Patrick Gass (June 12, 1771 – April 2, 1870) served as

sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

in 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 ...

(1804–1806). He was important to the expedition because of his service as a carpenter, and he published the first journal of the expedition in 1807, seven years before the first publication based on Lewis and Clark's journals.

Early life

Gass was born in Falling Springs (present day

Chambersburg Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

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 descent. He began his military career in 1792, with a Virginia militia or ranger company stationed in Wheeling fighting against Indians. In 1794 he helped build the house of James Buchanan, Sr. near

Mercersburg Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...

Pennsylvania and became acquainted with the young future U.S. President, James Buchanan, Jr. He joined the U.S. Army in 1799, serving under General

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

until 1800. He rejoined the army in 1803 and served in Kaskaskia, Illinois, near

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Expedition and later life

His skill as a carpenter was important to the expedition— he led the construction of the Corps' three winter quarters, hewed dugout canoes, and built wagons to portage the canoes 18 miles around the falls of the

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 ...

. On the return trip, Gass was given command of the majority of the party for a short period while Clark and Lewis led smaller detachments on separate explorations. He kept a journal of the expedition, which was published in 1807, the first such journal published. In it, he coined the term “Corps of Discovery”. The book was first printed and sold by subscription in Pittsburgh at $1.00 per copy. It was later reprinted in England and translated into French and German. A reprint is currently being sold by the

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Unive ...

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and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln online version of the Lewis and Clark journal

give 222 entries from Gass's journal. He remained in the army after the expedition returned, serving in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, in which he lost an eye, and fighting in the battle of Lundy's Lane. During the Civil War, Gass at the age of 91 years had to be removed from a recruiting station after he wanted to enlist to fight the rebels. (''Wisdom of History'' by J. Rufus Fears). At the age of 60, he married Maria Hamilton, aged 20. She bore seven children (six of whom survived to adulthood) over the remaining 15 years of her life. They settled in

Wellsburg, West Virginia Wellsburg is a city in and the county seat of Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. The 2020 census recorded a population of 2,455. It is a part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. The city's economy includes several telemar ...

, where he died in his 99th year, the oldest surviving member of the expedition.

References

Sources

* * *, available a
Sergeant Patrick Gass
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051017103408/http://www.l3-lewisandclark.com/ShowOneObject.asp?SiteID=32&ObjectID=119 Short biography of Patrick Gassbr>Virginia Center for Digital History, from Jacob, John G., Life and Times of Patrick Gass. Wellsburg, VA: Jacob & Smith, 1859.Pennsylvania Historical MarkerUniversity of Nebraska at Lincoln
online edition of the ''Lewis and Clark Journal'', including 222 entries from Gass's journal {{DEFAULTSORT:Gass, Patrick 1771 births 1870 deaths Lewis and Clark Expedition people People from Chambersburg, Pennsylvania American people of Scotch-Irish descent American Presbyterians United States Army soldiers People from Wellsburg, West Virginia American travel writers American male non-fiction writers People from Pennsylvania in the War of 1812