Nine Kentuckians Were Members
of The Corps of Discovery

Sergeant Nathaniel Hale Pryor was born in Virginia and raised in Kentucky. Sergeant Floyd was his cousin and, like Floyd, Pryor was listed as one of the "nine Young men from Kentucky." He was 31 years old when he joined the expedition in 1803. Pryor was one of the few married men on the journey. His leaders said that he was a man of character and ability. Pryor also kept a journal, but it has never been found. After the expedition he set up a trading post on the Arkansas River and married an Osage girl and had several children - all with Native American names. Pryor lived among the Osage Indians until his death in 1831 at the age of 59.

Private William E. Bratton's family migrated to Kentucky in 1790. In 1803, Bratton enlisted under William Clark as one of the Nine Young men from Kentucky. He became an excellent blacksmith, gunsmith and hunter on the expedition and was a very useful man. While making salt in 1805, he became seriously ill and nearly died before taking an Indian steam bath that saved his life. When the Corps returned, Bratton went back to Kentucky and later served in the War of 1812. In 1819, he married at age 41, eventually fathering 10 children. He was elected the first justice of the peace of Wayne Township, Indiana, and died in 1841.

Private John Colter was born in Virginia and moved to Maysville, Kentucky, when he was 5 years old. There, he spent his boyhood and as a young man served as a ranger with Simon Kenton. He had a good personality, was quick minded, courageous and a fine hunter. He was also known as one of the nine young men from Kentucky. I was honorably discharged in 1806 and retuned west to trap fur; in 1809 I was sent to trap beaver in the Blackfeet country. Because of my friendship with the Crows I was forced into a conflict with the Blackfeet, which nearly cost me my life. I aided William Clark's maps with many details of the northwest due to my trapping adventures. I finally settled down in Missouri and got married and had a son who became the father of 8-children.

Private Joseph Field was born in Virginia and raised in Kentucky. He enlisted at 29 years of age as one of the Nine Men from Kentucky. He was an excellent woodsmen and hunter. On the expedition he was in charge of a small party which explored the lower Yellowstone River. After the expedition, Field received a warrant for land in Missouri.

Private Rueben Field, Joseph's older brother, enlisted when he was 31 yeas old. Like his brother, he was an accomplished woodsman and hunter. After the expedition he received a warrant for land in Missouri, but returned to Kentucky to live.

Private George Gibson was born in Pennsylvanian but raised in Kentucky. He enlisted as one of the Nine Men from Kentucky in 1803 and was a fine hunter and horseman and also played the fiddle. There was supposedly some jealousy between Gibson and George Drouillard, who were the expedition's interpreters.

Private George Shannon was born in Pennsylvania and was only 18 when he joined Caption Lewis in Maysville, Kentucky, in 1803. Shannon was a good singer, hunter and horseman. He got lost on occasion but always managed to find his way back to the party. After the Expedition returned, Shannon was traveling with a party trying to return Chief Shahaka to the Mandans. He was shot in the leg and it had to be amputated. Shannon helped edit the Lewis and Clark Journals and eventually studied law at Transylvania University of Kentucky. He practiced law in Lexington and served 4 years in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Private John Shields was born in Virginia and was the oldest man of the party, enlisting in 1803 at the age of 35. He was a valuable member as head blacksmith, gunsmith, boat builder and general repairman. At one time his blacksmith work helped keep the party in corn and foodstuffs. After the expedition he spent time in Missouri trapping with his kinsman Daniel Boone.

Private Joseph Whitehouse was born in Virginia but migrated with his family to Kentucky when he was eight years old. Whitehouse spent some time in the Illinois Territory and, when he heard about the expedition, sought out the captains in hopes of becoming a member. Captain Clark listed him as one of the nine young men from Kentucky when he entered the rolls in 1804 at the age of 29. He served as a hide curer and tailor and made and repaired the clothes of the men.