Jean Baptiste Charbonneau
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, nicknamed "Pomp" or "Little Pomp" by William Clark, was born to Sacagawea and Toussaint Charbonneau at Fort Mandan on February 11, 1805, just two months before the expedition departed westward. He is the youngest known member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, having been carried by his mother across the Rocky Mountains, down the Columbia River, and to the Pacific Ocean as an infant. After the expedition, William Clark took a personal interest in his education, and Jean Baptiste later traveled to Europe with Prince Paul of Württemberg, becoming fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish.
Related Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 5 months (Aug 19, 1805 → Jan 6, 1806). Jean Baptiste Charbonneau may have been present in the corps during that span but is not named in the journals.
Tent of Many Voices (4)
Journal Entries (46)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
Analyses that cite or discuss Jean Baptiste Charbonneau — showing 6 of the most recent matches.
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau: The Infant Traveler of the Corps of Discovery
Birth at Fort MandanJean Baptiste Charbonneau entered the expedition record on February 11, 1805, when his mother Sacagawea gave birth at Fort…
A Birth at Fort Mandan, A Hunt on the Prairie: Divergent Lenses on February 11, 1805
February 11, 1805, at Fort Mandan. Two published journals in this corpus record the day: Meriwether Lewis and John Ordway. Patrick Gass…
A Deer in the River, a Colt on the Fire: Four Views from Camp Chopunnish
By late May 1806 the Corps of Discovery had been encamped among the Nez Perce (Chopunnish) for nearly two weeks, waiting for…
Iron, Corn, and Curious Axes: The Blacksmith Trade at Fort Mandan
The entries of February 5, 1805 capture Fort Mandan operating as a small industrial outpost on the upper Missouri. Two of the…
Sleds, Smiths, and Silent Returns: Three Voices at Fort Mandan
The journal entries of February 19, 1805, offer a striking case study in how three members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition…
Toussaint Charbonneau: The Interpreter Who Brought Sacagawea
IntroductionToussaint Charbonneau appears in the journals of Lewis and Clark less as a celebrated figure than as a constant, often troublesome, presence.…
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