William Henry Ashley
Ashley, William Henry, fur trader (c. 1778-Mar. 26, 1838). Born in chesterfield County, Virginia, he migrated to Missouri c. 1802, settling at St. Genevieve, becoming a trader and operating mines. He became a lieutenant colonel in the War of 1812, and a Brigadier General of militia in 1821. He moved to St. Louis in 1819, was elected lieutenant governor of Missouri in 1820, and became associated with Andrew Henry in the Rocky Mountain fur trade. On February 13, 1822, he ran his famous advertisement in the Missouri Gazette and Public Advertiser, seeking a hundred “enterprising young men” for the fur-collecting business. Henry managed the first expedition, Ashley, as supplier, reaching the Yellowstone in October 1822, dropping back down the river before winter. In March, 1823, he ascended the Missouri again but April 2 his expedition was attacked at the Arikara villages and forced to withdraw. Ashley and others now joined Colonel Leavenworth for an indecisive campaign against the Indians,
