Sgt. Gass Describes Building Fort Mandan
Construction continued on the expedition's winter quarters along the Missouri River. Six men were assigned to making charcoal while the rest cut timber and worked on the buildings. The party named the post Fort Mandan in honor of the nearby Mandan people, whose friendship they valued. The structure took shape as two rows of huts joined at an angle and enclosed by a stockade in a triangular layout. Sergeant Patrick Gass, the expedition's carpenter, oversaw much of the work, which would be completed by Christmas 1804.
Patrick Gass, the expedition’s skilled carpenter, provides the most detailed account of the construction of Fort Mandan — the expedition’s first winter quarters. Gass was elected sergeant after Floyd’s death and later published the first account of the expedition (1807).
“We continued to work at our fort. Six of the men were employed in making charcoal, and the rest in cutting timber and building. We named our fort, Fort Mandan, in honour of our friendly neighbours.”
The fort consisted of two rows of huts joined at an angle, with a stockade wall, forming a triangular enclosure. It was completed by Christmas 1804 and served as the expedition’s home through one of the coldest winters on record, with temperatures dropping as low as -40 degrees.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Patrick Gass, the expedition's skilled carpenter, provides the most detailed account of the construction of Fort Mandan — the expedition's first winter quarters. Gass was elected sergeant after Floyd's death and later published the first account of the expedition (1807).
"We continued to work at our fort. Six of the men were employed in making charcoal, and the rest in cutting timber and building. We named our fort Fort Mandan, in honor of our friendly neighbors."
The fort consisted of two rows of huts joined at an angle, with a stockade wall, forming a triangular enclosure. It was completed by Christmas 1804 and served as the expedition's home through one of the coldest winters on record, with temperatures dropping as low as -40 degrees.
This modernization is AI-generated for accessibility. The original above is the authoritative version.
Entities mentioned in this entry
Auto-extracted from the entry text. Hover any entity for context.
