John Ordway After The Corps

A statue dedicated to Sergeant John Ordway stands on the grounds of Fort Lewis near Tacoma, Washington.  It was created by Sculptor John Patrick Jewell in 2006. Creative Commons, 2.0/Visitor7.

Of all the men of the Corps, most people have the highest regard for Sergeant John Ordway – he’s often viewed as being reliable, dependable, confident, and admirable. So the story of his life after the Expedition is truly heartbreaking.

After the Corps’ return in late 1806, Ordway assisted Meriwether Lewis and Pierre Chouteau in accompanying Sheheke’s delegation and a group of Osage Indians to Washington City. By the fall of 1807, he was married and had returned to southeastern Missouri, near New Madrid. Instead of bartering his land grant for cash like many of this colleagues, Ordway kept his and quickly purchased additional land – within a year he owned over 1,000 acres!

According to Larry E. Morris in his book, “The Fate of the Corps,” Ordway wrote a brother explaining he owned two plantations, was in the horse breeding and cattle business, and had established peach and apple orchards. He frequently bought and sold land, and served as constable for a time in New Madrid. Even though his first wife died in 1808, he prospered and remarried a year later.

But all his good fortune quickly changed December 15, 1811 when several massive earthquakes destroyed the entire region. Today it’s believed these quakes are some of the strongest to ever hit the North American continent. And more followed in the weeks that followed.

Morris wrote, “Like most others in the area, John Ordway probably lost virtually everything following the earthquakes. By the time the spring of 1812 finally arrived, New Madrid was a ghost town. On top of it all, Ordway had plenty of family issues which required his assistance.

The civil records, according to Morris, imply that John Ordway never recovered from the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and he died in poverty at age 42, in late 1817 or early 1818. It’s believed he was buried somewhere on the plantation land, but the location is unknown.

Where this belongs

• Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail

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