Sergeant Charles Floyd Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database

Sgt. Floyd’s Last Journal Entry

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:28 +0000

This brief and poignant entry is among the last written by Sergeant Charles Floyd, who would die just two days later on August 20, 1804. Floyd’s journal, though shorter than the other expedition journalists, provides valuable perspectives on the early weeks of the journey.

“I am verry sick and Has ben for Sometime but have Recovered my helth again.”

Floyd’s optimistic assessment that he had recovered proved tragically wrong. His death, likely from a ruptured appendix, made him the only expedition member to die during the entire two-year journey.

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The Death of Sergeant Charles Floyd

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:27 +0000

Sergeant Charles Floyd, one of the three sergeants of the expedition and the youngest at approximately 22 years old, died on August 20, 1804 — the only member of the Corps of Discovery to perish during the entire journey.

“Serjeant Floyd Died with a great deal of Composure, before his death he Said to me, ‘I am going away. I want you to write me a letter.'”

Floyd had been ill for several days with what modern physicians believe was acute appendicitis — a condition that would have been fatal even in the best hospitals of the era. He was buried atop a bluff overlooking the Missouri River near present-day Sioux City, Iowa.

Clark named the nearby river “Floyd’s River” in his honor. Patrick Gass was later elected by the men to replace Floyd as sergeant — a remarkable example of frontier democracy within a military unit.

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Wisconsin Historical Society — Charles Floyd Journal

admin — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:05:37 +0000

The Wisconsin Historical Society Library and Archives at the University of Wisconsin-Madison holds the Charles Floyd Journal, one of the most important primary source documents of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Charles Floyd was the only member of the expedition to die during the exploration of the West, succumbing to what is believed to have been a ruptured appendix on August 20, 1804.

Additional Lewis and Clark documents are preserved in the Draper Collection, one of the most significant manuscript collections relating to frontier history in the United States.

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Sergeant Floyd’s Journal

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 13:58:28 +0000

Floyd’s journal is the shortest of the expedition journals, ending abruptly as his illness worsened. His entries record the daily progress up the Missouri, encounters with the Oto and Missouri peoples, and the challenges of navigating the river. His final entry, written on August 18, notes that he was “taken verry bad” with what is now believed to have been appendicitis. The journal was preserved by his family and eventually donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

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Floyd’s Grave

Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:03:32 +0000

The burial site of Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only member of the Corps of Discovery to die during the expedition (August 20, 1804). Floyd likely died of a ruptured appendix. Catlin painted the site during his 1832 Missouri River journey, nearly three decades after the burial.

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