Statue of 1800s sergeant guards park

FORT LEWIS, Wash., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A larger-than-life statue of Army Sgt. John Ordway, a key player in the Lewis and Clark expedition 200 years ago, has been erected in Fort Lewis, Wash.

A 10-foot-tall bronze statue of Ordway, holding a pen and journal in one hand and steadying a musket with the other, is one of the first Army statues recognizing enlisted men, The (Portland) Oregonian said Sunday. The dedication was scheduled to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's return to St. Louis.

Ordway volunteered for Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery, responsible for training soldiers, keeping official journals and tracking detachment orders, the Oregonian said. During the expedition from St. Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River, Ordway's journals provided some of the most detailed accounts of the three-year overland journey.

The statue at a memorial park just outside the base has Ordway wearing an authentic uniform a first sergeant would wear at that time.