| dbo:abstract | - Fort Tongass was a United States Army base on Tongass Island, in the southernmost Alaska Panhandle, located adjacent to the village of the group of Tlingit people on the east side of the island. Fort Tongass was the first US Army base established in Alaska following its purchase from the Russian Empire in 1867 and was garrisoned by the 2nd U.S. Artillery under the command of Captain . Historian Hubert Howe Bancroft notes: "the site was well chosen, containing a plentiful supply of timber and pasture, while fish and game abound in the neighbourhood. The post was commissioned in 1868 and abandoned in 1870. After Alaska was established as a customs district by legislation in 1868, a deputy collector was posted to Fort Tongass as well as to Fort Wrangel, meant to intercept prospectors and commercial traffic bound for the goldfields of the Stikine River inland in British Columbia, and a revenue cutter was stationed in the area's waters. In 1868, Jefferson C. Davis, commander of the army's , visited Fort Tongass as well as Fort Wrangel and Prince of Wales Island aboard USS Saginaw, with Jefferson requesting an armed steamer be sent north to support troops in those garrisons, who had no water transport. USS Cyane was sent north in 1869, being fitted out for Alaskan service and stationed at Sitka, as support for these bases. In 1869 a newspaper was published at Fort Tongass named the Tongass Wa-Wa ("Wa-wa" in the Chinook Jargon means "talk, speech, conversation"). After the fort's closing the name Fort Tongass became current for the name of the native village which remained. Despite the army's withdrawal, a Customs Inspector remained in residence, though having difficulty in controlling trade between the various Tlingit tribes and the Hudson's Bay Company post at Fort Simpson, which was just 15 miles south. In 1879 there were 700 Tongass under a chief named Ya-soot. (en)
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