Warren Scott REMEMBERING A HERO — Ruby Greathouse, curator of the Brooke County Museum and Cultural Center, spoke about Patrick Gass, a participant of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who settled in Wellsburg, at a dedication Saturday for a marker honoring his military service. The stone was recently added to a monument depicting him near Sixth and Main streets and the Ohio River.
WELLSBURG — The service of Sgt. Patrick Gass, a participant of the Lewis and Clark Expedition who also served in the War of 1812, was remembered, more than 200 years later, at the dedication Saturday of a military marker recently installed near the gazebo at Sixth and Main streets and the Wellsburg Wharf.
State and local officials, representatives of historical preservation groups and descendants of Gass were among many who gathered at the site where a monument to Gass was established in 2002.
It includes a bust designed by sculptor Agnes Vincen Talbot of Boise, Idaho, who used two portraits and a photograph of Gass as an old man to envision his appearance as a young one.
Ruby Greathouse, volunteer curator of the Brooke County Museum and Cultural Center, noted Gass was 32 when he was one of about 55 servicemen and civilians who volunteered to participate in the expedition.
She noted though the group encountered various threats, from wild animals to treacherous weather, there was just one casualty — Sgt. Charles Floyd.
Greathouse said when Floyd died, apparently from appendicitis, Gass was elected by the other men to replace him.
Various accounts state Gass’ skill as a carpenter was an asset as the group built canoes and wagons for their long trek west to Oregon as well as temporary lodging in winter weather they encountered along the way.
In a proclamation prepared for the occasion, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., noted Gass was the first to publish an account of the journey, using a journal he kept during the trip.
The son of Irish immigrants, Gass was born in southern Pennsylvania and once related visiting the future site of Wellsburg when he was a young man and there was only a single house there.
Greathouse noted he was 68 when he settled in Wellsburg, marrying 20-year-old Maria Hamilton, and settling on a farm near Pierce Run Road, where they had several children.
The pair are buried at Brooke Cemetery on the city’s east side.
She welcomed many descendants of Gass in attendance, including his great-great-granddaughter, Sue Stunk; and great-great-grandson William Painter.
She noted it was MaryVee Westlund, a great-great-granddaughter of Gass living in Washington, who offered to send to the museum a government-issued grave marker noting his military service.
That service included the War of 1812, during which he lost an eye and fought in the Battle of Lundy’s Lane, a bloody fight near Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Vickey Gallagher, president of the museum board, said unfortunately, the stone arrived damaged and is being displayed at the museum.
Greathouse said the stone found at the Gass monument is a replica provided by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and installed by crews with Heslop Memorial Headstones.
Descendants of Gass noted locally much was done to raise awareness of him by Eugene Gass Painter, whose middle name was taken from his great-grandfather and like his ancestor, was born on June 12.
A member of the George Washington chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and other historical groups, Painter died last year at the age of 104.
Greathouse noted Saturday was selected for the dedication because it would have been Patrick Gass’ 250th birthday.
Members of several historical preservation groups from around the tri-state area were on hand to share details about the expedition and the times in which Gass lived.
John McNulty of the Corps of Discovery, a group that re-enacted the expedition in 2003, noted the National Park Service has extended the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail to include Pittsburgh and the Ohio River because of the role they played in preparations for the journey.
He said as a result, federal grant money is available to raise awareness of the area’s connection to the historic journey.
“This could be a new chapter for nationwide attention for us,” McNulty said.
Members of the various re-enactment groups marched down Main Street to the monument and they and the Tri-State Marine Corps Club delivered separate military salutes to Gass.
Wreaths were placed at the monument by a re-enactor and Randall Reid-Smith, state commissioner of culture and history, who said Gass should be remembered for his historical significance nationally and local connection to this area.
Monetary donations related to the marker’s installation and the program were received from William Painter, Tom Oughton and Main Street Bank.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)
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