On this day, 1867: Russia formally transfers Alaska to the US
On October 18, 1867, Russia handed Alaska over to the United States at a flag ceremony in Sitka, US records show. The Russian flag came down and the US flag went up on Castle Hill. The US had agreed that March to pay $7.2 million for the land.
On October 18, 1867, Russia formally transferred Alaska to the United States, according to the State Department's Office of the Historian, the National Park Service and the office of Alaska's governor. The handover took place at Sitka, the Park Service and the governor's office say. The Park Service says Castle Hill in Sitka had been the seat of Russian rule in Alaska.
The ceremony was held on the afternoon of October 18 on Castle Hill, in front of the governor's house, the Park Service says. The Russian flag was lowered and the US flag was raised, the Park Service and the governor's office say. The governor's office says 250 US Army troops marched to the house for the flag raising.
Brigadier General Lovell H. Rousseau received the territory for the United States from the Russian commissioner, Pestchouroff, according to the Park Service and the signed record of the transfer, published by the Office of the Historian. That record says the transfer was made under salutes of artillery from both sides. It also gives the Russian calendar date, October 6.
The United States had agreed on March 30, 1867, to buy Alaska for $7.2 million, the Office of the Historian says. The governor's office also gives the $7.2 million price. The Senate approved the treaty on April 9, and President Andrew Johnson signed it on May 28, the Office of the Historian says.
The Park Service says the transfer covered an area as large as Sweden, Finland and Denmark combined, and marked the first time the United States expanded into land that did not border its other states and territories. The Office of the Historian says the purchase ended Russia's presence in North America.
For three decades, the United States paid little attention to Alaska, the Office of the Historian says. It became a state on January 3, 1959, the Office of the Historian says, and the governor's office also dates statehood to 1959.
October 18 is Alaska Day, a state holiday that the territorial legislature adopted in 1917, the governor's office says. The Alaska Historical Society has collected 16 eyewitness accounts of the ceremony, drawn from newspapers, letters and journals.
What we know: Russia formally handed Alaska to the United States at Sitka on October 18, 1867, after a $7.2 million purchase.
What we don't: How many people in all watched the ceremony on Castle Hill.
Where outlets agree The Office of the Historian, the National Park Service and Alaska's governor's office date the formal transfer of Alaska at Sitka to October 18, 1867, and the Historian and the governor's office put the price at $7.2 million.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.