John Ordway was one of the sergeants from the United States Army who stepped forward to volunteer for the Corps of Discovery.
10 Facts About John Ordway
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John Ordway kept a detailed journal about Native American life during the expedition.
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John Ordway was probably born in 1775 in the town of Hebron, New Hampshire, though some sources say Dunbarton.
4.
Sergeant John Ordway was recruited for the journey at Fort Kaskaskia.
5.
John Ordway was 29 years old and one of the few educated men on the trip.
6.
In February 1804, during the staging of the journey and still at Camp Dubois, Illinois, while Lewis and Clark were away and John Ordway was in charge, some of the men became drunk while they were on their guard duty.
7.
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.
8.
John Ordway became the owner of two plantations, peach and apple orchards, which became very prosperous.
9.
In 1817, John Ordway died of unknown causes at approximately age 42.
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NOTE: John Ordway is buried in the church cemetery in Hebron, New Hampshire.