Lewis and Clark - The PeopleHugh McNeal Almost nothing is known about Private High McNeal. Born and reared in Pennsylvania, he probably lived in Kentucky at the time he enlisted in the regular army. McNeal was described as an excellent hunter and as “a faithful man to the expedition.” McNeal apparently remained in the army after the expedition and was on the muster rolls as late as 1811. According to William Clark, McNeal died by 1825-1828. Nathaniel Pryor Born in Virginia in 1772 to John and Nancy Floyd Pryor, Nathaniel Hale Pryor was a first cousin of Sgt. Charles Floyd. The Pryors moved to Jefferson County, Kentucky, by 1783. On May 17, 1798, Nathaniel married Peggy Patten who apparently died in childbirth soon thereafter, because there is no evidence she was still living when Nathaniel joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition. When the expedition was formally organized, Pryor was appointed sergeant by Lewis and Clark. During the expedition, he developed a reputation as a scout, voyager, and horseman. After the expedition, Pryor pursued successful careers within the U.S. military and as an Indian trader. George Shannon George Shannon was born about 1785 in Washington County, Pennsylvania, and his family moved to Belmont County, Ohio, about 1800. The expedition’s youngest member and the least experienced frontiersman, Shannon tended to draw menial assignments and twice got lost for several days. Nevertheless, Clark called Shannon “one of the most active and useful men we had.”
In 1807, Clark hired Shannon to help a Mandan chief return home from Washington, D.C. During the journey, Shannon’s party was attacked by Arikara Indians, and he sustained a wound that resulted in the amputation of a leg. He enrolled at Transylvania University in Lexington in 1808 and later became a lawyer. Shannon served three terms in the Kentucky House of Representatives and four years as a circuit judge. He resigned as judge in 1828 and moved to Missouri, where he was appointed United States Attorney and elected to the State Senate and House of Representatives. He died August 30, 1836, in Palmyra, Missouri, while presiding as a judge in a case there.
John Shields Private John Shields was born in 1769 in Augusta County, Virginia, the fifth son of Robert and Nancy Stockton Shields. In 1784, the family migrated to Sevier County, Tennessee where John learned blacksmithing. By the mid 1790’s he had moved to Jefferson County, Kentucky with his wife, Nancy, (her family name is unknown) and their daughter. Shields was living in West Point, Hardin County, Kentucky when he joined the expedition. Despite the fact that the captains had intended only young, unmarried men be considered for the expedition, Shields was 34 years old and married when he was recruited. Shields filled critical roles on the expedition as blacksmith, gunsmith, and hunter. In addition to keeping the party’s weapons and tools in working order, he also fabricated numerous article used in trade with Native Americans. After the expedition, Shields returned to the Falls of the Ohio area and settled near present day Corydon, Indiana. On July 8, 1807 Shields was appointed a captain in the Clark County, Indiana Territory militia. He died in December 1809 and is believed to be buried in the Little Flock Cemetery in Harrison County, Indiana.
William Werner Probably born in Kentucky, William Werner was a member of an unidentified army unit when he enlisted in the Corps of Discovery. In May 1804 he was one of three men court-martialed for being absent w2ithout leave after failing to return promptly from a night on the town in St. Charles, Missouri. He was sentenced to 25 lashes for his offense, but Lewis and Clark accepted the jury’s recommendation for leniency. And his sentence was not carried out. Werner made particular contribution to the expedition as a cook and salt-maker. After the journey, he assisted Clark for a time with Indian affairs in Missouri. He later settled in Virginia and was reported there as late as 1828. Joseph Whitehouse Joseph Whitehouse is said to have been born in Fairfax County, Virginia, about 1775. His family moved to Kentucky in 1784 and probably lived in Boyle and Mercer counties. He enlisted in the regular army in 1798, was assigned to the First Infantry, and served at both Fort Massac and Kaskaskia. Possessed of a sense of adventure fed by conversations with travelers doing business with tribes on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Whitehouse sought assignment to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Whitehouse’s primary contribution to the expedition was as a “hide curer” and tailor who made and repaired clothing. He also served on the court-martial jury that tried Werner and was nearly killed by a canoe accident in August 1805. He left the army after the expedition, reenlisting in time to fight in the War of 1812, deserting in 1817, and was not heard from again.
Alexander Hamilton Willard Alexander Hamilton Willard was born August 24, 1778, in Charlestown, New Hampshire, the only son of Jonathan and Betty Willard. He lived in Kentucky when he enlisted in Captain Amos Stoddard’s artillery company, which was stationed at Fort Kaskaskia when Lewis and Clark arrived to recruit troops for the expedition. Willard officially joined the expedition on January 1, 1804. During the expedition, he was called on as a blacksmith, gunsmith, and hunter. After the journey he married Eleanor McDonald of Shelbyville, Kentucky, and they had 12 children. In 1808 he worked as a blacksmith in Missouri and again served in the army during the War of 1812. Willard and his family lived in Wisconsin from 1824 to 1852, when they moved to California. He died in 1865.
Richard Windsor Richard Windsor’s place and date of birth are unknown; however, he lived in Kentucky at the time of his enlistment in the regular army. He went on Lewis and Clark’s payroll on January 1, 1804, suggesting that he was recruited from a western military post such as Fort Massac or Fort Kaskaskia. His superiors described him as a “useful man” who was usually on hunting parties. Settling for a time in Missouri after the expedition, he reenlisted in the army and served until 1819. Windsor was living along the Sangamon River in Illinois in the 1820s.
Others are listed in alphabetical order... Page 2: Bratton, Colter, Field brothers, Floyd, Gibson
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