Patrick Gass
| Patrick Gass | |
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Patrick Gass
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| Born |
June 12, 1771 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | April 2, 1870 (aged 98) Wellsburg, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Hamilton (1831-1846; her death) 7 children |
Patrick Gass (June 12, 1771 – April 2, 1870) served as sergeant in the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806). He was important to the expedition because of his service as a carpenter, and he published the first journal of the expedition in 1807, seven years before the first publication based on Lewis and Clark's journals.
Gass was born in Falling Springs (present day Chambersburg), Pennsylvania, of Scots-Irish ancestry. His parents were Benjamin and Mary McLene Gass.
Benjamin Gass and his father, William, were prominent citizens and members of the local Presbyterian Church in the small frontier town.
He began his military career in 1792, with a Virginia militia or ranger company stationed in Wheeling fighting against Indians. In 1794 he helped build the house of James Buchanan, Sr. near Mercersburg Pennsylvania and became acquainted with the young future U.S. President, James Buchanan, Jr. He joined the U.S. Army in 1799, serving under General Alexander Hamilton until 1800. He rejoined the army in 1803 and served in Kaskaskia, Illinois, near St. Louis.
He joined Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery as a private on January 1, 1804 and was promoted to sergeant by vote of the Corps members after Charles Floyd's death from appendicitis on August 22, 1804.
His skill as a carpenter was important to the expedition— he led the construction of the Corps' three winter quarters, hewed dugout canoes, and built wagons to portage the canoes 18 miles around the falls of the Missouri. On the return trip, Gass was given command of the majority of the party for a short period while Clark and Lewis led smaller detachments on separate explorations.
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