Private John Collins
Sketch copyright Michael Haynes.
P.S. Well, they didn't kick me out of the expedition but I didn't stop causing trouble, either. I stole whiskey from the expedition's supply and got everyone mad at me. They punished me pretty badly for that one by whipping me. I guess the captains must have seen some good in me, though, because I went all the way to the Pacific and back. After the expedition I signed up to trap furs. I was with William Ashley in 1823 when we were attacked by Arikara Indians in today's South Dakota, and there I died.
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In 1846, a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom at the St. Louis Courthouse. His case went all the way to the Supreme Court, where the verdict set the stage for the Civil War. Today, the Old Courthouse is part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Click to learn more about Dred Scott. More...