Submitted Photo This historic marker is located at the Fort Mandan Overlook State Historic Site, 14½ driving miles west of the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Washburn. Photo by Doug Wurtz.

Friluftsliv

To loosely translate from Norwegian to English:

fri = free, lufts = air’s, liv = life

The English equivalent= Outdoor Life

One of the benefits of volunteering with the Archaeology & Historic Preservation Division of the State Historical Society of North Dakota is the access to artifacts from Dakota Territory history. Each artifact has its own unique story, which is usually a portion of a much larger story. Inevitably, a question will arise concerning one of the artifacts, which requires a trip to the State Archives for more research.

Recently, I have been researching the story of the “Galvanized Yankees” (1st United States Volunteer Infantry, aka 1st USVI) at Fort Rice, Dakota Territory. The Fort Rice State Historic Site is located 28 miles south of Mandan, North Dakota.

Another story that I have been researching is the journey of the 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition, the “Corps of Discovery.” Their story is told at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Washburn, North Dakota, and the Fort Mandan Overlook State Historic Site, 14½ driving miles west of the Interpretive Center.

Only recently did I notice the similarity of the two stories. Both are about the westward expeditions of men whose homes were in the eastern United States, far from Dakota Territory. Men from Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina and other states would play key roles in both stories.

Upon arriving in what is now North Dakota, the “Corps of Discovery” would spend the winter of 1804-1805 at Fort Mandan, 60 miles (“as the crow flies”) northwest of the fort the “Galvanized Yankees” would occupy 60 years later (1864-1865) at Fort Rice.

Both expeditions traveled up the Missouri River to reach their first winter’s destination. The “Corps of Discovery” left St. Louis and traveled by keelboat, by pirogue and by foot to Fort Mandan. The “Galvanized Yankees” traveled by train to St. Louis and then by steamboat and on foot to their winter home at Fort Rice.

Both expeditions were under the orders of a U.S. president: the “Corps of Discovery” under orders from President Thomas Jefferson, the “Galvanized Yankees” under orders from President Abraham Lincoln.

Members of both expeditions spent their first winter in crude accommodations built from cottonwood logs cut late in the fall from nearby groves.

Each expedition included one woman. Sacagawea was the only woman to accompany the “Corps of Discovery” to the west coast. Mrs. Elizabeth Cardwell, the wife of Private Patrick Cardwell, was the only woman to accompany her husband and 600 other troops of the “Galvanized Yankees” to Dakota Territory.

Both women had a baby that would become a notable character in each story. Sacagawea’s baby son, “Pomp” (Jean Baptiste Charbonneau) was born just prior to the expedition and traveled to the west coast and back with his mother. Mrs. Cardwell’s baby, a daughter, was born at Fort Rice. Mrs. Cardwell had been pregnant with the baby on the last 280-mile forced march to Fort Rice. Both Mrs. Cardwell and her daughter died seven days after the baby’s birth.

Both expeditions included one well-known encounter with Native Americans. Meriweather Lewis, co-commander of the “Corps of Discovery” killed a Blackfoot warrior in a skirmish in the Marias River country of present-day Montana on July 26, 1806. If not for the superior weapons of Lewis and his men, they could have been killed by the Blackfoot warriors and the story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition would have ended much differently.

The “Galvanized Yankees” were attacked on July 28, 1865, at Fort Rice by Native American warriors under the leadership of Sitting Bull and Gall. If not for the superior firepower of the military, the fort could have been overrun and destroyed that day, changing the story of the “Galvanized Yankees” and the military forts on the upper Missouri River.

The mission of the two expeditions was, in many ways, similar. The Lewis and Clark Expedition was to explore unknown territory, establish trade with the Native Americans, affirm the sovereignty of the United States in the region, and find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean.

The mission of the “Galvanized Yankees” was to explore unknown territory, establish safe trade routes for emigrants to the gold fields of Montana and Idaho, proclaim the sovereignty of the United States to the Native Americans and monitor the waterway of the Missouri River.

Though their stories were 60 years and 60 miles apart, history was, in many ways, repeating itself. Archives research revealed many of the ways the two stories were similar.

I know many more amazing accounts could be found if only the artifacts in the archaeology collection of the State Historical Society could talk. I will continue to search for their stories.

Doug Wurtz grew up near Ryder and graduated from Minot State University. His retirement activities include nature photography as well as serving as a Certified Interpretive Guide for the State Historical Society of North Dakota. He is past president of the North Dakota Archaeological Association. Doug and his wife, Linda, live in Bismarck