The Fate of the Corps

August 1, 2004
Morris (chair, genealogy committee, Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation) here relates the final stories of those who served with the Lewis and Clark expedition. Some became legends during their lifetimes, especially John Colter with his race to escape from Blackfoot Indians. Others received their wages for expedition service and faded into anonymity. Of the 33 corps members, eight died violent deaths at least one by his own hands. Of note are the three appendixes, which list all expedition members' biographical information, discuss the Sacajawea controversy, and present the primary documents detailing Lewis's death. Morris also refutes the belief that the black man-servant York traveled west and resided with the Crow nation, instead providing evidence that points to York's death in Tennessee in 1822. This well-researched, well-written book deserves a spot in Lewis and Clark collections in all libraries. Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Libs., IN

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2004
What Meriwether Lewis and William Clark did after vaulting into history is sacred text to Lewis and Clark fans, but they are likely less certain about what happened to the other 32 members of the Corps of Discovery. Morris' exhaustively researched provision of this information seemingly includes every footnotable fact. The commitment to completeness might overwhelm the casual reader, but it does establish a one-stop shop for anyone interested in any member of the corps. Instead of using a biographical framework, the author arranges the material chronologically, starting with the first man to be released from service (John Colter, who turned into a mountain man) and proceeding to the last one to die (Patrick Gass, in 1870). This approach uses separate events to collect the expedition figures, such as unfinished business from the expedition itself--returning a Mandan chief and Sacagawea to the upper Missouri and publishing the expedition's journals. Similarly, the fur trade, farming, the 1811-12 earthquakes, and the War of 1812 centralize the biographies of the members they affected. A systematic study for large collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)