Jean Baptiste Lepage
Jean Baptiste Lepage was a French-Canadian fur trader who joined the Corps of Discovery at Fort Mandan in November 1804, replacing the discharged Private John Newman. He had previously traveled up the Missouri to trade with the Mandan and Hidatsa and was familiar with parts of the route ahead. Lepage served as a private for the remainder of the expedition and provided valuable knowledge of the upper Missouri region.
Biography
Jean Baptiste Lepage (1761-c. 1809) was a French-Canadian trader who joined the expedition at Fort Mandan in November 1804, replacing John Newman who had been court-martialed and expelled. Lepage was already familiar with the upper Missouri, having traded among the Arikara and Mandan peoples.
Lepage’s knowledge of the upper Missouri region and its peoples provided useful intelligence for the captains as they planned the next phase of the journey. However, his contributions are only lightly documented in the journals.
The Lepage River in Montana (later renamed) was briefly named for him during the expedition. After returning to St. Louis, Lepage likely returned to the fur trade. He is believed to have died around 1809.
Related Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 8 months (Nov 6, 1804 → Jun 25, 1805). Jean Baptiste Lepage may have been present in the corps during that span but is not named in the journals.
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