George Shannon (1785–1836), the youngest member of the
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, was the United States expedition to cross the newly acquired western portion of the country after the Louisiana Purchase. The Corps of Discovery was a select gro ...
(not counting the infant
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (February 11, 1805 – May 16, 1866) was a Native American-French Canadian explorer, guide, fur trapper, trader, military scout during the Mexican–American War, ''alcalde'' (mayor) of Mission San Luis Rey de Franc ...
), was born in
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
of Irish ancestry. He joined the Corps of Discovery in August 1803, as one of the three men (and Seaman) from
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
[ recruited by Lewis as he was waiting for the completion of the voyage's vessels in the city.
On August 26, 1804, he was sent to retrieve two pack horses; he was separated from the party for sixteen days and nearly starved, as he went without food for twelve days except for some grapes and rabbits. At first he thought he was behind the expedition, so he sped up thinking he could catch up. Then, getting hungry, he went downstream to look for a trading party he could stay with.
Shannon got lost again August 6, 1805, when the expedition was at the Three Forks. He was dispatched up a fork the party had named Wisdom (the middle fork was named Jefferson and the placid fork, Philanthropy). He rejoined the party after three days by backtracking to the forks and following the trail of the others.
In 1807 he was with a party led by Nathaniel Pryor that was attempting to return the ]Mandan
The Mandan are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still res ...
chief Sheheke to his people. He was wounded in an encounter with the Arikaras and lost a leg; he would eventually receive a government pension.
In 1810 he assisted in Nicholas Biddle's history of the expedition. Later, Clark asked him to join a fur trading enterprise, but Shannon chose to study law instead. By 1818 he had a law practice in Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
with Thomas T. Barr, a former Transylvania University
Transylvania University is a private university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded in 1780 and was the first university in Kentucky. It offers 46 major programs, as well as dual-degree engineering programs, and is accredited by the Southern ...
trustee and Kentucky state legislator. That year, his assets included $700, one cow, and two enslaved people. By 1822, he owned his home, one horse, three cows, $2480, and six enslaved people.
Later, ran for senator from Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. He was buried in Palmyra, Missouri
Palmyra is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,595 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hannibal Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Palmyra was platted in 1819, and named after P ...
.
His brothers were Congressman Thomas Shannon (Ohio politician)
Thomas Shannon (November 15, 1786 – March 16, 1843) served briefly as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from December 1826 to January 1827.
Biography
Born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools and moved to Ohio wit ...
and Ohio/Kansas Governor ilson Shannon
Legacy
George Shannon is the namesake of Shannon County, Missouri
Shannon County is a county in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,031. Its county seat is Eminence. The county was officially organized on January 29, 1841, and was named in honor of ...
.
In 2001, a number of northeastern Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...
communities formed Shannon Trail Promoters, with the goal of increasing tourism in the forthcoming bicentennial year of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The organization commissioned thirteen wooden chainsaw sculptures of Shannon, which were placed in participating communities along a Shannon Trail. Sixteen wayside markers recounting aspects of Shannon's career were also placed along the trail, which runs through the region in which Shannon is thought to have wandered during his 1804 separation from the expedition. In keeping with Shannon's claim to fame, a scavenger hunt was held, with tourists urged to "Find Private Shannon" by visiting all sixteen markers. The organization continues to stage Shannon-themed events.[
In 2007, when a new bridge was under construction to carry U.S. Highway 81 across the Missouri River from ]Cedar County, Nebraska
Cedar County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 8,852. The county seat is Hartington. The county was formed in 1857, and was named for the Cedar tree groves in the area.
In the ...
to Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States.
The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Y ...
, one of the names proposed for it was the Private Shannon Bridge. In an online poll, the name was selected by a plurality of those responding, garnering 26% of the votes. However, the Yankton-based committee responsible for naming the bridge elected to call it the Yankton Discovery Bridge, a choice that did not sit well with Nebraskans.[ The "Yankton" was eventually dropped from the name, and the bridge is now known as the Discovery Bridge.][
Shannon is the subject of the poet ]Campbell McGrath
Campbell McGrath (born 1962) is an American poet. He is the author of nine full-length collections of poetry, including ''Seven Notebooks'' (Ecco Press, 2008), Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Ecco Press, 2009), and In the Kingdom ...
's 2009 work ''Shannon: A Poem of the Lewis and Clark Expedition''.[ Shannon has been featured elsewhere in literature, film and television including Ken Burn’s Lewis and Clark where he was voiced by Tim Clark, Leon Martell’s Bea iful in the Extreme where he was portrayed by Andrew David James. He is also the central character in the historical fiction book ''My Travels with Capts. Lewis & Clark, by George Shannon'' written by Kate McMullan. McMullan, a descendant of Shannon's, based the work on his actual journals.][McMullan, K., & Yorinks, A. (2006). My travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon. New York: Joanna Cotler Books.]
George Shannon was one of the ¨9 men from Kentucky¨. - He was lost for 16 days (about 3 weeks).
References
["Chapter 4: Lewis and Clark".]
Heniz History Center exhibit. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
[Shannon Trail website.]
Retrieved 2010-10-17.
[Brhel, Rita.]
"Unofficial release of voting for bridge names stirs controversy".
''Cedar County News''.
2007-04-11. Retrieved 2010-10-17.
["Discovery Bridge".]
City of Yankton, S.D.
Retrieved 2010-10-17.
[Davidson, Ryan J.]
"A Wanderer's Tale".
Open Letters Monthly.
' December 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shannon, George
1785 births
1836 deaths
American amputees
Lewis and Clark Expedition people
Transylvania University alumni
People from Pittsburgh