JOHN SHIELDS – Member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

JOHN SHIELDS – FROM WEST POINT, KENTUCKY
MEMBER OF THE LEWIS & CLARK EXPEDITION
by G. Kempf & Richard Briggs

Private John Shields was born in 1769 near Harrisonberg, Augusta County, Virginia. He was the sixth son of Robert and Nancy Stockson Shields, and one of ten brothers and a sister.  Despite the Captains’ rule that they would only consider unmarried men for their exploring enterprise, they recruited Shields. Shields had married in about 1790, while living in Kentucky. He and his wife Nancy (family name unknown) had a daughter, Martha (Jennette).  It is not known where Nancy is buried.  Jennette married John Tipton, a settler and later a Senator from Indiana.  Jennette divorced John and soon after married Charles Cromwell.  It is believe that William Clark’s brother Jonathan helped provide for Shields’ wife, Nancy, and daughter in his absence.

John Shields was one of the “nine young men from Kentucky” who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey to the Pacific Ocean (the others are presented later herein).  He was enlisted into the expedition by William Clark at Louisville on October 19, 1803. Shields was most often referred to in the journals as the blacksmith, gunsmith, or general mechanic of the expedition’s personnel. He was praised by the Captains for how he improvised; using what little metallic products they carried with them to make hide scrapers and arrow points for the Indians. He kept the firearms in good working order, and made rifle balls by melting down the waterproof lead canisters in which their gun powder was packed.  There were two others of the “nine young men from Kentucky” who lived in close proximity to West Point, Kentucky.  They were brothers Reuben and Joseph Fields.  A bit more on them later herein.

Private Shields a was central figure in expedition member William Bratton’s recovery from a prolonged illness that began in February 1806, while he was working as one of the salt makers at the expedition’s “Salt Works.” The facility was located close to the beach in present Seaside, Oregon, 18 miles south of Fort Clatsop, the expedition’s 1805-1806 winter camp. Men detailed to the salt-site evaporated sea water continuously for nearly three months, during the period December to March. Lewis described Bratton’s sufferings in his journal entry for March 21, 1806: “Bratton is now so much reduced that I am somewhat uneasy with rispect to his recovery; the pain of which he complains most seems to be seated in the small of his back and remains obstinate. I believe that it is the rheumatism.”  NOTE:  The journals kept by members of the expedition are replete with misspellings.  They were written at a time when spelling was not very important.  It seems Clark in particular would not rate a word worthy of use unless spelled several different ways.

In fact, his sickness was so acute that when the exploring party departed Fort Clatsop on March 23, 1806, for the return journey, Bratton was unable to walk and traveled in one of the canoes. When the party reached the “Great Falls” of the Columbia River near today’s city of Dalles, Oregon, and gave up the use of canoes in favor of horses obtained from local Indians. Bratton, still incapacitated, was the only man who rode horse back.

Thirty days later, the expedition reached the villages of the Nez Perce Indians, who they called the “Chopunnish Nation.” Here, in the vicinity of present day Kamiah, Idaho, they established a temporary campsite named “Camp Chopunnish.” During a delay of nearly a month waiting for the snow to melt along the Lolo Trail in the higher elevations of the Bitterroots (mountains), Shields suggested a “sweat house” treatment that might cure the still ailing Private Bratton. As described by Lewis (NOTE: Lewis, like others of his time, often spelled a word two or more ways in the same document.  Spelling was not one of their strong points as is shown in the quotation below.)

“Shields sunk a circular hole of 3 feet in diameter and four feet deep in the earth. He kindled a fire in the hole and heated well, after which the fire was taken out [and] a seat placed in the center of the hole for the patient with a board at the bottom of his feet to rest on; some hoops of willow poles were bent in an arch crossing each other over the hole, on these several Blankets were thrown forming a secure and thick orning [awning] of about 3 feet high. The patient [Bratton] being stripped naked was seated under the orning in the hole and blankets well secured on every side. the patient was furnished with a vessell of water which he sprinkles on the bottom and sides of the hole and by that means creates as much steam or vapor as he could possibly bear”.During the treatment, Bratton was given “copius draughts” of strong tea horse mint tea, which intensified the patient’s perspiration. After about 20 minutes, Bratton was taken out of the pit and plunged into the icy water of today’s Clearwater River. “The treatment was repeated, the patient wrapped in several blankets and allowed to cool gradually”. To everyone’s delight, and as Lewis’s journal entry testifies, certainly to Shields’ credit, “This experiment was made yesterday; Bratton feels himself much better and is walking about today and says he is nearly free from pain.”

The Captains named two streams for John Shields. One, a branch of the Missouri which flows from the south into the Missouri a few miles below the Great Falls, is known today as Highwood creek. The second stream is a tributary of the Yellowstone River. Shields was with Captain Clark’s party during the return journey, exploring the upper Yellowstone to its confluence with the Missouri. Captain Clark gave the name of Shields River to a tributary which flows out of the Crazy Horse Mountains, east of Bozeman Pass. The name, “Shields River,” is shown on modern maps, preserving the legacy of America’s epic transcontinental exploration.

Captain Lewis praised John Shields’ contributions to the success of the exploring enterprise in his evaluation of the men who accompanied him on the expedition, which he forwarded to the Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn, on January 15, 1807. Lewis wrote: “John Sheilds (sic) has received the pay only of a private. Nothing was more peculiarly useful to us, in various situations, than the skill and ingenuity of this man as an artist, in repairing our guns, accoutrements, &c. and should it be thought proper to allow him something as a artificer, he has well deserved it.”

No record has been found that discloses whether favorable action was taken by Secretary Dearborn on Captain Lewis’s request. The Men of the Corps of Discovery
The "nine young men from Kentucky"

After William Clark had agreed to join the expedition, Lewis wrote to him that "It shall be my duty to find out and engage some good hunters, stout, healthy, unmarried, accustomed to the woods and capable of bearing bodily fatigue to a considerable degree; should any young men answering this description be found in your neighborhood I would thank you to give information of them on my arrival at the falls of the Ohio; and if possible learn the probability of their engaging in this service . . ."

By late July 1803 Clark wrote to Lewis that he had temporarily hired several men who met Lewis’ qualifications and that they were: "good hunters, stout, healthy, unmarried, accustomed to the woods and capable of bearing bodily fatigue to a considerable degree." When Lewis arrived at Clarksville at the Falls of the Ohio in early October of 1803, Clark was waiting for him with seven men. With John Colter and George Shannon, who were enlisted by Lewis en route to Clarksville, these men would become known as the “nine young men from Kentucky.”

Charles Floyd
Sergeant - Enlisted on August 1, 1803
Born in Kentucky, Floyd was one of the first members to the expedition. Floyd kept a factual journal concerning land quality and soil conditions. On August 20, 1804, Floyd became the only member to die during the expedition. Diagnosed by Lewis & Clark as having "bilious cholic" which medical historians have concluded was a ruptured appendix. At his grave site in present Sioux City, Iowa, a 100 foot high sandstone masonry obelisk, second in size only to the Washington Monument, was dedicated in fitting ceremonies on Memorial Day 1901.

Nathaniel Pryor
Sergeant - Enlisted on October 20, 1803
Pryor had taken a wife in 1798, and was an exception to the recruiting stipulation that only unmarried men would be enlisted. On April l, 1804, Pryor was appointed sergeant and became part of the Permanent Party. When the expedition departed Camp DuBois on May 14, 1804, crews had been assigned to each of the three vessels. The keelboat would be manned primarily by members of the Permanent Party. Both pirogues were manned by French watermen who would go only to Fort Mandan, where they would winter and return downriver on the keelboat the following spring. Considered "a man of character and ability," Pryor often was assigned responsibilities of army administration.

William Bratton
Private
Born in Virginia, Bratton’s family migrated to Kentucky around 1790, qualifying him as one of the "nine young men from Kentucky." Considered an excellent woodsman and hunter, he also apprenticed as a blacksmith and was an excellent gunsmith which made him a useful member to the expedition.

John Colter
Private - Enlisted on October l5, 1803
Colter was born about 1774, near Staunton, Virginia. When he was about five years old, his parents moved to Maysville, Kentucky. A fine hunter he was recruited by Lewis at Maysville and later became part of the Permanent Party.

George Gibson
Private - Enlisted on October 26, 1803
Born in Pennsylvania. In addition to being an experienced woodsman and a good hunter, Gibson was one of two fiddle players among the explorers and he had some sign language skills.

George Shannon
Private - Enlisted on October l9, 1803
Born in Pennsylvania in 1787, of Irish-Protestant ancestry. A relative of Governor Shannon of Ohio, George was sent to live with his mother’s family while he was attending school. During a visit to Pittsburgh he met Captain Lewis, who was awaiting the completion of the keelboat to be used on the expedition. A short while later Shannon enlisted as one of the "Nine young men from Kentucky" at Louisville. Despite being the youngest member of the expedition he was selected to the Permanent Party at the Camp DuBois.

John Shields
Private - Enlisted on October l9, 1803
Born in 1769 near Harrisonberg, Virginia. Despite the rule that only unmarried men would be considered for the expedition, Shields was recruited at Louisville by Lewis. Shields was a blacksmith, gunsmith, and general mechanic.

Joseph and Reuben Field
Privates - Enlisted on August l, 1803
Reuben was born about 1772, and his brother, Joseph, about 1774, both in Culpepper County, Virginia. The brothers may have been known to Captain Lewis before their enlistment and were two of the earliest to join the expedition. Raised in the area of West Point, Kentucky, both were excellent woodsmen and hunters, and usually accompanied one or the other of the captains in every duty of advance scouting requiring trust and dependability.

One of the more interesting families that formerly resided near the Mouth of the Salt river is the Field Family. The first Field family to reside in this immediate area was Abraham Field, who lived on Little Bee Lick Creek in southwest Jefferson County. His home was located somewhere between the present day Beth Haven Baptist church and the Okolona area. One of his sons was Ezekiel Field. The Field family are all descendants of the Withers family in Virginia thru the marriage of the great-grandfather of Ezekiel, Abraham Field I who married Elizabeth Withers, in Culpepper County, Virginia, before 1719. Here at West Point, the Field family became connected with the Miles, Ditto and Hart families, among others.

This great grandfather of Ezekiel Field who settled near West Point about 1806, as stated, was Abraham Field I. He married Elizabeth Withers, the oldest daughter of James and Elizabeth Withers.  Abraham Field was a vestryman of the Great Fork Church in Culpepper County, Virginia from 1744 to 1774. Abraham Field died before 1775. Elizabeth Withers Field died before 1760. There were at least four sons and three daughters by the first marriage and after her death he married a second time and there were at least three more sons born. All of the Field family that resided near West Point were descendants of the first marriage. Many of the sons of Abraham I distinguished themselves in the Revolutionary War. One son, John Field (1720-1775) represented Culpepper County in the house of Burgesses in 1765. This John field served with General Braddock in 1755 in the French and Indian War and was with Forbes in 1758 and was killed in the Battle of Point Pleasant.

The following is taken from a work by Richard Briggs, West Point, Kentucky historian:
Briggs, Richard A, Pioneer Settlers and Related Families At The Mouth of Salt River (West Point, Kentucky) Ancestral Trails Historical Society, Vine Grove KY., pgs. 125-128.

Abraham Field, who settled in Kentucky in 1785, was a grandson of Abraham Field I, and a nephew of John Field just mentioned. He was renowned as an Indian fighter on the frontier. He received a pension for serious wounds he received at the Battle of Point Pleasant in which his Uncle John was killed. He came to the Falls of the Ohio (now Louisville) in 1774 and moved to the "fish ponds" near present day Okolona, Ky.

Abraham Field was born in 1744. Those individuals desiring more information on his life and that of his sons, should read a most interesting article by Roy E. Appleman, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the January 1975 issue of the Filson Club Historical Quarterly. This article goes into such detail on the life of Abraham Field this writer will make no attempt to elaborate any further.  Children of Abraham and Elizabeth (Betty) Field were:

Ezekiel Field, married (1.) Mary Myrtle (2.) Polly Ditto

Polly Field, married George Brown

Cynthia Field, married William Lewis [possibly the brother of Anna Lewis the wife of Keen (Cain) Field who moved to southern Indiana in 1799.

John Field, wife name unknown- children were Matilda Hollis, Maryann Newlane, Willis, Abraham, Larkin, Elizabeth and Eliza.

Cain Field, wife name unknown [Anna Lewis] his children were Abraham, Elizabeth, Ben, Cynthia, Joseph, Stephen, Thomas, Reubin, Ezekiel, and Cain (Keene).

Joseph Field
Reubin Field

The two sons, Joseph and Reubin Field accompanied Lewis and Clark on their journey to the Pacific Ocean. This writer and his wife Judy, retraced a large portion of the Lewis and Clark travels, all the way to Astoria, Oregon a few years ago. We found time and again references to the two Field brothers on historical markers as we went along. In the Lewis and Clark Journal, the Field brothers were mentioned more often than any other men on the expedition with the exception of the officers. In passing it is well to note that still a third man from West Point, a John Shields, was among the 28 men, an Indian girl, and a dog that made the great trek from the Missouri River to the Mouth of the Columbia River. After the journey was over, the two brothers returned to the southwest Jefferson County area where they remained the rest of their lives, living in more or less humble conditions. Today no one for sure knows where they are buried. This writer feels that they may have been buried in the old Myrtle graveyard which has been destroyed by the so-called march of progress. Some of the Myrtle remains were moved into a common grave at Bethany Cemetery. Don Dearden, a good friend of this writer, believes they may have been buried in a family plot near the old Fish Ponds Okolona.

The oldest son of Abraham Field was Ezekiel field. He married Mary Myrtle, about 1801. She was the daughter of John Myrtle, the old war veteran. She died of complications at the birth of their first child and then about 1806 he married Polly Ditto, daughter of Henry and Nancy Ditto. Henry Ditto then deeded them a farm in the hill country about one and a half miles south of West Point where Ezekiel Field lived and died. He is buried in the Field Cemetery near the present day Ditto Hill Firing range on Fort Knox. Numerous other members of the Field family are buried therein. The children of Ezekiel Field by his two wives were:
1. 
2. Mary Ann Field, died in 1854, age 30, married Silas Hart. Their children were Artridge Corrinna Hart, born March 6, 1846; Nannie Elizabeth Hart, born July 10, 1848; and Clinton Felix Hart, born Nov. 11, 1850, died Jan 12, 1855 shortly after Mary Anne Hart died,
3. 
4. Maria Field, born January 20, 1808, died August 7, 1837, and was married to John McGeehee. They had at least two children; Junious McGeehee, born June 23, 1835 and Ann Maria McGeehee, born Feb. 12, 1834. After Maria died in 1837, John McGeehee married her sister Elizabeth Field (1822-1843) and they had two additional children, Ferdinana, born April 17, 1840 and Addison Clinton McGeehee, born Dec. 29, 1841
5. 
6. Elizabeth Field
7. 
8. Nancy Field, born July 20, 1809, died June 10, 1855, She married John Whelan, of Stithton, Ky. They had at least five children; James Curtis Whaling, born in 1834, John Wayne Whelan (1837-1840), Isabel Whelan, Ezekiel Whelan, and Stokley D. Whelan, born June 3, 1846.
9. 
10. Curtis Field, was born Jan. 19, 1812, died Jan. 18, 1843. He was married to Pentlope Miles and they had at least three children, Mary Jane Field, who married R. Gist and had a son, Curtis Columbus Field.
11. 
12. Levi Field, born Sept. 27, 1814 and died Aug. 1897. He married Nancy Edith, and they had several children.
13. 
14. Matilda Field, born 1817 and died in 1818.
15. 
16. Clinton D. Field, born July 23, 1819 and died Feb. 16, 1846.
17. 
18. Artridge Field born Jan. 21, 1825 and died in 1853. She married Issac Withers and the family moved to Missouri. They had at least two children; Sara Medora Withers, born Feb. 28, 1851 and Clinton Withers, born Feb. 21, 1853.

The writer has in his possession a small personal book on which is written on the fly-sheet "Ezekiel Fields Book" in which the old gentleman recorded the Births and deaths and marriages of his children and grand-children. From this book the following information was secured:

Grand-children of Ezekiel Field were:

Children of John Whaling and his wife, Nancy Field
1. James Curtis Whaling, born April 16, 1834
2. John Warren Whaling, born December 28, 1837
3. Isabel Ester Whaling, born Jan. 8, 1839
4. Stokley D. Whaling, born June 3, 1846
Children of John and Maria McGeehee
1. Ann Maria Mcgeehee, born Feb. 14, 1834
2. Junuis McGeehee, born June 23, 1835
3. Ferdiana McGeehee, born April 17, 1835. This child's mother was Elizabeth McGeehee
4. Addison Clinton McGeehee, born December 29, 1841
Children of Curtis and Pentelope Field
1. Mary Jane Field, born May 6, 1846
2. Curtis Columbus Field, born June 8, 1842
Children of Silas Hart and Mary Ann Hart
1. Artridge Hart, born May 6, 1846
2. Nannie Elizabeth Hart, born May 6, 1846
3. Clinton Felix Hart, born Nov. 11, 1850
Children of Issac C. and Artridge Withers
1. Butler Withers, born April 12, 1848
2. Sarah Medora Withers, born Feb. 28, 1851
3. Clinton Withers, born Feb. 21, 1853

Deaths:
The following deaths were recorded in Ezekiel Field’s book:

Ezekiel Field, died November 5, 1858, age 85
Polly Field, died August 17, 1828
John Myrtle Field, died Jan. 26, 1831
Maria Field, died August 7, 1837
Nancy Field, June 10, 1855
Curtis Field, Jan. 18, 1843
Levi Field, died August 22, 1897
Matilda Field, died August 12, 1818
Clinton D. Field, Feb. 16, 1846
Elizabeth D. Field, Sept. 22, 1843
Artridge Field, March 4, 1853 (in Knox County, Mo.)
John Warren Whaling, April 18, 1840
Mary Jane Field Gist, Jan. 21, 1883
Clinton Felix Field, Jan 12, 1855v
Nancy Edith Field, July 19, 1883 (there is a notation in the book she got hurt on May 14, 1883)
Alphie Field, June 15, 1896
Judith Shackleford Field, March 18, [1]855
John Cora Field, Jan. 11,1880
Beat Field, October 25, 1847
Charles Thurston Field, 1858
Butler Withers, Feb. 8, 1858
Clinton Withers, July 28, 1853
Births (from the same source)
Nancy Edith Chaddick, wife of Levi Field, born March 10, 1824
(Children of Levi and Nancy Field, are Artrige Field, born Feb. 7, 1885 and Ezekiel Field, born Dec. 25, 1862)

Maria Shackleford Field was born March 18, 1822, the children of Levi and Maria Field were:
1. John Cora Field, born July 20, 1846
2. Clinton S. Field, Born June 2, 1850
3. Charles Thruston Field, born June 2, 1850
(note- Levi Field Married Maria Shackleford on August 15, 1843. Maria died on March 18, 1855 in Memphis and her body was brought back to West Point for burial. On November 13, 1883 Levi Field married Miss Alphie Prewitt in Meade County. She died June 15, 1896. Levi Field died the following year)

Birthdays of Ezekiel Fields grandchildren
Lille Burbridge, July 28, 1972
Nancy Field Burbridge, born May 23, 1874
Cora Bel Burbridge, November 24, 1876
Bell K. Burbridge, March 18, 1848

Additional births: Ezekiel Field personal book then continued with another list of birthdays. Who these individuals are is not know to this writer but it is my personal belief that these were the birthdays of children of the personal slaves of Ezekiel Field.

Children of Scarrett;

James William, born Feb. 13, 1840
Ann Elizabeth, born Feb. 6, 1842
Joseph, born October 1844
Matilda Jane, born Nov. 21, 1845
Henritta, born 1848
Eli, born December 28, 1850
Horace, born April, 16, 1852
Maryhart, born Dec. 25, 1853
Henry, born Ded. 2, 1855
Curits Bolin, born May 31, 1855

Children of Fanny
 
Alice, born June 16, 1846
Ellen, born in 1852