Sergeant Charles Floyd
Sergeant Charles Floyd (1782–1804) was one of the original members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and holds the somber distinction of being the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die during the journey. Floyd was one of three sergeants selected by Lewis and Clark to lead squads within the expedition, a testament to his leadership abilities and the trust placed in him by the commanding officers. He kept a journal during the early months of the expedition that provides valuable firsthand accounts of the journey up the Missouri River. On August 20, 1804, near present-day Sioux City, Iowa, Floyd died of what is now believed to have been a ruptured appendix — a condition that would have been fatal even with the best medical care available at the time. He was buried with full military honors on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, and the site was later marked by a 100-foot stone obelisk, the Floyd Monument, which is the first registered National Historic Landmark in the United States. Remarkably, Floyd's death was the only fatality among the permanent party during the entire 8,000-mile, 28-month expedition.
