Fort Liscum

Fort Liscum (1900-1922) - A U.S. Army post established as U.S. Garrison Port Valdez Alaska in 1900 during the Alaska Gold Rush near present day Port Valdez, Valdez–Cordova Census Area, Alaska (at the southern end of the Alaska Pipeline). Named in G.O. 119, 6 Sep 1900, for Colonel Emerson H. Liscum, 9th U.S. Infantry, who died 13 Jul 1900 in Tianjin, China during the Boxer Rebellion. Abandoned in 1922. History of Fort Liscum Captain William Ralph Abercrombe, 2nd U.S. Infantry, led the Copper River Exploring Expedition to Alaska in 1899 to establish a military road from Valdez on Prince Willian Sound to Eagle City (Fort Egbert) and to aid gold rush miners who were were unprepared for the rigors of the Alaska winter. Captain Abercrombe established a cantonment at Port Valdez and three construction stations along the route of the proposed road and established a hospital of sorts at Port Valdez. The permanent post was established 12 Feb 1900 at the southern end of the Fairbanks-Valdez Military Road at Port Valdez. Initially garrisoned by Company G, 7th U.S. Infantry, commanded by Captain James B. Jackson (Cullum 2705), 7th U.S. Infantry in May 1900. Company G, 7th U.S. Infantry and 58 civilian employees disembarked from the transport Rosecrans at 8 am on 7 May 1900 and went into temporary quarters on the fort site. The remaining members of the Copper River Exploring Expedition were transferred to the new post on the 8th and 9th of May 1900. The post was built out as a single company open plan fort by troop and civilian labor. Construction began in May 1900 and was completed in September 1900. The post accommodated additional small detachments of Signal Corps personnel building the telegraph lines and Trans Alaska Road personnel engaged in road construction. The initial set of buildings built in the summer of 1900 included a commissary, quartermaster building, winter and oil storehouses, two sets of single officer's quarters, one set of double officer's quarters, and barracks for the troops. The post was abandoned on 23 Jul 1922. Current Status Valdez, Valdez–Cordova Census Area, Alaska. Location: Near Valdez, Valdez–Cordova Census Area, Alaska. Maps & Images Lat: 61.0858333 Long: -146.3586111 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 3' Sources: Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 23 Copper River Exploring Expedition Report 1899 USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1416401 Links: North American Forts - Fort Liscum Wikipedia - Fort Liscum Visited: No