Sergeant John Ordway (c. 1775 – c. 1817), the youngest of ten siblings, was an important part 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 ...

across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. John Ordway was one of the

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

s from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

who stepped forward to volunteer for the

Corps of Discovery The Corps of Discovery was a specially established unit of the United States Army which formed the nucleus of the Lewis and Clark Expedition that took place between May 1804 and September 1806. The Corps was led jointly by Captain Meriwether Lewi ...

. Ordway exercised many responsibilities on the trip, such as issuing the provisions, appointing guard duties, and keeping the registers and records. John Ordway also kept a detailed journal about Native American life during the expedition.

Early life

John Ordway was probably born in 1775 in the town of Hebron, New Hampshire, though some sources say Dunbarton.Biography of John Ordway
Retrieved 2018-08-24.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Sergeant Ordway was recruited for the journey at Fort Kaskaskia. He was 29 years old and one of the few educated men on the trip. The expedition lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. Before the journey, John Ordway sent a message to his parents telling them of the purpose and determination of the expedition: In February 1804, during the staging of the journey and still at Camp Dubois (also known as Camp Wood), Illinois, while Lewis and Clark were away and Ordway was in charge, some of the men became drunk while they were on their guard duty. In another incident on March 29, 1804, privates John Shields and

John Colter John Colter (c.1770–1775 – May 7, 1812 or November 22, 1813) was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). Though party to one of the more famous expeditions in history, Colter is best remembered for explorations he made ...

, who were second cousins, threatened Ordway's life. Both were put on trial for

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...

. However, both of them pleaded for, and received, forgiveness. After Colter's return from the Oregon Coast with the Lewis and Clark Expedition Colter became the first known person of European descent to explore

Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

and to see the Teton Mountain Range. Colter is widely considered to be the first known

mountain man A mountain man is an Geographical exploration, explorer who lives in the wilderness and makes his living from hunting, fishing and trapping. Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through to the 1880s ...

.. On the trip back to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, where they started, John Ordway was asked to lead 10 men back to the head of the

Jefferson River The Jefferson River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the U.S. state of Montana. The Jefferson River and the Madison River form the official beginning of the Missouri at Missouri Headwaters State Park near Three Fo ...

, where the Corps left their canoes before crossing the mountains. They were to follow the river and travel to the Missouri River, where they would meet Lewis and Clark. Ordway and his group successfully completed this assignment.

Post-Expedition years

John Ordway returned from the Lewis and Clark Expedition and married Gracey Walker and became a successful landowner in what became

New Madrid County, Missouri New Madrid County ( ; ; ) is a county located in the Bootheel of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,434. The largest city is Portageville and county seat is New Madrid, located on the northern side of ...

. He became the owner of two plantations,

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

and

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

, which became very prosperous.

Death

In 1817, Ordway died of unknown causes at approximately age 42.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordway, John Lewis and Clark Expedition people 1770s births 1817 deaths People from Hebron, New Hampshire People from New Madrid County, Missouri People from Dunbarton, New Hampshire