Mr. Hassan Davis, historical impersonator, performed as York (see story below) at the November 3, 2003 Annual Meeting of the VCHS. This event was co-sponsored by the VCHS and the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science. Also present were the crew of the Discovery Expedition re-enacting the cruise of Lewis and Clark.

Mr. Davis meets audience members after the performance

When York went west on the Missouri with the Corps of Discovery in 1804, he was the slave to William Clark, co-captain of the expedition. Although he could not keep a diary of his role in the expedition -- it was forbidden, after all, to teach a slave to read or write -- evidence in the other men's journals give us a picture of York's character and of his key role on the journey. York's physical prowess served the company of men well and impressed Native American tribes,who were awed by both his size and the blackness of his skin. During the expedition, York was given a gun and ammunition to hunt; he wa seven given a vote near the Pacific Ocean. However, despite the fact that the journals tell us that he was competent and loyal, York was not granted his freedom upon his return with Clark to St. Louis, nor was he given any of the rewards the other men enjoyed. In fact, for ten years he agitated for his freedom from William Clark, who could not understand why York so badly wanted to be released. After long years of a master-slave relationship that grew unbearably adversarial, York was finally granted his freedom. It is said that York was given a team of horses and a wagon for a hauling business. However, it is known that the business was not a success. To our knowledge, York's quest to find his wife,who was forced to move to Mississippi with her owner, also failed. Ultimately, York's fate is uncertain: some say that he died of cholera wishing that he were still a slave; others claim that he was seen into his late years as a war chief of the Crow Indians.
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Captain Merriweather Lewis (right) of the Lewis and Clark Discovery Expedition

At seventeen, the youngest member of the modern crew of the Lewis and Clark Discovery Expedition