The Fate of the Corps: What Became of the Lewis and Clark Explorers After the Expedition

by Larry E. Morris

The first book to trace the fascinating histories of the remarkable men—and one woman—who were members of the Lewis and Clark expedition

The story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been told many times. But what became of the thirty-three members of the Corps of Discovery once the expedition was over?

The expedition ended in 1806, and the final member of the corps passed away in 1870. In the intervening decades, members of the corps witnessed the momentous events of the nation they helped to form—from the War of 1812 to the Civil War and the opening of the transcontinental railroad. Some of the expedition members went on to hold public office; two were charged with murder. Many of the explorers could not resist the call of the wild, and continued to adventure forth into America’s western frontier.

Engagingly written and based on exhaustive research, The Fate of the Corps chronicles the lives of the fascinating men (and one woman) who opened the American West.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2004

Reviews

[TXGAL1(Private Profile? Pass me by)]

A history of the Lewis and Clark expedition with an emphasis on the individuals directly connected to it.

Worth reading for some of the historical gems of which I was not aware. But, I was not a fan of the structure of the book. It was hard for me to keep the timeline straight as there was a lot of back and forth of years when discussing particular anecdotes or people.

[David Hendrickson]

I have read quite a bit about the Lewis and Clark Expedition over the years. Most of that writing was about the expedition itself and Lewis and Clark in particular. This book offers an enlightening glimpse into the lives of all the men, and one women, of the Corps of Discovery after the monumental journey.
There are some great true life adventure stories, tragic stories, and boring stories included.
If you enjoy stories about the American West in the 19th century add this book to your list.

[Peter Bringe]

This book is a good collection of the stories of the men of the Corps of Discovery (the Lewis and Clark Expedition) after the expedition was over. Many times our study of history is done in snapshots of particular events, or if it does follow a whole life it is only one person of a group. This books makes a good attempt at tracing out the rest of the story for the whole corps, and it shows the varied, unpredictable, and sometimes mysterious ends of the men.

By the way, this book (at least this edition/ISBN number) only has 284 pages, not 320 like its Goodreads profile says.

[Brook Allen]

While doing research for my own historical novel, I always come across gems. This was one of those sweet diamonds that I simply wasn't expecting. It was so crammed full of fascinating details and so well-written, I still can't believe that it's non-fiction. Funny, but last summer on a research trail for Lewis & Clark research, my husband and I stopped at both Lolo Pass and Traveler's Rest. This book was for sale, and I decided to purchase one on Lolo Pass instead. Sadly, that book yielded very little, but a year later, I finally ordered this one, and WOW.

If you are a Lewis & Clark fan--if you know the background of the story and who the men were that joined the Corps of Discovery, this book will take you the rest of the way. Fur trappers, Native Americans, greed, tragedy, the conflict between white men and natives... this was how the west was won. It wasn't pretty, often it was sad. The fates of the men (and WOMAN--Sacagawea) are all here.

Don't overlook this jewel of a book!!!

[Stephy]

I learned very little about Lewis & Claek's Expedition in school/ That it happened, that the then president was delighted. End of story.
when I started to travel in the Pacific Northwest, I came across more and more Historic Places honoring them, and began reading more about them, looking up the reports they made, and their lives along the trail.

One of the things they forgot to mention was that these Brave Explorers took along a slave, to do the scut work. Many members of the expeditonary force were lost in the harsh conditions they encountered. One of the leaders of the force died penniless and obscure. Little details left out in childhood's history books. I never imagined their trials!

This book picks up where I ran out of energy to seek more information, and I'm grateful for it! It's well written, descriptive, and answers a lot of questions about Lewis and Cark, and all their crew.

[Ricks Eric]

This is the best book that I know of written about the Lewis and Clark expedition to date. This is because it shows the meaning of the Lewis and Clark expedition in Jacksonian and Antebellum America, while at the same time showing the effects of the expedition in lifes of the members of the Corps of Discovery. Morris has produced a very readable and responsible history of the Life of the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition after the expedition.

The one downside to the this book is that to truly appreciated it one must have a decent understanding the the Lewis and Clark expedition. I would recommend this book as a follow up to Stephen Ambrose's Undaunted Courage.

[Esther Steiner]

What happened to all the members of the Corps of Discovery after the two year expedition? This book details the tragic death of Capt. Lewis (suicide or murder, you decide), the sad story of Capt. Clark and York, Sacagawea, Colter's run, and so many others. Many of the expedition members were listed by Clark as dead several years later while he compiled his list, and others led a happy life afterwards, such as Sergeant Gass.

Whether it was the fur trade or running for Congress, the Corps members life after the expedition was a mix of successes and tragedies.

[Grady]

The Lewis and Clark Expedition consisted of forty men and one woman. The story of their three year voyage across North America to the Pacific Ocean and back has been told in journals of the expedition members, scholarly histories, popular histories, and television documentaries. This book doesn’t try to summarize or echo that; instead, it follows what happened to each member of the expedition after their return to St. Louis in 1806. It’s structured as a series of vignettes that describe dramatic post-1806 events that involved expedition members, with a chapter at the end that sweeps up the more obscure figures of the company. Some of the most famous members died just a few years after the expedition, killed by Native Americans in whose territory they were trapping, or struck down by other violence or disease. A handful, including Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, the son of Sacajawea, taken on the expedition as an infant, and Alexander Hamilton Willard, lived into the mid-century, and their lives are a synecdoche of the evolution of the American West as a whole.

This book takes its scholarship seriously and shows its work at every step, not just footnoting to sources but discussing how to interpret them, and how to choose between conflicting records. The writing style is adequate rather than stylish, and my kindle version is inexplicably missing periods at the ends of more than a few sentences. But it’s careful history and - thanks to the view it offers of further trading expeditions, the New Madrid earthquake, the War of 1812, various interactions with Native American tribes, and the European settlement of Oregon and California - the book is a lot more interesting than I expected it might be. Finally, at the end of a story that ranges far and wide across the continent, there’s something touching about the life of the final survivor of the expedition, Patrick Gass, one of the older members on the original trip, who lost an eye in the War of 1812, then returned to settle permanently into a quiet farming life in West Virginia. He launched a very happy marriage with a much younger bride when he was 59, raised six children as a widower in his late 70s, and died at 98 in early 1870, having voted for U.S. Grant for President.

[William Barrick]

In The Fate of the Corps Morris introduces all the members of the famed Lewis and Clark expedition up the Missouri and across Montana over the Continental Divide and down to the Pacific Ocean. Each individual's life contains a story expanding our knowledge of the nature and significance of the expedition as well as revealing how the expedition impacted each member's life and death. Morris' research was extensive. Unfortunately the publisher and its editors failed to adequately edit the volume, so it contains many typos (this has nothing to do with the idiosyncratic spelling in original documents). In addition, the publisher refused permission for the Kindle edition to include the volume's many photos. The content and the research deserve a much finer job by the publishers.

[Janet Eshenroder]

A thorough research of expedition members. This gives insights into the type of men who went through rough times during and after. Times sure were rough and dangerous ( for more than explorers). Some stories are important for research purposes but slower reading. Some sections were fascinating.
I probably wouldn’t have passed a hardback or paperback book to friends (unless they were history freaks) but I was sorry to be stuck with a Kindle edition since there was a section with numerous photos, all of which were replaced with a note that they were denied use of the photos for Kindle.

[Lane]

An interesting look at the lives of the Lewis and Clark expedition members after the trek to the Pacific.Lots of details and references for the material. Fairly interesting read but some times hard to keep track of events as Morris moves from member to member over their life time.
Interesting for the many facts that have not been discussed in the past.

[Jim]

I have always enjoyed books that talk about early America. This was a good read. The author gives the deets on what happened to each member of the Corps of Discovery (Lewis and Clark). I also found out that a great, great......relative (Peter Weiser) was part of the Lewis and Clark group....So, that was kinda cool to find out.

[Pauline]

Read aloud. Very interesting to those of us who are huge fans of the Lewis and Clark expedition. It was very well written, extremely well researched, and gave us a final picture of the members of the corps of discovery. Loved it!

[Richard M. Robidoux]

interesting read

I enjoyed the minute details and the historical perspective. I was taken by the hardships of early American Western life. I was shocked by the brutal and sadistic treatment of the men by the Indians and by the equally brutal treatment of the Indians.

[Joe Avery]

Excellent companion to any book on the Lewis and Clark expedition (such as Undaunted Courage, which is outstanding). The Fate provides students of the expedition with a "rest of the story" look at the members of this important group of men (and Sacagawea).

[Babs M]

Interesting

[Jenny Jaworski]

I'm an amateur Lewis and Clark nerd and I absolutely LOVED this book.

[Cheryl]

It was very interesting to learn what happened to the members of the Corps of Discovery after their expedition ended. They were all pretty amazing individuals. I enjoyed the fact that the author used first-person accounts as much as possible. It was too bad to learn that there were some diaries that had been lost or destroyed.

[Paul]

This wonderful book follows each member of the Lewis & Clark party after the expedition, and tells what happened to them. Along the way it covers most of the significant events in the West all the way up to the building of the railroad! Some of the men settled down, and some kept on exploring, but all lived interesting lives.

[Wardo]

Another awesome Lewis and Clark book. Read Ambrose's "Undaunted Courage" first, and then turn here to see what happened to the members of the party during the rest of their lives. An interesting historical twist on the "Where are they now" genre.

[Mike Harry]

Good read on what happened to all the members of the L&C expedition. I've decided my hero from the expedition was Patrick Gass. He lived to be almost 100 years old (died 1870) and was walking 4 miles a day up 'til the end.

[Kim]

This wasn't the most exciting read - but interesting, for sure.

[Wendy]

Mostly I read this so I could read the part about the mysterious death of Meriwether Lewis. It's very unclear just how he died and who was present.