Private Hugh McNeal

Quick Facts

Significance:

Private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Place of Birth:

Pennsylvania

Date of Birth:

1776

Place of Death:

Unknown

Date of Death:

1825-1828

Place of Burial:

Unknown

Cemetery Name:

Unknown

"McNeal had ... thanked his god that he had lived to bestride the mighty & heretofore deemed endless Missouri." - Lewis, August 12th, 1805

Hugh McNeal is a prime example of the men that comprised the backbone of the expedition. His name appears frequently throughout the journals and to many different tasks, putting on full display the wide arsenal of skills he, and many others, had to possess to make this journey a success.

On the Expedition

Hugh McNeal would find himself helping with everything from basic hunting, scouting, and even more difficult tasks such as trading. However he would become well renowned for the stories his name is tied to on the expedition.

During the expeditions time in the Pacific Northwest McNeal would find himself at the receiving end of a murder plot. January 9th, 1806, Clark writes he is alarmed by a loud "srile", perhaps shrill, voice from nearby cabins. He was told by his guide that someone's throat had been cut and, after checking their party, found Hugh McNeal to be absent. Concerned that McNeal may have been harmed a party was sent to find him.

Luckily he was found alive, but what they found was the following scene: A man from another nation upriver had plotted to kill McNeal and steal his blanket and other goods. A Chinook woman, seeing McNeal being lead off from the main lodging where he had received blubber to somewhere else, raised the alarm and shouted to attract the attention of the surrounding men. This caused the initial man to flee as fast as they could. 

If it were not for the heroic act of the Chinook woman, McNeal no doubt would have been severely injured if not killed.

His troubles didn't end there, however, as he would again face a near death experience at the hands of a grizzly bear. On July 15th, 1806, Lewis writes that McNeal was sent out early to find a cache of supplies. However he wouldn't return until late that evening with the following story to share:

Approaching up to some thick brush he, and his horse, were startled by the sudden appearence of a grizzly bear. His horse threw him to the ground right infront of the bear before taking flight and leaving their rider to fend for themself. Thinking quick, McNeal used his musket as a club. Slamming the stock of the gun over the bear's head there would have been a resounding crack as his gun split in half. This, however, only served to stun the bear and give him just enough time to climb the nearby willow tree. Perhaps vengeful, the grizzly bear waited at the base of the willow tree for hours and hours only leaving when dusk finally fell.

McNeal managed to find his horse two miles away from the eventful encounter and made it back safely to camp.

Near death experiences prove to be short-lived bursts of adrenaline, but a few of his actions resulted in much longer-lasting consequences. Namely McNeal would find himself contracting "the pox," likely syphilis, and being treated with mercury that had negligible effect.

After the Expedition

For his service to the expedition McNeal was paid $166.66.

He was rewarded for his service with different sites named after him, including McNeal's Creek, now Blacktail Deer Creek, in Montana. Perhaps jokingly the creek Clark names Ecola Creek in Oregon was referred to as McNeal's Folly after his near murder at the site. However this only appears in private Joseph Whitehouse's journal as "This Creek was named by Captain Clarke McNeals folly" and never was officially written in Clark's journals.

Unfortunately most knowledge of him post-expedition has been lost to time. He was recorded deceased by 1825 to 1828, perhaps a victim of "the pox" he contracted on the expedition.

Resources:

Morris, Larry E. The Fate of the Corps. Yale University Press, 2004. Print.

Moulton, Gary. The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition: August 30, 1803 - August 2, 1804 . University of Nebraska Press, 1986. Print.

Moulton, Gary. Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. University of Nebraska Press. Web.

Further Reading:

Learn more about Hugh McNeal at Lewis-Clark.org