Our History & Our Heritage By Bill Kiefer

So who was Patrick Gass anyhow?
Mr. Gass was born in 1771 in Falling Spring, Pennsylvania. That town is now part of Chambersburg. That much is clear, however, much of the rest of his life, other than his military service and the Voyage of Discovery period, has contradictory references as to where he was at any one time.
While he was still a young boy his parents moved to the vicinity of what is today Uniontown, Pennsylvania. In 1785 the family moved again, this time to Catfish Camp, later to be named Washington in Pennsylvania. In 1790 when he was near twenty he claims to have explored the Wellsburg area when it had but one house, the cabin of Alexander Wells.
In 1792, Gass claimed to have served as a soldier under a certain Captain Caton at the mouth of Yellow Creek, across the Ohio River from Mountaineer Resort. At that time he alleges that the area’s Indians were elated at having defeated Arthur St. Clair’s forces and hence were a significant threat. But that threat ended with the battle of fallen Timbers in August 1794. Apparently he did not fight in that action, but had been posted to Bennet’s Fort in the Wheeling Region.
After that, there is more certainty about his movements. In 1794 he signed on to become an apprentice to a carpenter and in 1795 he is said to have worked on a house in Wellsburg. However, the state of Pennsylvania has erected a historical marker related to James Buchanan’s childhood home which states:  â€œJames Buchanan, lawyer, statesman, diplomat, 15th President of the U.S., born in Stony Batter, lived here 1796-1807. Sgt. Patrick Gass, carpenter for winter quarters on the Lewis & Clark expedition, 1803-06, worked here as an apprentice, 1794-95. As Gass told stories of working to build that home it is more likely that he returned to his birthplace to become a carpenter, than remain in an area as sparsely populated as Wellsburg. This is further supported by his next military adventure: enlisting in the 19th American Regiment in late 1799 or early 1800, and serving in eastern Pennsylvania at Carlisle and York as well as Harper’s Ferry when the Regiment was disbanded He almost immediately re-enlisted for a five year term under a Major Jonathon Cass. In that command Gass eventually ended up as a non-commissioned officer at Fort Kaskaskia, in the Northwest Territory. This was where he joined with Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery.
A marker on the Lewis and Clark Trail at the Kaskaskia site relates:
“Lewis and Clark sought strong young men, familiar with the woods, good at hunting and able to endure a long, difficult journey. They found twelve candidates from the troops stationed here – more than any other place along their route.Expedition members recruited from troops at Kaskaskia
Sergeant Patrick Gass • Sergeant John Ordway • Private John Boley • Private John Collins • Private John Dame • Private John Robertson • Private Ebenezer Tuttle • Private Peter M. Weiser • Private Isam White • Private Joseph Whitehouse • Private Alexander Hamilton Willard • Private RichardWindsor