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The Floyd Monument
Sergeant
Charles Floyd (1782-1804) was recruited into the Lewis and
Clark Expedition as one of the nine young men from
Kentucky. He kept a journal on a regular basis from May 14,
1804 until just prior to his death on August 20, 1804. His
death may have been caused by a ruptured appendix.
Sergeant Floyd
was buried on the top of Floyd’s Bluff with military honors
on August 20, 1804. The Floyd River, where the expedition
camped that night, was named for Sergeant Floyd. The grave
site was a well-known landmark to both river and land
travelers and the cedar post marking it was frequently
repaired or replaced. A high and irregular river in the
spring of 1857 washed away part of the bluff and exposed
Floyd’s bones, which were seen and rescued. As many bones
as possible were recovered and buried approximately 600 feet
east of the original grave on the crest of the bluff on May
28, 1857.
The discovery
of Floyd’s Journal and its publication in 1894 led to a
search for this second grave site on May 30, 1895. The
Floyd Memorial Association was formed on June 6, 1895 to
recognize the area, mark the grave and construct a suitable
monument.
The
construction of the monument was begun with the pouring of
the concrete foundation on May 29, 1900. The foundation was
22 feet square at the bottom, thirteen and one-half feet
square at the top and eleven feet high. This concrete was
mixed and poured in one day using hand labor by
approximately 100 men. The concrete was reinforced with
sixteen pieces of 60-pound railroad iron placed one foot
above the bottom and one foot below the top. The concrete
was allowed to cure and the cornerstone was laid on August
20, 1900. Construction was stopped at the 55 foot level in
November due to the weather. On March 28, 1901,
construction was continued and the capstone was laid on
April 22, 1901. The monument was dedicated on May 30, 1901.
The monument is
100 feet high, nine feet square at the base and six feet
square at the top and is capped with aluminum connected to
copper grounding wires to protect it from lightning
strikes. There is an inner concrete core, which is four and
one-half feet square at the base and three feet square at
the top. The bones of Sergeant Floyd were placed in urns
and then placed in the concrete core. There are 72 courses
of stone in the main shaft.
The stone is
Kettle River sandstone. Design was by the U.S. Army
Engineers, Captain James C. Sanford until October 17, 1899
and Captain Hiram M. Chittenden with Assistant Engineer
Bathurst Smith. The monument was constructed by Hansen
Brothers of Sioux City, the seven and one-half foot fence by
Hermann and Savage of Sioux City and the large plaques by
Gorham Manufacturing of New York City. The total amount of
money spent from all sources was $12,600. The monument was
recognized as the First National Historic Landmark by the
U.S. Department of the Interior in 1960.
Prepared for the M. V. Sgt. Floyd
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