Blair, Andrew Alexander, 1848-1932

Andrew A. Blair attended the United States Naval Academy and in 1867 was assigned to the U.S.S. Reseca as a midshipman. The Resaca had been commissioned in 1866 and ordered to relieve the U.S.S. Jamestown which was cruising the Mexican and Central American coast. After yellow fever broke out among the crews of the two ships, they were ordered to Alaskan waters in an effort to reduce the spread of the disease. The ships arrived in Sitka in August 1867, and participated in the October 1867 transfer of Alaska to the United States from Russia. The Resaca remained in Sitka for several months, leaving for San Francisco in January 1868 with Princess Maksutov, wife of the last governor of Russian America, aboard. Blair resigned from the Navy in 1869, and eventually became Chief Chemist of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey.

From the description of Andrew Alexander Blair papers relating to the U.S.S. Resaca expedition to Alaska, 1867-1868. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702179925