By Ann Petersen, SBA Columnist | 05/21/26
(SBA) - I have always been interested in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Growing up in Virginia where Thomas Jefferson was such a key historical figure, and particularly since moving to Iowa where I learned of the role played by Sergeant Floyd in the Expedition, I have read widely about the success of the mission, despite the odds against the endeavor. Most of what I’ve read over the years focused on the two captains, Lewis and Clark, with little information provided about the other men, and one woman, who comprised the company. Recently, however, a new book, THIS VAST ENTERPRISE, by Craig Fehrman was published that provides insights into the roles played by others along that more than 7,000 mile trek. This intensely researched and highly readable text uses not only the typical sources by others writing about this event, but also historical documents drawn from the files of various historical societies and the journals kept by others who were part of the Corps of Discovery. Sergeant John Ordway was the only man on the journey who kept a daily diary when others could not, or did not, record each event in real time. WPO (We Proceeded On) essays, collected by the Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance are particularly interesting and produced in detail throughout the book. Here are some of the things I learned from the various points of view featured in this book.
Chapter two (as well as chapters seven and twelve) provides insight into the character of York, Clark’s slave and the only man of color among the group. Tall, strong and dark (Clark described him as “black as a bear”) York was around thirty years old, married and the father of several children. Although poorly treated by Clark (as was often the custom of the time) initially, York became a key character as the trek advanced. Native peoples who had never seen a black man before viewed York with interest and respect. Many offered their wives to York and several tribal histories record the births of children with darker skin. Among certain tribes, York played with the Native children as he pretended to be a grizzly bear, endearing him to tribes who loved their children. York’s strength, quiet nature, and willingness to approach difficult physical tasks soon gained him the respect of the soldiers who traveled with him. Before too long and against custom of the time, York carried a rifle and was consulted on an equal basis with the other men on decisions that affected them all. Fehrman does not record what happened to York at the end of the Expedition, but other sources say that Clark told writer Washington Irving that he eventually freed York and gave him a team of horses to use to make a living. Whether this is true or whether or not York ever reunited with his family in Kentucky, no one has ever recorded. Clark indicated that York did not have a successful life and died of cholera in the early 1830’s. (Encyclopedia Brittanica online) Considering the role York played serving both Clark and the Corps, this seems a sad end for this man.
Another key player in the Expedition was Sergeant John Ordway who, due to his service throughout the mission, rose to the role as unofficial “first sergeant.” Like Charles Floyd, Ordway was one of three sergeants when the Expedition began. Floyd’s role in the mission rates less than one page in Fehrman’s book (although he is mentioned briefly in other chapters) while Ordway’s leadership and calm head in times of chaos rates two full chapters. He is tasked with leading smaller groups of men when Lewis and Clark, on more than one occasion, split the team into thirds. Ordway kept a written journal of the entire journey that he wore on a leather thong around his neck.
The character I found most fascinating was Sacajawea whose story is told in two chapters of the book. She was a twelve-year-old Shoshone child captured by a band of Hidatsa natives and subsequently sold to the French trader Charbonneau as his slave, along with a second child of about the same age, Otter Woman. Although he owned two slaves (“wives”), he could only bring one on the Expedition. Charbonneau was a drunk and a bully who treated the women poorly and impregnated both before they were sixteen years old. Charbonneau was not a useful translator (or even a useful man), but the Corps kept him as part of the group because of the many resources provided by Sacajawea, knowing that if they fired Charbonneau, they would lose Sacajawea, as well. The first winter of the Expedition, Sacajawea gave birth to a son whom she carried and cared for throughout the mission. She was able to find food for the men when they were frequently hungry, taught York basic food preparation methods, translated for and advised the men when they encountered other Native peoples and provided shelter for the captains with the tent she created, hauled and maintained. After the Expedition, Sacajawea and Charbonneau returned to live among the Hidatsa for about three years before moving, at the invitation of Clark, to St. Louis. After the birth of a second child, Lizette in 1812, Sacajawea died, no doubt from the infection she contracted from Charbonneau that plagued her throughout her journey. Clark adopted both Sacajawea’s son and daughter after her death.
I have rarely been as excited about a nonfiction book as I was about reading Craig Fehrman’s THIS VAST ENTERPRISE. I will be donating the book to the Sergeant Bluff Library so that you can read it, as well.
