Other Members of
The Corps of Discovery

Kentucky Chautauqua actor Hasan Davis brings York to life

York was the slave of expedition co-leader William Clark. York grew up alongside Clark and became his "body servant." As such, he was always with Clark and attended to his needs and safety at all times. York had no say when Clark decided to join Meriwether Lewis on a voyage into the Louisiana Territory and the unexplored west, although York's experience on the expedition was liberating, to a point. York more than demonstrated his value to the expedition, was regarded as an equal member of the party and even voted with the other expedition members. Along with Sacagawea, York helped to bridge the cultural gap between the expedition and the Native American tribes encountered along the way. Some Native Americans regarded York as above human or as a gift from God, naming him "Big Medicine." The relative freedom York experienced on the expedition was lost the moment the Corps returned to St. Louis. William Clark refused to grant York his freedom and the relationship between the two deteriorated. Several years later, long after York's wife and family were sold to southern owners, Clark finally granted York his freedom. There are conflicting stories about the remainder of York's life. While some argue that he died of cholera in Tennessee, others suggest that York lived out his days as a chief in the Crow Tribe.

Sergeant John Ordway was born in New Hampshire and was recruited at the age of 29. Ordway was educated and kept a journal, which was lost for 100 years before it was published in 1916. He was well respected and kept orderly books on the Expedition. When they returned, Ordway went to Washington with Captain Lewis and a party of Native Americans to meet with President Jefferson. He eventually settled in Missouri and became a prosperous landowner.

Patrick Gass was born in Pennsylvania and enlisted as a private in 1804 when he was 31 years old. After Sergeant Floyd's death he was elected sergeant. Gass was a carpenter, boat builder, woodsman and good joke teller. He published a journal of the expedition several years before the official Lewis and Clark Journals in 1814. After the expedition he served in the War of 1812. Three years later, he lost his left eye and was discharged for total disability. At the age of 60, Gass married a 20-year-old girl and had 6 children. He was the sole survivor of the expedition when he died in 1870 at the age of 99.

Private John Collins was born in Maryland and went on the muster roll in 1804, earning the reputation as the best hunter of the party. Captain Clark noted him as "Blackguard" for killing a farmer's pig and claiming it was bear meat. After the expedition's return, Collins was killed in a fight with the Arikara in 1823.

Private Pierre Cruzatte was half French and half Omaha and enlisted with Lewis and Clark in 1804. He spoke the Omaha language and was skilled in sign talk, so he was valuable to the captions at the Indian councils and encounters with the tribes on the lower Missouri. Like the other regular men he was awarded extra pay and a land grant after the expedition returned.

Private Robert Frazier was born in Virginia and was transferred to the permanent expedition party in 1805 when he was 31 years old. Frazier kept a journal, which he intended to publish, but it was lost. However, Frazier's map of the Northwest is now in the Library of Congress. After the Expedition, he went with Caption Lewis to Washington and Virginia and then returned to St Louis.

Private Silas Goodrich was born in Massachusetts and was transferred from his army unit to Lewis and Clark's command in 1804. He was the principal fisherman and his efforts supplied a change of diet for the men. After the Expedition he reenlisted in the army.

Private Hugh Hall was born in Pennsylvania and joined the expedition when he was 31 years old. He drank a bit and was one of the most adventuresome of the party.

Private Thomas Proctor Howard was born in Massachusetts. He entered the Lewis and Clark muster in 1804 and served as boatman.

Private Francois William Labiche was half French and half Omaha. He served as interpreter and patron of one of the pirogues. He spoke French, English and several other Native American languages and was an excellent tracker, hunter and waterman. After the expedition he went to Washington as interpreter to the group of Native Americans accompanying Caption Lewis.

Jean Baptiste LePage was a French-Canadian fur trader. His knowledge of the Mandan Villages helped the Expedition's progress.

Private Hugh McNeal was born in Pennsylvania but lived in Kentucky at the time of his enlistment. He was an excellent hunter and faithful to the expedition. A Tillamook Indian woman's screaming saved his life when there was a plot to kill him for his blanket and clothing. McNeal stayed in the army until 1811.

Private John Potts was born in Germany and joined the expedition in 1803 at the age of 27. In 1806 Potts nearly drowned, almost bled to death when he cut his leg and was attacked by a grizzly bear. After the expedition he joined a hunting party in the upper Missouri. In 1810, he was with John Colter when they were attacked by the Blackfeet Indians. While Colter survived, Potts was killed in the attack. He was 34 years old.

Private John B Thompson was a surveyor in Indiana and, as a member of the expedition, assisted with celestial observations and map-making. He also served as the expedition's cook.

Private Peter M. Weiser was born in Pennsylvania and enlisted in 1804 at the age of 23. He was quartermaster, cook and hunter on the expedition. After their return, John Colter, John Potts and Weiser went to the upper Missouri. The town of Weiser and the Weiser River in Idaho are named after Peter Weiser.

Private William Werner was probably born in Kentucky. During the expedition he was disciplined for fighting with John Potts and court martialed in 1804 for mutiny. Werner received 25 lashes on his back as punishment. He stayed out of trouble for the rest of the trip, serving satisfactorily but without distinction.

Private Alexander Hamilton Willard was born in New Hampshire, but was living in Kentucky at the time of his enlistment in 1804. He was a good blacksmith, gunsmith, and a fine hunter. He marred in 1807 and had 12 Children. In 1852 Willard's family migrated by covered wagon to California where he died in 1865 at the age of 87. Willard was the only member of the Corps who was ever photographed.

Private Richard Windsor enlisted in Kentucky in 1804. He was a useful man on the Expedition with the hunting parties. When they returned, Windsor settled for a time in Missouri and reenlisted in the army, serving until 1819.

George Drouillard was an interpreter born in Canada to a French father and Shawnee mother. His father served with Simon Kenton and was an interpreter for George Rogers Clark at the Great Miami. Drouillard knew the Indian sign language well and was able to talk to the Native Americans. After the expedition he lived in Missouri for a while and then returned to the Rocky Mountains. He gave Captain Clark considerable topographical details, which Clark incorporated into his map of the Northwest. Drouillard was killed by the Blackfeet in 1810.

Toussaint Charbonneau was a French Canadian fur trader and was asked to be an interpreter for Lewis and Clark. He spoke French and native languages but no English. Other men would translate French to English for him. He earned a reputation as a lazy member of the Corps but served as interpreter. He was given a horse, teepee, $500 and 320 acres of land for his services. His wife Sacagawea, who proved to be more valuable to the expedition, received nothing.

Sacagawea was from the Shoshone tribe, but had been taken prisoner by the Hidatsa tribe where she was won through a game of chance by her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau. She was 15 years old and the only woman on the Expedition. Her son Jean Baptiste Charbonneau and she served as a living white flag or sign of Peace. Lewis and Clark accepted Charbonneau's offer to sign on as an interpreter, not for his abilities, but because Sacagawea spoke Shoshone, Hidatsa, and French. She had a sense of the landscapes and direction, where they were, and where they were going. Her service proved invaluable in negotiations with the Shoshone for horses. Without those horses, the expedition would not have been able to cross the Rocky Mountains. Sacagawea dug for roots and collected plants that were used as food and medicine by the Corps. After the expedition she became a citizen of nowhere and gave up the care of her son little Pomp to Captain Clark. One of the last times she was seen was in 1811, seemingly drifting through life in St. Louis wearing the cast off clothing of a white woman.