyansky was in the Hawaiian Islands for less than two weeks (from June 8 to 20, 1804), he managed to compile a very thorough picture of the state of the economy, trade, customs and life of the islanders, as well as the successful activities of the energetic King Kamehameha I.”

“Neva visited Otuwai Island (Kauai), where the Russian ship was visited by the King of Kaumuali‘i (To-Mari), speaking in English, complaining that Europeans seldom visit his possessions.”

“Lisyansky gave him a ‘flannel blanket and many other trifles,’ but the king was interested in the strip iron, paints, and most importantly – in defense from his opponent Kamehameha.”

“‘It was advisable for him,’ wrote Nikolai Korobitsin, the steward of the Russian Cancer Institute, ‘that we land our ship to his island to protect Evo from King Tomiomi, for which reason he even expressed the desire to “agree to act as his island in Russia’s citizenship’”.

“During the stay of the “Neva” in Hawaii, trade ties were established between the team and the islanders. Russian sailors exchanged clothes, axes, and iron for pigs and fruits, fully appreciating the importance of the archipelago as a food base for Kamchatka and Russian America.”

“The participant of the expedition VN Berkh noted later that every autumn it would be expedient to send a ship from Kamchatka to the Hawaiian Islands, where he could stay for the whole winter, and in May he could go back with a load of food.”

“According to contemporaries, Kamehameha had a special passion for the acquisition of naval ships. At his disposal were fifteen different ships, among which were not only small boats and tenders, but even large three-masted ships. He showed a keen interest in establishing trade relations.”

“Having learned that the Russian colonies lack food, the king let know AA. Baranov that he is ready every year to send a merchant ship with the cargo of pigs, salt, sweet potatoes and other food products to Novo-Arkhangelsk, if in exchange they receive ‘skins of sea otters at a reasonable price’”. (Bolkhovitinov)

“In 1813, just after the war between the United States and Great Britain, the governor of the Russian colony at Sitka, Alaska, purchased the Atahualpa, a ship that had been engaged in the naval activities of the war.” (He renamed it the Bering.)

“Previous to the discharge of the American captain and crew the ship was sent by the governor on a voyage to the ‘Sandwich Islands.’ Having sold a goodly portion of her cargo on the other islands, she visited Kauai for the purpose of trading with the natives.” (Mid-Pacific Magazine)

The Bering made its last stop at Waimea, Kauai, on January 30, 1815. At 3 am, the next morning, the ship ran aground in Waimea during a gale. (Mills)

“Most of the cargo on board was saved, and this was taken ashore and committed to the care of Kaumuali‘i, then the reigning chief of Kauai. He stored the goods, raised a little white flag to show that the building and its contents were tabu, and pursued the even tenor of his ways in peace.”

“In 1815 the Russian governor sent an agent, one Doctor Schoof (Schäffer,) to secure the property. He came to the islands as a passenger on the American ship Isabella. Captain Tyler. The Isabella was not bound for Kauai and the doctor landed at Kailua on Hawaii. After some weeks he secured passage to Kauai on the Millwood. Captain Eddes.”

“Kamehameha, then the king of the group, sent a messenger with Doctor (Schäffer,) with orders to Kaumuali‘i to deliver up the Russian property. He had kept it safely and delivered it promptly.”

“Although the bulk of the cargo consisted of powder and shot with some small arms, and notwithstanding that powder was in great demand for the killing of game, Kaumuali‘i held his trust sacred.”

“Shortly thereafter the Discovery, another Russian vessel, arrived with about 30 Kodiack Indians, half of whom were females.”

“The Governor of Alaska had heard there was an island northwest of Kauai, where there were herds of fur seals, and he had sent the Discovery and her crew on a sealing trip.”

“He failed to find either island or seals, and returned to Waimea. The captain had orders to leave the Indians in care of Dr. (Schäffer,) in case he failed to find the island and the seals, and proceeded on his voyage. It is not unreasonable to suppose that some of these Indians intermarried with the Hawaiians.”

“The Russian ship Myrtle, Captain Young, arrived shortly afterward, and also a Russian brig. These anchored at Hanalei. The arrival of these several Russian vessels caused the Hawaiians to believe that the Russians were preparing to seize the islands.”

“This suspicion was strengthened when Dr. (Schäffer) commenced to build a fort at Hanalei, where he had mounted several cannon.”

“(Schäffer) sold some powder to Kaumuali‘i, however, in exchange for sandal wood, and gave him a number of trifling presents.”

“A short time after the Doctor left, another Russian vessel arrived at Waimea. The captain was allowed to secure fresh water and purchase supplies but was advised that the climate of Kauai was not conducive to the health of Russians. He left.” (Mid-Pacific Magazine)

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August 5, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Wreck of the Bering

“Russians – or explorers hired by Russians – were curious about northeastern Asia and the American continent, wanting to know if the two were connected.”

“As early as 1648 Simeyon Dezhnev had passed through what would become known as Bering Strait ad into the Bering Sea. Dezhnev had discovered there was no land connection between Asia and America”.

“In 1728 Vitus Bering, a Dane in the service of Russia, sailed the same area, but at no time coming or going did he sight the American continent through the fogs and mists.”

“In June 1741 Vitius Bering tried again in the ship St Peter. On this terribly trying trip he did see the American mainland, but did not go ashore. On his way south Bering was shipwrecked a d died of scurvy.”

“Those who survived constructed a small boat from the wreckage of the St Peter. James Cook later used some of Bering’s charts in searching for the Northwest Passage.”

“The greatest commotion involving Bering’s second voyage did not result from the American continent, but rather from a book published by a German, George Steller, who was a naturalist aboard the St Peter.”

“In his book Steller gave the first descriptions of four previously unknown marine mammals – the fur seal, the sea otter, the sea lion and the sea cow.”

“The revelation of the existence of these creatures in large numbers brought Russian trappers, hunters and adventurers to the Aleutian Islands, to Alaska and down the Northwest Coast of America. Because of the profitable trade involved, the Russian American Company was founded.”

“In 1790 Alexander Baranov was named manager of the Russian American Company and was appointed governor of Russian America. … “

“The Russians would have preferred to keep the fur trade to themselves, but that was impossible … they could not guard the extensive coast … (and) the Russians received supplies on an irregular basis from ports far away. … The first Russian ships to visit Hawaii came in 1804.” (Joesting)

“From American and British traders who visited both the Russian settlements and Hawaii, the governor of the Russian company, Alexander Baranov, learned something about the resources and convenient location of the islands, and Kamehameha learned something about the needs of the Russians.”

“The general situation was obviously favorable to a useful commerce between the two places. Russian ships first visited the islands in 1804. but were not seen by Kamehameha.”

“A year or two afterwards. the latter made known to Baranov that he would “gladly send a ship every year with swine, salt. batatas [sweet potatoes], and other articles of food, if [the Russians] would in exchange let him have sea-otter skins at a fair price.” (Kuykendall)

“Shortly after, Baranov sent out (two) expeditions, American and British traders became embroiled in the War of 1812. With American and British ships pitted against one another, Baranov saw an opportunity for profit. Several American traders chose to sell their ships to Baranov at reduced prices rather than face the possibility that their ships would be captured or sunk.”

“Baranov had few available navigators, however, so American captains often continued to sail the vessels under contact to the RAC.”

“Baranov bought the Atahualpa and another ship, the Lydia, in exchange for twenty thousand sealskins in December 1813. The Atahualpa was renamed the Bering, after the leader of the first Russian expedition to reach Alaska. Its American captain, James Bennett, remained in command and sailed to Okhotsk to pick up the furs that were being used to buy the ship.” (Mills)

“The Bering sailed to Hawaii in late 1814 for a load of provisions destined for the North American colonies. After making stops at Kauai, Maui and Oahu, the ill-fated vessel made one land stop at Waimea, Kauai, on January 30, 1815.”

“At 3 am the next morning, the ship ran aground in Waimea Bay during a gale. The shipwrecked men were stranded on Kauai for more than two months, eventually receiving passage off the island on April 11, 1815 … Kauai islanders, under the rule of paramount chief Kaumuali‘i, retained the ship’s goods, including its cargo of furs”.

“It appears that Captain Bennett was livid about the whole affair. He proceeded to Sitka and advised Baranov to use force to retrieve the cargo. Baranov, however, chose diplomacy over force, sending Georg Anton Schäffer to Hawai’i on the American ship Isabella to resolve the situation.” (Mills)

Later that year, Schäffer arrived in Honolulu. Schäffer began building a fort and raised the Russian flag. When Kamehameha discovered this, he sent several of his men to remove the Russians from O‘ahu, by force, if necessary. The Russians judiciously chose to sail for Kaua‘i, instead of risking bloodshed.

Once on Kauai, Schäffer gained the confidence of King Kaumuali‘i, when he promised the king that the Russian Tsar would help him to break free of Kamehameha’s rule.

In 1817, however, it was discovered that Schäffer did not have the support of the Russian Tsar. He was forced to leave Hawai‘i, and Captain Alexander Adams, a Scotsman who served in the navy of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, raised the Kingdom of Hawai‘i flag over the fort in October 1817.

Eventually, over-hunting greatly diminished the number of sea otters and fur seals in the North Pacific. By the 1850s, New Archangel, which once owed its existence to the fur trade depended instead on a shipyard, a fish saltery, sawmills and an ice-exporting business.

The RAC and the Russian government no longer profited from the colony, instead focusing their main commercial activities on tea importing. The Crimean War highlighted Russian America’s vulnerability to attack by other European nations.

The Tsar decided to sell in 1867 rather than lose the territory in another war. The US States bought Alaska for $7.2 million, or approximately 2 cents per acre, and Russia ended its 126-year-old North American enterprise. (NPS)

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May 25, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Boris Ignatieff

Boris Ivanovitch Ignatieff was born December 4, 1874 to a prominent Don Cossack family. A brother became Governor-General of Irkutsk Province after high rank in the Imperial Army.

Boris “fought for half a dozen Balkan governments before he was 30, was in one army after another almost continuously. Was cited for bravery and decorated 12 times in 10 years, and only left the Balkans when, for the moment, there was peace there.” (Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

At 17, he saved his Russian commander’s life under fire from the Turkish army. His criticism of the Russian regime led to his exile when he was 20.

“Went to South America. And for several years was a real ‘soldier of fortune,’ fighting with different armies. But always for what he considered to be the right; was in numerous engagements, great and small, and was again decorated.”

“Tried living in peace in the United States for a time, but could not stand the monotony. Enlisted and fought in the Spanish-American War.” (Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

He became a US citizen and took the name Sam Johnson. Johnson had no use whatever for “anything humdrum” and would do almost anything to get into the thick of things.

He made way to Honolulu in 1893 via the merchant marine and service in the Argentine Army (wounded, with decorations). Entered service as a private in the Hawaiian National Guard, rising to Brigadier General and Hawai‘i’s third Adjutant General.

Although he had reached the envious post of militia brigadier general, he relinquished his commission and had become a private again when, in his rage, he had found that he was not being sent to Europe to fight in World War I.

Stationed in Hawaii, he had decided that if he renounced his rank and started all over again in the States, he might have a chance to get into the fight. (Faulstich)

“So I resigned my commission and went to the States to get into training. I thought I would be recommissioned and sent to France where I could pot a few Krauts.” (Johnson; Faulstich)

He transferred to the Regular Army as Major in 1915, apparently expecting US to fight Germany. He commanded US troops [27th Rgt, 33 Div, American Expeditionary Forces (Siberia)] on the troopship USS Sheridan en route to Vladivostok, 1918. He was a major figure in the International Police Force in Siberia.

While with the allied forces, he “was sent to Vladivostock in command of the second expedition of 4,000 men in Camp Fremont, and there became chief of the international Military Police, where he rendered distinguished service.”

“Heard of the capture and imprisonment of a General Romanovsky, broke through the lines under heavy machine gun fire, engaged the general’s guard in a hand-to-hand fight, rescued the general and his family, and got them out of Russia.”

“As a token of his appreciation, the general took from his own coat a certain flaming medal of honor and pinned it on …. When the latter came to examine it, he found it was the medal of the officer’s order, Cross of St George, the highest Russian honor for valor – and the one he had denied at 17 because of his youth.” Montana Standard, December 8, 1929)

He lived in the Philippines for a time and managed a large plantation there. Then he bought a ranch in Texas. He later was liquor enforcement chief in San Francisco during prohibition.

He lived with Mrs. Johnson in an apartment on Lombard Street, and ultimately had been confined to his bed or a chair. He died in San Francisco, February 24, 1948.

Years after his Siberian sojourn, Johnson passed away quitely in his sleep at the Fort Miley Veterans’ Hospital near San Francisco. His moment of death was unlike his life. As a soldier of fortune, he had taken part in unnumbered battle in uncounted wars. The rewards of his military achievements, however, live on. Johnson was awarded nearly eighty decorations. (Faulstich)

He received three decorations from the Argentine Republic; the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and Siberian campaign medal from the United States; DSO from Great Britain; the Croix de Guerre with palm from France …

Emblem of the Knight of the Crown and Order of the Crown of Italy from Italy; Distinguished Service War Cross from Czechoslovakia; the Rising Sun, Imperial Order of Meiji, from Japan …

Striped Tiger of the Order of Wen-Hu from China; Order of the White Eagle with sword from Serbia, and officers Order of St. George and a dozen other decorations from Russia.

The US Distinguished Service Cross was for actions November 17-18, 1919 in rescuing non-combatants (including, apparently, a cat) caught in a crossfire between Russian factions in Vladivostok.

“On three successive occasions Major Johnson went through a zone swept by intense fire of contending factions to the railroad station and brought out noncombatants through the continuous fire from rifles and machine guns.” Military Times)

He also won a Carnegie Medal for Heroism in a civilian rescue in Hawaii in 1915. (Holscher) (Lots of information here is from Orr, Faulstich and Holscher.)

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January 31, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

The Russians are Coming

The 1700s and 1800s were a time of imperial expansion and colonial occupation for many European nations, including Russia. In 1733, Russian Tsar Peter I commissioned the Great Northern Expedition, an ambitious exploration of Eastern Siberia and the Northern Pacific Ocean.

Vitus Bering (1681-1741), a Dane in the service of the Russian Navy, and Aleksei Chirikov (1703-1748) a Captain in the Russian Navy, were commissioned to explore and map Russia’s northeast coast.

In 1741, their explorations landed them in Alaska and they realized that the Siberian fur trade could be profitably extended further east. In the beginning, private companies conducted the fur trade throughout the Aleutian Islands and around Kodiak. (NPS)

In 1799, Tsar Paul I consolidated these private companies into one entity, the Russian American Company. This gave the Russian American Company (RAC) a monopoly on Russia’s North American trade. It also entrusted the RAC with the government of Russia’s North American colonies. (NPS)

During the early part of this century Russian America was governed by Count Baranoff, who resided at Sitka, he was a ‘rough, rugged, hospitable, hard-drinking old Russian; somewhat of a soldier, somewhat of a trader; above all, a boon companion of the old roystering school, with a strong cross of the bear.’ (Alexander)

When Baranof laid down the management of the Russian American Company, the dominion of the Czar in North America was at its greatest breadth

Its outposts were from St. Michael to Ross in California; from Sitka to Attu Island. For nearly 30 years he had been extending the limits of the possessions of his Imperial Master (Andrews)

Anxious to establish a trade with the Sandwich Islands, and well aware of their growing importance, in 1814, Baranoff sent the Bering to negotiate with the native monarch. (Dall)

Hawai‘i’s Russian story starts when three-masted Bering (sometimes spelled Behring) wrecked on the shores of Kaua‘i’s Waimea Bay early on the morning of January 31, 1815. The Behring had a load of seal skins/otter pelts bound for the Russian-American Trading Company in Sitka, Alaska.

The ship’s cargo and the sailors’ possessions were confiscated by Kaua‘i’s ruler, Kaumuali‘i.

The Russian-American Company (the owner of the ship and its cargo) sent Bavarian Georg Anton Schäffer to the Hawaiian Islands to retrieve the cargo or seek appropriate payment.

Later that year, Schäffer arrived in Honolulu. There, Kamehameha granted him permission to build a storehouse near Honolulu Harbor.

But, instead, Schäffer began building a fort and raised the Russian flag. When Kamehameha discovered this, he sent several of his men to remove the Russians from O‘ahu, by force, if necessary. The Russians judiciously chose to sail for Kaua‘i, instead of risking bloodshed.

Once on Kaua‘i, Schäffer gained the confidence of King Kaumuali‘i, when he promised the king that the Russian Tsar would help him to break free of Kamehameha’s rule.

“It would appear that the Russians had determined to form a settlement upon these islands; at least, preparations were made for the purpose; and I was informed by the commandant, that if I chose, I might get a situation as interpreter.”

“Amongst other things, I told him that I understood the Russians had some intention of forming a settlement on the Sandwich islands.”

“This reached the captain’s ears; and he gave me a severe reprimand, for having, as he expressed it, betrayed their secrets.
He desired me to say no more on the subject in future, otherwise I should not be permitted to quit the ship.”

“I know not what obstacle prevented this plan from being carried into effect; but although the Neva remained several months in the country, I never heard any more of the settlement.” (Campbell)

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