A Cycle of the West · Character

Major Andrew Henry

The Ashley-Henry expedition's steady commander, whose name becomes a talisman for a betrayed man crawling back from the grave.

supporting

Also known as Henry, Major Henry, the Major

First appearance: i ashley s hundred

As a supporting figure in A Cycle of the West, Major Andrew Henry is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Leader of the expedition up the Missouri River, who sends Fink and Talbeau on a land journey to deliver a message to Ashley.

In the storyThe Song of Three FriendsOpen this moment free

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Major Henry is the organizing will behind the fur venture, the leader whose men ride westward with the day and whose camp is the fixed point in a landscape of treachery. When Hugh Glass, broken and abandoned, finds a squared grave and a trail of many horses, it is Henry's name that flickers between hope and betrayal in his fevered reasoning. Henry's decision to push on to the River of the West gives the narrative its forward motion, and his authority is the standard against which the loyalty and cowardice of lesser men are judged.

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See Major Andrew Henry in i ashley s hundred

Character Web

23 connections

A slice of how Major Andrew Henry sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Other

Character groups

Ashley Expedition Members
Key Figures in Conflict
Major Figures of the Indian Wars

+18 more in the full Character Web

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the psychological and emotional peak of despair for the S…

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In the story

Major Andrew Henry appears across 11 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Song of Three Friends
Leader of the expedition up the Missouri River, who sends Fink and Talbeau on a land journey to deliver a message to Ashley.
II: The Up-Stream Men
Leads Ashley's band up the Missouri River.
III: To the Musselshell
Calls for volunteers to trade with the Bloods at the Musselshell.
VI: The Shooting of the Cup
Henry's fort is the destination of the trappers, and he hosts the feast and storytelling.
VII: The Third Rider
Announces the new expedition to the River of the West and calls for volunteers.
The Song of Hugh Glass
The leader of the expedition who reluctantly leaves Glass behind, embodying the harsh decisions of frontier survival.
The Song of Hugh Glass
Leads the expedition of eighty trappers up the Grand River toward the Yellowstone, with Glass among his men.
Graybeard and Goldhair
Leads the expedition of eighty trappers up the Grand River. He and his men arrive to find Glass mauled, but later retreat under threat of attack.
II: The Awakening
Mentioned as the leader of the men who were riding westward; Hugh expects them to have camped nearby.
IV: The Return of the Ghost
Leader of the fort at the Big Horn's mouth; he dismisses the ghost sighting as impossible, asserting that the dead are dead.
V: Jamie
Implied through 'Henry's Post' and 'Henry's traders,' as the context of the journey and the search for Jamie.

Chapter companion notes

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See Major Andrew Henry in i ashley s hundred

See Major Andrew Henry in The Song of Three Friends