Charles Floyd (explorer)
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Charles Floyd (1782 – August 20, 1804) was a United States explorer, a non-commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, and quartermaster in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. A native of Kentucky, he was a relative of William Clark and Uncle to the politician John Floyd and brother to James John Floyd. He was one of the first men to join the expedition.
While exploring the Louisiana Purchase with Lewis and Clark, he took ill at the end of July 1804. On July 31st, Floyd wrote in his diary, "I am verry sick and has been for Sometime but have Recovered my helth again." However, this apparent recovery was soon followed by a severe turn for the worse. William Clark described Floyd's death as one "with a great deal of composure" and that before Floyd died he said to Clark: "I am going away. I want you to write me a letter."
A funeral was held and Floyd was buried on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River, which the expedition named Floyd's Bluff in his honor.
Clark diagnosed the condition which led to Floyd's demise as bilious colic, though modern doctors and historians agree Floyd's death was more likely to have been caused by a ruptured appendix. The brief "recovery" Floyd described may have represented the temporary relief afforded by the bursting of the organ, which would have been followed by a fatal peritonitis. If that were the case, because there was no known cure for appendicitis at that time, he would have been no better off had he been with the best physicians of the day.
[edit] Legacy
Floyd's Bluff is currently within the city limits of the Floyd Riverboat Museum in Sioux City, Iowa.
The Sergeant Floyd Monument was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1960.
After Floyd's expedition journal was published in 1894, new interest was taken in him and his gravemarker was stolen by thieves. He was re-buried once more on August 20, 1895 with a monument. A marble cornerstone three feet wide and seven feet long was placed in 1900. When the obelisk of white sandstone standing 100 feet (30 m) high was completed on May 30, 1901, Floyd's grave was moved for the fourth time to rest nearby, where it remains to this day. In 1960, the monument was recognized by the U.S. Department of Interior as the first National Historic Landmark. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on June 30, 1960.[1][2]
The Floyd Monument is now located in a 23 acre park that offers visitors a splendid view of the Missouri River valley. Floyd's final resting place is located on old U.S. Highway 75, in the southern part of Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States.
The Interstate 129 bridge between Sioux City and South Sioux City, Nebraska is named the Sergeant Floyd Memorial Bridge in his honor.
[edit] References
- ^ Sergeant Floyd Monument. National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
- ^ Stephen Lissandrello (July 2, 1975), National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Sergeant Floyd MonumentPDF (239 KiB), National Park Service. Accompanying 2 photos, from 1937 and 1964.PDF (195 KiB)
- The Definitive Journals of Lewis and Clark: John Speedway and Charles Floyd ISBN 0-8032-8021-1
[edit] External links
- Lewis and Clark Trail: Sioux City
- Sgt. Floyd Monument NPS
- George Catlin's 1832 painting of "Floyd's Bluff"
- Floyd Biography
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