Floyd Became Sole Expedition Fatality

During the 1804 to 1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, only one member of their team died despite numerous illnesses and injuries. Sergeant Charles Floyd died near present-day Sioux City, Iowa, and historians believe a ruptured appendix killed him. Over the next two years, the party survived dysentery, snakebites, a dislocated shoulder, and venereal disease. During the return journey, an enlisted man mistook American explorer Meriwether Lewis for an elk and shot him in the buttocks, forcing Lewis to spend weeks lying on his stomach in a canoe.

Previous Fact Next Fact