John Collins
Private John Collins was a member of the Corps of Discovery who was court-martialed early in the expedition for getting drunk on duty and tapping into the whiskey supply. Despite this early disciplinary issue, Collins became a dependable member of the expedition and was skilled at hunting and making beer from the camas root during the westward journey. He was frequently assigned to hunting parties and served reliably throughout the remainder of the expedition. Collins is believed to have been killed in the 1823 Arikara attack that also killed several members of William Ashley's fur trading party.
Biography
John Collins (c. 1775-c. 1823) was one of the more colorful members of the Corps of Discovery, known both for disciplinary troubles and for his skills as a hunter. He was court-martialed twice during the early weeks of the expedition — once for being drunk on duty and once for tapping the whiskey barrel.
Despite these early infractions, Collins proved to be a capable soldier and hunter for the remainder of the journey. His ability to brew beer from camas roots during the stay with the Nez Perce was noted with appreciation by his fellow soldiers.
Collins is believed to have been killed in 1823 during a Arikara attack on William Ashley’s fur trading party near the Grand River — one of several expedition veterans who died in the dangerous fur trade on the upper Missouri.
Related Locations
Note: the longest gap between tagged appearances is about 7 months (Jan 14, 1805 → Aug 21, 1805). John Collins may have been present in the corps during that span but is not named in the journals.
Journal Entries (166)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
Analyses that cite or discuss John Collins — showing 6 of the most recent matches.
Court-Martial at St. Charles: Discipline on the Eve of Departure
The entries for 17 May 1804 from St. Charles, Missouri, illustrate a pattern in the expedition's documentary record: the radical disparity between…
Discipline and a Near Disaster at the Kansas
The expedition's departure from the mouth of the Kansas River on June 29, 1804, produced four journal entries that, read together, reveal…
Discipline and the Nadawa: Mess Orders Beside the Largest Island
The encampment at the head of Nadawa Island produced an unusually rich documentary day. All six expedition diarists left entries, and the…
Two Journeys, One Date: Diverging Accounts of October 15, 1805
The journal entries dated October 15, 1805 present a puzzle for readers of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Sergeant John Ordway and…
George Shannon: The Youngest Soldier of the Corps of Discovery
IntroductionGeorge Shannon was, at roughly eighteen years of age, the youngest enlisted member of the permanent party of the Corps of Discovery.…
Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor: A Steady Hand of the Corps of Discovery
IntroductionSergeant Nathaniel Pryor stands among the three non-commissioned officers chosen at the outset of the Corps of Discovery to lead a squad.…
From the Heacock Memorial Archive
2 lewis-clark.org articles that mention John Collins, preserved here for Robert Heacock’s photography. The articles were written by that site’s contributing authors.
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