Soldiers of the Expedition

George Gibson was a private on the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was renowned for his hunting skills and fiddle playing.

Northeast Nebraska is considered Private George Shannon Country. It was here in the late summer of 1804 where Private Shannon, the youngest member of the Corps of Discovery, was lost for 16 days.

John Shields was a valuable blacksmith on the Lewis and Clark expedition. He was renowned for being able to craft tools for trade and repair the parties' weapons, including Lewis' air rifle.

A few journal entries mention Collins as a reliable hunter, within the top five of the Corps. But during the first few months of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, he appeared to have some challenges.

Joseph Whitehouse served as an enlisted soldier and tailor on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Even though Peter Weiser was a member of the permanent party of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, not a lot is known about Weiser since he is rarely mentioned in the journals.

Pierre Cruzatte joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition at St. Charles. His mixed heritage, navigation skills, and fiddle music helped make many friends along the journey.

Francois Labiche served as an interpreter, boatman, and private on the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Private Thomas Proctor Howard was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Not much was written about him, but he served as part of the important backbone of the expedition.

Hugh McNeal was a valued Private of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He found himself on the receiving end of assassination plots and grizzly bears alike.

Private Reuben Field was born about 1772, about two years before his brother, Joseph. Since the Fields were raised in Kentucky, they were a part of the “nine young men from Kentucky.”

Private John B. Thompson was a little written about but highly valuable member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Robert Frazer served as a Private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He was one of the members who kept a journal of the expedition but it was, unfortunately, lost.

Richard Windsor was a little written about but still important member of the Lewis and Clark expedition. He served as a valuable hunter and general laborer.

Jean-Baptiste Lepage was hired on to the Lewis and Clark Expedition at Fort Mandan in North Dakota. He brought with him valuable knowledge and experience on the local rivers and land they would be traveling across.

Private William E. Bratton was born on July 27, 1778. Originally of Scottish-Irish descent, the Bratton family moved from Augusta County, Virginia to Kentucky in 1790. As such, he was recruited for the Lewis and Clark Expedition by William Clark and became a part of the “nine young men from Kentucky.” He enlisted on October 20, 1803 and served primarily as a hunter, blacksmithing assistant, and gunsmith.

Lewis and Clark Expedition member William Bratton was described as over six feet tall, square of build, somewhat quiet, and of strict morals. As a youth he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, so he could have assisted John Shields and Alexander Willard at times at the forge. He also was qualified to be a gunsmith and reliable hunter

This photograph was taken of Alexander Hamilton Willard and his wife Eleanor in the mid-1860s, just prior to his death near Sacramento, California. It’s believed that Willard and Patrick Gass were the only two Expedition members to live long enough to be photographed.

John Colter was a well-known Private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He would further make a name for himself as one of America's first Mountain Men, the first American to find Yellowstone, and as a fur trapper and trader.

Werner was a private on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Not much is known or written about him, but the captain's trusted him enough to be included on small excursions.

Silas Goodrich was a private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He had been written as a successful fisherman and trader.

John Potts was a valuable member of the expedition. As a good hunter and trusted soldier he often was employed in small groups.

Hugh Hall was a little written about private on the Lewis and Clark expedition. Even then his contributions would help the success of the journey.

Several of the men of the Corps were qualified blacksmiths, including Privates Alexander Willard and William Bratton. But John Shields was considered the “chief” blacksmith as he was the most skilled.

Long before the Corps of Discovery traveled through, the trade economy of the Native peoples of the northern plains was firmly established and abundant. For centuries French and British goods were traded between people groups from as far north as Hudson’s Bay to as far west as the Rocky Mountains. This was evident to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

While remembered as a reliable soldier, Willard made a few notable errors throughout the Lewis and Clark Expedition. His most grievous mistake was falling asleep while on guard duty during the night of July 11-12, 1804, something that was technically punishable by death. But would this valuable blacksmith receive his punishment?

One of the most complicated parts of the Lewis and Clark Expedition was the language barrier. Speaking with the Native peoples Lewis and Clark met required many translators. From their English to Shoshone or Salish, the chain of communication stretched across 5 languages and 6 people.

Gary E. Moulton wrote in the introduction of volume 11 of the massive work he edited, “The journals of the Lewis and Clark expedition are one of our country's national treasures.” While President Jefferson did not order the actual keeping of separate journals by anyone other than the captains, we know at least one private kept a journal -- Joseph Whitehouse. (It’s believed that Private Robert Frazier also wrote, but his journal has never been found.)

Snow, wind-chilled winter weather always made survival difficult for the expedition, and January 14, 1805, was no exception. On this day one of the expedition members suffered frostbite on his feet.

George Shannon, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, got lost near here in 1804.

Shannon was just a kid, barely 18 at the time – the youngest member of the Corps, at least until baby Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born in the winter of 1805. Maybe it was due to his young age that Shannon became known as the soldier who got “lost” during the Expedition -- not once, but possibly twice.

The Corps rested at Kaw Point Park for about three days in 1804 -- just long enough for two of the men to get into trouble. During the early morning hours of June 29 (just after midnight), Private John Collins was on guard duty. Being the only man awake, he helped himself to one of the whiskey barrels. One sip led to another and soon, Collins was drunk. When Private Hugh Hall came to relieve him, Collins offered a drink and Hall accepted. Soon they were drunk together.

On January 8, 1806, Captain Clark and a small party of men were visiting some Tillamook and Clatsop people near the Necanicum River (in today’s Seaside, Oregon). In the evening, McNeal went off with a woman, through an arrangement by a Tillamook man – a man who intended to kill McNeal and take his possessions.