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Commemorating Floyd |
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Rather remarkably, Sgt. Charles Floyd was the only American casualty on the entire Corps of Discovery trip. It has generally been supposed that he succumbed to appendicitis. Given the state of medicine in those days, he would have died of it whether on the frontier or in the city. While Lewis in fact had boned up on first aid and the like before setting out, a complaint of this nature simply wouldn't have been understood yet. In any event, anesthesia and antiseptic cleansing we're still at least a half-century away. Keep in mind that this is conjecture, based upon descriptions left in the journals. Medical diagnosis from afar is always risky, (But recently that didn't stop a certain United States Senator who should have known better from attempting it via television in another tragic case.) Anyway, Sgt. Floyd was struck by tremendous abdominal pains and grew weaker over several days, eventually dying near present day Sioux City. About a century after his death, this 100 foot sandstone obelisk was erected on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. Sgt. Floyd's remains were interred in the concrete base, and so this serves not only as a monument but as his final resting place. Indeed, it's hard not to feel a certain somberness when standing near the obelisk. I thought of what was ahead for the Corps, the privation, the fear of the unknown, and of course Meriwether Lewis' sad end. And of course, I thought of Floyd passing away so far from home. |
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Visiting the Monument TodayDriving in Sioux City or any larger city has never been my idea of fun. But fortunately, the Monument is fairly easy to find on U.S. Highway 75. If you plan it right, you can avoid some of the mess of downtown traffic. Most Iowa state highway maps feature a detail of Sioux City which helps. It appears that this is a city park, and probably has the usual dawn to dusk hours. I did notice, however, large floodlights, so apparently it is illuminated at night. It must be quite a sight, standing so high above the Missouri. I also noted there were restrooms and picnic tables near the entrance below the obelisk. And don't forget that only several miles away is the fantastic Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center. This is an absolute must-see as well. Actually, one could make a very nice weekend vacation visiting the Lewis & Clark sites in Sioux City. |
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City of Sioux City, Iowa 405 6th Street P.O. Box 447 Sioux City, Iowa 51102 Phone: (712) 279-6102 |
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All photography by Thomas Henry unless otherwise noted.
Entire contents © 2001-2005 Thomas Henry