George Shannon
Private George Shannon (1785–1836) was the youngest member of the permanent party of the Corps of Discovery at just 18 years old when the expedition departed. He became famously lost twice during the journey, once for 16 days along the Missouri when he got ahead of the main party and nearly starved. Despite his youth, Shannon proved an able soldier and was trusted with important assignments. After the expedition, he studied law and was wounded in a leg during the 1807 attempt to return Chief Sheheke to the Mandan, resulting in amputation. He went on to serve as a U.S. Senator from Missouri and helped Nicholas Biddle edit the expedition journals for publication.
Biography
George Shannon (1785-1836) was the youngest member of the permanent party at just 18 years old when the expedition departed. Despite his youth, Shannon proved resourceful — though he also became famous for getting lost.
In August 1804, Shannon became separated from the party for 16 days while hunting, surviving on grapes and one rabbit. The party eventually found him weak and emaciated, sitting by the river waiting for them — unaware they were behind him, not ahead. Clark noted his ordeal with characteristic understatement.
After the expedition, Shannon studied law and became an attorney and politician. He lost a leg during a skirmish with the Arikara while escorting Chief Sheheke back to the Mandan villages in 1807. Despite this disability, he served as a U.S. Senator from Missouri and helped Nicholas Biddle prepare the official narrative of the expedition.
Shannon died in 1836 at age 51, having lived the most conventionally successful post-expedition life of any enlisted member.
