It’s been a while since we looked at one of the men of the core Corps – those who made the trip from Fort Mandan to the Pacific. Today, we’ll look at Jean Baptiste LePage.
LePage was a newcomer, joining the Expedition at Fort Mandan, replacing Private John Newman who was court martialed and dismissed in 1804. Born on August 20, 1761 in today’s Kaskaskia, Illinois, he was a French-Canadian fur trader who lived among the Hidatsa and Mandan. Since he’d already traveled farther up the Missouri than most whites, his knowledge was valuable to the Captains, so they enlisted him on November 2, 1804.
He’s not mentioned much in the journals and even on his day of enlistment Captain Lewis just described him as of “no particular merit.”
LePage’s life after the Expedition was also uneventful, it seems. He married, but the date and name of his spouse is unknown. Supposedly, he had five children, but that’s questionable if he didn’t marry until after he returned with the Corps. Because it’s believed he died in late 1809 in St. Louis (estate probate proceedings are documented there in July 1810), it’s possible, but doubtful he was able to father five children in three years.
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