Looking For a Few Good Men

Looking For a Few Good Men. . In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead a "Corps of Discovery" up the Missouri River in search of a water route to the Pacific. They arrived at Kaskaskia on November 29, looking for new recruits., Lewis and Clark sought strong young men, familiar with the woods, good at hunting and able to endure a long, difficult journey. They found twelve candidates from the troops stations here - more than any other place along their route., Expedition members recruited from troops at Kaskaskia, Sergeant Patrick Gass . Sergeant John Ordway . Private John Boley . Private John Collins . Private John Dame . Private John Robertson . Private Ebenezer Tuttle . Private Peter M. Weiser . Private Isam White . Private Joseph Whitehouse . Private Alexander Hamilton Willard . Private Richard Windsor, "On my arrival at Kaskaskia, I made a selection of a sufficient number of men from the troops…to complete my party.", [Meriwether Lewis to President Thomas Jefferson, 15 December 1803] . This historical marker is Near Ellis Grove in Randolph County Illinois