Private Richard Windsor

Quick Facts

Significance:

Private on the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Place of Birth:

Unknown

Date of Birth:

Unknown

Place of Death:

Unknown

Date of Death:

After 1825-28

Place of Burial:

Unknown

Cemetery Name:

Unknown

"Collins and Windsor were permited to hunt today towards the praries in Point Adams with a view to obtain some fresh meat for the sick." - Lewis, February 17th, 1806

Richard Windsor was not often wrote about on the expedition. Like many other men on the Lewis and Clark Expedition however it did not mean his services were not appreciated.

Windsor was a diligant hunter, laborer, and scout on the expedition, performing his duties with skill that both captains saw fit to reward.

On the Expedition

One of the first events that bears Windsor's name is written on May 17th, 1804, where Sergeant Ordway makes record of a court martial. Windsor served alongside Joseph Whitehouse, John Potts, and Reubin Field as the jury. The crime? Willam Werner and Hugh Hall were absent without leave. A crime that Richard Windsor and others decided was worth 25 lashes on the naked back each. This was quickly followed up by another court martial in which John Collins was charged with being absent without leave, behaving in an unbecomming manner at a ball, and for being disrespectful of the orders of the commanding officers. For this Windsor and others found them guilty on all charges and was sentenced to 50 lashes.

It can be assumed that Windsor had shown skill in scouting and with his hunting by the middle of the expedition. On the 4th of June, 1805, Lewis picks him and 5 others for a scouting and mapping mission. One that, as Lewis writes, ends up being painful due to the " great abundance of prickly pears which are extreemly troublesome; as the thorns very readily perce the foot through the Mockerson; they are so numerous that it requires one half of the traveler's attention to avoid them."

One of the final entries involving Windsor was a terrible bout of bad luck. Although it is not written on how it happens, on June 16th, 1806, Windsor's rifle muzzle burst. No one was injured, but now a hunter's gun was too risky to use. A few weeks later, on July 1st, 1806, Lewis ordered John Shields to cut off the burst muzzle where he then writes "I then exchanged it with the Cheif for the one we had given him for conducting us over the mountains.   he was much pleased with the exchange and shot his gun several times; he shoots very well for an inexperienced person."

Otherwise, Windsor's name appears throughout the journals in conjunction with other hunters and small scouting parties.

After the Expedition

For his service to the expedition Windsor was awarded $166.66.

During his time of service Lewis and Clark had named a creek after him, Windsor's Creek, though it is now called Cow Creek in Blaine County, Montana.

While not much is known about his story after the expedition we do know that, unlike many others, he was still alive by the time Clark reports on expedition members between 1825-1828 where he would be listed as living at the Sangamon River in Illinois.
 

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 Richard Windsor at Lewis-Clark.org.