Last updated: February 13, 2025
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Black History in the Last Frontier: Company L, 24th Infantry
Alaska State Library, Paul Sincic Photo Collection (P75-144).
Black soldiers were among the first members of the United States military to arrive in Alaska on the heels of the Klondike Gold Rush. They came up from Seattle and San Francisco to Wrangell and Dyea in May 1899. Many troops were combat veterans, having fought in the American West against the Sioux, Apache, Cheyenne, and Comanche through the 1870s and 80s. The indigenous people of the Great Plains had called them Buffalo Soldiers for their valor on the battlefield. Other men in Company L fought in the Spanish American War in Cuba and the Philippines.
Officially formed in 1869, Company L was a largely black regiment, composed mostly of freedmen from the American South. In the years after the Civil War, when not deployed, Company L and the 24th Infantry maintained a base in the Presidio in San Francisco. However, after the Gold Rush began, the company deployed to Alaska to maintain order. Dyea was the first stop for the men, but it had nearly emptied out after a forest fire destroyed the Army camp there in 1899. By 1900, Company L relocated and constructed a base at Skagway, the launch point for prospectors, miners, and others who sought their fortune in the gold fields of Canada’s Yukon.
Buffalo Soldiers Deploy to Alaska
Officially formed in 1869, Company L was a largely black regiment, composed mostly of freedmen from the American South. In the years after the Civil War, when not deployed, Company L and the 24th Infantry maintained a base in the Presidio in San Francisco. However, after the Gold Rush began, the company deployed to Alaska to maintain order. Dyea was the first stop for the men, but it had nearly emptied out after a forest fire destroyed the Army camp there in 1899. By 1900, Company L relocated and constructed a base at Skagway, the launch point for prospectors, miners, and others who sought their fortune in the gold fields of Canada’s Yukon.
Alaska State Library, William Norton Photo Collection (P226-867).
Order Out of Chaos
The men of Company L served under the command of Captain Henry Hovey and imposed order on Skagway as well as the greater Taiya Inlet region during 1899 and 1900. The area developed a reputation for lawlessness as thousands of young men with gold fever flooded the town.The newly arriving and transient population of gold rushers instigated conflict with the indigenous Chilkat Tlingit, a people who had lived in Southeast Alaska for generations. In addition to these tensions, the gold seekers and prospectors entertained themselves through gambling, prostitution, drunken revelry, and brawling, all common pursuits in the remote frontier town.
Providing Food and Housing
In addition to their law enforcement duties, Company L provided food and built permanent structures to shelter the gold rushers who passed through to Dawson City. The men of Company L also built infrastructure such as roads and bridges to connect Skagway to some outlying settlements. While most of Company L served in Skagway, a few went to Fort Wrangell and Sitka. Not surprisingly, the lure of the gold fields enticed some of these young men. At least 25 went absent without leave (AWOL) or dutifully served the duration of their enlistments before traveling north to Canada’s Yukon or Alaska’s interior in search of gold.After Company L completed their deployment in Alaska, many of the men continued their service in the Philippines and then quelled skirmishes along the Mexican border. The United States Army dissolved Company L, 24th Infantry during the Korean War in 1951, but they were later reorganized and merged into the 1st Brigade Combat Team, currently garrisoned in Alaska at Fort Wainwright, outside of Fairbanks.
Today, arguably no single institution has had as large of an impact on Alaska as the United States military. The men who served in Company L, 24th Infantry might thus be seen as among the first soldiers who initiated a long, deep relationship between the military and Alaska.