AH-WR-0659

Neva

Frigate · Russia · Lost 1813 · The Inside Passage & Alaska

A Russian-American Company frigate wrecked near Sitka in 1813, its long-sought survivor camp finally identified by archaeologists two centuries later.

Artistic recreation based on recorded historical documents. See the documented evidence.

Historically Reconstructed. Drawn from partial documentation of this vessel together with her known class and configuration. See the documented evidence.

The Vessel and Her Loss

Originally built in London as the Thames, the frigate Neva later served in Russian hands before joining the Russian-American Company's Pacific fleet. Approaching Sitka in a January 1813 storm, she grounded and broke apart off Kruzof Island, killing 32 of the 60 aboard. The 28 survivors endured nearly three weeks in a midwinter wilderness camp before rescue. In the 2010s, a joint American-Russian archaeological expedition located the long-sought survivor camp on Kruzof Island, confirming a two-century Alaska maritime legend.

Vessel

Built: 1800
Builder: Petr Everitt Mestaer
Yard: Rotherhithe, London, England
Material: Wood
Length: Not established
Beam: Not established
Tonnage: 372
Propulsion: Sail
Owners: Russian-American Company

Loss

Date: January 9, 1813
Cause: Grounding
Location: Off Cape Edgecumbe, Kruzof Island, near Sitka, Alaska
Water: Gulf of Alaska
Voyage: Novo-Arkhangelsk (Sitka)
Cargo: Not established
Aboard: 60
Lives lost: 32
Master: Not established

The Wreck Today

Depth: Not established
Condition: Not established
Orientation: Not established
Discovered: 2012-2017 (survivor camp and wreck-associated site identified)
Protection: Not established

Position

Coordinates: 56.99° N 135.75° W
Accuracy: Approximate position
Nearest: Kruzof Island, near Sitka, Alaska
Region: The Inside Passage & Alaska

Historical and archival sources place the loss off Cape Edgecumbe on Kruzof Island near Sitka; a 2012-2016 archaeological project located the survivors' camp on Kruzof Island but the exact resting place of the wreck itself has not been pinpointed, so this is the general documented loss area, not a surveyed wreck site.

Evidence

Overall confidence: Documented (78/100)

The exact wreck position offshore has not been pinpointed; only the associated survivor camp site has been archaeologically confirmed.

Alaska Office of History and Archaeology / Alaska Journal of Anthropology, McMahan (2017)
Loss date, cause, casualties, survivor camp discovery.
Anchorage Daily News
Survivor camp discovery narrative.
Alaska Journal of Anthropology - McMahan, Neva wreck and survivor camp report
wreck position
BOEM - Alaska's Worst All Time Shipping Losses
wreck position