John Shields, Lewis & Clark Corps of Discovery
West Point, Hardin County, Kentucky
Marker Inscription
Lewis and Clark in Kentucky - John Shields (1769-1809). One of the "Nine Young Men From Ky." that accompanied Lewis and Clark on 1803-6 expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Shields was born in Va. and moved to Ky. in the 1790s. By 1803 he was married and living in West Point, Hardin Co. Over. (Reverse) - John Shields (1769-1809) - Wm. Clark recruited Shields to be primary blacksmith and gunsmith on expedition. He was also one of the main hunters and cured a fellow explorer of a serious back ailment. After the expedition, Shields moved to Ind. where he died in Dec. 1809. Presented by Hardin Co.-West Point L & C Bicentennial Com.; Ohio River Chapter-L & C Trail Heritage Foundation; National Park Service; Ky. L & C Bicentennial Commission.
Erected by Kentucky Historical Society
The Story
When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out in 1803 to cross the continent to the Pacific, they leaned on a handful of skilled Kentuckians known as the "Nine Young Men from Kentucky." John Shields, a Virginia-born blacksmith and gunsmith living at West Point in Hardin County, was among the most valued of them: he kept the expedition's rifles firing, worked as one of its principal hunters, and even nursed an ailing comrade back to health. After the Corps returned in 1806, Shields moved on to Indiana, dying there in 1809.
Why it matters
Shields is a reminder that the famous expedition succeeded on the practical skills of frontier tradesmen, and that Kentucky supplied a disproportionate share of the men who opened the American West.
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Related people
- · John Shields
- · Meriwether Lewis
- · William Clark
Related events
- · Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803–1806)
Themes & tags
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