A hundred years ago, in the summer of 1881, theRodgers, commanded by Lieut. Robert M. Berry was dispatched to the Chukchi Sea to search for theJeannette, which under the command of Lieut. Comdr. George W. De Long had entered the Chukchi Sea in an attempt to reach the North Pole in the summer of 1879 and had not been heard from. After searches of Wrangel Island and Herald Island, during one of which the recently discovered note was left, Lieutenant Berry established winter quarters at St. Lawrence Bay, on the Siberian side of the Bering Strait. On Nov. 30, 1881 theRodgerswas lost by fire but the entire crew escaped. They spent the winter as guests of the local Chukchi and were evacuated by the U.S. revenue steamerThomas Corwinin May 1882.