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PATRICK GASS - FORT BUILDER OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION
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The Lewis and Clark Expedition spent three winters on the trail. One at Camp Dubois in present day Illinois, the next on the icy plains of North Dakota, and the third next to the Coast of Oregon. Each fort had unique characteristics that helped keep the men protected from the elements and safe from possible attack. What each of these forts had in common was that each was designed by the same man, Patrick Gass.  Patrick Gass was a Sergeant with the Corps of Discovery and had a background in carpentry.

  When Captain Lewis was looking for good strong men to join the journey to the Pacific, Patrick Gass went directly to Lewis to apply. Later in life Patrick Gass said that his strength and enthusiasm got him a position with the Expedition.
When Sergeant Floyd died early in the journey, the men of the corps voted on his replacement. The nod went to Patrick Gass. Gass was given the rank of Sergeant and a squad of men. Having the men vote for their new Sergeant went against military protocol.

Sergeants were chosen by company commanders, and in this case that would have been Captain Lewis and Captain Clark. The Captains thought that having the men vote for the new Sergeant would help build espirit de corps, and it worked.

Sergeant Gass was a carpenter and a valuable member of the Corps of Discovery. He was constantly being called upon to use his talent to build winter quarters, dugout canoes, and simple wagons for the portage at the Great Falls. His observations on how the Indians built their earthen lodges gave new insight to Native American construction techniques. Patrick Gass was also a leader. He was chosen by Lewis and Clark to head a group of men, when the Corps split into three groups on the return trip from Fort Clatsop.

Sergeant Gass was the first to put together a book about the travels of the Corps of Discovery. His book was edited by David McKeehan and published in 1807. He was also the one to coin the phrase “Corps of Discovery”. He was also the last member of the Corps to die. Patrick Gass died on April 2, 1870 at age 99 and is buried in the Brooke County Cemetery at Wellsburg, West Virginia.