The only man to die on Lewis and Clark’s journey – and the towboat that kept his story alive

Sergeant Floyd’s Death and the Towboat Legacy

The Lewis and Clark Expedition lost just one man. On August 20, 1804, Sergeant Charles Floyd died near what’s now Sioux City, Iowa, likely from a burst appendix.

His final words to Clark were simple: “I am going away and I want you to write me a letter.” The team buried him with full honors on a bluff above the Missouri River.

Then, 128 years later, the Army Corps of Engineers built a towboat named after him. For over four decades, crews on the Sergeant Floyd tamed the same river that claimed his life.

Today, that vessel sits as a museum in Sioux City, where history comes full circle on the banks of the mighty Missouri.

Kentucky Native Joined The Corps As One Of The First Members

Charles Floyd signed up with Lewis and Clark’s team on August 1, 1803. This Kentucky man quickly impressed Captain Lewis, who called him “a young man of much merit.”

Floyd’s smarts and dependability earned him a quick promotion to sergeant. Floyd became one of just three sergeants picked to guide the group.

His family knew William Clark well, making him someone the captains trusted from day one. Floyd’s writing and leadership skills made him valuable for the wilderness journey.

The Journey Upriver Began With High Hopes

The team left St. Louis in May 1804 with 35 men ready to map the western wilderness.

Floyd kept a daily journal as part of his sergeant duties. The men pushed their boats against the Missouri River’s current through the hot summer.

Floyd proved his worth during early challenges like getting past sandbars and fixing equipment problems. By late July, they reached what we now call Iowa, still making good progress despite the tough river.

Mysterious Illness Struck Without Warning

On July 31, 1804, Floyd wrote: “I am very sick and have been for sometime.” He seemed to get better after a few days, giving everyone hope.

But on August 15, he suddenly got hit with what Clark called “a complaint somewhat like a violent chorlick [colic].”

Both captains tried to help with the basic medicine they carried. York, Clark’s enslaved man, spent hours caring for Floyd as he got worse.

Clark Stayed By His Side Through The Night

On August 19, Floyd took a sharp turn for the worse as evening came. Captain Clark sat up almost all night looking after his dying sergeant.

The team put Floyd in a warm bath, hoping it might ease his pain and save his life. His fellow team members gathered around their friend, knowing things looked bad.

Through it all, Floyd stayed calm despite the terrible pain in his belly from his infected appendix.

His Final Words Asked For A Letter Home

On August 20, 1804, Sergeant Charles Floyd died in the early afternoon near what later became Sioux City, Iowa.

Before passing, he told Clark: “I am going away and I want you to write a letter.”

Clark later wrote that Floyd died “with a great deel of composure” with his friends around him. In his journal that night, Clark simply wrote: “I am dull & heavy.”

Floyd became the only member of the team to die during their two-year journey.

The Bluff Overlooking The Missouri Became His Resting Place

The team buried Floyd on a high bluff with a view of the Missouri River stretching for miles. Captain Lewis read a funeral service while the men gave their friend full military honors.

They marked the grave with a cedar post that read “Sergt. C.Floyd died here 20th of August 1804. ” The team named a nearby stream Floyd’s River and called the burial site Floyd’s Bluff.

Floyd became the first U.S. soldier to die west of the Mississippi during an official mission.

Modern Doctors Solved The Medical Mystery

Captain Clark wrote down Floyd’s cause of death as “bilious colic” based on the limited medical knowledge of 1804.

Today’s doctors who’ve studied the journal notes believe Floyd died from a burst appendix.

The resulting infection, called peritonitis, spread through his abdomen. Even if they’d turned around and rushed him back to civilization, nothing could have saved him.

The best doctors in Philadelphia with all their tools and medicines would have been just as helpless against this condition back then.

A Steel Towboat Carried His Name 128 Years Later

On May 31, 1932, the M.V. Sergeant Floyd splashed into the water at Howard Shipyards in Indiana. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers picked Floyd’s name for their new boat to honor the fallen explorer.

The 138-foot steel-hulled towboat cost about $131,970 to build. The Corps sent her to the Kansas City District to work on the same Missouri River where Floyd had died.

She soon became the main workhorse for river improvement projects.

River Workers Honored His Memory For Four Decades

From 1933 to 1975, Corps crews worked aboard the Sergeant Floyd for 42 years on the Missouri River system.

They used her for light towing jobs, checking the changing river, and looking at bridges and banks. The men set buoys to mark safe channels and move equipment.

Flying the Kansas City District flag, the boat became a familiar sight to people living along the river. These hardworking “river rats” carried on Floyd’s legacy.

Congress Saved The Boat From The Scrapyard

In 1975, the Sergeant Floyd faced retirement when Congress stepped in with a new mission. They turned the old workhorse into a floating Bicentennial exhibit for the Army Corps of Engineers.

For 18 months, she toured inland waterways and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The boat told the story of how the Corps helped build America.

Thousands of visitors climbed aboard before she finally got decommissioned after her special tour ended.

The Circle Closed When She Returned To Where Floyd Died

In 1983, Sioux City got the vessel and brought her home to stay.

They put her on permanent display near the spot where Sergeant Floyd had died 179 years earlier. Today she serves as the Sergeant Floyd River Museum & Welcome Center.

The museum creates a perfect circle connecting the expedition’s only casualty with the river workers who spent decades taming the same wild Missouri that claimed his life.

Visiting Sergeant Floyd (towboat), Iowa

You can visit the Sergeant Floyd towboat at 1000 Larsen Park Road in Sioux City for free daily from 10am to 4pm.

The towboat worked the Missouri River from 1932 to 1975. This 138-foot boat is now a museum about Missouri River history and the Lewis & Clark expedition.

Charles Floyd was the only person who died during their journey, from appendicitis in August 1804. You can explore all three levels including the engine rooms.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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