Sergeant Charles Floyd dies on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (August 1804)

Background. Charles Floyd enlisted in the Corps of Discovery in August 1803 and was promoted to Sergeant in April 1804. He served as Quartermaster in the Corps of Discovery, while the army and civilian volunteers of the expedition were under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark. The expedition departed Camp Dubois in May 1804, and Floyd died within the first four months of the 28-month journey.

Death. On August 20, 1804, Sergeant Charles Floyd died near present-day Sioux City, Iowa. This was the only death during the two and a half-year expedition. The cause is presumed to be acute appendicitis, though this diagnosis is a retrospective medical inference rather than a confirmed contemporary finding.

Expedition Context. The Corps of Discovery was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson after the Louisiana Purchase to explore the new territory. Lewis and Clark led army and civilian volunteers. Floyd's death occurred shortly after the party departed Camp Dubois in May 1804, during the initial phase of the journey.